Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Fuck. Have you seen my necklace?” 

He's running around the house, entering the bathroom, then leaving it, opening the closet, going to the bedside table, closing the door…

“On the kitchen table.”

Right! He removed everything in a hurry when they got home last night because he was falling asleep on his feet.

“Ok. I'm ready, let's go!”

“What about your rings, my love?” Armand doesn't even look up from the electronic device held between his fingers, legs comfortably extended over the warm brownish couch that adorns their living room.

Fuck, the rings Armand bought for him. 

Daniel opens his mouth to speak.

“Top drawer of my bedside.”

He runs upstairs, not before yelling, “I love you babe, thanks.” Armand is already wearing his coat by the time Daniel’s downstairs and ready, silver rings decorating his fingers. They're already 20 minutes late for the reservation, and not to Armand's fault; the older vampire isn't one bit hurried, though.

“I paid enough for the reservation. We won't lose it.”

Good enough of a guess, except that Daniel's only worry is how much Armand wanted to try this recently opened restaurant; it's some fancy shit he's never cared about but that manages to capture Armand's attention, and while he may not enjoy the food or the overpriced wine, he is looking forward to their evening. 

“Lead the way.”

• • • • 

It's a beautiful place, indeed. 

Even a person like Daniel, whose eyes don't value or appreciate the delicate things in life, has to admit that it's rewarding to visit a nice place like this every once in a while, specially with the way Armand's eyes roam around, taking in his surroundings, gaze falling to the open terrace that leads to a view of the night sky. If he were a different person, he'd call this romantic.

“Why do you love eating on top of buildings when you can just fly and take a look at the city from afar?” He asks once the waitress has led them to their table, a metallic thing with cushioned chairs near the glass railing. He wonders if the chairs will get wet when it rains.

“Humanity has decided penthouses are the utmost luxury. And I’m determined to savor it.”

Shaking his head, he mutters loud enough, “Show off.”

Armand huffs. “Like you didn't get me that diamond watch once the first pay of the book appeared on your bank account.”

“That's different,” he fights, “Now that you mention it, where's the watch? You haven't worn it lately.”

The vampire lifts a hand to show his wrist. It certainly combines with the black suit he's wearing. 

“When—? You didn't have it on when we left the house!” He’s sure he didn't see it before. 

Armand laughs.

They order their food and eat it, even if Daniel can't taste shit and everything feels like wet cardboard in his mouth, hence why he brought a bottle of blood from which he takes a swig from every time he wants to actually taste something —if the waitress that keeps thinking he shouldn't be doing that deigns to reprimand him about it, he'll argue it's his medication, just to shut her up.

At least the alcohol is good, he'll give them that. 

They're halfway through dessert, Armand is enjoying his strawberry parfait and Daniel his drink, it's deep into the night and he feels good about his day, when he recognizes a voice.

“Shit, shit, shit.”

“Is there something wrong, my love? Perhaps the wine is not to your taste?”

“My ex-wife is here. What the fuck is she doing here?” He rests his head over his arm as he faces Armand in a stupid attempt to hide his face.

“Alma?” Armand asks, looking around the balcony.

“You know damn well her name is Alice, but nice try.”

“My mistake,” he replies with a faint smile, “Do you want me to…?” The older vampire lets the sentence hang open, and proceeds to take a long swig of the glass of wine in his hand.

The fact that Daniel finds the motion sweet first and terrifying second says plenty of him as a person.

“As much as I appreciate the well-intentioned thought,” he says, taking Armand's free hand between his own, “I've been enough of a bad father as it is. I don't need to add fuel to the fire by leaving my daughter motherless.”

Armand shrugs as if saying ‘Suit yourself”. 

“Perhaps she won't get close,” the man says instead.

Daniel doubts it, but hey, let's keep a positive attitude—

"Long time no see,” comes the voice from Daniel's left side. And there she stands, blue dress and jewelry on her neck, wrinkles and age marks on her still beautiful face. In his head, she remained as the young woman with curly black hair, an ever-present frown on her forehead every time her gaze landed on Daniel; it's a strange realization to see time has gone by, and that they're both older.

He stands up to surround her in an embrace as a greeting.

“Alice, this is Armand,” he says, looking at him, “my boyfriend.”

She doesn't bother to hide her surprise. Should he have said ‘lover’ instead? The word ‘boyfriend’ feels immature and unable to capture what they are.

Too young. Poor kid. Alice thinks.

Daniel clears his throat.

“A pleasure to meet you.” Armand extends his hand but doesn't stand up. Daniel doesn't need to read his thoughts to know he's enraged at the mere sight of Alice.

“What brings you here?” He asks to distract both Alice from the growing contempt she's feeling for Daniel, and Armand from the anger at having his evening interrupted.

“Oh, we wanted to celebrate Robert's promotion,” she looks behind her to where Daniel guesses Robert is, despite the fact that Daniel doesn’t remember the man —has he ever talked to him?— and faces them again, “What about you guys?”

Daniel shrugs. “Just a Thursday dinner. Armand’s been wanting to try this place for a while.” He kept insisting until they added it to the calendar, mostly because it just keeps getting filled with more and more activities and places they want to try out. Their list of activities is endless by now.

She smiles. “That's lovely!”

He's not worth the money, kiddo. Trust me. What he pays with money you'll pay with your sanity.

Yeah, they didn't end on good terms.

“Can I join you guys for a while?” She asks.

Say no. I'm just being polite. Don't accept.

“Sure, it'll be delightful,” Daniel answers with a smile as he shares a look with Armand, who rolls his eyes, if briefly.

Fuck you. 

Ah, how nice from Alice. 

She sits down on the chair opposite to them as she wonders why they're sitting next to each other in the corner, rather than on each side of the table. Daniel wouldn't answer even if she asked the question directly.

“How's Laura?” He asks conversationally as he takes a sip of his wine.

Alice makes a grimace and Daniel doesn't need to read her mind to knows he's fucked up by mentioning their daughter.

“You wouldn't need to ask that if you talked to her.”

Shit. He nods. “Last time I called she didn't answer me.”

“And when was that? Two years ago? Five years ago?”

Kinda. Honestly, Daniel doesn't remember. “A while ago, yeah.”

“She's worried, you know? Asked me if I'd heard anything about you, but I only know what's on the news.” The last bit is spoken as she takes a side glance at Armand, caught with a spoon in hand.

“People love to gossip,” is what he settles for. 

As a matter of fact, he's heard enough of the staff thinking Armand is such a sweet man for taking his grandpa out for a nice meal. He doesn't need Alice to comment on it either.

“There's lipstick on the corner of your lips,” Alice says all of the sudden.

His first thought is ‘Fuck, is there blood on my face from kissing Armand in the restroom earlier?’ considering they had to stop themselves before, both to continue with their meal and to stop making the man knocking insistently on the restroom’s door uncomfortable. His second thought is ‘No, there's not, because Armand doesn't use lipstick’, which is why his eyes land on Armand's lips on instinct to verify if he hasn’t decided to start wearing make-up. He's about to deny the accusations when he finally looks back at Alice, a pleasant smile on her face. 

Fucking shit. He fell for it so badly. Head first into the water.

Armand is looking at him with a hint of delight and something more. Daniel feels like he's been messed up with.

“So this is serious, uh?” She asks no-one in particular. 

“It is,” Armand participates for the first time in the conversation.

“Be careful, he loves to flirt with the staff. I once found him making out with our waitress while we were dining. It was a family restaurant, if I recall.”

“Not proud of it,” Daniel interjects, “And that was decades ago.”

“Yeah, but that means nothing when you keep doing the same every decade.”

Whatever. He's trash. Yeah, he's aware of it.

Why hasn't Rob called? He should've gotten the car already.

Instead, she continues, “Did you know he had a partner with the same name as yours, like 40 years ago? It was a man he loved deeply.” 

Daniel chokes on his wine. It takes a while before he stops coughing. God, if only she knew. Armand is delighted with the development of this interaction, his eyes glinting with mischief.

“Are you alright, my beloved?” Armand stands up to slap his back carefully.

“I'm fine, sorry. Thanks babe.”

What's with the nicknames? Daniel always hated them.

He smiles at Alice. “Any other story you'd like to share with Armand? Now's the time.”

She shrugs. “I don't have much to share.” Bullshit, there are tons of stories. “I would've asked if you were the one he cheated on me with, but you're too young for that.”

Wouldn't that be fun, now?

“And don’t get me started on how I found out…”

Daniel fakes a laugh. “We should let bygones be bygones.”

“He's always been a sensible lover to me,” Armand adds and takes Daniel's hand for good measure.

“Well yes, he's always excelled at making his partners believe he is. It takes a while to notice, just look out for the signs.” Alice winks to Armand.

“He’s been kind to me. He indulges in my requests no matter how odd they are, does detailed things he guesses I'll like, and works hard to keep me happy.” Armand has an innocent expression that's only exacerbated by his big, amber eyes. It may look cuter when he's wearing the brown contacts, but Daniel prefers when he doesn't. “And I'm not referring to the gifts, such as this watch he gave me,” he glances at it to make a point, and Alice immediately looks at it with surprised eyes, “But the little gestures.”

A little manipulative gremlin, that's what he is.

“Forgive me if I'm doubtful,” she replies.

Whatever it is from his speech, it works on Alice, making it difficult to determine her reaction to the statement. Daniel can feel her worry for Armand, a pity towards who she thinks is an ignorant soul, and her uncertainty: an underlying ‘What if?’ that makes her question what's so intriguing about Armand that both her and her daughter lack, for Daniel not to show any resemblance of interest or at the very least, remorse for his actions.

Suddenly, he's drowning with the need to apologize. He opens his mouth—

“I can assure you, this is the happiest Daniel has been in his entire life,” Armand says before Daniel can talk.

Alice turns to him, as if waiting for Daniel to throw a joke or mock Armand for his claim. Daniel's eyes travel to Armand's without trying to. 

Oh.

“Whatever makes you happy,” she states, before receiving a call and standing up to answer it.

When she returns, she grants her goodbyes. “Robert has finally gotten the car, so I'll get going. Take care.” It's a brief moment.

“We should get going too.” Daniel says as he stands up, calling out a waitress for the check.

• • • •

The ride home is quiet, and by the time they get home Daniel can tell that Armand is very pleased with himself. 

“You were rude,” he tells him as he removes his leather jacket and throws away his jewelry.

“To whom? I think we had a perfect dinner.” Armand begins to get comfortable too, as he drops away his sunglasses and belt.

“Alice didn't deserve to be treated like that. We both know that.”

“Why?” Armand asks, facing him at last. Daniel stops to look at him properly.

“What do you mean why ?”

“Why? I ask, because I could've told her how much you longed for me during the years we spent apart, during the years you spent with her ; how much you craved my touch during your stay with Louis and how you felt you could breathe again the moment I kissed you after all those decades. I could've told her how the day I turned you into a vampire was the happiest day of your life, because your soul told me so as I drained the life out of you. It was not the birth of your first daughter or of your second one, or any of your weddings, not any of your highs or the day you published your first book. It was me who made you the happiest. Me . Not her, not anyone. Me. ”

Daniel is flabbergasted. He takes a deep breath, lets it all out. He hates how right Armand is. How shitty of a person it all makes him be. How much love he feels for Armand to say so aloud.

He does not blush.

And, he has gone through enough shit not to admit Armand’s right.

“I hate how right you are,” he says, falling onto the couch. “Fuck you. Come here and let me kiss you.”

Armand follows soon after, and Daniel doesn't waste time connecting his lips with Armand's, one of the older vampire's hands reaching his hair. He sighs into the kiss.

“No problem, my beloved.” His hand travels to caress Daniel's face, a smooth motion that makes Daniel relax into it. He initiates another kiss, as if unable to prevent it after having Daniel so close.

He relishes in the feeling. He loves this man so deeply.

“Alice approached me before leaving,” Armand says again, softer this time. It was probably good for both to let it out, as they're more at ease now. “She was worried for me, I could feel her concern pouring all over.”

“Understable,” he reasons, “What did she say?”

“To be careful. To run away. She said I was mistaken if I thought I could fix you.”

Daniel nods in understanding. That's some sensible advice right there, even if it could very much apply the other way around. 

“I told her you didn't need fixing.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't fix my relationship with her. And my daughters.”

God, he doesn't want to think about any of this. He sighs.

The vampire shakes his head as he gets his remaining hand closer, until he's holding the younger vampire's head in between his hands. “You're perfect as of now.”

And fuck. Daniel knows he's not. No one's perfect because the human being is flawed by nature and blah blah blah, yeah, but out of everyone, he most definitely is not. He's come to terms with the long list of mistakes, of faults, and of harm done throughout the seven decades of life he's lived, yet he's spent the most part of it running away from any actual atonement or indemnification at the very least to those involved. He was a shitty husband, a shitty father, and a shitty person. Worst part is he's fine with it. And yet, to have someone appreciate him despite everything, to adore the rotten inside him is—

He brings Armand close for yet another kiss. It's bruising and he can taste all the love and jealousy Armand has felt this night, and it's perfect.

“Shut up. You get all romantic all of a sudden. Should I go next and mention 10 things I love about you?”

Wrong choice of words, because Armand nods, expectant.

“That was a joke,” he deadpans.

The other vampire rolls his eyes.

Daniel lets a moment settle before continuing, “Because the list is endless and of course I can't summarize it in 10 things. See, you didn't let me finish.” 

He supposes he can grant Armand's wish to end this night with the icing on the cake.

Taking Armand's hands, he guides him into the couch to lie down. Even if the coffin is the best place to sleep, there's really nothing as comforting as cuddling on the sofa. Plus, he knows just how much Armand enjoys it: he's fallen asleep a bunch of times, using the fluffy pillow he brought from his own fancy apartment, a leg hanging from the side.

It's too small to fit them, but Armand took away his laptop the last time he saw Daniel googling new couches online, and he got the hint.

“Let’s see: uh,” he suddenly gets shy but fuck it, “There's your sharp mind, uh… you're clearly good at art and know your hands around it, you could certainly write a book and— Y'know my next book could be a collaboration with you, or you can go solo, of course.”

“I haven't written in centuries.”

“Yeah, but that's like— like riding a bicycle right? You don't forget how to do it once you've learned it.”

“I don't think I ever rode a bicycle. Or at least I don't remember the last time I did it.”

“What do you mean you—?” He untangles from the embrace and gets up to look at Armand incredulously, “You used to travel around Paris in a motorcycle.”

“It's not the same. You don't pedal with a motorcycle, and I've stuck to having drivers for the past few decades.”

“Yeah, but—” He trails off, deep in thought, “Yeah, actually I can't remember the last time I rode a bicycle either. We should do it again, now that I'm not nervous about breaking a bone.”

“Let’s go next week. I'll add it to the calendar.” 

Daniel agrees, then lies again on his side on the soft surface, sandwiched between Armand and the couch backrest.

“What else?” The vampire prompts.

Right, the list. “Uh ok, well, I do envy your patience. Uh…” he keeps thinking, “There's also your obsessive nature that I somehow find attractive, um… your possessiveness —is that the right word? Well, yes but also, the protectiveness towards the people you care for, which aren't many, but yeah, I'm glad to be on the list.” 

“You’re on top of the list. And you’re the only person on it.”

He does not fucking blush.

“Are you gonna keep interrupting?”

“Please continue.”

He's extending his arms over to explain his points, “I particularly enjoy the fierceness of your emotions, how they're raw things ready to impact me in all of their splendor, and the— the curiosity you have for the world y'know? How you fucked up my blenders for your little experiments and whatnot. Then there's also your sense of humor that only comes out in special occasions and makes me try harder to make you laugh, and how you hug me when I'm pretending to be asleep in the coffin, or when you fall asleep with your iPad, and— and—”

“You've exceeded ten characteristics. It's enough.”

“Yeah, but I’m not done.”

There’s a tiny smile on Armand’s lips and Daniel kisses it faintly. 

“Please continue talking. I enjoy your voice.”

Daniel does as told. He continues listing whatever comes to his mind and immediately puts a smile just to think about it.

Armand falls asleep at some point and Daniel joins him soon after. When the night is about to end, Armand carries his lover to their coffin.

It's a romantic night, indeed.