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Chapter Text

It took Lestat a moment to realize who she was, and the moment he did, it was like he was sixteen going on seventeen all over again. Somehow, in the twenty years of his career, the two of them hadn’t managed to run into each other. Then again, he was only in New York for a few years once he left USC, and she, apparently, never left.

Lestat was only there to observe auditions for the Broadway revival of Carousel he’d been cast in. It had been a long time since he’d been approached to do a musical, but given that Claudia was now in New York, he saw it as an opportunity to be close to her during her first year at Juilliard. The hardest thing about being away from Los Angeles was leaving Daniel behind, but he had his family and Louis to look after him in Lestat’s absence.

Still, the moment he realized that the auburn haired beauty singing onstage was none other than Jesse Reeves, his thoughts immediately flew to his secret lover. Daniel Molloy was still the only person he was really seeing, and even though they were still avoiding putting any sort of label on what they were outside of casual fuck-buddies, Lestat couldn’t deny that he felt a deep affection for the old, stodgy journalist who once broke his nose defending the man they both loved.

Lestat wondered if Jesse would recognize him, even in the darkness of the theatre. He leaned over to the casting director, a no-nonsense woman by the name of Christine, and whispered in her ear.

“Her,” he said in a decisive tone, “I want her.”

“Hm,” was the only acknowledgement he received, and Jesse thanked the group sitting in front of her before she exited the stage.

Lestat wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw her glance at him out of the corner of her eye on her way out, and his heart pounded hard in his chest. Seeing her brought back a flood of memories, some of them good, and some of them incredibly painful. He didn’t pay attention to anyone else once she’d gone. He knew he had to have Jesse as his leading lady, and he’d have to figure out how to tell Daniel that the woman he’d be acting opposite of was a former fling.

Lestat knew Daniel probably wouldn’t mind, since they’d agreed from the beginning that they weren’t exclusive, but since Louis and Armand’s wedding night a few months prior, Lestat was feeling a lot less driven to see other people. He wasn’t going to fool himself, though, he knew what he was like when left to his own devices. That was one of the things he spent the most time wrestling with in his therapy sessions, his roaming eye and penchant for infidelity. Jesse, even if she didn’t know it, was a pitfall Lestat could see himself careening headlong into. Even so, Lestat knew what she was capable of as a teenager and could only imagine all the ways she’d improved as an actress. He absolutely had to have her in the cast.

He reiterated that desire to Christine one more time, happy when she concurred that it would be a good idea to bring Jesse in for a callback. There were a handful of other ladies being put on that list as well, but Lestat was settled in his choice. It would be Jesse, or no one.

Lestat took Claudia out for dinner the night before flying back to LA, still keeping that he would be near her for at least the next several months under his hat. New York seemed to suit her, but that didn’t surprise Lestat. She was his daughter, after all, and by virtue of loving the theatre, the de Lioncourts had the city in their blood.

“You look well, ma petite chérie,” he smiled at his daughter, who was smiling back at him.

“Merci, Père,” Claudia replied, hugging him tightly before she sat down across from him and started looking at her menu.

She looked happy, and healthy, and somehow more whole than Lestat had ever seen her. No longer a child and blooming into her womanhood, Lestat could still envision the four year old Louis and him adopted. Her face had changed and she’d grown into herself, but she would always be his bright eyed, exceptional, adventurous little girl. Lestat was proud of her in ways he couldn’t begin to express.

“What are you doing here, anyway,” Claudia asked once they’d placed their order.

“A father cannot visit his daughter when he wants to,” Lestat asked, making a small show of being offended by the question.

“I’m fine, Père,” the young woman insisted, “You don’t have to hover…”

“Is that what you think I’m doing,” Lestat frowned, a small jolt of genuine concern shuddering through him.

Claudia caught his expression and shook her head quickly, “No, no! I’m sorry, Père. Of course I’m glad you’re here. I’ve.. honestly, I really miss you, and Dad.”

She took a shaky breath and reached out to take his hand.

“It’s been a little scary, being out here on my own. Well,” she amended, “Almost on my own.”

“And how are things going with Ms. Eparvier,” Lestat asked.

Claudia gave a nervous laugh, “Um… okay, I guess? I’m at Juilliard and she’s at Tisch. I’m a freshman, she’s a senior. It’s… complicated.”

Lestat nodded. He knew a thing or two about complicated. Louis and him did long distance for the period of time he was in New York while Louis finished his degree. Lestat managed to behave himself for the two years they were physically separated, but he swore he’d never do a long distance thing with anyone ever again. Ironically enough, his star rose and he ended up doing long distance with Louis for a large portion of their marriage, and that turned out great for everyone involved.

“She’s not seeing someone else is she,” Lestat wondered and Claudia gave him a thoughtful look.

“I don’t think so,” she shrugged, “But it feels like high school all over again, like we’re on borrowed time.”

Lestat could relate to that feeling, too. He offered his daughter a crooked smile.

“Did I ever tell you about the year I spent abroad here,” he inquired, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear.

“Not much,” Claudia said after a moment of thought, “Just that you were here and you loved it.”

“I did,” Lestat confirmed, “I came here during a really… difficult time in my life. Nicki and I had broken up and there was…,” he cleared his throat, not really ready to dig in that deep with Claudia, yet, “But I came here and I met a couple of people who really made this place special.”

“Oh,” Claudia replied, giving him a slightly confused look.

“I’m simply trying to say that you’re in a time where exploring is okay,” Lestat explained, “You’re young, you’re in New York, and you have everything still ahead of you.”

He watched as Claudia contemplated those words before she looked up at him.

“I still really like her,” his daughter sighed.

“I know, ma chérie,” Lestat echoed her sigh, “But take it from someone who knows a thing or two about struggling when it comes to relationships, you have time to figure things out, and you should take it.”

Claudia seemed surprised for a brief moment, but her face lit up with a beautiful smile that illuminated Lestat’s whole world. He would bring down the moon for her, he would move mountains for her if she asked for it. For all the ways Lestat knew he let her down, he loved her so much that if anyone else ever hurt her, he wasn’t sure any jury would convict him for what he would do to that person. He also understood that experiencing hurt was an unfortunate part of growing up. He wouldn’t be able to protect Claudia from everything, no matter how hard he tried.

The two of them continued to chat about nothing in particular, leaving the heavier topics behind and enjoying each other’s company. Lestat saw her off as she headed back to her dorm and he strolled to his hotel, pulling out his phone to make a call.

“Hey, babe,” came the comfortingly familiar voice of Daniel, “Everything okay?”

“I believe I am the one who should be asking that, vieillard,” Lestat lobbed back as he walked, “Are you well?”

“I’m fine,” Daniel assured him, “You’re flying back tomorrow, yeah?”

“Oui,” Lestat said as he approached his hotel and meandered through the lobby, “Will you be meeting me at the airport?”

“Hell, no,” the old man laughed, “No way I’m fighting traffic to go all the way to LAX. You kidding me?”

Lestat laughed in return, “I’m stepping into an elevator, so you may lose me,” he warned.

“I doubt an elevator has what it takes to achieve that,” Daniel replied, his tone flirtatious and setting off butterflies in Lestat’s stomach.

“I think someone might be missing me, non,” Lestat decided to flirt back as he was lifted to his floor.

“Might,” Daniel conceded, “But I’m a patient man, and I’m thinking I’m gonna be seeing you tomorrow.”

“Interesting,” Lestat hummed, stepping into his room, “How can you be so sure when you won’t even meet me at the airport?”

“Oh, is dragging myself to that hellhole the condition for getting you in my bed tomorrow night,” Lestat’s paramour sounded like he was pouting.

“I guess that is up to you to find out, mon ami,” Lestat purred, “In the meantime…”

Daniel’s dark chuckle on the other end of the line turned the butterflies in Lestat’s gut into a flock of birds, all flapping and swooshing around furiously.

“You need me to talk dirty to you, babe,” the journalist asked, “Need me to tell you a little bedtime story?”

“Hmm… yes, vieillard, I do,” Lestat took his boots off and slid onto the large, soft hotel bed, “Talk to me.”

“Okay, Lestat, you win,” Daniel acquiesced, amusement in his voice, “Let’s get you nice and tired out.”

Lestat had grown to really enjoy hearing Daniel talk, his voice gruff and sensual and soothing all at once, carrying Lestat to a high precipice and then gently bringing him back down to earth when he fell from it.

He let his eyes drift closed as he listened to Daniel’s labored breathing over the speakerphone. It was hard to quantify exactly what they had become, but Lestat couldn’t find any reason to be dissatisfied with where they’d ended up. It was certainly better than being alone and better than being with a stranger. He was also really enjoying having something that was his own. He wasn't sure when it would be the right time to tell Louis about it, he wasn’t sure it would ever be a right time to tell Louis, but if that time ever did come, Lestat wouldn’t be ashamed to say he cared for Daniel a great deal.

“Goodnight, mon cher,” he murmured into the receiver.

“Goodnight, wildcat,” Daniel responded, “Safe flight tomorrow.”

They hung up and Lestat tossed himself into the shower before flopping back onto the bed, sufficiently worn out and ready for a good night’s sleep.

Lestat liked the word ‘vindication’, with all its lovely English consonants. He felt it in spades when he pushed through the doors to baggage claim to find Daniel propped up against a pillar next to the carousel carrying the cases from his flight. For someone with a neurodegenerative disease, the man looked good, and fortunately, his meds were working well for him. Lestat noticed the tremble of Daniel’s hands on occasion, but it was a rare sight.

“I see you decided not to tempt fate,” he crooned, feeling a bit victorious as he sauntered up to the man.

Daniel sighed and came off the pillar, “Well, I know better than to test my luck with you.”

“Who knows,” Lestat shrugged, “Maybe I would have been so insulted by your refusal to come to me that I would have had to come to you and make my displeasure known.”

“Sure, we can try that next time, babe,” the older looking man snorted, raising his eyebrows at Lestat obviously not believing for a second that Lestat would do any such thing, “Grab your stuff so we can get out of this godforsaken place.”

Lestat got his bag and followed Daniel out to the parking deck. As soon as his luggage was in the trunk and before either of them could get in the car, he took a moment to back Daniel up against it and give him a very long kiss. Daniel’s hands finding his waist and sliding down to squeeze his ass forced a growl out of him and Lestat leaned in a little bit closer.

“I think maybe you were the one missing me,” Daniel muttered when their lips parted.

“Take me back to yours so I may show you just how much,” Lestat demanded, tossing his hair over his shoulders.

The ride home was quiet and as rushed as it could be when faced with escaping the labyrinth that was LAX. Lestat kept a hand curved over Daniel’s knee as the man drove, his thumb stroking affectionately along the old man’s kneecap now and then. It wasn’t until they got closer to Daniel’s house that Lestat allowed to his hand to wander a bit further up, earning a small grunt for his efforts.

“Feeling a bit impatient,” Daniel asked, his eyes flicking down as Lestat gently gripped his thigh.

“You’re hardly one to judge,” Lestat pushed back as they cruised up the short driveway and Daniel turned off his vehicle.

“Come on, you brat,” his secret lover said, “I guess I gotta keep you awake until a decent time so you don’t get your ass kicked by jet lag.”

“You are too good to me, vieillard,” Lestat sighed contentedly, fishing his bag out of the trunk and bounding along behind Daniel and through his front door.

“Not that good cause I’m gonna make you eat something before we do anything else,” Daniel smirked.

Lestat made a whiny noise even as his stomach grumbled loudly at the mention of food. Lestat hated eating on planes and refused to eat in airport restaurants when he was only flying cross country. As a result, he’d had nothing since breakfast and he was quite hungry. He shuffled into Daniel’s kitchen and let the man order him around as they made something together. Daniel was no cook, and neither was Lestat, but they managed a decent meal together when they put in the effort.

Domestic scenes like this were becoming a lot more common between them. What started as the occasional hook up over the course of a few years became more frequent when Daniel became aware of his illness and when Louis married Lestat’s arch nemesis, that transformed their liaisons even further. They shared meals and baths and even enjoyed excursions together outside their homes. Those had to be carefully planned so as not to draw the attention of any paparazzi, but Lestat got a kick out of stepping out with Daniel when the conditions were favorable. When they were noticed by someone, the look on the person’s face filled him with a certain amount of glee.

“They probably think you’re my sugar baby,” Daniel stated in a flat tone one time when they returned to Lestat’s mansion from what could only be called a date.

“What would they say if they knew it was the other way around,” Lestat teased, pressing his lips to the corner of Daniel’s mouth.

Daniel was grumpy with him for the rest of the night, but Lestat made it up to Daniel by fucking the old man slow and deep into his incredibly expensive mattress.

Tonight they ate in, a simple stir fry with rice with a glass of wine for Lestat and a can of non-alcoholic beer for Daniel. They had their dinner on the couch, Lestat slinging his legs over Daniel’s lap as they watched a movie in comfortable silence.

“So how did auditions go for your leading lady,” the journalist said after a while.

Lestat smiled small, “Some promising options. I’ll need to return to New York for callbacks in a week or two.”

Daniel pushed his lips forward thoughtfully and nodded, “You tell Claudia, yet? That you’ll be there for a while?”

“Not yet,” Lestat admitted, “I would like to make sure everything is in order before I mention it to her.”

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, since you had a gig that meant you needed to be away from LA,” Daniel asked, his tone casual.

“It has,” Lestat confirmed, “But I was overdue for a longer project, and I haven’t done Broadway in decades. It feels a bit like going home.”

He thought he caught a shift in Daniel’s expression, and Lestat moved his legs so that he could scoot up next to Daniel and press his lips to the older man’s cheek.

“Does my being gone for so long worry you,” he asked, letting his fingers toy with the creases in Daniel’s t-shirt.

“Don’t know why it should,” Daniel’s gaze fell to Lestat’s hand on his chest.

Lestat’s hand moved up to settle on Daniel’s chin, moving it so he could look into the man’s eyes. He didn’t say anything, he simply looked into orbs of faded green, searching them before he leaned in and captured Daniel’s mouth in a slow kiss. Daniel adjusted himself so they could better meet each other, pulling Lestat closer.

“Mon vieillard,” Lestat murmured into his mouth, “Shall we go to bed now?”

“You know the way, babe,” Daniel whispered to him, letting Lestat bring them both to their feet and escort him to Daniel’s modest bedroom.

Lestat regarded the older man as he undressed, taking in the elderly form he’d come to admire. There were age spots and wrinkles and places the skin was no longer tight and firm, but Daniel looked like someone who lived. Lestat could only boast a picture perfect body because he was obligated to maintain one, but he didn’t think he’d mind one day looking like someone who never let how he looked on camera define what sort of shape he was in. Just thinking that caught Lestat by surprise and he paused as he disrobed, drawing Daniel’s attention.

“You okay,” the silver haired man asked, stepping into Lestat to finish undoing his pants.

“Oui,” Lestat nodded, “I was only thinking… you look very good.”

“Heh,” Daniel gave a short chuckle, “I’d argue with you, but there’s a saying ‘there’s no accounting for taste’.”

“I mean it, Daniel,” Lestat rested a hand on Daniel’s throat, stroking the fragile skin there, “You’re very handsome.”

That got a blush out of Daniel, red creeping up his neck and into his cheeks.

“Asking again, you okay,” the journalist reiterated, ever investigative.

“Daniel, mon cher,” Lestat gave Daniel a disappointed look, “We have been doing this for three years and yet you still brush me off when I compliment the way you look.”

Daniel shrugged, giving Lestat an uneasy glance.

“Can you blame me,” the man wondered, “I look like this and you look like…,” Daniel gestured to Lestat, “You could have whoever you want.”

“And I do,” Lestat stated, pulling Daniel close enough for their bodies to press up against each other, “I told you before, I like being with you. Do you not feel the same, or was coming all the way to the worst airport known to man to pick me up some form of masochism?”

“Well, I mean,” Daniel began to joke, but sighed instead, “Of course I like being with you. You’re vain and ridiculous sometimes, but yeah, you’re pretty okay.”

“‘Okay’,” Lestat’s eyes narrowed, “Just ‘okay’?”

Carefully, he pushed Daniel back onto the bed.

“Just ‘okay’,” he asked again, “I’ll show you ‘okay’, Daniel Molloy.”

Daniel was looking up at him with an expression that was a mix of intrigued and terrified and undeniably horny. Lestat had a soft spot for that look, and he crawled up over Daniel slowly, straddling the man’s hips.

“Prepare for boarding, mon coquin,” he purred as he leaned down to press his lips into every bare inch of Daniel he could see, “Your flight will be airborne shortly.”

“Wow,” Daniel laughed, but Lestat shut him up with a kiss.

“Buckle up, Daniel,” Lestat nudged one of Daniel’s nipples with his nose and finished stripping them bare, “It’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

Lestat pushed Daniel back and settled himself between the man’s thighs, occupying his mouth with the business of getting Daniel hard. Every part of Daniel was beautiful to him, but this part, especially, was his favorite. Perhaps a little maliciously, Lestat couldn’t help but feel that Louis’ loss was his gain, because some part of him thought that if the Daniel had really gone for it, Louis wouldn’t have been able resist the old man for long. Lestat didn’t last a night and not only was Daniel not even trying, he wasn’t even aware of the effect he had on others when he was simply being himself.

When Daniel was throbbing under his ministrations, Lestat pulled away with a satisfied slurp and grinned up at him. Daniel’s fingertips had buried themselves in his hair, scratching lightly at his scalp, and he was looking fondly back at Lestat. Something in Lestat’s heart felt like it came loose and locked up all at the same time.

“Come here,” Daniel said softly, tugging gently at Lestat’s soft curls.

Lestat let himself be guided up, let himself be pulled into a crushing kiss, let Daniel work his magic on him. He relished the feeling of Daniel’s aged hands caressing him, opening him up, maneuvering him so that he could slowly sink down onto the thick and filling shaft of Daniel’s delicious length.

“J'adore ta queue,” he sighed, working himself in slow undulations to begin with, reveling in the way Daniel groaned under him, “Tu me fait trop de bien…”

“You do, too,” Daniel replied, his hands seemingly unable to settle in one place, touching Lestat everywhere and setting him aflame from within.

Lestat couldn’t find anymore words to express himself. He could only hold on tightly to the man inside him until they both reached their climaxes. One thought struck him like a thunderbolt as they were coming down from their high.

How was he going to be without Daniel for six months?

Lestat was wearing Daniel’s bathrobe because he didn’t have one of his own at the man’s place. He hadn’t exactly intended to spend an entire week at Daniel’s house, but he couldn’t think of a good reason to leave. He sent Daniel off to work in the mornings and was there in the evenings when he came back, and the old man didn’t appear to be complaining about it.

The last time his life was like this was when he was still married to Louis, a time when he was meant to be content and happy. It’s not that he wasn’t, either, because Louis was a devoted, loving spouse and it was a privilege to wake up beside him in the morning and fall asleep next to him at night. Lestat appreciated that privilege far too seldomly, and squandered the trust and love Louis had for him. They’d been divorced for four years, but there were still days when the guilt felt fresh and raw. The only thing that seemed to really soothe those feelings was being with Daniel, something Lestat still couldn’t fully wrap his mind around.

The journalist was never a person of interest to Lestat prior to the divorce, but with one heated argument, Lestat felt like he had no choice but to be interested. That night of bar hopping made him realize that they had a lot in common, more than just their love of Louis. Daniel was a confirmed bachelor, refusing to be tied down for longer than maybe a year at a time. In hindsight, Lestat realized he could only count the number of people Daniel had found worthy enough to introduce to family and friends on one hand. No sooner did the old man bring someone into the circle that they were gone again. According to Louis, the excuse Daniel always gave was that they didn’t seem to fit with everyone else Daniel deemed most important in his life.

Lestat could see himself going the same way, trying out a romance here and there only to realize that they ultimately didn’t fit into the puzzle of his life for one arbitrary reason or another. None of the people he’d seen outside of Daniel in the past few years had been terrible, by any means, but Lestat never got to a point with anyone where he felt inspired to introduce them to Claudia, or even Louis.

This affair with Daniel made things even more complicated, because over the course of time, what started as seeking solace became more. They were drawn together by their mutual love for someone who was finding love with someone else. It was pain and it was coping and it was anger in the beginning, the way they collided with each other, but Lestat knew it wasn’t that anymore. He thought he knew what it might be, but he wasn’t ready to accept that as reality just yet.

Instead, he was watching Daniel with a warm expression as the journalist begrudgingly made his way through a bowl of muesli, a cereal he hated but ate because his doctor told him he had to. Lestat was having fruit and yogurt, since the man didn’t appear to really have anything that could qualify as an unhealthy breakfast in his house.

“You had better get going, vieillard, or you’ll be late,” Lestat pointed out.

”I’m only ever late when you make me late,” Daniel observed, causing Lestat to roll his eyes.

”You really must stop blaming me for your overactive libido,” he protested, a small upward quirk pulling at the hooked corner of his mouth.

Daniel smirked at him and lasciviously licked his spoon clean for Lestat to see, “I’ve never once heard you complain about my libido, babe.”

”And you never will, but even so,” Lestat gestured with his eyes to the empty bowl and then up at the analog clock hanging on the wall over the door leading out to the side yard, “Louis will fret.”

Daniel sighed and then winced, rubbing his knuckles into his solar plexus and then flexing his hand.

“Feeling a bit sore,” Lestat asked, his head tilting to one side.

“Must be something I ate,” Daniel mused, “Or I slept wrong. Or both.”

Daniel stood to put his bowl in the sink and then paused, hunching over the counter as though he was winded.

“Daniel,” Lestat stood as well, concerned, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” the older man gasped, “I’m- I’m fine.”

Daniel turned to smile at Lestat, but when he took a step towards him, Lestat had to rush to catch the man as he gripped his arm and suddenly pitched forward.

“Daniel,” Lestat cried out, sinking down with his lover to the kitchen floor, “Daniel, what’s wrong?”

“Think,” Daniel groaned, “Think you need- need to call-,” he made a pained sound that sent panic ripping through Lestat.

He gently laid Daniel down and pulled his phone from his pocket, punching out 9-1-1. He kept his hand on Daniel’s chest, rubbing it in slow circles.

“It’s going to be okay,” Lestat said, trying to keep himself calm, even as fear set his heart racing, “It’s going to be- Hello,” he said as the call connected, “Hello! Yes, I’m- my boyfriend, I think he’s having a heart attack. What do I- yes, I’ll do that. The address,” Lestat quickly relayed the information to the emergency provider then listened as he was given a few more instructions before hanging up.

The first thing he did was prop Daniel up in a seated position against the kitchen island, “Stay with me, Daniel,” he pleaded with the man, who had gone eerily silent on him over the course of the call, “Stay with me.”

It wasn’t long before he heard sirens, but his eyes remained fixed on Daniel, who was staring, as if unseeing, into the middle distance. He left Daniel just long enough to let the paramedics in and they immediately got to work, hoisting Daniel onto a gurney and wheeling him outside.

“May I ride with him,” Lestat asked, terrified of being separated from the man.

“And you are…,” one of the men loading Daniel into the ambulance asked.

“His boyfriend,” Lestat declared, his expression hopeful.

Lestat expected to get a strange look or comment about the age difference, but all he got was a permissive nod. He practically launched himself, bathrobe and all, into the back of the ambulance and settled himself exactly where he was told. The paramedics began their work of trying to stabilize Daniel before he got to the hospital and Lestat thought he heard the man trying to speak.

“Wait,” he called out, coming up close so that he could hear what Daniel was saying, “What is it, Daniel?”

“If-,” the older man wheezed, “If you’re gonna- start using the word… boyfriend,” Daniel struggled through the words, “Then I think- it’s time we tell Louis.”