Chapter Text
This is stupid.
That is all Louis can think of as he sits at the table, drumming his fingertips against the white tablecloth and nervously looks around the crowded restaurant. He hasn’t wanted to do this, has been more or less forced into it by his sister, and now he is pretty sure he’s been stood up.
Blind dates. Seriously? He should have never agreed to it! The only reason he did was to get Grace off of his back. Her constant nagging about his lack of a romantic life constantly works its way under his skin, and now he is paying the price in total growing humiliation.
Grace has reassured him multiple times that the chosen date was great, and a nice guy Levi met through his work colleagues. Also? Definitely his type. That is what Grace has said, but she cannot have any idea what his type even is because it sure as hell isn’t someone who is going to stand Louis up.
Louis makes his mind up and rises from the chair, pushing his hands down upon the table as he does. As he stands up and turns to go, he is face to face with someone walking straight into him.
Louis sputters as he falls back, hitting the table hard. He bounces off it and then he’s on the restaurant floor. The impact is loud, but the tablecloth he has been grasping comes sliding down and so do the plates and cutlery. Restaurant staff members all rush over to check on him. It is absolutely mortifying. Louis wants the earth to swallow him up whole.
Taking the chance, because he has nothing left to lose now, Louis looks up, glaring at the guilty party who remains standing there, staring down in horror at him.
Louis is momentarily struck dumb as he takes in what he sees.
Broad shouldered, slim waisted, tall, with shoulder length blond waves of shining hair and eyes the color of—
Is it blue? Grey? Both?
Whatever the shade, Louis has never seen such a mix before. This man, this very rude man, who has caused the issue at hand, is gorgeous. His stare is deep, and those bedazzling eyes could very well convince Louis that this moment isn’t so bad. That this isn’t as horrendous as he believes and—
There is a twinge of pain in his lower back and that is what’s able to snap Louis out of that stranger’s stare.
“What the hell!” Louis exclaims furiously. He moves carefully to sit up, tries to push away the fact that his pride is hurting more than his body, and intensifies his glare up at this stranger.
“Please, accept my sincerest apologies,” his would be assailant pleads. “Here, let me help you up,” he proceeds to offer, stretching his hand out.
Louis is tempted to smack it away, but doesn’t. Their hands join, and he is pulled up quickly, his body leaning against the man for a small moment. He can feel the firm muscle against his own body and it is admittedly nice.
It has been so long and—
And Louis remembers himself a second later! This isn’t some daydream he has on the regular. This is a real live person, and a stranger at that, and Louis somehow manages to compose himself enough to not be a total disaster of a human being.
He pushes the stranger away and steps to the side, sheepishly casting his sight downwards to the now mess covered restaurant floor. This is absolutely horrifying. He cannot believe the lack of luck in his life! Not only has he been stood up, but now he’s made a fool of himself in front of a restaurant full of strangers.
“I’m sorry,” the mystery man repeats in a somewhat earnest tone. After all, Louis can’t be sure. “Forgive me?”
“It’s nothing,” Louis mutters, continuing to avert his eyes from the piercing incandescent gaze before him. “No harm done. Don’t worry about it.”
The servers have already cleared up the mess left behind him by now. They’re very good at their jobs, and Louis huffs out and shoves his hands into his coat pockets. This has been such a waste of time. Grace is going to get an earful when he’s home!
The man remains standing before him, and Louis braves a look at him again. He’s being looked at very intensely, and it makes him uncomfortable.
“Something on my face?” Louis asks roughly. It isn’t intentional, but it also can’t be helped considering his body is still stinging and his ego is bruised from how mortifying this night has become.
And then, then it becomes so much worse.
“You’re… are you, Louis?” The man asks him very slowly. There is realization dawning upon the man’s face, and perhaps a bit of hope? Is that what Louis spies in his expression?
Louis’ eyes widen. No way. There is absolutely no way! What has he done wrong in life to deserve such a fate? Has he done something absolutely unforgivable in a past life? Is that it?
“You’re… you’re Lestat?” Louis hesitantly croaks out. He can barely speak as it is now. It feels like there’s a chokehold around his throat. Every moment since Louis has made a fool out of himself by crashing to the floor has been worse than the prior one.
The man, no, Lestat, nods his head and chuckles.
Louis wants the restaurant floor to open up and swallow him whole into the void. The void seems so enticing right about now. He wants very much to meet it.
Lestat glances down for a quick moment, and bites at his bottom lip as he smiles. The way that looks shouldn’t even be legal because it’s so… very appealing.
Louis hates himself for thinking that. He really needs to get out of here before he says something so idiotic that there will be no coming back from it.
“I suppose this isn’t the way I had envisioned meeting you and now our first impression has been an absolute mess,” Lestat murmurs, glancing back up at Louis with a kind smile. “But yes, Louis, I’m Lestat. Your brother-in-law, Levi, has told me so much about you.”
He’s flustered now. Louis hates the way his cheeks burn from how embarrassed he is. This isn’t how he had envisioned this blind date going either, yet here they are, right here, and Louis wants to crawl into a hole. Any hole. Maybe a walk in will do? He’s sure the restaurant has one around to try out.
“Grace said we’d have a lot in common,” Louis murmurs in acknowledgment.
Grace doesn’t know shit about him. That’s pretty clear. For all the good his sister tries, this isn’t one of those moments. This is a disaster. A total loss. The worst. A big, bright, neon flashing, red, no.
Lestat smiles broadly, his face instantly transforming from some kind of real life marble carving of a God into a very attractive, very inviting and beautiful young man.
Louis finds himself reverting from his mortified state into a better hazy state of mind. He’s pleasantly warm, and he thinks he could look into those gorgeous eyes for longer this time.
Louis quickly catches himself and snaps out of it.
Damn, it’s been so long since he gotten laid. He’s got to calm down!
“Would it be wrong of me to hope we could begin again?” Lestat asks, those unearthly grey eyes keeping contact with Louis’ now less hazy stare. “Please?”
“I fell into the table and hit the floor,” Louis mutters, embarrassment lingering in his body language. “I don’t think we can go back.”
“Nonsense,” Lestat disagrees and waves a dismissive hand at him. “Come on, Louis,” he encourages as he turns and begins to walk out of the restaurant. “I know a far better place for us to go to!”
Louis stands there, stands still, watching Lestat’s retreating form, and he feels absolutely insane for even considering this. This isn’t even something he’s wanted to do in the first place! He doesn’t do blind dates! Especially blind dates with men who have ended up walking right into him, which in turn cause him to smash right to the ground! It’s been so humiliating and yet…
Louis begins to follow after; the enthusiasm in every step Lestat takes drawing him in.
It’s got to be the curiosity of wanting to know where exactly Lestat plans to take him. It’s got to be his lack of sex in around seven months. It’s got to be boredom at hand.
That’s it. It’s definitely nothing more.
This is stupid.
Louis thinks about just how stupid it is as he follows Lestat for blocks around the city, listening to his blind date happily sing show tunes while he continues to lead Louis to wherever the hell his intended destination actually is.
Louis allows his hunger to take front and center stage, convincing himself it is the sole reason he continues to follow after this strange man his sister and brother-in-law have been so sure he would hit it off with.
He’s been waiting to eat for hours, made sure to have a small lunch so he’d have an actual appetite for dinner, but now it’s been too many since he’s had a thing to eat and he’s absolutely starving. This is the sole reason why he’s so willingly following after this strange yet engaging man.
The hunger. That’s it. Nothing more to it.
Lestat pauses, dramatically turns to the left and waves a hand at Louis to follow. “Here! Here we are! Vite maintenant! Allez, Louis!” Lestat calls out to him, his French accent making Louis roll his eyes.
Louis follows after and what he expects is not at all what he sees.
“A food truck?” He asks, sounding as let down as he feels. They’ve walked all this way for a food truck of all things?
“Don’t sound so disappointed, mon bel ami,” Lestat replies and turns to flash Louis a wide, brilliantly delighted smile. “I promise you that it is well worth our walk! The tacos are absolutely magnificent!”
“Lestat, we were at a four star restaurant,” Louis begins as calmly as is possible. He’s quite put off right now and tempted to leave. “I made reservations there. I waited there. You were late. You didn’t even care and acted like it wasn’t a big deal and now you bring me here, to a goddamn food truck?” With every sentence he speaks, Louis’ voice rises as the upset and the annoyance he has felt make their presence very known to any who are near them right now.
The food truck owner clears his throat. “The usual, Lestat?” he asks awkwardly.
Louis’ face floods with heated embarrassment and shame. He’s made an absolute fool of himself again. He doesn’t even know Lestat! He doesn’t even want to be on this blind date right now! He should have never agreed to it in the first place!
Louis looks away, unable to have the man look at him right now.
Lestat sharply turns his head towards the food truck owner, and nods his head. “Yes please, Johnny. Thank you.”
Shame continues to flood his senses, and Louis wonders how much his mother would berate him were she alive right now. If she were to find out how atrociously he had just behaved in public, in front of strangers.
He’s been raised so much better than to behave this way. It’s the hunger. It is! He’s just hungry! So hungry!
So lonely.
“Louis, please accept my apologies for the lateness of my arrival tonight,” Lestat says gently, all excitement having left his tone. “I am sorry. Time slipped my mind. Please, can’t we start this again?”
“Again,” Louis laughs and shakes his head. “For the third time?”
“Is the third time not the charm?” Lestat asks and the hope is so very loud in his voice. Louis hears it before he’s turning his face and seeing it for himself all in Lestat’s expression. The hope, the smile, which shouldn’t even be allowed to exist because it’s so gorgeous, and the way his grey eyes seem to light up under the glow of city lights.
“Shall I beg then?” Lestat asks, taking a step closer, then another, and one more. Louis can smell his cologne, musky and expensive. “Would you like me on my knees, Louis?”
They don’t know each other. They’re complete strangers, but Lestat asks that and Louis can’t help but imagine a moment in which Lestat is right there on his knees, doing something other than begging for Louis to please try again for their date tonight.
Louis swallows, shakes the images out of his treacherous head and then nods at Lestat.
“Okay,” he murmurs. “Okay, fine. We can try again, for the third time. But that’s it. You got that? No more chances if you blow this one!”
Lestat laughs, claps his hands and reaches out to grab at Louis’ wrist. He tugs, and Louis is so taken aback by it that he can’t find the words to speak aloud. He barely reacts and Instead allows himself to be pulled closer to the food truck.
“I hope you like tacos, but if you do not, you will. I am confident in this,” Lestat is telling him but all Louis can concentrate on is how warm Lestat’s hand is as he keeps a hold on Louis’ wrist. He focuses on the way Lestat’s fingertips press against his pulse point.
“All done!” Johnny announces.
Louis snaps out of it and laughs as he looks up. “It smells so good,” Louis politely offers.
“Just wait until you taste it, Louis,” Lestat practically moans. “You’ll see heavenly stars on this night!”
That makes Louis laugh. The enthusiasm and passion that Lestat seems to have for these tacos does draw him in, and Louis accepts his own paper plate. Lestat’s fingers unwrap from around his wrist and the two walk side by side, to sit down upon an empty bench.
The hunger Louis has intensifies as the smell of their meal fills his senses, but he manages to control himself as he takes the first bite of his taco.
Goddamn. It’s as good as Lestat has been telling him it would he.
“Damn,” Louis whispers very, very quietly.
Not quietly enough! Lestat begins to laugh at him! “I told you! I told you, Louis! I told you! It was well worth the many blocks we walked to get here!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Louis agrees and licks his lips to get at the sauce that remains there. “You were right and I was just hangry. Can we please just eat? I’m starving!”
Lestat doesn’t respond, not with words, but he does chuckle at Louis before concentrating on his own meal.
It’s a calm lull that Louis appreciates, and he doesn’t feel the embarrassment as much as he did minutes before. The quiet is almost comfortable, and when they’ve finished eating, they rise to dispose of their plates and napkins.
Louis stands a bit away, feels somewhat awkward and shoves his hands into his coat pockets.
“It is late,” Lestat mentions casually. “May I walk you home?”
Louis shakes his head. “I’d rather take an Uber. I live pretty far.”
“May I call for my own car then?” Lestat offers with a kind smile. “I have my own private driver so you would not need to pay a fee like with an Uber.”
“That’s a nice thing to offer but you really don’t have to,” Louis insists as he stands firm on this.
“I insist,” Lestat further presses on. “It is my fault we did not have dinner at the restaurant. My lateness caused it and I wish to make up for it now.”
“You already did,” Louis reminds him. “With the tacos?”
Lestat laughs, shaking his head at Louis. “You are very stubborn. Did you know?”
Louis shrugs. “Just pointing out facts,” he says softly.
Lestat’s laughter fades, and he watches Louis with a serious expression upon his face. He doesn’t seem angry, that isn’t it at all, but there is something that Louis cannot immediately pinpoint and that makes Louis uncomfortable again.
“I am trying to be kind, Louis,” Lestat says very quietly. “I have no other intentions. May I please do this for you? The car will come for me regardless. Why not join me?”
There is a moment of silence that passes, and then Lestat begins to smile in a way Louis can only describe as devilishly. “I don’t bite,” he teases.
The whiplash of emotions that Louis has seen within Lestat in such a short amount of time should be alarming.
Louis quirks a brow up at that. “You promise you don’t bite?”
Lestat sways forward, closer to Louis; closer to diminishing what Louis regards as a needed space between them, and fervently nods his head. “I promise! I am a gentleman, Monsieur Louis. Would you like to pinky promise?”
“You serious?” Louis asks, unable to hide his amusement and bewilderment over this man. “You’re a strange guy. Anyone told you that before?”
They are toe to toe when Lestat throws his head back to laugh at what Louis has asked him. The laughter is light, nearly maniacal, and somewhat concerning, but Louis doesn’t feel much worry over it. There’s no vibe here that Lestat is dangerous. He’s just a weird guy. A really, really eccentric guy.
Besides, it’s not like he’s going to ever see Lestat again after this night is over. There’s absolutely no way! They don’t mesh well. There’s no potential for anything more than what this disaster of a blind date has been.
The laughter soon fades.
“Louis,” Lestat says lowly, gazing into his eyes. “The car is here.”
Louis swallows, unsure of why he’s been momentarily caught off guard by the close proximity between them. He steps back a bit too quickly from being startled and wonders if this is actually happening. If he’s actually going to end up falling twice in one night.
It turns out that he won’t be.
Lestat reaches for him, his arm quickly snaking around Louis’ middle to pull him forward and stabilize him from the near fall. “I’ve got you,” he chuckles and tightens his hold around Louis’ waist. “Has anyone ever told you that you are quite clumsy?”
Louis rolls his eyes and wrenches Lestat’s arm off of him. “I’m not clumsy,” he grumbles and crosses his arms over his chest in a show of petulant and childish upset. “Seems to me I wasn’t falling until you came into the picture!”
“If that is how you see it,” Lestat says agreeably. “Now, it is cold, and late. Please, if you would?” Lestat waves to the car, to the door, and opens it himself. This seems to confuse his driver, who has exited the car to apparently open the door for them. Lestat waves his driver away, and then looks at Louis once more. “Please?”
With a very loud and annoyed huff, Louis gives in and nods. He ignores the triumphant way that Lestat smiles and gets inside the car, sliding in and settling upon the fine leather seat. It’s an expensive car, one he could never afford, and even if he had the money he still wouldn’t waste it like this. It’s nice, though, and Louis looks over at Lestat once he is seated as well.
“A Roll’s Royce?” Louis cannot help asking.
Lestat sighs, brushing his golden hair back behind his ears. “A family car,” he explains. “Father left it to me when he passed.”
Louis whistles low. “Damn, you old money or something?”
“If that is the term you wished to use, then yes, I suppose I am old money or something,” Lestat answers and laughs a little about it. “My family history is long and dramatic, but we have always had wealth. I don’t think of it.”
“Things rich people say,” Louis chuckles under his breath.
Lestat raises a finely sculpted eyebrow. “Your family does not lack for money, Louis. I have accounts with your brother-in-law, and Grace has mentioned your own business with pride the few times that I have met her.”
“We worked for it, it’s different,” Louis disagrees. “My grandfather and father worked themselves down to the bone to give us the privilege we had growing up.”
“To grant their family a legacy,” Lestat says. “That is something to be proud of, to brag over. My wealth did not come from such honesty and hard work.”
“I didn’t want to assume, but since you’re French-French,” Louis murmurs. He regrets it only seconds later when he notices the pink tint upon Lestat’s perfectly shaped cheeks.
“French-French,” Lestat repeats. “Is that meant to be an insult? And here I had believed we were beginning to get along well.”
It is Louis’ turn to burn up with embarrassment. He knows what he has said was rude, but it wasn’t intentional! “Sorry,” Louis mumbles out. “I didn’t– that’s not how it was meant to come out. I’m not trying to be rude to you!”
“You could have fooled me,” Lestat laughs, but none of this is funny. This entire night has been one disaster after the other. “I have been kind, willing to try and make the best of this night. You have pushed against my every attempt.”
“It’s not like that,” Louis whines. He’s mortified! He has actually whined at Lestat! He hasn’t even known this man for a day, and here Louis is, acting like he is comfortable enough to behave like this! He swallows, looking down at his hands. “Look, I’m sorry. This has been a pretty awful time for the both of us.”
“I suppose, if you say it has,” Lestat mutters out.
“I’ll tell Grace it went great,” Louis says. “I’ll tell her we had an awesome date. She’ll tell Levi the same, and then I can just… not mention it again.”
“If that is how you wish to go about it, Louis, then I will do the same,” Lestat replies, softer now. “A pity, though. I had believed it went slightly better than what you claim now. It seems that I was the sole believer of such.”
It’s awkward silence after all has been said and done. Louis keeps his eyes set upon the window, gazing out as he is driven home. He mentions they’re a block away, sounding strangled, and it’s because he can barely find it in himself to speak. He knows he’s been rude, knows he’s been offensive, and he hates himself for it.
These are his issues, and he’s taken them out on a stranger. He’s been downright cruel and he can hardly apologize for it. They don’t even know one another save for the few hours they have spent together tonight. It’s all so uncomfortable, and Louis is softly thanking Lestat for the ride as he exits the car and quickly rushes up the steps to his apartment entrance.
Once he has reached his floor and his door, Louis quickly unlocks it and slams it shut behind them. His back hits the door and he covers his face, hating and hating himself for the person he is and the choices he makes. So many choices, so many mistakes.
He takes his pain out on others. He takes his frustrations and allows them to influence his every moment, every word, and even every step that he takes. The worst part is that he is so aware of it, of how wrong his behavior is, but does nothing to change it.
As his hands slide down, to rest against his chest, Louis exhales the breath that he feels he’s been holding since he left the car. He sees it all again in his head, the visible hurt across Lestat’s face, and hears the change in his tone, the bitterness and upset at Louis for what he has so carelessly said.
He is an idiot. He is a jerk. This is why Louis keeps to himself, and why he concentrates on his business and nothing more. He doesn’t need to pull anyone into his personal web of bullshit and despair.
His phone goes off and he knows, oh, Louis knows, it is Grace wanting to know how the date went. He knows this and refuses to respond, refuses to do anything other than drag himself into a much-needed shower and then get right into bed.
.
It is five in the morning when he wakes from barely sleeping and he throws his phone to the floor. He rolls to his stomach, buries his face into his pillow and screams.
Louis wishes that he wasn’t an adult. He wishes he didn’t have a business to run. He wishes his parents were alive and that they could provide for the family so that he could remain in bed for as long as he wishes to. He wishes for so many things, but wishes are useless and reality is harsh.
It is unforgiving and painful.
Louis punches his mattress and throws himself onto his back. His eyes open to glare up at the ceiling and he takes in a deep breath.
He holds it, holds it, and–
Exhales.
Alive. Louis is very much alive and has so many tasks to complete today.
The renovation of Café du Lac is going well, and many of the books that he has ordered will be arriving today. Louis knows he is taking a chance by turning his family’s business into a book café, but it is his to run and he sees the fantastic potential of what it can become.
Besides, what goes better than coffee and a book to read and/or buy?
He readies himself quickly after that and heads out, catching an Uber to get to work. Despite the renovations, they’re still open and Louis has much more to prepare before he unlocks the doors for the morning rush.
The familiar brick building meets his eyes as he steps out of the Uber, and Louis feels that sense of home coming over him. This is his. This is all he has to show in life.
Louis quickly rushes to the door, and nods at the young man waiting there for him.
“Hey, Boss,” Daniel greets him rather enthusiastically considering how early in the morning it still is. “Have a good night?”
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Louis roughly answers and unlocks the door so that they may enter. He hears Daniel lock it and turns to watch his friend and coworker. “What about you? Have a good night, Danny boy?”
Daniel rolls his eyes. “Don’t call me that,” he snaps. “And yeah, I really did! I met this guy online and we’ve been talking for a while. We finally decided to make a go of it and have a date planned for later this week.”
Louis chuckles as he wipes down the counter. “You sure he’s not a serial killer? I don’t want to be the one having to tell your mom some guy killed her only son.”
Daniel huffs about the comment from behind him and turns the sink on to wash his hands. “He’s not a serial killer, damn. That was one time, and the guy was already in prison! We were pen pals, Louis! This is different.”
Louis pauses, admiring the shine to the wood he’s cleaned, and looks up at Daniel.
“Why is it different?” he must ask. They’ve been through this so many times. Louis has seen his friend go from heartbreak to heartbreak and frankly he doesn’t understand why Daniel keeps trying.
His therapist would go straight for codependency and daddy issues, but Louis isn’t going to mention that at this early in the morning.
“It just is different,” Daniel says with a shrug. “It feels different, and I trust that feeling, and I want to go for it, for him.”
Louis sighs, knowing his friend has made up his mind and there is no changing it. When Daniel has something in mind, he’s completely stubborn and won’t let it go until he has seen it to fruition. This is especially what goes on with the string of endless men Daniel has dated in the entirety of their friendship.
“Well, I hope this one goes well,” Louis offers in earnest. That’s all he’s got to offer, too. Nothing else is going to be what Daniel wants to hear, and despite what Daniel often thinks, Louis doesn’t enjoy upsetting him.
Daniel seems at ease with it, smiling at Louis before he returns to preparing for the day. They have an hour left before opening and Louis moves through the café, checking off his list as he works through it. By the time he has finished, he smells espresso and coffee brewing and smiles to himself.
The scents are comforting, bring him back to childhood and the way he would frequent the café while his grandfather and father worked together. He fondly recalls being sixteen and officially starting his own job here, and how he’d burned the coffee so badly the smell didn’t leave the whole of the cafe for an entire day.
This is his family’s legacy.
He thinks it and is immediately brought back to last night and Lestat’s voice, the deep timbre of it, and the way his accent would shape the words differently when it would make an appearance. He thinks about his date and how terribly it all went, but it simply wasn’t meant to be, most definitely not. Louis hadn’t even wanted to go in the first place! It was never going to end up any way but badly.
Grace’s texts from last night and this morning continue to blow up his phone. He knows she will soon tire of being ignored and either call or show up at the café in person. It doesn’t matter that she just had the twins a few months ago; their family anger is deep and hot and cannot be contained. A trait passed on to them by their not so dearly departed mother.
Louis wonders how she’s doing now, burning in hell. He wonders if her bibles and all her prayers are helping her out while she’s in Lucifer’s company.
With a shake of his head, Louis refocuses and finishes with prep before he unlocks the doors of the cafe. Regulars quickly begin to appear, and Louis is at the counter, chatting animatedly with an older gentleman when a familiar voice calls out to him.
“Louis, my brother!” Levi calls out merrily. “Morning!”
Louis bids the elderly customer goodbye, and then turns to greet his brother-in-law with a smile.
Only the smile then immediately fades when Louis registers that Levi is very much not alone
“Good morning, Louis,” Lestat kindly greets him with a polite nod from where he stands at Levi’s side. “You are looking well.”
“Lestat and I wanted to grab some coffee before we head to the office. We’re going over the contacts for shipping so that the cafe can get international books,” Levi explains. It seems his brother-in-law is none the wiser about the absolute disaster of a date that Louis and Lestat had last night.
Good, good. Louis finds himself relieved about it, but perturbed by Lestat’s presence in his place of business. What he finds bothers him more is Lestat’s lack of care in acting as if they’ve never had an issue.
Because the man is beaming at Louis right now. He practically has stadium lights shining upon his face by how bright of a smile he sports.
It is unnerving.
“Sounds great,” Louis says, hoping the tension he feels isn’t seen or heard. “I hadn’t realized that we were going with Lioncourt. I actually hadn’t put two and two together and realized that Lestat’s family owns the distribution company.”
“It is one our many companies,” Lestat explains and winks at Louis.
His lips twitch to frown, but Louis keeps calm.
“Then, I’m glad we can be partners,” Louis says very, very evenly.
“As am I, Louis,” Lestat practically sings. “Ah, to a beautiful new relationship, oui?”
“Oui!” Daniel exclaims happily from behind them. “Your coffees are all ready!”
“C’est parfait!” Lestat says and claps his hands. “I cannot wait to try this delicious coffee! Levi and Grace have talked my ear off about it.”
Louis ducks his head and turns on his heel, heading over to where the baked goods are keeping warm. He eyes them, then takes two danishes to give to his guests.
One welcome guest, and one so very not.
“Take a seat?” Louis asks as he rounds the counter and hands a plate to Levi. “You’re my guests. I want you comfortable. Especially you, Lestat. I want you to see and to taste what your company is a partner of.”
“Hmm, thank you,” Lestat says as he accepts his own plate. “It smells incredible,” he adds, raising the coffee in acknowledgment.
Louis smiles, real and true, finding great pride in his work. The three take a seat by a window while Daniel man’s the register.
“Go on,” Louis encourages and nods his head at Lestat. “Take a sip. I promise it’s real good, the best you’ll ever have.”
Levi laughs then, and Louis raises an eyebrow at his brother-in-law. That laughter has come on so randomly and Louis isn’t sure what’s so funny?
With a shake of his head, Levi clears his throat and sips at his coffee.
Lestat suddenly moans. He moans and Louis’ eyes widen in surprise, while Levi chokes and sputters on his coffee.
“Louis,” Lestat breathes, his grey eyes wide, his pupils blowing out now. “This is… incredible. The best I have ever had. I cannot imagine having any other now that I have had yours!”
Levi gasps, wipes at his lips with a napkin.
Louis reaches out, smacking his brother in law on the back. “You good, man?”
“We’ve got to go!” Levi gasps, shaking Louis’ hand away. “Lestat, we’ve got to get those contacts signed and sealed!”
“But we have only just arrived and I would like to try another drink,” Lestat complains.
“Daniel, can we get a latte to go?” Levi calls out, sounding strangled.
Louis is so incredibly confused.
Lestat sighs, seeming to give in and rises. Louis follows, and they walk together to the counter, side by side, and as Lestat leans against it, he drums his perfectly manicured nails against the wood.
Louis watches, interested. “I didn’t notice your nails last night. They’re nice,” he murmurs. And they are. They’re quite nice, pleasing to the eye. Black, yet there’s a reddish color fading upwards.
Louis likes it. He didn’t know he liked this kind of thing on a man until right now
“Thank you,” Lestat says. “You should come with me one day, have a manicure yourself. It is very relaxing, Louis.”
Louis laughs, going all warm in the face and shakes his head. “No, no, I’m good. Just admiring the look of your nails. That’s all!”
“The offer remains,” Lestat says, accepting the latte from Daniel. “Levi will give you my number?”
“Yeah, sure,” Levi answers then. “Come on, come on. Let’s go. Nice to see you, Louis. Make sure to call your sister!”
Lestat offers Louis a wave before he is rushed out of the cafe. Louis stands there, unsure of what happened exactly, but aware that something definitely did.
“He’s hot,” Daniel says, standing at his side.
“Daniel, please clean the mess you’ve made up,” Louis demands and mentally shrugs away the comment. He doesn’t care about what Lestat de Lioncourt looks like! Or that people think he is hot! He doesn’t care at all!
Louis repeats it to himself mentally as he washes his hands and thinks about Lestat’s hands.
Nice hands, big, with long elegant fingers. His nails, painted so nicely, showing how well the man is taken care of. And why wouldn’t he be? He’s absolutely loaded, and Louis is so aware of that now that he knows who Lestat’s family is. He’s definitely read about them in Forbes magazine some time in the past.
Lestat de Lioncourt, his two brothers, and his widowed mother, left even richer with the passing of the family patriarch.
How hasn’t he realized it before? He’s seen Lestat’s picture in magazines when he’s flipped through them during down time at the cafe. He’s read articles about his family! How was he able to forget Lestat’s face?
It’s insane. Everything about this situation has been.
“You’re going to call him, right?” Daniel asks. “Louis, he’s so hot and he’s so rich. Come on, make sure Levi gives you that number!”
“Now why would I ever do that?” Louis asks, keeping his breathing even. “I’ve got lots to do for the cafe relaunch. No time for anything else. Please don’t bring it up again, okay?”
Daniel sighs and throws his hands up in defeat. “Fine, but you could really do worse than Lestat de Lioncourt.”
.
“You’ve been avoiding me, big brother,” Grace chastises Louis the moment he steps foot into her home. Their home. Their childhood home, now Grace and Levi’s along with their twins.
“Sis, I’m busy and you know it,” Louis says as he takes a seat. He gets comfortable and sighs from just how good it feels to sit back and relax.
“You are not too busy to text me back, bro,” Grace retorts. “I’ve been waiting all day to find out how your date went with Lestat! Louis, he is so handsome!”
“Looks aren’t everything,” he mutters under his breath.
“Louis!” Grace exclaims in surprise. “Did it not go well? That’s impossible! He’s your match! I know it, and you know I don’t take your love life lightly!”
“Grace, it’s none of your business,” Louis disagrees. “Besides, he definitely isn’t my match. We couldn’t be more different.”
“Did you even speak to him?” Grace asks, looking and sounding confused. “This doesn’t make sense. You have so much in common?”
“Gracie, the twins got you exhausted as hell,” Louis says. “I got nothing in common with that man.”
“Now I know you’re lying,” Grace says sternly, reminding him of their mother. That’s quite a frightening thought. “You didn’t give him a chance. Is that it? You did what you always do!”
“Hey, I didn’t come around to be yelled at,” Louis says as he begins to stand up. Grace is there, rushing in front of him, pressing a careful hand to his chest.
“Please don’t go,” she begs. “Louis, this isn’t okay. You’re pushing everyone away. You’ve been doing this since Mama passed and—“
“And I work every day at the cafe, Sis! I work every single day to keep the business going! I work and have all these plans going to expand and renovate so we can keep our properties, so we can keep living this life. Sorry if I don’t have time to date some white boy,” Louis says quickly, so quickly that he’s out of breath by the end of it.
His breathing comes out shallow, and he closes his eyes as Grace’s hands come to rest upon his shoulders.
“Louis, you aren’t alone in this,” his sister gently reminds him. “Levi is there to help. I am here, too. We have lawyers and Daddy’s old business partner—“
“No, don’t trust them,” Louis murmurs. “No, just family. We need to keep it in the family.”
“Then, please, won’t you let Levi take the reigns a little bit so you can have a well deserved break?” Grace asks, sliding her hands up to hold his face. “Louis, you need to live life. You can’t keep yourself from it anymore. It’s not healthy.”
He doesn’t answer. What can he say? He knows his sister is right. He knows that he’s been absorbed in the business and his planning to distract from all the things that are wrong with him. He knows this, but he can’t seem to stop it.
It’s easier to barrel through each day, keeping himself so busy that he doesn’t have the time to think of anything other than work.
It is in the quiet that the sadness and grief begin to creep in.
Louis cannot allow it to take hold of him. He can’t allow himself to be lost in it.
Louis cannot allow himself to crumble.
“Maybe I can take one day off,” he finally offers in a whisper. His eyes open, and he begins to smile because Grace is beaming down at him. Her smile is infectious and Louis cannot resist. He doubts anyone can keep a straight face if Grace gives them the gift of her bright, beautiful smile.
“Oh, Louis, I’m so relieved,” she rasps. “I’ve been so worried. This is wonderful. Why don’t you stay for dinner? Levi will be home soon! And while we wait, you can explain to me what exactly went wrong last night on your date?”
Louis feels red in the face, but Grace pats his cheeks playfully. “Let’s go, Louis. Give your sister something to talk about. I barely speak to adults now with the twins. I need this!”
He laughs and finally nods, and soon Grace is sitting at his side and he begins to explain everything that went wrong, and his own mistakes and rudeness that led to the dissolution of what could have possibly been a better end to his date with Lestat.
Levi soon arrives, and they sit together at the dinner table. He has brought take out, and Grace is over the moon about it because she hasn’t had any time to cook a thing.
As they eat, Levi keeps glancing Louis’ way. Eventually, he can’t take it anymore and glares at his brother-in-law. “What is it? Something on my face?”
Levi coughs, but shakes his head at Louis. “You gonna call Lestat?” Levi asks. “That boy wouldn’t shut up about your coffees the entire time we were going over paperwork. He kept saying it was the best he’s ever had. At one point he compared it to whatever the hell the God’s drank.”
“Ambrosia,” Grace informs her husband.
Levi nods. “Thanks, honey cake. Yeah, ambrosia. You got this boy comparing your latte to something a God would consume and you’re iffy on calling him? Wake up, Louis!”
“We don’t mesh,” Louis says and knows he sounds like a broken record.
“That’s a damned lie and you know it,” Levi says. “I saw the way you two were talking at the cafe! The back and forth! You were flirting with him!”
Louis’ jaw drops. “I was not!”
“Hells yeah you were! Grace, you should’ve seen your brother. He was absolutely shameless in the flirting, even if he claims he didn’t mean to or that it was unintentional. He’s got Lestat whipped!” Levi and Grace share a laugh at that.
Louis doesn’t find it funny. Not at all.
“Louis, call the man,” Grace begs of him. “If Levi of all people is saying this, then it’s true. What’s wrong with it anyway? It’s just another date! And with you calling, you can choose the location! You can have the control!”
Louis shakes his head no, but as his sister’s suggestion begins to settle in his mind, he wonders if Grace is right. It can’t be as bad as their first date if Louis is the one to plan it, right?
Louis finds it difficult to think of much else as the night comes to an end. He’s given leftovers of the take out and then on his way back across the city to his apartment.
It’s late, but not late enough that he thinks someone close to his age will be sleeping, and it’s why he settles back into his head and gazes down thoughtfully at his phone screen.
Lestat’s number is there. It is right there, right in a text message from Levi, and Louis should do it. He should do it for the hell of it! What’s the worst that can happen? Lestat says no? So what? Louis’ used to disappointment anyway and, wait—
Disappointment?
“Damn, Grace and Levi got me acting a fool now,” he murmurs to not one but himself in his empty apartment. “Do it, you’ve got nothing to lose and maybe a good meal to have out,” he continues to speak out loud as he hypes himself up.
Fuck it.
Louis quickly types, surprised he doesn’t have any spelling errors and his text makes sense. He hits send before he can change his mind and closes his eyes tight.
Louis drops his phone to the bed, and breathes deeply, trying to calm himself down. This isn’t a big deal. It’s just a guy. Lestat is just a guy and if he says no, it’s fine. It’s fine. He doesn’t care. It isn’t anything. They don’t even know each other.
He’s doing this for Grace more than himself. That’s it. He’s doing this to once again get Grace off his back because if their next date goes just as badly as their first, he can finally make Grace see that this entire thing has been a total waste of time.
Louis’ phone goes off.
His eyes flash open and he snatches it up, staring at the screen.
Let’s make a date of it tomorrow evening . I am free after seven! We may wherever you would like to. Looking forward to it. Please make sure to send me the restaurant of your choosing and I’ll meet you there! :)
Louis reads that text more times than he will ever admit even to himself, and bites his lip in contemplation of what to respond with. He doesn’t want to text back too quickly because then it will be obvious that he’s been anticipating Lestat’s response in the first place and that’s absolutely something he doesn’t want.
A few more minutes pass before Louis decides it’s an acceptable time to finally answer.
There’s this Italian place I like. I’ll make reservations and text you the address and time.
Louis’ phone vibrates not even a minute after he has sent the text. It seems Lestat doesn’t have the same anxiety over texting too fast.
Perfect. Have a good night, Louis.
Louis returns the sentiment, throws his phone down to the bed, and stares up at his ceiling.
A second date. Oh, God above, please don’t let him fall again. Please don’t let him make a total fool of himself again.
He sighs, tries to shake off the anxiety, and begins to think about a latte to make at the cafe in the morning instead.
Maybe he can try a blonde roast out for it? That seems like it will be good.
A nice blonde roast, with some vanilla and brown sugar.