Work Text:
“Are you going somewhere?” Louis looked up from his book as Daniel wheeled his suitcase into the foyer. He was sitting in the main living area which was quiet for once. Usually someone had the large screen television on for something, but Armand had taken Benji to some all-night arcade in Brooklyn, and Sybelle was upstairs in the music room.
“Yeah,” Daniel said.
Louis raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. Daniel had been at Trinity Gate for a while now, and while they all divided their time between the townhouse and the vampire court in France on a sporadic and ever-rotating schedule, Daniel rarely went anywhere alone unless it was planned in advance.
“Dare I ask?” Louis’ black hair was tied back but a few strands had come loose and fell around his pale face.
Daniel smiled at him. “I’m working on a surprise for Armand for Valentine’s Day, so I’d rather not say too much.” Armand could not read Daniel’s thoughts, as he was his maker and the wall had come down between their minds. Which frankly sucked a lot of the time, but it was helpful in situations like this. However, Armand could read Louis’ thoughts and therefore he didn’t want to tell him anything, lest Armand pluck it from his head.
“Is he aware you’re leaving?” Louis sounded slightly concerned. Fair question. Armand didn’t like people to leave without warning. He tended to react badly.
“He knows I’m going to get something. Just not where I’m going or what I’m getting.” Daniel looked out the front window to see the town car glide up and park in front of the house. “I’m trusting you to hold down the fort.”
“I’ll secure the perimeter and ration supplies,” Louis said wryly. He smiled and lifted up his book again, a mystery novel called C is For Corpse.
Daniel grabbed his suitcase, checked to make sure he had keys—the right keys—and his phone, and then headed out the door.
The plane took Daniel to Chicago, as requested, and once there, he turned off his location on his phone. He arranged for another plane to take him the second leg of the trip the following night, one Armand didn’t own.
Was it overkill? Probably. And Armand could still find him if he wanted. He’d always been good at that. But that was half the fun, wasn’t it? Not that he expected Armand to follow this time. He and Louis had opera tickets tomorrow night and he wouldn’t want to miss that. That was why he’d timed it this way. He wanted to get what he planned to get and ferry it home to surprise Armand without interruption.
Daniel took a cab to a building he and Armand owned on Madison Avenue to crash in an empty condo for the day.
The next night, he awoke to seven missed calls from Marius and half a dozen texts from him that read only, “Call me.” Daniel sighed. He got up and dressed, running a comb through his ashen blond hair, and then called Marius back.
“Your location is off.” No greeting. Marius got straight to the point.
“Yes, it is,” Daniel said. Daniel had figured that was why he’d called so many times but he couldn’t help being annoyed that it meant Marius was actively checking on his location on a regular basis.
He could picture Marius sitting at his desk in his office at Court in a crisp, tailored suit, his long blond hair down around his face. “Where are you?” he demanded.
“Chicago,” Daniel said, which wasn’t a lie. He just left out the part that he’d be leaving the Windy City soon. “But don’t tell Armand. I’m trying to surprise him.”
He could practically hear Marius’ frown. “How so?”
“I have a gift for him. Something I had made years ago. I don’t even know if it’s still there…” A slight panic washed over him at the thought that it was gone, discarded as junk over the years by someone who didn’t know better.
“Daniel, I’m sure he’ll appreciate the gesture, but it’s too dangerous for you to leave your location off.” Marius’ voice was stern but Daniel could hear the concern in it, too. Part of how he’d made Marius feel better when he’d moved in with Armand at Trinity Gate was to reassure him that he’d check in regularly and keep his location turned on so Marius could see where he was at any given moment.
But those had been concessions Daniel had made for Marius’ peace of mind, not because they were necessary.
“It won’t take long. A few days,” Daniel said.
A long pause. “And if something happens?”
“It won’t.”
“I’d prefer it if you turned your location on, just to be safe,” Marius said, making it clear it was more than just a preference.
Daniel bit his tongue so hard that blood beaded up into his mouth, rich and metallic. Marius worried because he’d seen Daniel at his worst. Daniel was only still alive because Marius had come and gotten him the many times he’d been out alone and found himself too distracted and caught in the midst of his madness to remember he needed to seek shelter from the sunrise.
But Daniel had been unwell then, scattered and broken. He’d been better for years now. Not a lot of years but a good number of them, enough that Daniel was secure in his knowledge that his mind wasn’t going to betray him again without a damn good reason.
“I have to go,” Daniel said. “My car is here. I’ll check in with you soon.” That was the most he could offer. He clicked off before Marius could argue.
He packed up his bag and went out front to wait for the car which was not yet there but would arrive shortly.
The plane landed in Miami after midnight. Daniel hunted quickly and then headed for the speedboat. He dropped the body in the depths of the ocean and then circled back to the island.
Daniel docked the boat at their private dock that had a path that led up to the Villa. There was a gate blocking that path now. It had never been there in the 80s, but Armand had installed more security measures over the years. Daniel entered the code for the gate—his mortal birthday—and went up to the house, rolling his suitcase up the path.
“Behold, the Night Island,” Daniel muttered, quoting the television commercial that had run during late night programming throughout the mid-80s, as he approached the gleaming white Villa’s front doors. Sometimes it still threw him seeing the house, like perhaps it’d only been a mortal fever dream, even though he’d lived in it for almost decade, both as a mortal and a vampire.
And he and Armand had come here in a few times in the past couple years, of course. One time they even convinced Louis, Lestat, and a whole group of others to join them for a week and it felt good to have so many immortals back at the Villa.
Daniel dug out his keys and opened the door. The Villa was cold and dark inside but the alarm—also a newer addition—did not beep at him. He frowned. He tried the light switch just to make sure there was power. The lights in the foyer came on.
Maybe they’d forgotten to set the alarm last time they left. But an uneasiness shifted in Daniel’s middle. It wasn’t like Armand to forget security measures. He left his suitcase and walked further into the house, reaching out with his senses to see if anyone was there.
He stopped short.
There was another immortal inside. Daniel frowned. Armand usually told him him if he was going to let someone stay there. He closed his eyes and tried to get a read on the other’s mind. Nothing but emptiness. Which meant either this immortal was good at concealing their thoughts… or it was Armand.
The presence was coming from the back parlor, the one that faced the garden.
The lights in the back of the house were on and he could feel a breeze from an open window as he walked down the hall.
The parlor itself was lit by a single lamp in the corner and the French doors that led to the garden were wide open, letting it in the sounds of the waves from around the front of the house mixed with the distant noise of the all-night shopping center and tourist haven.
Back when Daniel had been mortal, he’d barely been able to hear it, and when he’d returned to Night Island as a vampire, he’d been amazed at how loud it was even all the way at the Villa. “How can you stand it?” Daniel had asked Armand one night while they’d sat in the garden. Armand told him that he liked having the world of the living close by.
Now, the parlor was empty. Daniel went out to the garden. It wasn’t much. A patch of ground with a fountain and chairs and a few sparse plants. A little path led up the hill to overlook that looked out on the ocean. And another path led toward the main path that went all the way to the shopping center. More fencing that had been a later addition surrounded their private property and there was a large iron gate blocking the path to the mall locked with a keypad similar to the one on at the front.
Armand was standing with his back to Daniel, watching the water struggle through the fountain. Armand’s auburn hair was its natural length, curling down around the back of his neck. He wore jeans that did nice things to his ass and a t-shirt. If Daniel had been any less mentally stable, he might have convinced himself he conjured the image. It was one he’d seen enough times.
“What took you so long?” Armand turned around. “I arrived last night.”
Daniel shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. “Very funny. What are you doing here?”
Armand smiled in a distinctly cat-like way and came toward him. “Did you not want me to come?”
Daniel laughed ruefully and shook his head. Armand stopped just inches in front of him and stroked Daniel’s cheek with two fingers before dropping his hand. Daniel’s breath hitched and his skin tingled where Armand had touched it. When Daniel was mortal, his touch had been electric, but now it was like a live wire, setting a jolt through him that burned a trail in the wake of his caress.
“How did you know I was coming here?” Daniel asked. Sure, it was one of the more obvious possible destinations, but Daniel could have been heading anywhere: San Francisco where he still owned a storage unit full of god only knew what, or Chicago where he’d flown initially. Rio. Auvergne. Tokyo. London. The possibilities were endless.
“Please, Daniel. I may not be able to read your thoughts but I know your mind.” Armand tilted his head slightly in question. “What is it you need here?”
“I left something behind years ago. I wanted to get it for you.” Daniel pressed his palm to Armand’s cheek. Armand’s skin was cold against Daniel’s blood-warmed hand. He hadn’t fed. Daniel imagined him sitting at the Villa all night, waiting to see if Daniel would, in fact, show up. “It was supposed to be a surprise.”
Armand put his hand over Daniel’s, icy and cold. “I doubt there’s anything on this island that could surprise me, beloved.”
Daniel smiled at him. “You always underestimate me.”
Armand frowned. Dropped his hand. Daniel grabbed him and kissed him, his mouth hot against Armand’s cool tongue. Armand kissed him back automatically, fingers curling around the back of his neck, while his other arm slid around his back. When they broke apart, Armand’s arms remained around him and he huddled close to Daniel, as if trying to absorb his warmth.
“You didn’t have to come,” Daniel said.
The playfulness in his expression faded. “You really didn’t intend for me to follow?”
“No. For once, I thought I was being clever enough to stay a few steps ahead.” He laughed. “Should have known that’s not possible with you.”
Armand pulled away. Turned from him.
Daniel faltered, sensing Armand shutting down. That wasn’t what he’d meant. “Hey, I’m glad you’re here, I just didn’t expect it, you know? I figured you’d appreciate some alone time with Louis and you two were supposed to be at the opera tonight.”
Armand stood and stared out at the lights of the galleria in the distance. Daniel moved behind him, putting his arms around him, and Armand leaned back against him. Daniel didn’t know what he was thinking but he could imagine. Coming back here was like coming home, with all of the varied memories and emotions that entailed.
Daniel kissed his head and then swept the hair from his neck and kissed his throat. Armand made a soft sound, a small exhalation of breath. It urged Daniel on and he placed more kisses on his throat and shoulder, pulling the t-shirt’s collar out of his way.
He stopped, the distant lights catching his attention again, along with the far-off sounds of music and voices. Armand slipped from his arms and headed back into the house. Daniel spent another minute staring out at the lights beyond before heading inside after him and closing the French doors.
Armand stood at the fireplace, surveying the room and its plastic-covered furniture. Daniel sat on the sofa, right on top of the plastic.
“Would you believe that once upon a time, I thought we’d live here together for a hundred years?” Daniel asked. Armand met his eyes. Daniel shrugged. “Naive, I guess.”
“Optimistic,” Armand corrected. “You always were about the blood.”
“Yeah, well, one of us had to be. You were always so goddamn fatalistic.”
Daniel looked around the parlor. It still looked like it had back in the 80s with the Art Deco coffee table and orange sofa with matching chairs so bright you could see the color through the sheeting.
“You really thought I’d up and leave you at the first opportunity,” Daniel said. He tried not to sound bitter, but he could still remember their fight in London twenty years before in vivid detail, not to mention the years leading up to it where Armand pushed him away at every opportunity.
“I had experience with how those things tended to go,” Armand said, shoulders stiffening.
“And you refused to even entertain the idea that things could be different for us.” Now he did sound bitter. He swallowed uneasily and tried to tamp down the old anger that had flared to life inside him.
Armand watched him as if he were a bomb that might go off. Daniel took several deep breaths, filling his vampire lungs with oxygen they didn’t need and let it out slowly, a trick to help him focus when things started to get overwhelming. He really wished he’d stopped for cigarettes.
When he finally felt more calm, he looked up, and Armand’s brown eyes were still trained on him. “Well? Don’t you have anything to say?” he demanded. No response. “You don’t have any regrets?”
Armand dropped his hand from the mantle. “I admit I held some preconceived notions that I allowed to color to my perspective of the situation.”
“That’s a fancy way of ‘Sorry I was an asshole about it.’”
“Is that what you want? For me to admit I was wrong?” Armand expression had faded into blankness.
“I don’t know,” Daniel said honestly. “We both fucked it up. We didn’t talk enough. I had no idea you’d decided we were a ticking time bomb, so I had no chance to diffuse it.”
“Quite the tortured metaphor.”
Daniel shot him a level look. “I guess I just want to know that you’re not going to do that again.” Armand pursed his lips together in a tight line. “Or if you do, that you’ll at least give me a heads up next time.”
Armand put his hands in the pockets of his jeans and turned toward the closed doors, looking through the glass at the garden. Silence filled the room, sucking all of the oxygen out. How many nights had they spent like this in their last year here, the silence suffocating them both?
Daniel sighed and leaned forward, the plastic crinkling with his movements. He was ready to get up and go buy a pack of cigarettes from whatever store still sold them over at the shopping center.
And then, miraculously, Armand broke the silence. “I didn’t know what to expect of you at first, Daniel. The night I found you… the nights that followed, the conversations, the way you challenged me. You were unlike anyone I’d ever met and you continually surprised me.”
“Yeah, well, feeling was mutual, boss,” Daniel said.
“When I gave you the blood, I didn’t know what would happen then, either, but I did know how often such things soured.” He glanced at Daniel. “How often it led only to resentment and hatred.”
“But how could you think that I would ever feel that way, when I begged and pleaded—“
Armand cut him off. “And is immortality what you thought? Is this exactly what you imagined?”
“Not exactly, no—“
“You see?”
“Oh, come on, that’s not fair!” Daniel rose to his feet. “Just because I couldn’t really comprehend the way my senses would expand or accurately predict everything that would happen, it doesn’t mean it’s not what I wanted. I’m immortal! I’m still here when I shouldn’t be and I’m young forever, and I’m still with you. I got what I signed up for.”
Armand tilted his head in that way he did when, Daniel suspected, he was trying to penetrate the wall in his mind, or at least trying to parse what Daniel was thinking.
“I’m not going to suddenly regret it,” Daniel added.
Armand kept staring and Daniel shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from balling them into fists as Armand remained infuriating silent.
“Do you?” Daniel asked, the words tumbling out unbidden.
Armand blinked. “What?”
Daniel swallowed uneasily. Forced himself to speak the whole question aloud: “Do you regret turning me?”
There were plenty of reasons why he might. Daniel hadn’t exactly been a model vampire fledgling. They’d fought and argued, and then Daniel had left him. And when Armand needed him, instead of being any use at all, Daniel had gone mad and been lost to his mental fog for over a decade.
The blankness on Armand’s face melted into something softer. “No, Daniel. Not at all.”
Daniel inhaled a shuddering breath. A prick of hot tears warmed the back of his eyes and he blinked them away. He hadn’t realized how badly he’d needed to hear that, but now that he had, tension untangled throughout his body.
Daniel nodded slowly, letting the words wash over him. Not at all.
A strange shadow crossed over Armand’s face like a cloud. Hurt? Confusion? “Certainly you knew that,” Armand said.
Daniel barked out a laugh of surprise. “How the hell would I know? I can’t read your mind.”
Armand frowned, confusion knitting his brow.
“What is it?” Daniel asked.
“Is it not clear how I feel?” Armand said, focusing on a spot behind Daniel instead of looking at him.
Old frustrations prickled at Daniel’s skin. “Clear! How could it be clear when you never tell me what’s going through that head of yours?” Armand shifted, his shoulders stiffening as his switched his weight from one foot to the other. Daniel took another deep breath and lowered his voice. “Look, I know you love me. But sometimes it feels like you slotted me into a life you’d already built and I was just lucky you could make space.”
Armand raised his chin, as if he could look down on Daniel even though Daniel was several inches taller. “Jealousy is unbecoming.“
“You know that’s not what I’m saying.” Daniel pushed his fingers into his ashen hair and scratched at his scalp, annoyed. “I’m glad you and Louis reconnected. It’s clear you’ve been good for each other.” He chewed his lip. “But sometimes, I feel like a consolation prize.”
Armand made a soft sound, almost a gasp. “Of course you’re not, Daniel.”
Daniel swallowed, forcing the lump that had formed into his throat back down. “Yeah, well, it wouldn’t kill you to say so once in a while.”
Armand stepped closer, meeting his eyes with piercing intensity. “Do I not show you enough? How would you like me to say it?”
Armand communicated more in actions, in touches, in gifts, and usually, Daniel was fine with that. But sometimes he needed to hear the damn words. “I don’t know, ‘I love you,’ ‘I need you,’ ‘I’m glad you’ve come to live at my massive vampire estate in Upstate New York and it wasn’t a truly a home until you arrived.’ Pick your poison.”
Armand remained still and silent for a long moment. “You were always the missing piece from Trinity Gate, beloved. I love you, of course.”
“Was that so hard?” Daniel smiled at him, reaching out and poking his shoulder with two fingers. Armand smiled faintly back and the knots in Daniel’s chest loosened and fell away. He hadn’t intended on picking a fight. Nothing about tonight had been planned or expected. He’d planned to hang out at the Villa alone, retrieve what he came for, and head back.
But he was glad Armand had come. He hadn't even realized how these tensions had built up within him until now and that was how things had gone wrong before. He didn't want them repeating the same mistakes.
Armand’s arms wound around him and Daniel leaned against him, hugging him, and feeling steadier than he had in a long time.
After a long while, Armand asked, “You said you had something here you hoped to retrieve?”
“It’s not in the Villa.”
Armand raised an eyebrow.
“See? I can surprise you.” Daniel yawned as the tendrils of sunrise started to tug at the edges of his awareness. It was still a ways off but Daniel would pass out well before Armand and he was already starting to feel groggy. “I’ll have to get it tomorrow. If it’s still here.”
“You don’t know?” Armand asked.
Daniel shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out.” He nipped playfully at Armand’s neck and Armand smiled, batting him away. “Let’s go to bed.”
Their bedroom in the cellar downstairs was huge, with a king bed, a walk-in closet, and bathroom that contained only a sink, tub, and shower. Daniel remembered laughing like an idiot the first time he’d seen the bathroom after he’d been turned. It made perfect sense for it not to have a toilet and yet the strangeness of it had made him laugh until Armand had had to drag him to bed.
Now, Daniel rolled his suitcase into the oversized closet and stripped down, moving slow as the grogginess settled into his bones. The closet held clothes they’d filled it with on their first trip here since their reunion, so he found a pair of soft sweat pants and a t-shirt and crawled in bed. Moments later, Armand joined him, though he wouldn’t pass out from the sunrise for a while yet.
Armand curled around him as Daniel was pulled under into sleep.
Daniel awoke to the sound of his phone buzzing on the end table and Armand’s voice saying, “Wake up, beloved.”
Daniel groaned and opened one eye. His phone buzzed again.
“Your phone won’t stop ringing,” Armand said. He sounded annoyed and Daniel wondered just how long the phone had been going off. “You might want to tell Marius that leaving a message is sufficient.”
Daniel yawned and sat up, rubbing his eyes as he focused on the phone. “He’s pissed that I turned off my location.” He hit a button and the ringing stopped.
“Why did you do that?” Armand asked.
“I was trying to surprise you, remember? I didn’t want you tracking me. For all the good that did.” He muttered the last part, still half-groggy. Armand looked stricken for a split second and Daniel’s heart constricted. Shit. “Because I should have known you’d figure it out regardless,” he added.
Daniel started to type a text message to Marius—“Chill out, old man!”—but the phone buzzed again while he was in the middle of typing and he sighed.
“Want me to take care of it?” Armand offered.
Daniel shook his head. “He just wants to know that I’m okay.” He finished typing, adding, “I’m fine. On Night Island with Armand. Turning location back on.”—then set the phone down.
“Does he really need to monitor your location?” Armand sounded more annoyed about it than Daniel, which in turn made Daniel feel defensive. After all, Marius was just looking out for him. Daniel shrugged. “He’s allowed to worry. Sometimes it gets to be a lot, but if it gives him piece of mind, I guess it’s not too much to ask.”
Armand did not look convinced. Daniel swept the covers off and padded into the bathroom. When he came out, Armand had put out clothes for him as he so often did. Jeans and a very touristy Miami t-shirt that Daniel had bought as a joke. He put them on without complaint.
They hunted on the mainland quickly so they would appear more human with the blood running through their veins and then headed to the Night Island shopping center, Daniel leading the way.
“I had no idea you were out here burying treasure,” Armand said wryly as they made their way through the throngs of tourists waiting in line at the frozen drinks stall, where they sold foot-long frozen cocktails. Even memories of the syrupy sweetness made Daniel feel like retching.
“It’s not buried. I just didn’t want you to find it,” Daniel said.
“Oh?” Armand grabbed Daniel’s arm, pulling him to a stop while a large crowd of very drunk tourists came blazing past. “When was this?”
“February, 1985,” Daniel said.
Daniel had had the thing made and ordered as a Valentine’s Gift. They didn’t exactly do much for Valentine’s Day but Armand appreciated little gestures and Daniel had had the idea on a whim. But they’d been fighting a lot back then, too, Daniel increasingly desperate for immortality and increasingly drunk all the time. The gift was meant to be a sort of peace offering, as much as anything could be.
Then they’d had a fight. The same one they had a dozen times that year, one that ended in yelling and blood tears and horrible words. Armand had vanished at sunrise, as he’d had no choice. Daniel had left the Villa in the middle of the the day and found he package on the stoop. He’d thought about throwing it into the ocean—he’d been in a furious and hungover state with no desire to let Armand ever see it—but instead he’d walked over to the shopping center and the small little storage facility at the edge of the mall. Most of the lockboxes were small, places for tourists to stash jackets or backpacks while they explored the island. Some were larger, but none bigger than a few cubic feet.
He’d stashed it there without ever opening it and then left the island for a week and a half before he’d been drawn back. By then, drunk and tired and relieved to be home, he’d forgotten all about it.
Now, they arrived at the little storage place which looked like an off-beat post office decorated in blue and yellow.
Daniel opened the door and a little bell rang as they entered. The man at the desk was young and quickly dropped his cell phone when they entered.
Daniel smiled genially when the man asked if he could help them. “There’s an item that was left here a while ago. The key is lost but I was hoping you could it retrieve it for me.” Armand came up beside Daniel and said nothing. Either of them could probably use the mind gift to persuade this guy but Daniel hoped he’d just help them without needing to resort to that.
“Ah, well, I suppose I can look up the records.” He turned to a computer. “Name?”
“Molloy.” Daniel spelled it for him. People always wanted to spell it with an ‘a.’
The man typed and then frowned. “Hm. I’m not seeing it.“ He clicked a few buttons and then shrugged. “When was the locker rented?”
“1985,” Daniel said.
The man laughed. Stopped when he realized Daniel wasn’t joking. Gave them both a scrutinizing once over. Neither of them looked old enough to have rented a locker almost thirty years ago and the man’s thoughts were clearly stuck on that point.
“I know this is weird,” Daniel said. “My dad apparently left something important here and now he’s not so well.” Daniel leaned in close and whispered conspiratorially, “Honestly, it’s a miracle he remembered where it was.”
The guy nodded sadly. “Well, that was quite a long time ago but so long as the storage locker was paid for the whole time, it should still be here. Let me see what I can find in back.”
The man typed in a code to open the door behind him and slipped into the back room.
“What possessed you to leave it here for so long?” Armand asked softly.
Daniel shrugged. “I forgot all about it.”
Armand gave him a curious look but the man came out of the back room with a manila folder and a key.
“Locker number 98,” he said. “I just need some ID.”
Daniel, who hadn’t had a legal ID with his real name in over two decades, started to remind the man his pretend father had rented the locker but Armand simply met the man’s eyes and asked for the key. The man handed the key to Armand and dropped back into his chair, picking up his phone.
Locker 98 was in the second section and it was one of the larger lockers. Armand opened it up and pulled out the parcel. The brown paper around the box was worn and crumbling. The box was narrow but tall and wide. Armand frowned at it. Daniel snatched it from him and left the shop.
Armand followed. They moved back through the crowd and finally reached the path back to the Villa. “What is it?” Armand demanded.
“You’ll see.”
Armand grabbed for the package and Daniel swung up over his head. Armand glared at him. Daniel bumped into him playfully several times as they made the walk.
“You’re being childish,” Armand said, but Daniel caught his smile when he looked away.
Back at the Villa, Daniel went into to the front parlor, the one with the ocean view, and opened the window to let in the sound of the ocean. He pulled the plastic off of the sofa and told Armand to have a seat. Armand did so, folding his hands in his lap with practiced patience even though Daniel could tell he was eager to see what random thing Daniel had (accidentally) kept locked away for nearly three decades.
Daniel set the package against the wall and paced. He wanted to open the box and see it—he never actually had—but it felt fraught all of sudden. It elicited memories of his fear and his frustration, mixed up with all the love a person could feel, all for one infuriating creature whom he’d fought with so viciously.
Except now he had fangs and the blood he’d been so desperately fighting him for. He had a life with Armand again, not here on their private island, but the island was still here. Sure, it wasn’t how he’d imagined it, living in some massive estate in New York City with Louis, and Sybelle and Benji, with a myriad of revolving house guests and the occasional visit from Lestat. Marius tracking him on his phone to make sure Daniel could be found should his mind betray him. None of it was how he would have guessed it would be thirty years ago, as a mortal who only ever wanted eternity with Armand.
But he had it, even if it wasn’t how he thought it would be.
“If you need a cigarette, I believe there’s a pack left in the kitchen in one of the drawers,” Armand said. His words jarred Daniel, who’d been so lost in thought he’d almost forgotten he was there. Daniel turned and saw a faint crease on his forehead, the tiniest hint of concern.
“Sorry, I’m just remembering,” he said. He lifted the box. “I had this made for you. You should open it.” He handed it to Armand and then sat down beside him on the couch.
Armand hesitated but then unwrapped the crumbling paper. The box came open easily at the top, whatever glue that had kept it sealed too dry to act much as an adhesive anymore.
He slid the canvas photo out of the box, letting the box fall to the floor. He stared at it, mouth agape, eyes wide. Daniel stared at him, unable to look away from the sheer awe and pleasure on Armand’s face. And then finally, he turned to look at the canvas print.
It was the Villa, perched on the edge of Night Island, its white walls gleaming in the sunlight, which also glittered over the waves. The shopping center was visible in the far distance, but the photograph was centered on the Villa bathed in daylight. Daniel had hired a professional photographer to go out on a boat, get the shot, and have it blown up.
He’d taken photos of the Night Island in the sunlight himself, of course, and had the film developed. Armand had seen those, but this shot was a professional’s work and really captured the sheer beauty of the place in the day.
Daniel felt overcome seeing it again. He’d barely seen the sun as a mortal in those last years, but seeing it on the canvas now, he could remember standing in a boat off shore, looking at the sight himself and being blown away by the knowledge that Armand had built this thing for him.
“It’s incredible,” Armand finally said softly, turning to him. “How on earth did you forget this existed?”
“The alcohol was starting to do a number on my memory at the time, and with everything else…” Daniel shrugged. “There’s one more thing.” He pulled out his phone. “Benji and I were flying drones in the park when I had the thought that I should get similar photos taken of Trinity Gate. That’s when I remembered I’d already done it here.” He scrolled and then passed his phone to Armand, who set down the canvas and took it. “The prints of those should arrive at the end of the week.”
Armand’s jaw didn’t drop exactly, but he was clearly overcome as he looked at the image of Trinity Gate bathed in sunlight. His eyes watered, bloody tears welling up in them and he sucked in a breath. Daniel reached over and scrolled to the next photo and then the third, showing him all three angles of the massive town house. “I couldn’t pick one so I got prints of all three. I figured that was appropriate, given the name.”
Armand looked up at him and met his eyes. “When did you do this?”
“Last week,” Daniel said. “I arranged for the photos while you and Louis were at the bookstore and Sybelle and Benji were out hunting. Then they did the photos last Friday, mid-afternoon, while the sun was high.”
Armand looked back at the screen, flicking through the three photos again several times, pausing on each one to run his finger over the screen.
“Do you like it?” Daniel asked.
Armand lowered the phone. He grabbed Daniel’s shirt, balling the fabric in his fist, and yanked him closer. Armand kissed him so hard he pushed Daniel back on the sofa and he ended up leaning against the arm rest as Armand moved on top of him, following his mouth. He nipped Daniel’s lip, fangs cutting it open. Even the taste of his own blood was hot and electric and Daniel pulled him down against his body. Daniel’s phone hit the ground next to the sofa with a clunk as Armand dropped it to put his hands to better use on Daniel, which was fine with him.
Fangs pierced his throat, sharp and hot, and then all was lost in a sea of blood exchanges and kisses.
When they finally came up for air, Daniel smiled at Armand who was on top of him, his flushed face only inches away from his own. “I’m going to take that as a yes.”
“Yes,” Armand repeated.
Daniel shifted, adjusting his body so he was sitting up, forcing Armand to readjust. He perched on the sofa on his knees, still leaning on Daniel, who reached down and fished his phone off the floor. He dialed.
Armand tilted his head in question.
“I’m calling to make sure the plane is ready to take us home tomorrow night,” Daniel said. Someone picked up and Daniel made the arrangements, and then tossed his phone on the coffee table.
Armand was still studying him curiously. Daniel often tried to get Armand to come to the Night Island, especially alone, because of how comfortable he felt there. Night Island was familiar ground. It taken him longer to adjust to life at Trinity Gate.
So Armand was no doubt wondering why he was so eager to leave. And it wasn’t that he was eager, exactly, but he hadn’t planned on Armand following or keeping him from Louis for so long. Besides, he wanted to be home to see how the prints of the Trinity Gate photos turned out.
Daniel answered his unspoken question. “I love it here, and I love being here with you. And I hope we can keep coming back here for the next century or five. But this was just meant to be a short jaunt to grab the photo. I’m ready to go home. Aren’t you?”
Armand caressed his cheeks with the backs of his fingers and smiled. “I am.” He got off the couch, and lifted the photo of the Night Island. He stared at it for a few moments and then set it carefully against a chair. He grabbed Daniel’s hand, pulling him to his feet. “Come.”
“Where are we going?” Daniel demanded, like he was put out by being dragged off somewhere.
“To make the most of the night we have left,” Armand said. Daniel beamed, his mind spinning with possibilities, and followed Armand as he dragged him out of the house.