SILLY SPEC: Hollywood Vampires
Part 5, Posts 121-150
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Post 121: Lestat and Louis

	Lestat walked quickly away from Tom's trailer.  He couldn't remember
the last time he had been quite this mad.  It was the deep, burning kind of
anger he felt only when threatened, which was a rare occurance these days.
That little pipsqueak had been handed the role of the century, and by God
he was going to do it justice, even if Lestat had to kill in order to 
make it so!  He suddenly stopped in his tracks.  Kill him?  He had
come awfully close.  Another few sips and the choices would have been
reduced to two - the Dark Gift, or actual death.  Lestat shuddered.  He
had considered giving the Dark Gift to many mortals in his time, but the
idea of saddling himself with Tom Cruise for eternity was surely some
joke straight from hell.
	He was still pondering this when a light hand touched his shoulder.
Lestat looked up into the emerald gaze he loved so much.  The gaze which
was so filled with worry at present.  "Did you kill him?" Louis asked
quietly. 
	"No.  It was a near thing, but the little prima donna is still
alive."  Lestat suddenly grinned.  "At least, he was when I left him."
	Louis let out a deep breath.  "Good."
	Lestat drew him into his arms.  "Have I told you how much I love
you lately?"
	"What brought that on?"  Louis asked.  Lestat could hear the smile
in his voice.
	"Just thinking about all the creatures I might have ended up with,
and instead I got you."
	Louis pulled away.  "You're not thinking of giving him the Dark
Gift are you?"
	"No..." Lestat denied at once.  "But it was a near thing.  I
came very close to killing him."  He smiled ruefully.  "Just imagine
_those_ headlines!  Maharet would kill me for sure!"
	"She'd have to go through me to do it."  Louis smiled fondly,
then steered them away from the set.
	"The sun will be rising soon." Lestat commented softly.  "Since
the whole coven seems to be in attendance, perhaps we should open the
house...?"
	"Well, issue the invitations, anyway.  Some may wish to get
a hotel."
	"Fine."  Lestat concentrated.  :The dawn approaches.  Any who
wish to stay in New Orleans and continue to watch the producton are
welcome at Rue Royal.:  "I told them.  Want to pass the message on
to David and Gabrielle?:

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Post 122: Gabrielle

Gabrielle, once out of sight of Armand, started to cry. She was a Lioncourt?
What else was she supposed to do? And it seemed to help Lestat.....

"Damnnit!" she muttered as she drew in a deep breath and looked up into the
sky, the lavender streaks of morning sending out their warning of the
imminent dawn. "Why me! What does this happen to me...."

She heard Louis' concerned voice echo inside her head, welcoming her to the
flat to stay. 

Louis would understand...Louis knows....she answered hurridly,

:: Louis! Wait, I'll walk back with you too. Please, cher? I need to talk
with you. ::

She began to run quickly through the maze of trees, honing in on Louis'
signal.

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Post 123: Gabrielle and Louis

Louis galnced back over his shoulder to see the tall lithe figure of 
Gabrielle running towards them. He caught her emotional cry before he ead 
even seen her. 

"Lestat," He pressed a kiss to the tanned cheek. "I will catch up with 
you at home. I'll only be a few moments."

Lestat seized him and kissed him hard. "Don't be long." He whispered.

Louis watched as Lestat ascended in the blink of an eye. He turned to see 
Gabrielle, her face streaked with blood tears.

"Ma Cherie..." He enfolded his sister-fledgling into his arms. "What is 
wrong?"

"Oh, Louis! I'm too old to act this way! I'm too tough to act this way!"

Louis smoothed the hair back from her face. It was the same corn-silk 
texture as Lestat, only lighter in color. "Hush... come along with me. 
We're losing the night quickly. My car's over there..."

"Who the hell needs a car," Gabrielle sniffed, wiping her tears on the 
back of her hand. "Hold on to me, I *can* fly you know."

Without another word she grasped Louis firmly and ascended straight up.

The settled moments later in the courtyard of Louis and Lestat's home. 
Louis smiled, slightly unsettled by the flight.

"I would say we have a few moments to talk before you fall asleep in my 
face.  Come inside to my study. We can talk there without being disturbed."

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Post 124: Marius and Khayman

"Are you waiting for Jesse" Marius asked? "Yes", I replied. "Maharet sent me 
to keep an eye on her and to keep her out of trouble. But I haven't seen 
her. If anything goes wrong, well let's just say, it wouldn't be pretty."

With a slight chuckle Khayman said "well it looks like Armand and Gabby want 
to be alone, I wonder what Lestat would think of that."

"By the way where is David?" "Gone for now" Marius replied. With a sigh 
Khayman says "oh well, I guess that leaves you and me." Taking Marius by the 
hand Khayman smiles and says "two bachelors out on the town, whatever shall 
we do?"

"Are you hungry?" Khayman asked . "We have a little time before sun up."

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Post 125: Lestat and Daniel

	Lestat had no idea how many would take them up on the invitation,
so he decided to open the whole house.  It would do it some good.  And
besides, he was still irritated, and needed to work off some excess energy.
	He started a blaze in the fireplace with a thought, then stepped
back as it roared to vigerous life.  :That's the problem with fire: he
thought.  :Easy to start, but hard to control:.  He spent the next several
minutes opening windows and turning on lights.
	He had just finished when the doorbell rang.  :Door's Open: he
thought in general.  He moved to the top of the landing just in time to
see Daniel stagger in.  He whistled softly.  "Look what the cat dragged in."
	Daniel grinned, then giggled.  He was completely discheveled and
covered with bright lipstick prints.  "She was all cat." he confirmed a
little unsteadily.  "Wildcat!"
	Lestat looked at him sharply.  "Are you alright?"
	Daniel giggled again.  "Bubble has gone to that great casting couch
in the sky, but she left behind a hell of an impression!"
	Lestat had no idea who "Bubble" was, so he simply settled for "Come
upstairs - you can take the room next to mine."

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Post 126: Daniel and Lestat

	Daniel followed Lestat up the stairs. He was very tired after the
'fun' he'd had with Bubble. God, whas she annoying! He could still hear
that squeaky voice in his ears, feel her warm breath in his face.
	"Are you okay, Daniel?" Lestat asked with concern.
	"Oh, I'm fine."
	"Okay, I'm just getting this funny images from you. That blonde girl."
Lestat began laughing.
	"Please, Lestat! Don't even remind me! I'll kill Santino when I find
him!"
	Lestat raised his eyebrows and shot Daniel a sympathetic look. "It's
okay, Daniel. Let's just go to your room."
	"Will you stay with me?" 
	"Pardon me?"
	"Uh, never mind..." 
	Daniel was still a little distracted, disoriented. He didn't recall
being so tired before. Had it been this way when he was a mortal boy? He had
a few girlfriends, but none as hyperactive as "Bubble."  Armand was a different
story. He never got so tired after being with Armand, always wanted more.
	"That's the way mortal girls are, Daniel," Lestat said, putting his
arm around Daniel.
	"Yeah, but we should have more energy than they do!"
	Lestat shruged. He kept walking down the hallway and finally opened
the door of his bedroom. "This is my room. You can stay in that one," he said,
pointing to a room just to the left of his own.
	Daniel gazed in the direction Lestat was pointing, but didn't move.
	"Well?" Lestat asked impatiently.
	"Uh, Lestat...can I ask you a question?"
	Lestat crossed his arms across his chest. "What is it?"
	"When you were a mortal, did you ever kiss a girl?"
	Lestat broke out laughing. "I did more than just kissing a girl!"
	"Well, it's just that this particular one, well, she..." Daniel paused.
He could still feel the pain in his tongue as "Bubble" bit in the tender 
muscle and sucked his tongue until he cried out and stopped her.
	Lestat immediately picked up the thought. "Oh, that's quite normal!"
He said with amusement. "I take it you were only into classy girls as a
mortal, huh?" 

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Post 127: Gabrielle and Louis

Gabrielle soundlessly followed Louis to his study and curled herself into a
ball in the large leather armchair in the corner and looked up at Louis who
sat opposite.

She had to fight to keep control of herself, yet images if Armand kept coming
back to mind. Sighing, she shook the images away.

"I hate him." she said very plainly.

"Ahhh...." Louis responded, knowingly, "Armand, correct?"

She scowled at the mention of his name, "Who else? Louis, sometimes I have no
idea who he is. We enjoy each other's company too much and then, just when it
looks as if something may come of all of it, he disappears back into
himself."

Louis sat back, remembering his times with Armand with great clarity,

"Armand, well, he is not content with himself. He si very afraid of hurting
another, and if that person becomes hurt by his actions, he blames himself."

Gabrielle bit her lip and pondered what Louis had just said. She drew her
knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, as if trying to
protect herself. She turned her attention back to Louis,

"He said I deserved more, that it was just a game of seduction. I don't
believe that for one second. For that one moment...when we were truly with
one another, there was no plot or ploy. He truly cares.....but then that wall
shut between us again, Louis and I just don't understand it."

She stood up and paced about the room as she continued to speak,

"Maybe I'm wrong, maybe Armand and I are just meant to be adversaries for our
long lives, maybe someone is trying to tell us something. For something
always goes wrong when we're together, and there's no such thing as a
coincidence. Maybe I'm just lonely, Louis. "

Louis stood up and enfolded her in his arms,

"Shh...mon amie. I understand only all too well. And there is time, I have a
great feeling that the coven is not going to be dispersed any time soon. And
Jesse is here, you two must have some catching up to do and you have Lestat
et moi to distract you."

A soft knock came upon the door, "Louis?"

"Come in, Lestat." he answered at once.

Lestat walked in and saw his mother in Louis' arms, most obviously upset. He
took her from Louis,

"Was it that imp? I'll kill him if he's laid a hand on you....."

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Post 128: Louis, Lestat and Gabrielle

Louis gazed affectionately from one to the other. 
:A pair of Lion bookends: He smiled to himself.
"Lestat...? Why not install Gabrielle in a room. She's over tired as it 
is, can't you see?"
 
Lestat made a rumbling noise in his throat.

Louis touched lightly touched his arm. "Look at her, mon cher. She's 
ready to fall asleep."

Lestat lifted her chin until Gabrielle's eyes met his. "We *will* talk 
about this tonight!  I don't want you pulling any of your disappearing 
acts, either. Is that understood?"

"Oui." She whispered.

"Come with me. You can have our room." Lestat put a sheltering arm around 
her and lead her down the hall.

"But where will you sleep?" She asked as she turned and faced him in the 
bedroom door.

Lestat tossed a wink to Louis. "I'll think of somewhere... We've a very 
nice vault in the attic... it's big enough for two, that is, if we sleep 
*Very* close together!"

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Post 129: Lestat and Louis

	Lestat shut the door after Gabrielle and made sure that it
was securely closed.  He felt Louis' arm slide around his waist and
gently start to lead him away.
	"You're banishing us to the dusty attic?" Louis teased, his
voice a soft purr.
	"Since when do you not like dust?" Lestat responded in kind.  "You
get dust all over your hands and face everytime you read one of those
ancient tomes of yours."
	"Yes," Louis said.  "But when you and I are in the attic, I
somehow get dust in places which are far more interesting than my hands
and face."
	Lestat laughed.  He took one of Louis' hands in his own and
kissed it.  "Every single part of you is interesting to me, beautiful one."
	"Shameless flatterer," Louis said, but he was smiling as he
did so.
	They reached the attic.  Louis busied himself readying the place
for their daytime sleep while Lestat made sure that the door was locked
strongly enough to keep them safe.
	When that was done, Lestat crossed the attic to join Louis.  When
he passed over the spot which was the ceiling for the bedroom in which
Gabrielle now slept, he paused, remembering how upset she had been.
*I cannot believe that Armand did this to her!  How dare he!  So help me
if I get my hands on him--*
	"Lestat," Louis, seeing Lestat begin to grow angry, interrupted
his thoughts.  "Please, whatever it is, don't start something."
	"Don't start?  You want *me* not to start?  Don't you think
Armand has rather beaten me to that?"
	Louis rubbed a tired hand against his temple.  "Please.  I know
that something has happened and of course I am as concerned about Gabrielle
as you are but can't it please wait until after sunset?  It's been a long
night for everyone."  He walked over to Lestat and reached out to touch
his arm.  "Besides, things were so nice before, when we were doing that
scene.  I don't want anything to ruin my memory of that.  So for me, can
you find it in yourself to wait?"
	Lestat wanted desperately to hold on to his anger, but Louis'
words and the look in his green eyes melted his resolve.  "Alright, for
you I promise I will do whatever it takes to wait until tomorrow."
	"Thank you," Louis said.  He kissed him on the lips, softly, 
teasingly.  "Now come to bed."  He turned to do just that.
	Lestat remained where he was for a moment.  He waited until
Louis was a few steps away, then turned his attention outward.
	Using his strong vampiric abilities, he began to scan around New
Orleans, his mind searching all the places that he knew Armand could
be found.  Finally, he found him.  Not caring where Armand was or what
he was doing, Lestat remained at this mental distance so that Armand
could not detect him.  Once certain that he was far enough away, Lestat
formed a command within his mind  *You shall have Hellish nightmares
for every second of pain that you caused Gabrielle!* molded it into a
thin shaft and shot it into Armand's unconsciousness, a time bomb
waiting to go off as soon as the auburn-haired vampire closed his eyes.
	It was a nasty trick and one that Lestat normally reserved for
the mortal victims that he liked to toy with but this qualified as a
special occasion in his mind.  He only hoped that it would work on 
another vampire.
	"Lestat?" Louis was looking at him curiously.  "Is something
wrong?"
	"Not at all," Lestat said, going to Louis' side at last.  "I
was just fulfilling my promise to you.  Now then, you were saying something
about going to bed?"

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Post 130: Louis and Lestat

Lestat dusted off the huge lid of the vault with a handkerchief. Louis
couldn't help but laugh, picturing Lestat doing the same thing in 18th
century garb.  Satisfied with the smalll amount of housecleaning, he gave
the lid one almighty shove to reveal the satin padded lining. He pulled
off his boots, and sat down in the box.  "Now then." He clapped his hands
and rubbed them together. "Come to bed, Louis!"  Louis smiled at him and
began to pull off his sweater.  "Would you mind if I quoted a little
prose?" He tilted his head to one side.  "Prose? What do you mean 'prose'?
Come to bed, Louis. The sun will come up and you'll be asleep on your
feet."  "Not bloody likey." Louis replied with a grin "Ah! You got that
from David!" Lestat pulled up one knee and slipped an arm around it. 
"Shut up and listen... Daniel said this...'and did you get into the
coffin?'"  A smilecrept across Lestat's face.  Louis continued." And I
said: 'I begged Lestat to let me stay in the closet...he laughed.'"  Louis
pulled off a boot and let it fall with a thud to the floor. "Born and bred
in French houses... I had a dread of enclosed places." Louis began to
mimic Lestat as he pulled off the other boot. "'You're carrying on badly',
Lestat said finally. 'It's almost dawn. I should let you die...Now, I am
getting into the coffin, and you will get in on top of me, if you know
what's good for you.'"  Louis climbed into the coffin and lay face to 
face on Lestat. "And if there's one thing I know now, it's what's good for me!" 
L  Lestat pulled shut the lid.  "Is your body still tingling and itching?"
Lestat asked him.  "Oh, yes." Louis smiled in the darkness. "Care to make
it tingle a little more?" 

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Post 131: David and Santino

	  "Are you okay?" Santino asked David as he thudded his head 
against a nearby tree.
	David stopped and looked back at Santino.  "Okay?  Ok--ow" he
rubbed his head.  "Last time I do that."  He continued.  "Okay?  Do
most 'okay' people bang their heads against trees?"
	"Well, no," Santino admitted, a slight grin playing about his
lips.  "But that sounded like a more appropriate question than 'Why are
you trying to leave an imprint of your forehead in that oak?'"
	"More appropriate, but not nearly as interesting," David said,
wryly.  They looked at each other in full seriousness for a moment, then
burst out laughing.
	"Shall we start over?" Santino said.
	"*Please*," David said.
	"In answer to your question," Santino said.  "I don't know 
anything.  And you have my word that what little I do know will stay
right here." He tapped his forehead.  "I promise."
	"That's a relief," David sighed.  "There's at least one of my
worries taken care of."
	Santino looked at David quizzically.  "Only one?  You have other
worries?"
	"Yes, I--" just then Lestat's open invitation to the Rue Royale
went through Santino's head.  From the look on David's face, Santino
could tell he was getting a similar message from Louis.  "Damn," David
whispered.
	"What's wrong?" Santino asked.
	"It's just--" David ran a hand through his hair.  "It's just
that I don't feel like being around the others right now."
	"Don't you have a place of your own?"
	"I do, but they can reach me there."  There was a slight inflection
on the 'they', as though David was referring to someone specific.  "I'd
rather not have to do that tonight if I don't have to."
	Santino considered this, watching the dark skinned fledgling as
he did so.  *Obviously he means Marius, but why wouldn't he want to
be with Marius?  Ah, this is none of my business!  Let them handle it
on their own!*
	David sighed again, to himself.  He looked back towards where
Marius had once been and Santino could see a flash of some unidentifiable
emotion in David's eyes.
	*On the other hand,* Santino thought, *this _is_ Lestat's fledgling
so I should probably do something to lend a hand.  Just out of loyalty
for him.  And I _did_ promise Marius that I would help.*
	"David," Santino said.  "If you'd like, you can spend the day in
my hotel suite with me.  Most of the coven doesn't even know that I'm
here so they wouldn't know where to look for you.  If that's what you'd
like, I mean."
	David was silent for a moment, still looking towards where Marius
had been.  Then, slowly, he turned his head back towards Santino, searching
his face for Santino knew not what.
	"Yes," David said finally.  "That is what I would like.  Thank you,
this is most appreciated.  What do we have?  An hour until sunrise?  Do
we have enough time to get there?"
	"More than enough time," Santino said.  "It's only a few minutes
away at mortal speed.  We can go there now, if you want."
	"I do," David said.  "Please, lead the way."

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Post 132: Santino and David

	The trip to the hotel was, as Santino had said, quick.  It took
them less time to get there than it did for Santino to take his key out
and unlock the door.
	David, who had been quiet the whole time, suddenly spoke.
	"I hate this."
	Santino was taken aback.  "I'm sorry.  Do you want me to get
another room then?"
	"I'm not talking about the room!"  David took off his jacket and
threw it down onto a couch angrily.  "I'm talking about--want you to get
another room?"  David looked at Santino curiously.  "What do you mean?
You would have gotten another room?"
	"If you didn't like this one, yes," Santino shrugged.  He closed
and locked the door for privacy, then made himself comfortable in a 
nearby chair.  "It's just a hotel suite, after all.  It's rather silly
*not* to change it, if it's presenting a problem."
	"Yes, but *I* was the one with the problem," David said.
	"I'm afraid I'm not following you here," Santino said.
	"Never mind," David said, waving it off.  "I'm tired.  I'm
probably not thinking clearly."
	Santino shrugged.  "If you say so.  Anyway, if you weren't 
talking about the room, what were you talking about?"
	David sat down on the couch and laid his head in his hands.  "This
whole blasted night is a nightmare."
	Santino rolled his eyes.  "Tell me about it."
	"You know, I don't know what it is about this coven.  No one, in
and of themselves, is a problem but the little things get on your nerves
so quickly."
	"You're telling *me*?" Santino asked.  "How many centuries have
I known these people?"
	David looked up.  "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to be insulting."
	"Who said you were insulting?  I was agreeing with you."
	"Oh," David said.  He laughed.  "You'll have to forgive me.  I'm
English.  It's in my genes to think that everything I do will offend
others."
	Santino laughed, then grew more serious.  "Is that why you
apologize so much?"
	David blinked.  "Sorry?"
	"Like that, yes," Santino teased.  Then he saw that David was
genuinely confused.  "Well, it's just that practically every other word
you've said to me is an apology of some sort."
	"Really?"  David thought about this.  "You know, I hadn't even
noticed."  He thought some more.  "Why *do* I suddenly feel the need to
apologize for everything?"
	"It's probably nothing," Santino said.  "I only noticed it because
it sounded so different from how I knew you from before."
	"We've never met before," David said.
	"Not in person, no," Santino said.  "But I read Lestat's books.
For all that Lestat tends to puff himself up a bit, he does get everyone
else's voice down rather accurately and in Tale of the Body Thief and
Queen of the Damned you did not apologize nearly as much as you have
to me tonight.  Of course, in Queen you really weren't given that much
to say, but still, put together it's something."
	"Yes, I suppose," David looked at Santino strangely, his dark
eyes mirroring Santino's.  "Of course, in The Vampire Lestat, that was
different."
	Santino frowned.  "I guess so.  After all, you weren't in that
book so I guess you could call *that* being different."
	"You *know* that I wasn't in Lestat's book?"
	"Who doesn't?" Santino replied.  "Why wouldn't I?"
	"I don't know," David shrugged.  "I'm just surprised that such
a minor detail about me would be important to you."
	"Of *course* it's important to me!" Santino said.  Then, just as
the words left his mouth, he was shocked by his own vehemence.  *Where the
blazes did _that_ come from?*  He tried to backtrack.  "Ah, that is to
say... um...."
	"That is to say that you care about every coven member," David
quickly finished for him.
	"Yes!  Exactly!"
	"Because we're a coven and we should care about each other."
	"Right.  We should make it our jobs to care this way."
	"Precisely!"
	"And the fact that you're important to me in this way," Santino
said.  "Only shows how much you've become a member of this coven.  That's
all.  It's just the same as... as..."
	"As me being worried about what it must have been like for you
to be living on your own these past few years, without anyone from the
coven to keep you company," David said.  "Right?"
	"Right," Santino said.  "Exactly."
	"Exactly right," David repeated.
	There was a long moment of silence.
	"Would you *look* at the time!" Santino said.  He got up from
his chair and checked his watch.  It was forty-five minutes until sunrise.
"What are we thinking?  That sun will come up in any second and make us
toast."
	David stood up and gave a quick laugh.  "Well, I did say I'd
turn you into toast.  You should have listened to me."
	"That you did," Santino echoed David's quick laugh.  "And that
I should.  But what are we doing talking?  We should be going to sleep
now."
	"Definitely," David said, nodding.  "What are we thinking?  We
should definitely have gone to bed long ago."  David started.  "Um!  I--I
mean with the time!  And you and I..." he trailed off, looking into
Santino's eyes once again.  "You and I...."
	"Talking," Santino prompted, but he could not look away either.
	"Yes, talking."
	"That's all."
	"Of course....  Silly to think otherwise."
	"Completely silly."
	"Totally foolish."
	"Oh Hell," Santino whispered as he grabbed David and kissed him,
passionately.

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Post 133: Gabrielle

Gabrielle slowly got ready for bed, she went rustling through Lestat's
drawers for a t-shirt to sleep in and coming across many interesting leather
and metal devices in the process.

"And they expect me to sleep in that bed?" she muttered to herself as she
slipped out of her clothes and into the oversized t-shirt.

She slipped in between the satin sheets, feeling the sleep pulling at her.
She allowed herself a moment's thought by herself.

She tried to remember exactly how she got in New Orleans, ah yes, she had
been following Armand. What did she do when she got here? Spent time with
Armand. Who ends up confused as hell and back in her son's house as usual,
"Gabrielle" she muttered.

She could feel a another presence next door. It could only be one she knew
distictly. Daniel.

:: Sweet dreams, Daniel. Come visit when you awake. ::

With that, Gabrielle pulled the covers to her chin and exhausted from the
night's activites, she fell into deep immortal sleep.

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Post 134: Marius

Marius had politely declined Khayman's offer. He had regretted it a 
little- the older vampire fascinated him, simply because he WAS so very 
old! Spending time with Khayman and talking to him had been something 
Marius had enjoyed, back when they had all lived for a time on Night 
Island. But he had felt he should go back, wait for David. So he had bid 
Khayman good night and gone to wait.

And wait.

He had heard Lestat's offer of a place at Rue Royal but had tarried a bit 
longer, hoping that David would return. He didn't. And Marius had been 
seized by the idea that David had already returned to the house- of 
course, that must be where he was. With a few choice words for his own 
stupidity, Marius left.

He had arrived there only a bit before dawn. He could feel Gabrielle in 
the house, and Daniel- but not Armand. Strange. And Louis and Lestat of 
course. And... but no, David wasn't there. Marius cursed. He had been so 
sure... where had David gone? But dawn was coming fast and there wasn't 
time to search, David must have gone elsewhere, he didn't really care for 
big gatherings. Marius let himself into the house and silently went 
upstairs to the room David kept there. There wasn't time to go anywhere 
else, he would just have to stay there.

The room looked the same as it always did, so very neat and orderly, but 
without David there it felt silent and dusty. And the bed- the bed was 
cold and very, VERY empty. Marius gritted his teeth and laid down on it 
anyways. He wasn't going to think about it. It was just a bed. A bed 
where he and David had... no, he wasn't going to think about it! This was 
silly, he would find David tomorrow and apologize. He had been meaning to 
ask David to come with him, just for the weekend, or however long David 
felt he could go. He had bought a house in France, a beautiful old manor 
house with the most spectacular garden, he had wanted to show it to 
David. But now David wasn't here...

He couldn't help himself. He had to find David, know he was all right. 
Marius turned over on his back and closed his eyes, sending out his 
thoughts in search of his lover. David might be asleep, and he hated it 
when Marius homed in on him like this, but it would just be for a moment. 
Just to know David was safe. He sent his mind out farther, combing 
through the city.

And found David.

Marius' blood went cold, his heart stopping for a moment before picking 
up again, slamming with hurtful force against his ribs. His shields 
slammed down, locking everything out. He hadn't felt that. He hadn't. He 
hadn't...

He had. David. David and Santino.

Rage boiled through him, rage and hurt and pain. He didn't even know what 
he was doing until the vase atop David's desk rose into the air and 
shattered, the books flying from the shelf to slam against the far wall, 
flame crackling up and licking at the wood of the desk. He had to stop 
this, he had to control it! He forced the rage down, damped out the 
sparks, made himself put down the things which spun in wild chaos through 
the air. He couldn't give into fury like this, he could hurt too much if 
he did.

But banishing the fury left only the pain. It ate at him, even as the sun 
climbed over the horizon and the sleep pulled at his limbs. It gnawed at 
his heart. David had left him. David had rejected him, had run from him 
and straight into Santino's arms.

Marius curled on the bed, letting the pain flood him, his tears staining 
the pillow. His last whispered sob, before the sleep took him, was 
David's name.

_________________________________________________________________________
Post 135: Armand

	All around him was confusion, darkness, and noise.  In utter
misery he looked hopelessly at the floor, having long sense given
up the search for compassion in this sea of humanity.  If he looked
down, perhaps they would not notice him.  Perhaps they might pass
him by...
	Rough hands reached for his hair.  It was always his hair
which drew the attention - such an unusual shade.  He was hauled 
forward, stumbling, without protest.  The fight had long since been
beaten out of him, in ways both enduring and imaginative.  The hands
reached lower, fondling and pinching, but always he looked down, to
the floor, desperately avoiding the eyes of his one night master.
For he knew what would come of making eye contact.
	Again, there was a fist in his hair, yanking his head up
and around, forcing him to look up.  He saw the eyes of his master
widen when they beheld his beauty, apparent even under the mass
of bruises.  His mouth, perfectly formed for duty in a brothel...
The last thing he saw was a leering grin before he was shoved
to his knees.  Suddenly he was choaking...

	Armand bolted awake, fighting for breath, his hands clawing at
the mattress, shreading the sheets to ribbons.  He stilled almost at
once, staring straight ahead.  He remained that way for some time,
not moving except to breath or blink.  It had been years since that
dream had visited him, centuries dulling the memory.  For it to
return now - with such shocking clarity... he had no idea what to
make of it.
	Finally he forced himself to move, to shower and dress.  But
still his mind lingered on the dream.  He moved into the post-twilight
haze warily.  He jumped at unexpected noises, and felt the crowd closing
in on him almost at once.  He found himself looking down, avoiding
eye contact almost by instinct.  When he caught himself he shook his
head, forcing himself to look up, to see what was around him.
	After feeding he felt somewhat better, but found the crowd
still difficult to endure.  The thought of returning to the coven
was out of the question.  In the state he was in, he would be much 
better off alone.  However, one vision returned to him again and
again during his troubled walk.  A pair of obsidian eyes, so like
his own, peering with gentle intelligence from under a mass of
dark auburn curls...
	Almost without thinking he returned to the set, taking care
to move with great stealth.  He avoided the lights, the trailers,
anything to do with the mortals making the film, remaining in the
deepest shadows of the forest around the set.  Finally he approached,
to the edge but no closer, and waited, hoping for a glimpse of
Antonio.  He did not know why he did this - only that he must.  He
had not uttered a sound since waking, but still his throat felt
raw, and he knew he had cried out more than once in his sleep.  He
shuddered, then once again forced stillness, becoming part of the
night.

________________________________________________________________________
Post 136: Marius

He woke to the memory of pain.

Pain in heart, pain in body- there had been fire in his dreams, fire that 
bloomed on the walls and the floor, streaking across the vulnerable oils 
on the canvases, crackling and sparking as it reached out to lick at his 
clothes and flesh with a thousand hot tongues. Flames that were reflected 
in bright auburn curls as he had tried to slap them out, pain in his 
hands as he put his own body before the flames. God, don't let them hurt 
his young one, ah gods it hurt so much, don't let them hurt the boy, his 
beautiful young one... ache of smoke in lungs, agony of flame on 
preternatural flesh, and the pain, the wrenching pain as they had ripped 
the young one from his arms, his own screams cracking in his ears, "Amadeo!"

Marius awoke with a start, sitting up, every muscle tensed. Slowly, he 
forced himself to relax. To breath normally. It was a dream, only a 
nightmare. A memory of long ago. Italy, the villa. Gods, he hadn't dreamt 
of that in decades, what had brought in on?

And then he remembered. He was in David's room, in David's bed. And David 
wasn't there.

Marius shut his eyes, trying to stop the tears that betrayed him, 
streaking hot and red down his cheeks. David wasn't there, David was with 
Santino. "Santino," Marius whispered, and for the first time in centuries 
the name came from his tongue in anger. "Ah, God! Must you steal 
everything that is precious to me?" The dream had reminded him, brought 
the memories forward until they were fresh and painful. The villa in 
Italy, and Santino's coven. Santino's coven, under Santino's rule, 
setting fire to the villa, to _him_. Santino's coven ripping Armand from 
his arms, setting the torch to his flesh, as Santino looked on in 
approval. "Friend," Marius spat. "I called you friend! Viper! Thief!"

He couldn't stay in the room a moment longer. David's room, filled with 
David's things, the smell of his cologne, the robe hung neatly at the end 
of the bed, scent of books and ink and fine linen paper... Marius surged 
to his feet, stepping past the mess he had created the night before 
without a second glance. Going to the window, he threw back the heavy 
drapes and slid open the glass, leaping silently out into the night 
beyond. He couldn't face the others in the house just yet.

He walked the back streets purposefully, and took the first criminal the 
night presented to him. He rarely took life, not when the little drink 
would suffice for him, but tonight he drained the first mugger in a great 
draught and left the man in a broken pile, as battered and broken as the 
man had left his own victims. And then he went searching for another.

Finally, a measure of peace returned to him. He slowed, stopped, resting 
his back against a stone wall. He couldn't go back to Rue Royale. Not 
with the others there. And he _would NOT_ seek out David or Santino. He 
wouldn't be able to control his temper if he saw them. Better to stay as 
far away as possible. Leave the state, he had no reason to stay. He had 
only come to visit David. Leave New Orleans, leave the country all 
together, just go.

Marius shivered. The dream still haunted him, phantom pains and screams 
in his ears. The flicker of a red neon light, glimpsed from the corner of 
his eye, brought the memory of searing heat and the imagined crackle of 
flames. Memory sparked feeling. No. He couldn't leave yet. Not quite yet. 
He should find Armand, speak to him before leaving. He had so few chances 
to speak to him, he couldn't just leave without saying good bye.

He had no idea where Armand was, if not with Gabrielle. And he had sensed 
something of Gabrielle's upset the night before, when he had entered the 
house. Armand was not with her. And not with Daniel. So where...?

Marius thought, and guessed. The disturbing mortal, the one Armand had 
been so very entranced with the night before. Maybe Armand would return 
to watch him this night. It couldn't hurt to check, and it certainly 
wouldn't take long. Marius sighed, setting his mind firmly on the task at 
hand, and set out for the site of the movie filming.

________________________________________________________________________
Post 137: Antonio

	Antonio Banderas had no idea why he was on the set of the Vampire
Lestat.  Extra rehersal time was all well and good.  This movie relied
heavily on chemistry, and the cast was large.  Meeting ahead of time
was fine.  But they weren't going to start filimg his scenes until later,
and then on a soundstage.  So what was it that kept drawing him to the
set?
	He recalled the extraordinary event of the previous night as
he wandered the set.  Martin had acted so strangely when the beautiful
blond had marched up to them, introducing herself as Gabrielle.  In fact,
the "strangeness" about it was that Martin had acted perfectly calm, as
though he knew already who they were.  He certainly seemed familiar with
Louis...
	He was avoiding the real issue, and he knew it.  Troubled, he sat
near the original meeting place, gazing thoughtfully into space.  What
was it about this part?  He had known from the moment he read the script
that he had to have it.  Physically he was completely wrong for it, and
STILL he had to have it.  The Vampire Armand seemed to call him, deep
from within, and he responded without hesitation.  During the first film
he had all but became Armand, in much the same way that Brad had become
Louis.  He was fortunate that his part was much happier than that of
Louis.  But in VL, it was he who was the troubled soul, walking the
edge between salvation and madness.
	Antonio felt he sometimes identified a little too much with
the role.
	And after last night, he could begin to see why.  Looking into
his eyes, hearing his soft voice... was like looking into a mirror, only
slightly warped.  Shorter than he... of a more slender build, but still...
Armand and he could be brothers.  If that was really Armand.  He wasn't
sure anymore.  At first he was certain it was, then, hours later, just as
certain it was not.  Now...  
	He sighed heavily, lost in his own thoughts.

________________________________________________________________________
Post 138: Marius

Marius slipped onto the set, unnoticed. They were filming more things 
with Brad and Tom, and he felt a flash of irritated disappointment. If 
they weren't filming Antonio's parts that night, would the man even be 
there? But a quick search proved he was, sitting near the place they had 
all met last night, deep in thought. His posture, the way he say, the 
quiet indrawn look on his face... all of it was just too eerily like 
Armand's, it made Marius shiver to look at him. He started to reach out 
and touch the actor's mind- and then stopped. He was almost frightened of 
what he would see there. The man was uncanny.

Looking around, Marius could not see Armand. He had been perched on the 
roof the night before, and in the tree, but neither place revealed him 
tonight. Maybe he hadn't come here, maybe he had already left the city 
for all Marius knew. Well, one last look around couldn't hurt. Marius 
faded back into the trees, intending to circle silently around the place 
where Antonio sat. But he hadn't taken more then a dozen steps when he 
nearly ran into the very person he had been looking for.

_______________________________________________________________________
Post 139: Armand

	Armand's concentration was complete.  He studied Antonio with
everythign he was.  How could this be?  His stillness, his gestures,
all screamed of Armand.  He started running through theories.  Distant
relative?  Perhaps, but so highly unlikely as to be laughable.  Genetic
happenstance?  Perhaps, but then why _all_ the similarities?  He nearly
laughed as the thought of reincarnation crossed his mind.  He was,
technically speaking, dead.  Could he, therefore, be reincarnated into
another mortal... without knowing it?
	Obviously the dream was disturbing him more than he knew, if
he was entertaining such thoughts.  At once memories of the brothel
flashed through his mind, and he was distracted.  He did not even notice
when his hiding place was discovered until it was too late - he had no
opportunity to seek alternate shelter.  He looked up at the intruder
with a mixture of surprise and relief.  Of all the coven members...
"Marius?  What are you doing here?"

_______________________________________________________________________
Post 140: Marius and Armand

	Marius caught himself against the tree trunk before he could
physically stumble over Armand. "Armand!" he gasped, a bit startled. He
had had no idea that Armand was there. 
	"What are you doing here?" Armand whispered. His eyes were huge 
in his pale face, his auburn curls almost black in the darkness. There 
was a small telltale line between his brows, a tightness to his lips- he 
was disturbed about something. Even after all this time, Marius could 
still read him well enough to tell. But he was also beautiful, as always, 
and Marius felt a renewed pain in his heart just looking at Armand. It 
was like a little frission of electricity that arched between them, every 
time he saw Armand.
	"I... came looking for you," Marius said, almost hesitantly. "I 
wanted to talk to you."
	Armand met his eyes for a moment, then looked away. "About what?" 
There was pain beneath that cool tone, a little shiver running through 
the white hands that clasped his updrawn knees.
	The words were on Marius' tongue- "To say goodbye", but the look 
on Armand's face silenced them. There was something wrong, something very 
wrong, and he had never been able to bear seeing Armand in pain. Dropping 
to his knees on the grass beside the younger vampire, he reached out, 
then hesitated, not quite touching Armand's shoulder. Almost by instinct 
the words came to his lips, words in the old Italian they had once spoken 
together, so soft as to almost be a whisper. "Ragazzo... what's wrong?"

________________________________________________________________________
Post 141: Armand and Marius

	Armand felt his eyes widen at the use of the old nickname.
"Ragazzo, mi Padrone?"  He shook his head sadly.  "No more."
	Marius closed his eyes briefly against sudden a sudden swift pain.
"Can you tell me?"
	He hesitated, desperately wanting to speak, but wondering if it
would only cause more pain.  The look on his master's face... it was that
which convinced him to speak.  He was so obviously concerned...  "I had
a dream today."
	Marius frowned.  "About what?"
	"The brothel."
	He drew in a startled breath.  "You still dream of that place?"
	Armand shook his head at once.  "Hardly ever.  That's why this
one troubles me so.  It was so clear... as though I was there.  I could..."
his voice trailed off, as memories once again flooded through him.  He
could not suppress a shiver, nor could he completly hide the fear within
his eyes when he looked up once again.  "It was disturbing." he said at
last.
	How well he knew Marius!  And yet, he had forgotten just how well
he knew him.  Marius slowly opened his arms, as Armand knew he would.
The longing, the regret etched in his handsome features all seemed
completely familiar to him.  Such comfort - only inches away from him,
and suddenly Armand did not have the strength to resist it.  He moved
into Marius' arms, letting out a long, shivering sigh as they closed
around him, holding him tight.

________________________________________________________________________
Post 142: Marius and Armand

	Dreams. Dreams and nightmares, haunting them, forever, eternal
echoes of old pains and shattered dreams. Marius tightened his arms around
Armand's slender body, burying his face against the soft auburn curls. 
Like this, in Armand's arms, he could almost pretend it had all never 
happened. The villa had never been burnt, Armand had never been forced into 
the coven; they were together, as they should always have been, and if he 
opened his eyes it would be to the candle lit splendor of their home in 
Venice.
	But that was a dream too, and Marius knew it. So he didn't open 
his eyes, just held Armand, rocked him, soothed him as he had countless 
times in ages past when Armand as a boy had woken screaming from the 
dreams to run to his master's embrace. Whispered words of reassurance 
fell from his lips in a pattern he hadn't consiously remembered, words of 
love and safety. 
	But this was no mortal boy of 12 in his arms, and he needed to 
remember that. This was a man in the boy's form, a man of 400 whom Marius 
barely knew, whom he had exchanged words with only a handful of times. 
And yet... They fit into each other's arms as Marius remembered, so 
perfect and wonderful, the feel of him bringing back so many memories. 
The crisp, clean scent of his hair, the subtle scent of his skin... ah, 
gods, how many times had Marius remembered this in the long years of 
healing afterwards, the memories that had become longing, the longing a 
fantasy, until he could no longer distinguish fantasy from reality. But 
this was real, and he knew it, knew it deep in his bones that this was 
how it should feel, how it should always have been.
	He pressed his lips to Armand's pale cheek, holding him tight, 
feeling the tears well up in his own eyes. "Ragazzo," he whispered, 
brokenly. "Mi Amadeo."

_______________________________________________________________________
Post 143: Armand and Marius

	Armand shivered in the arms of his Master, his creator and father.
It would be so easy... just give in to the warmth, the safety, the 
pure illusion of comfort radiating from Marius.  How sweetly remembered...
It would be so easy, so right!  Marius whispered words of such joy,
his tone carried such longing... and it would be so easy...
	He could not allow his barriers to drop before Gabrielle.  It
would be even more foolish to do so before Marius, who had hurt him
so badly so long ago.  And yet, he could not resist the siren song,
spun like a gentle web around his heart.  Another shiver ran through him
and he looked up, eyes wide, into the gaze of his Master.  He could not
bear to even speak the words, and yet Marius knew.  He had always known.
He felt his breath quicken as Marius closed even the small distance
between them, anticipated the kiss in agony before it occured.  Just the
smallest caress - almost a sigh - and then he was sinking, overwhelmed,
the sweetly remembered passion blazing between them once more.

_______________________________________________________________________
Post 144: David and Santino

David opened his eyes with the relief that yesterday was behind him. Now
he could concentrate on fixing things with Marius. He moved to get out of
the bed when he noticed he wasn't alone or in his own room. He looked at the
person laying next to him. *Santino!*  ::I thought I dreamt that! My God,
what am I suppose to do now!:: He slouched back in the bed and reflected
on everything that happened that night

~   ~   ~     ~    ~     ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~   ~   ~    ~    ~   ~
  ~   ~    ~     ~    ~     ~    ~    ~    ~   ~    ~   ~    ~    ~    ~
(cool dream like waves)

     First they were talking about going to sleep, the next thing he knew,
Santino had grabbed him and they were kissing. David's first reaction was
to keep going. Then a small spark in the back of his mind was telling him that
he should stop, that this would hurt Marius, but he quickly put that thought
out of his mind. He wanted this! Marius has certainly put him on the back
burner more then once. His catering to Pandora, his overwheming concern for
Armand, his infatuation with Jeromy Irons!
     And Santino! He understood David, he could sympatize with his agony,
his loniness. _He_ knew what books David appeared in! He must have been
sent by God or one of his old spirit friends that owed him a favor.
     "Maybe we should stop." Santino said as he pulled away. "We could
talk about all--"
     "Nonsense, talk is cheap." David pulled him back and kissed him deeply.
Santino complied and began to rip off his clothes. "Let me do that for you."
David said with a wyrly grin on his face. ::He does do that like Lestat::
Santino thought to himself.
     "Not very the English gentlemen like thing to do David."
     "Rubbish!" And David ripped open Santino's button flies like they were
velcro. Santino couldn't believe how fast David had gotten him out of his
pants. Something could definately be said about the spirit and enthusiasm
of a fledgling. Now it was time to show David the tricks of the experienced
vampire.
     "My turn." he said to David as he slowly lowered him into the bed,
covering him with soft kisses. By the time David's head hit the pillow,
every stitch of clothing was off him *and* they were neatly piled at the
side of the bed, just the way David liked it!
     "But how did--"
     "Shhh" Santino put his finger to David's lips. "That was the last
gentle thing that will happen in the thirty minutes we have left." David
was licking Santino's finger now. "I hope you picked up more then Lestat's
grin."
     "My dear Santino, there are many things *I* could teach to Lestat!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Oh yes, he remembered it all well right now. What was he to do?
He didn't want to end it with Marius, but he couldn't ignore the complete
carnal lust he had for Santino. He sat up again with his hands on his head.
Santino stired next to him and slowly began to awaken. He sat up and put
his arm around David.
     "You're worried aren't you?"
     "Yes!" David said miserably
     "Can it wait an hour or so...do you think?" Santino said as he stroked
David's hair.
     "Well, maybe an hour or so..."

_______________________________________________________________________
Post 145: Marius and Armand

	The kiss seared through his very soul, awakening a passion he had 
felt only rarely over his many hundreds of years. Armand in his arms, 
Armand laying back in the sweet smelling grass and drawing Marius with 
him, those small strong hands against his back, tangled in his hair. 
	Marius hardly dared to believe it was real. He kissed Armand 
again, letting the kiss deepen, feeling Armand's response. Uninhibited 
passion flowing bwetween them as all barriers came crashing down. He 
trailed light kisses over Armand's lips, his cheeks and eyelids, down 
over his jaw, and placed feather light caresses over the pale, perfect 
length of his throat. Armand moaned softly, tugging Marius' head up and 
reclaiming his lips.
	Marius groaned deep in his throat, crushing Armand to him, his 
hands moving to pull away the shirt in haste and caress the smooth skin 
beneath. Daring, he let his tongue catch lightly against a fang, let the 
small drops of blood well up and drip, one by one, to the mouth that 
pressed so passionately to his. ::Never meant to hurt you,:: The feelings 
cracked between them like lightning, carried on those small drops of 
crimson. ::Never wanted to hurt you, my beautiful one. Forgive me.::

_______________________________________________________________________
Post 146: Armand and Marius

	Armand lay with his head pillowed against Marius' shoulder,
listening to the quiet thudding of his heart.  He was trying very
hard not to think.  He only wanted to feel.  Even knowing all too well
that it was illusion, the absurd feeling of safety and contentment
currently washing through him HAD to be savored.
	Marius ran his hand gently through Armand's hair, evoking a
small hum of pleasure.  He gently kissed the top of his head.  "You
still like that, mi Amadeo?"
	Armand refused to think about that, either.  To dewll upon why
he asked that would be to remember why he would not know in the first
place.  So he simply nodded and sighed happily when the action was
repeated.  Then he whispered "Marius..." with such reverance it seemed
the very name was a prayer.  And so it had been, for far too long.
	It was not a time for words.  What words, in any language, might
carry the impact of an expression... a touch?  And so they remained,
rediscovering each other, until a sudden, unexpected vision appeared
in Armand's mind.  He suddenly sat up, frowning.
	"What it is?" Marius asked at once.
	He looked at his maker, troubled.  "Do you believe in... 
reincarnation?"

______________________________________________________________________
Post 147: Marius and Armand

	"Reincarnation?" Marius sat up, gathering Armand back into his 
arms. It had felt so good just to hold him, he couldn't give that up yet. 
For a time, every trouble in the world had vanished. Nothing had mattered 
but being here, with Armand. But Armand was still troubled, the little 
frown creeping back onto his face after Marius had worked rather hard to 
banish it. He kissed Armand's cheek, just below his ear and at the base 
of his neck. "Why do you ask... oh. Antonio?"
	Armand nodded, silently, his hair falling forward to obscure his 
face. Marius reached out, brushing back the soft tendrils of curls. "The 
resembalance is... uncanny. But you both have your own minds, your own 
souls. You're not carbon copies of each other." Marius sighed. "Amadeo, I 
really don't know. But don't tear yourself up over it."

______________________________________________________________________
Post 148: Gabrielle

Gabrielle bolted straight up in bed and gasped for air. Her lungs had closed
in on themselves and she could feel a scream rising in her throat. She did
her best to contain the scream and ended up being successful. She looked
towards the window in Lestat's room. Evening, the last harmful rays of the
sun quickly retreating from whence they came. She took a deep breath but she
was still shivering.

Why this dream? Why now?

Les Innocents. The screams, the stench the darkness. Screams, were they her
own or her son's as the were dragged down into the earth. The horrid ugly
creatures of the night, dancing and screaming wild abandon. Shut your ears,
close your eyes....make it go away. And the auburn haired demon, the one who
did this, staring on with a face devoid of emotion. She wanted to plead with
him, with those large, brown eyes, "Help us!"  The drums beating endlessly in
the background, the wails of those starving for blood. Her head was spinning,
things becoming diorientated. There was Nicki....Nicki up in that horrid cage
so close to death. And the beautiful leader they call Armand, emotionless.

Gabrielle drew herself up from the bed, she didn't want to think about it
anymore. She couldn't, it hurt too much. She saw Lestat's robe hanging on a
hook nearby, she shrugged it on over her lithe body. She went to sit in the
living room, and true to her promise, she would wait for Lestat.

__________________________________________________________________________
Post 149: Santino and David

	Santino lay asleep in the hotel bed, dreaming.  Dreaming of David
and of David's thick dark hair, his strong hands, his firm body, his
lover Marius coming into the villa and grabbing Santino by the hair and
snapping his neck in two as he threw him across the room--
	Santino jumped up, awake.  He took a few deep breaths, then
turned to look at the vampire beside him.
	David.
	And if the part about David being beside him now wasn't a dream
then neither were the parts about them making love the night before, going
to sleep, then waking up to make love until their bodies demanded sleep
once more.
	And if *those* parts weren't all a dream....
	Santino lept out of bed.
	"What the *Hell* am I doing?" he whispered.  He quickly searched
for his pants, found that David had ripped them beyond recognition,
dropped them and ran to the closet to find something else.
	"Santino?" David's voice was thick with sleep.  Santino felt
delicious shivers run through his body at the sound of it.
	*No!* he told himself.  *Fight it!*  He tried to make his own
voice calm.  "Yes, David?"
	"What are you doing?"  There was a slight pause, then David's
voice became both confused and slightly angry.  "Are you leaving?"
	Santino swore to himself, then turned to face David.  "Yes.  I
thought it would be best.  After all, this was such a bad idea--"
	"Thanks a lot!"
	"No, I didn't mean you!" Santino said, once again finding words
flying from his mouth without his control.  He wished he could take them
back, even lie to make their meaning go away, but he couldn't.  *What's
happening to me?  This is insane!*  "David, you don't understand.  This
can't go on.  If Marius finds out he'd never forgive you.  He'd never
forgive *me*!  Oh Gods, do you have any idea how long it took me to
make everyone in this coven trust me again?  And Marius was the hardest
of all!  He's not like Louis or Lestat.  He doesn't take the burning
of his house and the stealing of his Child as a form of saying 'I love
you'!"  Santino moaned.  "And now I've slept with his lover.  Oh this is
bad, this is really, really bad."  *And that's not even the worst part
of it,* Santino thought.
	"What is the worst part of it?" David asked, reading Santino's
thoughts.
	Santino looked into David's dark eyes, loosing himself in their
depth.  *Why can't I hold anything back from him?*  "The worst part,"
Santino said, "is that I'd do it again if you wanted me to."

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Post 150: David and Santino

     "I...I would do it again too." David said with a slight edge in his
voice. "But you are right, this can't continue. We've already broken the
trust of those we love, it would be wrong to keep carrying on like we did
last night." He turned his head away from Santino and muttered. "I did
enjoy it though."
     "So did I"
     "So what do we do now, pretend it didn't happen or confess?"
     "I say we pretend it didn't happen!"
     "What if anyone saw us leave, or if Marius tracked one of us? Oh why
didn't we think of this last night before..."
     "I'm so sorry David" Santino said with regret. He felt he had injured
David in some deep way. David was a wreck last night, he wasn't using his
senses. Now, Santino had felt like he had taken advantage of him.
     "Sorry for what!  It takes two to tango Santino, besides, I was the
one that wouldn't take no for an answer remember?  I'm much more to blame in
all of this."
      "Listen, let me talk to Marius, I'll tell him that we were just trying
to protect him...yeah, you know, by letting everyone think that we were lovers.
This way, he could keep his secret about the two of you safe."  David looked
troubled.  "Is something wrong with that?"
     "No, I suppose not. I just hate all this cloak and dagger stuff. And
it's not really this lie that I'm talking about. Why doesn't Marius want
anyone to know about us?  It sounded like a good idea at first, but now..."
     "You feel like there are other reasons he doesn't want others to know?"
     "Exactly!"
     "You know what happened the last time we started to agree." Santino
said wearily.
     "Yes."  He said with a smile. "That will be very hard to forget."
     "You're telling me!"  Santino said as he gazed at what was left of
his pants.
     "I'm going to get dressed and leave now. I guess I'll be on the set.
I need to smooth things over with Marius and see the rest of the coven.
Lestat will kill me if I don't stop by. Do you think this will work?
I mean, do you think Marius will buy our story?  I feel so wrong lying to
him."
     "Yes, I think we could convince him. And I know what you mean, I don't
like this anymore then you do, but it's for the best."  Santino looked into
David's eyes "I won't forget what happened here David, I'll regret it, but I
won't forget it."
     "Niether will I, but I must leave. It would seem odd if we showed up
together. I will see you on the set and we could straighten this with
Marius then."  David got dressed and left the hotel heading toward the
movie set.