Chapter Text
"Except he just threatened me with it!"
Claudia could see in Louis' eyes his knee-jerk instinct to dismiss her words out of hand, and it sent a heavy feeling into her chest. But before she could call him out for being so dumb when it comes to love, he sent a quick glance to the chair behind his left shoulder. Claudia doesn't need to peak into his mind to know who's sitting audience for this conversation. As if it isn't humiliating enough without the reminder that this isn't the first time Louis has picked someone over her.
Before she can sizzle in her thoughts any longer, though, Louis fully turns his head to look more intently at the ghost in the chair. She can't see his face and it's aggravating her even more. Oh, we're doing this again?!, she thinks to herself. He's dead but Louis still only has eyes for Him. She's figuring out the nastiest thing she can say to force his attention back toward her when he turns around and says, "I believe you."
It catches Claudia off-guard. Maybe she heard wrong? She's aware she's staring at him but she couldn’t stop even if she wanted to. He reads the disbelief in her face and says it again, stepping forward as he does so, "I believe you."
Hope pokes at her from within the corner of her heart in which she likes to hide it when she knows it won’t be safe. But she's been burned too many times to let it out just yet. So, she scoffs, "Just like that? I tell you Armand, your sometimes lover, threatened me and you believe me that easy?"
Louis rests his hands on her shoulders. She distantly realizes this is the closest they've been to each other in a while. He gently nudges her toward the bed and she takes the chance to calm herself as she assesses his face. For what she has no idea. But it takes the steam out of her anger when she finds honesty in his eyes. He lowers himself to one knee as she sits down and slides his hands down to firmly grasp hers, still so small in his hands after all these years. He does that thing where he chews on the inside of his lip as he thinks about where to start before releasing a deep sigh.
"Claudia, how long have we known each other?"
She rolls her eyes, "Louis, what does this have to do with anything?"
He stares at her in expectation.
"Since 1917," and if her response is a little petulant, she blames it on her stupid Lulu costume.
"Exactly," he says. "I've known you for over 30 years now. You've been my confidante, my friend, my sister, and my daughter. You've been my companion for 5 years. I trust your judgment now more than ever. And if you say that's what happened. Then I believe that's what happened."
Claudia yanks her hands away from Louis' just in time to smother the sob that bursts forward from he throat. She's trying to control her shaky breaths but it's hard to focus when the tears she can’t blink away are making a mess of her face. Louis takes her by the wrists and pulls her hands back down. His eyes are gentle on her in a way that warms the coldness that had long seeped into her bones.
For the first time in a long time he's looking at her and seeing her. Not an extension of himself or her maker. Just Claudia. She’s wanted it for so long now, yet she still feels awkward under his gaze. Still, she wouldn't be Claudia if she made it too easy. So she uses one of his Granddaddy sweaters to wipe her face clean(ish) then blurts out, "Why?"
Louis sighs and then joins her on the bed. "Because the last time I put somebody before you didn't go so well," he says sardonically. "Because you don't gain anything from telling me this if it’s a lie. Because I wouldn't put it past him?" His shrug is all forced nonchalance he shakes from his shoulders before she can get a read him, "I don't know. Because it's you?"
“Because it’s me?”
“And you.”
He tugs Claudia into his chest as her face crumbles so can hold her in his arms and mumble into the crown of her hair, “Me and you. You and me. Me and you. I’m sorry for making you think anything else.”
Inside Claudia’s heart, hope emerges.