Give Me a Memory I Can Use

by harioandlouigi

Summary:

Louis is a brilliant, yet broke PhD student, Harry’s a pretentious and arrogant vampire, and first impressions have never been more deceiving.

Or the one where Louis and Harry will always have Rome. And San Francisco. And London. And each other.

Notes:

• For skyyfreitas.

Thank you for the amazing prompt which inspired a 40k monster. I hope you enjoy it!

A HUGE thank you to my lovely, tireless beta who has powered through insane deadlines without ever complaining.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction and the characterization does not necessarily reflect my personal opinions.

 

Louis Tomlinson is not a smart man.

 

Most people would probably argue against that statement – he is, after all, one small hurdle away from having a PhD from the University of Chicago in the Biomedical Sciences field, more specifically in Molecular Metabolism and Nutrition.

 

It’s precisely that small hurdle that has Louis staring at an enormous gate and wondering if he was dropped on his head as a baby.

 

*

 

Louis can still remember how excited he’d been to tell Dr. Payne about his chosen thesis topic.

 

He’d walked confidently into his course coordinator’s office that morning, a small victorious smile on his lips as he shook Dr. Payne’s cold hand.

 

Louis had then proceeded to go on and on about his chosen topic, describing what had already been done in regards to that particular subject, and what he was planning on doing.

 

He’d even gone as far as to predict an odds ratio as to what results his testing would probably yield.

 

After what had almost felt like a dissertation already, Dr. Payne had simply hummed in response, looking heartbreakingly bored and unimpressed. Louis had seen that specific look on his Professor’s face many a time before, but it had never been directed at him.

 

“Look, Louis,” Dr. Payne said, “I’ll be honest with you, I’m disappointed. It’s not that your topic is irrelevant or scientifically unfounded – it’s just that I expected more from you. There must be plenty of PhD students all over the country doing the exact same research you want to do, and, quite frankly, I think that you’re too good of a scientist to settle for a mediocre and over explored topic. Out of all the students currently under my supervision, you’re honestly the one I was most looking forward to bragging about at the research fundraiser. I think you’re settling for an easy topic when you should be aiming for the greatness you and I both know you’re capable of. I suggest you go home and take some time to think about whether or not you’d really like to go forward with this particular topic. You’ll thank me eventually, trust me.”

 

Dr. Payne may look like an undergrad, but he has had countless lifetimes of experience, so Louis was definitely tempted to rethink his chosen topic.

 

It’s surprisingly easy to underestimate a vampire due to how young they often look, but Louis has been blown away by his Professor’s knowledge and pure wisdom enough times to be able to overlook his fresh-faced appearance.

 

“Do you have any suggestions, Sir? Uh, that came out wrong. I’m not trying to get you to pick a topic for me or anything, I promise; I know that that’s my job. I was just trying to ask if there’s a specific area of study that you think hasn’t been explored enough.”

 

Dr. Payne had smirked then, as if he had been hoping that Louis would ask that exact question.

 

“Well, I’m probably a bit biased, but there’s an appalling lack of research being done on vampires at the moment, wouldn’t you agree? We are, after all, quite a complex species. After that initial curiosity when the existence of vampires became common knowledge, the number of researchers interested in studying us and how our bodies work dropped exponentially. I believe there are a lot more questions to be asked, questions that would be great topics for a research thesis.”

 

Maybe the fact that over half of those initial researchers ended up being drained to death is a contributing factor to the lack of interest, Louis had thought, though he had refrained from saying as much out loud.

 

Louis sighed, “I guess I have a lot of thinking to do when I get home, then. Thank you, Dr. Payne.”

 

Dr. Payne had smiled kindly, albeit a bit cockishly, “You do that, then, Louis. It might also interest you to know that a lot of the research funding at this University comes from vampires, so the more appealing your research is to them, the more generous they’ll be. Just some food for thought.”

 

The monetary factor was certainly tempting. Louis was one of five children of a middle to lower class single mom, so his whole academic career depended on scholarships, loans, and grants.

 

Unlike some of his colleagues – cough, Charles van der Fuckface III, cough – Louis was fully relying on external funding to go forward with his research. More money would mean more and better equipment, more subjects to study, and maybe even a research assistant to help him organize data.

 

Louis had already been trying to figure out the best way to tell his overprotective mother that he was crazy enough to use vampires as subjects for his research as he walked towards the door.

 

“Thank you, Sir. I’ll let you know what I’ve decided tomorrow morning, then. Have a nice evening!”

 

“Thank you. Have a nice evening as well. Oh, and Louis, please stop calling me Sir. The main benefit of being a vampire is that you get to be twenty years old forever, so please stop trying to age me.” Dr. Payne had said, chuckling as he picked up the pile of papers he had been looking over before Louis came in.

 

Fuck.

 

*

 

Fast-forward two months and the biggest research budget granted to a C.U. student in the past ten years, and Louis is standing in front of what could only be described as a mansion.

 

(Or a palace - a palace would also be an acceptable description.)

 

It had taken two shots of whiskey for Louis to finally give in to the idea of studying vampires, and by the time morning came, he had even picked the topic of his thesis.

 

Louis had chosen to research the enzymes present in vampires who feed solely from animal blood versus those who feed only from human blood, and, because he’s an overachiever, he’s even planning on introducing specific substances into the bloodstream of his subjects to see if or how differently they react depending on their nourishment source.

 

Dr. Payne had been almost childishly giddy when Louis had proposed this new topic, and had even promised to help him find vampires willing to participate in his research.

 

(It’s not as if Louis can just casually stroll into a vampire bar and start asking them about their dietary habits…)

 

Dr. Payne’s first, and most obvious, candidate suggestions had been the members of his clan, which is the reason why Louis is currently standing in front of what is colloquially known as ‘Styles Manor’.

 

Growing up, Louis had always wondered why vampires liked to live in groups.

 

He simply could not understand why these powerful, rich creatures would choose to share their space. Had he been given the chance to live in a house where the bathroom was always available, no babies woke him up in the middle of the night, and his parents’ fights didn’t echo down the hall while he was doing his homework, Louis would have moved without a second thought.

 

Now though, he’s eaten too many microwavable meals for one with only his books for company to not realize that eternity is an awful long time to feel that lonely.

 

Styles Manor is certainly impressive, with its palace-like windows and beautiful classic architecture – not to mention how it’s probably just as big as the dorm Louis had lived in during his first few years of college – and Louis can still remember how mesmerized he’d been when he’d first seen it.

 

(He walked past it too many times when he was dating an asshole that lived two blocks over to still be awestruck, though.)

 

It’s certainly interesting how strikingly different Styles Manor looks compared to the rest of the buildings on the same street, and Louis briefly wonders if it actually blended in when it was first built, however many decades or even centuries ago that was.

 

Despite the fact that three other vampires live at the mansion in the South Loop, including Dr. Payne, everyone knows that Harry Styles is the actual owner, a name Louis can’t spend a whole day without hearing. Twice.

 

Harry Styles was an entrepreneur before the term was even brought to America, buying, rebuilding, and renovating buildings all over Chicago since well before Louis’ grandparents were even born.

 

He’s estimated to currently own more than half the city, and even Louis’ tiny studio apartment in the South Shore area is part of his massive collection of properties.

 

Despite being his tenant, Louis has never actually met the infamous vampire, always dealing with his many assistants and secretaries instead. There was one occasion when Louis met one of the many executives working at Styles Corp., back when they’d been considering doing a few improvements in the building, but then that arrogant son-of-a-bitch, Styles, had decided to “wait a few decades until the South Shore loses its bad reputation”. Prick.

 

Truthfully, Louis has always been curious to see the inside of Styles Manor, much like literally everyone else in Chicago and probably half the country as well, but he had never actually expected to have a legitimate reason to be ringing the doorbell.

 

That reason may be legitimate, but it’s certainly not something Louis is happy about.

 

As an initial step of his research, Louis has to interview each and every potential volunteer to make sure that not only do they feed purely from either humans or animals and have been doing so for a considerable amount of time, but they are also willing to respect the guidelines.

 

Louis had asked every single one of his potential volunteers to meet him at the University for the initial assessment, and all but one had immediately complied, the exception being Styles, of course.

 

That pretentious prick had the nerve to have his personal assistant call Louis back to say that it’s “bad business etiquette” to ask your “gracious volunteer” to come to you.

 

Had it not been for the fact that Harry Styles is such a close friend of Dr. Payne, Louis would have put his file in the trash can right there and then. As it is, Dr. Payne had apologized for his friend’s “peculiar sense of humor” and invited Louis for dinner at Styles Manor so that he could meet and interview not only Styles, but also the rest of the members of his clan – Niall Horan and Zayn Malik.

 

It certainly seems odd that the four vampires have different feeding habits given that they live together - Styles and Malik feed solely from animals, whereas Horan drinks human blood. Dr. Payne’s personal preference is also human blood apparently, but having him as a volunteer would be a conflict of interests given his educational role.

 

Louis isn’t too knowledgeable on vampire clan habits though, so he doesn’t question it.

 

He was definitely surprised when he found out that Styles doesn’t feed from humans - he seemed like the type to take advantage of naïve, young girls.

 

So, here Louis is, willingly walking into the home of the oldest, wealthiest, and most powerful vampire in all of Chicago.

 

He made sure to tell pretty much everyone he knows where he was going tonight, hoping that if the four vampires decide to make him their dessert, at least they’ll be punished for it.

 

(Hopefully.)

 

The gate opens to reveal a beautifully kept garden, and Louis can immediately spot at least two species of flowers that are considered a rarity. They’re clearly properly taken care of, and even have heating lights to allow them to survive through the colder weather.

 

It strikes Louis as bit of a paradox that these creatures that are built to literally suck the life out of humans seem so keen on keeping these fragile little plants alive.

 

Louis looks up to see Dr. Payne standing at the door, looking painfully attractive in his jeans and plaid shirt instead of the usual formal attire and lab coat. Louis can definitely understand why two-thirds of his class sigh whenever their Professor walks into the room, but, personally, Louis isn’t too keen on the lumberjack meets personal trainer vibe Dr. Payne’s got going for him.

 

“Good evening, Louis. I see you found your way to our home alright. Please come in.” Dr. Payne says, a kind and welcoming smile on his lips.

 

Louis has to physically bite his tongue to keep himself from saying that it was hardly difficult to find the most ostentatious and pretentious house in all of Chicago.

 

“Good evening, Dr. Payne.” He says instead, trying to school his expression into a less dumbfounded look as he takes in the decor.

 

The Manor is even more impressive on the inside, and Louis briefly wonders if he accidentally tripped and fell into a painting at the Art Institute.

 

Everything from the curtains to the chandeliers looks like it cost more than Louis’ entire apartment, and he struggles to keep himself from looking around buggy-eyed.

 

Styles seems like the type of asshole who would greatly enjoys seeing someone look awestruck due to how luxurious his home is, and Louis certainly doesn’t want to give him that satisfaction.

 

“Niall and Zayn are in the kitchen, and Harry was upstairs in his office last time I saw him. You’ll be conducting individual interviews, right?”

 

Louis nods.

 

“I’ll go get either Niall or Zayn first, then.”

 

“That will not be necessary.” A deep voice says from the top of the stairs, “I’m sure Mr. Tomlinson wouldn’t mind conducting my interview first.”

 

Louis forces himself to take a deep breath as not to show how irritating he finds Styles, before finally turning around to see the infamous vampire coming down the stairs.

 

It had occurred to him when he was heading to the Manor that he’d never seen a picture of Harry Styles before, and he’s certainly regretting his lack of gossipy curiosity now.

 

Styles looks like no one Louis has ever met, closer to an actual god than a human.

 

The vampire possesses a pompous poise that blends perfectly with the background, and Louis suddenly remembers hearing a rumor that he was either a nobleman or a member of the British royal family before he was turned.

 

Styles’ long, curly hair shines beautifully under the light reflected from the crystals of the chandelier over the stairs, and Louis is sure that the other man has yet to live through an era in which his locks wouldn’t be coveted.

 

His mossy green eyes have this piercing and astute twinkle to them, and Louis has to suppress a shiver when he realizes that the vampire is assessing him.

 

There’s a confident smirk on his bubblegum pink lips, looking every bit as arrogant as Louis had imagined he would be.

 

His exuberant outfit seems unnecessary given that Styles is in his own home, and Louis almost assumes that the vampire dressed up for him. Then again, he does seem like the type to walk around the house in his pompous outfits even when he’s not expecting any guests.

 

The gold embroidery on his black military meets marching band jacket is beautiful though, Louis will give him that.

 

Harry Styles may be the single most beautiful man (thing? creature? monster?) Louis has ever seen, but he refuses to let how impressed he is show on his face.

 

“Sure, I have no problem with that.” Louis says coolly, extending his hand in Styles’ direction in a blatant demonstration of lack of fear or intimidation, “I’m Louis Tomlinson. I’m guessing you must be Harry Styles.”

 

“Your assumptions are correct, Mr. Tomlinson. I am certainly delighted to see you have become enlightened concerning business etiquette – you young humans are always so… unknowledgeable.” Styles says accusingly with an air of superiority, looking at Louis like he’s too dense to be aware of his own ignorance.

 

“Maybe. Or maybe humanity and our definition of what is and is not polite has simply evolved and you’re still stuck on the customs of the past.”

 

Louis is definitely going to get his head torn from his body before the night is over. Here lies Louis Tomlinson, his grave will read, cruelly ripped from life for sassing out a vampire who’s older than the concept of toilets.

 

“We’ll just have to agree to disagree, Mr. Tomlinson. My manners do not allow me to delve into this discussion. I trust you did not have any trouble finding our humble home.” Styles says dismissively, looking annoyingly untroubled by Louis’ remark.

 

Breathe in and out, Louis. In and out.

 

I just followed the smell of arrogance and pretentiousness and it brought me right to your doorstep, is the answer Louis wants to give him, but he’s mindful of the fact that Dr. Payne is still in the room.

 

It was hard enough to hold his tongue when Dr. Payne had said nearly the exact same thing, and Styles’ holier-than-thy attitude is certainly not making it any easier.

 

“I did not. Thank you for asking, Mr. Styles.” Louis says in a condescending tone, making it sparingly obvious how irritating he’s finding this entire conversation.

 

“Liam, Mr. Tomlinson and I will be in the main office. I believe it would be ideal if dinner was served before Zayn and Niall’s interviews, so if you could be so kind as to let Ed know that, I’d be ever so pleased.” Styles says, his over-the-top posh British accent even more pronounced than before.

 

To be fair, it is possible that Styles just hasn’t lost his original accent yet, but Louis’ bet is that he just enjoys how annoyingly regal he sounds when he talks like Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones.

 

“Sure thing, Haz. Oh, by the way, Louis, do you have any food allergies or preferences? Ed’s making wild mushroom risotto, but if you’d rather have something else, he’d be happy to prepare it for you. Both him and Harry specifically told me that I should enquire about your food preferences, but I forgot to do it earlier.” Dr. Payne says sheepishly, looking unnecessarily apologetic in Louis’ personal opinion.

 

Louis has never tried risotto in his life, obviously, and he’s not sure if he even knows how to spell the name of the dish, but he’s been forced to watch enough MasterChef episodes with his mom to know that it’s rice, and that it’s supposed to be pretty damn good.

 

Human food is of no nutritional value for vampires, but they still eat it just for the sake of its taste.

 

Louis is sure that if he was a vampire, he would eat junk food all day simply because he would be able to do it without any consequences for his scale or his health.

 

He wouldn’t be surprised if every meal at Styles Manor was elaborate and gourmet though - it certainly seems like the kind of place where you’d prefer Michelin-starred meals over pigging out on fried chicken.

 

“Risotto sounds lovely, thank you, Dr. Payne. I don’t have any food allergies, fortunately.”

 

“Splendid. Follow me, Mr. Tomlinson.” Styles says – no, demands – heading back in the direction of the stairs.

 

They finally arrive at his office after taking enough lefts and rights to make Louis unsure if he could find his way back to the living room. He briefly wonders if Styles is purposely trapping him so that he’s an easier target when he decides to attack him, but then he remembers that his Professor is downstairs. He wouldn’t let Styles kill him, right? Right?

 

The office is decorated in the same style as the rest of the house, and, truthfully, Louis is not nearly as impressed anymore.

 

If he had to pick between his shitty studio apartment and this place, he’d pick the Manor, of course, but it’s so stiffly decorated and uncomfortable-looking, Louis can’t imagine himself living in a place like this.

 

He knows that the inhabitants of Styles Manor were probably born before the radio was even invented, but he can’t help but think about how mind numbing it would be to live in a place that has looked the same for God knows how many decades.

 

Styles did say this is the main office, which means that it’s possible that the other (or others) might have a more relaxed and less intimidating decoration, but Louis seriously doubts that.

 

How enjoyable can it actually be to live a place that has such a pristine and museum-like feel to it?

 

Well, truthfully, Styles doesn’t look like he enjoys having fun anyway.

 

Louis instantly assumes that Styles is going to sit behind the huge mahogany desk to make himself look even grander and more intimidating, but he surprises him by inviting Louis to sit in the big armchairs in front of the fireplace instead.

 

“The stage is yours, Mr. Tomlinson. Ask away.” Styles says, crossing his legs with fake interest.

 

Louis can’t help but feel a little jealous about how powerful and enticing Styles looks sitting in his huge armchair, whereas Louis probably looks like a small child being engulfed by his own.

 

“I’m not sure how much Dr. Payne has told you about the purpose of my research, but the main goal is to find and describe the differences between the blood of vampires who feed solely from humans versus those who consume nonhuman blood. According to the information I was given, you don’t drink human blood. Is that correct?” Louis enquires, feeling a lot less intimidated now that he’s directing the conversation.

 

“Yes, that is correct. Under no circumstances do I feed from humans.” Styles answers, visibly uninterested already even though they’re still on the first question. Fuck him.

 

“Could you please tell me what type of animals you feed from? I’m trying to prepare for any possible discrepancies in the results caused by variations in dietary habits.” Louis explains, trying to make sure that Styles understands that he’s not being invasive just for the sake of it.

 

“Mostly deer. Though I do branch out more when I’m travelling due to availability and, well, local delicacies.”

 

Feeding from animals instead of humans had always seemed like a nobler lifestyle to Louis, but now he can’t help but cringe at the thought of Styles feeding from cats, or dogs, or, God forbid, his favorite animals - chimpanzees.

 

He really, really doesn’t want to ask, but given the similarities between primates and humans, he has to do it for the sake of science.

 

“Do these delicacies include primates?”

 

“Heavens, no. I was referring to the occasional cow or pig, not monkeys.” Styles answers, looking surprisingly disturbed by the thought of feeding from primates considering that his natural instinct is to attack humans of any age and size.

 

“In order to obtain reliable results, it’s important that enough time has passed since your last consumption of human blood for it to not have any impact on your metabolism anymore. May I ask when the last time you drank human blood was?”

 

Dr. Payne had told Louis that vampires can very touchy when it comes to personal questions, which is why he’s trying to be as tactful as possible.

 

It seems like Louis’ Professor was right, as Styles visibly stiffens up immediately, looking more dangerous than ever when he clenches and unclenches his jaw.

 

“That is a question that I will not be answering, Mr. Tomlinson, though you have my word that it was long enough ago. I know that in this day and era, a man’s word means nothing, but my word has yet to lose its value.”

 

Wow, defensive much?

 

Technically, that was the last question on Louis’ standard protocol interview, given that Dr. Payne had strongly advised him against asking the original final question - why these vampires chose to not feed from humans. It was more out of personal than scientific curiosity, to be honest, but his Professor had told him that that particular question was a very, very sensitive subject for a lot of vampires.

 

Due to Styles’ outrageous demands, all the candidates except for the members of Dr. Payne’s clan have already been interviewed, and Louis had respected and followed his Professor’s advice with every single one of them. Styles is too much of an enigma though, and Louis is feeling incredibly tempted to ask that final question.

 

He can’t imagine that this pretentious, heartless creature with no respect for anyone else would refrain from feeding from humans for ethical reasons, so Louis is really, really curious to find out the reason for his nutritional habits.

 

“Why do you not drink human blood?” Louis blurts out, cringing immediately at the cold, accusative tone his voice had carried.

 

Styles stiffens even more than he had after the previous question, and Louis watches the vampire’s self-control and composure vanishing from his face and body and being replaced by a fierce, angry look, making Louis literally fear for his life.

 

The vampire flares his nostrils suddenly, and, just like that, he’s back to being the untouchable, indifferent man he had been during the beginning of their interaction.

 

“It is my personal opinion that vampires who feed from humans are weaker than those of us who drink animal blood. We are, after all, the evolutionary advancement of the human species, so why should we poison ourselves with weakness?”

 

Wow, just when Louis thought he couldn’t despise Styles any more than he already did, that arrogant dickhead goes and spews this bigoted bullshit…

 

He can hardly believe that this fucking asshole had the nerve to describe humans in such a derogatory and insulting way in front of an actual fucking human.

 

“It sure seems like your theory is faulty. Deer are, unquestionably, a less advanced species than humans, so doesn’t the fact that you drink their blood actually make you weaker than all the vampires who feed from humans?” Louis says, figuring that a rational and logical argument will probably be more effective than throwing an encyclopedia at Styles’ head like he wants to do.

 

Styles chuckles amusedly, “Well, at least my prey has enough intelligence and common sense to try to outrun me. Humans, on the other hand, willingly offer themselves up as a snack when they know we could drain them of all of their blood before they even realize what’s happening. Deer may not be capable of getting a PhD, but at least they’re smart enough to keep themselves out of harm’s way.”

 

That last sentence makes Louis see red, as he knows that it’s a personal attack on him, not just humans in general. For the record, he’s never let a vampire feed from him, fuck you very much.

 

He’s still debating how to respond to what honestly sounded like a threat on his life without losing said life when Styles continues his disturbing train of thought.

 

“Plus, I believe that drinking human blood not only makes you vulnerable and easier to attack, but also a danger to society. Have you ever had a lover that consumes your every thought, Mr. Tomlinson? Have you ever spent every second of every day thinking about them, remembering how their lips felt on your lips, on your skin, wrapped around your cock. Even in trivial situations, you can’t help but feel aroused, tracing every movement they make, every breath they take with your eyes until your entire body feels like it’s burning from the inside. You have no desire to do anything else besides run your tongue over every inch of their body, tasting the desire emanating from every single one of their pores. Nothing else matters besides making them moan, and squirm, and pant, and scream in pleasure. Have you, Mr. Tomlinson?”

 

Louis isn’t sure how they went from discussing Styles’ revolting opinions on humans to talking about this.

 

He tries to bury that voice screaming that no, he has never had a lover that made him feel as enraptured as the vampire described, a necessity in order to come up with an appropriate response without embarrassing himself.

 

Louis clears his throat, “I- I hardly think that that’s an appropriate question to ask in a professional setting.”

 

Styles chuckles mockingly, “It’s a pity you haven’t. I’m trying to make a point here, Mr. Tomlinson. My illustration was intended to prove how consuming a habit of drinking human blood is. That lack of self-control and coherent thought is precisely what happens when a vampire who feeds from humans steps into a crowded place, like, let’s say, a supermarket. Would you feel safe knowing that a creature more powerful than you is tracking your heart rate and wondering whether you’d scream or moan if he bit into your upper thigh? I believe that most vampires who feed from humans are a danger to society and a danger to themselves, as the very thing that they thrive for is being dangled right in front of their face. Now, is that the last question you have prepared, Mr. Tomlinson, or should I brace myself for more invasive enquiries on my private life and opinions?”

 

Jesus fucking Christ!

 

“That was the last question, but we still need to discuss the rules and guidelines of this research. The idea behind these rules is to make sure that the results are reliable, and no external factors interfere with them. For the first part of the research, all I’ll need is a few blood samples from you. For the next part, though, I’ll be introducing a few substances into your bloodstream to see how your body reacts to them, but I can assure you that they’re all safe, and will be of no risk to your health. I’ve brought you a copy of the list of substances I’ll be using so that you can google them if you wish to do so. Or find them in the encyclopedia, I guess… An accredited nurse will be performing the procedures, of course, but I’ll also be present. Simultaneous assessment of the subjects is very important, which is why I’m kindly asking you to show up to all the scheduled appointments. Here is the calendar, and the address of lab is written in at the very bottom, but should you have any problems, you can always contact me. I-”

 

Louis is just about to talk about how it’s essential that Styles doesn’t consume any human blood during the next few months when he’s interrupted.

 

“We have agreed that it’s impolite to force me to come to you, have we not? I’m sure you’ll find the time and means to meet me here instead, Mr. Tomlinson. It is, after all, in your best interest that these meetings take place. Flexibility is a great trait in the adult world.” Styles says calmly, lifting his chin up as if he’s daring Louis to challenge him. Which Louis is most definitely going to.

 

“With all due respect, Mr. Styles, my lack of flexibility is irrelevant to this matter. My research is based on intravenous procedures. The University’s safety protocol clearly states that these procedures, however minimal, must take place in approved places. I’m not asking you to meet me at the lab on a whim, I’m doing so for your own safety and that of the nurse.”

 

The last time Louis wanted to bury his head in a pillow and scream his lungs out this badly was when since he was sixteen and his crush started dating the most annoying girl in their class.

 

Styles is so fucking arrogant and full of himself, Louis could literally choke him if he thought it would have any effect on the vampire.

 

He might still do it for funsies before the night is over.

 

And the most frustrating part is how goddamn calm and collected Styles looks when making his stupid demands and talking about his ridiculous beliefs.

 

Louis has never met anyone like Styles before, and he most definitely does not mean that in a good way.

 

“I’ll discuss this subject with Liam, then. I’m sure he’ll find a solution that isn’t as bothersome for Niall, Zayn, and myself.” Styles says dismissively, as if he already knows he’s going to win this battle.

 

Louis is sure that the vampire is beyond used to getting his way. Fuck him.

 

Styles is such a coward too, making it seem like he’s also standing up for the rest of his clan when he’s making these ridiculous demands and not just being an asshole for the sake of it.

 

Louis takes a deep breath, “Well, regardless, it’s still essential that you follow the calendar. Also, another major guideline is that you cannot, under any circumstance, drink human blood. If you fail to follow that rule, even if it’s just a single drop of human blood, please let me know immediately so that you can be removed from the research.”

 

“Do trust me when I say that I will not be feeding from humans.” Styles says in a defensive tone, as if he’s deeply offended by the mere possibility that he might mess up and drink human blood.

 

“We’re done here, then.” Louis says brusquely, making no effort at masking how eager he is to get as far away from this asshole as possible.

 

Louis certainly hadn’t come to the Manor with high expectations towards Harry Styles, but he’s even more peeved and repulsed by the vampire than he could have ever predicted.

 

He can’t believe that he’s actually going to be forced to have dinner with this pretentious prick. One can only hope that Horan and Malik are a lot less like Styles, and a lot more like Dr. Payne.

 

Styles is surprisingly polite and cordial as he shakes Louis’ hand and guides them back downstairs, making the researcher realize that he must have been raised in a household where impeccable manners were a must.

 

If he didn’t dislike Styles as much as he does, Louis would have been able to admit that there’s something really captivating and charismatic about how Styles manages to get his point across and make his opinion known without ever raising his voice or being genuinely rude.

 

They’ve finally gotten far enough down the staircase to see the living room when, much to Louis’ surprise, the main door opens to let a beautiful woman in. A human woman.

 

His imagination immediately starts going into overdrive as he assumes that he’s going to witness this poor woman literally get the life drained out of her over dinner.

 

Louis just can’t imagine any explanation for this woman’s presence at Styles Manor that doesn’t involve sharp teeth being sunk into her neck.

 

“Oh, hey, honey!” Dr. Payne exclaims, startling Louis beyond belief and making the researcher’s eyes widen as he watches his Professor lean in to kiss her.

 

Admittedly, Louis had never really thought about his Professor’s love life, but he certainly wasn’t expecting him to be in relationship with a human. The intimacy and normalcy of their interaction leaves no room for doubt, though.

 

“Good evening, Sophia.” Styles says as soon as Dr. Payne and the woman, Sophia apparently, detach from each other, “Did you have a pleasant day at work?”

 

“Ugh, it was such a slow day. I feel like literally nobody leaves their house when it’s raining in this city.” Sophia answers, and Louis is quite amused with how drastically her American accent and chilled way of speaking contrasts with Styles’ posh and proper drawl.

 

Dr. Payne smiles kindly at Louis then, obviously not wanting him to feel like he’s intruding, “Louis, this is my wife, Sophia. Sophia, this is Louis, the PhD student I told you about.”

 

Sophia shakes Louis’ hand with a friendly smile, “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Louis. Between you and me, Liam thinks very highly of you. He’s always saying that you’re going to go on to do great things in your career.”

 

Liam tsks, “Soph, you know I have to be impartial towards my students. Telling Louis that was unethical.”

 

Louis laughs uncomfortably, unsure of what the power balance is like in a relationship between a vampire and a human. He certainly doesn’t want this lovely woman to be flogged or forced to wear a chastity belt, or whatever punishment a century-old vampire might see fitting.

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Sophia.” Louis responds politely with a wide smile on his face, hoping to diffuse any potential tension.

 

“Aw, you’re so cute. He’s so cute, Liam.” Sophia says, and Louis should really take offense to the fact that she’s describing as if he’s an adorable little puppy, but he simply cannot when she’s wearing such a kind, friendly smile.

 

“I’m so glad you’re staying for dinner, Louis.” Sophia continues, “Lord knows I’m sick and tired of always having to put up with the same old farts at every meal.”

 

That startles a genuine laugh out of Louis, and he’s even more amused when he sees Styles roll his eyes fondly.

 

Given all the prejudices Styles clearly has against humans, Louis would have expected him to be against Dr. Payne’s relationship with Sophia, or, at the very least, not be as warm towards her as he is.

 

He’s clearly fond of her though, and seems to treat her just tenderly as he does Dr. Payne.

 

Louis suddenly realizes that if Sophia’s married to Dr. Payne, she must live at the Manor as well. How is Dr. Payne not scared that one of his friends might lose their temper and attack her?

 

Louis would certainly be terrified if he had to live in this big house alone with four vampires, even if he was in a relationship with one of them.

 

Sophia seems like a really nice, fun person, so Louis decides to tone down his seriousness and let the playful side of him come out a little more, “Well, I guess I best keep the science fun facts to a minimum if you’re expecting me to entertain you. My sisters are never too amused when I start talking about how fascinating the process of heme degradation is. Unless you’re a scientist yourself…?”

 

“Fuck, no. I’m all about the arts. I’m working at a gallery downtown right now.” Sophia answers, and Louis can tell that she’s really proud of her job and passionate about her field of work.

 

“Ooooh, that means we have to be enemies now.” Louis jokes, smiling warmly to make sure that he’s not misunderstood, “You with your creativity and me with my solid facts, how will we get along now? I think that having a fistfight is our only chance at settling this grueling matter once and for all.”

 

Sophia, who had been giggling since Louis’ first silly sentence, is in a full on I’m-going-to-pee-myself-laughing state now, and if Louis wasn’t so busy pretending to crack his knuckles and get into position for body combat, he would have noticed that even Styles is fighting off an amused smile.

 

“Careful, Louis. If you keep charming my wife, I might have to challenge you to a good old duel.” Dr. Payne jokes, though Louis notices that there seems to be some lingering insecurity hidden in his words.

 

Sophia snorts, “Honey, I don’t think I have the, uh, parts that Louis enjoys.”

 

Louis is most definitely uncomfortable now and, quite honestly, terrified.

 

Physical violence against the LGBTQ+ community isn’t as frequent and socially accepted as it once was, but these four vampires currently under the same roof as Louis were born in a time when he’d still be considered an abomination and would, undoubtedly, be punished for it.

 

At this point, he’s actually hoping that Styles will throw him out of his house for being gay, because he’s terrified of what else they might do to him.

 

Louis’ brain unhelpfully reminds him that just two or three months ago, an eighteen-year-old boy died in Tennessee because a group of conservative vampires decided to try to “beat the gay out of him”.

 

“Oh, you and Harry should get along famously, then. He’s gay too, and there’s nothing he loves more than to talk about the path to equality and the history of gay rights in America. He had his hand in every single equality law passed in this country.” Dr. Payne says, and it takes all of Louis’ focus to not let his jaw drop.

 

Though he had noticed that Styles’ outfit and behavior were a bit camp, he knows better than to just assume someone’s sexuality just because society has deemed certain behaviors and clothing choices as “gay”.

 

He truly wasn’t expecting to find out that not only is the vampire gay, but he’s even a loud-spoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.

 

Maybe he’s not such a terrible guy, after all.

 

Even though there are plenty of vampires who aren’t straight, most of them selfishly have no interest in the human equality laws.

 

Despite Louis’ deep-rooted dislike towards Styles, he can still appreciate the fact that it’s because of people like him – people who fought for gay men to have a place in the world decades, and even centuries ago - that Louis can walk down the street holding his boyfriend’s hand without any fear. If he had a boyfriend, that is, which he most definitely does not.

 

Louis still doubts that Styles and him will “get along famously”, though.

 

“What a ridiculous misconception, Liam. Having the same sexual orientation is hardly common ground nowadays. I can’t imagine Mr. Tomlinson and I would have much in common when it comes to our experiences.”

 

Fuck that, Styles is definitely a terrible guy.

 

The fact that the vampire is pointing out exactly what Louis was thinking does not make his appalled tone any more acceptable.

 

Louis may be a “weak little human”, but he can still recognize it when he’s being patronized. Styles clearly thinks that he lacks the intelligence to keep up with a mature conversation about LGBTQ rights history. Fuck him.

 

“Oh, I completely agree. I’ve spent enough time with Mr. Styles here to know that we have a very, uh, different set of morals and opinions.” Louis says, his icy tone a shocking contrast to when he was joking around with Sophia.

 

“Okay,” Dr. Payne finally says, breaking the tense and awkward silence, “uh, well, I was actually coming to get you both because dinner is ready.”

 

Dr. Payne, Sophia, and Harry immediately start walking out of the living room, so Louis follows them like a lost puppy.

 

They walk down a long corridor then, and Louis tries his best to discreetly look at the many, many photographs littering the walls.

 

He catches glimpses of old-fashioned clothing and a number of famous landmarks, but he’s too overwhelmed by the amount of pictures around him to even wonder about the unknown faces in most of the photos and whether or not they’re long gone.

 

He does notice that there are only a few photos featuring Styles, and he can’t help but be curious as to why. Has Styles chosen not to put his past on display or were his favorite memories simply made before the camera was even invented?

 

They finally arrive at the dining room after what honestly felt like the equivalent of the distance between his apartment and the grocery store down the street, and Louis is so distracted by the huge Picasso on the wall that he almost doesn’t notice the other three men in the room.

 

They’re already sitting at the dinner table but they aren’t eating yet, clearly waiting on the rest of the dinner party to dig in, though Louis does notice that the surface of the blonde man’s risotto looks suspiciously flat, as if he had already tried his food and then attempted to cover up the impression of his spoonful.

 

He looks incredibly young, the mischievous food sneaker, and Louis would be willing to bet that he was around seventeen or eighteen years old when he was turned. It seems almost cruel to be stuck at an age when you can’t even grow a proper beard, but at least he gives the expression “forever young” a new meaning.

 

The face of the man sitting next to the blonde vampire looks almost unrealistically perfect, as if someone had built their ideal man from fucking pixie dust or some shit. He’s looking at Louis as if he can see his dreams, goals, disappointments, and ambitions written on his face, which is beyond creepy, so Louis moves his gaze to the third man at the table.

 

He’s human, Louis notices, and after meeting Sophia, he immediately assumes that the ginger man must be in a relationship with Horan, Malik, or - highly unlikely - Styles.

 

“Gentlemen, this is Mr. Tomlinson.” Styles introduces him, as if Louis is his guest.

 

“Nice to meet you, mate. I’m Niall.” The blonde man says, shaking Louis’ hand with excessive enthusiasm. His brash Irish accent definitely surprises Louis, but it really suits the young-faced vampire somehow.

 

Louis has always been a “you get what you give” kind of guy, which is why he responds to Niall’s friendly smile and attitude with alike pleasantness, “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Niall.”

 

Louis assumes that the man next to Niall must be Malik, though the hostile-looking vampire does not introduce himself. He’s still looking at Louis with an appraising and judgmental expression, and it suddenly strikes Louis as very odd that the nicest, friendliest members of the clan are precisely those who feed from humans.

 

His cynical brain can’t help but wonder if maybe this whole “nice guy” act is just a strategy to lure naïve humans into letting these vampires sink their teeth into their neck.

 

The ginger man looks at Malik inquisitively, before shrugging and extending his hand towards Louis, “Hey, I’m Ed. I’m the cook, so you better either enjoy your food or lie to me.” He jokes, and Louis immediately notices that he’s got that particular vibe that makes everyone like him instantly. Louis has always envied those people.

 

Louis chuckles, “I’m sure I’ll love it. Risotto is certainly an upgrade from frozen pizza and the two or three basic dishes that I know how to make. And it doesn’t even look like it’s burnt, so color me impressed.”

 

Niall laughs like it’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard, and Louis struggles to see this perpetually smiling man with the humor of a five-year-old as the predator that he’s supposed to be.

 

Malik remains as impassive as ever though, and Louis instantly decides that he’s done being intimidated by him.

 

“I’m Louis Tomlinson. I’m guessing you must be Mr. Malik, since everyone else has had the courtesy of introducing themselves.” Louis challenges, holding out his hand confidently.

 

Louis sees Styles’ lips curl up from the corner of his eye, but he honestly doesn’t even care if he’s amused that Louis called Malik out on his shit or pleased that he’s being dismissed as unimportant.

 

Despite clearly being a douche, Malik at least has the decency to shake Louis’ hand, saying “Yes, that’s me” and nothing more.

 

Well, Louis can already tell that his interview with Malik is going to be great!

 

Dr. Payne, Sophia, and Styles have all taken their seats at the table whilst Louis was having his thrilling conversation with Malik, so he heads for the only empty place, ending up with Dr. Payne to his left, Niall right across from him and, much to his annoyance, Styles to his right.

 

Despite Louis’ strong dislike towards Styles and overall disapproval of Malik’s manners, he does his best to remain polite and friendly throughout dinner.

 

He forms an instant friendship with Sophia, Niall, and Ed, and, for a few moments here and there, he almost forgets that the other two members of the clan and his Professor are also there.

 

Dr. Payne is plenty friendly and entertaining throughout dinner as well, but it’s a bit weird to be overly chummy with your course coordinator, so their interactions are a bit more formal.

 

Louis finds himself involuntarily observing Dr. Payne and Sophia’s interactions a bit too often, too curious as to what a relationship between a vampire and what is technically supposed to be his dinner is like.

 

Even if you overlook the fact that it’s literally a marriage between a predator and its prey, Louis still finds it quite disturbing that Dr. Payne is actually many, many decades older than his wife – maybe even centuries.

 

How can such different beings from completely opposite time periods in history get along so easily?

 

Louis isn’t completely dead inside, despite what his ex-boyfriend, Luke, may say, so he supposes that their love for each other is enough to overcome everything else.

 

It’s certainly obvious how in love Dr. Payne and Sophia are, but Louis is still really curious about the power balance and dynamics of their relationship.

 

Does Dr. Payne feed solely from his wife or is blood monogamy not a thing? Maybe he doesn’t even feed from her at all… What happens when she starts getting older and older? Wouldn’t Dr. Payne prefer a partner who wouldn’t, you know, die eventually?

 

Louis is hardly a judgmental person, and he certainly doesn’t agree with that bigoted mentality of condemning vampire-human relationships – he’s just curious. What kind of scientist would he be if he didn’t question everything?

 

Louis doesn’t voice any of his thoughts and questions out loud, of course, choosing to act like having dinner with two humans who are willing to hang out with four creatures whose instinct is to feed from them and, potentially, kill them is perfectly normal.

 

Thankfully, he doesn’t drive himself as insane wondering about how Ed ended up as the official chef of a vampire clan, as the ginger explains it with barely any prompting.

 

“I used to work at Tru, and these four losers would eat there, like, four or five times a week. Niall being Niall, of course, befriended all the waiters and then worked his way into the hearts of the kitchen staff as well. They used to specifically request that I prepared their food instead of the main chef ‘cause they liked me better, which made me incredibly fond of them – the main chef was a fucking dickhead. They started hiring me for important occasions and holidays, and I eventually accepted their proposition to work here full time. Working at a high-end restaurant was an accomplishment that I was really proud of initially, but stressful environments are really not my thing. I was at a point where I wanted to pull my hair out everyday, so I’m definitely happy I made the decision to quit my job and work here instead. Plus, Niall and Liam are so easy to please, I could literally serve them a block of ice for dessert and they’d still compliment my cooking skills.”

 

Louis still doesn’t fully understand why someone would willingly spend so much time alone with four vampires, but, then again, there’s a lot of stupid shit a lot of humans do that he doesn’t understand either.

 

*

 

Louis interviews Malik right after dinner, wanting to get the tougher one of the remaining two out of the way.

 

Malik doesn’t disappoint, being just as impassive, detached, and unamused as Louis had predicted.

 

There are some vampires who always look happy to be alive, like Niall, but then there are others who seem like, if they could die, they’d do so out of sheer boredom and disinterest, and Malik is definitely the latter.

 

Styles doesn’t seem to fit into either category though, defending his opinions too vivaciously, but barely ever showing any emotion while doing so.

 

Louis’ interview with Niall is a riot, thankfully, and he spends a lot more time laughing with the vampire than doing his actual job.

 

Dr. Payne had suggested they go over all the candidates after Louis’ interviews with his clan, and eliminate any who do not fit the criteria, so Niall guides him to his Professor’s home office after the end of their interview.

 

Louis still can’t get over the fact that these people have at least two offices in their home.

 

Hell, they probably have an individual office for every single member of the clan – the house sure seems big enough for that kind of unnecessary indulgence.

 

Dr. Payne’s office is a bit smaller than Styles’, but it’s certainly a lot more comfortable and cozy, and much less pretentious.

 

Fortunately, only one of the people that Louis interviewed is not an ideal candidate for the research, a woman who had only stopped feeding from humans a little over two years ago. There’s still no data that could indicate how long it takes for vampires’ bodies to adapt to a different dietary regimen, so Louis had decided on a minimum of five years just to be safe.

 

While Dr. Payne is skimming through the protocol once again, Louis’ eyes settle on the row of pictures behind his Professor. It looks like a timeline of sorts, with Sophia growing progressively older with every picture.

 

Dr. Payne’s poses and expressions may be different in every photo, but his face still looks exactly the same, of course, and Louis can’t help but wonder once again how his Professor can live with the certainty that he’ll outlive his wife.

 

Louis is apparently being obvious enough for Dr. Payne to notice, as he follows his gaze right to the pictures.

 

“You know, when I first met Harry, he used to tell me that even when my mouth wasn’t asking any questions, my face still was. I never fully understood what he meant until I met you, Louis.” Dr. Payne says, smiling, “Go ahead, ask what you want to ask before you drive yourself insane with curiosity.”

 

Louis weighs the pros and cons of enquiring about such a private subject, and realizes that it’s not only intrusive, but probably even rude, so he really should keep his mouth shut.

 

Dr. Payne is giving him permission to ask though, so…

 

“It’s just- uh, I don’t really know how to phrase this without sounding offensive. Um, your wife is human, so aren’t you, like- aren’t you afraid of losing her? Wouldn’t it be easier if you turned her into a vampire?”

 

Louis is admittedly already pretty blunt on day-to-day basis, but this has got to be the least tactful he’s ever been in his entire life.

 

“I am afraid, actually. I’m very afraid. Human lives always seem a lot more fickle and fragile when you’re immortal, so I’m very aware that I’m perpetually at risk of losing her. I’m going to turn Sophia into a vampire for that very reason, but we’re waiting for the right time.”

 

Louis furrows his brow in confusion, “The right time?”

 

“Tell me, Louis, how many pregnant vampires have you met?”

 

“None. It’s not possible. Vampires’ reproductive systems, although technically functional, cannot produce living cells, such as sperm or oocytes.” Louis answers instinctively, knowing full well that a being that is “dead” cannot produce life.

“Exactly.” Dr. Payne confirms, waiting for Louis to finally put the puzzle together.

 

“Oh,” Louis exclaims, his heart melting as he realizes what Dr. Payne is getting at, “you and Sophia want to have a baby before you turn her.”

 

Dr. Payne smiles dreamily, making him look even younger, “We do. We did discuss other options, but Sophia has always dreamt of being pregnant. It would be too cruel to deny her that experience, so we have agreed to wait until we have a baby to turn her. We’re already doing in vitro, so I expect to stop worrying so much about her within the next one to two years. Though, I suspect that my worries will only multiply when I’m a father.”

 

Louis definitely agrees with that supposition.

 

Babies always look so fragile and tiny, even to a human. He’s sure that he’d worry himself to death if he were in Dr. Payne’s shoes. Or, well, not death, he supposes.

 

“So, you’re planning on turning your child into a vampire as well, right?” Louis can’t help but ask, too intrigued and oddly emotionally involved in this conversation.

 

“Eventually, yes. I don’t want them to feel like an adult trapped in a child’s body, so we’ll wait until they’re older – old enough to have a say as well.”

 

Dr. Payne really seems to have thought this through, and Louis is sure that he’s going to be a protective and attentive father.

 

“Wow, that’s- that’s amazing, Dr. Payne. You and Sophia are going to be great parents, I’m sure of it.”

 

Louis really is genuinely happy for Dr. Payne. Their relationship may be mostly cordial and professional, but Louis has known him for a few years now, and he has always felt like the Professor’s rooting for him in a way.

 

Dr. Payne can be quite harsh if he’s not fully satisfied with his students’ work, but Louis has always felt encouraged to try harder because he knows that he’s just trying to get them to live up to their full potential.

 

Louis is sure that it’ll not be an easy process for vampire parents to raise a human child, and he can already predict the bigoted and ignorant comments and threats the parents of the other kids at school will make.

 

Everyone deserves to be happy though, and, for a lot of people, including Louis, happiness means a supportive partner and some lovely children for them to raise together.

 

*

 

Monday is off to a shitty start.

 

Louis struggles to get out of bed, too exhausted from all the reading he did on vampire metabolism and circulation during the weekend to be able to properly open his eyes.

 

It certainly doesn’t help that he had a shift at Starbucks yesterday and his feet and legs hurt like motherfuckers.

 

He walks unsteadily to his bathroom whilst rubbing his eyes, accidentally knocking both his right elbow and left shoulder into two different doorframes.

 

His morning is even further worsened when he trips over a shoe and nearly hits his head on the sink, but he gets his revenge by kicking it in frustration when he notices that he doesn’t have any water.

 

The fucking road workers down the street must have busted a pipe or something, and now Louis can’t even have a shower to wake himself up!

 

He settles for spraying his armpits with a shit ton of deodorant, hoping that it’ll prevent him from being that cliché smelly guy that nobody likes to be near on the bus.

 

By the time he finally makes it to the University, he’s positively seething.

 

Louis tries to ignore the blatant stares he gets as he walks to Dr. Payne’s office, but he’s too cranky to not give his colleagues the stink eye.

 

Choosing to do his research on vampires has gotten him a bit of a reputation apparently, and the rumors that he’s a “vampire lover” are spreading all over the department.

 

It’s insane, it really is, how judgmental people can be towards vampires and anyone who chooses to associate with them.

 

Given that they all know Dr. Payne and are aware of how nice and harmless he is, it seems illogical that they’d still be this prejudiced towards his species.

 

Louis can hardly master the energy to knock on Dr. Payne’s office door, too sluggish to function properly.

 

“Come in.”

 

Louis takes his cue and walks into his Professor’s office, but he almost runs away when he sees the apologetic look on Dr. Payne’s face. He’s really not in the mood for bad news.

 

“I see you got my note, Louis. Thank you for coming to see me.”

 

“Yeah, sorry I was a little late. I’m not having the greatest of days.” Louis apologizes, though he knows that Dr. Payne’s never been too strict when it comes to punctuality.

 

“That’s alright, don’t worry about it. Take a seat, please, Louis.”

 

Louis complies, praying and hoping that whatever Dr. Payne wants to talk to him about won’t put him in an even worse mood.

 

“I wanted to talk to you about Harry. He voiced some concerns and requests regarding the location of the blood collection and we managed to find a solution.”

 

Of fucking course he did, and of fucking course he must have gotten his way, Louis thinks bitterly, trying to repress the urge to grind his teeth and groan.

 

“We’ve arranged for a nurse to come do the procedure at our house instead of the lab. She’s well trained and aware of the necessary safety precautions, but I still asked the University lawyers to draw up a contract for Harry to sign. Feel free to look it over, but I assure you that you’re immune to any responsibilities concerning this change in location. Harry will be legally responsible for any and all issues that might come up. If you could please take the contract for him to sign when you see him later today, that’d be great.” Dr. Payne says, handing a confused Louis the contract.

 

“Today? The blood samples are going to be collected tomorrow actually, Dr. Payne.” Louis argues, hoping that this is all a misunderstanding and that he doesn’t actually have to go to the Manor today.

 

“Oh, yes, I did forget to mention it, didn’t I? Silly head. The nurse we’ve hired had a family event or something like that tomorrow, so the blood collection has to be done today instead. That’s not a problem, is it?”

 

“No, of course not. At what time should I be at Styles Manor, then? I mean, uh, your house. At what time do I need to be at your house?” Louis asks, cringing at the gossipy term he used to refer to Dr. Payne’s home.

 

Technically, Louis could talk his way out of being present for the blood sample collection, given that he’s not performing it himself, and the date and location got changed, but he’s too much of a control freak to not want to supervise every single step.

 

This research will determine the future of his career after all, and he’s certainly not about to let it be ruined by a careless mistake of a nurse or a lab technician.

 

“Harry has arranged for the nurse to be there at five p.m.. Would you like me to come with you?” Dr. Payne offers, clearly aware of the negative energy surrounding Louis’ interactions with Styles.

 

As much as Louis would enjoy having a buffer there to prevent him from quite literally hitting Styles, he certainly doesn’t want that asshole to think that he’s afraid of him.

 

Showing up with a bodyguard, even if it’s Dr. Payne, would make him look weak and frightened, and Louis refuses to give him that satisfaction.

 

“That won’t be necessary, Dr. Payne, but thank you.”

 

So, Louis is going to the Manor again today. Great!

 

Just when he thought his day couldn’t get any worse…

 

*

 

Time moves way too fast in Louis’ opinion and, before he knows it, he’s sitting on the bus making his way to the Manor.

 

His sour mood hasn’t improved one bit, as every time he manages to start to relax, his mind unhelpfully reminds him of the horrible, arrogant bullshit he’s bound to have to put up with whilst at Styles Manor. All he can hope for is that it will be a fast and easy process.

 

Niall and Malik were both busy today, deciding to come into the lab tomorrow just like all the other candidates instead, so Louis breathes a sigh of relief when he’s greeted by Ed upon ringing the doorbell. He would have found it absolutely unbearable if he were stuck in this huge house alone with Styles and some random nurse.

 

Fortunately, the nurse arrives while Louis is still chitchatting with Ed, so they both head upstairs to Styles’ office together.

 

Styles looks just as inconveniently attractive and powerful as Louis remembered, but there’s something visibly off about his behavior.

 

The vampire’s alpha male attitude is noticeably subdued as he shakes Louis’ hand, and he almost misses the arrogant, egocentric man he had met before, as this one is a lot harder to read.

 

Styles is incredibly jittery as the nurse starts setting up, and Louis is sure that, if he were human, he’d be sweating profusely.

 

It isn’t until the nurse starts taking the needle out of the sterilized package that it finally clicks.

 

The panicked look on Styles’ face is one that he’s seen too many times before.

 

Louis’ mother, Jay, is terrified of needles, and he always ends up having to hold her hand and dry her tears before, during, and after she gets her blood drawn.

 

Styles, just like Jay, is afraid of needles.

 

Looking back, it now makes much more sense why Styles had been so insistent on doing this in his own home.

 

It could still be just because he’s an asshole who wants to make Louis’ life harder, but it seems much more likely that he just wanted to be in a familiar, calming environment when facing what is probably his greatest fear.

 

The way that Styles turns his head completely to the right as he holds out his left arm to allow the tourniquet to be strapped around it has Louis wincing in sympathy, and he can’t help but admire the vampire for volunteering to be in his research despite the fact that he knew that he’d have to face his fear over and over again.

 

Louis’ mom would have never agreed to any blood collection that wasn’t strictly necessary for health reasons.

 

Louis watches as Styles closes his eyes tightly when the needle goes in, and he briefly wonders if part of the reason why he wanted to do this at home was because he was afraid he’d embarrass himself.

 

Phobias can really make you lose all control of your reactions and emotions, and Louis would completely understand if a powerful man like Harry Styles didn’t want anyone to know that he’s dead scared of such a small and mostly harmless object.

 

Styles manages to hold himself together through the entire procedure, but his fear is still plenty obvious. It makes him more human in Louis’ eyes, vulnerable in a way that he certainly had not been expecting.

 

Louis had been prepared for the snarky replies and arrogant attitude, but he’s a hell of lot more intimidated by his own need to comfort the other man.

 

Maybe it’s just a subconscious response to someone who has a phobia that is so familiar to Louis, but there’s a bigger chance that it’s actually the result of this big, bad corporate wolf looking so frightened.

 

Styles’ hands are shaking a lot less by the time the nurse starts packing her stuff, but he’s still in that almost child-like mindset.

 

Louis is terrified of spiders himself, so he’d never, under any circumstance, mock someone else’s phobia, even if that someone is known to be quite the asshole.

 

Louis is just about to say goodbye to Styles and leave before he does something overly dramatic and completely out of line, like hug him or pat his back comfortingly, when he hears footsteps coming up the stairs.

 

He doesn’t even have to wonder who it is, the clicking of heels giving it away that it’s Sophia.

 

“Louis!” She exclaims as soon as she spots him, speed walking to where he’s standing to give him a tight hug, “It’s so good to see you.”

 

Louis smiles fondly, already so attached to Sophia, even though they’ve only met once, “It’s really good to see you too, Soph. How are you?”

 

Sophia’s smile dims slightly, and Louis immediately regrets his question.

 

“I’m fine, darling. Thank you. How are you?”

 

“I’m doing alright, better now that this day is almost over. It’s just been one of those days, you know.” Louis answers truthfully, wanting to diffuse the attention from Sophia’s strange reaction to his question.

 

Louis’ conversation with Dr. Payne the last time he was here springs to his mind immediately, and he briefly wonders if she’s stressed or upset because the insemination hasn’t worked yet. Fertility procedures can be quite frustrating, given that they depend on a number of factors – the main one being, truthfully, pure luck.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry you’re having a bad day, sweetie. We’ll cheer you up, don’t worry. Ed’s making his amazing chicken pot pie for dinner. You have to stay and eat with us, Louis, I insist.” Sophia says, an obvious don’t-you-dare-say-no look on her face.

 

“Yes, you’re welcome to dine with us, Mr. Tomlinson.” Styles reinforces, almost awkwardly, and Louis would be willing to bet his personal fortune – all thirteen dollars and twenty-five cents - that this invitation is the vampire’s way of saying thank you for not commenting on his obvious phobia of needles.

 

“I guess I’ll stay for dinner, then. Thank you.” Louis accepts cordially, his mouth already watering thinking about having chicken pot pie for dinner instead of the cup of noodles he’d been planning to eat when he got home.

 

*

 

As he gets on the bus on his way back home later that night, Louis is in a weirdly good mood.

 

He’s sure that he’ll always feel out of place in that huge house, but he was strangely comfortable sitting at that dinner table, almost as if they were a group of friends enjoying a casual meal.

 

Malik never actually showed up for dinner, which Louis is sure was also a contributing factor to his cheeriness.

 

As for Styles, and although he did seem to pull himself back together shortly after the nurse left, the vampire was surprisingly pleasant, and even friendly at times.

 

Their interactions still have some hostility to them, but Louis can’t seem to think of Styles as some sort of cold-hearted monster anymore now that he’s seen him looking so frightened and helpless.

 

*

 

Over the next three appointments, Louis goes from fucking hating Styles to wanting to hate-fuck him.

 

The frequency at which they’re collecting samples doesn’t seem to mollify Styles’ fear of needles in the slightest, making Louis more susceptible to seeing the vampire in a different, kinder light.

 

Louis now realizes that the anger and disgust he had felt towards Styles upon their first meeting had made him somewhat blinder to how goddamn attractive the vampire is.

 

It’s not as if Louis is endeared by or fond of Styles now – the vampire still does push all the wrong buttons plenty often – it’s just that he looks so damn attractive whilst doing it.

 

The more time Louis spends around vampires, the more he realizes that their danger doesn’t just come from their supernatural abilities, it also comes from their natural seductiveness and incredible looks.

 

If Louis was a weaker minded man, he has no doubt he’d be a hell of a lot more tempted to give into the vampire charm. As it is, he refuses to be one of those bimbos who let themselves be used and abused in exchange for a few seconds of attention.

 

*

 

Any non-negative feelings Louis could have had towards Styles are quickly crushed when he’s called into Dr. Payne’s office about a month and a half after he first started the blood tests.

 

Louis has just finished the final round of blood collections earlier today, meaning that next week he’ll be able to proceed to the next stage of the research: introducing different substances into the bloodstream of the volunteers and observing their reactions and metabolic processing.

 

Styles, Niall, and Malik’s last samples still need to be drawn, but it’s scheduled for tomorrow morning, so Louis isn’t worried.

 

Or, rather, he wasn’t worried, but it all changes when he steps into Dr. Payne’s office to see the Professor looking incredibly apologetic.

 

“Louis, uh, come on in. Sit down, please. I have something-” Dr. Payne says, the sound of his phone’s ringtone interrupting his sentence.

 

Louis pretends not to be listening as Dr. Payne greets whoever it is that’s calling him, though he starts paying a hell of a lot more attention when he hears the Professor say, “He’s actually in my office right now, so you can talk to him directly if you want to.”

 

The answer must be positive, Louis guesses, as Dr. Payne sets his phone on the table and puts it on speaker.

 

“Mr. Tomlinson, this is Harold Styles. I had to travel abroad for professional reasons and will not be able to return to Chicago before next week, so I need to alter tomorrow’s appointment.”

 

Louis takes a deep breath, willing himself to calm down and not insult neither Styles nor the vampire’s mother, “Mr. Styles, I thought I had made it very clear during our first meeting how important the schedule is. I already have the samples from all the other volunteers, and I just can’t wait until God knows when for you to return. The time frame between collections is incredibly scientifically important and I-”

 

“I thought I had made it very clear during our first meeting that I’m a man of my word, Mr. Tomlinson. I would not willingly interfere with the success of your research, which is why I wanted to propose another solution.” Styles explains, his tone making it obvious just how offended he is that Louis thought he wouldn’t honor his contract. Too bad Louis doesn’t feel guilty at all.

 

“Okay, I’m listening.” Louis huffs, completely out of patience.

 

“I have already made arrangements for my blood to be drawn and analyzed here by reliable and credible technicians. The results will be just as valid as the ones obtained in the US, I assure you. I know you’re an ambitious man, Mr. Tomlinson, and you like to supervise every step of your research. As a businessman, I understand and respect that, so I’ve already started making arrangements so that you can fly here to supervise the procedure and analysis of the results. My meeting is starting, but Liam will give you my personal assistant’s number so that you can make flight arrangements together. Have a nice evening, Mr. Tomlinson.” Styles says, hanging up before Louis can get a single word out.

 

“What the- What?” Louis mumbles, too flabbergasted by the strange conversation he’s just partaken in, “Where even is he?”

 

“Rome. Harry’s in Rome.” Dr. Payne answers, as if the fact that Styles expects him to fly to freaking Italy to meet him is perfectly normal.

 

“Look, Dr. Payne, I don’t know how your friend thinks that the other half lives, but I can’t afford a plane ticket to Rome. I can barely afford to ride the public bus, let alone a flight to Europe.” Louis explains hysterically, too blindsided by this whole situation to even care about how embarrassing it is that he just admitted that he struggles to pay for public transportation.

 

“Oh, no, you’ve misunderstood, Louis. You will not be paying for the ticket or any expense related to this situation. Harry is the one disrespecting the contract, so it’s his obligation to provide you with the means to get to Rome. It’s very simple and straightforward if you really think about it.”

 

Louis Tomlinson does not accept freebies or pity offers. He might not be able to afford a lot of luxuries – or any luxuries, actually - but his dignity and pride are above anything else.

 

This “solution” isn’t really a freebie though, is it? Styles isn’t giving him a present, he’s just being politically correct and respecting business etiquette. Why would Louis say no to the chance to be petty and waste Styles’ money and get to visit Rome?

 

He’s never even been out of the country before, for Christ’s sake. The only reason he even has a valid passport is because he was supposed to go to Mexico with a bunch of his friends when they graduated, but then friendships were broken, couples separated and money was wasted on stupid shit, and the whole plan fell through.

 

But now he has been presented with the opportunity to go to Italy, and he sure as hell isn’t idiotic enough to say no to that chance.

 

“Fine, I guess I’m going to Rome, then.” Louis finally compromises, half excited to go to Italy and half angry at Styles for leaving the fucking country right before he was supposed to get his blood drawn.

 

“Excellent! I’ll write down Jeff’s number for you, and you can give him a call to figure out your flight details.”

 

*

 

I need to call my mom is the first thought that crosses Louis’ mind after he puts down his phone.

 

He’s just spent the past twenty minutes working out the details of his trip with Styles’ assistant, Jeff, but he still has a hard time believing that he’s flying to Rome tomorrow morning.

 

It’s absolutely insane!

 

As much as he wants to resent Styles for not honoring their contract, he’s just too excited about visiting such a beautiful and culturally prominent city to hold on to any negative emotions.

 

Plus, the timing of this trip is perfect, right in between the first stage of the research and the second.

 

Niall and Malik have already come to the lab earlier today, he’s changed his shifts at Starbucks, and all that’s left to do is pack.

 

Holy fucking shit, Louis is going to be in Italy this time tomorrow!

 

*

 

Waking up at five a.m. is surprisingly easy when you’re excited, and Louis is still unexpectedly energetic by the time he lands in Rome.

 

Jeff had told him that Styles’ driver would pick him up from the airport, but he still rolls his eyes when he sees that he’s going to be riding in a black BMW M4 Coupé.

 

Rich people, honestly…

 

Louis spends the entire drive to Styles’ home glued to his window, every stretch of land fascinating him to no end.

 

It may seem ridiculous to be this excited about a couple of olive trees and some road signs written in Italian, but Louis has never been out of the US, and everything here strikes him as foreign and enthralling.

 

Louis had been understandably reluctant when he first found out that he’d be staying at Styles’ Italian home, but he’d been comforted by the thought that it’d probably so big that their paths would never cross.

 

He notes with surprise that it’s actually an apartment complex and not the pretentious villa he’d been expecting.

 

He’ll definitely try to be as patient as possible, as Styles can easily cancel his ticket and make him a homeless American stuck in Rome with no money to return back home.

 

Styles’ building has a classic architecture, but Louis can tell by the decorations and the people walking in and out of it that a place here must cost an arm and leg.

 

He then realizes that Styles is probably the owner of the entire building, and only an idiot wouldn’t save an apartment here for himself.

 

Styles owns the penthouse on the last floor, because of course he does, and the man working at the reception dutifully informs him in surprisingly fluent English that the man himself isn’t home yet.

 

The note he finds on the little table in front of the door once he steps into the penthouse confirms this, Styles apologizing for not being home to welcome him and saying that he’s not sure when he’ll be done with work. No complaints here, especially because Louis now has a chance to explore the penthouse without anyone knowing that he’s being nosy.

 

In Styles’ note, he’d said that Louis could pick whichever guest room he preferred, so he decides to start exploring there.

 

Ironically, he hits nosiness gold on the first try, immediately finding what he guesses must be Styles’ bedroom judging by the paperwork and scattered personal items.

 

He’s almost tempted to go in, the mystery that is Harry Styles making it hard to resist, but then he gets paranoid, thinking that the vampire seems like the type to have cameras installed inside his own house.

 

It sure seems plausible that he’d allow Louis to stay at his place only to set him up and expose him as disrespectful, or invasive, or worse, a thief.

 

Louis really couldn’t get out of that room any faster than he does, though the smell of Styles’ expensive cologne clings to his skin and clothes as he walks further and further down the hallway.

 

He really doesn’t want to risk invading Styles’ privacy again, so he settles for the first guest room he finds and starts unpacking.

 

Although he’s not actually in Rome on holiday, the lab conducting the analysis of Styles’ blood had said that the results would probably take two to three days to be ready, so Louis was scared of running out of clean clothes before he could finally fly back to Chicago with their sealed letter.

 

He eventually runs out of energy as he’s trying to untangle his phone charger and headphones, so he decides to lie down for just a few seconds to recharge.

 

*

 

Louis nearly falls out of bed when he finally wakes up, the unfamiliarity of his location frightening for a few seconds before he remembers arriving in Italy and planning on closing his eyes just for a little bit.

 

He’s clearly actually been asleep for several hours, judging by the fact that the room is completely dark now, and he curses himself for thinking that he could just rest his eyes after a tiring international flight.

 

Everything about this room feels unfamiliar now, and Louis struggles to find the bedside lamp in order to feel less disoriented.

 

He’s pathetic, he really is, getting the chance to travel to Rome, and then feeling like a small kid at a sleepover, the surroundings too unfamiliar for him to not feel a little jittery.

 

He manages to find his phone after turning on the light, groaning when he sees that it’s 4:36 a.m., Rome time.

 

He decides to be proactive and take advantage of the fact that he’s already awake, leaving his room to grab a glass of (hopefully!) ice-cold water from the kitchen.

 

He may talk shit about his tiny studio apartment all the time, but there’s something incredibly scary and lonely about being in a big house – or, in this case, a surprisingly big penthouse – so Louis is understandably on edge as he walks down the hall, keeping his footsteps as light as possible for God knows what reason.

 

He’s just about to turn left in the direction of the kitchen when he spots a lonesome figure sitting down on the floor of the balcony.

 

Louis almost walks back to his room, but there’s just something about Styles’ posture that prevents him from doing so, his usually tall and confident stand completely absent as he curls in on himself with his back against the railing of the balcony.

 

The vampire is shirtless, with just a pair of dark sweatpants covering his lower half which, truthfully, is inviting enough by itself.

 

That’s not the reason why Louis can’t stop looking at him, though - it goes far beyond the fact that Styles looks so much more approachable and, frankly, insanely hot out of his pretentious clothes.

 

It’s the raw emotion written all over the vampire’s face and his defeated posture that Louis can’t look away from.

 

Styles looks so human sitting on the balcony of his Rome apartment, like a normal man, with complex emotions, emotions which are so easily noticeable, Louis could almost swear he can feel the sadness surrounding the vampire on the tips of his fingers.

 

Louis should really walk away now, take advantage of the fact that Styles is so wrapped up in his own pain that he doesn’t even seem aware of his surroundings, but his mixed emotions about what he’s witnessing are like tape sticking his feet to the floor.

 

A sudden gush of wind suddenly rushes into the penthouse, and Styles is turning his head and looking right at him faster than Louis has time to blink, his keen vampire nose undoubtedly picking up on Louis’ scent.

 

There are a few tense seconds during which they simply stare at each other, both too startled and uncertain to react properly, but then Styles seems to regain his footing.

 

Louis watches as the other man builds this wall around him brick by brick, the previous pain and sadness being replaced by the arrogance and coldness that Louis is used to.

 

“Mr. Tomlinson, welcome to Rome. Did you have a pleasant flight?” Styles asks, clearly trying to regain control over the situation, though the roughness in his voice still shows traces of the pain and suffering Louis now knows he’s hiding.

 

Styles starts walking away from the balcony and closer to where Louis is standing, but his stance, although confident, is not intimidating or threatening, so Louis isn’t afraid.

 

He should be though – he’s just been caught spying on a vampire, a vampire whose locked apartment he’s inside. Alone.

 

“Yes, my flight was fine, thank you for asking. And thank you for allowing me to stay here.” Louis answers cordially, cursing at himself for how warm and almost tender his tone is.

 

“Yes, um- Thank you for agreeing to fly here even though it was very last minute. I didn’t want to disrupt your sleep, but I was told earlier that our appointment has been changed to ten a.m., so it would be ideal for us to depart at 9:30 a.m. at the latest, as to avoid the chaotic traffic Rome is plagued with.” Styles says stiffly, all traces of that vulnerable man Louis had seen earlier gone.

 

“Oh, you’re not doing it here?” Louis asks, having assumed that Styles would want to do it in his home, like he always does back in Chicago.

 

Styles starts twisting one of his rings, a telltale sign of nervousness, “No. I was told that it had to take place in an appropriate setting for them to sign off on the results’ credibility.”

 

Styles is obviously nervous about this location situation, but Louis is too tired to deal with it, especially since he now knows that there’s so much depth hidden under that superficial pompous character Styles likes to embody.

 

“Okay, I’ll be ready at 9:30 a.m., then. Goodnight, Mr. Styles.” Louis says, though he does not move a single inch.

 

Louis is sure that since that first moment when they made eye contact, neither of them has looked away, and, for whatever fucked up reason, he can’t get his eyes nor his legs to cooperate.

 

“Breakfast will be served at nine a.m., Mr. Tomlinson. I wish you a restful night.” Styles says cordially, breaking the weird atmosphere and finally walking away from Louis and towards his bedroom.

 

*

 

Louis fucking wishes he could get a restful night of sleep, but the strangeness of what he witnessed and the prospectus of a full day in Rome keep him up – or maybe he’s just jet-lagged, who knows.

 

By 8:20 a.m., he’s already dressed and ready to go, but he hides in his room until nine a.m. on the dot.

 

It may seem like an exaggeration, given that this is technically just an apartment, but Louis would have probably struggled to find the kitchen if not for the mouthwatering smell guiding him.

 

It has to be at least a bit lonely to live in such huge houses, and Louis is sure that even if he could afford it, he’d never buy an apartment like this, let alone a fucking palace like Styles Manor.

 

Weirdly enough, Styles is setting up the table himself, and he’s chosen the small table by the window instead of the big dining table in the next room.

 

Louis is certainly glad - sitting down at that huge table alone with Styles would surely be too strange and unsettling to deal with on top of the jet-lag.

 

“Good morning, Mr. Tomlinson.” Styles says when Louis is just a few steps away from the table, though he’s sure the vampire must have sensed him coming long before.

 

“Good morning. This smells delicious.” Louis says, his mouth watering as he takes in the various plates on the table, everything he could ever want laid out in front of him, from perfectly fluffy eggs to a small stack of Food Channel-worthy pancakes with an assortment of toppings on the side.

 

“Don’t let it get cold, then. Sit down. Eat.” Styles says, his tone strict, though the small smirk tugging at his lips makes it obvious that he is just being playful and not rude.

 

Say no more, Louis thinks, not even knowing where to start from.

 

He decides to try the savory items first, filling his plate up with eggs, sausages, a piece of perfectly golden fried bacon, and a slice of rustic-looking bread. He then adds some mushrooms to mask how unhealthy his taste really is.

 

“Oh my God, this is amazing!” Louis exclaims, a totally involuntary reaction to his first bite, “Whoever made this food deserves a pat on the back. Wow!”

 

Louis watches as Styles raises an eyebrow, before reaching behind himself and patting his own back.

 

It takes a few seconds for it to click, but the borderline proud look on Styles’ face is what finally does it for Louis.

 

“Did you make this?” Louis asks, his pitch stupidly high due to how surprised he is.

 

Truthfully, it would have been a safe and logical assumption to think that Styles had been the one to cook given that the only people currently staying in the penthouse are Louis and Styles, but he had never expected the vampire to actually make his own meals.

 

Why would he hire a full time chef when he can cook like this? Maybe he’s lazy, though that still doesn’t explain why he’d prepare such a wide-ranging and delicious meal just for himself and Louis to enjoy.

 

Whatever. Louis has already realized that Styles is full of mysteries, mysteries which he might never understand.

 

“Yes, I did. I’m certainly glad you’re enjoying the food. You should try the pancakes, Liam and Niall are always begging me to make them.”

 

“Believe me, I will.” Louis answers all too honestly and enthusiastically, though he can’t really be blamed given that this is literally the best breakfast he has ever had.

 

Styles’ answering cackle is so sudden and uncharacteristic that it startles both of them, but they continue eating without commenting on it, matching proud looks on their face, in Louis’ case, for making Styles laugh, and in Styles’ case, due to how impressed with his cooking skills Louis is.

 

Once Louis is stuffed as a turkey and cannot fit a single crumb inside his stomach anymore, they both head to the garage.

 

The same driver who had picked Louis up from the airport is already standing in front of the car, so they’re on route to the lab in no time.

 

Louis tries to stay cool, but he can’t help but gasp and take pictures of a few places that he recognizes from the movies, or just sights and building that he considers particularly beautiful.

 

He should probably be embarrassed about how childishly he’s behaving, but this is his first time in another country, and he’s in Italy of all places.

 

Plus, just a few months from now he won’t have to see Styles ever again, so why would he keep himself from fully enjoying this trip just because the vampire is sitting next to him?

 

Styles was right about the traffic, and they barely make it on time to their appointment.

 

It can’t have taken more than a few minutes between the moment when the nurse first introduced herself to when she started closing the tourniquet around Styles’ arm, but the vampire’s entire demeanor changed dramatically in that time frame.

 

If he had looked nervous yesterday, he’s positively bricking it right now, his movements jerky, as if he’s considering running away.

 

There’s a slight tremor to Styles’ entire body, and Louis genuinely wants to make him feel better.

 

Styles looks so vulnerable, and almost fragile, sitting on that chair, looking like he’s honest to God going to cry.

 

When the vampire visibly flinches away due to the spraying of the disinfectant, Louis knows he has to do something to distract him.

 

He crouches down next to Styles, exchanging a look with the nurse to let her know that he’s going to try to calm the vampire down so that she can do her job.

 

It doesn’t seem like Styles has even noticed that Louis is right next to him, so he tries calling his name. His “Mr. Styles” goes completely unnoticed, though.

 

“Harry! Hey! Look at me!”

 

Surprisingly enough, that seems to work, as Styles’ panicked eyes are suddenly locked with Louis’ own.

 

He doesn’t even have time to regret calling the vampire by his first name – no, his nickname - knowing from his experience with his mom that he needs to keep Styles’ attention on him before the vampire loses himself inside his own head again.

 

“Did you go to Woodstock?” Louis blurts out, fuck knows why.

 

The random question seems to have served its purpose though, as Styles is so surprised and confused that his jittery movements cease completely.

 

“I- I did, actually. Yes.”

 

Louis is the one who’s surprised now, “Really? Wow, I didn’t think you’d be the type, though I’m sure the long, curly hair must have blended in perfectly.”

 

Louis can see the nurse getting ready to put the needle in from the corner of his eye, but there’s a small smile tugging at Styles’ lips now, so he hopes that he’ll still be distracted enough by his recollections of the festival to not react too badly.

 

“I had no interest in going, actually, but Niall managed to convince me to accompany him. I’m certainly glad he did. He still uses that argument every single time he’s trying to make me do anything, that Irish nuisance.”

 

Styles’ blood is already flowing into the tube, but the vampire has barely reacted to anything since Louis brought Woodstock up, so he considers it a success.

 

“My mom was conceived at Woodstock, actually.” Louis confesses, managing to get a genuine laugh out of Styles, even with a needle in his arm.

 

“Really? That’s amazing.”

 

“Really, really. And I was accidentally conceived after a Bon Jovi concert, so it’s a bit of a family legacy. Last year, my sister, Lottie, bought a ticket to see some boyband with her friends, and I worked extra shifts for months to buy my mom a ticket as well, just to make sure that history didn’t repeat itself. All these coincidences are making me paranoid.”

 

Louis and Styles are smiling widely at each other now, so completely wrapped up in the moment that when the nurse asks Styles to press the compress against his arm, they both jump.

 

Despite the weird bond that they have created since he’s been in Rome, Louis still wouldn’t say that they’re friends.

 

They’re in a limbo of sorts right now, transitioning from mutual distaste to something else that Louis can’t really put a label on yet.

 

Luca, Styles’ driver, is still standing in the exact same place as when they left him, but the vampire suddenly stops walking before they reach him.

 

“Would you, um- I noticed that you were quite enraptured by the surroundings when we were driving here, so, if you’re interested, we could walk home instead of driving as to enjoy them more thoroughly.” Styles says, his brow furrowing and stance almost sheepish.

 

“Uh, sure, yes. I’d really like that.” Louis mumbles, incredibly surprised, but all too eager to accept Styles’ invitation.

 

Louis watches as Styles talks to the driver in a fluent Italian, and he’s honest to God tempted to ask him to never use another language around him ever again.

 

(What? Styles is kind of gorgeous, and his voice is kind of sexy, and Italian is the kind of language Louis wants whispered in his ear late at night, sue him!)

 

At first, they barely talk as they walk, but the silence isn’t tense or uncomfortable.

 

Louis has always hated small talk, so it’s sort of nice to spend time with someone who doesn’t feel the need to fill the silence.

 

Thankfully, the city is distracting enough to stop him from thinking too much about the danger of his current train of thought.

 

Now that he knows that Styles is not going to mock him for being an overexcited tourist, Louis oohs and ahhhs to his heart’s content.

 

It’s such a beautiful city, so incredibly full of life and history, and Louis can’t remember the last time he’s felt this giddy and relaxed.

 

When he’s in Chicago, he’s always running from one place to the other, responsibilities and assignments piling up until he can hardly breathe, but here, all he plans on doing is having fun and thoroughly enjoying this unexpected trip.

 

“Let’s go this way instead. I believe you’ll enjoy this detour.” Styles says suddenly, a glint of something akin fondness written all over his face.

 

Louis allows Styles to choose their path, trusting that whatever the vampire has planned will be worth it.

 

They walk past beautiful buildings and lovely little gardens, Louis stopping every few steps to take a million pictures to show his mom and sisters when he sees them.

 

It’s so incredible to be walking around a city with so much history, and, as strange as it may seem, Louis is glad he’s doing so with Styles, who keeps telling him little historic tales and pointing out details in the architecture that he would have otherwise missed.

 

Louis is so distracted listening to Styles animatedly talk about Romulus and Remus that he doesn’t realize where he’s standing until the vampire suddenly stops walking.

 

Once he finally notices that he’s standing right in front of the Fontana di Trevi, he feels like his breath has been punched out of him in all the best ways, and he even has to pinch his goose bump-covered arm to keep himself from crying.

 

It may seem like an overreaction, but Louis has always dreamed of being able to travel, and visiting Rome has been a lifelong goal of his.

 

Even with a financially comfortable and stable job, it would still have taken him several years to be able to afford such a huge luxury as travelling to Europe, so seeing the Fontana di Trevi with his own two fucking eyes is making him understandably emotional.

 

When he finally manages to process the fact that he’s standing in a place where most people could only ever dream of visiting, he has to suppress the urge to hug Styles, settling for thanking him for thinking of this little detour.

 

*

 

Throughout the rest of the day, Styles takes him all around Rome, showing him not only the famous landmarks, but also little gems he’d discovered on his previous stays in the city.

 

They make small stops along the way, buying some delicious gelato from a traditional shop, cringing through a classic Italian espresso, and even getting these huge slices of greasy pizza that stain their sleeves.

 

It’s messy, and disorganized, and spontaneous in a way that Louis isn’t used to.

 

It’s perfect.

 

Styles becomes a bit less of an enigma the longer Louis is around him, but much more of a mystery.

 

Louis has come to see that there are two completely different personalities living inside Harry Styles.

 

The first man Louis met was Mr. Styles, an arrogant, ruthless, egotistical monster with the strength and power to build and control an empire. A façade.

 

The man standing in front of him now, Harry, is galaxies away from Mr. Styles.

 

Harry’s thoughtful enough to let a virtual stranger stay at his house and then take him on the best tour of Rome possible. He’s a real person, with real feelings and fears. He furrows his brow when he’s thinking and has a ridiculous laughter. He gives money to the beggars on the street and smiles at every single dog they walk past. He isn’t a two-dimensional character from a cliché vampire movie, but he isn’t perfect either – he’s just a man.

 

There are a few moments when Louis could swear that Harry is more human than most humans he knows.

 

This strange camaraderie that they’ve established lasts well into the evening, Styles taking him to a small restaurant hidden away in a non-tourist part of Rome.

 

The owners, Styles tells him, are a vampire couple who were so disappointed with how authentic Italian cuisine was being forgotten that they decided to start their own business.

 

And Louis is certainly glad that they did, because the pasta that he eats there is like a piece of heaven served on a plate.

 

Although Louis doesn’t really drink often, he’d be crazy not to try the wine that both the owner, Filippo, and Styles speak so highly of, so by the time they finally start walking home, he’s pleasantly tipsy – tipsy enough to have only complained a little when Styles refused to let him see the check, though he did leave a five dollar bill as a tip.

 

Styles has this terrible idea to open another bottle of wine when they get home, though truthfully, Louis is entirely too eager to drink it.

 

The accelerated metabolism of vampires doesn’t really allow them to get drunk unless they chug the entire alcohol aisle at Walmart, but Styles still agrees to sit on the balcony with Louis anyway, so it can’t be such a terrible idea, can it?

 

They keep drinking and having these meaningless conversations, until, before either of them notices it, they have started talking about deeper and more personal stuff.

 

Louis hates talking about his feelings and how perfectly imperfect his childhood was, but either Harry, or the wine, or both seem to lull him into a sense of security that has him talking about his academic goals.

 

“… I always wanted to go to college, you know. It didn’t even matter what I’d study - being a college graduate was my dream growing up. I’m the first person in my family to go to college, so I guess I convinced myself that it was some sort of gateway into a better life, which I now know is fucking ridiculous, but it was the one thought that kept me moving forward when I was younger. Sometimes I think that one day I’ll look back and regret every single choice and decision I’ve ever made. It’s like there’s always something bigger and better to achieve, you know, and I’ve dedicated what were supposed to be the best years of my life trying to complete all these goals, and it never even feels that rewarding when I finally achieve them. It’s fucking sick, you know, the way you can feel so pressured and trapped, and people don’t even realize that they’re doing that to you. I’ve always been the hope and future of my family, so it’s like I’m not even allowed to do anything that doesn’t serve that purpose. And I know that if my mom knew that that’s how I feel, she’d hate herself because she only wants what’s best for me. The best is rarely ever fun though, you know.”

 

“Like, when I was in middle school, I quit the soccer team so that I’d have more time to study, so that I’d be better prepared for high school, so that I could get good grades, so that I could get a scholarship to a good college, so that I could study some more, so that I could get good grades, so that I could get in to a good graduate program, so that I could get a good job, so that I could work hard to get an even better job, so that my sisters could go to college too, and one day, maybe my kids. And it’s fucking insane, isn’t it? It’s never-fucking-ending. You can never properly enjoy any of your achievements, because there’s always another fucking goal right around the corner waiting to suck the happiness out of you.”

 

“I’ve spent my entire childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood working so fucking hard and having no fun at all, and I can’t ever even enjoy the results of my hard work because it’s just an investment into the next phase of my life. When’s it going to stop? When am I going to be allowed to have fun and actually enjoy life instead of being stuck in this never-ending cycle of boring and exhausting routines? Never. I’m never actually going to be able to rest until the day that I fucking die. And sometimes I ask myself – is it really worth it? Is the money that I’m going to make in the future going to make me a happier man if I never have the time to enjoy it?”

 

“I have a whole bunch of high school friends who didn’t go to college, and you what? I envy them. They’ll probably never have a “brilliant career”, but at least they get to spend time with their families, and they get to properly celebrate their birthdays instead of taking a ten-minute break from studying to eat a shitty cupcake. If I was given a week completely free of any study or work obligations, I honestly wouldn’t know what to do or who to spend it with, isn’t that just the most pathetic thing you’ve ever heard? Even on the rare occasions that I allow myself to have a break and go out for a few beers with a couple of friends, I spend the entire time terrified that they’ll realize how boring and what a debby-downer I am and never invite me again.”

 

“It’s so fucked up. My life is so fucked up. I rarely talk to my friends, barely ever have the time or the money to visit my family, but there’s always time for studying and working, and working and studying. Hell, I haven’t even had sex in over two years, how depressing is that?”

 

It’s in that moment that Louis’ brain finally catches up with his mouth, and he blushes as he realizes that he’s chosen to share secrets that he’s never told anyone with Harry fucking Styles.

 

He’s so fucking mortified! He’s instantly gone from feeling pathetic to actually being pathetic. Great!

 

“Fuck, shit- I can’t believe I just told you all that. Oh my God! And you’ll most definitely use this against me in the future. Fuck! Please, please, please show me some mercy and pretend like this conversation never happened, Harry. I mean, Mr. Styles. Shit. Uh- I’m going to go to bed now and hope that my the sheets accidentally wrap around my neck and strangle me to death in my sleep.”

 

Louis tries to get up, but Styles’ hand stops him, “Louis. It’s okay. Sit down and take a breath. I can keep your secrets, don’t worry.”

 

As reassuring as the fact that Styles isn’t laughing at him may be, he still feels incredibly humiliated.

 

He childishly and pathetically tries to make himself as small as possible, pulling his knees up and bending his head towards them.

 

“I lied to you.” Styles says suddenly, breaking the uncomfortable silence and causing Louis to lift his head up and look at the vampire in surprise.

 

Interestingly enough, Harry looks a bit startled himself, as if he hadn’t been planning on saying that.

 

Either way, Louis is certainly glad that the spotlight is not on him anymore.

 

“When you asked about the reason why I don’t drink human blood, I lied. I do genuinely think that drinking human blood makes you simultaneously more vulnerable and more dangerous, but that’s not the reason why I refuse to drink it.” Styles says, pulling a necklace from under his shirt, “She is.”

 

Louis watches as Styles takes off the necklace and hands it to him, being extra careful when it’s finally in his hands.

 

There’s a ring hanging from the chain, and, although Louis doesn’t know who it belonged to or why Styles carries it around, he’s seen enough to know that it’s of major sentimental value to the vampire.

 

“G? Is she your mother? Your sister?” Louis asks as soon as he notices the large initial engraved onto the gold.

 

Styles looks down, that overwhelming sadness Louis had seen on this very balcony the night before making a return, “Georgina. She’s my daughter.”

 

There isn’t enough wine in the world to soften the blow of the bomb Styles just dropped.

 

It may sound daft, but Louis had never really thought about what Styles’ or any other vampire’s lives might have been like before they were turned.

 

Even if he had, he’s certain that he would have never guessed that Styles had been a father. Hell, he probably wouldn’t have even considered the possibility that he might have been married.

 

Styles was born into a very different society, so it shouldn’t really be this surprising to find out that he had to marry to a woman despite his sexuality.

 

But, God, Styles had a daughter, a child who he clearly still thinks about constantly.

 

Louis’ brain can’t even begin to process this shocking revelation, though his heart certainly aches for Styles.

 

“She was only four years old when I was turned. Back in those days, we were supposed to walk away from our old lives and embrace our new ones, but I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t abandon my baby girl and never see her again, I just couldn’t. He might have made a completely different creature out of me, but my love and devotion to her never changed. So I just didn’t do what they wanted me to. I abandoned every other aspect of my human life, but I still visited her in secret as often as I could.”

 

“Once she was old enough to understand, I told her why she couldn’t tell anyone that her Papa was actually still alive. I was so scared she’d hate me, or worse, be afraid of me. She’s the most amazing thing I have ever created, and I was afraid she wouldn’t want to see me anymore. She had such a kind and empathetic soul though, my Georgina, and she treated me the exact same way as before. I was still her Papa, even after she found out what I’d been turned into. “I adore you, Papa, and I always will”, that’s what she told me. The only issue she had with my… condition was my feeding habits. She didn’t like the fact that I attacked humans to feed from them, so she made me promise that if we ever found an alternative, I’d never drink another drop of human blood. And we did, and I have kept my promise ever since.”

 

“Did you- did you turn her?” Louis asks, cringing when he realizes that he’s hoping for a happy ending that clearly did not happen.

 

The pain and sadness, the use of the past tense, the ring, it all adds up to a bigger picture – Georgina Styles is not alive anymore.

 

Louis needs to hear it though, otherwise he won’t believe that Harry Styles has a dead daughter that he’s been mourning for the past few centuries.

 

Fate could never be that cruel, right? It wouldn’t make Styles wake up every single day until the end of time knowing that “the most amazing thing that he has ever created” is gone.

 

“No.” Styles answers brusquely, but not unkindly, as if he’s ripping a band-aid off of his broken heart, “I tried to convince her to allow me to turn her, I really bloody tried, but she didn’t want to be a monster like me.”

 

“You’re not a monster.” Louis blurts out.

 

There might be a lot of things that Louis is not sure of, but he is certain that the man sitting next to him is not a monster.

 

“Regardless, she didn’t want to be a vampire. Georgina wanted a normal life, the life that she had always dreamed of. She wanted to marry a decent and loving man, and bear his children. A perfectly average and uneventful life. She didn’t want to live forever, she just wanted to live long enough to make her dreams come true and be happy.” Styles says, and even under the overwhelming sadness, the love that he felt and still feels towards his daughter is obvious.

 

Louis really shouldn’t ask, but he’s so emotionally involved in this story that he just can’t help but want a somewhat less sad ending to it.

 

He already knows that Georgina is dead, but, God, he really wants Styles to tell him that she lived a long, full life and that all her dreams came true. He just needs something to hold on to, something that makes him feel a little less devastated for Georgina and for Styles.

 

“Did it happen? Did she get to live the life that she dreamed of?”

 

Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes.

 

“No. Fate stole her away from this world when she was just about to turn fifteen. She died in her sleep. I now believe it must have been an aneurysm.” Styles sounds incredibly close to tears, but Louis isn’t faring any better.

 

It’s so fucking unfair and sad that Louis can’t hold on to an ounce of resentment towards Styles now that he knows how much he’s suffered and is still suffering.

 

He really wishes fate would have been kinder to Georgina, but he’s also angry that Styles was dealt these horrible, horrible cards.

 

Louis honestly doesn’t know what to say, but he tries his best, “I’m- I’m so sorry, Harry. I really am.”

 

Styles looks straight into his eyes for the first time since he started telling him about his daughter, “Do not pity me, Louis Tomlinson.”

 

“I don’t.” Louis answers truthfully, “I don’t think that you deserve to be pitied. You’re a fighter, and a survivor, and you make life your bitch every single day even though it was so cruel to you, and I admire that. I admire you.”

 

“I- I think it’s time we get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning, Louis. Good night.” Styles says, standing up and walking away before Louis even has time to respond.

 

*

 

There’s a strange sense of normalcy in the penthouse the next day, a harmonious companionship of sorts that has Louis simultaneously sighing in relief and stressing out.

 

When he got out of bed this morning, Louis knew that breakfast would be a make-or-break kind of situation. Styles was likely to behave either overly defensive or overly offensive, or he could simply ignore Louis until he flew back home.

 

In the end, he was none of the above.

 

Styles’ behavior was perfectly normal, just like the previous day, and a strange comradeship has been established between the both of them.

 

It’s not like they’re ignoring the fact that they now know each other’s biggest and most painful secrets, but they aren’t sitting in a puddle of tears whining about their lives either.

 

They’re seizing the moment together by exploring Rome again, only now they have a much better understanding of each other in comparison to twenty-four hours ago.

 

Surprisingly, Louis doesn’t feel the slightest bit embarrassed about having told Harry - yes, he’s officially become just Harry - his deepest thoughts.

 

Instead, he feels relieved and lighter, as if sharing all his baggage with somebody else, someone who didn’t judge him or use it against him, has taken a literal weight off of his shoulders.

 

They share this strange bond of honesty now, a bond Louis would be genuinely sad if he lost.

 

As they walk around Rome, Louis falls more and more in love with the city, the culture, and, dear God, the food.

 

For the first time in many, many years, Louis feels truly blessed for the life that he’s been given, and he’s determined to make that feeling last by trying to balance his academic and personal lives a little better.

 

These past two days haven’t just reminded him of how fun life can be, but they’ve also made him more aware of his mortality and the unpredictability of fate.

 

Harry has been to Rome hundreds of times before, and he’ll probably come back as many times as there are grains of sand at Copacabana beach.

 

This might just be the last time Louis will ever sit on the Spanish steps though, and he’s determined to enjoy every single second of it.

 

He’s been working towards a major goal his whole life, a goal that will supposedly make all his sacrifices worth the while, but what if he doesn’t live long enough to reach it just like Georgina hadn’t?

 

If today was his last day on earth, he certainly wouldn’t be satisfied with what his life looks.

 

Sure, he’s accomplished a lot of major academic goals, but is that more important than having valuable friendships or getting to attend every single one of his siblings’ birthday parties?

 

He’s not about to just throw everything he’s worked for in the wind, but it can’t really hurt to laugh at least once a day, can it?

 

*

 

Unfortunately, his unexpected dream vacation comes to an end on the third day.

 

Louis gets a call from the lab letting him know that the results are ready, which means that there’s no actual reason for him to stay in Rome.

 

He’s almost tempted to not tell Harry, but then common decency and respect for their newly established friendship make him share this information with the vampire.

 

With a call to Harry’s personal assistant, it’s definite – Louis will fly back to Chicago tomorrow morning.

 

For his last meal in Rome, Louis asks to go back to that vampire-owned restaurant, though he doesn’t drink more than a single glass of wine this time.

 

The conversation between Harry and Louis flows so easily, you’d think they’ve been friends for years.

 

There’s such an astounding contrast between their attitudes when they first met and their current interactions, Louis can hardly believe that it was a transition that took place over such a short period of time.

 

*

 

The first thought that crosses Louis’ mind when he sits down on the plane is that he really hopes they don’t go back to being strangers, or worse, foes.

 

He gets his wish.

 

The current stage of Louis’ research involves weekly blood tests, so he takes the bus to the Manor every Saturday.

 

Louis and Harry have an unspoken agreement to schedule it for relatively early in the morning, so that they can spend the rest of the day together.

 

Louis honestly doesn’t spend every second of those Saturdays with Harry – he really does enjoy Niall and Sophia’s company as well – but he’d be lying if he said that he doesn’t spend hours alone with Harry in the garden talking about everything and nothing.

 

Thing is, Louis likes being challenged. He likes having a chance to discuss his opinions and be shown a different point of view, and he’s never met anyone who does that as politely, yet passionately as Harry.

 

The vampire seems to really enjoy his company as well, and he always greets him with a genuine smile every Saturday morning.

 

This routine has only existed for three weeks, but it honestly feels like much longer, given how fond Louis now is of the occupants of the Manor.

 

Even Malik seems to enjoy his presence, sending a few smiles his way and even laughing at some of his jokes on rare occasions.

 

Truthfully, Louis feels strangely comfortable at Styles Manor, and it’s certainly not because of how big and excessive it is.

 

The people really do make the place…

 

*

 

Louis has been staying faithful to his plan to be more sociable and enjoy life more, so today he opts out of devouring a sandwich in record time in the hallway in exchange for having lunch at one of the university’s cafés with a few of his colleagues.

 

“… so I need to find a way to prevent contact inhibition. Maybe I could- Oh my God, don’t look now, but the most gorgeous man has just walked in.” Louis’ friend, Jane, says, looking like she’s probably going to leave a puddle on the chair.

 

Heather gasps immediately after, clearly having caught sight of this “gorgeous” man, “He’s coming this way. Act cool!”

 

Louis has his back to the man that they’re ogling, and his attention is devoted to the delicious toast in front of him, so he doesn’t even turn around until he hears his name.

 

He barely manages to swallow down the food in his mouth without choking when he notices that it’s Harry.

 

Harry fucking Styles is here, in this tiny café, and Louis has a hard time thinking of any reason for it other than the possibility that he came here specifically looking for him.

 

“Harry! Hi! This is… unexpected.” Louis manages to get out once he realizes that he was taking too long to respond.

 

“I was hoping I could talk to you, do you have a second?” Harry asks, his gaze completely fixed on Louis even though the whole table – hell, the whole café – is staring at him.

 

“Actually, I don’t want my toast to get cold, but you’re welcome to sit down with us and wait until I’m done.”

 

Louis may be quite fond of Harry now, but that still doesn’t stop him from giving the vampire a hard time every once in a while. It’s a good exercise for Harry’s ego – Louis is sure that he’s all too used to everyone bending over backwards to satisfy his every whim.

 

Harry smirks and shakes his head, but he still grabs a chair and sits down next to Louis, so he counts it as a win.

 

Louis hasn’t really looked at anyone other than Harry since he first showed up, so when he finally notices how quiet the whole table has gone, he realizes that everyone’s staring at them.

 

“Oh. Guys, this is Harry.” Louis says, purposely avoiding telling them Harry’s last name.

 

It’s a wasted effort, though.

 

“Styles, right? Harry Styles?” Evan says quite hysterically.

 

You’d think he’s meeting Brad fucking Pitt and not a somewhat well known businessman!

 

Every jaw around them drops at the newfound information, and Jane even mouths a “what the fuck?” aimed at Louis.

 

Harry’s change in demeanor is probably unnoticeable to everyone else, but Louis can tell that he’s more tense and uncomfortable now that he’s been recognized.

 

“Alright, I guess I’ll take my toast to go, then.” Louis says, getting up after sending a reproaching look in the direction of every single one of his friends.

 

“So, what’s up?” Louis asks once they’re out of ear range.

 

Harry looks a bit hesitant, “I’m looking to invest in San Francisco, so I’ll be checking out a few buildings this weekend. I thought maybe you’d like to come as well.”

 

Louis’ eyebrows climb halfway up his forehead.

 

It’s certainly justified, though. Harry just came all the way to his college to invite him to spend the weekend in San Francisco with him, as if a weekend-break in California is perfectly normal behavior for two somewhat friendly gay men.

 

And then, all of the sudden, it starts making sense.

 

“Are you doing this because you know I can’t afford to travel? Do not pity me, Harry Styles.” Louis says resentfully, parroting the words Harry had said to him when he first found out about Georgina.

 

“I don’t pity you in the slightest, Louis Tomlinson. It was just an invitation that I thought you might enjoy.”

 

Louis is totally lost as what he should do or say right now.

 

“I- I don’t know, Harry. Look, when you offered to fly me out to Rome, I was angry at you for leaving town the day before our appointment, so I thought that by wasting your money, I’d be sticking it to you. It’s not like that now, though. I don’t feel the same way anymore, so it’d be weird to let you waste your money on me.”

 

Harry puts his palms together in front of his chest diplomatically, “I understand what you’re saying, and if you want me to back off, I will, but, Louis, if you think about it, I don’t actually need to spend a single cent on you.”

 

Louis furrows his brow in confusion, and Harry clearly takes it as a sign to further explain his statement, “I’m taking my private jet, meaning that I won’t have to buy you a ticket, and I’ve already booked the Presidential suite because I’m a pretentious arsehole, so there’s definitely a guest room you can sleep in. So, really, I’m paying exactly the same whether or not you come with me.”

 

Louis laughs stupidly, struggling to believe that this is his life now, a life which apparently involves being whisked away to Europe and California as if he’s some sort of WAG.

 

“Okay, I’ll go to San Francisco with you.” Louis finally agrees, unable to stop giggling at the insanity of this whole situation.

 

Guess he better start packing, given that it’s already Thursday!

 

*

 

Louis can count on one hand the number of times he’s been on a plane, and he certainly had never even dreamed of flying on a private jet.

 

It’s a good thing that Harry owns the plane though, because Louis ends up being twenty minutes late due to the insane traffic his bus gets stuck in.

 

Harry obviously takes advantage of the situation, mocking Louis’ lack of British punctuality.

 

Louis doesn’t mind it much, though – he’ll take playful Harry over the horrible Mr. Styles any day.

 

Unlike Rome, Louis doesn’t have a single obligation or responsibility in San Francisco, so he’s free to be as stereotypically touristy as he wants to.

 

He manages to talk Harry into going to the Golden Gate Bridge before they even drop their bags off at the hotel, so they’re off to a great start.

 

Rome had been beautiful and fascinating in a completely different way, but Louis falls in love with the way that San Francisco is positively bursting with life.

 

It’s not Harry’s first time in the city, but he’s clearly not as familiar with it as he was with Rome.

 

They work out a schedule of sorts over lunch, trying to find the time to balance the fun stuff and the work stuff – Harry is here on business, after all.

 

Unsurprisingly, they don’t follow the schedule in the slightest, enjoying the spontaneity that they usually both lack in their professional lives instead.

 

*

 

Although he’d been expecting Harry to ditch him when he went to see the buildings he was considering buying, the vampire surprises him by inviting him along, and shockingly, Louis enjoys it.

 

It’s so interesting to see Harry’s brilliant mind at work, explaining to Louis how he could rehabilitate the buildings and give them new life.

 

When he had first met Harry, he’d assume that he was the type of guy to whom everything happened easily and painlessly, but now he realizes that there’s a reason why he’s managed to build an empire – he’s talented.

 

Harry Styles is a true entrepreneur, and Louis is thoroughly impressed.

 

Louis decides to go for a walk while Harry is discussing the details of his purchases, not sure if he could handle hearing those big numbers without, like, fainting or weeping for the starving children in Africa.

 

He honestly wanted to enjoy the views and the overall beauty of San Francisco, but nothing seems as exciting as when Harry is with him, which is an incredibly scary thought.

 

All throughout his interactions with Harry, he’s been aware of just how gorgeous he is, but he’s always thought that that attraction wouldn’t develop into something else.

 

He was wrong, even if he doesn’t realize just how wrong he was yet.

 

*

 

Unsurprisingly, Harry and Louis end up in the Castro, like gay moths to a flame.

 

Louis has never been ashamed of who he is, but Harry is the personification of gay pride.

 

With all the homophobic assholes and LGTBQ+ discrimination that, unfortunately, still exists in the world, Louis had never really realized how privileged his generation is and how grateful they should be towards everyone who had fought for the rights that they currently have.

 

Seeing how passionate Harry is towards this cause and how delighted he always is whenever he sees anyone openly discuss and express their sexuality makes Louis really reflect on how difficult it must have been for the vampire earlier in his life.

 

From what Harry has told him, Louis has estimated that the vampire must have been born between 1750 and 1800, so acting as anything other than straight wasn’t even an option for him until literally centuries after his birth.

 

One of the reasons why Louis was so surprised when he found out about Georgina was because he had stupidly assumed that Harry’s sexuality would have prevented him from getting married to a woman.

 

Harry was a nobleman though, so it was his obligation to assure the continuity of the Styles’ family name, which he actually failed at, given that his only child was a daughter who died very young.

 

In one of their deeper conversations, Harry had told him that he’d known that he’d end up marrying Lady Ottilie since he was a small child.

 

The only negative feeling that Harry carries towards the woman he was forced to marry is guilt, though. Ottilie, Harry has told him, was a nice woman, and she “deserved better than a man who could not love her”.

 

Whether or not she realized that Harry wasn’t interested in women, the vampire isn’t sure, but she was apparently considerate enough to never force Harry to give her more than what he could.

 

Harry considers his upbringing perfectly normal given the setting, but Louis’ heart aches with the thought of a young Harry repressing who he truly was for the sake of his family.

 

It must have been so lonely to have this huge secret and not know whom he could trust to keep it.

 

Knowing Harry has made Louis fully realize how important it is to honor the past and learn about the men and women who fought for the privileges he now has.

 

Neither Louis nor Harry have had a drop of alcohol all evening, but they are truly drunk on life, laughing like lunatics and smiling at strangers on the street.

 

They stumble upon a place that is a little more sophisticated and less club-ish, and they’re immediately swept off of their feet by the amazing singer performing there.

 

Harry swears up and down that this guy, Sam, will be a Grammy nominee by this time next year, but Louis thinks that he’s a little biased due to the fact that the singer is also British, though he can admittedly see him having a shot at a successful career.

 

The fact that they’ve fallen in love with this singer’s voice doesn’t prevent them from talking throughout pretty much the entire duration of the performance, their faces close together so that they can hear each other – or, rather, so that Louis can hear Harry.

 

They were just two guys sitting unnecessarily close together to talk, until they stopped talking.

 

Now, they’re just two guys sitting unnecessarily close together.

 

Their faces start moving towards each other involuntarily, until Louis can’t look into Harry’s eyes anymore without crossing his own.

 

They stay like this for several seconds, their movements suspended by the magnitude of how significant and potentially damaging a kiss between them could be.

 

Then, Louis takes the leap, moving to finally close the small gap between their lips.

 

Their lips never do touch, though.

 

It’s with burning cheeks and crimpling mortification that Louis notices that Harry had moved away in the split of a second, using his supernatural abilities to prevent the imminent kiss.

 

Louis almost runs away, wanting to hide under the covers of his shitty bed, in his shitty apartment, which is inconveniently located over two thousands miles away, but then he notices the expression on Harry’s face.

 

Harry looks incredibly conflicted and apologetic, and Louis can’t remember the last time anyone had looked at him so longingly.

 

It’s understandably hard for Louis to squash down the hurt and embarrassment that he’s been subjected to, but he’s almost certain that Harry wanted to kiss him too.

 

Funnily enough, Louis is almost more disappointed that he didn’t get to taste Harry’s lips than he is embarrassed, and that realization is the final push that he needed to accept that he likes Harry.

 

Fact is, Louis tried to kiss Harry and they both know it, but the opportunity resulted from both of their actions, and they’re wearing matching looks of disappointment.

 

There’s only a small trace of awkwardness as they return to what they were doing before the almost kiss, an unspoken mutual understanding making their interactions much easier than they should be given the circumstances.

 

The harder Harry tries to soothe Louis’ embarrassment, the more curious Louis gets.

 

Either Louis is insane, or Harry is not indifferent to him – be it attraction, romantic feelings, or whatever – so why did he prevent that kiss?

 

The most obvious explanation is the fact that he’s a vampire and Louis is not, so Harry’s internal struggle could be due to a deep-rooted prejudice against human/vampire relationships.

 

There’s also a chance that Harry simply isn’t interested in anything more than no strings attached sex – he was forced to be someone’s husband, so maybe he’s just repulsed by feelings and commitment.

 

Louis’ third theory is a lot more fucked up than the other two.

 

Harry had a daughter, a human daughter whose death tore him to pieces, so it doesn’t seem too far-fetched to think that maybe he’d try to protect himself from the inevitability of death by not getting too attached to humans.

 

It’s not as if Louis actually knows for a fact that Harry has any non-platonic feelings for him, but there are a lot of factors pointing towards that possibility, and a boy can dream.

 

All his thinking finally drives him to an apparently innocuous question, but Louis is hoping that it will shine some light upon Harry’s true feelings for him.

 

“Why did you invite me to come to San Francisco with you?” Louis asks as they’re walking back to the hotel.

 

Harry doesn’t answer straight way, choosing to shake his gorgeous hair out and comb it back into place, before finally saying, “The first ten to twenty times that I was in Rome, I loved it. I thought it was such a fascinating and beautiful city, and I was sure that I could never feel otherwise. I was absolutely captivated by it. And then I went back again and again, until it eventually lost its charm. When I was there with you, though, it was unlike the hundreds of times before. You have such a beautiful way of seeing the world, Louis. You were so happy and excited while we were there, and anyone could tell how much you loved every single inch of that city. You had such an unfiltered enthusiasm towards everything you saw, it was almost palpable. I fell in love with the city again through your eyes, Louis.”

 

“After the first hundred, two hundreds years, you become numb to the beauty of the world. You’ve already seen and done everything, and nothing really evokes any type of excessive reaction, especially not a city. Your enthusiasm was so contagious that you broke that lull and made me see Rome in a different, better way than before. I asked you to come here with me for the same reason that I’d invite you to any other place on this earth – I don’t want to go back to that lukewarm life. I like how intense and passionate you are towards the world, and I like that you make me act and feel just as intensely and passionately. Even when we first met, the unpleasant conversation we shared was the most exciting thing that had happened to me in God knows how long. You sure are something, Louis Tomlinson.”

 

Holy fucking shit!

 

Louis stopped walking halfway through Harry’s answer, and now he’s just fish mouthing like a brainless weirdo.

 

Wow!

 

“Harry, I-, um, thank you. I’m glad you feel like I brought something positive into your life, because you’ve certainly brought positivity into my boring, strenuous life too. I’m really happy I met you.” Louis finally says, struggling to put into words everything he wants to transmit.

 

In a sense, Harry’s explanation was more intimate than a kiss would have been, and it was certainly more meaningful.

 

It’s incredibly satisfying to know that Harry feels something towards him, even if the vampire is clearly keen on not acting on those feelings. Louis is planning on being patient.

 

He’s still not sure if he truly wants to follow his heart and pursue something with Harry or not, too much on the line not to second-guess it.

 

Harry is a rich, powerful vampire, all things that Louis is definitely not, and even if they were on the same page, there’s still a lot working against them from the get go.

 

Plus, Louis has a career to think about, a big plan to work on, and he’s not sure if he could afford such a huge distraction.

 

As it is, Harry’s clearly even more reluctant than he is, and Louis is going to respect the vampire’s wishes.

 

*

 

The first two days after Louis gets back from San Francisco are hard.

 

He doesn’t see Harry at all, and that high that he’d felt during the weekend drops exponentially.

 

The weather is shit, and there’s a problem with one of the machines, delaying the results of the latest blood tests.

 

To make everything worse, Louis seems to be in a streak of bad luck, with everything that could go wrong, always going wrong.

 

His bad luck culminates the day that he’s supposed to renew this rental contract, and Louis is so fucking mad that he storms to the Manor without even considering the consequences of his actions.

 

Louis lets himself into the house without ringing the doorbell, having been told the code to the gate on his seventh or eight visit, and finding the door unlocked, as per usual – nobody’s crazy enough to try to rob a house full of vampires.

 

He immediately starts walking in the direction of Harry’s office, completely ignoring the curious look Malik sends his way.

 

He’s absolutely drenched from the rain, but all he feels is anger and disappointment.

 

Harry is already looking in the direction of the door when he walks in, his fucking vampire supernatural senses not even allowing for a dramatic entrance.

 

“You’re a fucking asshole, did you know that?” Louis yells as soon as he locks eyes with Harry, his aggressiveness visibly startling the vampire.

 

Harry furrows his brow in confusion, looking so lost, Louis almost feels bad for yelling at him.

 

Then again, Harry is a heartless megalomaniac, so…

 

“What- What are you talking about, Lou?”

 

Louis groans in frustration, “I’m talking about the fact that you just kicked me out of my own home, you dickhead!”

 

Harry holds his arms up in surrender, “I’m sorry, Louis, but I really don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

 

The more clueless Harry looks, the more Louis struggles to stay angry at him, “I have three fucking days to move out of my apartment because you suddenly decided that you wanted to tear down the building to build something else there. I could hardly pay the rent to that shitty place, how the hell am I going to find an apartment that I can afford in three fucking days? I’m not even going to receive the compensation because my contract is ending anyway! Are you fucking proud of yourself?”

 

“Wait, you live in one of my buildings?” Harry asks, looking more confused and uncertain than Louis has ever seen him.

 

Louis snorts, “No, some other asshole is kicking me out of my apartment and I’m taking it out on you. Yes! I fucking live in one of your buildings, you idiot!”

 

“Okay, okay. We’ll figure something out, don’t worry. I’m really sorry, Louis. I didn’t know. We’ll find a solution, I promise.” Harry says diplomatically, clearly trying to get Louis to calm down.

 

“Ugh, you’re not actually supposed to feel bad and be all empathetic and shit. You’re supposed to act like an asshole, so that I can yell at you and not feel guilty. I came here to take my frustration out on you, and you’re not cooperating, Harry!” Louis whines, already feeling guilty for being such a dick to Harry when the other man wasn’t even aware of what he did wrong.

 

Louis watches as Harry scrunches up his face, clearly trying to suppress one of the fond smiles he’s been sending in Louis’ direction increasingly more often.

 

How dare he make it so hard for Louis to be mad at him? Not fair!

 

“Okay, yell at me, then. Get it all out.” Harry says, straightening his back and puffing his chest out to play along to Louis’ initial plan.

 

Louis sighs tiredly, “I don’t want to anymore. I’ve gone back to feeling sorry for myself for having to convince one of my friends to let me borrow their couch for God knows how long. You make it really fucking hard for me to hate you, Harry Styles.”

 

“Look, Louis, I really am sorry about all of this. I didn’t know you lived in that building, and I recognize that it’s insensitive of me to make these decisions without thinking about my tenants. I’ll talk to James so that you can receive the compensation. We’re forcing you out of your own home with barely any warning, you are absolutely entitled to it. I’m sorry you were told otherwise. I’ll also ask James to help you find suitable and affordable housing. In the meantime, and because I don’t want you to feel rushed to find a new place to live, you are free to stay here. There are plenty of empty bedrooms in this house, but if you’re uncomfortable with that, I’m sure we can find you a hotel to stay at instead - free of charge, of course.”

 

Louis sighs, “Harry, I didn’t come here looking for a freebie and some pity. I came here because I was mad, and I wasn’t thinking straight. You and I both know you would never do any of those things for anyone else in my building, and I’ve never been the type to accept preferential treatment. I made a mistake by telling you that you’re technically my landlord, and now I’ve put us both in a weird position where I don’t know if you’re doing something because you think it’s the right thing to do, or because you feel obligated.”

 

Harry nods pensively, “Well, allow me to make a clearer separation. As the owner of Styles Corp., it is my obligation to give you a compensation for forcing you out of your apartment. That is my only decision as your landlord. However, I will not let you sleep on your friend’s couch for Lord knows how long without offering you an alternative, and that is due to our personal relationship. I have the resources to make it easier for you to find a new home, be it in one of my buildings or not, and I have plenty of space for you to live in whilst you’re looking for alternative housing. I’m sure everyone else would also be delighted to have you stay here for the time being.”

 

“The compensation is not optional, and you will receive it regardless of your personal opinion. It’s against the company’s policy to sustain dirty business, and taking advantage of the end of a contract qualifies as so. Offering you a temporary place here is an invitation that I absolutely do not feel obligated to extend. I’m trying to make your life a little easier, Louis, just like anyone who’d be willing to offer you a couch would. I just happen to have a bigger living space available, that’s all.”

 

Louis considers Harry’s peace offerings for a few minutes, really wanting to weigh the pros and the cons before making a decision.

 

He’s not planning on refusing the compensation, not because he’s a sell-out, but because he honestly believes that he’s entitled to it. He is being thrown out of his house with only a three-day notice, after all.

 

As for Harry’s apartment searching suggestion, he will gladly accept the help of a professional to make it an easier and faster process, but he’ll be preferably looking for an apartment that isn’t owned by Harry. Their whole relationship was already messy enough before Harry found out that he’s Louis’ landlord, and he would like to avoid any more professional/personal crossing-overs.

 

A broke college student and his hot landlord is literally a cliché porno plot, and Louis’ ego is too big to be able to handle any insinuations.

 

Truthfully, the biggest reason why he’s so reluctant to stay at the Manor is because he’s already having a hard enough time trying to tone down his growing feelings for Harry.

 

Still, it seems silly to try to convince Stan to let him sleep on his and his girlfriend’s couch when he could just take one of the many free rooms available at Styles Manor.

 

“Could you please talk to everybody else to make sure that they’d be okay with me staying here?” Louis negotiates, not wanting to step on anyone’s toes.

 

“Sure. I’ll talk to them over dinner tonight, and I’ll let you know what they said, even though we both know that they’re going to agree to it immediately. Sophia might never let you leave, actually.”

 

Louis rubs his face tiredly, “Okay, I guess I better get home and start packing, then. Uh, thank you for, um, you know.”

 

Harry smiles kindly, “If you need help packing, let me know, okay? I know you’re busy and three days isn’t a very long time.”

 

How could Louis have ever hated him?

 

*

 

Why did Louis ever think that this was a good decision?

 

He’s agreed to move in with four vampires - one of which being his former landlord and potential love interest, three are participants in his research project, and one is his Professor and course coordinator – for an undetermined amount of time.

 

The insanity of the whole situation only truly hits him when he’s waiting for Harry to arrive so that they can use his car to take all of his crap to the Manor.

 

For someone who can’t really afford to buy much, Louis sure has accumulated an awful lot of junk, and taking it with him on the bus would have been a total nightmare.

 

He had a hard time dealing with the embarrassment of having a millionaire in his shitty studio, but then he reminded himself that Harry already knows what his building looks like because he fucking owns it.

 

Then again, he is planning on demolishing it, so that speaks for itself.

 

Despite the sexual tension that perpetually surrounds their interactions, Louis and Harry only seem to get more and more comfortable with each other, to the point where moving Louis’ crap into the vampire’s home almost feels like a natural progression in their relationship.

 

They still haven’t been any closer to kissing than at that café in San Francisco, but Louis isn’t blind enough not to notice how fondly Harry looks at him.

 

They seem to be living under this unspoken agreement to not mention their feelings for each other, but that doesn’t stop Louis from desperately wanting to know what’s holding Harry back.

 

Louis, on the other hand, has completely given up on any pretenses that he doesn’t want a relationship with Harry, and, at this point, he truly couldn’t care less about all of their differences.

 

They’re a bit like a modern day Romeo and Juliet, only they’re their only enemies, and the only thing keeping them apart is themselves.

 

*

 

Living at the Manor, as it turns out, is really fun.

 

Sophia, just as Harry had predicted, is insanely happy that she gets to see him everyday, and they quickly become really, really close friends.

 

On an objective level, it does make sense that they’d get along so well, as they’re the only humans living full-time at the Manor, but their romantic interests prove to be an even bigger bonding topic.

 

It’s not unusual for them to be found gossiping in Louis’ bedroom like a pair of teenage girls, or dancing in their underwear to release the tension and stress of their personal and professional lives.

 

Sophia truly is the Meredith to Louis’ Christina.

 

Living with Niall means that he gets to see a completely different side of the vampire that he wouldn’t normally see, the slightly withdrawn and brooding Niall that shows up whenever he isn’t busy trying to entertain everyone around him.

 

Being alive for well over a hundred years can’t always be pleasant, and even Niall shows signs of exhaustion and sadness every so often.

 

Louis had only been an official occupant of the Manor for less than an hour when Dr. Payne had demanded that he called him Liam, claiming that it was weird for him to be so formal around someone who’s technically his housemate.

 

Louis agrees with Liam, but he still slips up sometimes and treats him like an authority figure.

 

Nevertheless, it’s not nearly as weird as it should be, and Louis and Sophia’s friendship certainly contributes to making his interactions with Liam more casual.

 

The one element of the clan that had surprised Louis the most since he moved here was actually Zayn, as his relationship with the vampire had greatly improved after they bonded over their love of tattoos.

 

Zayn’s obsessed with art, as it turns out, especially graffiti and tattoos, and Louis has a lot of bare skin that he’d love to see inked up.

 

Louis has always wanted to have a wide collection of tattoos, but he could never afford it before, making his deal with Zayn even greater. Louis allows Zayn to use his body as a blank canvas to express his creativity, and, by doing that, he finally gets the tattoos he’s always wanted, free of charge.

 

Harry, unsurprisingly, is Louis’ absolute favorite housemate, and it feels stupidly natural and relaxing to come home to him after a long day of work.

 

Their opportunities to spend time alone talking have increased exponentially since Louis moved in, and it’s getting harder and harder for them to pretend that their relationship is strictly platonic.

 

The fact that he gets to see a more cozy, and, often, more undressed Harry on a daily basis certainly isn’t helping Louis keep his sanity, but he can’t honestly think that he’s suddenly going to jump into bed with the vampire when they haven’t even kissed yet.

 

Regardless of what Louis might want, there’s a very delicate balance established between Harry and him, and Louis is terrified that if that balance is broken, the end result might actually negatively affect their relationship in an irreparable manner.

 

*

 

On Tuesday night, that balance is heavily disrupted by an unexpected external force.

 

Louis went to bed too late yesterday, having needed to comfort a still not pregnant Sophia for hours, and his day has seemed to drag on and on forever.

 

Fortunately, Ed made Spaghetti alla Carbonara for dinner, which makes Louis feel instantly happier as he’s flooded with memories of his stay in Rome with Harry.

 

He’s just enjoying his meal with six people that he now considers close friends when they get an unexpected visitor, one who’s clearly familiar enough with the ins and outs of Styles Manor to let himself in.

 

Louis doesn’t hear him come in, obviously, but he does notice all the vampires around him immediately tense up as they sense an intruder.

 

Their aggressive stances are apparently unnecessary, as they all instantly relax when they see who the unexpected visitor is.

 

If there was such a thing as a classic douche look, this guy would be it, but Louis tries to not make any rash judgments. He’s been know to make terrible assumptions about great people – case in point: Harry – and every member of the clan seems to like this guy, as they are greeting him with hugs.

 

It’s certainly hard to remain unbiased when Sophia and Ed send him a warning and worried look respectively though, but Louis still tries.

 

That is, until the stranger moves at supernatural speed into Harry’s arms.

 

It’s incredibly rude to make use of excessive speed or strength around humans because of the whole predator/prey situation. Usually, vampires only move that fast when they’re attacking, so it never fails to scare and intimidate humans.

 

Not only is this man not respecting social convention, he’s also acting way too chummy with Harry, which is two major strikes on Louis’ shit list.

 

Louis really does try to remain composed and impartial, but then Harry and the stranger finally end their hug, and he watches as the rude, rude man plants a peck on his vampire’s lips.

 

What the fuck?

 

If it weren’t for the obvious discomfort on Harry’s face, Louis would have just assumed that they’re together, but the Harry that he knows wouldn’t lead him on like this.

 

He decides to just power through this fucked up dinner and ask Harry about his relationship with the other man later.

 

Louis is so distracted looking at Harry that he doesn’t even notice the stranger staring at him until he’s being addressed, “And who might you be? The busboy? I will never understand why Harold allows the help to sit at the table like you’re equals.”

 

Louis grinds his teeth through the stranger’s mocking laughter, thankfully not needing to talk to this asshole due to Niall’s interference.

 

“Ben, this is Louis. He’s quite the scientific prodigy actually, almost finished with his PhD. He doesn’t work for us; he’s part of the family. Louis lives here now, actually.”

 

Louis watches as the stranger, Ben, assesses him, the vampire wrinkling his nose in distaste.

 

“A human? Oh, is he a blood whore? Who do you belong to, pretty?” Ben says, moving at inhumane speed once again to smell Louis’ neck.

 

“That’s enough, Benjamin. Step away from him, now! Niall has already explained who Louis is and why he’s here, so stop insulting him. In this house, we follow the treaty, and you will do the same or you will get out.” Harry finally intervenes, his stance so threatening and powerful, even Louis is intimidated.

 

Since the beginning of Louis’ research, he’s met more vampires than he ever thought he would, but this is the first time that he’s felt truly unsafe.

 

This man, Ben, is clearly a horrible, horrible person, and the fact that the members of the clan choose to associate with him both scares and disappoints Louis to no end.

 

He watches as Ben walks over to Harry again, this time at only a slightly exaggerated pace.

 

He places a hand on Harry’s shoulder, moving it down the long-haired man’s upper chest as he talks to him, “I’m sorry, H. I did not mean to upset you.”

 

Harry doesn’t move away from the other vampire’s touch, and Louis can’t help how jealous it’s making him. There’s clearly some intimacy between Harry and Ben, one that runs deeper than with the other members of the clan.

 

He briefly wonders if all the vampires sitting at the table can sense his heart rate picking up, but he’s hoping they’ll just assume that the stranger is making him angry, which he genuinely is.

 

Harry relaxes again, “It’s okay, Ben. Just sit down and eat with us. I haven’t seen you in a while, so let’s not ruin it, shall we?”

 

“I’ll gladly sit down at the table with you, but don’t expect to actually eat this. I like my food crying for help, you know that.” Ben says, laughing cruelly at his own disgusting comment.

 

Louis expects someone, anyone, to argue against what Ben said, but his heart sinks when no one does.

 

There are three humans sitting at this dinner table, for fuck’s sake.

 

The rest of the dinner is, predictably, a disaster.

 

Ben keeps making these horrible jams at the human species, and Louis, Sophia, and Ed grow more and more uncomfortable as everybody else just watches on.

 

Liam seems to have had enough of the other man’s company soon enough, as he whisks Sophia away to their bedroom before she had even finished eating.

 

If only someone else would have the same protective instinct towards Louis…

 

As much as Louis wants to walk away from the table himself, he’s honestly scared that being alone will make him more vulnerable for an attack.

 

He knows that neither Niall nor Harry, and probably not even Zayn, would let Ben murder him, but he’s scared that the threatening vampire might come for him when he isn’t near them, so he decides to stay at the dinner table for as long as everybody else does.

 

Louis usually doesn’t allow himself to get intimidated by assholes, but Ben seems like a complete psychopath, and the fact that he’s physically much stronger than Louis makes him even more dangerous.

 

He’s not insane enough to pick a fight with someone who could kill him before Louis even notices he’s gotten close to him.

 

He tries to completely ignore the vampires’ conversation, but there’s one comment from Ben that doesn’t go unnoticed.

 

“… I’ll tell you the rest of the story when we’re alone. You know, when the lesser species finally learns its place and leaves the table.”

 

“Ben!” Niall exclaims, and, once again, Louis is heartbroken that it isn’t Harry who’s sticking up for Ed and him.

 

Louis gets up instantly, “Don’t worry, I was just leaving. I have about as much interest interacting with a vermin like you, as you have with a member of the lesser species like me.”

 

Louis sends an apologetic look in Ed’s direction for leaving him alone with the vampires, before storming out of the house as fast as his stupid human legs will allow him.

 

He takes the first bus that he sees, too scared that Ben might come after him to decide where he’s going.

 

Ironically enough, he ends up sleeping on Stan’s couch, just as he had initially planned to do before Harry had talked him into staying at the Manor instead.

 

He’s so fucking mad at Harry, it literally keeps him awake half the night. He’s mad at all of them actually, but Harry’s indifference to the bullshit Ben was spewing really takes the cake.

 

*

 

He borrows Stan’s phone to call Sophia the next morning, having not taken his own to the dinner table the previous night.

 

He hopes and prays that she won’t be near the rest of the clan, as he doesn’t want Harry to hijack their conversation – not that Louis actually thinks that the vampire cares enough to do that.

 

“Hello?” Sophia says when she picks up, and Louis sighs in relief when he doesn’t hear any voices in the background.

 

“Hey, Soph. It’s me, Louis.”

 

Sophia gasps, “Louis! Oh my God, I’m so glad you called. I was really worried about you after Liam heard you leave last night. I thought maybe you’d come back later, but when you didn’t, I got even more worried, and I know the boys tried your phone and it was still here… So, how are you, honey?”

 

“I’m fine. Still pissed off, but fine. Listen, I was actually calling to ask if that asshole, Ben, is still around? I want to come by the house after nine a.m. to pick up my phone and a few other things, but I don’t want to run into him.” Louis answers, his tone hostile when he mentions that dickhead’s name.

“After nine a.m., huh? Trying to avoid Harry?” Sophia asks accusingly, though her tone is understanding.

 

Louis sighs, “Yes, so please don’t tell anyone I’m coming.”

 

“I won’t, don’t worry. Ben left not too long after you. I obviously couldn’t hear anything from upstairs, but Liam said he could hear Harry yelling at him, which is something that doesn’t happen, like, ever, and then they apparently calmed down for a bit right before Ben left. He hasn’t come around since, and neither Liam nor I think he will.”

 

Louis sighs in relief, though knowing that Harry apparently wasn’t too happy with everything that happened does absolutely nothing to calm his rage, “Alright, thank you, Soph. Have a good day at work.”

 

“Thank you, you too. Oh, and, Louis, I know you’re upset, and rightfully so, but please don’t give up on our little family, okay? We all care too much about you to let you just walk out of our lives, sweetheart.” Sophia says tenderly, successfully managing to put a smile on Louis’ tired face.

 

*

 

Just as he had planned, Louis arrives at the Manor just after nine a.m. to pick up a few essentials.

 

He’s not actually planning on doing something radical like pack up all of his stuff, but he’s not sure when he’ll be able to forgive and forget, so he needs to take a few things with him.

 

Niall and Zayn don’t like spending too much time at home, and Liam is at work, so when Louis hears steps down the hall, he hopes and prays that Harry’s weekly meeting hasn’t gotten canceled and that it’s Ed.

 

The loudness of the steps lets him know that it’s actually Harry, as Louis had gotten grumpy over the fact that the vampire constantly seemed to sneak up on him enough times for Harry to start making an effort to be as loud as possible before approaching him.

 

“I don’t want to talk to you, go away.” Louis says without even turning around, and although he can still sense Harry standing in the hallway, the other man has yet to say anything.

 

Louis continues to take random items out of the drawers and then putting them back for a while, but he can still tell that Harry hasn’t left yet.

 

Louis breaks first, “Why aren’t you at your meeting?”

 

“I wanted to be home just in case you happened to stop by.” Harry answers, taking the fact that Louis had talked to him as an invitation to step into the room.

 

Louis snorts, “Right, sure. I don’t think that that’s true at all. I think that you actually had a late night with your lovely little pal, Ben, and didn’t feel like going to work this morning.”

 

Damn it, Louis! The last thing he wanted was to move the focus away from the horrible comments Ben had made about him and the human species in general, and yet here is, making it all about jealousy.

 

Harry looks down at the floor awkwardly before making eye contact with Louis again, “I really was hoping I’d see you, Louis, not only to apologize, but also because I have a pending issue that I meant to discuss with you yesterday after dinner. But the main reason was to apologize, I promise. I’m so, so sorry about Ben, I really am. I’ve known Ben for longer than anyone else who’s still alive. We share the same maker, and we were really, really close during our first few decades as vampires. We obviously grew further and further apart after that, but I can’t just ignore our history and not greet him with a hug whenever he comes around.”

 

“The problem is that Ben’s new clan is made up of terrible people with a revolting outlook on both vampires and humans. It was Ben’s choice to swallow the disgusting tape that they fed him, but I can’t help but hope that the man that I once knew is still hiding inside that hate-speech producing creature that he has become. The only way I have found to remain loyal to our friendship is to completely ignore and tune out any and all hateful conversations, which I now realize has made me partially indifferent to the revolting ideas that he chooses to share loud and clear. Liam, Niall, and Zayn all knew Ben long before he left his old, pacific clan to join these hooligans as well, and we’re all guilty of welcoming a man into our home who verbally attacked not only you, but Sophia and Ed as well.”

 

“I know that it’s probably hard for you to understand why we still choose to associate with Ben, but the truth is, we can’t erase centuries of a great friendship with a good man just because his mind has been poisoned with hatred and prejudice within the past three years. Still, I shouldn’t have let him say those horrible, horrible things and try to intimidate you inside what is, for the time being, your home. I’m so, so sorry, Lou. I know I should have said something long before you walked out the door, but, honestly, I was scared I’d step on your toes. You’re fearless, Louis Tomlinson - so, so brave - and the last thing I’d ever want would be to make you feel helpless or in need of constant rescuing. You’d despise me if I treated you like a weaker man than me, so I try to tone down the need to protect you. That wasn’t the issue this time, I know that now, and I failed you when you did need me.”

 

Louis has long given up on the pretense of packing the few sweaters he’d chosen to take to Stan’s, and he’s simply looking at Harry to see if the vampire is being honest. Harry, unlike Mr. Styles, is so incredibly easy to read, and Louis now fully understands why he needed to create that awful character to protect himself.

 

Harry’s obviously being sincere, but Louis isn’t sure if he’s willing to forgive and forget just yet, so he directs the attention elsewhere to avoid having to choose whether to accept or reject the vampire’s apology.

 

“You said you were planning on talking to me after dinner, what was it that you needed?”

 

Harry’s whole body stance and facial expression change instantly, going from guilty and apologetic to just incredibly sad.

 

“I know the timing couldn’t be worse, but I’m flying out tomorrow morning, and I wanted to see if you were willing to come with me.” Harry explains, and Louis does his best to control his returning anger.

“Are you trying to buy my forgiveness with a trip, Harry? I know I’m a penniless little human, but I’ve got a fucking backbone and I’m not about to hand you my pride on a platter for a holiday God knows where!”

 

“London.” Harry says immediately after Louis shuts up, shocking him to no end, “I’m going to London, and I just wanted to see if you’d please, please consider coming with me. I promise I’m not trying to buy your pride, Louis. I just don’t know if I can go there without you.”

 

Oh my God…

 

Harry wants Louis to go to London with him – no, Harry needs Louis to go to London with him.

 

The phrasing really brings the message home, too, with Harry saying that he doesn’t know if can go to London without him, not just that he doesn’t want to go back to his hometown alone.

 

In a previous conversation, Harry had told Louis that he’d left London right after his daughter’s death and had never returned.

 

The fact that Harry is planning on going to London tomorrow after hundreds of years without stepping a single foot into that city is monumental, and his request for Louis to go with him surpasses any petty little feeling he might have had towards Harry due to their recent disagreement.

 

Louis drops all his previous hostility instantly, moving closer to Harry to touch his face gently and try to erase some of the sadness written there, “Why now? Why are you going to London tomorrow?”

 

Harry’s head moves towards Louis’ touch naturally, and even in such a delicate moment, Louis relishes in that reaction, “It’s my last chance to see my family home as I remember it.”

 

Louis waits for the rest of the explanation, knowing that Harry just needs some time to organize his thoughts and successfully express them.

 

“I’ve lost count of how many offers to either sell or donate my family home I have received, but I’ve recently decided that it was finally time to let it go. I haven’t been there since, uh- you know, so the only people who have gone inside and seen its grandeur are the cleaning and restoration crews who have kept it in perfect condition throughout the years. It just didn’t feel right to be holding on to it anymore.”

 

“There’s this amazing historical foundation that, in association with the Secretary of State for Culture, have made me an amazing offer to convert the Styles family home into a museum, using most of the rooms to display paintings by a number of renowned artists, and keeping a few rooms exactly as they are, like a time capsule back to hundreds of years ago. Mother would have loved that, I’m sure of it.”

 

“Keep in mind that this was a completely different time in history, but she used to say that women had very limited ways to express themselves and their individuality. They could do so through their clothing, their children’s manners, and, finally, their homes. I remember how obsessed with our home she was, always keeping it impeccable and changing the decoration every so often. I once asked her why she cared so much about small details that most visitors wouldn’t even notice, and she told me that it was her role as Lady Styles to be seen and not heard whenever we had male guests. She explained that she didn’t have the right to an opinion, and that, to them, she was nothing more than a piece of furniture whose duty was to stay quiet and respectful of the “stronger, more intelligent species”. She could make her home scream as loudly as she wanted it to, though.”

 

“She might not have been allowed to say a single word when they were discussing politics, or even stay in the room when business was being conducted, but her house was loud, loud, loud, and it was always in those men’s faces. I’m sure she would have loved to know that the beautiful rooms that she carefully designed inch by inch would be open for the whole world to admire and awe over. I’ve always felt like I was disrespecting her memory by keeping her biggest pride besides her children hidden and locked away for no one to admire. I thought I could just donate my family home without having to return to London, I really did, but this is my last chance to see the house as I remember it. Please come with me, Louis.”

 

“Of course I’ll come with you, Harry. I’d never, ever let you go through this alone. I’ve got to ask though, are you sure you want to donate the house? I know you haven’t been there for a long, long time, but I’m scared that you’ll come to regret that decision. No one could ever judge you for being emotionally attached to the home where you grew up in, the place where you raised your own child. If you’re not one hundred percent sure about this decision, then don’t do it, Harry. I can’t allow you to let go of something you’re not sure if you’ll want back.” Louis negotiates, not wanting Harry to suffer any more than what he’s already suffered.

 

Harry’s lips quirk upwards into an almost smile, “I’m sure, Louis. But thank you for worrying about me. It’s time. I feel ready to face my past and make peace with it to the best of my ability.”

 

“Okay, okay… What time do we leave?” Louis asks, ready to drop anything and everything to support Harry through what is sure to be an incredibly painful and emotional trip.

 

Harry has specifically asked Louis to come with him to say goodbye to his family home, and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t act like the emotional crutch the vampire needs right now.

 

*

 

The entire flight to London is understandably tense, but Louis and Harry cling to each other like the world is ending.

 

At this point, Louis could swear the only parts of their bodies that haven’t touched yet are their lips – and their dicks, of course.

 

They’re just about to land, Louis’ head still lying on Harry’s shoulder like it was ten minutes ago when he was asleep, when the vampire brings up a pretty valid, yet sad point.

 

“Until a few minutes ago, I hadn’t even thought about how weird it will be to not recognize my own hometown. I’m sure the only place that will look familiar is my family home, and even that is about to change.” Harry says as he looks out the window thoughtfully.

 

“Well, that isn’t necessarily true. How old is, like, the Big Ben or St. Paul’s? Plus, if you think about it, you’ve been given the chance to fall in love with your hometown all over again. That’s kind of exciting, isn’t it? You just have to have the right attitude. How about this, I’m offering my services to be our tour guide in modern-day London. I can’t promise that I won’t get us lost, but I can promise that we’ll have a great time anyway.” Louis negotiates, trying to get Harry’s mind off of the fact that the place that is supposed to look most familiar to him has changed and evolved in ways that he can’t even begin to imagine.

 

Sometimes the fact that Harry was born over two hundred years ago is beyond Louis’ comprehension.

 

Louis can hardly remember his first few years of school, so how can someone keep centuries worth of memories?

 

He’s aware that time is a slow, gradual, evolutionary process, giving Harry a chance to adapt to the ever-changing world, but he still struggles to understand how someone can live such a perfectly smooth life in an era that’s so different from the one he was born into.

 

The whole concept of immortality seems absolutely insane to Louis. Harry knows without a shadow of a doubt that he’ll always outlive any and every human that he meets, and Louis is beginning to understand why he would cling to an asshole like Ben, who has been a constant in his life. That stability must be incredibly comforting.

 

He’s still curious if they were ever more than just friends – Ben certainly seems to a little too comfortable touching Harry – but that’s a question for another time, a time when Harry isn’t about to step into the house where his mother, father, wife, and daughter passed away, and God knows how many ancestors before them.

 

“I trust you to keep me safe when we inevitably get lost then, Louis.” Harry says with a smile, and Louis struggles to remember what they were even talking about before he got lost in his thoughts.

 

“As you should. I’ll have you know that I punched Jason Brooks in third grade because he said that my mom was fat, and he actually bled for a few minutes, so there. For the record, my mom was pregnant, not fat.” Louis says indignantly, making Harry actually fucking giggle.

 

Two hundred and something years of life, and Harry Styles is still a man-child who giggles over playground fights.

 

Louis is so endeared, it makes him want to both puke and kiss Harry.

 

(Hopefully not in that order.)

 

*

 

Their first stop after landing is their hotel as per Louis’ request – not everyone can be a supernatural creature who looks just as gorgeous after a transatlantic flight as he had just before stepping onto that plane.

 

The only part of Harry that doesn’t look absolutely pristine as he walks on British ground for the first time in centuries is his wrinkled shirt, courtesy of Louis, who cuddled up against him for longer than anyone who’s not dating should.

 

Staying at a hotel had been a no-brainer for the both of them, as Harry didn’t feel like he could handle staying at his family home as if no time had passed, and Louis was uncomfortable with the idea of sleeping under the same roof as Harry’s dead wife had once slept.

 

(He doesn’t actually believe in ghosts, but if there was ever someone who deserved to be haunted, it would probably be him.)

 

Once Louis has had a chance to shower and look almost human again, they grab some lunch at a cute little fish and chip shop halfway between the hotel and the real Styles Manor, Louis demanding that he tries a British tradition and then complaining for ages that it’s a terrible combination.

 

Getting the most difficult and painful part of their trip out of the way had seemed like a good idea when they left the hotel, but now that they’re actually getting closer to the original Styles Manor, Harry’s increasing agitation is making Louis want to kidnap him and take him to Primrose Hill or Oxford Street, or literally anywhere else.

 

Harry’s current behavior is not unlike when he’s about to get his blood drawn, but there’s sadness and pain in his eyes instead of the usual panic.

 

“Hey, I’m right here with you.” Louis says, walking closer to Harry and allowing his hand to drag across the back of the vampire’s own in order to comfort him further.

 

Harry takes Louis’ hand instantly, holding it tightly as if it was his compass through the storm that they’re about to face.

 

Louis tries his best to not get overly excited, schooling his face into the best look of normalcy he can possibly muster when holding hands with Harry fucking Styles in the middle of the fucking street.

 

He’s too shocked by how big and beautiful Harry’s home is once they finally arrive to continue being hyperaware of the feeling of the vampire’s fingers interlaced with his own, which is probably a good thing.

 

“Home, sweet home.” Harry says, though Louis can tell that the vampire’s mind is galaxies away from the present time.

 

They stand in front of the original Styles Manor for way too long, but Louis would never rush Harry into doing anything. It’s essential that Harry does everything at his own pace, so that he doesn’t end up regretting his last time at his family home.

 

It will still look mostly the same after the donation, but it will never be as faithful to Harry’s recollection of it as it is now.

 

Louis can tell that the gate is not the one that stood there when Harry left England, having a state-of-the-art security system that’s clearly meant to prevent robberies.

 

Even though it’s clearly a new, modern gate, someone went to great lengths to make it fit in with the style of the manor, and the end result is a small, discrete pin code and fingerprint sensor sensibly hidden away as to not disturb the classical architecture of the property.

 

Harry may not have stepped foot into this place in two hundred years, but someone else clearly has, as the house looks as if it was built yesterday, and even the garden looks absolutely flawless.

 

“My sister used to sit right here, reading. Mother would get so angry when the hems of her dresses were dirt-stained at the end of the day.” Harry says melancholically, pointing towards a stone bench under a huge tree.

 

“I didn’t know you had a sister.” Louis confesses, his voice almost a whisper, as to not ruin the moment.

 

Harry nods, “I did. Her name was Georgina as well. I loved her immensely. I named my daughter after her, and she died young, just as my sister had. Maybe I put a curse on my own daughter when I named her after my dead sister.”

 

This is so fucking horrible!

 

There’s an expectable amount of death that you’re inevitably going to be exposed to after you’ve been a vampire for several decades, but Harry had already suffered so much, even before he was turned.

 

Louis already knew that Harry’s father had passed away right after the vampire had gotten married, but he apparently also had a sister who died before Georgina was even born, a sister who he clearly adored enough to name his daughter after. How fucking cruel is that?

 

If Louis could wish for anything, it would be that, for the rest of eternity, Harry’s life is all smooth sailing and a shit ton of happiness.

 

“Look at me. Death doesn’t pick people based on their names. There’s nothing you could have done to save your daughter, Harry. I might not have had a dad growing up, but I did have an amazing mom, and I know what a great parent looks like. There’s no doubt in my mind that you loved and still love your daughter beyond comprehension, and I’m sure that Georgina knew that, which is more important than anything else.” Louis says honestly, his voice showing that he’s close to tears already, and he struggles even harder when he sees Harry clench and unclench his jaw over and over again.

 

Since that very first talk on that balcony in Rome, Louis has learned a lot about Harry and his emotional telltale signs.

 

He has yet to actually see Harry cry, either because of how he was raised or because he’s just become more calloused over time, Louis doesn’t know.

 

He does see him clench his jaw and flare his nostrils often, the harder the topic, the more frequently he does it. Sometimes he furrows his brow so intensely, he looks almost cartoonish, but the conversation going on when he does that is never a laughable topic.

 

Harry doesn’t verbally respond to his compliment, but Louis is plenty satisfied when he sees the vampire start to walk towards the house with slightly lighter steps than before.

 

“Ottilie was against naming our baby Georgina, actually. She hated my sister. I did tell you we knew each other growing up, didn’t I?”

Louis nods.

 

“Well, G was what we would nowadays call a feminist. She was very well read and intelligent, and she didn’t accept a single thing without questioning it. She refused to be a doormat for some man to step on, claimed that she was wiser at thirteen than most Lords at their prime. Ottelie didn’t like that, she didn’t like how loud spoken and headstrong G was because she was the exact opposite of that. But, back then, the husband had the last decision, and mine was to name our daughter after my sister. Ottelie didn’t last long after both her husband and only child were gone. My mother, though, is a completely different story. She managed to outlive every single member of this household - she was just that tough.” Harry says, gesturing for Louis to step inside the vampire’s family home first.

 

Louis isn’t sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t a bright, airy home that still looks lively and lived in.

 

He’s glad Harry went to the trouble to keep the house in perfect condition, because he’s certain the vampire would have been heartbroken if it had turned into a shithole with flaking paint, rats, and spider webs everywhere.

 

Maybe he did it for himself, or maybe he simply didn’t want his mother’s pride and joy to be neglected – either way, it was a brilliant decision.

 

Harry just stands there for a minute or so, his eyes glassy and unresponsive as if his mind has literally travelled back in time.

 

Louis is almost scared to keep walking forward himself, as he does not want to make Harry mad for choosing to explore the house without his permission.

 

In the end, he decides that it’s probably idea if he acts like himself, and Louis Tomlinson has yet to step into an unfamiliar place without wanting to explore it.

 

He takes in the lounge chairs and paintings, the curtains and large fireplace, before Harry finally starts walking towards him.

 

“Is there anything from this room that you’d like to keep? No rush though, take your time.” Louis asks, remembering how they’d discussed the importance of Harry keeping any and all items that were dear to his heart.

 

Harry picks up a golden bell that had gone unnoticed by Louis, but offers no explanation as to why the small object is of any sentimental value.

 

Slowly, they move from division to division, Harry eventually having to go the kitchen to pick up a large wooden box to keep everything he’s selected to take home.

 

They have only covered half of the downstairs floor when Harry starts heading upstairs, but Louis doesn’t question it. He’d let the vampire guide them around in circles for the next five hours if that’s what he wanted.

 

Harry doesn’t really offer much explanation as to what they’re walking past, and he doesn’t stop in every room either. Louis guesses that in a house this big, there’s probably a number of rooms that Harry has no real emotional attachment to.

 

There’s one room that seems to mean a lot to Harry though, as he stands in front of the door for over a minute, just holding the doorknob without turning it.

 

When the vampire finally opens the door, Louis realizes that it’s a huge bedroom, probably either his parents’ room or even Harry and his wife’s.

 

“It’s my parents’ bedroom.” Harry explains, almost like he had read Louis’ mind, walking slowly into the room as if he’s still a small child who’s trying to tiptoe into the room without waking his mom.

 

He completely bypasses the bed and the assortment of furniture and knickknacks around it, walking straight to what Louis guesses is a closet of sorts.

 

The insides are strangely conditioned, as if someone had tried incredibly hard to make sure that the clothing survived the passing of time. Even every single one of the many dresses has been individually wrapped, a lot of care going into protecting them without damaging the fabric.

 

Harry did say that clothing was one of the ways his mother used to express herself, and Louis truly understands what he meant now.

 

The dresses Harry unwraps and puts down on the bed are exuberant without looking ridiculous, and from what Louis has heard of Lady Styles, he’s sure she must have suited them to a T.

 

Harry picks and chooses the ones he wants to see exposed on the bed, every single one of them clearly holding some sort of significance to the vampire.

 

“They want to put them on display. My mother would have loved that, but there are a few that I can’t just let go of.” Harry explains, and even though he doesn’t actually say why these particular dresses hold more significance to him, Louis is just happy that the vampire hasn’t completely shut him out.

 

Harry looks down at the four dresses laid out on the bed, “I should call Jeff and arrange for a driver to pick us up and all this memorabilia later on.”

 

“Good idea.” Louis says, knowing that there’s absolutely no way in hell that they’re going to be able to take it all in a taxi.

 

Louis gets bored while Harry’s on the phone, so he wanders out of the room and further down the hallway.

 

He’d already walked past a number of portraits downstairs, but there are a few hanging upstairs as well. With wide eyes, Louis realizes that the first one is a younger looking Harry, all decked out in the time period characteristic clothing. He looks lighter in a way, as if life hadn’t scarred him yet – or maybe Louis is just projecting.

 

Next to Harry’s portrait hangs the painting of an unremarkable woman; a woman who Louis guesses must be his wife.

 

She isn’t ugly, but she isn’t very pretty either - a perfectly average woman.

 

It’s not as if Louis is being purposely mean towards Lady Ottelie just because she was married to Harry – he knows that the vampire never truly loved her, and that’s enough to calm any unwarranted jealousy.

 

Louis stares at the third portrait for a few seconds thinking that it must be Harry’s sister, given how alike they look, but then he notices the golden ring on her finger, the same one Louis has held in his own hands.

 

This chestnut-haired young lady is Harry’s daughter, Georgina, Louis is sure of it.

 

She doesn’t look like a child in the portrait, more like a young teenager, and Louis assumes that it must have been done relatively close to her death. This was probably what she still looked like the last time Harry saw her, and Louis feels tears start to build up in his eyes.

 

She’s truly gorgeous, but that’s not what catches Louis’ eye. Her face is so open and expressive that a simple portrait is enough to convince him that she must have been a kind and friendly human being, and the smile on her painted lips is almost enough to elicit one from Louis as well.

 

Ever since Harry first told him about his daughter, Louis had started painting a mental picture of her in his head, but looking at an actual “picture” of Georgina makes it all seem more real and tragic.

 

The portrait makes her more real in Louis’ mind, going from Harry’s dead daughter to a young girl with a kind smile and the same eyes as her beloved Papa.

 

It’s heartbreaking, and Louis can’t stop the tears that had built up in his eyes from freely flowing down his face.

 

He’s so distracted by all the sadness that he’s feeling that he doesn’t even notice Harry until the other man is standing right next to him.

 

The vampire hasn’t been here since Georgina died, and Louis is sure that people didn’t use to collect portraits like they do pictures, so there’s a good chance that this is the first time that Harry has seen his daughter’s beautiful face in way too long.

 

Louis doesn’t really interact with Harry at all, simply standing next to him to show his support without disturbing the vampire, though he does try to wipe his eyes discreetly – it’s not his place to be the heartbroken one right now.

 

He doesn’t know how long they’ve been standing there staring at the portrait of Georgina Styles when Harry suddenly starts moving forward.

 

Louis averts his gaze from Harry’s face when he notices how glassy the vampire’s eyes look, set on not making him uncomfortable due to the “boys don’t cry” mentality he grew up with.

 

With a fast move of his right arm, Harry is unhooking the portrait from the wall, picking it up and carrying it to his parents’ bed to place it alongside the dresses.

 

The vampire’s apparently planning on taking the portrait of his daughter home. Good.

 

They move along and away from that hallway after that.

 

It doesn’t get any easier.

 

The next bedroom they go into is Georgina’s – the daughter, not the sister – and Harry is predictably in pain.

 

They leave her bedroom not too soon after they’d entered it, and Louis guesses that Harry doesn’t want to spend too much time near the bed where his daughter died.

 

The vampire does pick up a few items though, barely even looking at them when choosing and carrying them.

 

The obvious difference between the way he had reacted to his mother’s and his daughter’s belongings makes it plenty clear that Georgina’s death is still a fresh wound, one that Harry refuses to accept as natural. Lady Styles was a relatively old woman when she died, and accepting her death probably comes a little easier to Harry.

 

Strangely enough, Harry points out two different rooms as Ottelie’s and his own, and Louis can’t help but be curious about the circumstances of that separation.

 

“You didn’t share a room with your wife?” Louis asks, unable to shut his big trap.

 

It releases some of the built up tension though, a side effect of a poorly conceived question that Louis is certainly happy about.

 

Harry smirks, “No, I did not. The only times I even remember Ottelie coming into my bedroom were with the goal of continuing the blood lineage.”

 

Louis can’t help but snort, “Continuing the blood lineage, wow, is that what the kids used to call it back in the day? How romantic. Did you make her schedule an appointment with your page, or whatever, whenever it was necessary to practice blood lineage continuation?”

 

Louis watches fondly as Harry laughs lightly, the sound a little harsh due to the emotional roller coaster of the past few minutes.

 

“Not at all. There was no need to schedule it, for your information. We had a specific day of the week reserved for blood lineage continuation.”

 

Louis can’t help but laugh out loud at that, and he really hopes his reaction hasn’t offended Harry.

 

“May I ask what day it was? You look like a Thursday guy. Actually, I take that back. You’re definitely a Monday blood lineage continuation kind of guy.”

 

Harry snorts unattractively, “Sundays, actually.”

 

Louis gasps theatrically, pressing his hand against his chest in outrage, “The Lord’s day? You thought that Sunday was the ideal day for blood lineage continuation? What a blasphemy!”

 

One second Harry is right there laughing with him, and the next he’s back to being a pain filled corpse.

 

Louis almost worries that his jokes have gone too far, but then he realizes that the vampire is actually in some sort of trance due to the room they’re currently in.

 

If the other parts of the house had felt almost too lively, the library has this deserted, haunted feeling to it.

 

Harry’s selecting books and putting them in a pile instantly, moving seamlessly and effortlessly as if he can still remember every title, every crook, and every corner. The first few he selects look like proper books, but he later picks up a bunch that look different.

 

“They’re family records, you know, like, the family tree, dates of births, old business associations, and other information someone decided was important enough to write down.” Harry explains unprompted, the curious look on Louis’ face clearly enough to let him know what he was thinking.

 

Louis doesn’t even have time to say anything before Harry is talking again, “If you see one you’d like to keep, you can. My sister always used to say that books deserved to be loved and not forgotten.”

 

Louis is incredibly touched by Harry’s offer.

 

They aren’t just some books he has lying around in his Chicago home, they’re part of Harry’s history.

 

They’re stories that have been read and reread by Harry’s mother, father, sister, daughter, and who knows who else before them.

 

They’re a chunk of Harry’s human life and history, and the vampire is just offering them to someone he’s basically just met, someone who he can’t even be sure he’ll see again after the research is over.

 

It’s insanely reassuring to know that he actually does mean something to Harry, enough for the vampire to trust him with all this baggage.

 

Louis does end up choosing three different books from the Styles’ library, one simply because it had the most beautiful, hand-painted illustrations he had ever seen, an old-fashioned medical book that had spiked his curiosity, and an early, if not first edition, of The Age of Reason that had been slightly hidden out of sight, as if its owner didn’t want anyone to know they had read such a controversial book.

 

With all the rooms Harry had deemed as important explored, and at least one item collected from every single one of them, they head back downstairs.

 

This time, Louis is too curious not to ask what’s hidden behind the big, beautifully carved door he had already noticed when he’d first come in.

 

“What’s through there?”

 

Harry smiles, a small but genuine flash of happiness crossing his face.

 

“That place right there used to be my absolute favorite part of the house growing up. Come on.” Harry says, guiding Louis with a hand on his back.

 

Harry opens the door to reveal… a whole lot of nothing.

 

The vampire laughs fondly when he sees Louis furrow his brow in confusion, “It’s a ballroom. We used to have at least six or seven balls per year. It was my absolute favorite thing in the world growing up. You wouldn’t believe how beautiful this place would look after my mother finished decorating it. She loved seeing it bursting at the seams with life and joy.”

 

Louis smiles softly, trying to recreate Harry’s memories in his own mind, “I wish I could say that the fact that you like ballroom dancing surprises me, but it really doesn’t.”

 

“Ballroom dancing is a beautiful art that has unfortunately been neglected in the past many, many years.” Harry says, looking positively affronted by Louis’ disregard of this “art”.

 

Harry looks at him daringly then, and Louis immediately knows that he’s in trouble.

 

“You’ll see.” The vampire says, bending down and offering Louis his hand, “Dance with me, Louis.”

 

Louis giggles, embarrassingly enough, and he feels his cheeks start to heat up.

 

Most of the other times when he’d been asked to dance, he’d been drunk, and he’d felt a desperate boner already growing near his ass.

 

Now though, this beautiful, brilliant man is properly asking Louis to dance with him – no, to ballroom dance with him – and Louis is literally speechless.

 

“I-I-, uh- There’s no music.” He eventually mumbles out lamely, not sure if his poor heart could handle all this.

 

“Well, that can be easily fixed.” Harry says, stealing Louis’ phone out of his pocket in a gesture that was way too smooth to not have involved supernatural speed, “I’ll even let you play that woman that you listen to day and night.”

 

“Hey, Adele is an incredibly talented singer and a brilliant songwriter. You guys should thank me for bringing the best music you’ve ever heard into your lives.” Louis complains, though he does start scrolling through his library to try and find the perfect song to fit this moment.

 

In the end, and after spending way too long staring at his phone, Louis settles for All I ask.

 

It’s way too raw, honest, and appropriate given the current uncertainty of their relationship, but if Louis is going to slow dance with Harry in an empty ballroom, then he’s definitely going to go all out and, just like the Queen said, he’s going to create a memory he can use.

 

As soon as Louis puts his phone down on the floor, he feels incredibly awkward, not sure where to go from here. Harry curtsies again as an invitation, thankfully, and Louis can’t help but act a little silly by responding in the same way as he’s seen the princesses do in movies, earning himself a little chuckle from Harry.

 

They start off at a respectable distance, and surprisingly, Louis manages to not only not step on Harry’s toes, but actually maintain a rhythm of sorts.

 

The longer the song drags on, the closer they get, until their bodies are completely glued together as they sway to the rhythm of Adele’s confessions.

 

Hold me like I’m more than just a friend…

Louis places his head on the crook of Harry’s neck, breathing in the scent of his expensive cologne.

 

… my eyes, they speak for me…

Louis feels the arm around his waist tightening, and then they’re just tilting slightly to the right and to the left.

 

…you’re the only one that matters…

Louis lifts his head from Harry’s shoulder, needing to see if the vampire is as in love with this moment as he is.

 

Cause what if I never love again?

They’re frozen in time, holding each other’s gaze as their lips move closer and closer, like magnets.

 

Give me a memory I can use…

Louis can see the exact moment when Harry starts to overthink, that instant of sudden self-awareness and control.

 

“Shhh, stop thinking.” Louis whispers, tenderly caressing Harry’s shaved cheek.

 

Louis doesn’t move a single inch more, but his lips are still about the length of half a pinky away from Harry’s.

 

Louis wants it to be Harry who finally makes that small distance disappear, not because he’s being petty or because he doesn’t want to make the first move, but because Harry is clearly much more uncertain about whether or not they should cross that line.

 

When they finally kiss, even if it’s not today, Louis doesn’t want Harry to feel like he was pressured into it or that the kiss was stolen from him.

 

For Louis to be able to live with his conscience, he needs Harry to be the one to take the leap and kiss him.

 

And kiss him he does.

 

As much as Louis might have been wishing that Harry would finally kiss him, he’s incredibly stunned when the vampire actually does it, a slow, gentle dragging of his plump lips over Louis’ own.

 

As soon as he can get his body to obey, Louis kisses Harry back, and although their kiss does become more passionate and less gentle, it’s still toe-curlingly slow, as if they both want to fully enjoy every swipe of tongue and every dragging of lips.

 

He’d always thought that finally kissing Harry would be like scratching an itch or satisfying a craving, but it’s so much more intense and powerful than that.

 

Their kisses are unlike anything else Louis has ever experienced, and he has never felt as alive as he does when kissing this undead man.

 

*

 

Louis feels like the life has been sucked out of him, dragging his feet on the sidewalk as he approaches his temporary home.

 

He’s exhausted, both physically and emotionally.

 

With his mom’s birthday coming up, Louis has decided to take some extra shifts at Starbucks to be able to afford a nice, thoughtful present, and running around, or even worse, standing in the same place for hours on end is literally killing him.

 

To make matters worse, at the end of these gruesome shifts he has to go back to the Manor since he still hasn’t found a new apartment.

 

(He’s starting to think that James is purposely sabotaging his search.)

 

The problem with Styles Manor is Styles himself.

 

After all the kissing that they’d done at Harry’s family home, Louis had naively thought that their relationship would move further, or, at the very least, that something, anything, would change between them.

 

As it is, everything is still exactly as stagnant as it was before he went to London with Harry, and Louis is sure as fuck not happy about that.

 

It’s so damn frustrating! Louis is into Harry; Harry is into Louis, so what the fuck is the problem?

 

The most obvious explanation is that Harry doesn’t want to give him a chance because he’s human, but, if that’s actually the real reason, Louis is pretty damn angry. It’s not his fault that Harry’s a vampire and he’s not. He didn’t choose to be in this situation either, but it just worked out like this, and Louis’ feelings for Harry are above and beyond any doubts or previous prejudices.

 

Louis unlocks the gate to find Harry and Niall sitting outside in the garden talking, which is really fucking unfortunate because he had kept a pack of cigarettes that one of the costumers had left behind, and he was really hoping to get a chance to smoke alone and unwind.

 

He’d never be disrespectful enough to smoke inside the Manor, so he takes his phone out of his pocket as a clear don’t-talk-to-me gesture and starts walking towards the opposite side of the garden.

 

“Hi, Louis!” Niall greets him enthusiastically, walking towards him and ruining Louis’ plan.

 

“Hey.” Louis replies briskly, really wishing he could get a fucking minute of peace for once.

 

“Are you okay?” Harry asks, furrowing his brow in concern.

 

“I’m fine.” Louis mumbles, giving up on his plan to smoke alone and settling for ignoring the vampires and simply taking a cigarette out of the pack.

 

“I didn’t know you smoked. Do you do it often?” Niall asks, looking at Louis inquisitively as the human lights his cigarette and takes a long, calming drag.

 

Louis goes back to pretending to be texting Stan, shrugging in response, “Sometimes.”

 

“Well, you shouldn’t. Those things will kill ya faster than you can say lung cancer.” Niall says, sounding uncharacteristically stern and serious.

 

If Louis hadn’t forgotten his fucking soul and ability to care at home, he’d be touched. As it is, his immediate response is unnecessarily aggressive.

 

“Well, I’ve already had a death sentence hanging over my head from the minute I was born. I’m human, remember? The best I can wish for is, like, forty to fifty more years of fun and unfiltered pleasures.” Louis replies bluntly, putting his cigarette out with his foot and carrying the butt inside to throw it away without even looking at the other men.

 

*

 

If there’s anything Louis has learnt from his sisters, it’s that naps fix everything, so he decides to give it a try.

 

He strips down to his underwear, too tired to even cover himself up with the sheet, and immediately falls asleep.

 

It’s the first time he hasn’t fallen asleep thinking about Harry in ages, though, truthfully, he doesn’t really think of anything before finally losing consciousness.

 

His sore body is completely covered when he wakes up, and the glass of water on the bedside table confirms his suspicion that someone was in his room while he was asleep.

 

The clock next to the water informs him that it’s way past dinner time, which Louis guesses is the reason why someone – let’s be honest – the reason why Harry paid him a visit.

 

He should really feel self-conscious about the fact that he was just wearing a skimpy pair of boxer briefs while Harry was here, but his best asset was on display, which he feels strangely proud of.

 

Louis can’t remember the last time he ate anything, which explains why his stomach is rumbling impressively, so he heads downstairs to steal some food from the kitchen.

 

When he gets there though, the scene that greets him makes too curious and apprehensive to even remember what he came down for.

 

Harry, Liam, Niall, and Zayn are all standing in the kitchen, so focused on their discussion that their supernatural senses don’t detect him until he’s literally right there.

 

“Is everything okay?” Louis asks, the sad and frustrated expressions on the vampires’ faces making him worry.

 

“Yes. Liam’s the only one who can’t see that, though.” Zayn replies immediately, clearly too emotionally involved in whatever subject they’d been discussing to keep up with that cool, indifferent look he’s perpetually aiming for.

 

Liam snorts indignantly, “Yeah, everything’s just fine. Sophia is just fine crying upstairs because I can’t give her a baby. Not even all the money in the world can buy her what she wants most, as it turns out. I’m a shit husband. Hell, I’m not even a proper fucking man, since I can’t put a baby inside her the old-fashioned way.”

 

“I resent that.” Louis intervenes, causing every head in the room to turn in his direction, “By saying that you’re less of a man because you can’t have biological children with your partner, you’re invalidating every same-sex couple. I’ll certainly never have kids “the old-fashioned way,” does that make me less of a man? What about the millions of couples around the world who are infertile, huh? Your situation may be a little different, Liam, but I assure you that you’re not the first couple in the world to have ever struggled to have kids.”

 

Liam stares at him blankly for a few seconds, before dragging him into an unexpected hug, “Thank you. You have no idea- I-, uh, thank you, Louis.”

 

“Anytime, boss man. You know, you can really tell you people have more time to waste than humans. You just spend your whole lives freaking out over silly things, which is something that us mere mortals can’t afford to do. Too much drama, too little time. Who knew being a vampire would involve so much overthinking?” Louis says, not even trying to cover up the jab that he’s obviously directing at Harry.

 

Before meeting Harry, Louis had never really been angry or sad about the normalcy of life and death.

 

Growing old and eventually dying was always a certainty before, but now Louis can’t help but be incredibly sour about his mortality.

 

Those pesky little thoughts about how he’s wasting his life by working too hard and never allowing himself to have fun have been only grown bigger and stronger the longer he spends around immortals.

 

Life had never seemed as fragile before as it does right now, and Louis really resents that for whatever fucked up reason.

 

The inevitability of death had seemed perfectly normal to Louis before, but now he can’t help but try to fight it, try to hold on to everything he’s still planning on doing before he dies. But the truth is that he has no say in the matter.

 

If fate would have it that he’d die right here and now, there would be nothing he could do, and he’s sure that his last dying thought would be dedicated to all the places he hasn’t visited and everything he hasn’t experienced yet.

 

*

 

Louis’ impromptu tough love speech seems to work wonderfully and in more ways than one.

 

The next morning, because Louis is a weak, weak man, he decides to help Harry make pancakes.

 

As much as he might enjoy Ed’s cooking, Harry seems to perform some sort of witchcraft on what he cooks, making the flavors simply out of this world.

 

They’re just standing in the kitchen, talking, laughing, and cooking when Harry suddenly grows serious.

 

“I don’t know what I’m doing.” Harry mumbles, surprising Louis with the randomness of his comment.

 

“What are you talking about? You literally made pancakes four or five days ago.”

 

Harry slams the whisk back into the bowl, looking immensely frustrated, “Not the bloody pancakes. You. Us. I thought that by staying away from you, by not kissing you again, I could make my feelings for you lessen, but, if anything, I grow fonder of you every single fucking second that goes by.”

 

Louis is surprised that Harry is cussing, a rarity that he usually finds incredibly amusing, but certainly not right now.

 

“Don’t stay away from me, then. If it’s not working, stop doing it. Take what you want from life, Harry. From me. You can do whatever you’re craving to do with me. I’m yours.” Louis says, sending Harry a look that is meant to be challenging, but he’s sure must actually be incredibly fond.

 

Harry’s internal struggle is obvious, looking so beautifully conflicted and affected by the silly little human that’s Louis.

 

Louis needs Harry to put them both out of their misery and give them a chance.

 

There’s so much working against them, but, if everything does go to shit, at least they can say that they fucking tried. Not acting on their feelings is the coward way out, and Louis is sick and tired of Harry perpetually denying the both of them what they truly want.

 

Harry’s apparently tired of that as well, as he walks towards where Louis is sitting on the kitchen counter and traps him between the white wall and his broad body.

 

This time, unlike the first time, there’s no initial hesitance, and Harry kisses Louis so passionately and intensely, he feels his whole body ignite instantly.

 

They don’t take it any further than just kissing, but their kisses are so intimate and passionate, Louis couldn’t be more satisfied.

 

He wants to stay perched on this kitchen counter kissing Harry forever, but, unfortunately, Niall sabotages his plan by coming into the kitchen and demanding his pancakes – “stop sucking face with Harry and let him make me pancakes, ya cunt”.

 

*

 

Everything changes after that, thank God.

 

Harry gives them a chance, and they’re definitely in a relationship, even if they haven’t actually defined what they are.

 

The vampire kisses him good morning and welcomes him home with a “Good day at work, Louis?” every day.

 

They’re surprisingly sickening for such headstrong, proud men, always glued together whenever they’re in the same room.

 

Niall alternates between pretending to throw up and declaring, loudly and proudly, that he’s insanely happy for them.

 

Louis had always thought that that whole he-makes-me-want-to-be-a-better-person thing was stupid and untrue, but he honestly does try to be less judgmental and more open to different opinions and outlooks on life. Harry has honestly changed the way that Louis sees the world.

 

Louis is not blind, and he can definitely see that he makes Harry happy, which is incredibly rewarding.

 

Louis has never been particularly selfish, but he’d never imagined that making Harry smile or laugh, or just bringing joy in general into the vampire’s life would be as satisfying as it is.

 

There’s only one small issue: sex, or the lack thereof.

 

It’s not as if Louis has one of those cavemen mentalities that you need to be having sex to be happy – he has gone over two years without it, after all – it’s just the fact that it’s within reach that makes it so damn frustrating.

 

It’s not even a sex thing, it’s a Harry thing.

 

The vampire is so damn intellectually and physically stimulating, Louis perpetually feels like jumping his bones.

 

He’s being patient, though. If there’s anything he’s learned about Harry since he first met him, it’s that it’s so much easier to just let the vampire do everything at his own pace.

 

Louis can tell Harry wants him, so it’s just a matter of time before that wins over whatever issue he’s sorting through.

 

*

 

Louis has been living at the Manor for way too long now to be considered a temporary guest anymore, and he’s most definitely accustomed to their weird dynamics.

 

It’s Sunday morning, which means that most, if not all of the inhabitants of the Manor can be found in the living room engaged in all sorts of activities.

 

They’re a little erratic today, too high on the happy news they had received last night to properly relax.

 

Sophia is finally pregnant, and in a weirdly codependent way it feels like they’re all expecting, even Louis.

 

She’d taken the pregnancy test just yesterday, and had only waited until after telling Liam to tell everybody else. The reaction had been so positive and emotional, it had immediately brought tears to the mommy-to-be’s eyes.

 

Louis is sure that Liam and Sophia are going to be incredible parents, and that their kid is going to absolutely adore his or her unconventional uncles.

 

There’s an incredibly cheery and supportive environment in the living room, even if they’re all doing different things.

 

Niall is playing Who Wants to Be a Millionaire on his phone, getting ridiculously mad whenever he gets a question wrong; Zayn is sitting on the floor with his back against the wall doodling; Harry is reading a philosophy book that looks absolutely mind numbing; and Louis and Sophia have Jane the Virgin playing in the background while they talk about random shit. Only Liam is missing, having gone back to the office to pick up some paperwork that he forgot.

 

Louis and Sophia end up getting into an overly intense discussion about whether or not pizza tastes better when it’s cold, but they’re, fortunately, interrupted by Sophia’s phone.

 

Sophia snorts unattractively when she opens the text, rolling her eyes when addressing the vampires in the room, “Anyone know a vampire willing to sleep with my friend, Addison?”

 

“Again? Jesus Christ, I’m running out of friends to hook her up with.” Niall answers, making Louis almost laugh, and then immediately feel bad for judging some girl he doesn’t even know for having an, uh, active sex drive. Damn his newfound social awareness!

 

Sophia does laugh though, turning to Louis to explain the inside joke, “I have this friend, Addison, who really wanted to know what having sex with a vampire would be like, so Liam and I took her to a vampire bar so she could fulfill her fantasy. She texts me all the time now, saying that she’s ruined and can’t go back to humans, and trying to get me to hook her up with yet another vampire. I understand where she’s coming from, though. You have no idea how fast vampires can move their tongues, Louis.”

 

Louis chokes on his own tongue, really not expecting that comment, and beyond disturbed with the mental picture of Liam eating Sophia out.

 

“Sophia!” Harry exclaims indignantly, “That was so inappropriate! You really need to work on filtering your thoughts before expressing them.”

 

“Look at me, Louis. I’ll show you!” Niall says, sitting up and looking directly at Louis with a mischievous smile on his face.

 

Harry pushes him back down until he’s lying on the couch again before he can go through with his plan, though.

 

|“You will do no such thing. Honestly! This used to be a respectable home. Where has your decorum gone?”

 

Louis laughs, but his cheeks warm up as he realizes that however good Liam may be with his tongue, Harry can probably do it harder, better, faster, stronger – Kanye West reference unintended.

 

Supernatural abilities only improve further and further with age, so Louis is sure that having sex with Harry would ruin him, in more ways than one.

 

That thought isn’t nearly as scary as it should be, though.

 

*

 

The next morning is off to an unexpectedly tense start.

 

Louis sees Sophia storm out of the house as he’s walking into the dining room for breakfast, and his suspicion that something’s wrong is confirmed when he walks in to see a pitiful-looking Liam staring miserably at the scrambled eggs on his plate.

 

“Good morning?” Louis says unsurely, not wanting to disturb anyone any further.

 

He’s met with a number of weak responses, but Liam is the only one who actually looks upset, so Louis guesses the raincloud over the dinner table is only due to his Professor’s glum mood.

 

“So, are you planning on actually telling us why you slept in one of the guest rooms yesterday or are you just going to sulk the entire day?” Zayn asks, looking rather impatient.

 

It was a bit of an insensitive move on Zayn’s behalf, but at least Liam switches from staring at his eggs to staring at the weird pattern at the center of the tablecloth.

 

Liam pouts, “Sophia’s mad at me.”

 

Niall snorts, and Louis concludes that no one in this house knows the first thing about empathy, “No shit, Sherlock. I’m sure even our next door neighbors have figured that out by now.”

 

“Niall!” Harry shout-whispers, clearly trying to avoid making everything worse.

 

“It’s not even my fault, not really.” Liam says miserably, “Sophia’s scared that me feeding from her might hurt the baby, which is fine, and I respect that. However, there are certain times when a vampire just can’t help his instincts. Like when he’s, you know, making love to his wife, for example. I just couldn’t help it. Is it even possible to have sex with a human and not bite them?”

 

“Probably not.” Niall answers immediately, causing Liam to bang his head on the dinner table.

 

“So, I’m going to spend the next nine months without her blood and without sex. That’s just great!” Liam says hysterically, though Louis barely even notices it.

 

Is this why Harry is cockblocking them? Is he scared that if they go any further than kissing, he might accidentally bite Louis? It certainly makes much more sense than any other possibility…

 

Harry has a very good reason not to drink human blood, so it would be logical for him to avoid getting himself in a position where it would much harder, or even impossible, to control his primal instincts.

 

The discomfort revealed by his body language while they keep discussing this subject makes this theory even more credible.

 

If this is the reason why Harry’s so reluctant to have sex with him, one big question still stands: is he trying to protect Louis or is he trying to protect his own moral code?

 

Louis is hoping for the first, because the latter will be a hell of a lot harder for Harry to get over.

 

*

 

Louis decides that he needs to know the answer soon enough, so he takes advantage of a time when they’re all alone at the Manor.

 

They’re in Harry’s office, the vampire signing some paperwork while Louis works on the body of his thesis – the research stage is over, so now he’s finally able to write about his findings and conclusions.

 

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Louis asks, getting up from the armchair and walking towards where Harry is working at his desk.

 

“Uh oh. Sounds serious.” Harry jokes, turning his chair towards Louis, who is now sitting on top of his desk, moving his legs back and forth.

 

Louis is trying to think of a way to delicately ask Harry why he won’t fuck him, but the focused look on the vampire’s face is making it way harder than it should be.

 

“Liam’s problem yesterday, is that something you’re worried about too?” Louis finally asks, cringing at how nonspecific and awkward the question was, similar to a thirteen-year-old who’s scared of using the word sex.

 

“What exactly are you trying to ask, Louis?” Harry asks, either not understanding the question or needing Louis to be more direct.

 

Louis takes a deep breath, “Sex. With me. I completely understand it if you’re not ready or something like that, but Liam and Sophia’s fight got me thinking that maybe the reason why you’re so hesitant is because of the possibility that you might bite me. And if it is, then we should talk about it.”

Harry shakes his hair out tensely, “It’s much less of a possibility and more of a certainty, Louis.”

 

“Look, I know I’m a little biased.” Louis says, sneaking a look down Harry’s long, strong body, “Okay, I’m a lot biased, but I don’t think that this needs to be such a huge issue. I’m not saying that I’m willing to let you use me as a blood bank, but I understand that there are some instincts that you just can’t help. I’m a consenting adult, and I’m aware of what might happen.”

 

As soon as Louis notices Harry’s hand moving subconsciously towards the ring that he knows hangs from his neck, he knows exactly what the issue is.

 

“I honestly don’t think you’d be breaking your promise if you accidentally bite me. There’s a big difference between attacking someone to drink their blood without their consent and biting someone who’s willingly putting themselves in that position. I understand that there’s a possibility, or a probability, or whatever, that you might accidentally bite me, and if that were to happen, I’d be fine with it. I think you should always do what your conscience tells you, but I just need you to know that you’re the furthest thing from a monster, and that being unable to control your natural instincts does not make you one. It makes you more human actually, and I like the fact that you’re not perfect.” Louis says, wrapping his legs around a now standing Harry and gently cupping his face.

 

Harry kisses his palm, “Aren’t you scared that if that happens, I might not be able to stop? I haven’t drunk a single drop of human blood in centuries. What if I hurt you?”

 

“I trust you. There’s always a chance that you might accidentally use too much force on me and break my bones, or that I might get mad at you and throw a lamp at your head, but I don’t think either of us would do any of those things. You care about me, I can tell that you do, and I don’t think that you’re any more willing to hurt me than I am to hurt you.” Louis says, kissing Harry gently and reverently.

 

It feels like a big wall has just fallen down to the ground, as their movements become much more natural and relaxed than ever before.

 

Louis’ legs are still wrapped around Harry, and he has absolutely no intention of moving them despite the fact that he can feel himself growing harder.

 

They’re so perfectly tangled together, Louis almost complains when Harry picks him up from the desk and starts carrying him towards the door.

 

Their kisses are still slow and passionate, but not careful or hesitant in the slightest, just thoroughly enjoying the intimacy of the moment.

 

Harry carries Louis down the hall steadily, not even needing to interrupt their kissing to see where he’s going.

 

By the time they reach the vampire’s bedroom, Louis can hardly think about anything other than getting Harry’s cock inside him as soon as possible.

 

Harry has always had this ability to make Louis feel like he’s the sole focus of his attention, and as he puts him down on top of the covers and starts taking off his t-shirt, Louis feels positively worshipped.

 

Every touch, kiss, and look exchanged between them is incredibly intense, and Louis can tell that the sex would still be out of this world even if Harry was a human.

 

As soon as Louis’ t-shirt is gone, he flips them around to straddle Harry, genuinely feeling the need to wrap himself all around the vampire.

 

He’s never felt this way before, absolutely desperate to feel Harry as close to him as possible.

 

Louis doesn’t even have to verbally communicate his wishes for Harry to understand what he wants, and the vampire maneuvers them until he’s sitting with his back against the bedframe with Louis still on top, their torsos glued together and faces mere inches from each other.

 

Louis licks and sucks on the sensitive skin of Harry’s neck as he undoes the buttons of his bee-patterned shirt, making the vampire moan lowly.

 

That lovely, deep sound fuels Louis further, making him feel incredibly powerful.

 

A lot of time might have passed since he last did this, but he clearly still remembers a thing or two about foreplay.

 

Once he’s opened every single button, he runs his small hands over Harry’s abs, feeling them contract under his touch.

 

The vampire isn’t overly muscular, just enough to look amazing without it feeling like Louis is touching a giant rock.

 

Harry slides his own shirt off of his shoulders, and Louis dies and comes back to life when he feels the vampire’s soft, bare skin moving against his.

 

Louis is loving how in control he is in this position, too much of a power bottom to act like a pillow princess just because Harry is about a hundred times stronger than him.

 

He goes all out when Harry starts kissing his neck and running his big, strong hands down his back, pressing his palm against the vampire’s bulge and mapping the shape of his length with his fingers teasingly.

 

Turns out they must be really fucking compatible, because Harry chooses that exact moment to grab Louis’ ass cheeks and pull them apart.

 

The synchronized moans that escape from their mouths are like something out of a porno, and Louis can hardly believe that he’s already this hard when his pants haven’t even come off yet.

 

They’ve been moving slowly against one another subconsciously since before they even left Harry’s office, but now Louis grinds down purposely hard, making them both moan when the vampire’s length becomes perfectly trapped under Louis’ ass.

 

This position can’t last long, not when Louis can feel the heat of Harry’s cock so close to his hole and yet so far away, and he’s moving away soon enough to take his jeans off.

 

He instantly regrets wearing such a tight pair, as he has to put on an impressive show of acrobatics that he’s sure doesn’t look sexy in the slightest to be able to take them off.

 

They take advantage of the fact that Louis has finally unglued himself from Harry by taking the vampire’s jeans off as well, and Louis daringly releases Harry’s length from the confinement of his boxer briefs right after that.

 

“Real talk, did your dick become bigger when you were turned?” Louis asks, looking at Harry’s cock like it holds the secret to world peace and the cure for cancer.

 

It’s not as if Harry’s cock is freakishly big, but it’s still quite a few inches above average, and Louis is sure he’s never seen such a big and perfectly pink dick in real life. Weren’t penises supposed to be way smaller in the past, anyway?

 

Louis is glad neither of them is in too much of a rush, as he’s sure it wouldn’t be too pleasant to try to fit Harry inside him without some thorough prepping.

 

Harry croaks out a ridiculous laugh, “No. It’s always been like this. Impressed much?”

 

“Cocky does not suit you.” Louis complains, though he does become otherwise preoccupied when Harry’s hands move downward towards his ass.

 

Harry doesn’t answer, but he does smirk when he starts sliding Louis’ underwear over his ass and separating his bare cheeks.

 

A dry finger circles his rim, making Louis loose the ability to produce any sounds other than whimpers.

 

It’s been so long since the last time anyone has touched him there, and no one has ever made it feel this good before.

 

Louis is sure that he’s never wasted so much time on foreplay before, but it doesn’t feel boring or stilted in the slightest – on the contrary, he already feels like he’s on the verge of coming.

 

As soon as Louis’ underwear comes off, they become more eager, Harry suddenly opening his bedside table drawer to take out a bottle of lube and a condom while Louis mostly stares at his long, gorgeous body.

 

The vampire’s a vision, and Louis almost feels guilty that he’s the only person who gets to see him like this. (Hopefully!)

 

Their eyes lock when Harry starts circling Louis’ hole with his now wet finger, and the vampire is looking at him so intensely, it makes Louis feel both powerful and vulnerable in all the best ways.

 

Harry’s finger meets a considerable amount of resistance when he starts pushing into Louis, a result of his involuntary celibacy and lack of self-fingering lately.

 

(Niall had made it very clear during his first day living at the Manor that if he masturbated, the whole house would probably be able to hear it, so it’s been quite a frustrating life ever since.)

 

Harry definitely notices it, given how focused he seems on distracting Louis from any discomfort with his lips on his neck and left hand softly tugging at his cock.

 

This isn’t Louis’ first rodeo, so he definitely knows that this initial discomfort is a small price to pay for the unbelievable pleasure he’s going to feel soon enough, but he’s certainly enjoying Harry’s distraction techniques.

 

They barely ever stop kissing while Harry is opening Louis up, and their wandering hands are more due to the need to feel every inch of each other’s bodies than purposely sexual.

 

It’s so fucking amazing already, and all Louis has had inside him yet are the three fingers that are slowly thrusting into him.

 

“I’m ready, I’m ready.” Louis says, too on edge to be able to handle being fingered a single second longer.

 

“Shh. It’s okay. Come for me, love.” Harry whispers into the crook of Louis’ neck, and, just like that, Louis feels himself clench and immediately climax.

 

Holy fucking shit!

 

For all that Louis might have been close to an orgasm, he’s dead sure that it was Harry’s voice whispering such a filthy command that threw him over the edge.

 

Louis has never been this enraptured by any of his previous partners, and he’s almost scared of how intense it will be to come a second time, especially given how he’s hoping that it’ll happen with Harry inside him.

 

“So beautiful, Lou.” Harry whispers, leaning in to steal a long, passionate kiss from Louis.

 

In the blink of an eye, Louis is suddenly lying on his back with Harry hovering above him, and the vampire immediately starts mapping his torso with his gorgeously puffy lips.

 

“How do you want it, love?” Harry asks, only lifting his gaze upwards to look into Louis’ eyes, whilst his lips stay attached to the soft skin right below his bellybutton.

 

“Like this. Fuck, just like this.” Louis answers, bringing his legs upwards to wrap them around Harry.

 

Harry finally moves away from Louis’ abdomen after that, getting on his knees to roll the condom down his length and slick himself up. The vampire looks like an absolute dream, but Louis is already desperately craving his hands on his body again.

 

The vampire doesn’t go back to hovering over Louis immediately, instead choosing to tease him by running his cock from Louis’ balls down to under his hole, again and again, before finally pushing the slightest bit in.

 

“Oh, fuck.” Louis involuntarily whispers, more out of pleasure than discomfort, though he’d be lying if he said that Harry is slipping into him easily.

 

“Alright, love?” Harry asks, and Louis melts a little. Okay, a lot. To be fair, he can’t remember any of his previous partners ever checking in on him, so it’s a lot more meaningful to Louis than it should probably be.

 

“Yeah, yeah. Keep going.”

 

Harry does just that, waiting until the entire head of his cock is inside Louis to finally drop to his elbows above him to kiss him. It’s a little more sloppy than their usual kisses, but Louis is trying to pack a significantly bigger than average cock away, so…

 

It must be taking a considerable amount of patience and self-restraint for Harry to not slide into him faster, but he still goes cautiously slow until he’s finally all the way in.

 

Even if Louis hadn’t confessed that it’d been a long, long time since the last time he had sex, he’s sure that Harry would have guessed it by now.

 

After a few seconds of arrested movement during which they simply kiss, deep and passionately, Harry starts grinding in circular motions, clearly knowing exactly what to do to make Louis relax and adjust without hurting him.

 

Louis would be jealous about the fact that Harry clearly knows what he’s doing, but he certainly wasn’t expecting an over two hundred-year-old man to have only slept with two or three people.

 

“Move. You can move.” Louis whispers, dying to feel Harry really move inside him.

 

Harry obeys, starting off with slow, deep thrusts that make Louis’ eyes roll into the back of his head.

 

He doesn’t make them much faster, a caring move given how tight Louis was and still is.

 

It’s perfect though, slow and intimate instead of fast and punishing.

 

To Louis, it has always felt more meaningful to have slow sex, more about enjoying the intimacy of the moment with your partner than racing to an end goal.

 

It’s not as if he doesn’t want to try having that fast, desperate sex with Harry eventually, but as for right now, this is absolutely perfect, memorable in so many ways.

 

Although the speed at which Harry is thrusting into him is perfectly human, there are a number of factors that are supernatural, and that make everything much more enjoyable, like the fact that Harry doesn’t tire himself out, completely able to keep a rhythm going without needing a time out or breaking a sweat. Also, having someone panting into the crook of his neck has always freaked Louis out, so he’s weirdly thankful for the fact Harry doesn’t breath.

 

(The fact that Harry can pick him up and manipulate his body effortlessly is also a much bigger turn on than Louis would be willing to admit as of right now.)

 

It doesn’t take too long before Louis is almost at the edge of orgasm again, moaning and whining unabashedly as Harry thrusts into him.

 

He’s nearly, nearly there when Harry suddenly stops moving, successfully delaying Louis’ climax.

 

If Louis was having sex with a human, he’d immediately assume that his partner’s body had gone rigid because he was coming, but there’s a strange stillness and tenseness to Harry’s body right now.

 

As soon as Harry turns his head away from Louis’ neck, he immediately knows what happened: Harry’s fangs dropped.

 

It should really be scary to know that the more animalistic side of Harry is trying to take over, but Louis trusts him, and he wants him to know that it’s okay, that it’s not the vampire’s fault that his body automatically reacts to receiving pleasure from a human by wanting to bite him.

 

He gently tries to guide Harry’s head upwards, needing to look into his eyes to tell him that he’s not scared, or mad, or negatively affected in any way.

 

“It’s okay. I know. Look at me, Harry.” Louis begs when Harry starts offering resistance to his gentle guiding, clearly not too keen on letting Louis see his fangs.

 

In one swift move, Harry finally turns his head towards him, opening his mouth to show off his fangs.

 

It feels like the vampire’s trying to prove a point, like a part of him is testing Louis to see if he grows scared of him and puts an end to their relationship.

 

Louis isn’t the slightest bit afraid of him though, and seeing Harry with his fangs out doesn’t make him think of him as monster, like the vampire was probably expecting.

 

Louis runs his thumb over Harry’s lower lip tenderly, before raising it slightly upwards towards one of the vampire’s fangs to show that he’s not scared of them.

 

“You can kiss me if you want. I’m not afraid of them. They’re a part of you, Harry, and I’m not afraid of you. I know they’ll probably make me bleed, but I’m okay with that. So, yeah, you don’t have to kiss me, but you can.”

 

Harry does start moving his head downwards, but he does it very, very slowly.

 

The vampire doesn’t look unsure or hesitant though, so Louis guesses that Harry’s just trying to give him a way out if he changes his mind.

 

He absolutely does not, and even raises his head upwards to meet Harry halfway.

 

It’s strangely foreign, even if Harry hasn’t really opened his mouth yet.

 

His fangs are still plenty noticeable as Louis kisses the vampire, and part of it, he guesses is actually the power of suggestion and hyper awareness.

 

Louis kisses Harry passionately, encouraging the vampire to respond unabashedly.

 

He keeps expecting a sharp pain once one of Harry’s fangs finally accidentally cuts his lip, but he’s completely blindsided when it finally happens.

 

It’s strangely pleasurable, and Louis and Harry moan simultaneously.

 

When Harry starts licking over the cut, clearly using his saliva to prevent it from bleeding any further, Louis almost want to tell him to stop, beg him to keep sucking his blood from his lip and keep that strange high going.

 

Harry’s hips start moving again, a bit more aggressively than before, and Louis guesses that the taste of his blood on his tongue has brought him closer to a climax, close enough for him to become slightly more sloppy and animalistic.

 

Louis is right at that edge again himself, and when he feels Harry’s hands tightening and untightening around the soft skin of his hips, he knows exactly what to say to make them both come.

 

“You can do it if you want. Bite me.”

 

Louis isn’t sure if he meant that last sentence as an explanation as to what he was consenting to, or as a blatant order, but he’s certainly satisfied when he suddenly feels Harry’s sharp fangs biting into the soft skin of his neck.

 

Louis comes straightaway, his orgasm so sudden and intense, it punches the breath out of him.

 

He’s almost sure that he shouts, but he’s hoping that the come spurting from his cock will make Harry understand that it was out of pleasure, not pain.

 

Louis’ head is strangely fuzzy long after his orgasm, and he barely notices it when Harry comes inside him, his drawn out moan muffled by Louis’ neck.

 

As soon as Harry comes down from his high, he starts licking over the bite mark on Louis’ neck, making him whimper weakly.

 

Louis doesn’t actually feel weak or dizzy - it’s more like this high that’s relaxing his body beyond what he’s used to and amplifying every touch.

 

“You okay, love?” Harry asks tenderly as he slides his cock out of Louis, using his left hand to gently caress the skin of his cheek.

 

“I feel great.” Louis says, making an effort not to mumble in order to not worry the vampire or make him feel guilty for drinking from him.

 

Harry peppers a few soft kisses on Louis’ face, making him squirm and giggle.

 

He can’t remember ever feeling a connection like this, and he just knows that what he has with Harry is something that he’ll probably never find with anyone else.

 

“Wait here, okay, and don’t move. I’ll be right back.” Harry says, using his supernatural abilities for the first time in front of Louis to rush out of the room.

 

The vampire returns with cookies and some juice, making Louis smile.

 

“Hmm, I’ve always wanted a man who likes to apply the blood bank protocol to everyday life.” Louis jokes, waggling his eyebrows at Harry.

 

“Who says I didn’t bring these snacks for me?” Harry asks jokingly, though he does hand them over to Louis as soon as he sits up.

 

Louis hasn’t even finished his first cookie before Harry is asking him if he’s okay again.

 

“No, I’m absolutely not okay.” Louis jokes, immediately feeling guilty when he sees the worried look on Harry’s face, “I’ve just realized that if we ever break up, I’m going to be just like that friend of Sophia’s, constantly texting her because you’ve ruined me for the rest of mankind.”

 

Harry croaks out a ridiculous laugh, but Louis knows he’s in trouble when his plump lips curl into a smirk, “I didn’t realize we were in a relationship to begin with. I must have been asleep when you asked me to be your boyfriend.”

 

It may seem like a joke, but Louis can tell by the way that Harry is twisting his rings that the vampire is actually nervous to be this upfront about their uncertain relationship status.

 

And it’s not like Harry’s wanting to have a broad discussion about their relationship - he specifically pointed out that Louis hadn’t asked him to be his boyfriend yet.

 

The vampire wants Louis to be the one to ask him to go steady, he wants to be courted, and if that isn’t the sweetest thing Louis has ever witnessed, he’s not sure what is.

 

God help him, Louis is going to give his boy the most over the top memory he can think of.

 

He grabs Harry’s hand suddenly, holding it like he’s seen actors do in movies when they’re going to kiss it, “Harold Styles- Lord? Were you a Lord?”

 

Harry nods, and Louis is sure that if he were human, he’d be blushing. It’s so damn empowering to know that he can turn this incredibly experienced vampire into a silly teenager with a crush.

 

It honestly feels like Harry is constantly claiming bits and pieces of his heart, but this time he’s conquered a whole chunk.

 

“Lord Harold Styles, would you do me the honor of being my boyfriend?” Louis asks, making a weird face immediately after and cracking Harry up.

 

“I sure would, Mr. Tomlinson.” Harry answers in a weirdly high voice, batting his eyelashes like a Southern bell, and making Louis laugh.

 

He’s so fucking captivated and endeared by this man, it’s insane.

 

*

 

Epilogue

 

It seems pretty damn ironic that Louis finds Harry in the exact same place, and the exact same position as he had exactly one year ago.

 

Even the look on Harry’s face is disturbingly similar to that fateful night, making Louis feel incredibly sad.

 

It’s like some sort of fucked up reenactment of their first time here, and Louis hates it.

 

Flying to Rome to celebrate what they both consider the changing point of their relationship on its anniversary had been a no-brainer, but now Louis isn’t so sure.

 

They’d had a great day – perfect, even – having arrived in Rome in the early morning, and walked around for a while, before having lunch at that restaurant Louis had fallen in love with his first time here.

 

They’d spent the afternoon and most of the evening making love, and Louis had fallen asleep feeling incredibly happy - loved and in love.

 

He certainly isn’t as cheery now that he’s woken up to an empty bed and a brooding Harry on the balcony.

 

Harry hears him coming, damn his supernatural senses, and Louis can see him trying to put on a happy façade.

 

“Don’t. Tell me what’s wrong instead.” Louis says, knowing that Harry will understand exactly what he’s warning him against doing.

 

Harry seems to be reflecting for a few seconds, before going straight for the fucking coronary, “Would you let me turn you? Not now, just, eventually?”

 

Louis grabs a cigarette from the pack he’d left on the balcony earlier, lighting it before even beginning to think about answering what’s got to be the most difficult question of his life.

 

“I don’t know.” Louis answers truthfully, breaking eye contact.

 

Harry doesn’t say anything, simply nodding in understanding.

 

“There are so many reasons why I want to say yes to that question, I couldn’t even begin to list them. Not only just because of you, but because it would give me the chance to do all these things that I’ve always dreamt of doing without worrying about fitting them into one lifetime whilst simultaneously trying to make a living. But then there’s my family. There’s a part of me that always presumed that I’d outlive my mom, because that’s how life is supposed to work, but I’ve got four younger sisters, and I just don’t know if I’d be able to handle burying every single one of them.” Louis explains, tears springing to his eyes.

 

He really, really doesn’t want to inflict the pain of loss upon Harry one more time, but, then again, he doesn’t want to inflict it upon himself either.

 

It’s a lose-lose situation either way, and Louis has weighed the pros and cons of becoming a vampire over and over again.

 

“It’s okay. That’s okay.” Harry says, hugging Louis from behind and kissing the top of his head, “Even if you decide against it, that’s still okay. Just as long as you do what’s best for you. And keep me around, of course.”

 

Harry was probably trying to lighten the mood with that last comment, but it’s completely lost on Louis, given the fact that there are fat tears freely running his face.

“Is that what’s best for you, though? Would it really be better to have me around for the next fifty or sixty years as I get older and sicker than to have a clean cut from me?” Louis asks, not understanding how Harry can willingly stay with him when they both know that this story will most definitely have an unhappy ending if he doesn’t become a vampire.

 

“I’ll take as many years with you as I can possibly get. I love you, Louis, so much…”

 

Louis starts crying even harder after that.

 

It’s certainly not the first time that he’s heard those three little words, but this time they break him apart and put him back together.

 

“Do me a favor, though. Quit these, please. We’re aiming for, like, seventy or eighty years here. Stop sabotaging that.” Harry says, taking the cigarette from between Louis’ fingers and putting it out.

 

“Yeah, I can do that. I can definitely do that.” Louis promises, turning around to kiss Harry.

 

They stay on that balcony a little while longer, just kissing and enjoying each other’s company.

 

Louis might not be sure if he wants to live just another seventy years or forever, but he does know that he doesn’t want to spend a single second of either life without Harry.

 

*

 

Louis ends up giving Harry a forever. No, he gives them a limitless life together.

 

Notes:

I realize that there are a few parts that look a bit like an anti-smoking advert, but I mean no disrespect to anyone who smokes. It's your personal preference, and it certainly wasn't my intention to sound judgmental. I hope it comes across as fitting given the storyline.