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“You've been on my mind
So long, I can't deal with it.
You've been on my mind,
And I'll waste my time,
Til you lift me off the floor,
And love me again.”
“Pistol,” - Cigarettes after Sex
Daniel opens bleary eyes on the evening of November 5th, 2025 in his and Armand’s lavish villa bedroom. It’s dim, save for several lit candles. Nightstand, coffee table, dresser. They cast the room in a golden glow, the earthy scent of wisteria and petrichor. The rain is pattering outside once again. It’s a gentle drizzle rather than an ambush this time.
The world around him carries on, Lestat’s concert has allegedly wreaked havoc back in Montreal. The two vampires couldn't care less. Daniel’s only concern is becoming Armand's resting place, where he no longer has to work tirelessly to ensure everyone else's safety or contentment.
It's been mere hours since Daniel bared his soul to Armand, asking forgiveness for his own role in the downfall of their past relationship, and in turn forgiving Armand for erasing it. He has a lot of faith in their rekindled companionship. He’s vowed ‘no more running’ from either of them. Still, there's one box left empty on the reunion checklist.
Armand’s wrapped around him from behind. He’s pressing aimless kisses to Daniel’s neck, not caring or knowing if Daniel's awake. He’s committing every new line on the surface of Daniel's skin to memory with his lips. He savors the taste of Daniel's skin, along with inhaling the faded, familiar cologne scented of coffee and tobacco.
Armand has a hand low on Daniel's belly underneath his shirt, caressing bare skin, rubbing in soothing motions. His claws are tempting to dip into the waistband of his sleepwear.
Daniel can’t believe that this is his life, now. He's been alone for as long as he can remember. He didn't believe it when Armand owned up to his feelings in the park.
But Armand has stayed by his side since that day, putting serious effort into proving his devotion, even under duress. With every minute that passes by, the bleeding hole in Daniel’s chest left by Armand’s absences reduces to scar tissue. It can’t be undone. It’ll always be there, now with healed skin twice as tough. At least he knows Armand has the same scar to match.
Daniel backs up closer against Armand, hinting that he’s awake.
“Mmmhh..” Armand eases off of his neck with a sleepy moan. “Good evening, beloved.”
Daniel turns around, looks up at his beautiful devil in awe. “Hi.”
“Did you sleep well?”
“Like a baby. Did you sleep at all?”
“Sleeping would require me to take my eyes off of you.”
“God forbid you lose your forty-year one-sided staring contest.” Daniel teases, irritable.
It's been an emotional few days, he's nearly drained of blood from crying. He needs to hunt, but Armand’s strong embrace feels so good.
But Armand is a dutiful maker now that he’s been allowed. He knows exactly what Daniel needs and when he needs it. He brings his wrist to Daniel's mouth.
“Drink.”
Daniel regards the wrist, hesitant.
Armand cocks his head to the side, bewildered. “I don't believe I recall a time you've ever denied my blood of your own volition, twice in the same twenty four hours. Have I done something?”
Daniel huffs a laugh at Armand's ridiculous conclusion. When he resisted Armand’s offer the previous evening, it'd been because his maker was amidst a nuclear meltdown, and he’s not adding himself to the long list of men that’ve taken advantage of Armand’s decimated state.
Of course Daniel wants, needs his maker’s blood. Like a mortal needs air. He just wants it… from somewhere else.
“Cute. No, babe. Got it all wrong,”
He takes Armand by the waist and flips their positions, pressing one leg between Armand's thighs, laying against Armand's body. Gently tilting Armand's head to the side, he lowers himself to his neck.
“Is here okay?” He asks, gravelly voice directly into Armand's ear.
“Mmh– yes, yes,”
Daniel sinks his fangs into Armand's neck, while his head is held in place by gentle fingers tugging at his hair in response.
He takes long, leisurely sips from his maker, encouraged by Armand’s whining and wriggling beneath him. While Armand is practically vibrating, Daniel attempts to pin him so that the bite doesn't become any messier, he knows how Armand hates a mess. But the pressure of Daniel's vampiric strength holding him in place where powerless human hands used to be only makes him writhe harder into the touch.
“Oh, oh– I'm sorry, I can't help it–” Armand apologizes bashfully, “You haven’t drank from my neck since– ah– since before,”
Daniel releases his neck, lapping at the closing wound. “Yeah? Feel good?” He says in a low voice close to Armand’s ear.
“Mmh,” Armand moans in response.
“You’ve been so good to me.” Daniel continues worshipping Armand's neck with his tongue. He grips curls on the other side of Armand's head, keeping the vampire’s ear close to his face.
“Worrying yourself sick about me, wound up so tight all the time…Let me take care of you a bit, yeah?”
“Mmhh- y-yyeahh” Armand whines. Daniel’s words are passing through his head, straight below the beltline.
Daniel sits up, his weight bearing down where he’s sitting on Armand's growing length through his clothes. He clutches Daniel by the waist, subtly grinding into the pressure.
He makes slow work of unbuttoning Armand’s shirt, lifting it up and tossing it. He moves aside to pull Armand's bottoms off. With urgent hands, Armand goes to do it himself, grabbing his boxers along with them. But Daniel seizes his tiny wrist, ensuring only one layer of clothing at a time goes missing.
“No, not yet. Be patient.” Daniel warns. Armand lifts his hands up slowly in almost mocking surrender, bewildered.
“You're doing so good for me, baby.” Daniel praises, firmly planting his companion’s wrists at his side. He lets go, but his wrists stay put. He gets back to undressing Armand.
Armand pouts, but can't deny that the way Daniel's speaking to him makes his face hot. And…this is new. The roles had been completely reversed in their past. Daniel was typically the one bratting out, impatient, coming untouched beneath Armand. Not that he minds, he knows that eager boy is still in there, somewhere. He's not about to question his way out of whatever Daniel has in mind.
Daniel climbs back over him to finish what he started. He takes Armand’s jaw in his gentle hand, brushing their lips together, sweet and innocent. He gradually deepens the kiss until Armand’s increasingly wild moans make it difficult to continue.
Daniel sucks temporary bruises into his maker’s neck, chest, stopping to circle each nipple with his tongue, nipping a trail on the soft cold skin until he reaches his boxers.
Armand watches the display with hungry eyes, widening as his lover’s fangs drop. Daniel tears off his boxers with the sharp tips, leaking cock springing up to almost smack him in the face.
Daniel gives Armand a devilish grin, massive fangs glinting in the golden glow of the room. He looks quite proud of himself. “Always wanted to do that.” He leans back down and spits, and begins giving Armand slow strokes.
Armand arches at the touch, eyes rolling into the back of his head. “Mmh– didn't occur to– ah, try it– until just now?” He says, speech interrupted by involuntary gasps.
“Nah, it occurred. Haven’t had the opportunity since popping out fangs.” Daniel remarks casually.
Armand’s eyes fly open at the admission.
“What?”
Daniel startles back at Armand's shock.
“Yeah? I dunno…haven't really wanted anybody. Not like I want you. And I want you.” He tries to play it off. He mouths at the tip, teasing Armand's slit.
“Oh, fuck, Daniel–”
“Want you to let loose,” Daniel ends the conversation, spits again, picking up his pace with a strengthened grip. “So lay back down. You were in the middle of getting some for being the best companion ever.”
Armand wants to press deeper into why Daniel Molloy hasn't had actual sex at least since his turning, by the implication. That's… what’s happened to his insatiable boy? How had he missed this fact during his observation? Armand’s aching to flip their positions. But his pondering is interrupted by Daniel's warm, wet mouth swallowing him down to the hilt.
“Ah, Ahh! Daniel, Daniel, mmmhh!” he cries out, sharp claws flying to grip at soft silver curls. He digs his heels between Daniel's shoulder blades, his fingers threaten to tear through the sheets where he’s balled them in his fists, trying to grasp any semblance of composure.
Armand was wound up, as Daniel had inferred. He finds himself, for a second time, in a reversed role from their past. Insatiable. Each flick of his lover’s tongue draws a deeper wave of pleasure between his thighs, tempting to crash at any moment. He wants more. Daniel isn't even undressed. He wants to look at his beautiful boy while he comes.
“Mmh– beloved? I have… a request,”
Daniel pulls off with an obscene pop.
“What's up, baby?” He says, stroking at a steady pace.
“I'd like to see you, please? Oh- It's been so long…I want to be… mmh– to be closer.”
Daniel suddenly stops like a deer in headlights.
“Yeah…uhm…yeah. One sec.” Daniel hesitates, searching for the right response. He stands up from the bed.
“Can I snuff these out real quick? They're uh… giving me a headache” Daniel gestures at the candles.
But vampires don't get headaches from measly scented candles, which happen to be the only light source in the room at the moment. That won't really help Armand view anything.
Curious.
Daniel supposedly hasn't had sex since before his turning, he wants to snuff out the only dim light source, though he looks ravishing in the golden glow… surely, this cannot be about his appearance? His beautifully matured body? His soul-piercing eyes, those perfectly soft pink lips, on that timeless, striking face that Armand has held updated photos of in one hand, stroking his cock with the other for decades?
No, no. This won't do. With a pang of guilt, Armand realizes he was the one to trap Daniel in a body he was apparently uncomfortable with for eternity. Normally, Armand would want to crawl into a corner and disappear at the realization that he’s hurt his beloved. But Daniel has made new rules for them, and one of them is ‘no more running.’ It's up to him to fix it. He can fix it.
“Beloved…you don't have a headache.” Armand says knowingly, head tilted, batting his lashes. “Come to me.” He reaches an outstretched hand towards his lover.
Bastard. Daniel swallows, nervous, taking the smaller hand in his. He climbs back onto the bed hesitantly and avoids eye contact.
Armand rubs circles into the back of Daniel's hand.
“You've lied to me, my love.”
“Yeah…sorry.”
Armand reaches for his cheek while displaying an endearing pout, speaking in a softened tone. “Why on earth do you want the lights out?”
“Been a long time…I’m different now. I don’t look…” he sighs, frustrated at the loss of words. “I know you just say it out of habit. Tradition. Whatever.”
“I say what out of habit?”
Daniel gives him that “come on, man” look.
“Is that what you believe? That I call you beautiful boy for no reason except habit? You've commanded me to stop lying to you, yet you believe I'd lie about that?” Armand scoffs in disbelief, “That is the simplest of all truths I've given you so far. Equivalent to noting that the sky is blue.”
“It's not– I know you’re not lying, Armand. It's just, you left. Spent years thinking it was ‘cause you were disgusted with me, and now I've got all these memories back…”
Daniel bites his tongue, wincing, forbidding the swell of heartbreak at the memory.
“Wasn't good enough to keep at thirty-two, at least I was pretty back then. Really don't know how I'm supposed to be good enough for you now.” He rubs a hand over his flustered face.
Oh.
Daniel’s clear dejection, the heartache seeping across the vampire bond makes Armand’s chest feel hollow.
Daniel knows the reasons why Armand left both times and it was the complete opposite of Armand not-wanting him. They’d established that already. Still…years of feeling unworthy don't up-and-vanish at the first “I love you.”
“Shit, I'm fucking it up again– Can’t even give you a good time without making it about me.” Daniel says with a forced laugh.
Armand wastes no time in closing the small distance between them, straddling Daniel’s lap where he’s sitting on the bed. He takes his boy’s face in both hands, pressing their lips together. He kisses Daniel reverently, sliding his tongue inside his lover’s mouth as if trying to force the depths of his desire down his throat, straight into his heart.
It doesn’t bypass him, Daniel’s efforts to push the pain down so that he’ll be ‘good enough.’ He knows the feeling all too well. How he’d diminish his own discomfort to please Marius… He refuses to let his beloved feel even an ounce of that at his hands.
And besides, there’s only one world in which Daniel Molloy wouldn’t be ‘enough’ for Armand: the one that he almost found himself in, Daniel's cherished body and soul becoming ashes in the ground, a world still impossibly spinning without him in it.
But he's alive, and he’s allowed Armand another chance. The gift of a fine-as-wine aged body is quite the opposite of an obstacle in the path of Armand’s feelings.
He breaks away and moves his hands, one carding through the curls on the back of Daniel’s head, the other grasping his side, holding him close.
“Allow me to remind you, I have no regrets about the state of your body at which I've damned you to eternity. Though, I sincerely apologize for any…any inhibitions it's caused you.” Armand pauses, remorseful. “You know I never intend to cause you pain.”
“It's okay. You cause plenty of other things.” Daniel replies, rocking his hips up, pushing a soft moan from Armand. He truly doesn’t want to ruin the momentum that’s been built up.
And he wants, and wants, and wants his maker, in every way. Nerves and shitty memories be damned, heat pools between his thighs where Armand is sitting nude on his cock, which is straining against his clothes.
“You’re every bit as breathtaking now as you were then. I see no reasoning behind your insecurity. You’ve no idea what the sight of you does to me,” Armand slightly bites his lip as he drags his eyes up and down his boy. “Even entirely clothed. I want to be as close to you as possible.”
“Yeah?” Daniel asks with a quick kiss, but he already knows the answer.
“Yeah.” Armand mocks, smiling endearingly back at him. “You're to tell me if the nerves become unbearable, and we’ll stop. You aren't to do a single thing you're uncomfortable with. Do you understand?”
Daniel gives a shy nod. At this, Armand presses a kiss to his cheek and cranes to whisper, “Good boy.”
Armand’s kept it together for the sake of quelling Daniel's fears, but he’s fighting to contain his desire as he resumes his affections.
He finally, finally reaches under Daniel's shirt, artfully lifting it up and away, baring wild silver chest hair and plush skin. Armand places his hands flat, entranced by the wiry curls. He’s torn between attaching himself flush against every inch of his beloved, and being patient enough to wait for Daniel’s bottoms to be removed as well.
He settles on patience, internally whining at the loss of contact as he dismounts. Daniel stands up, Armand follows. He braces his boy's arms, pulling him in once again to glide their lips together.
Armand begins to kneel, kissing a trail down Daniel’s exposed body as he goes. His knees reach the floor, and he undresses Daniel's lower half.
When he glances back up, Daniel's eyes are closed, awaiting Armand’s rejection.
Oh, Daniel. Doesn't he know how loved he is? How precious of a thing he is? He grips a possessive hand around Daniel’s thigh, rubbing a thumb back and forth in soothing motions. “Beloved. Open your eyes.” Armand commands, voice shaky.
Daniel sheepishly obliges with low expectations.
He locks eyes on Armand, who’s gazing up at him with starry eyes as one would behold the gentle warm spring after a harsh, unforgiving winter.
Armand uses his other hand to gently take Daniel’s, lift it to his lips, pressing a tender kiss to the back. Armand’s eyes flutter closed as he brings the rough hand to his own face, leaning in to feel Daniel's touch on his cheek as he’d only felt in his dreams for four decades.
“I've missed you so much.” Armand whispers, tilting his cheek to rest on the bare skin of Daniel’s hip, blinking away tears. He looks so close to a fallen angel at this moment.
Daniel just about breaks at the way Armand is undone before him, his mental chains come clattering to the ground. He realizes at this moment, there's no reason to hide. Armand would oblige with no complaints if Daniel asked not to go further, if this intimacy was too intense.
But his doubts are put to rest, replaced with an awakened desire to give all of himself to his devoted lover, who’s already given everything for him. Armand has never stopped wanting him, has never stopped loving or desiring him. This is not the state of a man repulsed by the sight before him.
This is the state of a man who spent forty years pining from a distance.
This is the state of a man reunited with the love of his life, his death, his everything, after begging any power that'll listen to bring them even this close once again. Simply standing naked in the same room is hardly close enough.
There's no one, nothing else in the world, nothing at this moment except two bare bodies and souls at each other’s loving mercy, bound together for eternity.
Daniel wordlessly pulls Armand from the ground, swiping away his few fallen tears. Their lips and fangs clash ravenously as if trying to swallow each other whole. Blood from the sharp nicks pours between them as Armand walks Daniel backward until the backs of his knees hit the bed. They shuffle back until Daniel’s against the headboard, Armand straddling him.
Daniel pushes Armand’s face back for a moment, catching unnecessary breath. Armand takes the opportunity to slice a palm and slide their blood-slick cocks together in his delicate grip.
“Fuck, Oh my god” Daniel sighs, almost forgetting what he’d been about to say. “How do you want this?”
“How do you want this?”
“Told you– fuck, just wanna make you feel good, I’m yours, Ah- fuck, Armand, I’ll– whatever you want,” Daniel replies, breathless.
“Yeah?” Armand teases, flashing a deceivingly innocent smile. He gives their joined cocks a hard twist, writhing and grinding his hips where he’s planted on Daniel’s thighs.
“Ah– yeah, yeah” Daniel’s losing control of his voice, becoming whiny.
Armand abruptly stops, dropping Daniel’s heavy cock at the edge of orgasming. He’s shaking beneath Armand as he reels back from the edge, whiny voice continuing to babble.
Armand clasps a hand over Daniel’s rambling mouth, wrenches his head to the side with force, and leans down close to speak in a low, restrained manner;
“I’d like to fuck you.”
Daniel’s breathing becomes ragged as he shoves Armand's hand aside to pull him in. “I want you, I want you,” he whispers desperately between filthy kisses.
Armand breaks away to move to Daniel’s side, reaching towards the drawer for a bottle of lube. “Spread your legs for me, beloved.” He requests, settling himself between Daniel’s spread thighs. “Good boy.”
Daniel melts as Armand makes a display of slicking up his slender digits, and he’s momentarily transported to the past. It’s a blessing in itself, being taken care of by Armand. If all he’d gotten was being tied to a chair while Armand uses the sight of him to pleasure himself, offering no relief in return, he’d only mouth off a little bit. They’d been into some truly heinous shit before, edging didn’t even scratch the surface. But this moment feels evolved.
There’s something about the way Armand’s touching him, beholding him, it feels so caring, so raw. He’s rid himself of the veil he’d held so defiantly between them in the past, power and life experience separating them.
Daniel’s breath hitches as he feels a cold, slick finger caress over his entrance. “Fuck– ahh!–”
“Shhh…” Armand says, slipping the finger inside. He delights in the way Daniel’s body relaxes for him, how the nervous unease in his face crumbles.“There you are. Always so obedient, my beloved, you were made for my touch.”
He leans his face against Daniel’s hiked-up knee as he works him open, rubbing his thigh with the other hand in a soothing motion.
With each added finger, now up to three, the stretch is walking the line of pleasure and pain. It’s been so long, vampiric-unbreakable-body aside. But Armand balances it out, stroking that sweet-spot every so often. Daniel's previous tension fades into soft, satiated moans with every electrifying stroke to his prostate.
He tries to focus on something, anything. Armand’s dreamy presence in the dim glowing candlelight, the friction of his own hands gripping the sheets, the soft patter of the rain or the low rumble of thunder outside, but the stimulation is prickling his eyes with tears.
“Fuck, baby, gotta stop– I’m gonna–” Daniel begs.
“Think that's enough,” he manages to say. “I'm ready, I want you,”
Armand gently disengages, kissing one last time to Daniel’s knee.
“As you wish,” he says, retrieving the bottle, slicking himself once more.
The earth is quiet. Though there’s nobody but them to begin with, it’s happening again.
Daniel’s heart is pounding as Armand looms over him to line himself up.
Armand, with one hand on his cock between them, intertwines the other hand with his lover’s over the rise-and-fall of Daniel’s chest. He gazes with loving eyes, giving the hand a comforting squeeze to anchor Daniel in the moment, as if to say, “I have you, you're safe, I won’t let you fall.”
Armand presses his length carefully into Daniel, bottoming out with a broken moan closer to a sob.
Daniel inhales sharply, the air around him’s gone thick, difficult to breathe. He squeezes Armand’s hand so hard he might’ve heard bones crack. He wraps his legs around Armand's waist, already shivering.
Armand leans down to bracket Daniel’s body with his forearms as he begins to rock his hips. He’s crowding Daniel's space, practically breathing into one another’s open mouths. His body flutters with pent-up desire as he bends low, knocking his nose, his temple against Daniel’s turning ravenous panting into lewd wet kisses.
Daniel’s prepared for the gentleness to devolve into their old ways. Divine pain, bruises, bleeding, nasty words flying back and forth, especially now that his body’s much less breakable.
But the pain never comes. Armand’s strokes are excruciating, slick, slow to the point Daniel can make out every ridge and vein on his throbbing cock as it moves inside of him. The only pain Daniel feels is his own aching, leaking erection which is trapped between their bellies. The crawling pace offers no solace, no distraction. It ignites every inch of his skin with burning pleasure and nauseating affection.
“What– the fuck– aah!- are you doing?” Daniel pleads. “Fuck, oh my fucking god–” His stinging red tears finally spill over. His composure’s losing the battle against the flood of emotion that Armand's unlocked inside of him.
“I told you,” Armand thrusts upward, hard. “I want to be as close to you as possible.” He begins trailing Daniel’s neck.
“I want to feel you, I want to know you, all of you as you are now,” Armand’s soft voice becomes an unstable whisper. “I’ve spent four decades only wanting, missing you.”
“Fuck, Armand! Oh, feels so good, don’t stop!” Daniel whines. Armand is everywhere. His lithe, unseemly strong fingers are gripping his hips and his face, little crescent-shaped bleeding divots form where his claws dominate his flesh. His hair cascading around him like a halo, the sweet taste of his skin upon Daniel’s lips. Everywhere. The most captivating being in every timeline, and he’s chosen Daniel to cherish, to make love to.
Warm pressure builds low in his body as he hears the wet glide of Armand's fangs unsheathing.
“ ‘s okay, come on, get closer baby,” Daniel begs with a broken voice as Armand’s delicate moans devolve damn near into growls just inches away from his carotid artery, torturous pace speeding up.
He gathers his slipping awareness enough to push Armand’s thrusts deeper with the grip of his thighs, and he guides his face closer to the desired vein in his neck. “Go ahead, I want you to, ‘s okay– ah!”
Armand bites down in a feral, desperate motion.
“FUCK! Armand!” Daniel cries.
The bite sends Daniel into helpless writhing, clawing gashes into Armand's shoulderblades where he’s holding on for dear life, spilling thick ropes of sticky blood between them.
Daniel’s internal bliss floods Armand's mouth as he takes pull after pull from his pliant neck, still rocking into him. He collapses over the edge, convulsing with a wracked cry, spilling deep inside Daniel.
Armand makes a valiant effort to close Daniel's wound with his tongue, but his body feels far away, out of his control. His vision's gone a bit red and blurry.
Daniel pulls a trembling hand through his hair permitting him to give up. His legs are still wrapped around Armand, who’s still inside of him. Neither plan on letting go any time soon.
Daniel’s tears haven't ceased. He's not sure why they're happening anymore. The overstimulation drove him to this point, first. Now… it's a little bit of everything.
It's the weight of thirty seven years without the other half of his soul, plus the weight of three more years abandoned by it drifting far into the distance at last.
Armand finally looks up from where he's nestled into Daniel's neck, still panting, smiling wondrously despite his face being streaked with red tears of his own, bloody mouth and disheveled hair. His eyes are huge, brimming with adoration.
The sheets and pillowcases are a lost cause. In 1985, Armand might’ve pitched a fit, scolded Daniel for being so messy. In 2025, Armand’s so overjoyed to have this exact problem with this exact man, he might cut the stained part out and frame it.
Daniel, now grinning irresistibly through his tears at the sight of Armand's doe-like gaze, begins to lick his own blood from Armand's unusually messy face.
“You” kiss “look way too fucking cute” kiss “with my blood all over your face.” kiss
“Forty years have passed, and you still insist on licking my face. I was correct. He’s still in there, somewhere.” Armand teases.
Daniel pauses, a bit off-put at the mention of his younger self. Not exactly appropriate timing, given the situation.
“Daniel. Do not direct that insolent look at me. I love you, all of you, you know that I do.” He leans to cut off any incoming snarky response with a kiss.
“I love you, Daniel. In case you chose not to listen just then.” He repeats in a passionate, sincere tone, close against Daniel's lips, nuzzling his nose.
Daniel's bratty pout quickly dissolves back to a warm blush. “I love you too, boss. Come here.”
Daniel means to embrace Armand, he deserves some sickeningly sweet aftercare. But Armand only goes down for a moment.
“Beloved?”
“Yes?”
“Can we continue this elsewhere?”
Daniel huffs a laugh. He knew it was only a matter of time before the sticky blood between them began to irritate him. “Whatever you want, babe. Like where?”
Armand finally pulls out and sits up, setting his beady eyes on the bathroom door. The usual creaking sounds of the bathtub faucet flowing and the drain plugging can be heard through the air. The lights turn on, the door creaks open, the candles snuff themselves, all without Armand lifting a finger.
Daniel’s contemplating how many times he can get Armand off before the water gets cold, when he hears…Harrison Ford. Again. From the bathroom.
“The fuck is that?” Daniel looks concerned, but then stifles a laugh as he realizes.
“Tell me that's not fucking Blade Runner coming from the bathroom. Armand.” he gives Armand a playful shove as he laughs. “You put a TV in the bathroom?”
Armand flashes a mischievous grin, giggling to himself.
“Christ, does this mean–” Daniel continues helplessly chuckling, “How long are we gonna be in the fucking bath for?!”
“Don't be ridiculous, Daniel. I already watched Blade Runner six times while you slept.”
“Oh, okay. So seven’s the cutoff, and I'm ridiculous. Good to know.” Daniel retorts.
Armand rolls his eyes. “For your information, fledgling, it is a projector, and the film is Star Wars: The Force Awakens, at whatever point I paused it the last time I was here.”
“Okay, so, still Harrison Ford. Guessed something right.
“Yes…I thought it could be nice. Don't you recall?” Armand blushes as he looks away, lost in a sweet memory.
“You took me to see all three original Star Wars movies together in the theater. Six more have been produced since I last had the pleasure of viewing one with you… I thought we could have a ‘date’ as you used to insist on calling them. There’s Bordeaux infused blood in the cooler.”
Though Daniel's heart just about swells through his chest at the sentimental gesture, he’s ever the insolent boy, can't help himself but to reply;
“Y’know, the wine-and-dining usually happens before the fucking, genius.”
Armand shoots him a glare. Smack.
“OW- YOU LITTLE SHIT”
I'll be damned- my first real Armand smack. Fuck, is my arm supposed to bend like that?
“Aw, you poor, poor boy. Do you need your ‘dad’ to kiss it better?” Armand mocks, batting his eyelashes.
Daniel glares right back at him, but he knows it's his own damn fault. Besides, it kinda felt good…
Daniel tries to stand on his own, but his ability to walk has been fucked out of him. Armand carries his dear seventy-two-year-old boy to the bath where they do, in fact, watch the entire film projected on the wall before the water gets cold.
Daniel holds Armand close in his arms and washes his hair delicately with the fancy cedar-and-moss scented products at the side of the tub. Every once in a while, he stops to appreciate the astonishing tamed demon in his arms, kissing his forehead. His heart is so, so full.
And of course, after drying off and dressing in comfortable clothes, Armand moves them to the cozy living area to catch up on the other five new Star Wars films. Of course, they've both seen them separately before. Armand rattles off details he's gathered and opinions he's formed, most notably his disdain for the recent torch-passing of Lucasfilm.
Daniel listens attentively, even if he doesn't care that much for the subject matter. Armand deserves all of the attention he has to offer, and then some. He tries to follow the details and contribute to the conversation. It's heartbreaking how easily this simple gesture makes Armand beam with delight. It's the bare fucking minimum, and Armand looks at him like he’s just handed him the sun.
Hopefully someday, he’ll help build up his devil’s self worth until he knows this. Until then, Daniel will listen to Armand’s rambling with no objection until his ears fall off, until the sun implodes. He's just grateful to have him in his arms once again.