A Vampire Christmas Story Warnings: slash content Spoilers: TotBT Disclaimers: I don't own these characters, Anne Rice does. (She also likes to think she can control people's imaginations, but I digress...) I make no money off of this. I am pretty much broke. Other Info: I've had part of this story for awhile, but I couldn't make it work. Then came the challenge, I checked it over again, and made a few major revisions. Now it works. Hope you like it! "Grandmother, what big eyes you have!" "The better to see you with, my child." "Grandmother, what big hands you have!" "The better to hold you with, my child." "Grandma, what big teeth you have!" As Louis started to read the next line, a hand dropped without warning onto his shoulder. He cried out in surprise and dropped his book as he fell backward. Fortunately he had been reading on the bed so he merely landed on the soft mattress. "Goodness, Louis," came the familiar teasing voice, "aren't you high strung!" Louis rolled his eyes as he sat up, watching Lestat retrieve his book from the floor. "Grimm's Fairy Tales?" the brat smiled, laying the book on the nightstand. "I was in the mood for it," Louis answered testily. "Is that all you were in the mood for?" Lestat purred, looping an arm around Louis and drawing him close. The weaker vampire received a quick kiss before he could reply. "Not now, Lestat," he sighed. "I'm not feeling very well at the moment." Lestat immediately became concerned. "What is it? Headache? Are you hurt? Tired?" Louis held his hands up, cutting his lover off before he could finish. "No, nothing like that. I just don't feel like it." "Oh, I know. You're just more depressed than usual. Well, I can take care of that!" "What are you thinking of this time?" Louis asked nervously. "Don't worry, chere, I have no designs on the world right now. No, what you need is a shopping trip!" Louis was about to protest so Lestat went on. "Yes, that's it! It's almost Christmas--" "Christmas is two weeks away--" "and we have no decorations!" "They're all in the attic." "Any new decorations," Lestat corrected himself. He grabbed Louis' hand and pulled him through the room, heading for the door. "The malls are open until three a.m. for the holidays, Louis! Let's max out my credit cards!" "Can I stop you?" Louis sighed in resignation. "Not at all." Both of them turned and faced the door suddenly, and Louis began to blush wildly as Lestat saw what was on the back of the door. "I can't believe I never saw this before," he murmured, walking up to it. "Louis, has this always been here?" "Oui," Louis said reluctantly. He glanced at Lestat, then back at the full-length poster of the Vampire Lestat on his New Orleans concert tour. He couldn't help the love-sick sigh that escaped from him. Two Lestats at one time. What bliss! Lestat grinned, then turned and wrapped his arms around Louis before he spun him around once. "Oh, I love you, too, Beautiful One!" "But not just for my face, no?" Louis asked, worried what the answer might be. "Louis," Lestat said in mock surprise, "never just for your face. That is only part of your charm." "Then why do you love me?" his fledgling insisted. "What is it about me?" Lestat paused dramatically, holding Louis in his arms. He grinned, and then suddenly pushed his mouth against the weaker vampire's. When they finally drew back, Lestat's smile had broadened. "What is it? Everything! Now, come on, or we'll miss the shops!" Lestat forced his fledgling down the stairs and outside to the convertible. Once Louis was inside, Lestat jumped in and they started off. Halfway there he looked over at the despondent vampire beside him. "Louis?" "Oui, Lestat?" "Do you know how beautiful you are, with your hair in the wind?" Louis couldn't help his small smile. Every time he let it down, especially for Lestat, the brat never seemed to fail to notice. "Never as beautiful as you, though." "Louis," Lestat's voice turned mock-serious, "I know I am gorgeous, but I could never come up to your level. You are simply mesmerizing." He grinned as Louis started to blush. His fledgling had always had a hard time accepting such heated praise. "We'll have to find something perfect for you to wear on Christmas Eve!" "If you try to dress me up as an elf again this year I'm moving in with Armand, you hear me?" Louis said sternly. Lestat laughed. "So you can be near a real elf?" Louis had to laugh, so in a vain effort to hide it, he turned the radio on. The jockey's voice blared annoyingly from the speakers. "And now, for all you rabid fans out there, one of our most requested songs! 'Immortal Lover' by the Vampire Lestat!" Louis gave Lestat a wicked glare. "A ballad? Lestat, you didn't!" The Brat Prince smiled. "I was pining away, chere. You mean to say you never heard it?" Louis was about to answer but his voice was drowned out by a loud guitar intro. Lestat slowed the convertible just a little, knowing exactly how long the song was and wanting Louis to hear all of it. Separated by pain and time, awaiting our release, knowing someday we'll find each other, all our hate will cease. You're my immortal lover, forever in my mind You're my immortal lover our love is locked in time. Faultless beauty cast adrift I long to hold in my arms And love that could never die would keep us safe from harm. You're my immortal lover, forever in my mind. You're my immortal lover our love is locked in time. At the second chorus, Louis couldn't bring himself to look at anything else but Lestat. "You wrote this for me?" he asked. "Do you like it?" Lestat asked. Louis smiled. He recognized the nervous tone in his maker's voice, which meant that Lestat really hoped that his fledgling loved the song. "It's beautiful," Louis said. "I wish that I could be so eloquent." "You are," Lestat told him, "just by existing." My lonely, beautiful one, cursed to live with my mistakes, what I would give to turn back time and mend all our heartaches. And the fires in our hearts could burn without the pain Maybe I'd still have you if I hadn't been so vain... "It is an apology," Louis realized. Lestat nodded wordlessly. The music faded away as they pulled into the mall's large parking lot. As they got out, Louis whirled around the car to stand beside Lestat. "I'm surprised you never heard it before," the blonde vampire smiled sadly. "It was number three for awhile." Louis reached around to lay his hand behind Lestat's throat and pull him gently forward. "Lestat, why didn't you ever say this to me? You must have known then that I do not care for modern rock songs." Lestat nodded. "That's probably why I did it. For some strange reason, I felt better apologizing to thousands of strangers than to you directly. I was afraid you would find it trite or cheap, or that you might think I was mocking you." "Never," Louis whispered, embracing his lover. "I waited for years to hear this from you, and to think, all this time all I had to do was turn on a radio." Lestat smiled. "Ah, well, ce la vie." "Indeed. So, what do you want to decorate house with?" "What?" Louis smiled. Lestat looked so adorable when he was confused. "Christmas," he reminded him. "Oh, yes! I want to decorate it with wreaths, and lights, and holly and a huge tree!" Lestat wrapped an arm around Louis' waist and headed for the mall entrance. "And mistletoe, plenty of mistletoe." "Lestat?" "Yes?" "I love you." Lestat stopped, turned and suddenly leaned forward, forcing Louis to fall backwards. Lestat caught him in his arms and stole a long, deep kiss from his lover, and when they finally stood back up, Louis was out of breath. "I love you, too, chere." It was nearly two o'clock when they returned home, with items jammed into the car trunk and backseat. Louis was cramped in the passenger seat, stuffed amongst the extra wreaths and ornaments. "At least all of these are tasteful," he sighed to himself. Lestat grinned at his fledgling as they pulled into the driveway. "Trust me, darling, it will look perfect once it is all up. I doubt even Armand will be able to match it." "Lestat, have you ever watched a television program called 'Home Improvement'?" Louis asked, pulling boxes out of the seat. "No, Louis, you know I rarely watch tv." "Every Christmas, the main character competes with the man across the street, trying to create the most elaborate decorations for his house, and he invariably fails, although he always manages to blow a fuse or break something in the process." "And what does this have to do with me?" Lestat smiled, bringing in several packages at once. Louis merely sighed and shook his head. As he walked inside the house, Lestat pounced on him, surprising Louis so much that he dropped his boxes and stumbled backwards. Lestat caught him before he fell, stealing a passionate kiss before dropping him on the couch. Louis looked up breathlessly. "What was that for?" "Oh, sweet, you should know better than to sigh so prettily for me. I just can't control myself. Now," he turned, already forgetting tackling Louis, "where should we put the tree?" "The corner across from the fireplace," Louis said firmly. Lestat looked at his fledgling with a smile. "Are you certain? I think it would look wonderful in the center of the room." "The corner across from the fireplace," Louis repeated. "Very well," Lestat laughed, picking up the large sofa and carrying it to the far side of the room. "I'll get started with it while you start on the wreaths and ivy." Louis nodded and pulled out a large wreath to place on the front door. "Lestat," he said, turning to his lover as a thought hit him, "when do we do the lights?" Lestat smiled and walked over to his fledgling, pulling him into his arms. "I'm going to need help with those, chere. Will you help me?" Louis smiled and lay his head on Lestat's shoulder for a moment. The brat knew that lights were Louis' favorite part of Christmas. "Of course I'll help you." Putting up every ornament and holly wreath took the better part of the next two nights, but the ungodly amount of lights Louis had insisted on occupied them for three nights alone. Every light had to fixed according to Louis' exact instructions, which only he could do, of course. Lestat finally gave up trying to please his fledgling and instead occupied himself with taking the lights out carefully from each box as Louis placed each cord perfectly. The outside of the house was trimmed to look like a gingerbread house, with rainbow lights lining each corner and window and running along the roof. Actually, the roof had been Lestat's job, since he could fly, and Louis had only reluctantly let him do those. It had taken Lestat's threat of carrying him up there himself to convince Louis to step back from that job. The inside of the house was simply astonishing, though, to say the least. The tree, tastefully done for one year, was covered in colored lights, while the walls were decked out in holly and ivy, with wreaths spaced every few feet. A wreath hung on every door, and ribbons adorned the staircase. Only one thing was missing. "All we need now is a nice roaring fire," Lestat grinned, setting one up in the fire place. "It's too cold in here for you." Louis smiled and relaxed back on the sofa, watching him work. "It's fun watching you when you're domestic," he whispered. Lestat smirked and ignited the kindling and logs, then settled back beside Louis. His smile only broadened when Louis leaned against his side, laying his head on Lestat's shoulder. He quietly ran his fingers through Louis' hair, taking the band off of the small ponytail so his hair flowed around his shoulders. "You're so warm," Louis smiled softly. "Like a big teddy bear." "Only for you," Lestat chuckled. "So, do the decorations meet with your approval?" "Of course," Louis assured him. "I helped, didn't I?" Lestat gauged the amount of force he should hold back, then gently dug his fingers into Louis' side. Louis gasped and squirmed, driving closer to Lestat even while he twisted sideways. "No, Lestat, don't tickle!" he begged. Lestat, who couldn't deny his lover anything, gave in and simply held the slender body in his arms. Firelight played over Louis' eyes, and the heat made both of them drowsy. "Louis?" "Yes, Lestat?" "What am I going to get you for Christmas?" "I can't tell you," Louis shrugged. "I'm not supposed to know until Christmas Eve, remember?" Lestat sighed. "But you're so difficult to buy for." Louis smiled. "You're not." "Chere, do you mean to say you've already bought my Christmas gift?" Louis nodded, a mischievous glint in his eye. "What is it? Where is it?" he immediately followed, looking around. "It's not under the tree yet. Where did you hide it?" Louis smirked and snuggled closer. "If you're good, you might find out where it is." Lestat gave his lover a predatory grin and turned on his side, preparing for a full sexual assault that Louis submissively surrendered to. Half an hour, tops, he thought to himself. Then maybe he'll find the ring in my left pocket. Ten minutes later, Lestat was still smothering him in kisses, intending to draw the romantic interlude out for all it was worth. Louis grinned. Perhaps an hour, then. Such a nice Christmas gift. The End
