Never did Louis think he would ever walk in the daylight again. Part of him still had a hard time believing it. When Lestat had woken him the day before to tell him he’d thought he was pulling a cruel prank or dreaming, but it was no dream. He had tentatively stepped outside into the gray, cloudy day and waited for something to happen, but nothing did. He’d simply stood there looking all around at the city then up to the sunless sky. If he believed in miracles this was one.
Currently Louis left his apartment and made his way out the front doors of The Station. It was another gloomy, gray day with no sun in sight and he couldn’t have been happier. It was always in the back of his head that the sun could come back at any time, that this strange weather could disappear in an instant, but he’d watched the weather and the next week was nothing but storms, cloudy days, and no sun. If this was how he met his end then so be it. At least he had a few days in the ‘light’.
He walked to the edge of the sidewalk and there he stood waiting for Quentin. He wanted to surprise his boyfriend and knew he would be coming home soon.
This weather was the sleeping in kind and never wanting to leave the bed (especially if it was occupied by his boyfriend), yet there Quentin was, slogging back toward his apartment as the rain added insult to the Monday injury. His umbrella had given up the ghost halfway there in the sign of ultimate betrayal. Q sighed and blew out the river currently cascading down his face. Those gray skies were definitely reflective of his current mood, which would stay that way until he got inside and took a hot shower.
He saw someone standing on the sidewalk, and smiled the instant he recognized him. "Hey, look, it's my hot boyfriend!"
Two more steps were taken toward him when what he saw caught up with him. Q froze within an arm's length and stared, mouth agape. "Louis! You're outside! And it's daytime!"
Louis watched the other approach, a soft smile on his face. The first time seeing him in daylight. Even with the gray gloom of the day and the rain that him soaked through, he was beautiful. "Hello, Quentin," he replied casually, waiting for what he saw to catch up with his brain.
"Yes, I am." He stepped closer to the other man. "Isn't it glorious!" He picked Quentin up and spun around with him, laughing and smiling. "Look at it, Quentin." He sat him down. "Isn't it beautiful?" Most wouldn't call such a day beautiful, but for him, seeing the world in the daylight was more than he could ever hope for. "It's the cloudy, stormy, gray day blocking out the sun. It's...It's..." He couldn't find the words as he looked around in awe.
Clinging to his neck even once he was one his feet again, Q's laugh mingled with his boyfriend's. His mind was swirling with questions, the most prevalent of which was how? how? how?—none of which mattered in the face of the reality that was Louis standing outside during the day. All thoughts of his work day and the nightmares that had been haunting his subconscious since Saturday went by the wayside. He didn't even care about the cold rain soaking every inch of him or the thunder continually rumbling overhead. All he could do was watch and listen and marvel. "You're beautiful," Quentin murmured, freeing a hand to cup Louis's cheek. "You are beautiful. I can't really see anything else but you."
He took a shivering breath, a little overwhelmed by the sheer force of his feeling, but beamed at Louis on the other side of it. "What should we go out and do? What do you want to see? Where do you want to go? I want to do everything with you!"
Louis stared into Quentin’s face with a smile that felt as if it would never leave. If this was some strange dream, please let it last a little longer was his only thought. He leaned down to capture his boyfriend's lips in a kiss, soft at first then more passionate as he poured everything he felt for him into it. It was on the tip of his tongue to say those three little words, but he held back. He didn’t want to take a chance on somehow ruining this moment or making things awkward.
“Everything, I want to see and do everything.” He laughed and went in for another kiss. “First we need to get you inside to dry off and warm up. And dry clothes obviously. Do you want to meet me in my apartment in….however long it takes you to get ready?” He chuckled. “I just want to share this with you.”
The kiss left Quentin reeling. Honestly, it was only Louis's arms around him keeping him upright. He swayed into his boyfriend's chest, hands and lips tingling. It was right where he wanted to be anyway. "Okay, but if I can offer a potentially very silly counterpoint? What if I just dropped my bag off and maybe grabbed some rain boots, and we go just like this? With this storm, not even an umbrella is going to help, and I hate rain ponchos. They just make me hot. And not in the good way. I don't want to wait, I just want to take you all over."
“As much as I would like that if you stay in those clothes you run the chance of getting sick and I don’t want that. At least change and borrow an umbrella from Julia. Please, for me.” He looked pleadingly into Quentin’s eyes and smiled. He wasn’t as wet as the other, but an umbrella wouldn’t hurt or a rain poncho, though he didn’t own one. “If we get wet after, then so be it, but you’re soaked.” He took Quentin’s hand and pulled him into The Station. “Meet me here in the lobby in ten minutes.” He stole a kiss then practically ran off to his apartment.
When he came back out to the lobby he had an umbrella and jacket. “Where are we going? You can choose.” He was practically vibrating and yes, he was still smiling.
Well, there was no way he could argue with those big pleading eyes, even if a part of him still wanted to protest. The way Quentin flew upstairs and changed into dry clothes could have given a superhero speedster a run for their money. His mind was still swirling with the reality of Louis being outside. In the daytime. Where they could wander around wherever, whenever. It made it hard for him to think of things they could see and do. As he tugged on his rain boots and grabbed a hoodie, he looked up a list of sightseeing spots in easy walking distance.
Q nearly tackled into Louis when he saw him again. He definitely rushed into his arms and caught him in a joyful kiss. "I'm not going to suggest we head back up to one of our rooms, even if that could be fun, but totally wasteful to showing you the city while it's still light out. We've got about three hours of daytime, so maybe we should stick to something within walking distance? The Painted Ladies are about thirty minutes away. There's also Haight-Ashbury, but it's a little further. I checked the forecast, too, and it looks like this system won't let up for a few days, so maybe I could take off a couple of days from work? That way we can check out all kinds of things!"
Louis laughed into the kiss, kissing him back again and again. “That sounds like something you would suggest,” he teased then kissed him again. “But I want to see and do things, so I’m being a bit selfish.” He just knew this would never happen again and he wanted to see and do as much as he could. “You’d take a few days off work for me? You’re the best!” He pulled Quentin closed, hugging him tightly. There went that feeling again which he ignored.
“Let’s go!” Once more he practically pulled Quentin along and outside. It left him awe struck every time he saw the daylight. He reached for Quentin’s hand as they walked. It was almost a brisk walk. “I want to see the flower gardens in Golden Gate Park one day. I know there’s a lot to do in there, but if there’s a not so rainy day this week I’d like to lay on a blanket under a tree with you and just be. Snuggle, cuddle and kiss while enjoying the day for a little while.” Louis also fully intended to do something with Lestat, but they’d made no plans as of yet.
The wind and rain conspired to drive Quentin against his boyfriend. He didn't mind in the slightest. Sure, they couldn't exactly share body heat, but just being by Louis's side warmed him immeasurably. "You'd look beautiful in a garden. I'm not sure I'd be able to admire the flowers. We should totally go. And then we can find the densest tree in San Francisco and pretend we're the only ones in the world for a while." Q squeezed his hand and raised it to kiss the back of it before looking over at him. A tightness in his throat made it hard to swallow, and his heart thundered in his ear, but if he didn't say it now, he was going to explode. "I love you, Louis."
Louis prayed Quentin wouldn't get sick. He worried about that. He would go out tomorrow and buy him a rain poncho whether he liked it or not. They could both wear one and not look hot. He tightened his hold on the other’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “You flatter me so, beautiful. We’re going to do just that. You and me.” His cheeks would be sore at this rate, but he didn’t care. The world was completely different in the daylight and he didn’t want to miss anything.
Louis came to a stop though when Quentin spoke the words that had been in his own head, the ones he wasn’t sure it was the right timing for. He turned to look at him, lost for a moment in his beauty and how good the man always made him feel. “I love you, Quentin. I really do.” He cupped his face tilting it upward then kissed him. The falling rain and wind would only make this moment more memorable.
At this rate, Quentin's heart was going to trip right out of his chest. He was trembling all over, and it had nothing to do with with the rain. He knew it was soon, so he hadn't really expected to hear the words returned. They echoed in his ears and in his head while he fell into the kiss and even more in love with Louis. Looking back to the one from earlier, when Louis had made his toes curl in their cold, wet socks, he wondered if that had been his vampire's way of showing him the depths of his feelings.
In a way, Q feared he may have stolen the moment from him. But if Louis's thoughts were in any way a reflection of his own, he wouldn't have been surprised to find him relieved to know how Quentin felt before he'd flung his heart out there first. "I wasn't sure if you were there yet, but it wouldn't have changed how I felt, and I had to tell you. I've been wanting to for a while."
He sighed, lips pursing slightly as he debated saying more. This was important to get out there, however. "After Eliot— I wasn't sure if my heart could do that anymore. To love someone like this. It felt cracked open. Broken. And you—" Quentin choked on a laugh that was also a half-sob. "You came in, and not only did you fill in those cracks, you made my heart feel whole. How could I not love you for that and for everything you are and everything we could be together?"
Louis could hear Quentin's heart hammering in his chest, feel him tremble. "You had nothing to fear, but I understand what you mean. Wanting to say those words, proclaim them out loud, but scared of what the other person may think or how they might react. I'm so glad you said them. I was afraid of not hearing them back or making things awkward." Or feeling rejected. Love was a tricky thing sometimes.
As Quentin spoke Louis felt his emotions rise up, tears sprang to his eyes and even amongst the rain drops, he felt them fall down his cheeks. He wasn't sad or upset. His words were overwhelming in a really beautiful and powerful way. No one had ever said anything like that to him and in a way he felt unworthy. "I am just me. Louis, the vampire from New Orleans." He stroked his cheek, staring at him in awe. "Thank you. If I had any part in helping heal your heart, then it is I who is grateful that you would allow me into your heart. You deserve love and happiness, Quentin. And I will do my very best to ensure you always have it for as long as you are mine."
Louis thought a moment before speaking again. “You are my beating heart. In you I found love, happiness, friendship, a world I thought I would never be part of again. You are everything to me.”
At this rate, they weren't actually going to get anywhere, especially with the way Quentin wound his arms around Louis and pulled them close together. It took him a moment to realize he was crying. He could taste the salt of it on his lips when he kissed Louis over and over again. There were wedding vows out there that weren't half as romantic as what Louis had said, and it made Q feel absolutely untouchable by the brain gremlins that sometimes liked to come out to play. They were completely absent now, banished to the ether of his thoughts. "You should try your hand at writing, sweetheart. You'd leave the masses in a puddle." He took his hand again, interlacing their fingers. "You're my heart, too, just so we're clear. I'll always be happy to share mine, because that's what you are: mine. We should keep going before I get pruny. Or pruny-er."
Those kisses, he could get lost in them and perhaps would have had Quentin not spoken. “Maybe I should see if Hallmark is hiring,” he laughed. That laughter tapered off and he nodded. “All yours, love.” He laughed again and they carried back on their way. Louis felt lighter, happier than he thought he would ever be. Love. In love. It had been so long since he’d felt that for someone. On top of all that it was a human who had wrapped him around his pinky and brought it all to him. What would Lestat think if he learned Louis and Quentin were in love? As it were, he’d already questioned why he was with a human.
He pushed those thoughts away. The only person he wanted to think about was right beside him. “I wish I could drink champagne and we could celebrate.” Suddenly a sly grin crossed his lips. “How do you feel about tattoos?”
Quentin laughed, a bright explosive sound that filled the space between the raindrops. "Well, I already have the one on my back, so what's one more?" He knew Louis wasn't serious. They were in love, not out of their minds. It awakened his curiosity, though. "Can you get a tattoo? Like, don't they have to heal and stuff? Mine was magical and hurt like hell. Zero out of ten, do not recommend magical tattoos. And now I'm babbling. This is a side effect of the whole happiness thing. Sorry, not sorry?"
“Yes, I can get a tattoo. I can heal too. In fact, I heal more quickly than humans.” He was very serious about a tattoo. To him it seemed better than matching necklaces or rings. Those were nice and all, but he liked the idea of something more permanent. “Is that your way of saying no to a tattoo? I think it would be a fine way to celebrate and mark our love.” He had no idea where such an idea had even come from, but the more he thought about it, the more the vampire liked it.
"Oh." If they'd still been walking, it would have been Quentin's turn to stop short. As it was, he froze in place. The span of recent years unspooled in his head. His track record for spontaneous decisions was wildly inconsistent. From the badly timed threesome which set off months of tragedy and heartbreak to an impulsive kiss that ultimately led to the beauty of all life. Many people in his life called him brave, but Q didn't really see that in himself.
But when he made a decision, he jumped in with both feet. This time was no different. Quentin shut his mouth, grabbed Louis's hand again, and began leading him to the closest overhang that would get them out of the rain.
The vampire stopped when Quentin did, watching him, wondering what was going on in that head of his. He’d said too much. The tattoo idea was too impulsive. Who does that with someone they’ve only known a couple of months? He was high on being in the daylight and the loved they’d confessed to each other. Before he could speak again Quentin was pulling him over to an overhang where they could get out of the rain. He still worried about the other getting sick being out in this weather.
“Are we there yet?” He teased. “The tattoo idea was just me being silly. High on daylight,” he chuckled.
"Shush." Q glanced up at him with fond exasperation as he pulled out his phone and began tapping quickly. "I'm looking up tattoo places that take walk-ins and are close." Fate must have been smiling, because he found one right away. He grinned and turned his screen toward his boyfriend. "Gold Leaf Ink—it's only about a fifteen minute walk from where we're going. What do you want to get? Something matching? Our initials, but fancy? This place has really nice line art."
“You really want to get them?” Louis looked at the screen and smiled. He couldn’t have told anyone why the idea appealed to him, but then again he didn’t have to explain himself to anyone. “Something matching. Maybe with our initials under it? What do you want to get?” Hearts were too cliche, right? Though he kind of like it as Quentin was his heart. “Come on! Let's get going to the Painted Ladies. The quicker we get there, the quicker we get to the tattoo parlor."
He looped his arm around Quentin as they walked. What a day this was turning into. He felt so incredibly happy. Soon they came up on the brightly painted houses and stopped. “This would look so different at night,” he spoke quietly, taking it all in.
Getting to the iconic houses had been a blur, but a happy one. He could not have called the way his gloomy day had gone in the slightest, and Quentin was totally okay with it. The rain, the sleeplessness, the nightmares—they couldn't touch him now anyway. He stayed tucked up against Louis's side, arms looped around his middle. Even in the middle of this storm, the Painted Ladies were vibrant.
Nothing compared to the wattage of Louis's smile.
"I imagine they'd be a washed out orange in the sodium street lights. Still a color, but the wrong one." Q leaned his head on his boyfriend's shoulder and could hold off no longer. "Should we get something with line art or colors, or both?"
“They’re beautiful.” His eye was drawn to the blue and how he wished he could see the crystal blue waters of his youth. Maybe someday. In the moment, he actually believed that could be possible. He turned to look at Quentin. “I’m afraid I don’t know what line art is. Sorry.” He paused trying to decide if he should say something. “I wa…I’d like a heart. I know it’s cliched and over done, but you are my heart and I’d like something to reflect that. Is there a specific design you want?” They could combine them or come up with a compromise.
The hesitation made Q's stomach drop, but it swooped right back up until he was grinning so hard it hurt. He turned and put his hands on Louis's shoulders, making sure he wasn't putting himself between his boyfriend and the landmark they were there to see. "Line art really just means the black lines of a tattoo with no shading or anything. And a heart sounds absolutely perfect. I'm sure when we get there, they'll have lots of things to choose from. A heart with an L for me, and a heart with a Q for you. Yeah. I love it. But not nearly as much as I love you."
Louis looked into Quentin’s face when he stood in front of him. He couldn’t help thinking he’d said something wrong for a moment. “Thank you for explaining that to me. I’d like some color in them.” How did he do it? How did Quentin come up with the perfect idea for their tattoo? “I love that so much!” The vampire exclaimed, already imagining what it might look like on them. “You’re amazing.” He leaned in for a kiss. “We need to get out of this rain. Let's get going to the tattoo shop. And Quentin, I love you and I know we’re out in this weather, but you look sexy.” He stole another kiss then literally took off running, grinning and looking over his shoulder to see if the other was following.
Honestly, how was he supposed to keep up with a supernatural wonder when he'd just been left breathless and pink cheeked? The kiss lingered as much as the compliment did, and Quentin still wasn't used to receiving the latter quite so earnestly. But neither could have kept him from chasing after Louis and finally catching up to take his hand, which he held all the way to the shop and the wait at the shop where they looked at designs and talked to the artists, fortunate in that the place was deserted and they'd had several cancellations because of the weather. The only time they were physically separated was for the inking itself, but they were in side-by-side chairs and kept up a steady stream of conversation with each other and their artists.
A couple of hours later, the rain hadn't let up and it was truly dark out, but what did it matter when they both were sporting new tattoos? Q took Louis's hand and felt electricity sizzle up his arms where their fingers were tangled together. It shot straight toward the new ink he had on his chest. "We did this. We really did this!"
Louis did slow down and together they made it to the tattoo shop. They found a design they both liked and before he knew it they we re sitting in chairs. Did it hurt? Some, but mostly he didn’t notice because of what the heart represented and the man beside him.
When they were finished he looked down at the tattoo and then got a better view in a mirror, but the best view was looking over at his boyfriend and seeing the matching heart on his chest with his initial in the middle. The vampire felt the same electricity as they held hands. “We really did it!” He grinned with a chuckle. “They’re perfect. Let's go home.”
The area where the tattoo was tingled with that same current of electricity as they made their way back to the apartments, talking, laughing and acting like two people lost in love.