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( nick hasn't been sober since yesterday, which is probably why it's so easy for him to look delighted as he spins around to find louis. he pulls the other into a hug, that's as much an excuse to drape himself onto something supportive as it is a real greeting, and when he pulls back he's still grinning. )

You came, that's so fun. ( intoxication aside, nick really is pleased to see him, and he flaps a hand in a quick motion towards a side door not far from them. )

I need a cigarette, come with me?

( louis is as startled as he is charmed by the sudden unexpected hug. drunken impulse or no, it warms louis's cold dead heart to the core, and he makes a quiet vow to do what he can to keep this boy safe. )

Of course I came. I wanted to see you. I'm actually quite fond of you, you know... not many people invite me drinking, nor would they think to call me fun.

( louis keeps a steady, companionable arm around nick as they head for the door and out into the chilly night air of the down. he's stronger than he looks by quite a large margin, and he doesn't mind being a support structure. )

Ah... could I trouble you for one of your cigarettes?

There's no accounting for taste.

( nick technically is managing to keep himself upright and moving on his own, but there's no denying that it's a hell of a lot easter with louis there to help. nick more or less immediately winds an arm around his waist, giving up only to slip through the door and hold it open behind him for louis. )

I think I can spare one, just for you. ( he fishes a packet out of his pocket – squints at them for a minute to make sure they're the actual cigarettes – and then tugs one out for himself before handing the whole pack over. louis' pockets are probably safer than his anyway.

he's using a lighter, in part because showy magic tricks are tacky but also because he has zero faith in his own ability to not burn his face off, and nick grins as he leans back against louis' side, holding the lighter out for the other man. ) Why do people not think you're fun?

( louis's eyebrows raise in slight surprise as he's handed the whole pack, but he shakes one cigarette free without comment and tucks the rest away inside a coat pocket for safekeeping. once his own cigarette is lit, he lifts it to his lips and takes a slow drag before exhaling. it doesn't do anything for him physically — nonfunctional long-dead lungs — but the ritual is calming. )

Ah... I have what they once called a "melancholy disposition."

( louis hadn't intended to talk about himself at all, but it isn't as if he minds doing so, particularly if it provides any kind of distraction. )

I think too much, and too often about unpleasant things. ( he shrugs one shoulder, watching nick in the dark with quiet, catlike focus. ) Some people prefer not to dwell on what they cannot change, but I'm afraid I can't help it. I want the world to be a kinder place.

Ah — but that reminds me. Your flowers, the ones that you let me take home? They're growing beautifully.

Kind of hard not to think about unpleasant things here.

( somehow, accidentally, he's ended a shade closer to real talking than he wants to do, but the grin manages not to slip all the same. nick is very good at that by now, and the moment passes along with the drag of a cigarette.

besides, the flowers. it's hard not to be genuinely thrilled thinking about the idea of them flourishing, even if the mood of that little meet up had been fairly morose. that had been another way of coping with the awful things this city could throw at him – probably a little healthier, but nick likes this way far better. )

I knew you'd be good to them. They just want to be treated well, you know? A little positive attention goes a long way. ( they were, after all, made by nick. he nudges up louis' arm, until he's able to wedge himself underneath it. positive attention. ) Did you think about what I said?

( louis doesn't mind the closeness at all, as it turns out, and he settles his arm more comfortably and firmly around nick's shoulders to let him know it's perfectly all right. though it does take him slightly by surprise, and he blinks slightly owlishly down at him as he asks: )

What you said?

( it's vague enough, and nick drunk enough, that he isn't quite sure. )

About getting drunk.

( this, very evidently, is nowhere near as significant an offer to nick as it is to louis. he says it casually, offhand, between one drag of his cigarette and the next. it isn't until he looks back at louis and sees his expression that he thinks maybe it isn't entirely typical, to be quite so flippant about the situation. )

I've done it before, if you're worried about that. I can— you know, witch shit. Heal, a little. If you want, no pressure.

( louis can hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears — but more pressingly, he's suddenly intensely aware of nick's heartbeat, quick and warm and mortal. his fangs feel long and sharp in his mouth, and he presses his lips together, fighting the urge to swallow anxiously and give away his own nervousness.

some ash falls from his cigarette. )

... Ah. Yes. That.

( he shifts a little, uncertain down to his core, though he keeps his arm around nick. the offer is... flattering. naive, louis thinks, even if he has done this sort of thing before. but he's touched nonetheless that nick would offer not because louis needs to feed, but simply because he enjoys his company. that's never happened before. )

You've done it? It wasn't — it wasn't painful for you? ( he knows the bite feels good, or it can, but... still, louis frowns a little, clearly worried. he doesn't want to take advantage of nick in this condition, lovely and warm and flushed with blood though he might be. ) You know you aren't obligated to share simply because I can't... because of what I am. I like you quite well as you are, blood or no.

( in a show of surprising clarity for a very drunk nick, he decides very quickly that louis doesn't need to know the full context for how and why he's done this before. more often than not, anyway. )

It's not nothing, but it's not not that dramatic. It's just a bite.

( nick has, in the past, been accused of having a vampire kink — and there's probably some degree of truth to that if he's really honest with himself, but this isn't that at all. shockingly, he's really not trying some convoluted way of sleeping with louis right now, nick just...wants him to have a good time.

it's nice. low pressure.

nick smiles, and tries (and fails) to blow a smoke ring before he holds his wrist out in louis' direction. not in his face, just an offer. more than that, a pretty clear indicator that he's quite happy with his choice. )

I mean you can go for the neck if you really want, but you don't seem like the type.

( that startles a quiet but genuine laugh out of him. still, it takes louis a moment to redirect his gaze from the delicate web of veins in nick's wrist and meet his eyes again. )

"The type"?

( he has to ask. )

You know...

( nick, helpfully, decides to take another drag of his cigarette halfway through finishing this thought. he also wedges himself a bit more closely into louis' side, under his arm — but that's less about dramatic flourish and more about it being pleasant. )

Vampires, but make it horny?

( louis laughs. at first it's just one quiet disbelieving huff of breath, and then an actual chuckle tumbles out of him, low and clear and genuine. )

Yes, of course. "Make it horny."

( he enunciates each syllable in his subtle french accent, completely amused by the turn of phrase. )

You're right, I'm not the type. Or I don't intend to be, at least. ( his eyes are bright as he presses his lips together, unable to repress his little smile even as they discuss what he thinks is a rather dark topic. ) The wrist is safer.

I am all about safe.

( he says it very earnestly, tone serious and entirely at odds with the amused grin on his face. pointedly not thinking about all the times when he's been decidedly unsafe about exactly this — there's no need to sully a good time with nick's smutty little history, after all. there is a temptation to pull at that thread — i don't intend to be isn't the same as i'm not — but it's detached, a mild curiosity easily put away, not a burning desire. the far more interesting thing to him is louis, here, having a good time. if all he has to sacrifice for that is a little blood, it seems like a great deal. )

Chomp away, dude. ( he grins wider, all very silly and light hearted like it's all no big deal, and he even drops a little wink just to really drum that home. if nick is completely at ease with the situation — which he is, clearly — then he imagines louis probably will be a little less fraught over the whole thing. ) If you want to.

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