Chapter Text
It was possible that Claudia’s dorm room had never been messier.
Textbooks were scattered, half of them propped open with scrawled-on papers and paper tabs sticking from them. A long-abandoned iced coffee had turned into a thick, disgusting sludge, and her garbage can was filled with cups of similar fates.
Finals had taken priority over everything else in her life for the last month, leaving little room for much else, including cleaning and packing for her summer-long trip around Europe.
A few weeks from the end of the semester, she received a lucrative offer for an internship at one of the top law firms in Chicago. It was an opportunity that would be an incredible start for her career, helping get her foot in the door with the added bonus of looking amazing on her resume.
She had told her grandmother this in excitement, but instead of congratulating her, Gabrielle immediately swore and cursed her fathers out for making Claudia think that her career was more important than living her life. She offered an alternative and, feeling the weight of her studies and pressure from her parents, Claudia agreed. The trip details were sitting in her inbox the next morning.
As she tried to discern if she needed to pack any of her study materials, she heard her father’s voice in her head nagging her about it.
With a groan, she grabbed a few of her test prep books and threw them in her backpack, alongside a myriad of highlighters and colorful tabs. She'd never tell him, but Lestat was right. She needed to study.
Before she could pack anything else, her phone lit up with a call.
“Yes ma’am?” Claudia said in greeting.
Her grandmother let out a huff in protest, “Christ, Claudia. Am I old enough to be a ma’am?”
“Force of habit, sorry,” Claudia apologized with a laugh, throwing scattered shoes behind her as she moved into her closet. “What’s up?”
“I was calling to make sure that you didn’t pack any work,” Gabrielle said. “Because if you do, I’m going to throw it away the first chance I get. And that’s a guarantee.”
“Mémé, I need to study,” Claudia protested with a whine. “I can’t take the whole summer off.”
“You can and you will,” Gabrielle argued. “You’re twenty years-old. You need to take some time off and live. Lord knows your parents certainly did.”
“Papa’s been on my ass about studying, and I actually cannot listen to another lecture about how I have to ‘prepare for my future.’”
Gabrielle barked out a laugh, “Please, I can handle him. Don’t worry about that.”
“Thank you,” Claudia said. She wasted no time in emptying her backpack, the books tumbling out with a thud. “With those out of the way, I’ll have so much more space.”
“And you won’t have to lug them around,” Gabrielle pointed out. “Oh, and don’t forget your camera, too. Your phone won’t do any of the sights justice.”
Claudia glanced around her room and found her camera bag hanging off a hook on her door, now long forgotten. The camera had been a gift from Louis when she’d moved to college. Much too lavish of a camera to have at her age and lack of photography skills, but her dad never did anything halfway.
Thinking back through her childhood, she can remember every one of her birthdays and Christmases spent opening gift after gift of insanely expensive, luxury items that she didn’t need. Then she would go to her other parent’s house and reenact the same routine.
A part of her knew that her dads gave her the gifts out of love, but another more jaded, callous part of her knew they only did it to one-up the other. To tell the other - without explicitly saying so - that they were doing better in life.
Setting aside her resentment, she placed her camera bag beside her backpack. “Got it.”
“Good. Now, I need to get going, but I’m glad I got to talk to you before the ceremony. I’m so proud of you, ma petite fille."
"Thank you," Claudia smiled.
“I’m looking forward to our little adventure together. And good luck with your fathers tonight,” Gabrielle chuckled again. “If they give you a hard time, just send them my way and I’ll straighten them out.”
Claudia laughed, “Will do.”
“I'll see you tomorrow.”
“See you,” Claudia replied, hanging up and taking in her chaotic mess of a room again.
There were four hours left until she needed to be ready.
She sat down at her desk and started making a list of everything she needed to get done - pack for the trip, take out her trash, tidy her room, and get dressed for the graduation ceremony.
Feeling much more optimistic about her odds, she put on some music to keep herself motivated, and before she knew it, she was packed for the trip, her room was spotless, and she still had two hours before she had to head out.
She settled herself at her vanity to start getting ready when her phone lit up with another call.
“Hey, Dad,” Claudia greeted.
“Hey, baby girl,” Louis replied sweetly. “How are you feeling?”
“Feelin’ fine, I’m getting ready now,” Claudia responded, swiping on some primer.
“Okay, I won’t keep you too long, then,” Louis said. “I’m here, steaming my outfit, and I found myself wondering where I’m sitting. Not that it matters. To me, I mean. I don’t really care. I was just… curious. Put me anywhere, and I’m happy. As long as I see you graduate, it doesn’t matter to me at all,” Louis finished, letting out a forced laugh.
“Are you okay?"
Claudia heard the steamer give a loud hiss as Louis responded, “All I’m sayin’ is that I don’t care where I’m sitting, but I want to know. Just in case.”
“In case of wh―“ Claudia began to reply but was interrupted by her phone buzzing again. She glanced down and sighed. Their timing was always impeccable. Sometimes, it felt purposeful.
“Hold on, it’s Papa,” Claudia said, putting Louis on hold as she answered Lestat’s call. “Hey, sorry. Dad’s on the other line.”
“Don’t tell him I said hi,” Lestat growled before brightening his tone for her. “I’ll make this quick; I called to see where I’m going to be seated for the ceremony.”
Claudia sighed, “You’re not sitting together, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I wasn’t worried... but I suppose that's nice to know.”
Claudia could hear their arguments already. It’s times like this that she wished she had a sibling so she had someone to share the burden with.
“You’re on opposite sides of the auditorium, which is the size of Rhode Island.”
“The smallest state,” Lestat pointed out, and she rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Don’t roll your eyes at me, Claudia.”
“I would never.”
“Sure,” Lestat said, disbelieving. “I’ll see you after the ceremony. Are we having dinner?”
“I’m not having two dinners, so if you two can agree to be civil, yes.”
“I can be civil,” Lestat argued. “I was always the civil one. Your dad on the other hand… I don’t think he’d know what civility was if it bit him on the ass.”
“But you’re not bitter,” she said under her breath.
“What was that?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly. “I’ll see you at the ceremony, where you’ll be on your best behavior. Right?”
“Of course. And make sure you tell that to Louis too. I wouldn’t want him to get confused.”
“Please.”
“Just teasing. Civil is my middle name,” Lestat responded. “I’ll see you later, ma princesse. I love you.”
“Love you.”
With that, Lestat hung up, and Claudia switched back to the call with Louis.
“Sorry about that,” Claudia said. “Papa says hi.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Louis scoffed. “So… back to the seating arrangements…”
“You’re nowhere near each other, don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried,” Louis said, and she knew he was pursing his lips in the way he always did when talking about Lestat. “He's the one that should be worried.”
Claudia looked to the ceiling in frustration. “I don’t want to deal with you guys being at each other’s necks the entire day. I’m stressed enough as is.”
“I’m joking, I’m joking,” Louis reassured her. “I'm always nice! And now I’m going to be so nice to him, he’ll think there’s something wrong with me.”
“You promise? No sniping, no arguing, no passive aggression?”
“Is aggressive aggression still on the table?”
“Dad,” Claudia warned.
“I promise, honey, I can keep myself in check,” Louis said. “Do you want me to make a dinner reservation?”
“Yes, make it for three.”
“Are you bringing a friend?”
“For the three of us,” Claudia replied. “Papa said it would be fine. Can you handle that?”
“If he can, then I definitely can,” he said, his voice only slightly betraying his true feelings on the matter. “I love you.”
“Love you,” Claudia responded before hanging up.
If they follow through on their promises, everything would be fine. If they didn’t… well, at least it was only one night.
Rifling through her purse, she fished out their tickets and cursed her past self. She’d worked herself to the bone studying and taking finals that when she picked out their seats, she hadn’t been thinking straight.
For Louis: Section C, Row A, Seat 1.
For Lestat: Section C, Row A, Seat 2.
In the hard plastic seat, Louis straightened his tie, unbuttoned his suit jacket, straightened his tie once more, and willed himself to relax. He was struggling to keep his mind off of a certain someone who was also in the auditorium, so he busied himself by reading through the ceremony’s program.
Quickly, he found Claudia’s blurb. She was graduating with high honors with about a million cords and sashes from her extracurriculars. On top of that, she was graduating two years early. He felt a swell of pride at her accomplishments and at the woman she’d become.
He checked his watch and saw that they only had a few minutes before the ceremony started. He heard a throat clear beside him and he looked up, a groan leaving his lips before he could stop it.
“You’ve got to be joking,” Louis groaned.
“You’re in my seat,” Lestat pointed out, tapping his foot impatiently.
Louis was unable to stop himself from taking in Lestat’s appearance. He looked as though he just stepped out of a copy of Vogue. Blond hair tucked neatly behind his ears, falling over his shoulders in effortless curls, making it seem like he hadn’t spent an hour primping and preening when Louis knew for a fact that he had. His trim figure was dressed in a crisp, tailored herringbone suit with a notched lapel that was more expensive than anything any other parent was wearing.
“Just sit down, Lestat,” Louis snapped, aware of the unwanted attention they were beginning to receive.
“You’re in my seat,” Lestat said, crossing his arms over his chest. “This isn’t a free-for-all, Louis. You can’t sit anywhere your heart desires.”
All these years later, it was almost comforting to know that Lestat still acted like he was a child when he didn’t get his way.
“You’re ridiculous,” Louis huffed, getting out of Lestat’s seat to shift to the empty one beside it.
Lestat gave him a triumphant grin as he took his seat, and in a selfish, greedy moment of weakness, Louis eyed Lestat’s left hand. No ring.
“Hm, still single?” Louis questioned, unable to stop the pleased smile from spreading across his face.
Lestat gave him a sharp glare, “Don’t smile at me like that, you look like a shark. One of those freaky ones that live at the bottom of the ocean that are all teeth.”
Louis was pleased that he’d got a reaction out of him that quickly. “Tell me if I’m wrong, but it’s been what… almost ten years since you had a date?” He wondered aloud. “I think Claudia was still in braces.”
Lestat scoffed, “At least I don’t date your exes.”
It took everything in Louis to not kick him. “I don't know how many times I have to tell you that I didn’t know about y'all and Armand didn't know about us.”
Lestat laughed, a cold, heartless laugh that Louis always hated being on the receiving end of. He suppressed the fight rising in him.
“I believe that you didn’t know. Him on the other hand…”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Lestat ignored Louis’ line of questioning. “This is exactly why I asked Claudia to not seat us together. I knew this was going to happen.”
“What? You knew you were going to be an asshole? I could have told you that.”
“You know what? I told Claudia that I was going―”
Louis shushed him. “It’s starting.”
Lestat turned to him, mouth open in shock. “Don’t shush me.”
“Hush.”
“I can’t believe you’re actually shushing me! You’re the one that started this,” Lestat exclaimed. “If anyone’s allowed to―”
“Shut up.”
As the ceremony began and the students settled in their seats, Louis searched through the crowd of students to try and find Claudia. He found her sitting at attention in the second row, listening intently as the dean droned on about the importance of the graduates setting themselves up for success.
Nudging Lestat, he pointed toward Claudia, who looked up at them with a radiant smile and an enthusiastic wave. They both returned the wave just as eagerly.
After wiping a few tears away, Louis put his elbow on the armrest, only to find Lestat’s forearm covering it.
“Excuse you, that’s my armrest.”
“No, it’s not,” Lestat protested. “It’s in the middle and I don't have another one.”
“Lestat de Lioncourt, everybody. All he does is take, take, take.”
“It’s an armrest, it's not a metaphor for anything.”
“Give me half, please. I would like half.”
“I’m not giving you anything.”
Names were still being called in the background, but all of Louis’ attention was focused on the armrest.
“How fucking old are you?” He hissed.
“How old am I? How old are you? You’ve got a perfectly fine armrest on the other side.”
“I just want half.”
Lestat let out a hearty laugh. "Hah, that sounds fam―”
“Claudia de Lioncourt de Pointe du Lac!” The dean called out.
Louis and Lestat jumped up from their seats and began clapping wildly as Claudia stood from her seat and began walking towards the stage.
“Take a picture,” Louis said, his eyes tracking Claudia.
“Why can’t you take one?” Lestat challenged.
“I’m in the moment.”
“Then why do you need a picture?”
“So I can remember the moment.”
“Oh, so I have to be out of the moment? That’s not fair.”
“Just take the fucking picture,” Louis ground out.
“Love you!” Lestat shouted at Claudia as she shook the dean’s hand and accepted her diploma.
“Love you more!” Louis yelled. “So proud!”
“I’m prouder,” Lestat whispered.
Claudia beamed up at them, holding up her diploma with a huge smile on her face. Louis pulled out his phone and snapped a quick picture before she got shuffled off stage and back to her seat.
“She has my smile,” Louis quipped to Lestat as they sat back down, ignoring the irritated looks from other parents.
“And it’s a blessing she didn’t get your personality, too.”
The restaurant Louis had chosen was one of his favorites in the city. He frequented it often with Armand for a date night or for business dinners with their new and existing clients. He’d called in a favor to get them in that night, as the restaurant was filled with other graduates and their families celebrating. When he got home, he already knew Armand was going to be frustratingly mute about taking Lestat here, but he wasn’t going deny Claudia anything just because of him.
Louis’ gaze followed the hostess walking from them until it fell on Lestat outside the windows, talking on a business call with a serious expression on his face with his hands waving madly, the rings covering his fingers glinting brightly in the sun.
The sight rocketed Louis back to one of their biggest fights they had as a married couple.
Claudia was turning four.
Louis and Gabrielle spent the weeks leading up to her birthday organizing her party, curating the guest list, preparing the decorations, and ordering a million gifts for her.
Lestat wasn’t able to help with the planning because his newest case was taking up his days and nights - filled with paperwork and tense, near-shouting arguments and meetings with his team.
Louis went to bed alone often in those few months, and heard Lestat’s voicemail more than his actual voice.
He remembered getting an earful about the case at the time, but now… sixteen years later, he couldn’t recall a single detail.
When the day of the party came, Lestat had been tied up at the office, leaving Louis alone as Claudia badgered him incessantly about where her Papa was. Louis called Lestat in a frustrated rage, demanding he come home immediately.
He wanted to be with his husband for their daughter’s birthday and their daughter deserved to have both of her fathers there for her, work be damned.
Lestat showed up a short ten minutes later, putting on a happy face for Claudia and a furious one for Louis. Lestat had paraded himself around to the guests as though he’d planned the whole party, as if he’d helped with any part of it besides the bill.
Right when Claudia was about to blow out the candles on her birthday cake, Louis looked around to find Lestat, only to find him on his phone on the back patio.
Louis exploded, which meant that Lestat exploded. They fought and yelled so viciously that Claudia had run outside to beg them to stop with tears streaming down her chubby cheeks and her birthday crown askew.
With a shake of his head, Louis brought himself back to the present, to Claudia sitting across from him. No longer the little four year old crying in her pink princess dress pleading for her parents to stop fighting.
Lestat strutted in at that moment, landing in the seat beside Louis with a heavy sigh, the smell of his woodsy cologne and cigarettes wafting over. Louis wrinkled his nose.
As Lestat scooted his chair in, his hair fell into his face, and he tucked it back with a sigh. His hair was longer than it had ever been when they were together, when it landed just below his jawline. Louis thought the longer cut suited him more, though he would never tell him that.
“Sorry about that. Have you ordered?” Lestat asked.
“We just sat down. Take a guess,” Louis said, unable to hide the annoyance in his tone.
“Sometimes, a simple yes or no will suffice,” Lestat said in an equally irritated voice. From over his menu, Louis watched as Claudia looked between the two of them with a tired expression
“Lestat, we need to―”
Louis was interrupted by their waiter appearing,.“Hiya folks, what can we get started for you?”
“Let’s start with a bottle of your best champagne. We’re celebrating tonight,” Lestat said.
The waiter noted the choice and turned to Claudia, “Another graduate?”
“Yes,” she replied shyly.
“Congrats! You guys must be very proud.”
“We certainly are,” Louis said, smiling at Claudia with pure pride as the waiter took their orders and left.
“God, how do I have a daughter that’s twenty years old?” Lestat asked. “When did I get so old?”
“Oh, please, I’m willing to bet that y’all were some of the youngest parents there. All my friend’s parents are in their fifties or even their sixties.”
“And that’s old to you?” Louis asked with an amused smile.
“I thought y’all wanted me to help you feel like the hip and cool younger parents.”
“Yes, please, keep boosting our egos,” Lestat waved for her to continue.
“Papa, I think your Botox looks great. Very natural and understated,” Claudia smirked while Lestat spluttered in shock.
“Claudia!” Lestat gasped, looking to Louis for any sort of help.
Louis tried to put on a stern expression, but it quickly dropped as Claudia beamed at him, too delighted at herself.
“You better respect your elders, young lady.”
Claudia took one look at him struggling to contain his smile and burst out into another round of laughter, nearly falling out of her chair. Louis couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of him. They fell apart, unable to stop laughing until the waiter came back with the champagne, quickly composing themselves.
Lestat poured the champagne and gave Claudia a sly smile as he poured some into her glass.
“You’re almost twenty-one, I’ll let it slide,” Lestat said, and he raised his glass as he toasted. “To our Claudia - I think I speak for both of us when I say how proud we are of you.”
Louis nodded. “And I’m even more proud than he is.”
“I’m not doing this again. We’re equally proud of you, no matter what your father says.”
Claudia smiled and lifted her glass. “Thank you both for everything. I don't know where I'd be without you.”
Probably much more well-adjusted, Louis thought.
She clinked her glass against theirs and downed her drink in one gulp. Louis and Lestat stared at her, their arms still raised mid-air in the middle of their toast.
Noticing their surprised faces, she quickly schooled her expression into one of disgust. “Oh, wow, that was so… strong?”
“Convincing,” Lestat said flatly.
“What time is your flight in the morning?” Louis asked. He cut into the bread laid out in the middle of the table, feeling Lestat’s eyes on him, tracking his every move.
“I’m meeting Mémé in the airport at 11, and our flight is at 1:30.”
“Do you want us to send you off?” Lestat asked.
“If you want to. I know she’d be happy to see you again,” Claudia said with a wave of her hand at Louis.
Louis smiled. He always loved spending time with Gabrielle. No matter what was going on in his relationship with Lestat, she had never made him feel like his presence was unwanted.
“Of course we’ll be there,” Louis replied. “I can pick you up at your apartment if you’d like.”
“I can pick you up too,” Lestat offered.
“I’m taking an Uber,” Claudia said around a mouthful of bread. “Just meet us at the airport.”
“Excuse him, he forgets his manners.”
Lestat narrowed his eyes. “Excuse me? Excuse yourself.”
“I’m going to the bathroom,” Claudia announced, throwing her napkin on the table as she stood from her chair. “I’ll be back in like, two minutes. I hope y’all can be normal while I’m gone.”
“I can be normal.”
“I don’t think I’d ever characterize you as ‘normal,’ Lestat,” Louis said as soon as Claudia was out of earshot.
“I’m being normal right now. You’re the one acting like a child. Here and during the ceremony.”
“I am not acting like a child."
“I’m getting serious déjà vu,” Lestat said, putting his hand to his head.
“From what?”
“From you… acting like a 7-year-old Claudia…” Lestat said dramatically, the corner of his mouth quirked up. “I see now where she got it from.”
“Please. She was a mini you at that age, always ordering me around,” Louis objected. “And then there was the phase where she wouldn’t take off her princess heels, even when she slept! That was all you.”
Lestat started to reply, but cut himself off as Claudia returned. “I don’t see any bloodshed, so that’s good,” she noted.
“I told you we could be civil,” Lestat said.
The rest of the dinner passed quickly, with Louis and Lestat remaining as cordial as they could manage. Claudia downed a few more glasses of the ridiculously expensive champagne, giving them both a childish grin each time like she was getting away with something.
At the end of the meal, Lestat asked for the check and the waiter informed him that the bill had already been paid. Louis gave him a triumphant smirk. When he had booked the reservation, he put his card on file to bypass any ensuing arguments.
It also felt wonderful to successfully one-up Lestat in something. He would never tire of the feeling.
Together, they walked Claudia back to her apartment. Each of them pretending to be the happy family they once were.
With a promise of seeing her in the morning, they both bid Claudia goodnight and turned away from each other to walk home. Even with every bone in his body protesting otherwise, Louis refrained from looking behind him to sneak a peek at Lestat.
A part of him hoped Lestat looked back.
Claudia managed to make it to the airport, even though she felt like a dead man walking. It took a considerable amount of effort as she was still exhausted from staying up for finals, and her body was letting her know that it wasn't pleased.
“What happened to you after we left? You look like death,” Lestat said as soon as he laid eyes on her.
“And you wonder why you’re single,” Claudia deadpanned.
Louis laughed at Lestat's outraged expression then said, “She’s always beautiful, even if she looks a little… sick. Are you sure you’re okay, honey?” He pressed the back of his hand on her forehead.
“I’m fine,” Claudia said, batting his hand away with a scowl.
As though she’d been sent by a guardian angel, Gabrielle entered the airport and made their way over to them, vanilla perfume wafting through the air. She walked and bypassed others with an effortless grace, dropped her bags unceremoniously at Lestat’s feet, and enveloped Louis in a tight hug.
“Oh, I missed you,” Gabrielle said. “It’s been too long.”
“You can thank your son for that.”
Over their embrace, Claudia saw Lestat’s jaw clench, clearly itching to say something snide in return but holding back from doing so in front of his mother.
Claudia strained her ears as Gabrielle whispered something to Louis that had him whispering back a response. Deeming his answer to be satisfactory, she moved onto Lestat and pulled him into an equally tight, but shorter hug.
“What'd she say?” Claudia whispered to Louis.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and dropped a kiss to her temple, “She asked if I was gonna miss you and I said I was gonna miss you like a limb.”
“It’s only three months.”
“Three horrible, awful, dreadful months spent away from you,” Louis said, holding her even tighter. “Crying at home with a pint of ice cream, knowing that my baby girl’s having the time of her life gallivanting around Europe without me.”
She tried to squirm out of his hold, but he only pulled her closer.
“You’re so annoying. I can't wait to be away from you.”
“Oh, please, you're gonna miss me, don’t act like you’re not.”.
“You are more than welcome to tag along on one of our stops,” Gabrielle said, looking between Louis and Lestat.
“Not too welcome,” Claudia clarified. “One stop. Each. Separately.”
“Deal,” Louis and Lestat said at the same time.
“Well, we ought to get going,” Gabrielle said, bringing their attention back to the matter at hand.
“God, yes please,” Claudia groaned, her head pounding. “I need some coffee.”
“It’s a long flight to London, you can sleep on the plane,” Louis reminded her.
“You mean she can work on the plane,” Lestat chimed in.
“She’s worked her ass off on her exams for the past month. She can take a fucking nap, Lestat.”
“I don’t want her to fall behind,” Lestat argued. “She takes her LSAT in less than six months, and she needs to be prepared. She can’t afford to take time off.”
“I’m right here,” Claudia said, but she was ignored.
This was nothing new. When they were together, they would fight about what she should be doing while she was standing in front of them. Arguments about which sport she should play took place at the kitchen table. Debates about if her outfits were appropriate were held in the living room.
When they divorced, they moved their disagreements to wherever drop off was - in the park or on the front porch. The location didn’t matter.
“What she needs is to decompress,” Louis said shortly. “And you need to calm down.”
“Did you know that telling someone to calm down has never calmed anyone down in the history of the universe?”
“I know that.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, if anyone has firsthand experience with being told to calm down, it would be me,” Louis scoffed. “After all, I was married to you. I swear that's all you said to me in the last year of our marriage.”
“It’s going to be fine. I’ll make sure she gets some studying done.” Gabrielle cut in.
Claudia held out her bags to her parents and said, “Walk us to security?”
They both nodded and took her bags, continuing their argument as they walked. In some ways, it was impressive how they managed it.
“Would it kill you to back me up sometimes?” Lestat grumbled.
“I could, but then I’d be wrong too.”
They reached security a few steps later and she let out a loud sigh, halting their argument again.
“See what you did? You fucked up the goodbye,” Lestat huffed.
“Oh, I did that?”
“Uh-huh.”
Claudia gave Lestat a hug. “It wasn’t just him.”
“See, it wasn’t just me,” Louis said, looking pleased with himself as Claudia hugged him next. “Bye, honey.”
Claudia took her bags from them and stood beside Gabrielle. “I love you guys. I’ll keep you updated!”
“I love you,” Louis called. “Be safe!”
“Love you more! Make good choices!” Lestat hollered after them.
Once they thought she was out of earshot, she heard them exchange a few more snide remarks.
“And she’s gone,” Louis said.
“Can’t wait to never see you again."
“Hopefully not that soon.”