When Lucien sets me down on the couch, I tug on his sleeve before he enters the kitchen. "Don't bother cooking. I can just have a quick meal," I tell him, but he shakes his head.
"You should know better than that," he replies.
What a strangely picky person. "In that case," I say, standing, "teach me how you make some of those dishes."
"Sure," he smiles. "You can help me get the seasonings just right." I follow him into the kitchen, and help him get everything ready.
"Your food is actually pretty good," I admit, rinsing out the rice before I set it to cook on the back burner. "It's the last thing I would have expected from a vampire, especially as old as you."
Lucien passes me an eggplant that he's already sliced. "You know about salting this, right? Do that while I start simmering."
"Sure." It feels nice to fall into a cooking rhythm. He's already started something simmering, and I peek into the pot to see bright red tomatoes bubbling in the bottom. "Are soups and stews easier to make for vampires?"
"Yes, and no," Lucien replies. "It's true that they're easy to make. But I make them because soup is the centerpoint of the table for my homeland."
I look at the seasonings he's chosen. "No strong spices today?"
Lucien shakes his head with a small smile. "No, I'm going a little closer to home today. It's too bad we don't have hulled wheat in the pantry. I have to use rice instead."
"You know, I wanted to plant herbs in my garden, too," I say, watching him pull the leaves off the stems. "Sometimes the herbs they send are freshly cut, and I might be able to get a cutting or two to survive."
"It would certainly make it easier to cook," he chuckles.
"You have just smell to go off of, right?"
Lucien nods. "Still, it's strangely comforting."
I smile. "I was about to ask why you even did it in the first place. Even most living humans don't want to cook if they can get away with it." He passes me a head of cabbage, and I start peeling and tearing the leaves apart. It's messy, but it's the best I can do without a knife. The rich scent of tomatoes starts to fill the room. "Wait…" I come to a realization. "You wouldn't have had tomatoes growing up, right? But you know how to cook with them?"
Lucien chuckles as he starts stirring the tomatoes into a rich paste, adding in the seasoning. "That's right. But.." He shrugs. "They're good for human nutrition, and I like the smell. The eggplant should be ready."
"Oh, right." I give it to him and he adds it to the stew. Behind it, I see the lid of the rice start to shake. "I think the rice is ready soon too," I add.
"Here, try it," Lucien holds it to my mouth and lets me take a sip.
"Hmmmm…."
"I put an awful lot of seasonings in," he says doubtfully. "Is it too strong?"
"More basil," I say, reaching past him.
"Too...weak?"
I chuckle a little at his helplessness. "No. I just like basil." As I stir it in, a question comes to mind. "You know, a lot of humans are still convinced vampires miss food, even though everyone denies it. But you're so old...aren't you ever sad that you never got to taste so many things before you were turned?"
"Oh. No." Lucien reaches for the rice and starts scooping it in. "I can taste them just fine if I want to."
"Like...infused into a drink, or something?" I squint my eyes at him.
"No, I just taste it and spit it out," he replies nonchalantly.
I can't help but burst out laughing. "Oh my god, really? Have you tasted tomatoes, then?"
Lucien turns to me, looking a bit confused. "Yes. Is it really that strange?"
"No, no," I laugh, "It's just that the image is hilarious. Like, trying a new food for the very first time, taking your time to taste it, and then just-" I sputter- "spitting it out afterwards."
"Hmm." Lucien takes out a bowl and scoops the stew into it, passing it to me without another word.
"Lucien," I tease, "Are you grumpy right now?"
He turns back to me with his usual smile. "You should eat quickly. I'm getting tired of waiting." He pushes me gently on the back to lead me out.
I let him push me into the main room, but I'm not letting him wriggle out of this. "You are annoyed, aren't you? That I laughed about that."
"Hmmm?" Dante turns his head up from the game he's playing with Adrian and Virgil. "What would she have to laugh at you about?" His eyes are glittering darkly. When Virgil turns around, his eyes are sharp with interest, too.
"It's not as big a deal as you two are hoping," I laugh, waving my hand at them and taking a seat next to Adrian. "He didn't even do anything, technically. I was just imagining it."
"Imagining what, exactly?" asks Adrian, leaning in.
"Lucien tasting food," I giggle. "And having to spit it out right afterwards."
The other three vampires all stare at Lucien in silence. I take the opportunity to start eating with a grin.
He meets their gazes calmly. "When you're as old as I am, you ache for new experiences."
The others just shrug, and sigh, and go back to the game, but I don't want to let him off that easily. "Were you trying to avoid saying 'hunger' for new experiences?" I giggle into my soup.
Lucien leans over me. "Are you trying to tease me, little bird?"
"Is it working?" I giggle back. "I think so. You look annoyed to me."
"I don't know why you want me to be," he replies, eyes glimmering.
"Oh no," I say, poking his nose. "Don't turn it away from the topic. You're upset that I laughed so hard at the thought of you doing something so unrefined. Your perfect image is even more cracked now," I add.
"Oh? I have an image to maintain, do I?" He's smiling nonchalantly, but I can see he's getting more and more annoyed. I just keep grinning into my soup, drinking it down as quickly as I can.
Dante caught onto the tip I left behind. "Even more?"
This time I'm the one grinning from ear to ear. I start sputtering in my soup, unable to hold back my laughter before I've even said anything. I can feel Lucien's hand squeezing my waist, and it makes me laugh even harder.
The other three lean in closer as I try to catch my breath. "I, I made Lucien fall on his ass earlier," I finally giggle out.
"Wait, really?" Adrian's voice is incredulous. "How??"
"All I did was pull on his ankle," I giggle. "He wasn't expecting anything, and he fell right over."
"Are you about done eating?" asks Lucien in a far-too-pleasant voice.
"I think I need more time," I giggle, but my voice is drowned out by the others' laughter.
"I can't believe you were caught unprepared by a thrall," giggles Virgil.
"I wish I could have seen it," sighs Adrian. "Think I'll get another chance?" he teases.
I shake my head into the stew, still quivering with laughter. I need to hurry up and finish it, or I have a feeling I won't be able to.
Dante fixes his eyes on the golden-eyed vampire. "I think you've finally met your match, Lucien," he says with a smirk.
"She's certainly unpredictable," he replies, patting my head. But I can sense something else in his voice, and in his touch. Oh boy.
I finish my soup faster than I expect to. "Ah." I stare into the empty bowl. "I ate too fast." Before I can even stand to put it away, Lucien's already tugging me out of the seat.
"You really are upset," I marvel as he pulls me along behind him. Not to the music room, as I expected, but to his room. Ah, it's worse than I thought.
"Starting to regret it a little, are we?" grins Lucien as he whisks me inside.
I spin around and land on his cushions. "No," I answer decidedly. "It's worth it to see you embarrassed for once." I grin up at him as he advances.
"You shouldn't push your luck," he murmurs, laying over me. "You don't have any advantages here."
"I know, that's why I'll take my fun where I can have it," I reply. "Even if I know it's a false sense of power, just a little bit of getting back will keep me sane."
"Sane, you say?" Lucien's eyes glitter. "I suppose I shouldn't be so lenient, then,"
"Ah, well," I stutter, realizing my mistake. Lucien leans in and bites into my neck before I can finish.
"You know," he murmurs between drinks, "the more bold you are, the more I learn." He takes another few drinks before he adds, "You won't be able to surprise me for long."
"Don't be so sure of that," I reply, and he squeezes me tightly.
"Oh? Is that a promise?"
"Hm," I chuckle wryly. "As much of a promise as I can give you."
He smiles a little as he continues drinking. "Good."
Lucien finishes drinking with a sigh, but doesn't move from where he has me pressed into his cushions, instead laying his head on my chest. It's threatening to put me to sleep, even though he didn't drink much.
"What about the play?" I ask.
"Right," he sighs. "I did promise to do that." But he doesn't move.
"What's putting you off?" I lift his head so I can see his expression. "Do you just not want to act?"
"I don't mind acting," he replies. "But my character is…"
"Boring?" I finish. He nods. "Well, there's no reason we need to play him as intended. If we work together, surely we can make him into someone that suits you better."
"I suppose," he sighs, looking askance.
"You just didn't want to put effort into it, did you?" I giggle, poking his nose.
"I don't like to put effort into anything that won't reward me, no," he replies with glimmering eyes. "But mostly I find that kind of thing boring." He waves his hand. "Interpreting text feels like a pointless exercise to me."
I sit up. "Why is that? You feel like you're limited by what's written down?"
"Yes, and no," he replies, sitting up as well. "Anyone can argue almost any interpretation to suit themselves, and it's irritating to disagree with nothing but the same words and different minds."
"Ahh, I think I understand," I reply, nodding. "It's always in a political context for you, isn't it? Or they're using it for political reasons?"
"Yes, more or less," he sighs. "Regardless, it's generally in the context of monotonous salons where they just argue over themes and ideologies to no end," he adds with a frown.
"Hmmm," I muse. "Well, I like analyzing like that, to be honest…" I confess. "But all I care about in the end is the characters. You're the same way, aren't you?"
Lucien tips his head to the side. "What do you mean?"
"You like watching and analyzing people."
"Yes, real people," he corrects. "Not images of people from a book."
"Right," I laugh, "I guess you can't provoke and tease characters in a book, can you?"
"Books are just too predictable," he sighs. "I'm too old to care about stories that people make up. Everything is just a better or worse version of something else."
"But people aren't?" I ask.
"On the surface, they may seem that way," he replies. He puts his hand on my head, letting it rest. "You'll meet someone who reminds you strongly of someone else, but not all the way, or maybe they'll have traits you've seen a thousand times before, but in a new combination. The smallest difference can push them worlds apart." Lucien runs his hand down my face affectionately. "You are like a lot of people I've met before. But they were still all so different from what you are."
"You make it sound like I'm so rare," I quip, but I can feel myself blushing.
"You are," he replies seriously. "Every person is completely unique, whether we like or dislike what makes them so. I just happen to like the combination that makes you, you."
I struggle to come up with a reply as I stare into his eyes. "I...I'm not…" I let out a breath and look away. "It's...hard for me to believe…"
Lucien turns my face back to him and leans his forehead against mine. "Try for me. I want you to last as long as possible like this."
My heart is thumping faster now. "I am trying, I promise," I stutter. "But you realize how much bigger you saying that is to me than it is to you?"
"Of course I do." He pulls my chin forward for a soft kiss. "I'm making you believe me."
"Ha," I chuckle, "Putting your manipulator skills to a good cause for once, are we?" I falter a little. "...is it a good cause?" I ask quietly.
"That's not for me to decide," he murmurs, and takes my cheeks in his hands. "But I do not intend to use you."
I just put my hands over his and nod.