Chapter Text
Louis slammed his empty pint glass on the table, letting out a deep sigh. It was the tail end of an office party that he didn't even want to be at. But, he was team lead so not attending wasn’t an option. They had just closed a deal on a major contract with the assistance of another department, so it was a big fucking deal, apparently. It was hard for him to feel anything other than a bone-deep annoyance. The success of this deal meant that they were going to be expected to work in close quarters with the other team on a daily basis. And, there was nothing Louis wanted less in this world.
“That bad huh?”
Louis looked up and saw his work soulmate, Claudia, looking down at him. She had another beer for him in his hand and some cute drink in a bird-shaped glass for herself.
“That fucking bad,” he groused. She passed him his beer and took a seat next to him. He took a deep drink, it was light and hoppy. It made him want something with cheese.
“What is it this time?”
“Same thing it’s been all night,” Louis grumbled. “I don’t want to work closely with the marketing team. Like why can’t we just hand off the stuff and not talk to them like normal? Why do we have to actually “collaborate”?” He took another long drink from his beer.
She snorted, “Okay, real talk, what do you have against marketing??”
Louis picked up the menu and took a good look at it. He really wanted nachos but he was going to have to go up to the bar and order. Then get a little number sign, that he was going to have to carry back to the table, and sit down again. It was truthfully so much effort for a pile of chips with cheese on them. But he wanted them desperately in a way only the fairly inebriated can. Something bounced off his head and landed on the table. It was a wadded-up napkin.
He turned to face Claudia, “What was that for?”
She frowned at him, “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I want nachos. I’ll answer your question if you get me nachos.”
“I just got you a beer!”
“Where’s Maddy?” He asked, turning back to the menu.
Claudia gasped and tugged the menu out of his hand. After a Quick Look, she pulled out her phone and hit the call button. “Where are you?”
“About five feet from the table. Why?” Madeleine’s voice was slightly tinny and a little annoyed over the phone.
“Pleaseeeeeee, go back to the bar,” Claudia said while trying to take a drink from the bird cup but not quite getting the angle right.
Maddy sighed, “What do you want?”
“An order of buffalo sliders and nachos.”
“Loaded nachos,” Louis added,
“Oh, Louis wants the nachos loaded.”
Louis heard Madeleine repeat the order back to Claudia before hanging up.
Claudia turned to Louis, “Okay spill.”
Louis looked her dead in the eyes and spoke, “Lestat de Lioncourt is an asshole.”
Claudia waited for more before moving her hand in a tilting motion, “And?”
“Isn’t that enough?”
“You can tell that from just looking at him. He’s too pretty. I got you your nachos, so spill.”
Louis took a deep breath letting it out quickly in a huff, “Fine. I went to high school with him. He transferred in when I was in the middle of my sophomore year. He had been going to school in France. And, everyone thought he was sooooo cool with his blond hair and accent.”
Madeline sat down, setting a tent stand with the number 5 on it at the edge of their table. “Who are we shit-talking?”
“Lestat, the lead of the other team,” Claudia responds waving her hand at Louis in a don’t you dare stop motion.
“I was the only one who spoke French fluently in our grade, so I got to babysit him and make sure he got caught up with what we were doing.” He took a sip from his beer, determined to make it last until the nachos got there. “It was fine at first. We had stuff in common and his English was good. We hung out after school and went to each other's houses and all that. But, then, he started dating anyone who would so much as BREATHE in his direction. Fucking Lothario,” He spat out.
He was starting to ramble, but he didn’t care. Claudia wanted the story so she was going to get it. “He never canceled our plans or anything. Like, he was weird about never canceling plans with me. BUT THEN HE CHANGED HIS MIND ABOUT THAT, I GUESS.” Louis paused to catch his breath and watch the nachos get set down in front of him. He took a decadent bite of them making a happy humming sound.
“I had just started dating Lily when he was late to one of our study sessions. When finally showed up, he was draped around a short freshman girl, his hand down her shirt!” Louis fumed remembering the incident with perfect clarity. “He then had the gall to tell me that this girl, whose name he couldn’t even remember, would be helping him study from now on!”
“What did you say to him?” Claudia asked through a mouthful slider.
“Nothing! I just left. That was the last time we spoke to each other. AND NOW, I have to work directly with him.” Louis groaned into his hands. “It’s going to suck asssssss.”
“Okay, let me get some stuff straight,” said Maddy. “He dated around but prioritized you over whoever he was dating?”
Louis took another bite of nachos mulling over the question, “I guess. It was important that our time came first.”
“That only changed after you started dating Lily?”
“I mean yeah, we had just been dating a couple days when he pulled the shit with the girl.”
Maddy looked at Claudia, “Do you see what I see?”
“Absolutely.” Claudia turned to Louis, “He was down bad for you and acted out when you started dating.”
“What? No! We were just… friends,” he paused. Friends felt like a strong word to use, but he had really thought Lestat was his friend at the time. Maybe even his best friend.
“He put you above all others. That’s love,” Maddy gave him a playful smile, stealing one of his nachos.“Like why do you think he couldn’t make anything last? They weren’t you.”
“You’re insane.” Louis scowled.
“And what about you?” Claudia followed up. “You were annoyed he was dating. Then got mad enough when he stopped studying with you that you are still mad, like 16 years later? You were down just as bad.”
“I was not down bad! What he did was just rude and gross!”
“It.. Was.. Love!” They said it in unison bobbing their heads in sync.
Louis frowned deeply at them, “Don’t do that ever again. It was creepy. Y’all have been dating too long if you can do that.” He scooped up a pile of toppings with a chip and shoved it haphazardly into his mouth.
“Shhh!” Claudia shushed him, whacking his arm. “No dating coworkers, remember?”
“Right, right. But y'all are wrong. There’s no way we were in love. We were just friends until it was no longer convenient for him. That’s all.” Louis took a deep pull from his beer leaving the last inch or so in the glass, a wave of melancholy washed over him. They really had been good friends at one point. It was easier to blindly hate Lestat than to think that they could have still been something. He sniffled a bit and took another bite of nachos.
“Louis?” Claudia asked. “Are you going to cry?”
Louis frowned, “Y’all’s wrong is all. Lestat’s just an ass.” He laid his face on the table. “How am I ever going to be able to work with him?”
Maddy rubbed his shoulder, “Well, the great thing about being coworkers in the workplace is that there are so many social rules we have to follow. So just pretend he’s a team lead you’ve never met and be professional.”
”Huh.” He sat up and drank the last inch of his beer, even though it was warm and kinda gross. “Professional. I can be professional.” He nodded his head. “Yeah, I’ll be so professional he’ll be in awe.”
“That’s the spirit!” Claudia clapped him on the shoulder.
X
Lestat was enjoying the view as he sipped at whatever it was that Armand had brought him, it was fruity but strong. He watched Louis lay his head down on the table. “He’s so beautiful,” his voice was light and wistful with a slight slur. He was nearing drunk enough to get himself into trouble but not necessarily out of it.
Armand frowned, scrolling on his phone, “That was an inside thought, Lestat.”
“What, I can’t remark on his beauty now?” He pouted as if this was a true offense. That it was a true tragedy that he couldn’t just espouse Louis’s beauty.
“1. We are at a work function. That’s your coworker,” Armand ticked each item off on his fingers. “2. Staring is creepy, and if I was Louis I would file a complaint with HR 3. Doesn’t he hate you?”
“Hate’s a strong word.” Lestat took a sip from his drink, looking away. “We just haven’t talked in years. He nodded at me the other day when we passed each other.”
“I am positive that I have watched him walk into a room, see you, and then walk back out.” Armand looked up from his phone to lock eyes with Lestat, “More than once.”
Lestat quickly broke eye contact with him, “That was just because of that misunderstanding.”
“If it was just a misunderstanding why haven’t you talked to him since?”
Lestat took to examining his nails and finishing his drink. After setting his empty drink down he pulled out his phone and scrolled through social media, hitting the like button next to several photos.
”You know you are going to have to talk to him on Monday during the interdepartmental meeting. You might as well break the ice and sort this out tonight. Start Monday off on the right foot,”
Lestat looked at Armand with narrowed eyes, “That was good advice. Why are you being nice to me? What are you up to?”
Armand scoffed, “What am I up to? It’s called disaster control. If you do something now, it means I do not have to watch you make more of a fool out of yourself on Monday.”
Lestat scoffed, “I won’t make a fool of myself. I’m a great team lead.”
“Think about it, if you talk to him now and smooth this over then on Monday you both can have coffee together afterward.”
Lestat’s eyes lit up, Armand really did have a point. Talk to Louis now to get things smoothed over, and then on Monday they could start a harmonious working relationship. It was a good idea, it’s a great idea! Lestat turned his attention back to Louis. The two women who had been sitting with him were standing up, it was clear that they were saying their goodbyes. Louis looked like he was going to get up as well. If Lestat was going to talk to Louis he needed to do it now.
He stood up, his long legs making quick work of the short distance between their tables. “Louis,” He called a little more forcefully than he had intended. The other man spun around and gave him a guarded expression.
“Lestat, How can I help you?” Louis's voice was smooth and emotionless. It gave Lestat a chill, he had been hoping that Louis would be relaxed after all the drinking. But he could fix this! They just needed to talk.
“I was hoping to talk to you before you left. Do you have a moment?” He was proud of how professional his voice sounded, you couldn’t tell that he was moderately sloshed at all.
Louis turned back to his companions, finished saying his goodbyes, and then turned back to Lestat. His face is still in that carefully blank expression, “What did you want to talk about?”
Lestat pulled out one of the chairs at the table, “Why don’t we sit?”
Louis gave him a long look before sitting back down in his seat, Lestat did the same, offering Louis what he thought was a warm smile. Louis didn’t return it.
Anxiety was starting to seep into Lestat’s mind, he hadn’t thought this far ahead. He had hoped that Louis would be relaxed and a conversation would just happen naturally. Maybe Armand was right, maybe Louis did hate him.
“I.. I was hoping to clear up any misunderstanding that may have happened in the past.” Good, that was good. He was still in control of the situation.
Louis looked at him and narrowed his eyes, “All misunderstandings have been resolved. Can I go now?”
Lestat panicked at this, “No!”
Louis raised his eyebrow, “No?” He leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms.
Lestat was panicking now, “I.. I don’t want things to be like this,” He waved his hand between them. “I want things to be… like they were before.”
“You want to be friends again?”
Lestat smiled at this, “Yes, exactly.”
Louis looked at him dead in the eyes, “No.”
“No?” Lestat was dumbfounded. He truthfully hadn’t expected Louis to say no.
“We are coworkers. If it was up to me, we wouldn’t even be coworkers,” Louis’s voice was harsh.
Lestat’s heart broke, Louis really did hate him. Fine, two could play at this. “Well, we are coworkers and more importantly we are department leads. It’s paramount that we get along with each other.”
“We can work together without getting along. There is nothing in our contract that says we have to be friends.” Louis’s posture had only gotten more hostile.
Right as Lestat was about to refute what Louis said, Armand sat a pitcher of beer and two glasses on the table.
“What’s this?” Louis asked sharply. “I’m not staying.”
“I’m just making sure our hard-working leads are having a good chat. It’s important that Monday goes smoothly.” Armand gave Louis a tight smile and an intense look. “The CFO will be sitting in on the meeting and I wouldn’t want there to be any mishaps. Would we?”
“We wouldn’t,” Louis accepts one of the glasses and takes a sip. “And you are?”
“I’m Director of External Relations, Armand de Romanus. Your bosses bosses boss.” Armand gave him another tight polite smile. “Have a nice night boys.” He gave a little wave with his hand as he walked away.
Lestat took a deep drink from the beer Armand had poured. Armand might have been trying to help in his own way but he might have just damned Lestat to hell, trapping him at a table with a pissed-off Louis.
Louis let out a breath, “Well, that was terrifying. Do you know him?”
”Armand? Yeah, he was the one who thought I should come over and talk with you.”
Louis gave him an odd look, “And why does he think we need to talk?”
Lestat made a humming sound, and chose his words carefully, “He and I have been friends since college. I just mentioned that you and I knew each other in high school but that there was a misunderstanding and we haven’t talked since. He thought that it was a good idea to smooth things out before Monday.”
Louis took another drink of his beer, giving Lestat an assessing look. “You keep saying misunderstanding, but your actions were pretty clear. You were done with me and had someone new,” He shrugged sharply, his movements were laced with annoyance.
Lestat was surprised at how angry Louis was about their last conversation. It had been a full six years since that day, and Lestat truthfully thought Louis would be over it. He took another long drink from his beer and thought fervently. He needed to word this carefully, “I acted immature, I’m sorry about that.”
Louis leveled him with a gaze, “You sure did. It’s a little late for an apology but better late than never.” Lestat watched Louis relax a fraction. “But I should have expected that from you.”
Lestat blinked, taken aback by Louis’s words, anger prickling his skin, “Excuse me, what do you mean by that?”
Louis shrugged, taking a swig of his beer, “Exactly how it sounds, you’re a womanizer. Why should I have ever expected a higher level of behavior from you?” He finished his beer and poured himself another. “Being an ass is your base nature.”
Anger ripped through Lestat, he tried to bite it down but there was far too much of it. It didn’t matter that they were at a work function, no one spoke to him like that. “My base nature? What about yours?” He hissed. “You’ve clearly been unable to stop thinking about me for the last 16 years, where I haven’t spared you a single thought.” The lie was hollow on his tongue. He wondered if Louis could tell that he was lying, he had always been able to before.
Louis scoffed, “It’s hard to forget something that heinous. I could see it when I closed my eyes.”
Lestat leaned in towards Louis, his voice was low “If me touching a woman's breast in front of you was that upsetting, then doesn't it mean that you wanted to be the one I was touching?” He reached out to touch Louis’s jaw but let his hand drop before he made contact.
Louis’s eyes were ablaze, “I trusted you as a friend and you were the one that threw that away.”
“What if I realized my mistake and I wanted to make amends?” Lestat’s heart was hammering.
“It’s too damn late,” Louis ground out. It made Lestat want to touch him even more. Louis was intoxicating like this, passionate to the point of combustion. He looked like he wanted to destroy Lestat and Lestat? He wanted to be destroyed.
“What if we entered into a wager?” He was grasping at straws but he didn’t want Louis to break his gaze.
Louis frowned with his whole face and slightly leaned back from Lestat. “A wager?”
Lestat leaned in forward again, desperate to close the gap between them. If he leaned just a little more forward, their lips would be touching, “If I prove that I’m a better lead than you, then you go on a date with me.” The last of the words came out in a rush.
Louis froze for a moment, “A date?” He looked wary like his anger was taking a back seat. “Why a date?”
“Maybe, I don’t want to be friends either,” he shrugged in the most blase way he could manage.
“And what do I get if I win?” Louis said cautiously.
“Whatever you want.” Lestat tried to keep his rising emotion out of his voice. “I’ll transfer to another branch. You’ll never see me again.”
Louis nodded, as if all of this was logical, “How do we decide?” He took a deep drink of his beer and Lestat did the same. Pouring himself another pint from the pitcher.
“It has to be one one-on-one,” Lestat gulped down half his beer in an attempt to gather his courage for what he was about to say. “Whoever is a better dom in the bedroom?”
Louis nearly spit out his beer, his Adam's apple bobbing erratically, “What?”
“Think about it,” Lestat rushed. “We want to know who’s better at leading then why not in the most intimate way. I give full control to you, you give full control to me.” He nervously spun one of the rings on his hand. Louis was studying him now, taking him in fully. He had finished his beer at some point. Lestat poured him another.
“I could do whatever I wanted to you?” Louis said slowly.
“Within reason,” Lestat amended.
”You would have to do what I say?” Louis leaned back into Lestat’s space.
“Oui,” Lestat barely breathed as Louis stopped inches from him.
“Anything I say?” Louis placed a hand on the table almost touching Lestat’s hand.
Lestat nodded his head, completely taken in by how close Louis was to him.
“Then you’ve got yourself a deal,” Louis gave him a wide mischievous smile and stood up quickly, breaking the tension between them. “I’ll email you with my terms and conditions.”