Louis wanted to disappear. He had actually told David that the kiss could be, “part of a strange dream.” This was the real fucking world and people didn’t say shit like that. David hadn’t seemed to know what to do with the kiss let alone Louis's verbal purple prose.

Louis was still cringing with embarrassment when Monday came around and he couldn’t even talk to Rosemarie about it as part of their don’t ask don’t tell pact.

“You’re tense today,” Nabila said to him when she walked up behind him only to make him jump.

Louis tried to give her an encouraging smile, but his lips weren’t quite cooperative. “Sorry, my thoughts have been elsewhere.”

“How is your sister?” she asked. Louis was surprised. He knew that he was a bit off, but he didn’t think he was off enough for that to be the first conclusion people came to.

“She’s doing well,” Louis said. “She was in good spirits this morning.”

“I’m glad,” Nabila said. “I have a few scenes that I want to go over with you and David. Can you two stop by my office sometime today?”

“Sure,” Louis said, though he was dreading what David would say when they had a chance to actually talk.

"Excellent, let David know and figure out when you both have time."

Louis nodded, waving Nabila off, and wandered back towards the set.

Louis didn’t know what had possessed him; David had just looked so good illuminated by the porch lights of the B&B that he couldn't help but want to touch him, to capture that moment in some way and make it his.

He had probably screwed up royally. To his knowledge, David wasn't even gay.

Thankfully, David didn’t seem to be too horrified or repulsed by what had transpired. He was still acting like his normal carefree self, making jokes and chatting to Louis between scenes.

It was a relief, if not particularly encouraging to the part of himself that was hoping David returned his interest.

He found David standing off to the side of the set for the police station, a bottle of water in hand. He was dressed in his Marcus Lazarus costume, pressed black pants held up by suspenders and his sleeves rolled up over his forearms. He looked good like that, sensual in a way that he didn't usually embody. Louis took a moment to admire the long line of his neck as he tilted his head back. Louis walked over to him, and bumped the back of his hand against David's shoulder.

“You free around one?” he asked.

David jumped and nearly choked on the water he was drinking. He spluttered for a moment and Louis slapped him on the back.

Maybe he wasn’t as unbothered by it as he had seemed.

Fuck.

“You startled me," David said. "Why?” David gave him a bashful smile, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Louis gestured over his shoulder to where Nabila had walked over to discuss something with one of the cameramen.

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“Nabila wants to talk to us. Something about the script, though I don’t know what yet,” he said.

David seemed to relax a little and his smile loosened. "Yeah, that works for my schedule."

That stung a little, but was to be expected. It was better than he should have expected, really. Louis had overstepped his bounds on Friday. David had every right to be pissed, but he looked like he was willing to overlook it. Louis would just have to be careful not to push him again.

Despite their short acquaintanceship, Louis was already loathe to give up that easy friendship that had been growing between them.

At one o'clock, Louis knocked on Nabila’s door.

“Come in,” Nabila called.

David was already inside, seated on the long, green couch. He gave Louis a little smile as Louis took a seat on the other end of the couch, sure to keep a respectable distance between them as he did so.

“Thanks for coming in,” she said. “As I was telling David, I wanted to talk to you about the direction that the rest of the season is going.”

“Are the scripts for the next episodes ready?” Louis asked.

Nabila shook her head. “Not yet, but I have the outline for the rest of the season." She held up a manilla folder to demonstrate. "As you two are the ones who bring Don and Marcus to life, I want your thoughts on the character arcs.”

“The short of it is, David, do you want to be killed by a werewolf or a succubus? The original plan was for Marcus to die in a redemption arc when facing the succubus in the season finale, but there is some appeal to the werewolf scenario.”

“Hmm,” David said with a mischievous smile. “Succubus definitely sounds like the sexier way to go out. But there’s a certain appeal to the werewolf.”

“You’ll be running into a werewolf in episode twelve, anyway,” Nabila said. “It’s already implied that you are immune to magic, so we’re going to use it to make it a mystery whether or not you’ll turn into a werewolf.”

“Nice,” David said, nodding approvingly. “The succubus is the main villain, correct? Where would death by werewolf come in?”

“The werewolf arc could be extended to the end of the season to create a double whammy at the end,” Nabila said.

Louis tuned out the rest of the explanation.

None of this was coming as a surprise, so it shouldn't have been such a shock, but this was the first time Louis had really thought about the fact that David would only be here for the one season.

Bran had only been cast as a season one regular, so, naturally, David was, too. Louis glanced over at David. For all that he said this job was a dream come true and some sort of miracle, he seemed very calm when faced with the reality of Marcus Lazarus’s impending doom.

Calmer, in fact, that Louis felt about it. A knot was building in his stomach.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Nabila said. “Louis? Any thoughts?”

Louis glanced at her then gave a brief shake of his head. “The stronger story arc is more important than personal preference.”

“Agreed,” Nabila said.

David glanced over at him curiously, but didn’t say anything.

Louis wasn’t sure why it hadn’t occurred to him before this point that Marcus Lazarus was only supposed to be a season one regular. It shouldn't bother him this much.

He had been prepared to go through with the two-year contract since before he’d even met David. There was no reason for it to matter so much now. At the end of filming, barring any pick-up footage, David would be gone, probably back to Weldstone Harbor.

The only upside would be that they would never have to talk about that kiss. Though, for now, David seemed as content to ignore it as Louis was.

“Well, that’s all I needed. Thank you for dropping by,” Nabila said, standing to send them off.

Louis paused at the door, hesitating.

“Can I have a word with you alone?” Louis asked Nabila. She looked a little concerned, but nodded, gesturing for David to leave first. David met his eyes briefly, but didn’t seem to find it strange.

“See you on set, then,” he said before closing the door behind himself.

Louis turned to Nabila. “I know that I'm crossing a line here, so I don't have any expectations, but I have some thoughts on where the show is going.”

Nabila looked more curious than irritated at Louis using his reputation to influence decisions that weren't his to make.

"Go on," she said, gesturing for him to sit again.

David had only signed on for one season, but... well, Louis didn’t want him to leave.