A knock at the door interrupted them, and Kieran could just make out the vice-like grip Benoit had on Augustin's upper arm. He would have enjoyed the sight more if it hadn't been a promise for what was to come. He glanced at Jack, who wore his own look of reluctance.

"If you would be so kind, Lindsey," he said, gesturing to the door as he retreated to the relative comfort of the register counter. He thought twice of hiding behind it and potentially trapping himself again. It worked as a protective barrier against customers, not Augustin. He settled in front of the counter, crossing his arms as he watched the front door.

Augustin flinched back as the door opened, and he was shoved inside. He quickly regained his footing. He grinned at Kieran and Jack without a trace of guilt or worry.

"Thank you, my dear," Benoit said with a polite smile to the empty air as she crossed the threshold.

The deadbolt seemed to echo with the soft click of Benoit's heels. Kieran dropped his eyes as the pair maneuvered around the display cases. He prayed it would end quickly.

Benoit looked between Kieran and Jack then let her gaze settle on the armchairs off to the side. She sat in one of them, and Augustin moved to follow. She glared up at him before snapping her fingers and pointing to the floor in front of Kieran.

Kieran closed his eyes, refusing to look at Augustin. He would have preferred for Augustin to take the other chair. Anything to put more than an aisle's width between them. To his left, he caught the sound of Jack shuffling closer.

"Well? Get on with it," Benoit said with an irritated tapping of her nails against the fabric of the armchair.

Augustin cleared his throat and spoke with a forced joviality. "Thank you ever-so-much for asking to see me, Kieran. Although, I believe a more personal invitation would have been preferable."

Kieran barely caught the near-silent scoff from Jack. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to bolster him. "Yes, but perhaps a small gathering is for the best," he replied. A quick glance up, and he instantly regretted the action. Augustin's charming smile was firmly in place, and he hated himself for wondering if those lips still felt the same.

Something of his thoughts must have shown, for Augustin's smile widened in confidence. He narrowed his eyes as his jaw tightened. "I, for one, am not at all pleased that it has come to this. I was rather enjoying my solitude. Not that it was by choice," he said, unable to hide his bitterness by the end.

"Now, darlin', don't be like that." Augustin put his hands into his pants pockets, thumbs out and jacket pushed back to accentuate his chest. He gave a cocky smile as he tilted his head to the side. "All is forgiven. Mistakes were made. Let's start with a fresh page. Yes! A new year, a new beginning."

Jack made a disgusted grunt. "Hey! I already told you: Don't put a fucking expiration date on my goddamned relationship!" he snapped.

Augustin shook his head and laughed. "Oh, no, of course not. We're well past that. My…eagerness and nostalgia for the past is something of a downfall that I will admit to," he said. He smiled at Jack and shrugged. "When you have as many years behind you as we do, then the present becomes harder and harder to adjust to."

Jack frowned and looked at Kieran in uncertainty. He stared for a moment before he dropped his eyes back to the floor.

"Speak for yourself," Kieran quickly said. He didn't need Augustin's silver tongue adding to Jack's anxieties. "I may not be fond of the world's current advancements, but they are useful, and I do my best to keep up."

Augustin raised a doubtful brow.

An annoyed huff rose from Benoit. "If this banter resembles anything of your previous relationship, then I'm beginning to wonder how either of you were truly affected by the departure of the other." She narrowed her eyes at Augustin and motioned her hand to Kieran. "You claimed he was exceedingly rude in your dismissal. I believed you because our shared sire had such a habit. My sister shared such a fate. She…" She trailed off as her eyes slowly shifted over to Kieran.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Kieran looked away. He closed his eyes against the silence, feeling the cogs turn in Benoit's head, making connections. His own fate had been eerily similar to Benoit's sister, but with the added trauma of many more years of being favored lost in an instant.

Benoit growled in frustration and slapped her hand against the arm of the chair. "And you! Have you nothing to say for yourself? Still? Mon Dieu. The pair of you. The young human is the only one with half a wit to him, and he is the one that should be having problems functioning in polite society."

Jack frowned and leaned back against the counter as he tugged at his sleeves. He bit at his lower lip before looking at Augustin. "So I've heard the whole 'Kieran broke poor ol' Augie's heart' side, but there's gotta be more to it. I mean, I have my guesses, but what, exactly, happened? What did you do?"

Right to the heart of the matter. No wonder Benoit liked Jack. "Yes, Augustin. What did you do?" Kieran quietly asked, bracing himself.

"Do?" Augustin repeated with an offended frown. He crossed his arms as he shifted his weight, looking away. "Nothing. I simply asked, and you obliged." He sighed and looked back at Kieran. He radiated sorrow and misery. "You were so indulgent. I missed it when you stopped."

It was so much worse than he'd been expecting. He would have gladly preferred a lie to argue against. The fraying thread of Kieran's composure snapped. "You mean when I stopped obligin'! When I said it was too much! The w— No. I don't—" He broke off, taking a shaky breath. He stared at the floor, but it did nothing to alleviate the feel of everyone's eyes on him.

For an instant, he was back in Lorenzo's makeshift court, surrounded by gaiety and laughter as Lorenzo unceremoniously dismissed him with a delicate gold chain. He had been nothing more than a favored toy, discarded the moment something more interesting came along and left with a reminder of to whom he still belonged. The worst of it was the public setting, surrounded by the knowing stares that he'd been fool enough to believe every lie he'd been fed. He'd believed every soft whisper of love and adoration, and he still wanted to believe every pretty word spoken just for him.

"Hey. It's okay. You're allowed to say no." Jack looked up at Kieran in concern, angling his head in an attempt to meet Kieran's eyes. "You know that, right? You're allowed to fucking change your mind halfway through…stuff. I, uh, don't play the game, but I know the rules. I'm not that fucked in the head to forget that. Yet." His eyes darted to Benoit. "Not that it's getting worse. I'm better. We're better. Good. Yeah." He looked back at Kieran and touched his shoulder. "PSA: No's a sentence."

Oh, to have been raised in a time when such notions were becoming the norm.

Kieran nodded. He would have to explain later that it was only part of the larger issue. He reached up and squeezed Jack's hand before facing Augustin. "I only wished for a moment alone. And then I was left alone," he said as calmly as he could. "No note. No letter. There was nothing. I came out of the library after an hour, ready to apologize and grovel. But you were nowhere to be found."

"Well, you did ask me to leave," Augustin said with a dismissive roll of his eyes.

"I waited. Days. Weeks. Nothing," Kieran hissed. He took a step forward, and Augustin leaned back. "Until I heard from Billings that I had thrown you out of my bed, out of my home, out of my life. I thought it was a misunderstanding, so I reached out to your sire. Do you know what her reply was?"

Augustin quickly glanced at Benoit. Her eyes were downcast, avoiding the gaze of others. "I… I can make an educated guess," he quietly replied.

"A used up toy like myself should be grateful that having my pretty face sitting atop a pike would be a waste," Kieran said, his voice breaking as he blinked back the sting of tears. "But if I were to set foot anywhere near you, there would be a call for my head. How could I possibly explain my side against whatever stories you'd spun? So I've let her live under the presumption I broke your heart. It was better than letting other rumors spiral out of control." He let out a broken laugh, stepping back and bumping into the counter. He looked away and ran a hand over his mouth. "And then, years later, I hear that you are looking for me?" he asked, incredulous.

"We could have—"

"I have been ostracized from the community!" Kieran shouted, and Augustin flinched away, shrinking in on himself. "I've been forced to feed in the slums, barely tolerated wherever I go. I have no home to retreat to."

"What about your—"

"My home is little more than a decrepit museum to my family of which I've little care to visit. My reputation is in tatters. Even when I crossed Lorenzo after my dismissal, I was seen as an amusing nuisance. They all thought I was an idiotic lovesick fool, but I was still respected. Now? Now I am accused of being just like him. So I may as well use what I learned. If I'm to hunt in the slums, then I shall declare my hunting grounds in the appropriate fashion. I will make an example of what happens to those who cross me. With such warnings, I'm at least left alone." He smiled bitterly and swallowed. "Since that's what I wanted."

image [https://i.imgur.com/eZY0YUq.png]