A/N: Here's chapter forty-five! This…this scene…Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

Her dull gaze landed on the doorway before her. The hallway she had meant to go down did not end with this door. She had taken a wrong turn somewhere. She hated her former regnant but at least she knew the way around his buildings.

She turned and turned her gaze back to the floor in front of her. She had lost track of how long she'd been sober. Some time over a week. She should have been proud, but she wasn't.

She drank coffee every morning, even ate breakfast along with it. Read the newspaper, watched whatever was on TV. She usually took a small walk around the city, talked to someone in the tower briefly, a quick, polite conversation. For the rest of the night she would seclude herself in her room and sew, or read, or draw.

She was on her way to her next step. A goal, in her mind. She wasn't proud her ambitions were showing either. She wanted the Prince to assign her something.

It wouldn't happen unless she proved herself helpful in some other manner. But she just wanted to do something. Something useful to other people and not herself.

She just needed something to distract her from all the guilt.

She bumped into someone, with such force that they fell over, and papers went everywhere, "Ah!" The other man screamed, landing on his bum, "Oh no…oh no…I'm so sorry miss!" He said, hastily trying to pick up all the papers.

She stood for a moment, then got on one knee and scooped up some of the papers, "Here you are, dear. I'm terribly sorry, I should have been watching where I was going."

"No, no, it's me…I don't…I don't know how to get anywhere…" He said, looking at the messy stack he now had, "This…this means something to someone…I'm sure…"

"I could help you organize them." She offered, "I've been dealing with paperwork for years…"

"You have…?" He asked, looking her up and down, "Are you…the princess of the tower…or something?"

Her cheeks flushed, "Princess? Heavens no. I'm just a ghoul."

"Oh…I just…the blue in your dress…goes nicely with the reds…in this tower…" He looked around, "Heh…heh, heh…I'm not…an interior decorator or anything…so…I could be wrong…"

She couldn't help but laugh, "That's…that's got to be the silliest explanation…"

"I don't know…after seeing all this red, it's nice to see some blue…you know…"

It felt nice to smile. She held out a gloved hand, "Harper."

"Irving." He said, releasing a hand to shake hers, almost dropping the papers again, but he caught himself, "So…so you're a ghoul too?"

"That's right." She said, flinching as she saw the papers almost topple, reaching out to grab them if they fell.

"Heh, heh…" He was shuddering, clearly nervous, "M-Maybe I should give these to…to Prince…Prince Strauss? I think? Maybe I should give these to him first…before I drop them again and make a fool of myself…"

"Do you need them organized?"

He flicked through them, his face dissolving of any confidence whatsoever, "I don't…I don't know what they mean…"

"Come back to my room with me. I'll handle it. I just need my desk."

"No, no, I couldn't. You're probably very busy."

"I'm really not busy at all. I could use the company."

"Okay." He followed her into her room, "So…so how long have you been a ghoul?"

"A little over fifteen years, now. Different regnants, though." She unlocked the door and stepped in, turning the light on. "Sorry if the smell is a bit much. I just cleaned the place." She gently took the papers from him and put them on her desk, grabbing a notepad and pencil. As she flipped through the papers, she made tiny notes on them, shifting them around in the proper order.

"Fifteen years?" He asked, "Holy crap…that's a really long time…" He sat on the couch, "Who's your master?"

"Mister Vanderbilt. He's a Ventrue here."

He swallowed hard, "I heard of him…he looks like he leads a motorcycle gang in his free time…and eats babies whole…and then spends the rest of his days spitting the bones out…"

"No…he's…not…entirely like that…" She mused, "He can be a little…abrasive, but, he's a nice man. He's saved my life time and time again."

He nodded, "My Master's Sirius…that…guy with one eye…who looks like he would have a big dinner table. But not for food. For women."

"Hmm. I've never seen him. He's Camarilla?" She asked.

He nodded, "Apparently he's in this tower." He said, "But…I haven't seen him either. You're the first person I've spoken to in here." He said quietly, "I…uh…I guess the vampires in here are used to ghouls just milling about and don't really interrupt them."

"Yes, that's usually the case. With Strauss, at least." She handed him the stack of organized papers, "There you are."

His eyes lit up, "Wow…thank you so much!" He said, "I could have never done anything like this."

"It's really no problem." She chuckled softly, "I was ghouled to the former Prince, so, I did a lot of paperwork…"

"Really?"

"Well, he figured I wasn't the best with fieldwork…"

"My previous master was…uh…" He took a long sigh, "It's…it's a long story…"

She sat beside him, "Is there time for tea?"

He blinked a few times, shocked at the simple gesture, "You'd…you'd make tea for a complete stranger like me?"

She seemed confused by his confusion, "Why not?"

He smiled, "Thank you, I appreciate it."

She stood up and went to the stove, taking her gloves off as she filled water into the kettle, "Where are you from? You're new, yes?"

He folded his hands, "Sorry for being so…weird about the tea offer…I just…after everything that happened…even if it was only for a few months…I…I forgot what people were. So I'm kinda glad to have met you."

There was a slight pause, after fixing their mugs, she came back in, "Forgot what people were?" She looked a little worried.

He nodded, "I…uh…graduated from college a few months ago. We took a field trip to Paris to celebrate…but…everything went wrong. This…crazy French lady killed my entire class, and took me in as a slave. Next thing I know she tells me she's a vampire and that I'm her servant."

Her eyes were wide, he wasn't sure he ever saw a face so expressive. "I'm so sorry…"

"It's not your fault…I just…had to do everything she said…or…or else." He said, "If it weren't for Sirius and those guys…I'd still be with her…"

She blinked a few times, looking away, "I understand."

"Hmm?"

"That was when I selected Mister Vanderbilt to be my regnant…after he saved me from LaCroix…though, I doubt he was as bad as yours…" Her gaze grew sympathetic as she looked at him. She couldn't help it. She lunged forward to hug him.

He tensed up, eventually hugging her back, "LaCroix huh? Sounds more French than Guil…"

She closed her eyes, "He was an Englishman." Her voice was tiny and bitter.

"Oh…English?" He smiled nervously, "Right, I'm sorry."

She giggled, "No, no, he just…made himself out to be this big snooty rich Frenchman but…he was English…"

"I see…he didn't sound very fun…"

"No…" She held him tighter, like a teddy-bear. "You're very snuggly…"

The kettle started whistling in the kitchen.

"Hey, careful." He chuckled, "The kettle's going off."

She blinked, then stood up, "Right." She went into the kitchen, poured their mugs, then brought them in and set them on the table. She then went back to hugging him.

He went to grab his tea, but stopped when he was squeezed with such vigor. He hugged her back, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine…" She scooted away, "I just…have never met someone who went through something so similar…"

"Is it really that similar?"

"I think it is." She took a sip of her drink, "Do you have a girlfriend? Will she be upset if you come home smelling like me?"

He blushed, "No…I don't…I don't have anyone like that…"

"Okay…" She seemed relieved, "Thank you for staying here and putting up with me. I don't have many friends."

"Really, you don't?" He asked.

"No, I…" She sighed, "I was in a bad place for a while…"

"I…I can imagine…" He said, "What…what did he do to you? LaCroix?"

She gave a haunted smile briefly as she breathed in the steam from her tea, "He was really not a problem until L.A….that's when I like to think too much rust got into the gears of his head and his thirst for power outweighed his desire to make sense…"

"Yeah…make sense…Madame Guil didn't really do much of that either…"

"Maybe it just comes with age…"

"Maybe…" He said, "Crap, does that mean vampires just go insane with old age! What about the ones in the tower?"

"Well…I think we're alright for now…Strauss seems very level-headed." She paused, "What clan was your sire?"

"Uh…I have no idea…" He said, "A Toreador…maybe? Or Volgirre…I hardly know what either of those things mean…"

She hummed to herself, "Toreador are very personable Kindred. They prioritize humanity and emotion. I could see one succumbing to madness with ease."

"She looked like she was straight out of a French ballroom…probably old enough too…"

"What happened to her?"

"She's was killed…it was…like a joint effort…from the Camarilla…and…a bunch of other people…her…like…offspring was there too…or…or sapling…or…"

"Childe?" She guessed with a smile.

"Yeah…that…Basil something-or-other. I think he and I joined at about the same time."

"I see…" She said, "Well…you should probably deliver those papers to Strauss before the sun rises."

"Heh, heh, heh, or else he'll be asleep, I get it." He stood up, "Well, it was really nice to meet you, Harper."

"It was a pleasure to meet you too. You should stop by."

"Of course." He smiled, "I will, whenever I can!"

His hand was so soft in hers. It was par for the course, that parts of him were more feminine than parts of her. Her hands were bigger, her shoulders broader, her height greater. Maybe that's what was so perfect about him. Nothing about her was a flaw to him, nothing was a problem. While most girls wanted a tall handsome knight in shining armor, she got her little timid squire who was the sweetest, most tender thing on the planet.

When he shivered, she could feel it. A smile crept on her lips as she looked down at him, "Kipper, it's seventy degrees, and we're in California. You should be sweating."

His eyes met hers, a goofy smile on his face, "I'm sorry."

She brought an arm around his head and pressed it into her chest, "Stop apologizing, you dope." Couples nearby looked on with a smile. Her wedding ring felt so comfortable, it fit so perfectly. "Did you leave your jacket in the car?"

"I did." His voice was soft. She couldn't see his face, but she didn't need to, to know his eyes were closed and his smile was warm.

She combed her fingers through his hair, pressing her lips to the back of his head, "Is it as nice as you thought it'd be?"

"The Hollywood sign?" He asked, "Do you want my honest opinion or not?"

"Of course."

"I think it…it looks a little less shiny than I was expecting."

She snickered, "Less shiny?"

"You've seen the way it looks in the movies. It's so bright…"

"Maybe it's because the sun is setting."

It was as if reminding him the sun was setting made him that much colder, because he shivered again. She gently let go of him, taking off her jacket and putting it around his shoulders. He didn't put his arms through the sleeves, he was more content hugging it around his frame, feeling two pairs of arms around him. She kissed his forehead, above his ear, "It smells so nice…" He said softly.

"It smells like vacation-dryer-sheets."

"Like what?" He laughed.

"When I packed our bags, I put dryer sheets between some of the clothes. Makes them smell nicer."

He brought the collar up to his nose, "No, I think it smells like you. Smells muskier."

"Thank you…?"

He turned over his shoulder and smiled, "That's a good thing. I didn't mean to sound mean."

"No, I understand. You smell like dirt and shit sometimes and I love it."

He cracked a grin and she leaned in to press a kiss to the corner of his lips.

He turned around so his chest was up against hers, so they were both embracing each other rather than Lumi holding him from behind. "Lumi?"

"Hmm?" She pet his hair, so mesmerized with how soft it was. She thought her hair felt like straw in comparison, but he insisted it was like silk.

"Can we stay on honeymoon forever?"

"You mean endless sex? I'd be okay with that."

His cheeks flamed as he laughed quietly into her shoulder, "I just mean…here…standing out in the middle of a desert…holding one another…forever…"

"Kipper, Hollywood isn't a desert."

"Please just let me be romantic for five minutes…"

"I think your five minutes have long since passed."

"Lumi…" He whined. He could only take so much teasing before he thought she was being serious, which made her laugh. She held his round face with both hands, squishing his cheeks and pecking his lips.

His face was adoration. Anytime he looked up at her, he painted the image of worship, like she was the only good in his life, and she was all of it. Any look on his face was so extremely expressive, it melted her heart into a gooey puddle.

"I'm kidding, Kip." She pinched one of his cheeks, "I'd love to stay here in your arms for all of eternity."

He smiled, content with that answer, content with just holding her after that, too. Content with the silence held between them that spoke volumes.

And then, she scooped him up in her arms, carrying him back to the car as he fell into a very light nap over her shoulder. She placed him in the passenger seat with care, then got in the driver's seat, adjusting the mirrors. "Kipper, are you awake?"

"Mmm?" He wearily opened his eyes, "Oh, did you want me to drive?"

"Of course not. Not if you're going to fall asleep at the wheel." She asked, pulling the car out of the dusty spot they'd snuck the car into. "You…you were never with any other women before me, huh?"

His cheeks turned pink again, his ears bright red. It was something she could get him to do whenever she wanted, and she found it absolutely perfect. "N-No." A pause, and then, "Why?" He looked at her through the mirror, "Is it…is it about the…?"

"Yeah. I don't know." She sighed through her nose, "I don't know if I'm right. You know? I've never been with a girl."

"I don't think it matters if you're right." He looked right over at her, rather than using the mirror, "Even if you were wrong, I'd love you."

She felt her heart throb, "Are you sure?"

"Of course. I wouldn't say that if I wasn't."

"Kipper…I can't have kids either…" She swallowed hard.

"I know. Or, well, I didn't, but I expected that as a possibility. It makes sense. It doesn't bother me, if you're worried about it." Those big eyes tried to meet hers, but hers were on the road. "We can adopt, if you really want."

"I'm asking for your sake, Kipper. I want you to be happy with this. I don't want my…condition to be a reason for…any disputes…"

"Disputes?" He asked, "Of course not. You're perfect for me, Lumi. I wouldn't care if…if you suddenly pulled a zipper down from your forehead and revealed yourself as a monster, you're all I could ask for. You, not what you are."

Her lower lip quivered, she quickly dabbed tears out of her eyes, "Dammit, Kipper, stop making me cry…"

"I'm so sorry!" He reached forward to hold her arm.

She held one of his hands, "Stop apologizing." She reached over and pet his head, scratching his scalp in a way that made him close his eyes and lean over on her shoulder. She smiled, looking in the faint reflection of the windshield to see him already half-asleep again. "Does it bother you…" She asked softly, "That we got married in a church?"

"Hmm…" He nuzzled his face against her arm. It couldn't have been all that comfortable. "No…?"

"Well…I know some people say…you know, what I did to myself, it…goes against what He created me as."

"He created you to do whatever you want, Lumi." He said, his voice drowsy, "We're not Adam and Eve…if He gave us the technology to do it, He doesn't mind you doing it."

"Are you sure?"

"…I mean…I'm not…" He looked up at her, "I'm not a preacher…"

"Can you please put your seatbelt on right?"

"It's not comfortable…"

"If we get in an accident and you get hurt, I'm going to be incredibly upset."

He reached over and squeezed her hand, "He's watching us right now…I don't think we have to worry about it…" He fell back into a light sleep. She pondered over the merit of his words, debating whether or not he was just sleepy or meaningful.

"Kipper?" She asked softly. This time she didn't get a response. "Kipper?" Again, nothing. Now he was really out.

She kept driving into the dark night, flicking her headlights on when she realized they weren't. He woke briefly a few times, pulling himself away from her to press his head against the window, or just lie back in the seat.

Why couldn't the chemistry last? When he held her now, why didn't her heart lurch? When he smiled, why didn't it skip a beat, and when he cried, why didn't it make it throb? Was it because her heart was dead?

The night she lost her life was cold and lonely. She had a job, she was a working woman, she wore a suit and skirt and felt professional and so attractive when she came home and Kasper pulled her hair out of the bun and begged for her.

She was on her way to a cab when she was mugged, raped and Embraced, right in an alleyway. She was sure someone heard her screams, but nobody acted. The streetlamp lit up the entire crime. It extended a hand, but when Lumi grabbed onto it, it didn't pull her up, it just dropped her.

That was when Lumi moved away from the city. The city, which, she claimed was safe due to the amount of eyes. She remembered Kipper expressing his fears when she got a city-job, like a grown woman, like the thing she had always wanted to be.

"It's dark, and there are criminals there, Lumi, especially at night…there are gangs and unjust violence…"

"And there are hundreds of people. If something happens, I'll have all those people to help me. It's not lonely like it is out in a farm, people hear things."

"I don't want you to get hurt."

"I won't. Promise."

It was the first promise she broke, and she swore it would be the last. She had no idea what she was, and she almost died more times than she could count. She figured out what her limits were from mere trial and error. Her mind told her to sleep during the day, to fear sunlight, so she did. She didn't question it. She tried eating so many things but they all made her sick, only blood sustained her.

She tried loving Kipper, and that didn't work either.

Kipper worried for her. He called doctors who she had to trick, he got her medicine she had to dump, he cuddled with her in bed to keep her company, to talk her through her depression and anxiety. He bought her an electric blanket to warm her up. He took care of her animals, slowly taking on nearly all of her responsibilities as well as his own until they hardly saw each other.

And when he had a heart attack, that was when she knew she couldn't lie in bed and wait for him to give up on her.

It was then that the roles switched. He was prescribed a change in diet, a prescription or two, and months of bedrest. Doctors said it was a miracle he survived. She took care of his bison and alpacas, she even tried to sow his crops with no avail. The farm lost a lot of money, but she didn't care. She owed him his own recovery.

It was where she met Chester, the twitchy pharmacist who seemed to have a different injury every day, citing ridiculous stories for each of them that made her laugh on the car ride home. She ghouled him as soon as she heard of the concept, not intending a lasting relationship. She just wanted to do some good in a world where she did so much harm.

Kipper was given the release that he could go back to work and stop taking the medication months later, but he still slept more than she could remember, and ate less than she would have liked. He'd aged in those few months, and the few years that followed. She tried taking him in bed but had virtually no drive, not for him, at least.

When Chester's blunt comments made her blood rush more than any of Kipper's affections, she knew she'd broken another promise.

She didn't stop hunting when she joined the Kindred race, rather, she increased her hunts. It went from one a week to one every other day, sometimes nights in succession. She hunted him, the one that Embraced her, every single night, along with whoever else made the most cash.

She hunted the demon that took her life, and took the life of her husband. She decided she would never rest until the thing was ash, particles in the wind, breathed in by everything on the planet.

When she wondered about her 'derangement', Lumi decided she was a hoarder. She hoarded away memories and emotions of a relationship that she had when she was young and kept them around, kept anything around that could bring those memories back, no matter how toxic they were to her or to others.

She slept that night, her body wrapped around Kipper as he squeezed her hands. She left a trail of tender kisses down the back of his neck, across each vertebrae that jutted out. She was a dragon and he was her gold.

"You're perfect for me, Lumi. I wouldn't care if…if you suddenly pulled a zipper down from your forehead and revealed yourself as a monster, you're all I could ask for. You, not what you are."

One night. One night he'd learn about the monster beneath her skin. But that night wasn't this one.

"Yes, she seems to be displaying mastery over Blood Boil, Delilah." Victor said, "I'm surprised at her recent tenacity, she has also defeated Cedric…the ancient Harbinger of Skulls, he is no more."

"I really do wish I could talk to her. She seems rather distant…" His lover sighed, looking around, "I can't remember for the life of me where I parked."

He put his hands in his pockets, "It's the one garage ahead, not this one." He said, "Yes…she and her comrades escaped safe and soundly, though I hear Dragomir was nearly turned to dust by Lafayette himself, he's likely bitter about the affair."

"Oh dear…well…as long as everyone's alright…"

He nodded, a pause filled the air, until he finally said, "I heard she's made a resurgence. With her sisters. I think she's trying to get them integrated into the Camarilla."

"Really? Well, that's good. Something's sunk in then."

"It doesn't necessarily solve anything." He said, "She'll most likely cause another scene in a matter of time."

"I wonder where she is."

Victor held an arm out, "Wait." He said, "Stay behind me." He squinted, "We were just talking about you."

Lafayette looked giddy at the other end of the parking garage, "You fools have taken away my sire, and now you've taken away my oldest friend." His face twisted into a deadly smirk, "For that, I'll turn your pitiful English lover into a wonderful chair for the Sabbat!"

"That would involve getting past me…which is impossible."

Lafayette held his arms out, "I see we both have techniques that can end the other's life in a mere second. Perhaps, for the sake of battle, we should forego those methods, to see who truly is the greater warrior."

"Me."

He growled, "Tremere slime!" He sprinted at him.

Victor took his pistol out, blasting away, when the bullets did little to deter Lafayette, his eyes widened. He jumped out of the way, landing in a safer area, while Lafayette meanwhile crushed a car as he ran into it.

For a long time, whether she meant to or not, Venus viewed Victor's stories as just that. Stories. Seeing Lafayette was certainly a reminder that these stories were actually not just stories.

She backed away, "Would police attention help?" She asked Victor.

Victor thought about it, "Not yet." He said.

Lafayette clenched his hands into fists, transforming into his Zulo form as he roared and charged straight for Venus.

Victor's eyes shrunk, he blasted him with fire in the back. As big and impressive a monster as he was, he cried out in pain, falling on the ground. Lafayette frantically tried to pat the flames out while Victor adjusted himself so he was blocking the way to Venus.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Venus asked.

"Do you have that handgun on you?" Victor looked at her.

She ruffled through her bag, "I do."

"Use it. Bullets take effect despite how it looks." He said, "Even to an armored behemoth like him. And stay far away from him, he can close the distance faster than you think."

She nodded, reloading the gun and taking aim. She popped off a few rounds whenever she felt he was in range.

Lafayette laughed in his monstrous form, no doubt amused by the fact that a mere human thought she could take him on. However, a few blood bolts caused him to stumble back. He growled at Victor, turning around and picking a car up from its parking space and slinging it behind his back. He charged at Victor, using it as a blunt weapon.

Victor was teleporting around too much to be hit, so Lafayette gave up and threw it at him. The car exploded, causing nearby cars to explode as well, and most of the parking garage to collapse in on itself.

The Tremere swore when he saw the state of the building, as well as the fires all around, fencing the trio in. He fired more shots at Lafayette, hoping he and Venus's bullets would add up sooner rather than later.

"I hope my insurance covers this!" She shouted over the fires.

Victor panted unnecessarily, again, trying to block Venus. Lafayette ran up to oppose him, clawing in in the face. Victor yelled out as blood came out in five different streams from his body. He collapsed on the ground.

When he was downed, Lafayette blasted beast shards at him, while still in Zulo form. Now that Victor was dazed, he planned to finish him off.

Victor winced as he felt the black magical shards enter his body. Blood was oozing all over him, and he barely had the strength to stand, the beast shards were clearly complicating matters even more so. "Damn it all…" He grunted, "My…my humanity is…is too high…I won't…I won't succumb…to the beast…"

Venus looked wary, aiming her gun to fire right between Lafayette's eyes.

Lafayette paused, roaring in pain. The shot stunned him, long enough, it seemed, for Victor to be spared for another few minutes. Angrily, he charged towards Venus, going to finish her off next. Victor stood wearily, blasting fire at him through both hands.

Lafayette staggered, until his footsteps came to a complete stop. He roared, the sound echoing throughout the parking garage as he was lit ablaze. As big as his body was, Victor coated it completely in fire, to the point where his blue form was merely a shadow underneath the flames.

Victor panted some more. Evidently, this was costing him a lot of blood and taking a lot out of him. But he had to endure, he had to press on. He had to keep spraying flames. If he stopped, even for a second, Lafayette would take another step and kill either him or Venus.

Watching a towering monster slowly approach was unnerving. Watching a flaming, towering monster approach was quite a bit worse, as Venus could see. All he had to do was take another step, but he couldn't. The large mountain of fire on him was only growing, no matter how much he thrashed and screamed. His roars grew louder and more strained, as he tried desperately to get the fire off of him. His large arms were held out, his stance was shaky, and he faced the ceiling with one final bellow, as the fire brightened briefly, and disappeared, along with Lafayette's body, in a large breeze of dust.

Venus huffed, putting her gun away, "Alright…so…so…you need blood, I'm sure."

"We also need to find a way out of this blaze." Victor said, "Come, I'll lead the way."

A/N: Whelp, that's it, fic's over, Lafayette's game has been ended. Thanks for reading!