"Go up stairs, Luna." Eric said softly, setting her down on the bottom step of the stairs that led to the second floor of Elander's loft. She stood there on the step rubbing her eyes, she'd fallen asleep on the drive over. Eric watched her tenderly, then looked at Godric. "Take her upstairs and lay with her." he told his Maker. "Just so she has someone familiar with her as I call her parents." Eric explained.
Godric nodded, taking Luna by the hand and directing the sleepy girl upstairs to one of the bedrooms. A broad smile on his face and his chest swelled with joy and pride watching them go upstairs and disappear around the corner.
"I have the good life." he smiled, happy.
Then he sighed getting down to business. Pulling out his cell phone and dialing Luna's parent's phone number, Eric sat on the down the couch and brushing his fingers through his still wet hair. The phone on the other end picked up and Eric focused his attention.
"Hello?" A female voice answered.
"Hi, Mrs. Corvinus?" Eric replied back.
"Yes, who is this?" Kia sniffed.
"My name is Eric, I'm the father of one of the students Luna met on her exchange program..." he started to explain.
"You know where Luna is?" She sounded panicked. Eric couldn't blame her, he was panicked when he lost contacted with the teen.
"Yes, I do, Mrs. Corvinus. She's here at my home in Central Stockholm. She came by early this afternoon very upset. Luna didn't tell me that she didn't tell you or her father where she was until about a half hour ago, she's asleep now. I wanted to call you and let you know that she's fine and safe." The Viking told the mother. Safer than you or your husband can ever make her. Eric added to himself.
"How did she find you?" Kia asked.
"She met my son, Godric in Louisiana on the Exchange program. They had swapped addresses and numbers at some point. From what I've gathered her school is only about an hours walk from here. As a concerned parent to another." the sick smile on Eric face wasn't going anywhere.
"I'm so sorry for Luna intruding on you and your wife like this..." Kia started.
"My wife passed away some years ago." Eric deadpanned. He could hear the embarrassed gasp from Luna's mother.
"I'm...I'm so sorry." Kia mumbled.
"It's alright."
"Well, um..we can come get her..."
"No, no. It's alright. It's late and she's already asleep and it's the happiest I've seen my son in a few years and it's the first friend of his I've ever met too. She's more than welcome to stay the rest of the night or as long as she wants. She won't be intruding at all, I promise." Eric informed her.
Kia hesitated on the other line, then started whispering to Luna's father no doubt.
"If you like to come over and see for yourselves, I'd be more than willing to do so, Mrs. Corvinus." Eric added with an edge to his voice.
"That be fine." Kia answered, in a tone that made it sound like it was her idea, Eric's intention.
"Alright, then." Eric grinned and gave her the address to the loft.
"We'll be there within the hour." Kia told him.
"We'll be here, Mrs. Corvinus." Eric replied.
They said good-bye and hung up. Rolling his eyes as he dropped his cell phone on the coffee table in front of him and rubbed his face. His body shivered at Godric called him through their Maker and Child bond. In a blink of an eye, Eric was there by the bed Luna and Godric were laying in. Luna was sound asleep on her belly. Godric was laying on his side facing her, rubbing her back lightly.
"How did it go?" Godric whispered.
"Their coming over to ensure her safety and well being." Eric whispered back, laying down beside Luna, twisting her hair around his finger.
"Should we wake her now?" Godric asked.
"No, let her sleep. We'll wake her when they get here. She needs all the sleep she can get, Vampire schedule is running her into the ground. I think I'm going to have to give her a bedtime or something to make sure she gets enough sleep." Eric said, still playing with Luna's hair. Godric nodded agreeing with his Child.
Eric didn't even know he fell asleep until he heard knocking on the door. Cursing he rolled out of bed, fixing his clothes and hair as he sped down the stairs to the door. He pulled open the door with a smile, to Luna's parents. He paused looking at Luna's very pregnant mother. Minus of being with child, Kia looked just like her daughter. But her eyes weren't a crazy, almost clear metallic blue like Luna's, they were a dark gray. He could also see that she got the intense death glare from her father, but this time the glare didn't turn him on.
"Please come in." Eric said, stepping aside and letting them pass.
Kia and Kalle stepped into the loft looking around at the place and when they were satisfied then they looked for their daughter as they sat down on the couch.
"Luna, is still asleep." Eric told them, standing by the stairs. "Godric." he called up the stairs.
Godric came half down the stairs. "Yeah?" Godric answered, raising an eyebrow at the Viking.
"Can you go wake Luna up, her parents are here to see her."
"Yeah, no problem." Godric nodded and went back upstairs.
Eric sat on the loveseat to the side of Kalle and Kia. They sat quietly for a few moments before Kalle sparked up conversation.
"So, what is it that you do for a living?" Kalle asked Eric.
"I'm a business man. I own a couple of clubs here in Sweden and in the U.S." Eric told them.
"Interesting." Kalle nodded. "I'm a lawyer in my own firm."
Eric nodded, impressed. "That's a good business. I wanted to be a lawyer, when I was a bit younger but events happened that put a stop to it." he lied.
Luna came down the stairs blinking the sleep out of her eyes. Kia got up and hugged, her. "Momma." Luna groaned cranky.
"What were you thinking attacking the principle like that, Luna Rose." Kia scolded her.
"I didn't attack him!" Luna barked, surprising her mother. "He tried belittling me and my friends over pieces of candy and he tried touching me. I defended myself. Who the hell told you I attacked him?"
"That's...that's what the school officials said when they called us this afternoon, Luna. After you disappeared from the incident."
"I was scared. I needed to get away." Luna told her, her eyes clouding over.
"You could have come to us." Kia said.
"And what?" Luna snapped lightly. Kia took a step back. "You've already assumed that I attacked him before asking me if I had or not. Which I didn't. But that doesn't seem to matter to you."
"Luna, don't talked to your mother like that." Kalle said getting up.
Luna narrowed her eyes at him, "I'm guessing you came to see if I was okay?" she said. "Well as you can see I am. So you can leave now, I'm gunna go upstairs and go back to bed." Luna sneered and marched back up stairs.
Kalle and Kia looked at each other in utter astonishment about their daughter's little out burst. Eric sat on the couch not shocked at all. He knew and heard the stories about what they gave Luna throughout her life. But in the other sense, Eric knew Luna could have gone about it differently. The parents turned to him, shock still all over their faces.
"If its alright with you, we think we will let Luna stay the night." Kalle told him.
"That's perfectly fine with me." Eric nodded solemnly. Kia and Kalle nodded at him and themselves before heading out the door.
"Please, take care of my little girl." Kia said to Eric, turning and following her husband to the car.
"I will." Eric said quietly.
"Luna, is crying and I can't seem to soothe her, Eric." Godric said faintly.
Eric nodded, closing the door. "She's a bit tricky to calm down, when she does actually start to cry." he said walking up the stairs. "Holds it in too long and when it finally comes out..."
"It comes out." Godric nodded, understanding. "I'll be in the living room if you want me." he said, letting Eric comfort Luna on his own.
"Alright." Eric replied, pushing open the door to the bedroom Luna was in.
She was laying on her side, her face buried into a pillow as she sobbed quietly. Eric sighed, sitting on the bed next to her. He rubbed her hip and thigh consoling her for a bit, before pulling her into the spoon position with him on the bed, cocooning her against his body and holding her secure against him. Luna laced her fingers together and stared at them intently, sniffling.
"I don't want to be here anymore, Eric." she choked. "I miss being here, but everything is so complicated here too. I can't take the way my parents treat me anymore. My friends aren't really the kind of friends I need, they only get me in trouble." Eric listened to her babble, knowing that she was right, but had to get it out of her. "I want to leave."
"Luna, no matter what, they are and always will be your family. You can't forget that, sweetie." he told her, kissing her neck.
"I know they are and I love them. But I've had enough." Luna said, shifting to her back. "Please." she begged him. "Please, Eric. Please."
Eric frowned at her, brushing her hair from her face. "Sleep on it, Luna." he whispered. "If you wake up and still want to leave, I will take you from here. I will take you back to Shreveport and you never have to worry about this again unless you want too. But sleep on it first, think about it completely." he promised her. Luna nodded.
"Okay, Eric."
Luna, Eric and Godric all dozed in bed together as the bright world outside bustled about. People going to work, to school. Street venders shouted out prices and descriptions of things they were selling to passer-bys, buses and cars zoomed in and out of lines, honking at each other and rushing to their destination with their human controllers. The sun was ascending to the top of the sky as mid-day approached, but the three were oblivious to it all, sleeping soundly and snuggled together as the day left them behind and the night greeted them with open arms full of twinkling stars and a breathless quarter moon. The youngest of the three woke, near fitfully. Sitting up on one elbow and rubbing her eyes, she blinked clearing her vision and remembered where she was, before carefully sliding down to the bottom of the bed from between the two snoozing Vampires. Stretching as she stood, then padding silently downstairs to see if there was any food for her human stomach to devour in the very Vampire loft.
Luna sighed, opening the fridge and finding nothing but shelves of True Blood and big pitch of blood. The cabinets were empty, there wasn't a single crumb in the house that resembled human food. Rubbing her face, she stumbled into the living room and dug through the front pocket of her backpack and pulled out the bank card Eric had given her for anything she wanted or needed and right now she needed to eat and she wanted some Starbucks. Pulling on her worn out Vans and jacket, popping in her headphones, Luna headed out the door, down the elevator and onto the chaotic streets of Stockholm at 11 in the morning in search of those very two things.
Sipping her White Chocolate Caramel with extra Caramel and whip cream Mocha and enjoying a crumb top muffin as she sat on the outside tables in front of Starbucks, Luna watched the world around her go on. She sat there thinking about what everyone at the school must be thinking after her outburst yesterday with Rosenberg, about how her parents assumed on the spot that she had actually attacked him for no reason, and how she still, with everything she had left, wanted to leave Stockholm and return to Shreveport with Eric and Godric. She was so busy thinking about all that and people watching that she missed the young man sitting down next to her at the table with a cup of Starbucks himself.
"I got Hot Coco with a shot of peppermint and whip cream." He said catching her attention. "What you get?"
Luna looked down at the cup in her hand, "White Chocolate Caramel Mocha with extra Caramel and whip cream." she answered looking at him. "Eric send you?" she asked getting the idea that he did.
"Yeah, I'm Tristan." The boy answered, extending his hand to her.
"Elander's human, I'm guessing. The one that was looking for me when I decided to jump off the map for almost a week." Luna shook his hand.
"That's me." Tristan smiled, taking a sip of his hot Coco. "So, how do you enjoy being Eric Northman's human?" he asked, then chuckled as Luna raised an eyebrow at him. "You're the only human that Eric's...well kept. I mean Eric isn't a 'bond with a human and date her' kind of person. He was always all over Elander for having me around. Must be nice though. Eric's flaming hot, intensely powerful both physically, mentally and professionally. You must be living the life with him as your Vampire."
"Eric is Eric." Luna said, finishing her muffin. "He's a great boyfriend to me. I love him a lot." she didn't feel the need to go into detail about her emotions about Eric.
Tristan leaned forward close to Luna, so she could only hear him. "How's he in bed?" he asked in a dusky voice. Luna laughed at him.
"Honey, if you knew, you'd kill me to have him." she stated proudly.
"Trust me." Tristan laughed with her. "When Elander told me Eric had a human, I nearly did hunt you down and kill you. I wanted Eric for awhile, but I'm not his type." There was a small pout on his lips as he said that.
"How's that?" Luna asked curious.
"One, I'm male. Eric only goes for females, unless it's Godric." Tristan informed her. "Two, I have A negative blood, Eric only likes..."
"Rare blood types. O or AB positive and negative." Luna chimed in nodding.
"Yeah, what's yours?"
"AB positive. His and Godric's utmost favorite." Luna told him, tossing her empty cup in the trash a few feet away.
"Lucky." Tristan sulked. "And three, Eric likes strong, intelligent, and tough, what he calls 'Local girls'. Girls that are from Sweden or Scandinavian countries. I'm none of those, so I couldn't have him. I settled on Elander."
"You're not a Scand-o?" Luna asked.
"No, I'm from Maine." Tristan chuckled.
"And do you mean, 'settled' for Elander?" Luna narrowed her eyes. "You just go for him because you couldn't have Eric."
"Luna," Tristan turned to face Luna fully. "You and I aren't alike completely. We both are in relationship with Vampires and are young, yes. But you're in a relationship with Eric because the both of you love each other. I'm in a relationship with Elander because I'm a Fang Banger. Elander knows that and when he's sick of me, he'll tell me to get lost and I'll find a new Vampire without a second thought to it." Luna stared at the boy in front of her steel faced, but inside her mind was reeling with how anyone would just want to be with a Vampire because they were a Vampire and a Vampire would let it happen for a quick lay and a snack. It made her appreciate Eric and their relationship even more.
"Fair enough." she said, looking away from him and back to the crowd. "How old are you?"
"Almost 23." Tristan answered, joining her in the people watching. "You?"
"I just turned 17 in September." Luna answered, eying a guy across the street stalking a girl. "Stalker at 12 o'clock. What you think?" Tristan looked over at the guy and nodded.
"Stalker, no doubt." he said as Luna got up and jay walked across the street to the girl the guy was stalking. "What the hell is she doing?" Tristan said tossing his cup and following her.
"Hi." Luna smiled at the girl.
"Uh, hi?" she replied.
"You know there's a guy a few people behind us following you?" she told the girl.
"Yeah, he's my ex-boyfriend." the girl told her looking back nervously.
"Luna, get back here." Tristan said pulled Luna to a stop.
"What?" Luna snapped at him.
"Mind your own business." Tristan scolded her.
"Mind yours." Luna barked tripping the guy as he walked by.
The guy dove head long into the concrete and slid on his hands and face for a moment, before stopping and rolling over, blood starting to trickle from a gash above his eye. He looked up at Luna with a scowl on his bloody face as he got up. "Bitch." he growled.
"Say what?" Luna snapped, twisting around to look at him.
As she turned though, he throw a punch at her. Hitting her in the mouth a busting her lip, that was the final straw for Luna then. She tackled him and started pounding on him. They rolled around fighting and throwing punches and curses.
"Eric's going to kill me." Tristan said trying to pulled them apart with a couple of other people in the crowd that gathered to watch them. "Luna, get off him. Stop. Stop!" he yelled, pulling Luna off the guy finally, kicking and still throwing out fists. Tristan dragged her away, still shouting insults and threats to the man.
As Tristan dragged Luna off the elevator on the loft floor, Eric and Godric came of the loft. Eric's face went wide with anger seeing Luna's bleeding lip, nose and eye. Her knuckles were red and blue, swollen and a bit bloody from hitting the guy in the fight. She looked at Eric rolling her eyes and walking past him with an attitude.
"Luna, get back here." Eric growled going after her.
"You can go home now, Tristan." Godric told the boy. "Thank you for bringing her back."
"Yeah, no problem." Tristan nodded. "It was my pleasure to watch her throw down like that and I doubt it had anything to do with Eric's blood." he added, getting back on the elevator.