Birthday Bash 2020
Prompt 2: Movie Extra
xxXxx
Today was the day. As little as Humbert was going to like it when he found out, he had delayed this day long enough.
Her dearest friend was as gentle as always as he scrubbed her old, broken body with a soapy washcloth and rinsed her clean with a warm water pitcher before moving his equally careful attentions to her hair.
Louise had been given a lot of grief over her hair growing up, but now that she was turning eighty-six, white hair was perfectly natural. Even if it was even thinner than it had been in her youth.
Her scarred and gnarled hand braced against Humbert's steady arm as he helped her stand up from the plastic chair he had set in the bathtub for her. Reaching behind him for a slightly threadbare towel, he dried her hair and wrapped it around her withered body respectfully.
"I am sorry," she said once again, but he shook his head with a loving smile.
"No one is forcing me to stay, Louise. Only my deep affection for you."
Her tired heart pitter-pattered again at such loving talk, but Louise forced it to calm down again.
He had meant that platonically. They were each other's only family and had been for the past nine years.
Which only stiffened her resolve.
Deciding he didn't like how slick the tiles were, Humbert opened the door before sweeping the ancient woman into his arms before carefully leaving the bathroom and turning to her room of the little cottage.
As she often did when Humbert dressed her anymore, she studied his face for any signs of disgust or discomfort.
Still none. She felt a warmth in her soul at his sincere devotion, even as she fervently wished that it hadn't taken this long to meet someone that could love her, even with her scars.
Those scars.
Her life could have turned out entirely different without the fire that caused them.
Once she was in her familiar set of button-up blouse with slacks, Humbert gave her another tender smile before carefully combing her hair, which was as thin and fine as cobwebs. "What shall it be today? Braids? Bun? Surprise you?"
"I would like you to do whatever style you think is most flattering to me," she answered simply in her soft voice. "We have a guest arriving for tea."
"… May I ask why you didn't tell me sooner?" he asked suspiciously.
"You won't like my answer," she replied, not really having the energy to put off repeated inquiries.
Louise felt his hands turn stiff and immobile halfway through combing through her long, thin hair.
Setting the comb aside for now, he walked around the chair she was sitting in to kneel at her feet. "Tell me you didn't."
She closed her blue eyes with pain before setting both of her scarred hands on his shoulders. "I'll be eighty-six next month. Every day, I become a little less a person and a little more a doll for you to dress and position as you please."
A half-melted wax doll, that is.
"But your mind is still sharp," he nearly begged, but she shook her head firmly.
"You remember what happened yesterday while reading to me. It's time, while I still have my reasoning."
His next breath sounded very much like a cry. He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his head on her bony lap.
Louise could feel her love for the young man swell yet again as she laced her arms around his broad shoulders and held him close as she felt warm tears penetrate her clothing. "I love you, too," she stated simply. "I don't want to leave you, I would never want to leave you. But I don't know when my end will come, and it will bring me peace of mind if we take care of it now."
He held her even tighter, though still careful not to break her fragile body. He held onto her longer than he had ever done before, save for when he covered both of them with a blanket before settling down with a novel.
"Besides, you deserve better than to play nursemaid to a grouchy old woman," she reminded him, since he had broken her of using the word 'hag' out loud. "You are a fine man, and it… would be a shame if you didn't find some special lady to share your life with."
"I have my special lady," Humbert grumbled into her lap, still refusing to release her.
"You know what I mean," Louise sighed tiredly. "Now come. Help me to the kitchen so that I can start on some refreshments for the tea."
Her dear friend lacked his usual energy when he carried her into the little kitchen in the main room of the cottage. He retrieved what she asked for, he started some water boiling for the day's special blend.
But it was very clear he didn't care much for the idea of living in her house alone, or perhaps returning to his previous hobby of traveling but never settling.
Just as he was exiting the back door to poke around their garden for the tea's herbs, he stopped moving to look at Louise again, now carefully mixing biscuit batter with one hand while holding onto the bowl with her entire arm to keep it steady. "Are you sure you mean it, dear?"
"Which part, dear?" she asked without batting an eyelash.
Not that she'd had eyelashes since the fire several decades before.
"You have mentioned more than once how much it would please you for me to find someone to share the rest of my life with."
"I mean it," she responded without thinking twice, forgetting her struggle with the thick batter to look him directly in the eye. "I want your happiness more than anything."
That seemed to make up his mind for him, although Louise couldn't see how reiterating her desire could change anything at this point.
He stepped back into the house, but only enough to take the nearby phone off its receiver and start dialing a number that wasn't local.
"What are you up to?" she asked suspiciously.
"You conspire against me, I conspire against you," he answered with a stubborn smile, closing the door after him to keep the call private. The decision was working an unneeded kink into the receiver's coiled wire since the connecting part was still inside the house.
Louise shrugged off the worry and returned to wrestling the biscuit batter onto the bread board Humbert had already floured for her.
She couldn't even be worried about how much higher the phone bill was going to be since he wasn't willing to wait until after five.
ooOoo
After the lawyer left with Louise's final will and testament in hand, Humbert locked the door and looked out the lacy curtains worriedly.
"I know you didn't want me to name you my heir," Louise admitted while tracing the edge of her teacup with a gnarled finger. "But I would rather my home and meager assets ended up in your hands over my so-called 'niece' that just wants to pack me off to a nursing home so that she could sell this place. I never needed her to tell me how much it would go for."
"I greatly enjoy when she stops by to give me the excuse to throw her into the street time and again," Humbert admitted with a wolfish smile, seemingly satisfied when the roar of a car became distant.
Content that they were alone, her tawny friend once again knelt at her feet and clasped both of her hands between his own. "Now that we've established how much you trust me, I'd like to call you out on it."
Louise forgot again that she couldn't open her eyes all the way thanks to her scars. "Oh?"
He took a second to muster up some deeply needed courage. "I know a specialist that might be able to help us. She's frightfully expensive, but I've seen for myself that her aid works wonders for health. Will you agree to a consultation?"
She gave him a loving smile. "Humbert. I'm old. There's only one cure for that."
He closed his amazing green eyes, and she could see his lips form numbers until reaching ten. "Will you agree to talk to her out of love for me?"
Drat it. He was giving her his 'puppy' look. She could never say no when he used that look on her.
She closed her blue eyes and sighed tiredly. "If it means that much to you. But you know I can't afford 'frightfully expensive'."
"Leave that to me," he beamed before stealing a kiss from her badly wrinkled cheek.
ooOoo
"Louise, this is Renaldo Moon," Humbert introduced a large man as he entered their little cottage.
She took one look at the heavily muscled individual and started cackling evilly.
Renaldo scowled at her. "Something funny?"
Humbert gave her a loving grin before addressing his friend. "My guess is that she's imagining the look on her no-account niece's face if she tries to claim the cottage while we're gone, and then sees you."
"You better believe that's what I'm imagining," Louise cackled while looking him up and down.
Like Humbert he was surprisingly handsome and built like a world-class trainer, though much taller. For all she knew, he was a world-class trainer. But between his height, muscles, and scowl that seemed to be his resting face, she knew that her home would be in good hands.
"Can you garden as well?" she asked, making the new friend nod firmly.
"It's one of the hobbies we pick up over the years. I might plant some new things and change out old ones, but it will bloom just fine without you."
"We?" Louise asked, seeing the way Humbert almost frantically nudged his friend's elbow.
"Part of our friend group. Did you manage to track down Lisle's whereabouts for me?"
"She's currently en route to Hollywood, U.S.A.," Renaldo reported with an eyeroll. "You know how she feels about 'less than desirable seasons', and you know she'll always be able to pick up at least one client there."
"Actually, I didn't," Humbert admitted with a resigned sigh as he picked up Louise and headed out to the taxi as Renaldo grabbed both of their briefcases to follow them. "I can't say that I'm surprised, however. Vlad had similar prejudices."
"Vlad?" Louise asked with confusion.
"The one Lisle inherited her practice from," Renaldo informed a little shortly, putting their luggage into the trunk of the taxi. "I already told the driver where to take you two to meet up with Bird Brain. He and I can beat each other senseless after your little lady is back on her feet."
"Thank you for that," Humbert replied with relief as he finished settling Louise into the back seat of the taxi and tucking a blanket over her scrawny legs. "Please enjoy the watermelon when its finished ripening."
"Oh, I know I will." Renaldo held the door to silently insist that his friend circle the taxi for his own seat but leaned down to give Louise a serious look. "Don't let anyone bully you into the treatment, not even Humbert," he told her point blank. "Think things through before making a decision."
"I assure you that is my intention," she comforted him with a smile, already liking the grump for not even blinking at her many scars on face and arms.
It had made him the second person to ever do so, confirmed when the taxi driver began adjusting his rearview mirror so that he wouldn't be able to see her while driving.
"Be sure to give my niece grief if you see her," Louise bade him for a farewell.
He gave her an evil grin. "I'll show no mercy. Good luck," he bade them while standing straight and closing the door for her.
ooOoo
Louise's eyes snapped open in horror. "HELP!" she cried out while struggling to rise from her seat, which was shifting and adjusting like a train. "I've been kidnapped!"
The handsome stranger she had been resting on the shoulder of opened his green eyes with alarm. "No, no, Louise! It's me, Humbert!" he tried to tell her while keeping her from falling out of her seat.
But she was too scared to believe him. "HELP! Papa! Douglas! Some man's taking me aw-"
The man firmly wrapped his arm around her waist and dragged her back to him so that he could press a deep kiss to her forehead.
That… no one had ever done that before. Not Papa, and definitely not Douglas.
Wait. That wasn't entirely true…
"Humbert!" she gasped as her memories flooded back to her, including the other time that method had woken her up. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it." 'Especially calling out for my abusive father and brother to help me. They would have let anyone steal me if someone thought I was worth the trouble.'
He gave her shushing sounds while holding her close. "It wasn't your fault, dear. That's why we're on this plane; to make sure it doesn't happen anymore."
Louise really looked around the small plane to reassure herself, even as she clung to her dear friend.
"I want to say, 'please don't scream like that again," Toto called from the pilot's seat without taking his eyes off the sky ahead and above. "That's not the noise I'm used to for these trips."
"She didn't mean it," Baron stressed again while cradling the fragile woman to him. "Would you like to use the bathroom as long as you're awake? It will be another few hours until we need to refuel."
"… Yes," she admitted while feeling her tired blood rush up to give her an embarrassed blush.
"It wasn't your fault," he assured her again while bracing her against himself so that she could walk down the narrow alleyway. "I'd offer to help, but there is literally only room for one in there."
"I should manage," she promised him before tugging hard enough on his neck to make him lean down for a kiss on the cheek. "I really don't deserve you, you know."
"But I deserve you," he answered while kissing her forehead one more time before letting her slip into the tiny stall.
That was one nice thing about such a small space. Louise had plenty to lean on while conducting business.
ooOoo
"What are we doing here, Humbert?" she couldn't keep from asking after he pulled their rental car into a surprisingly fancy clothing store instead of a doctor's office.
Humbert waited until he had shut the car off and gathered her in his arms from the passenger seat. "Lisle is a vain and shallow woman. She is throwing a party for her clients as we speak, but we will need to dress the part in order to be let in."
"Foolishness," Louise muttered under her breath while wrapping her scrawny arms around his neck for extra support.
"I agree, but follow my lead while we're in there," he hurriedly whispered while carefully managing the revolving door so that no part of either of them were harmed in the process.
Louise saw from the corner of her eye a saleswoman approach, but then stop dead in her tracks when the elderly woman looked fully at her.
"Greetings," Humbert said with exquisite politeness. "My grandmother and I are running late for a party, and our luggage was lost on the flight."
Not true. Both of their suitcases were waiting for them in the hotel room he had picked out while she waited in the rental, but Louise was certain even her nicest outfit wouldn't be good enough for this Lisle.
Toto had been uninterested in joining the party. He had been uninterested in everything but a pillow by the time he flew the two into California.
"I will require a standard tuxedo, and something nice for my grandmother," Humbert continued before giving Louise a look from the side of his eye. "Do you have anything classy in red?"
The saleswoman was still gaping at the horrible scars over Louise's face and hands, since there was a good reason she always wore long sleeves.
"I'm certain other stores would appreciate our money if you don't think you have anything suitable," Louise informed the girl before giving Humbert a strange look. "I don't really wear red, dear. It draws too much attention."
"So does being an amazing woman, but you never let that stop you," he retorted with a loving grin before giving their sizes to the saleswoman, only for both of them to be remeasured a minute later when it was clear that European sizes were not the same as American ones.
Louise even decided not to bring it up when the woman was so disgusted to touch her directly, that Humbert took the measuring tape from her to do the whole business himself, including his own measurements.
But she wasn't too good to smirk at the obvious disappointment the young woman had at being denied a chance to touch his perfect body.
"I'm not really a fan of lace, dear," she informed him while he and the saleswoman got into a small disagreement over what constituted a 'classy' red dress. She had to squint a bit to notice the lace thanks to her poor eyesight.
It didn't help that the saleswoman was refusing to even look in Louise's direction.
"Wait, I have it!" Humbert cheered before presenting the eighth dress with a grand flourish to his old friend.
It was modest and long-sleeved as she liked, with a floor-length hem and a neckline she knew most people would scoff at for being too grandmotherly.
Although she never had the chance to raise a child, she didn't mind in the least. The more scars were kept hidden, the better as far as she was concerned.
"I think this is what you will be comfortable spending the evening in," Humbert said with a certain pain in his eyes.
"You know me so well, dear heart," she cooed at him, enjoying the discomfort of the one assisting them as she cringed at the idea of her merchandise on the scarred hag instead of some would-be starlet.
"Let's try it on," he insisted, twisting the dress around so that he could hook the hanger onto the back of his shirt's neck. He then swept her into his arms and began making a steady way to the dressing rooms.
The saleswoman made some uncomfortable sounds as she followed, but still seemed surprised when Humbert walked into the handicapped stall to give both of them enough room.
"I believe you have my measurements. Please pick out three tuxedos that are suitable for a formal occasion, and I'll try them on after helping my grandmother," he informed the woman before managing to shut the door behind him.
Louise was just able to reach over enough to lock the door.
"This is hardly proper!" she exploded, although there was a bit of relief in her tone. Probably from not having to touch the badly burned woman after all.
"I have been giving my grandmother sponge baths for the past two years," Humbert informed the woman while setting about his task of undressing and redressing Louise. "I assure you that there is no part of her that's unseen by me."
Both of them heard her shudder this time but couldn't be bothered with her right now.
Since Louise had no way of knowing how she looked in the color, she allowed him to do as he pleased, both with her wardrobe and with setting her hair into an elegant bun. "I think it's a size too big."
"Trust me, you look perfectly lovely," he breathed before kissing her brow again. "She should be back with a tux for me by now. I won't be long."
"I promise no revolutions," she informed him with a loving smile, although even having him in the stall right next to her felt too big a separation. She sighed, wishing there had been a way for their lifetimes to have aligned a little better.
Not that she would flatter herself that he would consider her a romantic partner if he had gotten a good look at her before the fire had permanently ruined all her hopes for a husband. But it would have been heavenly to enjoy his friendship for longer than a mere nine years.
When he opened the handicapped door again, he looked like a movie star.
"There really is no improvement needed when you put a man in a nice suit," she informed him lovingly as he fixed a tiny gold pin to his lapel.
"Thank you." He gave her an equally loving look and scooped her into his arms again. "All we need are dress shoes for the pair of us, and we can be on our way."
ooOoo
She yelped when they were slowing down to enter a large gate, since her dear friend needed to make the stop more abrupt when a man in a silver car shot out of the opening like a bullet.
"Do you mind?!" Humbert yelled, but the other driver was already speeding away.
"What was that?!" Louise demanded while holding one hand to her speeding heart and thankful that both of them had fastened their seatbelts.
He frowned briefly. "My guess is that it was someone that decided he didn't want treatment," he answered while now carefully passing the tall gates. "That much fanfare was completely uncalled for, however."
She couldn't resist the urge to smirk at him as his car joined the line at the front of the manor. "I seem to recall you doing some unnecessary fanfare to get your point across. Especially when those brats were still sneaking into our garden."
"That was entirely different," he defended with a blush betraying his real feelings. Deciding that he didn't care for the line, he parked the car and walked around it to gather Louise into his arms once again.
"Sir, you really can't park there," a young man in a red suit tried to stop him, but Humbert responded by handing over the keys.
"Park it wherever you please, I'm on urgent business," Humbert informed him while marching up to the impressive front doors.
Louise immediately decided to close her eyes when she saw that the brunette chewing out two other women wasn't so much wearing a dress as she was wearing an elaborate cape with a large collar, skirt, and even headdress. But the only thing covering her chest was a large carpet of a jeweled necklace, made up of a thousand little bits that made Louise's head spin from trying to make out through her worsening eyesight.
"I am completely serious," she was snarling in an exotic accent at the two women that looked like movie stars. "If you can't find that doctor and convince him to take it, then I don't want to see the pair of you ever enter my doors again."
"I-I'm sure I know where he went! In fact I- well, hello, handsome," the blonde woman cooed at Humbert's approach, making the ancient woman open her eyes with a resigned expression.
"Don't bother," Louise decided to cut the woman off before she embarrassed herself. "My Humbert's head can only be turned by ladies."
Before the blonde had the chance to finish getting offended, the redhead pulled her away and towards the parked cars. "Mad, you don't have time to chase boys right now! We have to hurry before we lose Ernest!"
'Mad' was living up to her name, but physically forced herself to follow her friend to one of the parked cars.
"I take it Ernest is the fellow that almost crashed into me?" Humbert asked while giving Louise a loving smirk for her defense of him.
Lisle took a moment to compose herself before answering. "He's the most brilliant plastic surgeon in the country." Her pale eyes turned to Louise before flinching. "Vlad would still be here if we had access to someone like him back then."
Humbert's amazing green eyes widened. "Are those two…?"
"Yes. You never would have been able to tell, would you? I would have given him it for free, just to have someone like him around for similar emergencies." She took in a long steady breath before addressing the frail old woman. "I take it you are Louise Carpenter?"
Louise nodded, though it was feebly. "You must be Lisle?"
She did not look like a specialist that Humbert would hold in such high regard. If anything, she looked like a wealthy heiress with nothing better to do with her time than throw extravagant parties just like the one she was overhearing through the open doors.
"Indeed," Lisle confirmed before looking at Humbert sternly. "You shouldn't have waited this long if keeping her meant so much to you. How much does she know?"
"That you are a specialist that I desperately wanted her to see," Humbert stated while hugging Louise as firmly as he dared. "But you are correct. I should have brought her sooner."
Lisle made a face but gestured with her long red nails for Humbert to follow her into the mansion. "This shouldn't take long at all. Louise should be much more open-minded than the plastic surgeon, I imagine."
"May I make a small request, Lisle?" Humbert politely pleaded, making her turn her head enough to look at him. "Louise will not respond to your usual methods, if they are not too different than Vlad's. Allow me to explain things instead. I'm already footing the bill for her."
Lisle scrutinized Louise carefully. "Are you certain that I would have trouble, Baron? She seems like the client that would jump as soon as she knows what I have to offer."
'Baron? I can ask about that later.' The old woman sniffed. "I haven't jumped at anything since I was twenty. I assure you that I will think my way completely through whatever your special treatment is before making a final decision."
"She will respond better to me, Lisle," Humbert repeated. "It simply wouldn't have been appropriate to tell her anywhere else but within your walls."
Lisle took in a deep breath. "Very well, since you were so firm on keeping your word to Vlad. Take these two somewhere cozy," she ordered an overly chiseled servant. "Lock the door and guard it to give them plenty of privacy. I need to see to my other guests anyway."
"Yes, Lisle," he answered before Humbert began following him instead.
"Humbert? What is going on?" Louise asked worriedly. "You bring me halfway across the world to see Lisle, and now you are the one to tell me about her treatment?"
"Don't worry, dear. All will be explained soon enough," he assured her while pressing another kiss to her brow. "You know better than anyone that I will not risk your safety for anything."
Though she was still feeling worried about the strange goings on, she still kept her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. "In the middle of a party just seems like a strange time to ask for help. Do you know what time it is?" she asked around a yawn.
"Late, but I promise it will be worth it," he assured her, nodding at the fellow that had opened one of the many doors and held it open for them.
Louise thought it might be a lounge, but she wasn't sure. She hadn't exactly studied luxurious homes in her spare time.
Humbert carefully laid her out on a chaise lounge as the click of a locking door was clearly heard. "Comfortable, dear?"
"Yes, dear. Now stop being so mysterious and tell me what's going on," she all but ordered sternly.
Humbert took in a deep breath and both of her old gnarled hands in his good strong ones. "Louise? How old would you say I am?"
"Twenty-five," she answered without thinking about it.
But then she thought about it. "No. That couldn't be right. That would have put you at sixteen when we met, and you were most certainly not a runaway."
He laughed at that. "I can't be a runaway if I don't settle on a home. But no, try again."
Louise was looking at him carefully before working one of her scarred hands loose to touch his face. "Now that I think about it… you look exactly the same as you did back then, other than how warmly you treat me."
Humbert looked relieved more than flattered as he leaned into her touch. "I know I shouldn't, but I'm glad you noticed, dear. Do you remember what I told you about my health growing up?"
Louise nodded, although she had to steady herself after doing so, since it had made her feel dizzy. "You were sickly. Your father traded everything he owned for a cure, even though it sterilized you."
"That is correct," he answered before kissing her fingers.
That startled Louise. He had never done that before.
"Vlad had the cure for me," Humbert further explained. "You heard Lisle call me Baron?"
She had to stop herself from nodding again. "I was hoping you would explain that."
He closed his eyes painfully. "It's a bit of a cruel joke. My father was a baron, but I never got the opportunity to follow in his footsteps. In exchange for the cure that saved my life for once and for all, my father named Vlad as his heir instead of me. My ancestral home, my rank, even my friends were forfeit as a result."
That made her blink. "No friend was willing to help you?"
"You misunderstand, sweet Louise. The cure… changed me. I really don't think anyone but my father and yourself would have recognized me once the process was over. The cure is frighteningly expensive as I said, but I honestly believe it would tear the world apart if it became general knowledge. Because of how much I changed, I had to fake my own death and assume a new name just to keep the secret safe. I even had to leave England for a time because of how strongly I resembled my father now that I was perfectly healthy."
Louise couldn't resist the urge to tilt her head at him in confusion. "How old were you when this happened?"
"Just barely twenty-three." He closed his eyes and took in a breath as she prepared to express her disbelief.
"Louise? I'm one hundred and seventy-eight."
Her jaw dropped.
"The cure I've been skirting around telling you about is a potion of eternal youth and beauty. The reason it sterilizes is because it stops time in its tracks and returns the drinker to their most perfect state."
The room began swaying in her vision, but Baron was already taking out a handkerchief to give a small splash of water from a bottle in his pocket so that he could dab at her forehead to keep her awake. "You know me better than anyone ever has, my sweet Louise. Would I have taken you to the other side of the planet merely to spin a fairy tale for you?"
"You could have told me any story back home," she agreed, looking deeper and closer into her dear friend's face. 'I have no trouble believing that he's of noble blood. It would only match his heart.'
Since she was not raising any hysterics, Humbert took her hands between his again. "One of the reasons I wanted to tell you myself is because Vlad, and I'm sure Lisle, have a nasty habit of leaving warnings until after the potion is taken and they have their payment. The potion grants eternal youth and beauty, but not immortality. You could still die if someone kills you or you have an accident, but that won't mean your spirit will separate from your body. You will have no choice but to watch yourself slowly rot."
Louise shuddered at such an idea. "Vlad?"
He nodded gravely. "He toyed with the wrong woman, and her husband shot him. Since Lisle was his favorite 'playmate', he left her with everything he owned including the secret of how to make the potion before making a one-way trip to the nearest volcano. I don't know if completely destroying the body erases awareness, but I'm told that after you die, you feel no more pain, at least."
She took back her hands to wring at them worriedly. "So as long as you take good care of yourself, you'll be fine?"
"That is correct," he hurriedly agreed, still not getting up from his kneeling position. "There is the understanding that for people who have a less noticeable change than myself, they can keep their normal lives for ten years. But after that, they have to disappear forever by retirement or staging phony deaths. Vlad was at least kind enough to let my father give me some money to use for investments and holdings so that I will never want for anything, and I was taught well on how to do so. Some of us have developed a system where we all have one or two homes and take ten-year shifts at each other's places with dye jobs and changed names to keep suspicions down but still enjoy at least the semblance of a normal life. Total seclusion does terrible things to the mind, you know. I was actually on my way to one of them when I felt like taking a side tour through your town and became distracted with your lovely garden."
At that, Louise grinned wolfishly. "And my lovely paintball gun, since owning a real gun would have gotten me run out of town before I finished buying my cottage with the insurance money."
"I still have that shirt," he laughed warmly at the memory. "I'm sorry if I annoyed you the first few days. I fully realize just how flimsy my excuses were becoming before we agreed to my paying rent to stay."
Louise laughed as well, since the flimsy excuses weren't coming from him alone once he made it clear just how little he cared about her horrible appearance. "I still would have settled for an occasional grocery run out of you. You were my first healthy relationship that didn't involve paws and whiskers."
"May they rest in peace," Humbert briefly intoned before getting back on subject. "You were a first for me as well, Louise. Since I had grown up pale, sickly, and despised by women, I didn't allow myself to be bothered beyond common courtesy with them. Every time some lovely like Mad would make advances, my mind would automatically start reliving that exact moment, but when I was still sickly. I knew their reactions wouldn't match up."
He reached up and began caressing her cheek like the fire had never happened. "I don't know or particularly care what you looked like before your accident. Everything about your behavior matched up perfectly whether I was sickly or like this."
Why did his hand have to be so warm?
Louise held onto that hand, gripping it with the little strength that was left to her. "It was nice to find out what getting treated like a lady felt like," she admitted, even as her tired heart began pounding almost too hard for her chest. "And… I've been regretting only getting nine years with you."
He beamed at her before standing up, picking her up with his usual care, and arranging her on his lap so that he could hold her. "I promised myself many times that I would never lead someone else into my lifestyle. Being young and healthy forever is a terrible curse when you're spending all that time alone. But with the right person to share it with?"
"The same difference as night and day," she finished the thought, almost swooning at the thought of getting even more time with him!
Not only that, but… if she was reading between the lines correctly…
"You aren't in love with me, are you?" she blurted out instead of keeping to her usual council. "Even if you are technically older than me, this is still hardly-"
He responded by turning her head enough to kiss her again, but this time, it was fully on the lips.
Her heart nearly jumped right out of her ribcage at the gently sweet gesture. Her entire body felt like it was alive with fireworks, almost enough to burn her alive.
After he pulled away, he gave her a loving smile. "You made nine years feel like nine minutes. Yes, my Louise. I want to be yours, and I want you to be mine. I hope you will forgive just how selfish I am, even bringing you to such a decision."
Such sweet words she had once thought would never be for her. Though this did explain why he had her wait in the car when he and Toto had brought their luggage into the surprisingly nice hotel.
It would have looked far too suspicious, and for the wrong reasons, for him to check in with a grandmother but return with someone a lot younger.
She wrapped her frail arms around his chest and squeezed as hard as she could while thinking it over.
"Do you promise not to get bored of me?" she asked in a tiny voice, making him nuzzle her happily.
"You said it yourself. My head can only be turned by a lady. I really don't know what more proof of my commitment you need than the time we've already spent since your health began its decline. We won't be able to return to the cottage for at least thirty years, but I made certain to add the note that only gardening enthusiasts are allowed to rent from you there."
"Fifty would be a better idea," she noted, although her heart was pounding in excitement.
She had always been a little jealous when Humbert would tell her stories of places he visited. Even before all this, she thought that he visited an awful lot of places for someone of his age.
"Then will you please spend eternity with me?" he pleaded in a tiny voice.
She looked up into his amazing green eyes and made sure to nod more slowly this time so that her senses wouldn't get dizzy again.
His smile immediately assured her that she had made the right choice. "I'll make sure you never regret this," he promised, forcing himself to set her on the chaise lounge so that he could run over to the locked door to begin knocking frantically.
The overly pretty man unlocked it and poked his head in.
"Please get Lisle. She's agreed," Humbert informed him with the biggest grin his face could manage.
He nodded and closed the door but didn't forget to lock it back up again.
"I wonder why he did that," Louise wondered aloud as Humbert swiftly rejoined her, placing her slight form on his lap as before.
"It might have something to do with Ernest," he shrugged off, still holding her like she was a priceless treasure. "He must have led them on quite a chase if he managed to escape. But unless he has the potion with him, there's a fair chance that he'll be written off as a lunatic if he tries to tell anyone about what he's seen."
"And if he does have the potion?" Louise asked while feeling a bit worried. "Is it something that could be replicated if given to the right hands?"
"I don't have the foggiest idea, but I suppose only time will tell. Speaking of which, I think you'll like where I've chosen for us to spend the next decade."
"Oh? Where?"
He gave her another dazzling grin and rubbed his cheek against her fine, fine hair. "I seem to remember you telling me that you would have loved the chance to see Japan."
Her breath caught in her throat, and she looked up at him with a wide smile. "Really?"
"Of course. We might as well put the Japanese lessons I've been giving you to use."
She beamed happily before wrapping her scrawny arms around his neck for a much-needed embrace. "I love you, my Humbert."
"I love you, my Louise."
ooOoo
Louise thought that the way Lisle presented the potion was overdone. She couldn't help wondering if the woman used a special box for each client, or showed off that, by some unseen trick, the glass vial was able to stand on a tiny metal point instead of falling over and spilling the swirling, glowing pink liquid within.
"Drink, and live forever," Lisle commanded as she uncorked the vial, unintentionally reminding Louise of a certain book about vampires. With her other hand, she accepted the check from Humbert that he had refused to let Louise catch any amounts from.
She couldn't help but wonder how many stories about vampires and zombies stemmed from the very vial in her hands.
Giving one last smile to the man still holding her in his arms, Louise tilted her head back and drank the glowing pink concoction.
It was a very strange sensation. The taste itself was bland, but the liquid felt the same as a bee sting flowing down her throat, then almost immediately entering her system.
Louise would have dropped the empty vial if Humbert hadn't taken it from her and set it back to balancing on the table.
"It is uncomfortable, but only for a moment," he assured her, just as she was able to get a steadying breath and stop shaking. "You'll feel more or less the same for a moment before the change begins. Would you like to see?"
"I-I don't think I'll get a second chance," she managed to stutter, making Lisle nod at the two manservants that had followed her in while holding the table and strangely Egyptian box for her presentation.
They responded by taking a large mirror that had been hanging on the other side of the room and carrying it close enough for Louise to see herself.
She winced at just how much of a wretched, wrinkled hag the years had turned her into, since she had even taken down the bathroom mirror after moving into her cottage. "You must love me, Humbert. Nothing less would be enough to make you kiss this face!"
"I thought I already stated that," he confirmed while tightening his hold on her. "The change will begin in another minute."
Louise found all the attention uncomfortable. Lisle was staring at her intently, the two men keeping the mirror steady between them were staring at her like they were expecting her to pull a rabbit out of a hat.
Humbert's gaze wasn't as troubling. She'd had nine years to get used to it. She did what she could to ignore all of them, and for the first time in longer than she could remember, focused only on her own reflection.
It began slowly, as if her own body was registering just how much work there was to do. Louise wouldn't necessarily say that she was having another senile spell, but she was willing to take an oath that some heavy burden was being lifted from her mind as her much-denied need for glasses also vanished.
That only enabled her to see more clearly how her face and hands were slowly turning smooth the way she or Humbert would straighten bed sheets. She could feel that all over her body, even as she felt her own dried up muscles slowly return from their almost stony state.
Feeling strangely confident that she could do it this time, she gently urged for Humbert to let go of her so that she could try standing up without any support. It was slow, and she felt like a fawn using its legs for the first time as her legs struggled for only a few seconds.
Then she was finally standing alone and taking a few hesitant steps toward the mirror to see the rest of the change. She now understood why Humbert had bought a dress that was a size too big, but now she was wishing that he had gone up yet another size for her as her flesh finished returning from its withered state. Her exact body measurements were not going to be a secret from anyone that looked at her now. Her back straightened properly with audible cracks, and she could see her hair gain a bit more thickness, but not a terrible lot. The color, of course, was still as white as snow.
Her hair had always been as white as snow. If it weren't for how much dye she needed to cover it up, perhaps she wouldn't have been bullied so much when she was younger. She frowned at how the thickness of the bun wasn't looking right as her hair regained its previous state, so she pulled out the bun and reworked her hair into a slightly fancier version of a ponytail spilling out of a bun.
She had missed that hairstyle.
After a little longer, the change was complete. She was once again the young lady that had been so hopeful about finally moving out of her abusive father's house to start a life that was truly hers.
Louise touched her own smooth cheek as tears of joy began to flow. "I'm back. I'm back!" she exclaimed with a voice that felt as warm and soothing as a good cup of hot chocolate. "I never thought I'd look like this again!"
She couldn't resist the urge to use her newly found energy to jump and twirl once in the air as her skirt billowed out like a flower. The action made some hairs of her fancy bun-tail come loose, but she couldn't begin to care.
Louise didn't bother to look at Lisle or her manservants once she got a handle on her emotions. All she could look at was Humbert.
He was stunned speechless. His green eyes turned wide and disbelieving as he stared at her.
"Well? Think you can handle this face, my dear friend?" she teased him with the smirk he knew so well.
Humbert stood up and wrapped her his arms fiercely. "It was jealousy," he nearly wept into her ear. "You weren't hated for your hair color. You were hated for your beauty. That's why those horrible people were happy to let you leave for the country after the fire."
Louise didn't necessarily agree with him, but she wasn't about to turn down the chance to hug him with all her strength. "At least their cruelty led me to you," she whispered against his shoulder, loving that she had even gained back the few inches she had lost over the decades.
He held her even more tightly after she said that. Almost daring someone to try stealing her from him.
Louise's eyes widened in surprise as she felt a small tug on the red ruffle of her grandmotherly dress, and she had to turn her head the other way to see the cause.
Lisle was fixing a small gold pin over the heart of her dress, now clearly taken from the dazzling large necklace draped over her front. "I don't often say this, Baron… but I think you got the better end of this transaction."
"I know I did," he agreed fervently, still refusing to let go of the newly young woman.
"You two will be joining the party, of course?" she asked as her manservants finished putting the mirror back where it came from. "It would be silly to come all this way and not stay."
Louise and Humbert looked at each other.
"I never learned how to dance," she admitted apologetically.
"I have all the time in the world to teach you," he assured her while kissing her fingers reverently. "Would you protest a courthouse wedding in the morning?"
She couldn't resist a laugh, loving how easy on her lungs the action was. "I'd say nine years is plenty of time to get to know each other. Happily."
"We'll be along," Humbert promised Lisle before kissing Louise on the lips again.
This time, she more than responded to him.
"Don't be too long," she smirked, using a gesture to encourage the two manservants to follow with the table and Egyptian box.
"We'd best follow now," he forced himself to say just after they left. "I'm not entirely sure I should be trusted alone with you until you are my wife."
Her heart melted all over again. "Am I really that attractive to you now?"
"Oh, yes," he affirmed while looking a bit shamefaced. "I feel like a hypocrite after all my talk of being treated differently on appearance."
She gently took his face between her hands. "If you hadn't treated me with such tenderness before," she informed him lovingly. "Nothing would have convinced me to take the potion. Now we'd better get going, dear."
"Yes, dear," he agreed, tucking her arm into his so that they could walk as one out of the room and into the first party that Louise would ever feel welcome to.
Not that it distracted her from the excitement of their next move after their wedding in the morning. "When we need to change names for Japan… what do you think of calling me 'Haru'?"
xxXxx
A/N: the movie used is Death Becomes Her. I liked the TV edit I saw as a kid better than the uncut version, but to each their own, right?
This was mostly an exercise between how the same choice can be stained by either love or vanity. It was also kind of a nice change of pace to write a romance between Baron and Louise, even if I decided she and Haru are the same person for this AU.