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cloversnstrawberries · 3 days ago

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OUR BABY BUTTERFLY

TW: Yandere themes, parental neglect, explicit language, mentions of sexual content (not graphic, but hinted at in dialogue), ambiguous interactions between adults and a minor, as well as psychological dynamics of power and vulnerability. Unwanted but starved murder.

Read with caution.

They had reunited after so long. Lestat promised he would change. Louis believed him, not because he believed in second chances (more like the twentieth chance), but because he saw him as different. The Frenchman seemed different, he was, and it showed in his gaze.

For your part, you had met them on a very peculiar night.

You had missed the last bus of the afternoon and stood at the bus stop hoping another bus would come. Your phone was off; you had run out of battery since you'd had a really long day, and at the school you attended, all the assignments were on the school's website and had to be done online. You also had extracurricular activities and a 40-minute break during the break between classes (you also loved checking your social media and playing video games). Calling your parents wasn't an option, and neither was borrowing a phone from passersby since almost no one was there, and the few who were still there at that hour seemed too untrustworthy.

The night breeze snuck through the trees and the rusty signs at the bus stop, stirring your hair and making you shiver. It was late. Very late. The streetlights flickered as if they were tired too. You looked at the bus stop clock once more: 11:52 p.m.

You were alone. Or so you thought.

—"Are you waiting for the bus?"— asked a soft, deep voice, with an accent that wasn't easy to place, but it sounded elegant, friendly.

You turned around, a little scared, and saw him. Tall, thin, dressed in black, with a wide-brimmed hat that barely concealed pale eyes, too pale for someone of his complexion. He watched you without moving, as if he didn't want to scare you. It was the man you would later know as 'Louis'.

You nodded slowly, saying nothing.

He smiled, barely. A smile so faint it seemed more like a memory than a real expression.

—“I doubt another one will come by today. Can I sit with you?”

You looked at him, and something in his voice, in his manner, made you not feel afraid. He seemed... alone. Like you. You nodded again.

Louis sat down carefully next to you, leaving a respectful space between you. He took out a handkerchief and folded it between his fingers. He didn't look at you directly, but he didn't completely avert his attention either. He was present.

—“It's not safe for someone your age to be alone at this time”— he murmured. —“Do your parents know where you are?”

You shook your head.

—“My phone died… and there's no one around.”

Louis nodded. Then, with a pause that felt long, he asked:

—“Do you want a ride home?”

—“I don't get into strangers' cars”— you said firmly, though not entirely confidently. You had made the mistake of saying no one knew where you were. He was attractive and an adult; you'd always been afraid of people like that.

Louis wasn't offended by your refusal. In fact, he seemed relieved. He lowered his gaze and nodded slowly, as if he respected your answer more than anything else you could have said.

Louis wasn't offended by your response. In fact, his eyes, those absurdly sad eyes, softened, as if he were... proud of you.

—"Well said"— he whispered. —"Never trust too quickly. Even when someone seems harmless."

He watched you with a patient gaze, as if he could wait for hours by your side without saying anything else.

—"I'll stay here. Until your bus arrives."

—"You said none would come."

Louis smiled, this time more visible, with a hint of irony.

—"I know. But I can still stay."

Several minutes passed, maybe an hour, you were bored, and there was a TikTok song playing in your head, helping you dissociate, like so many times when your mother and father argued at the slightest opportunity.

Louis glanced at you every few minutes, out of the corner of his eye. You were truly adorable, and it's been a long time since he'd had human companionship; you were a warm little thing by his side. Even though you weren't that close, he could still feel your body temperature. He didn't say anything else. He stayed with you, motionless, as if he had nowhere else to go. Maybe he didn't. Or maybe he'd simply decided that, for now, you were his destiny.

The silence between you wasn't awkward. It was strange... like a pause in time. A suspended night where nothing was happening, but everything was about to happen.

—"How old are you?"— he asked after a while.

—"Seventeen"— you said quickly, looking at the floor, crossing your arms as if you could hide behind them.

Something changed in the air. You felt it before you saw it: a cooler breeze, a strong scent, like withered flowers and sweet blood.

—"And who is this little creature?"— he asked, approaching with calm, almost dancing steps. He crouched down at your level with a smile as charming as it was terrifying. —"Hello, chérie. Are you lost?"

Louis stood up immediately, standing between you and the blond like a living shield.

—“Don't touch her, Lestat.”

—“Touch her? Please! I just want to meet her. It's not every day I find you babysitting a human child at a bus stop, like a... what do you say? Boy Scout?”

Lestat smirked, but his eyes shifted to yours. They were looking at you with interest.

—“She has a lovely presence. Look at how she trembles, how fast she breathes... She's beautiful, don't you think?”

Louis sighed when Lestat sat down next to you; he knew he wouldn't do anything to you right away since he'd already consumed blood recently. You could smell him, and who knows how long he'd been listening to the little conversation between you and him.

He didn't say it, but he tensed as if every fiber of his being was preparing to act as soon as Lestat made the slightest false move. His eyes—so patient before—were now liquid steel. You, for your part, could barely breathe. You sensed the two men weren't normal. There was something about them, the way they moved, the way they looked at you, that put you on edge... though with Louis, it was different. With him, at least, you didn't feel fear. Only that strange melancholy that seemed to envelop him like a cloak.

—"Lestat..."— Louis warned, in that soft voice that never seemed to raise its pitch, but carried with it a weight as thick as the night. —"Enough."

—"Enough what?"— the blond replied, amused, as he leaned his elbow on the bench and his face in his hand. —"I just talk. Isn't that what humans do? Chatting at bus stops, shivering from the cold, sharing secrets..."

You flinched a little. His smile unsettled you. It was beautiful, but you felt like a mouse being watched by a cat that had already eaten but still wanted to play.

—"I have no secrets"— you said firmly, trying to sound older. Like someone who couldn't be intimidated.

Lestat raised his eyebrows theatrically.

—"No? And that little lie about your age? Oh, mon ange... don't tell me you thought we wouldn't notice."

Your heart leapt. He looked at you directly, as if he could see right through you. As if your thoughts were an open book to him.

Louis turned slightly toward you, still keeping an eye on Lestat.

—"It's all right"— he said, his tone softer, almost paternal. —"You're not in trouble."

But Lestat wasn't finished.

—"Twelve. Maybe thirteen, if you count generosity and good lighting."— He laughed softly, a cruel gleam in his eyes. —"Did they teach you to lie like that in school?"

—"Lestat..."— Louis repeated, and this time, his voice was colder. More dangerous.

The blond man stopped. He looked at him with feigned innocence. Then, without warning, he stood up, took a couple of steps, and bowed in front of you again. Louis didn't move, but his gaze was a silent threat.

—"You're shivering"— Lestat said, his voice low. —"You're cold. Would you like to borrow my coat?"

You shook your head sharply. You shrank even further, hugging yourself.

Louis took a step forward. It was enough to make Lestat back away.

—"Good. Good"— the blond said, raising his hands as if in a sign of peace. —"How hard it is to make friends these days..."

Lestat reached into the inside pocket of his coat and pulled out a shiny, modern cell phone, a little too new since he rarely used it. He turned it elegantly between his fingers, playing with it as if it were a tempting candy.

—“Oh, Cherie… imagine this: you make a little call, your parents come, and everyone is happy. Only…”— he gave you a crooked, dangerous smile— “…not everything in this life is free.”

—“What do you want in return?”— you asked, your voice low, as if you were afraid of the answer.

Lestat tilted his head, delighted and admiring the new creature he had just met. Louis leaned a little closer to you, enough so that his shadow shielded you from the world.

—“Just ignore him”— he murmured. —“Lestat talks a lot when he's bored.”

—“Ouch!”— the blond complained exaggeratedly, putting a hand to his chest. —“That hurt, Louis. Honestly. I'm just trying to be nice to this sweet creature.”

Louis ignored him. He crouched down a little to be at your eye level.

—“Would you like to use my phone?”—He asked, glancing at the one Lestat was holding. —"It's not his. It's mine. He's just borrowing it because he likes to snoop."

Lestat chuckled, but didn't protest.

You nodded and grabbed the phone, entered your mother's number, and called on speakerphone.

—"Hello?"

Your eyes lit up when your sleepy mother answered.

—"Mom, I missed the bus and I've been here for hours. Some men lent me their phone. Can Dad come get me?"— you said, trying to hide your excitement, thinking they were never going to answer.

You heard him groan in annoyance.

—"Are you at the bus stop near your school?"

—"Yes, Mom."

There was a silence; you could hear your father's murmurs.

—"I can't right now, honey. I just had make-up sex with your dad. You don't want the spark to go away, do you?"

—"Uhm... I don't think so."

—"Find a place where it won't get cold. We'll stop by tomorrow morning and have breakfast as a family. I love you, minha nega."

And he hung up.

You couldn't help the urge to cry. You knew your parents were what other overprotective parents call "neglectful." And it pained you that cold strangers heard it so clearly.

You looked at them, not knowing what they would say.

The blond just laughed, and Louis looked at him with distaste.

—"Well... I know horror movies start like that, but... what if we take you? We have a nice car that the new generation of kids like you will surely like."

They both stood up when you did.

This wouldn't have happened if you had enrolled them in a school closer to your house.

—"Don't pressure her, Lestat."

Lestat raised his eyebrows, clearly amused.

—"I'm not pressuring her, I'm just offering charming alternatives. Although of course... if she prefers to wait alone in the dark..."

You stood still for a moment, weighing the situation. You were cold, you were tired, and your parents weren't coming. Those two men were strange, yes, but they didn't seem dangerous... at least, not to you.

—"Are they going to kill me or something?"— you asked suddenly, bluntly.

Louis blinked, surprised, but Lestat laughed as if you'd told him the best joke of the year.

—"Oh, no, chérie! Killing children is boring and vulgar."

Louis looked at you with a mixture of sadness and tenderness.

—"We just want to help you. No one should be left alone out at night because of their... busy parents."

—"Too busy having sex"— Lestat added with theatrical sarcasm.

Louis closed his eyes in resignation.

—"Enough."

You sighed, crossing your arms.

—"Oh, come on, it's not bad. We fuck each other too."

You didn't know what to do; it wasn't the first time adults had spoken explicitly in front of you. But that didn't make it any less uncomfortable.

Even less so if your mind only thought about that later.

—"Look, you've already made her uncomfortable, well done."

Lestat rolled his eyes at the scolding.

Your stomach ached with hunger, that discomfort so unfamiliar to you. You'd skipped breakfast and lunch; dinner was supposed to be your first meal of the day. But your return home was thwarted.

That was the last time you went to school.

=============

They had been quite convincing; after taking you from the bus stop, they took you to see the nightlife spots that were suitable for a girl your age. But then, then, they wouldn't let you leave.

They promised you luxuries and money to keep you staying.

You hadn't agreed, and that resulted in Lestat locking you in a coffin.

Why would they have two coffins in the same room? It was something you didn't understand.

Until after keeping you in the coffin for two days, they let you out to drink water and eat some sandwiches, and then Lestat told you that if you screamed, he'd rip your jaw out.

—"You'll stay here and never leave if you don't want us to cut you into little pieces. Your father, Louis, went to get you some things."

Two years had passed since then. You didn't come home that night, or the next. Or ever.

You had tried to escape, of course. For the first six months, they had always hugged you and brought you along. Once, you had gone out onto the highway and asked a police officer for help, but Louis appeared behind you and hugged you around the waist while you watched Lestat bite the policeman.

That was the time you discovered they were vampires, and it was also the last time you tried to escape from that luxurious apartment where they lived.

As I said, two years had passed; you had grown accustomed to their behavior, and luckily, you had only witnessed Lestat feed on the policeman who tried to help you once. Still, you knew they both fed on people Louis hired.

You ate normal food. An Italian-speaking chef would come and make you food that Louis chose, saying it would have more vitamins or something. Lestat was the one who had intervened so you could eat desserts.

Okay, you're not kidnapped. More like, you were adopted illegally and by force. (Spoiled captive syndrome is knocking at your door, darling)

But when you showed them you were no longer the little girl who wanted to run away, they treated you even better. They hired tutors so you wouldn't lose your studies. Sometimes Louis would spy on you while they taught you applied calculus and leave when he realized you were making a mistake because you were nervous about being watched. But they couldn't help it! You made them feel like they did when they first had Claudia (you know, before everything got complicated). But even though you're a teenager, to century-old vampires like them, you were like a baby. A baby they'd let grow a little longer before being turned into another bloodsucker.

—"Do you know what your life would be like if we hadn't found you?"— he asked one night, crossing his legs while swirling a crystal goblet of dark liquid.

—"Probably better..."— you whispered softly, almost without realizing it.

Lestat fell silent. His smile stretched, slow, lopsided, like a cat that has just found prey it won't let go of.

—"Better? Oh, little one..."— he leaned in, his eyes shining. —"do you want to be alone at the bus stop again? Do you want to be found by other men less... noble than us?"

You said nothing. You just pressed your lips together, your knuckles white around the pencil.

—"Come on, my dear..."

Louis appeared behind you, his cold hands resting on your shoulders like the weight of a curse. —"Don't say things you don't understand... you have no idea what's out there."

The first time you heard that phrase from Louis was the night a man in an elegant suit was let into the apartment. He had looked at you, curious, and Lestat had spoken to him in a low voice while you pretended to read a book. When the man left, Louis wiped his hands with a white napkin, and Lestat laughed as if it were all a game.

From then on, you understood. You didn't want to know what was going on out there. Or who they were bringing.

The days went by. Sometimes Lestat bought you new dresses, necklaces, shiny ornaments. —"So you look pretty, chérie..."— he said as he tried them on, adjusting them with his icy fingers. You stood still, letting them slip around your neck like golden chains.

And yes, sometimes... sometimes you thought it was okay. That it wasn't so bad. That they gave you good food, books, they even taught you how to play the piano.

But then, when Louis walked by and brushed his fingertips against your cheek, or when Lestat stood looking at you from the shadows of the room, as if deciding something, you remembered that night.

The night you didn't come home.

The night the door closed behind you and Louis wrapped his arms around your waist while Lestat smiled with his fangs bared.

You remembered how you screamed.

And how you never did again.

But then it all came to a head when you fell in love for the first time, with your geography teacher's daughter. Lestat had said that "whore" only wanted the family money and was manipulating you. Louis was more reserved; he wasn't trying to brainwash you. But he was clearly upset. You didn't understand why. They couldn't complain that you also liked women. You thought it was just anxious parent syndrome.

Until one afternoon, you were coming back from shopping. You and your girlfriend were having a sleepover, and you had decided to buy some candy. It was already getting dark. But that didn't worry you; it was for the best, since it meant your "parents" would be going hunting very soon.

But as soon as you entered the luxurious suite where they lived, you got a surprise. She was there. Lestat was yelling at her, saying that if she didn't stay still, he would break her legs too. You ran to her, noticing how her arms were broken.

—"It's about time you arrived. We were waiting for you..."

Then Lestat pulled you away from her and quickly sank his fangs into your neck. You kicked against his great strength, but your body quickly gave out from blood loss.

—"This is for your own good, Y/N..."— Louis whispered.

When you were about to close your eyes

÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷

Yes, I know I've been gone longer than I should have.

BUT I'M BACK!

Well, as always, your likes are welcome, and please reblog too. It would help me a lot.

Requests open, leave me your request and I will be happy to fulfill it.

Thank you so much for reading and supporting me.

Best regards. 🫠

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