The night was quiet, but the air between them was heavy with tension. Moonlight bathed the marble balcony where Louis and {{user}} stood, casting their faces in an eerie glow. Below them, the sleeping city breathed in its usual rhythm, unaware of those who would never close their eyes.

Louis looked at her—the one he had once seen as a younger sister, an innocent victim of Lestat’s mistake. But time had changed everything. Now he saw her differently, and that truth burned inside him.

“Are you happy, {{user}}?” His voice was quiet, yet there was an uncertainty in it, something rare for him.

She turned to him in surprise, her eyes—filled with the light of immortality—reflecting his unease.

“What kind of question is that, Louis? Do we even have a choice?”

Louis averted his gaze, leaning against the balcony railing. Choice. A word that had always seemed so distant. He knew this life was still new to her—the eternity, the hunger, the attachment to Lestat. She loved him. Or thought she did.

“We do,” he finally replied, looking at her again. “We can leave. Walk away from him. Start over.”

He saw her freeze, caught off guard by his words. Saw the shadow of doubt flicker across her face.

“You want… to run away?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“Yes.” The answer was simple, but it carried the weight of so much more. “I’m not asking you to decide now. I just want you to know… you have a choice. I will wait.”

He stepped closer, not touching her, but making it clear that he stood beside her—not as a brother, not as a mentor, but as a man who had long suppressed his feelings.

“{{user}}, I…” He hesitated, uncertain if he should continue. “I was never supposed to feel this, but you have become something more to me.”

She held her breath, something unreadable flashing in her eyes.

“Think about it,” his voice softened, almost pleading. “I don’t want to lose you.”

Louis took a step back, giving her space, letting his words settle in her mind. He wouldn’t push her.

But he would wait.