“How about we skip it,” Karim suggested. The low tone pulled at Luis. Tonight, Karim had pulled his hair back into a low ponytail, loose wisps framing his face. Luis had spent a considerable amount of his self-restraint this evening not thinking how good he looked. “Get right to—”
“And furthermore,” Julien said, cutting him off loudly. “We have company.”
Karim’s attention moved to Luis. Luis kept his own gaze fixated on one of the naked angels.
“I can go,” Luis said, but the second the words were out, he knew he didn’t want to. He liked these evenings, liked being with them and getting a peek into their world.
“No, no,” Julien said. He carefully pried Karim off. “If we don’t go for a drink, this one will wake up midweek hungry, and moan at me about having to drink from the fridge. You hate the bottle, isn’t that what you’re always complaining about?”
Luis looked to see Karim make a face.
“Exactly, so.” Julien’s hands turned Karim around, giving him a gentle nudge in the right direction. “Let’s go get you that drink.”
“Fine,” Karim said, and didn’t resist Julien moving them back the way they’d come.
“Luis, are you well enough to drive?” Despite how many weeks it had been, Julien asked every time.
“Yep,” Luis said quickly.
At the entry Luis retrieved his keys as Julien tugged Karim out into the night air.
“You’re no fun,” Karim huffed to Julien as Luis locked the front door. “Luis wouldn’t–”
“Luis isuncomfortable,” Julien cut in, sharply. “And you’re trying to make half-considered decisions while intoxicated. You should know better.”
“They’refullyconsidered,” Karim shot back.
But Julien just opened the car door and guided Karim in with a firm hand. “Hush. We can discuss this later.”
Luis didn’t totally grasp what they were talking about, but sometimes that was par for the course. They had a lot of history, and sometimes their conversations happened in a glance or clips of words that served as code. Luis tried not to mind being on the outside of it.
He started the car, keeping his eyes off the rearview mirror. He had a job to do, he reminded himself.
##
“So, you have… like a blood cancer?” Karim asked two weeks later the moment that Julien disappeared behind the curtain.
Luis cringed. “Sort of,” he hedged.
“I looked it up, what conditions produce too much blood. Most of them are considered cancers,” Karim said.
Luis shrugged, tried for casual. “Yeah.”
“And there’s no cure?” This question came softer, like Karim was unsure he should ask.
“No,” Luis said. The word was rough around the edges.
Karim’s fingers tapped the table thoughtfully. “What about vampirism?”
Luis looked up. “What?”
“If you have an incurable condition, that’s usually when people go for the Change,” Karim said. “I mean, it’s a process, but if you’ve got a terminal condition, you could get a permit easy.”
That… had never occurred to Luis. He’d never looked into what went into the Change or who was allowed to do it. He knew it was somewhat regulated, had heard and even been dragged to protests about it before because people like his mother thought the Change should be banned altogether. The Purists, the most infamous anti-vampire group, were constantly campaigning to ban it.
“I’ve never thought about it,” Luis admitted. “I–my mom’s pretty anti-vampire. I don’t think that option ever came up.”
“Is it something you’d be interested in?” Karim asked.
