Reunion (Joint Post)
Who: Cedric Diggory and Florian Delacour
Where: Florian's castle, Marseilles
When: Same night
He pocketed the scroll and for a few seconds, stood there as if rooted to the spot and sighed, shaking his head. Turning back around he resumed his walk, and bent his steps towards Cedric. He approached the man gently, well aware of his distress and not wishing to alarm him, as he spoke in a soft, soothing voice "Cedric, love, I see you have come for me."
Cedric wiped at his eyes before turning to face the blonde, what could he say? He just felt so... used. So... broken. He swallowed and tried to push himself up from the wall, only to find that he couldn't, so he remained slumped against it. "Florian," he whispered, annoyed at himself as his voice broke over the word. He swallowed again and sighed heavily, "Of course I came for you, I was worried." His face hardened slightly and his fists clenched of their own will it seemed, "Now I see that concern was misplaced, and that your damn auror friend was right about you. Fuck, how many have there been Flo?" he asked in a pained voice, "If you were unhappy you should have just told me instead of stringing me along; I thought something had happened to you! I should have guessed this was all just one of your games when I started getting the flowers... and what was the deal with this?" He pulled the folded up note out of his pocket and thrust it roughly at the blonde's chest, "Something else to tease me with? Were you waiting to see how long it would take me to find you?" He shook his head and turned away, leaning heavily on the wall for support. Now he had said it like that, it all made sense; no wonder Proudfoot had sent him straight to Crystal, he had probably been in on the whole thing. Fucking smug auror.
He was so taken aback by Cedric's words, he froze in confusion and stood still almost like a statue of marble, absorbing each of the man's words. He let the note sway and fall down on the ground like a dead leaf. What excuse could he give to his heartbroken lover? How could he justify his actions without telling him what he has become? He realized what him administering "little bites" to the men on the dance floor must have seemed like to his mortal lover. He struggled between his need to tell Cedric the truth and fear of his reaction. "It's not what it looks like" Florian sighed, as he took a step back. His lover's words and the meaning behind them, his tone of voice cut him like a knife. "Appearances can be deceiving, Ced. You better than anyone should know that." Then he paused, and with a trembling voice added, "That poem I wrote to you, every word of it was true."
Cedric snorted at the cliche claim of 'it's not what it looks like', he honestly felt offended that the blonde would try that one on him. "Poem?" he asked in a scathing voice, not even bothering to turn around and face Florian, "I'm sorry, you must have me confused with one of your other boyfriends!" He felt like he was breaking somewhere inside and his legs were protesting at holding him up, he just wanted to slide down the wall and sit in the gutter and maybe never get up again.
His keen ears didn't miss the sound that Cedric let out at his words. "Don’t be ridiculous, I don't have any other boyfriends. It's you I love." He felt the frustration grip him because he knew that no matter what he said, his words would sound hollow to his lover. It was clear to Florian now that he had only one alternative before him: that of either telling the truth or losing the man he loved. Tentatively putting his hand on Cedric's shoulder, he said softly, "I can explain everything, but would you grant me that?"
Cedric clapped his hand over his face and his shoulders shook as Florian dared to tell him he loved him. If the man had loved him, he would never have put him through such pain and been so cruel. He tensed at the hand as it came to rest on his shoulder, and he very nearly shook it off again; but he didn't. "I... I don't owe you anything Florian," he whispered, forcing his voice to not break, "But I want to know the truth, everything." Putting his hand back down by his side, he turned to face the blonde again, his eyes red but dry at least.
As Florian listened to his lover, in the back of his mind, he couldn't get over how beautiful Cedric looked in his sorrow. A thought occurred to him, how could the man not notice that he has changed? that the being who stood in front of him now was not human anymore.
Didn't he feel the cold emanating from his body? wasn't his touch making him shiver?
”No, you don´t owe me anything. If anything, I owe you." He took hold of Cedric's hand as gently as he only could and pressed it to his bare chest, where his heart was beating slowly, at a much slower pace than that of the mortals. Then, gazing softly in his lover's eyes, his voice earnest as he whispered to him, "Everything. Though I want you to promise me something first. When you heard what i have to tell you, do not pity me for I ask for none, do not feel sorry for me for I feel no sorrow."
Cedric shivered as his palm was pressed against skin as cold as ice, he had expected the man to be hot and sweaty from his exploits inside the club, surely the night air wasn't making him that cold. Worry and concern flashed in his eyes, though he tried to hide it; what on earth was Florian talking about? Why was his heart beat so slow? As a healer he knew immediately that wasn't right, and as the blonde's lover he knew that wasn't his heart's normal pace. He felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he looked into the man's eyes. "Something's wrong isn't it..." He wasn't asking, he was stating what he knew.
The blond was gazing at him, with his eyes full of indescribable kindness and compassion for his lover, hoping that he did not appear frightful. "Yes," he whispered softly, "but if you don't mind, would you follow me to a more comfortable place than this" Florian gestured around them "so we can sit down and talk?"
He felt violent fear take hold of him, terrified of finding out what was going on, but at the same time knowing that he couldn't walk away without an explanation. "Okay," he nodded in stunned agreement, "lead on."
Still holding his lover's hand, Florian led him behind the club, further down into the castle compound, and once inside, along the hallways, nearing dungeons. The surroundings were empty and desolate for the most part, with musty air and flickering torches casting shadows along grimy walls. They stopped at the massive oak door with iron bolts and hinges. Although it seemed too heavy to push, Florian nudged the door open gently with his foot, guiding Cedric inside. The room was furnished simply but tastefully, decorated in warm earthly colors. It was obvious that it has not been inhabited for a while. The blond walked over to a small cabinet in the corner and took out a candle and a box of matches. Lighting the candle, he looked over at Cedric and motioned to a wine-red leather sofa in the middle, "It's not much, but please feel free to feel at home here."
Cedric wondered about all the secrecy as he was led down into the dark, surrounded by cold grey stone walls covered with cobwebs. He was about to help the blonde open the heavy looking door but the man simply nudged it open, he supposed that was another case of 'looks being deceiving'. With a tiny flicker of light in the room, Cedric could see just well enough to go and seat himself, though he didn't feel comfortable at all. How could he? "Please, just tell me what's going on."
Florian set the candle on the sofa table and turned around to face Cedric. "I'd like to ask you to believe me, Ced, but I know it's asking for impossible. Just know this, the night I left, I had no intention of deserting you." He paused, let out a grunt, barely audible to human ears, and continued. "When I heard that bitch, Jamie, talk to you, the little I heard, I knew I had to settle scores with her once and for all. She insulted you when she told you her lies about me..." he glanced at Cedric, shrugging "...and we dueled."
The brunette's eyes widened and he gasped softly, "You didn't! Why would you do something so stupid Florian; you could have been killed!" He couldn't believe what he was hearing, he could have lost the blonde, yet the man spoke so casually about it as if it wasn't even important. He sighed and rested his head in his hands, "I take it you won then?"
He stepped closer to Cedric and crouched in front of him, putting him at eye level. Looking in his face, so tenderly, so earnestly, Florian whispered softly to his lover, as he put his hand on the man's knee "No. I lost. She casted a sectumsempra." His voice broke, and he fell silent, unable to continue.
His mind went back to all the blood that had been splattered about the street and he suddenly felt very faint. "I... I don't understand, did she cast a counter curse? How... how did you heal?" His eyes were desperately scanning the flesh that was on show, but there was nothing there to suggest the blonde had sustained even minor bruising.
"I guess you could call it healing, I think of it as of curse", his voice was shaking so badly now, he had to pause and swallow. "I'm not the same man that you once knew, Ced. I'm not even a man anymore, or a wizard, for that matter. I'm a vampire,” he told him simply. There was no sense in sugar coating it now.
Cedric sat in stunned silence for a moment, not knowing what to say. It wasn't that he didn't believe the blonde, just that he hadn't expected something like this. Somehow he made his voice work, "And what kind of excuse is that for running off to France and leaving me?" He reached out a hand to touch Florian's face, caressing his cold cheek softly with his thumb, "I'd have boarded up the windows and everything if you would have just told me."
"Are you not the Champion I once fell in love with?" Florian said, choking on his words as he spoke,"Remember the whole eternal fame and glory thing, not to mention a brilliant career. You've got it all, babe. You have all your life ahead of you. And I can't let you ruin your life for me. You deserve so much better." Unable to meet Cedric's gaze, he pulled away, lifting himself up and quickly backing into the shadows of the room. Only his voice could be heard, "I can't be with you, Ced. Loving me is a curse, being loved by me is even worse. What you've seen me do in that club, that was me. Drinking their blood. I've become a monster. There's no salvation for me."
"Florian..." he looked on in anguish as his lover pulled away and retreated to the darkness, "please don't... I couldn't take it if you left me again." He stood up and moved closer to the voice, he couldn't see in the shadows, but he reached out his hands hoping they would brush against the blonde. "If you're so convinced you're a monster, then at least be my monster!" he replied determinedly, "You say I have so much, but can't you see that I don't have anything if I don't have you?"
He closed his eyes for a moment, just listening to Cedric's voice, so soothing, like a balm to his soul. When he looked up again, he saw the hufflepuff standing right in front of him, reaching out to him. Florian could not take anymore of seeing his lover in anguish and pain. He stepped closer to him and wrapped his arms around him. "I'm yours Cedric. I have always been yours, since the moment I saw you smile at me from across our house table. And I'll be yours for as long as you want me." he whispered softly before placing a chaste kiss on his lips, "though I'd give anything to be yours forever."
He smiled as he felt the man embrace him, wrapping his arms around his lover in return. "You are mine forever," he whispered, kissing the vampire's cheek softly, "if you think I'm letting you get away from me again you've got another thing coming!" The brunette nuzzled at Florian's neck gently, before pulling back and taking the man by the hand, "come on," he said as he led him back into the dim light cast by the candle, "sit back down with me and tell me how all this happened, please don't leave anything out, I want to understand completely."
If he wasn't already immortal, he thought, he would have probably died of happiness he felt at Cedric's words. He grinned sheepishly, and shook his head in earnest, "I'm not going anywhere Ced, unless it's with you." He followed him to the sofa and once next to his lover, he put his head gently on the brunette's shoulder and asked quietly, "Are you sure you want to hear all the gory details? or maybe just the best part of it?"
Cedric slipped an arm around the vampire, using his hand to softly stroke at his blonde hair. "Yes, tell me everything, you can't scare me away that easily." He grinned and kissed Florian's forehead, waiting for him to begin his tale.
And so he did as Cedric asked. He told him about Vittorio, getting a little teary-eyed and about his mortal death, about the kiss of life, as he called it, not failing to mention that he fought to end it when he woke up and found the other vampire kissing him, about his first day, sleeping in a coffin, about his first feeding and his first kill. About the fountain with three angels and the lilies. "I wanted to give you a sign, that I'm still here, still watching over you and I was hoping you would remember that night in Hogwarts, before the party, when I gave you the lilies and the crystal, and you would see the flowers and know they're from me." Suddenly he stopped talking and lowered his eyes.
The brunette listened, captivated by every word; it was such an incredible story. "I was never sure if they were from you or not, at first I was afraid someone had you captive and they were just taunting me..." He looked at the blonde leaning against him and tilted his head up so he could look into his eyes, "What's wrong?" He paused and felt a wave of guilt wash over him, "Is it because I threw the crystal away in the club? Oh Flo I'm sorry... I... I thought... well you know what I thought." He swallowed slightly and looked imploringly at the other man, "Please say you'll forgive me?"
With his head still hanging in shame, Florian gave his lover a sad smile and nodded, "Of course I forgive you, Ced. I've got the crystal right here." He moved so that he could reach inside his jeans pocket to pull out the pendant and put it in Cedric's palm, just as he did on a November night some two years ago. Then he took a deep breath and let out a sorrowful sigh, shaking his head. "It's no good, Ced. I'm not only a monster. I'm also a freak."
A relieved sigh passed his lips as he folded his fingers over the pendant and held it tightly, though his attention quickly returned to the blonde. "What are you talking about? Just because you're a vampire now, it doesn't stop me loving you, please believe that." Desperate for his lover to understand, he softly pressed his lips to his, trying to be gentle but also trying to convey all of his feelings to the man at the same time.
He responded to the kiss but pulled away shortly, shaking his head again. He just couldn't do this. "It's got nothing to do with me being a vampire. It's got to do with this." he pointed at the object in Cedric's hand. "and with me being a romantic fool that should never have messed with things I had no clue about in the first place." He shook his head, snorting at himself.
"The crystal?" he asked in a slightly confused voice, unfurling his fingers to look at the small object, "Is it to do with the reason why its stopped glowing? Please tell me Florian, whatever it its, maybe I can help?"
"There's nothing to be done about it, Ced, the damage's been already done, not you, not even the most powerful wizard in the world can undo the dark magic that's behind it. I've only got myself to blame" he was so close to telling his lover the truth, but words failed him, every time he tried to bring himself to say it and he fell silent once more.
"Florian please," the brunette begged, "you're scaring me!" His mind was trying to fill in the blanks, and it wasn't painting a very rosy picture, "Please..."
He knew he had to say it sooner or later, and so, closing his eyes, he turned his head away from his lover, cursing himself for merlin-knows-what-time and mumbled in a very dry voice, "I'm gonna have a baby"
"You..." He swallowed thickly, "So... you have been with someone else... I didn't realize you were into girls too..." he paused but he knew he had to ask, "Who is she?" Cedric felt as though he might break all over again. If the blonde still wanted to be with him, why had he gotten some girl pregnant? Maybe she was from before they had gotten together officially and his lover had just found out; he really hoped that was it.
He was so shocked by Cedric's interpretation of his words that he began coughing violently. He didn't know which was worse, his lover imagining him being with a female, assuming he cheated on him or having to explain to him the exact meaning behind his words. He turned to face Cedric, and took his hand in his, squeezing it gently, as if reassuring him. Then, he looked deep in his eyes and said, this time in a slightly shaking but clear voice, "Cedric, love, there is no girl."
"But you said..." He shook his head as he tried to comprehend what he was being told, "You're not making any sense Flo, how can you be having a baby if there is no girl?" Even before he'd finished that sentence he was looking at his lover curiously, feeling stupid for even thinking what was running through his mind right now. "No... Surely not..."
He let go of Cedric's hand and put his head in his hands, then he looked straight ahead, at the candle flickering on the table, saying "Yep, I'm pregnant. I'm sorry, love, I didn't mean to freak you out. Like I said, it's all my own stupid fault, should have known better than mess around with ancient incantations in runic swedish and dark magic crystals." He sighed and added, "but then, I never thought I'd see you again after Hogwarts. I should never have come back to London. We should never have met again. It was all a horrible mistake for which I'm truly sorry. Don't worry, you are not responsible for anything. I will raise the kid on my own, here in Marseilles. There's nothing else I can say in my defense. You are free to go now. Just follow the corridor out of this room, it will lead you back to the club."
"W...wait," Cedric said, his voice a little shaky as he tried to make sense of everything, "You... you're pregnant... you... you're..." it was so hard to make his brain compute that little fact, it went against everything he knew; males couldn't become pregnant, they just couldn't! He swallowed harshly, his face considerably paler, "And its... mine? Ours?"
Florian turned his head, just nodding at first. Then he swallowed and added "Well, you took my virginity and I've not been with anyone else since then. So yes, it's ours. I was just as shocked when I found out about this but then, my mom explained it all to me in details so it made sense. The spiritual part, that's my heart essence that was locked in that crystal and the physical part, that'd be your...well, you know...got mixed up because of that spell I casted on the crystal and made it happen."
Slowly he nodded, it was starting to make sense. Well... as much as something as fantastical as a male vampire being pregnant could make sense anyway. "Ours..." he repeated softly, pulling the blonde into a loving embrace but trying to be gentle with him, as if suddenly afraid he might break him.
Surprised that Cedric wasn't running away from him, he let himself being pulled back into the brunette's arms. Florian looked at him and breathed out softly, his body just relaxing against his lover's for a moment, enjoying his presence.
He held the other man in comfortable silence for the longest time it seemed until he found his voice again. "If your mother explained this to you... I suppose that means she knows about us being together, right?" he shifted slightly and pulled back just enough to look into his lover's eyes, "Maybe I should meet her?"
At Cedric's words, the blond gave a soft growl, unheard to the mortal ears. "Yeah, I told her a little bit about you, about us." his green eyes darkened a little as he recalled the conversation, "I don't think it would be a good idea, love. See, my mother...she's a bit, hmmm how should I say it...old-fashioned."
"But... she knows about us and the baby already... surely she'd think less of me if I didn't at least attempt to gain her favour? I mean what kind of man would it make me if I didn't at least try?" he paused and bit his lip slightly, "She is happy about the baby isn't she? I know it's not the conventional way... but she's still going to be a grandmother."
Florian snorted softly, "this is my mother we're talking about, Ced. She's asked me tons of questions last time I visited, that ended up in me walking right out of the house." He smiled at Cedric,"of course, she's all excited about having a heir, in fact she was convinced she was going to meet you soon but I just wouldn't want her to hex you, or something, that's all."
"I will just have to be extra careful not to upset her then won't I?" he grinned at his lover in reply, "I'm sure if she wanted to meet me it would not be for the purpose of depriving her grandchild of one of its parents. Why don't we go home, and we can owl her to ask if we can meet; it doesn't have to be right this second that we go knocking on her door."
Florian yawned, beginning to feel drowsy. "Okay, love. If it makes you happy." He grinned back. "But we'll have to wait till tonight to go home. I feel the dawn approaching. I'm going to have to make my bed here. One of these inconveniences of being immortal." He looked up at Cedric, gently caressing his cheek.
Cedric smiled and nodded, "I'm pretty tired too, I'll rest a while with you and I'll be here when you wake tonight, ok?"
"Feel free to explore the grounds and visit the city." He got up from the sofa and leaned to kiss Cedric slowly and gently, tongue running lightly along his lower lip, not out of lust, but of pure joy that they were together again.
"Mmmm," he purred happily into the kiss, enjoying and savouring it until the moment it was broken. "Where do we sleep?" he yawned softly, as he peered around the dark room, it was impossible for his mortal eyes to see much of anything in such poor light.
Florian took his lover softly by his hand, "Come. The bed's right over here." He then led him to a rather small, but comfortable looking bed in the far corner of the room. "It's not a king size, but it'll have to do for today. Beats coffin any time." He grinned, laying down and waiting for his lover to snuggle next to him.
Cedric let the man lead him through the darkness, waiting for the blonde to get in and get comfortable before he slipped in too. "Even a coffin would be comfortable as long as I could wrap my arms around you." He smiled at his lover in the darkness, and wiggled out of his clothing, dumping it on the floor next to the bed. "Sleep now, things have been stressful for you lately, and that's not good for you," softly he let his hand come to rest on Florian's abdomen, caressing it ever so gently.
"I love you," Florian whispered to his lover, before the sleep overtook him. For the first time since he was turned, he felt whole and complete with Cedric Diggory in his arms.
Where: Florian's castle, Marseilles
When: Same night
He pocketed the scroll and for a few seconds, stood there as if rooted to the spot and sighed, shaking his head. Turning back around he resumed his walk, and bent his steps towards Cedric. He approached the man gently, well aware of his distress and not wishing to alarm him, as he spoke in a soft, soothing voice "Cedric, love, I see you have come for me."
Cedric wiped at his eyes before turning to face the blonde, what could he say? He just felt so... used. So... broken. He swallowed and tried to push himself up from the wall, only to find that he couldn't, so he remained slumped against it. "Florian," he whispered, annoyed at himself as his voice broke over the word. He swallowed again and sighed heavily, "Of course I came for you, I was worried." His face hardened slightly and his fists clenched of their own will it seemed, "Now I see that concern was misplaced, and that your damn auror friend was right about you. Fuck, how many have there been Flo?" he asked in a pained voice, "If you were unhappy you should have just told me instead of stringing me along; I thought something had happened to you! I should have guessed this was all just one of your games when I started getting the flowers... and what was the deal with this?" He pulled the folded up note out of his pocket and thrust it roughly at the blonde's chest, "Something else to tease me with? Were you waiting to see how long it would take me to find you?" He shook his head and turned away, leaning heavily on the wall for support. Now he had said it like that, it all made sense; no wonder Proudfoot had sent him straight to Crystal, he had probably been in on the whole thing. Fucking smug auror.
He was so taken aback by Cedric's words, he froze in confusion and stood still almost like a statue of marble, absorbing each of the man's words. He let the note sway and fall down on the ground like a dead leaf. What excuse could he give to his heartbroken lover? How could he justify his actions without telling him what he has become? He realized what him administering "little bites" to the men on the dance floor must have seemed like to his mortal lover. He struggled between his need to tell Cedric the truth and fear of his reaction. "It's not what it looks like" Florian sighed, as he took a step back. His lover's words and the meaning behind them, his tone of voice cut him like a knife. "Appearances can be deceiving, Ced. You better than anyone should know that." Then he paused, and with a trembling voice added, "That poem I wrote to you, every word of it was true."
Cedric snorted at the cliche claim of 'it's not what it looks like', he honestly felt offended that the blonde would try that one on him. "Poem?" he asked in a scathing voice, not even bothering to turn around and face Florian, "I'm sorry, you must have me confused with one of your other boyfriends!" He felt like he was breaking somewhere inside and his legs were protesting at holding him up, he just wanted to slide down the wall and sit in the gutter and maybe never get up again.
His keen ears didn't miss the sound that Cedric let out at his words. "Don’t be ridiculous, I don't have any other boyfriends. It's you I love." He felt the frustration grip him because he knew that no matter what he said, his words would sound hollow to his lover. It was clear to Florian now that he had only one alternative before him: that of either telling the truth or losing the man he loved. Tentatively putting his hand on Cedric's shoulder, he said softly, "I can explain everything, but would you grant me that?"
Cedric clapped his hand over his face and his shoulders shook as Florian dared to tell him he loved him. If the man had loved him, he would never have put him through such pain and been so cruel. He tensed at the hand as it came to rest on his shoulder, and he very nearly shook it off again; but he didn't. "I... I don't owe you anything Florian," he whispered, forcing his voice to not break, "But I want to know the truth, everything." Putting his hand back down by his side, he turned to face the blonde again, his eyes red but dry at least.
As Florian listened to his lover, in the back of his mind, he couldn't get over how beautiful Cedric looked in his sorrow. A thought occurred to him, how could the man not notice that he has changed? that the being who stood in front of him now was not human anymore.
Didn't he feel the cold emanating from his body? wasn't his touch making him shiver?
”No, you don´t owe me anything. If anything, I owe you." He took hold of Cedric's hand as gently as he only could and pressed it to his bare chest, where his heart was beating slowly, at a much slower pace than that of the mortals. Then, gazing softly in his lover's eyes, his voice earnest as he whispered to him, "Everything. Though I want you to promise me something first. When you heard what i have to tell you, do not pity me for I ask for none, do not feel sorry for me for I feel no sorrow."
Cedric shivered as his palm was pressed against skin as cold as ice, he had expected the man to be hot and sweaty from his exploits inside the club, surely the night air wasn't making him that cold. Worry and concern flashed in his eyes, though he tried to hide it; what on earth was Florian talking about? Why was his heart beat so slow? As a healer he knew immediately that wasn't right, and as the blonde's lover he knew that wasn't his heart's normal pace. He felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he looked into the man's eyes. "Something's wrong isn't it..." He wasn't asking, he was stating what he knew.
The blond was gazing at him, with his eyes full of indescribable kindness and compassion for his lover, hoping that he did not appear frightful. "Yes," he whispered softly, "but if you don't mind, would you follow me to a more comfortable place than this" Florian gestured around them "so we can sit down and talk?"
He felt violent fear take hold of him, terrified of finding out what was going on, but at the same time knowing that he couldn't walk away without an explanation. "Okay," he nodded in stunned agreement, "lead on."
Still holding his lover's hand, Florian led him behind the club, further down into the castle compound, and once inside, along the hallways, nearing dungeons. The surroundings were empty and desolate for the most part, with musty air and flickering torches casting shadows along grimy walls. They stopped at the massive oak door with iron bolts and hinges. Although it seemed too heavy to push, Florian nudged the door open gently with his foot, guiding Cedric inside. The room was furnished simply but tastefully, decorated in warm earthly colors. It was obvious that it has not been inhabited for a while. The blond walked over to a small cabinet in the corner and took out a candle and a box of matches. Lighting the candle, he looked over at Cedric and motioned to a wine-red leather sofa in the middle, "It's not much, but please feel free to feel at home here."
Cedric wondered about all the secrecy as he was led down into the dark, surrounded by cold grey stone walls covered with cobwebs. He was about to help the blonde open the heavy looking door but the man simply nudged it open, he supposed that was another case of 'looks being deceiving'. With a tiny flicker of light in the room, Cedric could see just well enough to go and seat himself, though he didn't feel comfortable at all. How could he? "Please, just tell me what's going on."
Florian set the candle on the sofa table and turned around to face Cedric. "I'd like to ask you to believe me, Ced, but I know it's asking for impossible. Just know this, the night I left, I had no intention of deserting you." He paused, let out a grunt, barely audible to human ears, and continued. "When I heard that bitch, Jamie, talk to you, the little I heard, I knew I had to settle scores with her once and for all. She insulted you when she told you her lies about me..." he glanced at Cedric, shrugging "...and we dueled."
The brunette's eyes widened and he gasped softly, "You didn't! Why would you do something so stupid Florian; you could have been killed!" He couldn't believe what he was hearing, he could have lost the blonde, yet the man spoke so casually about it as if it wasn't even important. He sighed and rested his head in his hands, "I take it you won then?"
He stepped closer to Cedric and crouched in front of him, putting him at eye level. Looking in his face, so tenderly, so earnestly, Florian whispered softly to his lover, as he put his hand on the man's knee "No. I lost. She casted a sectumsempra." His voice broke, and he fell silent, unable to continue.
His mind went back to all the blood that had been splattered about the street and he suddenly felt very faint. "I... I don't understand, did she cast a counter curse? How... how did you heal?" His eyes were desperately scanning the flesh that was on show, but there was nothing there to suggest the blonde had sustained even minor bruising.
"I guess you could call it healing, I think of it as of curse", his voice was shaking so badly now, he had to pause and swallow. "I'm not the same man that you once knew, Ced. I'm not even a man anymore, or a wizard, for that matter. I'm a vampire,” he told him simply. There was no sense in sugar coating it now.
Cedric sat in stunned silence for a moment, not knowing what to say. It wasn't that he didn't believe the blonde, just that he hadn't expected something like this. Somehow he made his voice work, "And what kind of excuse is that for running off to France and leaving me?" He reached out a hand to touch Florian's face, caressing his cold cheek softly with his thumb, "I'd have boarded up the windows and everything if you would have just told me."
"Are you not the Champion I once fell in love with?" Florian said, choking on his words as he spoke,"Remember the whole eternal fame and glory thing, not to mention a brilliant career. You've got it all, babe. You have all your life ahead of you. And I can't let you ruin your life for me. You deserve so much better." Unable to meet Cedric's gaze, he pulled away, lifting himself up and quickly backing into the shadows of the room. Only his voice could be heard, "I can't be with you, Ced. Loving me is a curse, being loved by me is even worse. What you've seen me do in that club, that was me. Drinking their blood. I've become a monster. There's no salvation for me."
"Florian..." he looked on in anguish as his lover pulled away and retreated to the darkness, "please don't... I couldn't take it if you left me again." He stood up and moved closer to the voice, he couldn't see in the shadows, but he reached out his hands hoping they would brush against the blonde. "If you're so convinced you're a monster, then at least be my monster!" he replied determinedly, "You say I have so much, but can't you see that I don't have anything if I don't have you?"
He closed his eyes for a moment, just listening to Cedric's voice, so soothing, like a balm to his soul. When he looked up again, he saw the hufflepuff standing right in front of him, reaching out to him. Florian could not take anymore of seeing his lover in anguish and pain. He stepped closer to him and wrapped his arms around him. "I'm yours Cedric. I have always been yours, since the moment I saw you smile at me from across our house table. And I'll be yours for as long as you want me." he whispered softly before placing a chaste kiss on his lips, "though I'd give anything to be yours forever."
He smiled as he felt the man embrace him, wrapping his arms around his lover in return. "You are mine forever," he whispered, kissing the vampire's cheek softly, "if you think I'm letting you get away from me again you've got another thing coming!" The brunette nuzzled at Florian's neck gently, before pulling back and taking the man by the hand, "come on," he said as he led him back into the dim light cast by the candle, "sit back down with me and tell me how all this happened, please don't leave anything out, I want to understand completely."
If he wasn't already immortal, he thought, he would have probably died of happiness he felt at Cedric's words. He grinned sheepishly, and shook his head in earnest, "I'm not going anywhere Ced, unless it's with you." He followed him to the sofa and once next to his lover, he put his head gently on the brunette's shoulder and asked quietly, "Are you sure you want to hear all the gory details? or maybe just the best part of it?"
Cedric slipped an arm around the vampire, using his hand to softly stroke at his blonde hair. "Yes, tell me everything, you can't scare me away that easily." He grinned and kissed Florian's forehead, waiting for him to begin his tale.
And so he did as Cedric asked. He told him about Vittorio, getting a little teary-eyed and about his mortal death, about the kiss of life, as he called it, not failing to mention that he fought to end it when he woke up and found the other vampire kissing him, about his first day, sleeping in a coffin, about his first feeding and his first kill. About the fountain with three angels and the lilies. "I wanted to give you a sign, that I'm still here, still watching over you and I was hoping you would remember that night in Hogwarts, before the party, when I gave you the lilies and the crystal, and you would see the flowers and know they're from me." Suddenly he stopped talking and lowered his eyes.
The brunette listened, captivated by every word; it was such an incredible story. "I was never sure if they were from you or not, at first I was afraid someone had you captive and they were just taunting me..." He looked at the blonde leaning against him and tilted his head up so he could look into his eyes, "What's wrong?" He paused and felt a wave of guilt wash over him, "Is it because I threw the crystal away in the club? Oh Flo I'm sorry... I... I thought... well you know what I thought." He swallowed slightly and looked imploringly at the other man, "Please say you'll forgive me?"
With his head still hanging in shame, Florian gave his lover a sad smile and nodded, "Of course I forgive you, Ced. I've got the crystal right here." He moved so that he could reach inside his jeans pocket to pull out the pendant and put it in Cedric's palm, just as he did on a November night some two years ago. Then he took a deep breath and let out a sorrowful sigh, shaking his head. "It's no good, Ced. I'm not only a monster. I'm also a freak."
A relieved sigh passed his lips as he folded his fingers over the pendant and held it tightly, though his attention quickly returned to the blonde. "What are you talking about? Just because you're a vampire now, it doesn't stop me loving you, please believe that." Desperate for his lover to understand, he softly pressed his lips to his, trying to be gentle but also trying to convey all of his feelings to the man at the same time.
He responded to the kiss but pulled away shortly, shaking his head again. He just couldn't do this. "It's got nothing to do with me being a vampire. It's got to do with this." he pointed at the object in Cedric's hand. "and with me being a romantic fool that should never have messed with things I had no clue about in the first place." He shook his head, snorting at himself.
"The crystal?" he asked in a slightly confused voice, unfurling his fingers to look at the small object, "Is it to do with the reason why its stopped glowing? Please tell me Florian, whatever it its, maybe I can help?"
"There's nothing to be done about it, Ced, the damage's been already done, not you, not even the most powerful wizard in the world can undo the dark magic that's behind it. I've only got myself to blame" he was so close to telling his lover the truth, but words failed him, every time he tried to bring himself to say it and he fell silent once more.
"Florian please," the brunette begged, "you're scaring me!" His mind was trying to fill in the blanks, and it wasn't painting a very rosy picture, "Please..."
He knew he had to say it sooner or later, and so, closing his eyes, he turned his head away from his lover, cursing himself for merlin-knows-what-time and mumbled in a very dry voice, "I'm gonna have a baby"
"You..." He swallowed thickly, "So... you have been with someone else... I didn't realize you were into girls too..." he paused but he knew he had to ask, "Who is she?" Cedric felt as though he might break all over again. If the blonde still wanted to be with him, why had he gotten some girl pregnant? Maybe she was from before they had gotten together officially and his lover had just found out; he really hoped that was it.
He was so shocked by Cedric's interpretation of his words that he began coughing violently. He didn't know which was worse, his lover imagining him being with a female, assuming he cheated on him or having to explain to him the exact meaning behind his words. He turned to face Cedric, and took his hand in his, squeezing it gently, as if reassuring him. Then, he looked deep in his eyes and said, this time in a slightly shaking but clear voice, "Cedric, love, there is no girl."
"But you said..." He shook his head as he tried to comprehend what he was being told, "You're not making any sense Flo, how can you be having a baby if there is no girl?" Even before he'd finished that sentence he was looking at his lover curiously, feeling stupid for even thinking what was running through his mind right now. "No... Surely not..."
He let go of Cedric's hand and put his head in his hands, then he looked straight ahead, at the candle flickering on the table, saying "Yep, I'm pregnant. I'm sorry, love, I didn't mean to freak you out. Like I said, it's all my own stupid fault, should have known better than mess around with ancient incantations in runic swedish and dark magic crystals." He sighed and added, "but then, I never thought I'd see you again after Hogwarts. I should never have come back to London. We should never have met again. It was all a horrible mistake for which I'm truly sorry. Don't worry, you are not responsible for anything. I will raise the kid on my own, here in Marseilles. There's nothing else I can say in my defense. You are free to go now. Just follow the corridor out of this room, it will lead you back to the club."
"W...wait," Cedric said, his voice a little shaky as he tried to make sense of everything, "You... you're pregnant... you... you're..." it was so hard to make his brain compute that little fact, it went against everything he knew; males couldn't become pregnant, they just couldn't! He swallowed harshly, his face considerably paler, "And its... mine? Ours?"
Florian turned his head, just nodding at first. Then he swallowed and added "Well, you took my virginity and I've not been with anyone else since then. So yes, it's ours. I was just as shocked when I found out about this but then, my mom explained it all to me in details so it made sense. The spiritual part, that's my heart essence that was locked in that crystal and the physical part, that'd be your...well, you know...got mixed up because of that spell I casted on the crystal and made it happen."
Slowly he nodded, it was starting to make sense. Well... as much as something as fantastical as a male vampire being pregnant could make sense anyway. "Ours..." he repeated softly, pulling the blonde into a loving embrace but trying to be gentle with him, as if suddenly afraid he might break him.
Surprised that Cedric wasn't running away from him, he let himself being pulled back into the brunette's arms. Florian looked at him and breathed out softly, his body just relaxing against his lover's for a moment, enjoying his presence.
He held the other man in comfortable silence for the longest time it seemed until he found his voice again. "If your mother explained this to you... I suppose that means she knows about us being together, right?" he shifted slightly and pulled back just enough to look into his lover's eyes, "Maybe I should meet her?"
At Cedric's words, the blond gave a soft growl, unheard to the mortal ears. "Yeah, I told her a little bit about you, about us." his green eyes darkened a little as he recalled the conversation, "I don't think it would be a good idea, love. See, my mother...she's a bit, hmmm how should I say it...old-fashioned."
"But... she knows about us and the baby already... surely she'd think less of me if I didn't at least attempt to gain her favour? I mean what kind of man would it make me if I didn't at least try?" he paused and bit his lip slightly, "She is happy about the baby isn't she? I know it's not the conventional way... but she's still going to be a grandmother."
Florian snorted softly, "this is my mother we're talking about, Ced. She's asked me tons of questions last time I visited, that ended up in me walking right out of the house." He smiled at Cedric,"of course, she's all excited about having a heir, in fact she was convinced she was going to meet you soon but I just wouldn't want her to hex you, or something, that's all."
"I will just have to be extra careful not to upset her then won't I?" he grinned at his lover in reply, "I'm sure if she wanted to meet me it would not be for the purpose of depriving her grandchild of one of its parents. Why don't we go home, and we can owl her to ask if we can meet; it doesn't have to be right this second that we go knocking on her door."
Florian yawned, beginning to feel drowsy. "Okay, love. If it makes you happy." He grinned back. "But we'll have to wait till tonight to go home. I feel the dawn approaching. I'm going to have to make my bed here. One of these inconveniences of being immortal." He looked up at Cedric, gently caressing his cheek.
Cedric smiled and nodded, "I'm pretty tired too, I'll rest a while with you and I'll be here when you wake tonight, ok?"
"Feel free to explore the grounds and visit the city." He got up from the sofa and leaned to kiss Cedric slowly and gently, tongue running lightly along his lower lip, not out of lust, but of pure joy that they were together again.
"Mmmm," he purred happily into the kiss, enjoying and savouring it until the moment it was broken. "Where do we sleep?" he yawned softly, as he peered around the dark room, it was impossible for his mortal eyes to see much of anything in such poor light.
Florian took his lover softly by his hand, "Come. The bed's right over here." He then led him to a rather small, but comfortable looking bed in the far corner of the room. "It's not a king size, but it'll have to do for today. Beats coffin any time." He grinned, laying down and waiting for his lover to snuggle next to him.
Cedric let the man lead him through the darkness, waiting for the blonde to get in and get comfortable before he slipped in too. "Even a coffin would be comfortable as long as I could wrap my arms around you." He smiled at his lover in the darkness, and wiggled out of his clothing, dumping it on the floor next to the bed. "Sleep now, things have been stressful for you lately, and that's not good for you," softly he let his hand come to rest on Florian's abdomen, caressing it ever so gently.
"I love you," Florian whispered to his lover, before the sleep overtook him. For the first time since he was turned, he felt whole and complete with Cedric Diggory in his arms.