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Index
o. Absolutely not. You can’t have my surname. I don’t care what tradition is, Names Have Power and I don’t let myself be pinned down by them. I’m the Witch of Baltimore or whatever the hell else you decide my Call is, but you do not get to use any part of my legal human name. Period. End of discussion.’
‘The Witch of Baltimore is a title, not a name.’
‘The Treaty specifically exempts the fae and demons from having to write down or be known by names,’ René said, ‘as they are so private, in those cultures.’
‘And Aix, honey, you can stop dancing around the idea that you’re fae—Heather says you’re fae,’ Michaela said gently.
‘Ah, I see. Then you must have an official Call.’
‘Darkwing,’ Aix said, suddenly, expecting laughter and finding none; he realised a beat later that none of these people were the right age or general category to get the allusion. ‘Call me Darkwing.’ He was surprised that nobody was calling him on the joke. Could he actually get away with this? How long until someone noticed? Surely not long, the duck comics were a huge thing in Europe… well, had been for the whole 20th century… which most of the vampires probably weren’t from at all….
‘Very well. The Darkwing. Do you fly?’
‘Aix is a genus of duck, I’m picking a name in the Nocturnal Community… Darkwing. It just rolls off the tongue.’ Oh my god, I’m getting away with this…!
‘We shall meet you in two weeks, Darkwing.’
After the Voivode hung up, Aix bit his lip to hide the slightly guilty but gleeful smile spreading over his face. ‘I. Cannot believe. I got away with my alias being Darkwing.’
‘It’s pretty,’ Michaela said, ‘but you’re grinning like a cat with the canary.’
‘Why does that sound so familiar…?’ Victoria said to herself.
‘Welp, I need to go to bed,’ Aix said, with a mischievous closing of any opportunity to question him, and then hesitated, realising that Going To Bed was now a somewhat complicated decision. He thought about it while everyone got out of the room, letting the wheelchairs go first—which was odd to Aix, who was used to just waiting for everyone else to get out of his way and go after them.
He and René hadn’t exactly fucked yet (though they had literally slept together), despite the date going very well, because sex negotiations had gone on for hours and had involved eventually showing René the smut Aix had written, which had absorbed them both in conversation for the rest of the night. Neither had minded, in fact it was sort of nice to mutually be content with talking about sex and discussing smut with the same depth and enthusiasm as some people discussed other literature, while sitting on a bed together like it was a sleepover, and just…
René really, truly took Aix seriously about ‘needing to get used to being allowed touch again’. So that was what they’d done, in between talking, during talking, while René had read the stories on Aix’s laptop—they’d just… sat close, touching, René casually having an arm around Aix, or Aix draped in his lap, or Aix playing with René’s hair… and they’d shed clothes as Aix was comfortable with it; but René was a professional and actually understood nudity being non-sexual, and even erections being something he could ignore, that did not need attention.
He’d understood how frightened Aix was of erect phalli, Aix wasn’t the first lover of his to have been raped before meeting René. He’d understood, and had reassured Aix, and had stayed gentle, even pushing Aix away from his cock; and that was really such an enormous thing for him to have done, for Aix, and it made Aix all the more attracted to him, for how safe he felt around René.
It had beeen a long, long time since Aix had felt safe around a man—of any kind, trans or cis.
Cthulhu gave Aix a different fondness entirely—there was nothing about him threatening, nothing that tripped any wires, and that was nice too; but he was inquisitive, and even as much as Aix liked answering questions…. well, after the meeting, Aix was not really up to being a stranger or explaining things, anymore. He tried to convey this to Cthulhu, without rancour, and express that he was very happy Cthulhu was here and no longer trapped, but that Aix needed to rest from explaining things, and that he wanted to sleep with René.
I do not sleep, as you know. I agree that your mind needs to rest. Perhaps playing with René will help, I know that is his profession? Cthulhu was unsure about what a profession was, since it had been explained it was often separate from someone’s favourite thing to do—commerce was a bit confusing to him, though he understood the basics of barter, the complex monster that was capitalism was still bewildering; but he’d found others who thought so too, in Manhattan.
René is courting me, Cthulhu.
I have upset you? I did not mean to.
I know, darlin’. Paying for sex is a complicated idea for me. Sex is complicated and full of all kinds of scars. But René understands that, and more importantly has experience with having lovers like that, and it’s helping it heal enough to be… less complicated.
I am glad, then. René mentioned a library, while you were away, and invited me to use it. Cthulhu made sure to share how excited he was about that, especially since there were those who would assist him with reading the books. Aix replied with the same fondness as before.
You’re so cute! I’m so happy for you. You go learn the things, baby. Learn all the things.
‘Aix, darling,’ pulled Aix out of their thoughts and conversation with Cthulhu, looking over at Victoria. ‘Dmitri and I are leaving, dear. I want to hug you before we’re off.’
‘Oh!’ Aix got to his feet. ‘Okay, yeah. Sorry, was thinking about logistics.’ He opened his arms, and hugged them both good-bye before they went down in the elevator to the train platform.
‘Promise you’ll come see me tomorrow for tea, darling.’
‘I’ve got to see Amber tomorrow afternoon, you can come if you want! Pippin has a new little brother because Amber found me a kitten!’
‘Oh!’ Victoria laughed her lovely syrupy laugh. It was like a smoother and more candy-flavoured version of Aix’s favourite teacher’s laugh from childhood. ‘How wonderful! I would adore meeting your new son.’
Aix loved Victoria all the more, for seamlessly accepting Aix’s propensity for calling cats ‘baby’ and ‘child’ and other such things. It did not at all matter to how he treated them, but people got very strange about it.
‘You can keep him here until we find you a place to live,’ René assured Aix. ‘I have already arranged for Cameron to take you to see Mr Gold, tomorrow. His office allows companion animals.’ He smiled a bit wryly. ‘And he is very fond of cats, of course.’
Aix took the moment to hug Michaela, who lifted him up (because he’d told her she could definitely do that when she hugged him, anytime), crushing him lovingly to her softness before putting him down again.
‘You did great,’ she said quietly into his ear, so no one else could hear, and Aix’s heart soared. After the elevator doors closed, and it was just René and Cthulhu and Aix, and Aix had settled back into his chair again, he returned to the thought of logistics.
‘Can I sleep with you again tonight?’ Aix asked René.
‘But of course, chéri; and you, Monsieur Cthulhu? I am told you do not understand sleeping.’
Sleeping is fascinatingly alien, I have been studying it; but we do not have such a mechanism in our biology, no. Aix and I were discussing my staying in the library and studying with Jasper and any others willing to teach me. I think the library will be my usual place to go when everyone is asleep, as I began to do that when staying with the Averays, as well as the Blackstones.
‘Then I will be pleased to know you are enjoying our collective efforts over so many centuries, and bid you a good night,’ René said, with a polite bow. Cthulhu mimicked it—and he was a good mimic, Aix thought admiringly, which was good and right and very cephalopodian of him.
Good night.
And then he left.
And then Aix was alone with René again.
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