DANIEL

Daniel glanced at Michael again, the question so close to the tip of his tongue, it threatened to fall through his teeth. But he didn't. He just wandered around the circular racks across the show floor, passing the walls of expensive blazers and shelves of shiny shoes. It smelled like leather here and a bit like cologne, but whether that was from their supply or from the actual people working there, Daniel wasn't sure. It was a strong enough musk that tickled his noise hairs.

They arrived at the Gentleman's Boutique just moments ago with a full party: Blake, Daniel, Michael, Adrian and that demon, Ignacio. All morning and day, Daniel's nerves frayed at the edges, feeling messy and too itchy to bare. This demon was going to be tricky to figure out, but he had to be swayed somehow. Daniel spent his life bargaining with people, exchanging favors for goods and services. When a simple smile wasn't enough.

As they walked up to the door, Blake whispered to Daniel, "The Gentleman's Boutique sounds like a sex shop—"

Daniel bit through his smile and warned the funny little wizard, "Behave or I shall leave you in the car without the windows cracked."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

Blake smiled and a section of hell felt a chill. It was a miracle how well Daniel was doing. He wasn't sure where this sense of humor came from. No, it was always there. Just buried beneath years of etiquette and stress. It was as if Blake came to Sagewick with a shovel and dug it out himself. Blake was maneuvered to the fitting room so Jim, the best Tailor in the shop, could get the proper measurements as Adrian wandered off to do whatever Adrian did. Daniel rarely questioned things that worked.

"Is there something on my face?" Michael asked as he laid another blazer across his arm. He faced the prince with a raised brow. "You've been staring."

"Have I?" Daniel wondered out loud, lagging slightly behind with his thoughts still swirling. He caught back up to reality and admitted, "Sorry, but I do want to ask you something. Actually, I need advice."

"From me?" Michael's brow narrowed.

"Well, you're the only person other than my parents, who's married. May I ask, did you have a big wedding?"

"Hmm..." Michael hummed, apparently needing a second to adjust. This might be the very first personal question Daniel has ever asked of his assistant. Michael's usual porcelain skin was stained with a rosy blush. "Well, I didn't want one, but Wesley wouldn't stop inviting people. I could've strangled him. That's werewolves for you, I suppose. If they don't invite their fifth cousin three times removed, it's an insult to the entire pack." He shook his head, suddenly pulled back to that time as Daniel made a mental note to remember Michael's husband's name was Wesley. "Then, Wes' mother brought on some wedding planner to help, but all I could do was stress about what she was doing. I hardly remember my wedding. I blacked out."

"Would you do it again?"

"Yes because I get to be married to my best friend."

"That's lovely," Daniel said, surprised by the answer. It was a nice sentiment, indeed.

Michael cleared his throat and turned, so his back faced Daniel. "Yes, well that was years ago and we're not quite in the same position. I think I've grabbed enough of the basics for Blake. I doubt he even owned a white shirt. Shall I check on them?"

Before he could make a mad dash out of the room, Blake poked his head through the door. He jumped. His eyes widened at the two vampires staring at him. He seemed to be caught in the act.

"Are you trying to steal a peek?" Michael asked.

Blake frowned. "I just want to make sure you guys aren't making me look like Danny's duplicate. I still want to look like me."

"I'm going to chose not to be insulted by that," Daniel raised his voice over the racks of clothes. He thumbed through a series of soft velvet options.

"It's not an insult! You look..." Blake swallowed. Even from here, Daniel could hear his heart speed up a little. It was like standing in a cold room as far away from the fireplace as possible. Daniel wanted to be on that side of the room, soaking up Blake's warmth. Blake admitted, "You look like a prince. I know I need to..." He waved his hands around, searching for the right words. "... to look the part, but I still want to recognize myself."

"You're going to look better than you've ever looked before," Michael insisted, pushing Blake back through the door. "Don't worry."

"But-"

"No buts and the next time I see you, you better be rid of those ghastly converses. I rather you be barefoot."

As the door closed, Blake eyed Daniel for just a moment, giving him this sort of pitiful helpless look that made Daniel smile. He sort of wished Blake stayed. Daniel could feel the stillness in the room and the quiet created too much space. He felt aimless all of a sudden, like he was dropped into the middle of the ocean in a lonely canoe with no paddles.

Before they even stepped into the shop, Daniel knew what he wanted to pick out for Blake, what would be a more mature version of the wizard. Daniel rarely second guessed himself. But a funny thought struck him and he walked up to one of the associates, a younger man that Daniel didn't recognize. Must be new.

"Excuse me," Daniel said and the young man straightened to attention. His glasses nearly bounced right off his nose. "Would it be possibly to grab something from another store and bring it here?"

"Of course, your highness. They told me to do anything you asked."

Daniel winced, holding back his comment about context being everything. He forced down his snickering and said, "Wonderful. It won't take long..."

#

BLAKE

Closing his eyes, Blake took a deep breath and reminded himself that he just needed to trust Daniel and Michael. They weren't going to let him walk around looking like an idiot. Link wasn't around to poke fun and Damien couldn't throw his unwanted opinions around about modesty. The tailor here, Jim Crawley was kind and said only nice things about his strangely long legs and stumpy chest. He also said Blake had lovely shoulders.

"Blake," Ignacio said, snapping Blake out of it. His eyes popped open as Ignacio came strolling to the couches with a glass bowl of M&M's in his hands. "I've found us some little chocolates. Totally unguarded. I couldn't believe it!"

Panicked, Blake jumped up and grabbed the bowl from him, setting it on the nearest side table. "You're not supposed to take the whole bowl! Just a handful."

"There were no rules posted by this bowl."

"It's just common courtesy."

"If it's so common, why don't I know it?" Ignacio asked, feeling smug enough to snatch the bowl back. He plopped on the couch and threw a few into his mouth. His chewing grated on Blake's nerves.

"You've been gone for five hundred years, Iggy. I'm sure there's plenty of things you need to catch up on."

"Alright then, I understand," Iggy tossed the bowl in the air and Blake's stomach sank. He lunged to grab it, but the bowl disappeared in a puff of red smoke. The next second, a loud thunk hit somewhere in another room and then, a quick shattering noise made Blake cringe. Ignacio flinched, still tense all over. "I missed."

Blake sighed and sat next to the demon, unable to keep himself from staring. He couldn't believe Ignacio was here, in the flesh. Seeing him felt like living an out of body experience. A part of Blake wondered if he reached out to touch Ignacio, would his hand slip right through?

He asked, his curiosity making him squirm, "How can you do that? I thought your magic was restricted."

"It still is but being near you let's me do some small things," Ignacio explained as he stretched his arms and wiggled his fingers until a small breeze made the curtains flutter. "It's how I can disguise myself." He grinned and Blake could almost see his tag wagging happily like a little puppy who just performed a trick.

"When you become mortal, will all of that go away?"

"I think so."

"And you still want to part with it, the magic? Why do you want to become human?"

Ignacio smiled, turning onto his side as he looked at Blake as if he was the sweetest looking kitten. His long fingers brushed the curls out of Blake's eyes. "I've been alive for quite some time and I have made lots of deals with all kinds of men and women with this magic. This magic has brought me incredible luxury... But it has also brought me incredible unhappiness. Under contract, I cannot say no and I cannot avoid contracts. They keep me alive.... so, I am sometimes bound to serve corrupt people, who simply want power over good men and women. The last person who I made a deal with was a vicious man.... I've grown tired of giving power to vicious men."

"Are you talking about my ancestor?"

"Eh? No, no, no, no," Ignacio sat up, shaking his hands. "Your ancestor was kind." With a warm smile, Ignacio laid his hands over his heart to keep it from flying away. "Very gentle to a demon like me."

"What was his name?"

"Henry..."

Blake's mouth gaped slightly as a rush of realization washed over him, swept him back into the ocean like an unforgiving tide. It was like the sound was sucked out of the world, except this room. The clock ticked louder. The hair on the back of Blake's neck stood.

"Henry Winslow."

"A-and-" Blake couldn't speak past his dry mouth. He swallowed and tried to pull it together. "And what about Daniel's—"

Please, don't say Nicholas, Blake begged in his head. Please, don't say Nicholas. Please, let this just be a strange coincidence.

Before he could ask, the doors to the boutique swung open. Frances stuck his head in first and when he saw Blake, he grinned wickedly and rushed inside with his arms out. He wore tight acid wash jeans and a turtleneck underneath a leather jacket. He wore the same boots as always that added a few inches to his height. "There you are! I can't believe I wasn't invited to this 80's style make-over montage moment. I'll forgive you if you let me give you a haircut."

"A haircut?" Blake gawked.

"Fine, I'll just shave your eyebrows."

"No!"

"This already doesn't feel fun enough. I'm sure Prince of the Tightly Wound and his assistant of the damned have already picked out the boring pieces. You—" He pointed at Ignacio with a serious look "—seem fun. I like the pearl earring thing." He reached his hand out and Ignacio took it, despite his shock. "Together, I've decided we are team fun whoever you are."

"Maybe you should introduce yourself before pulling anyone into your schemes."

"Schemes," France snickered at the term. "You're a prince for a few days and we're throwing big words like 'schemes' around."

"Frances."

"Fine," the man sighed with his entire body, but still held onto Ignacio's hand from the greeting. "It's a pleasure to meet you." With a flourish of his hand, Frances bowed gracefully, down to the tips of his toes. "I am a fellow Prince of the night and designated best friend of Daniel Bellerose, his royal highness Frances Petrovic of the Red Rose coven."

"What a mouthful, how'd you memorize all that?"

France flicked his head up with a grin bright enough to burn sunspots in Blake's vision. He said, "Came right off the top of my head."

"Well, color me impressed. I have no fancy titles. I'm just Ignacio." He tipped his head slightly.

"He's my assistant," Blake quickly interjected before Frances studied the demon closer.

"He's also my comrade," Frances added. Thankfully not the curious type when it involved people other than himself. He dragged Ignacio towards the showroom and Blake jumped to his feet, horrified to be left alone in this place. Frances' voice boomed through the small shop, probably reaching Michael and infuriating him, "I saw some leathers pants by the window that you must own so I can steal them."

Blake held his arms out and let the two threw as many items of colorful clothes as possible. With a laugh, Blake took a silky scarf to the face and shook it lose, back around his neck. "You two are going to make me look like a peacock."

A loud cough broke up the fun and they all turned around at once to find Michael's dower look. "Frances, how long did this hurricane take? A second? Less than a moment?"

"Upon arrival," Frances grinned, which made Michael roll his eyes out of the room.

"Might as well bring it all," Daniel said, motioning them to follow.

They all walked back to the parlor, where a small stage stood in front of a few ornate mirrors. The staff grabbed the clothes from both parties, setting them up on racks and inside the small dressing room. It looked more like a wooden phone booth with a red curtain for a door.

Mr. Crawley came in with a small smile on his lips. He was a man of elegant curves and soft wrinkles framing his face. He had a twirled white mustache and slicked back thin hair to match. He also wore his tweed suit so well that he looked more expensive than even the prince.

"Let's see..." Mr. Crawley picked the round glasses from his chest and placed them on his nose. "From what I understand we need the essentials. So, we'll try a few things on and I'll do a few pins here and there. Then, you can just pick whatever you like. How's that sound?" He smiled at Blake.

"Thank you," Blake said.

"It's my pleasure, your highness."

A blush burned its way across Blake's cheeks, and he sucked in his breath to keep from looking too mortified. He still wasn't used to this.

Like that, Blake tried on a flurry of dress pants, crisp button ups and blazers until he couldn't even tell the difference between colors anymore. He turned on the platform, raising his arms to show off a gray suit without a tie.

"We get it, he's handsome," Frances rolled his eyes, sprawled across the couch while everyone else stood. "But he's a wizard for goodness sake, can't he wear a bit of color?"

"We have a series of colorful ties," Mr. Crawley offered.

Michael snorted. "And have our new prince looking tacky? I think not."

"Thank you, Michael," Daniel chuckled. "It's perfect, Jim. But can you fetch something for today, something that will at lest do for the afternoon?"

"Of course," Mr. Crawley nodded, raising to his feet. "I have something in mind."

He stalked out of the room with Frances nipping his heals. "What about that leather set?"

"Frances," Michael barked, chasing after him. "You're a prince, you can buy your own damn leathers. I'm shocked you don't already own something hideous like it."

Blake chuckled, but released a sigh as the space opened up for him to breathe.

"Wait," Daniel said suddenly, and Blake groaned, which just made Daniel chuckle. "It's okay. Just one last thing I'll make you try on, I promise."

"You can't fool me. I know you're full of it," Blake said, watching Daniel hurry out of the room and then, quickly walk back inside with a plastic bag. In all this decadence, Blake almost did a doubletake at such a modern, common thing. "What is that?"

"Blake," Daniel said and approached, and Blake's toes curled. His stomach had a funny little feeling as Daniel drew near. His face grew hot again. Daniel stood close, closer than he probably needed to stand. "I don't want you to not feel like yourself. I like you the way you are."

"Danny, don't lie."

"I swear," Daniel held up one hand and with the other, crossed his heart.

Blake chuckled and accepted the bag. He found a box, unveiling a pair of brand new converses. "Why—?"

"You don't have to change. I like to wear nice clothes because they help me feel confident."

Blake gawked. "You need to feel more confident?"

"I'm just saying, you should treasure yourself. You deserve nice clothes. No matter the style," he teased, and Blake gripped the box tighter. It was silly to suddenly feel like this was a precious item, when it was just another pair of shoes, but he's never been given a gift from a boy.

The thunder of Frances and Michael fighting loomed closer and Daniel dipped his head as he took a step away. He retreated beside Ignacio, who was grinning to himself. Michael continued talking, in his own conversation, "There's also a fancy dinner at the end of the week. I already have a grey suit prepared for his highness, so we'll need something else for Blake. They can't be matchy-matchy."

"He can't have red," Frances raised his hand. "I'll be in red."

"You're going?"

Frances mirrored his horrified look in spite and Michael just huffed, stalking far away.

Speaking up, Ignacio gained the attention of the room, "Prince Daniel, what is your favorite color?"

"Blue," Daniel answered.

"A blue suit then," Mr. Crawley understood and made a note before anyone could argue. "And your Highness, I shall have you stay an extra moment."

"Of course, Jim," Daniel agreed. "But whatever for?"

"Well, from what I understand," Mr. Crawley smiled. "I need to make you a special tuxedo before the end of the month. Congratulations, sir." He bowed a little and Daniel rubbed his neck, flustered by the announcement.

"Yes. Thank you, Jim." Daniel's eyes flickered at Blake, who flushed by the attention. He then looked down at Blake's hands, which had started fiddling with his engagement ring without thinking. Realizing himself, Blake dropped his hands.

Ignacio giggled. "This has been so fun."

#

Author's Note

Hello friends! I'm so sleeeppyyy, but I was so happy to write this update. It's longer than usual, which is a nice change. And we got to welcome Frances back! Any scene with Frances is suddenly my favorite scene. He brings an energy that I can't help but thrive inside. 

Please let me know what you think from Michael and Daniel's exchange to Iggy unveiling the name of Blake's ancestor. Do you think it's the same Henry from Blake's dreams? What did you think about Daniel's gift? And do you think Iggy and Frances will get along?

Hope to see you soon with another update! I hope everyone has a safe and happy pride!