Aurélien Cullen thrived on chaos. Maybe that's why fate presented him with a werewolf for a soul mate. After all, what's more chaotic than a love that goes against your very Biology?
"You have such a beautiful soul, Seth Clearwater."
Seth Clearwater...
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The amount of joy Seth exuded as they journeyed round Paris made every dark moment of Aurélien's long life seem worth living through. All the pain and loneliness worth weathering because it allowed him to know Seth, to be with him in this moment. Suddenly Aurélien understood what Edward meant when he talked about the moment of clarity he had when Bella entered into his life, the realisation that all the low points meant he could have this high point: her. Seth, Aurélien now knew, was the most valuable thing in the world to him. His heart may not beat anymore, but it certainly belonged to Seth.
"Paris is beautiful," Seth mused round a mouthful of croissant from the small cafe they were seated outside of. "Shame it'll be getting dark soon." His words were not meant to make Aurélien feel guilty, but they did. The light would fade soon because it was winter, the only time Aurélien could bring Seth to such a sunny place. The sky was slightly greyish and thick with clouds, the reason why he had chosen this day for their date. Aurélien felt guilty that he could never show Seth Paris in the morning light, never walk through the streets while they were bathed in sunlight nor appreciate the the beautiful parks in the summer time. Seth must've noticed his feelings displayed on his face because he was quick to reassure Aurélien.
"I don't mind coming to Paris in the winter if it means to get to be here with you," he said, grabbing Aurélien's hand over the small, circular table that separated them. "I would never trade you for anyone else in the world. To me you are perfect in every way."
"Perhaps you won't think so when I show you what I'm about to," Aurélien said softly, rising from his seat and grabbing Seth's hand. The younger boy looked confused, but allowed himself to be led down the streets of Paris.
"Where are we?" Seth asked softly when they finally came to a stop.
"Cimetière de Montmartre," Aurélien responded, eyes roaming over the entrance to a place he visited yearly, a place that brought him so much pain.
"Cemetery Montmartre?"
"Yes," Aurélien whispered, his voice already hoarse with emotion though they hadn't even stepped inside. This place always effected him like that. His family always knew when a visit was due because he grew unusually melancholic in the days leading up to it and after it. Sometimes Aurélien wished he could forget all of it, just as Alice had, but he knew it wouldn't be right. He needed to remember the ones he loved, honour them by carrying them with him in his heart, keep them alive and immortalised in his memory.
Aurélien memorised the journey that would take them to the three stops he always made on his annual visits. They arrived at the first one quickly, and Seth stopped short when he realised what they were standing in front of.
"Is that a mausoleum?" Seth asked in disbelief. His wide eyes rested on a large stone structure with an ornate metal gate and the name Beauchéne carved above it.
"Yes, my family's mausoleum to be specific." Aurélien's voice had suddenly shifted to rather emotionless, a sharp contrast to what it had been only moments ago. But his relationship with his parents had always been complicated, and while he loved them, he wasn't sure that he could truly forgive their common absences during his childhood. The lack of affection that had left him with a desperate desire to be loved that had followed him his entire life. No, it was not this place that caused him such pain. After all it was just a stone structure full of ghosts from his life before, ghosts that hardly bothered him now; they were faded and held no pain, mostly just sadness and disappointment.
