Inspired by Moonlighter.Title: Wouldn’t smell as sweet
Author: Cat Moon
Genre: Mickbeth, humor
Rating: G
Warning/spoiler: This story is a sequel to “A Rose By Any Other Name.” Based on events in the episode 12:05. Inspired by Moonlighter’s comments about Mick missing his sweater.
Disclaimer: Moonlight characters and situations are not mine, I make no profit nor do I intend any infringing.
Summary: The other side of the “stolen sweater” caper.
Wouldn’t Smell as Sweet
By Cat Moon
The excitement was over – till next time. Beth and Audrey were gone, the sun was up and Mick was ready to hit the freezer for the day. He couldn’t rest with the place such a mess though, so he moved around the office, tidying up. The living room was going to take more effort, so he started with the easiest first.
He picked up the file on the desk, just looking at it for long moments. Beth’s file. He should have known she’d snoop when he left her there alone, he knew her insatiable curiosity only too well. Maybe a part of him had wanted her to find it.
Shaking off the thoughts – he didn’t want to think today – he put the file back in its place. He walked out of the room, grabbing for his sweater on the way past the chair. His hand encountered only air, and he did a double take. No sweater.
I could have sworn I left my sweater right there…
He looked on the floor, under the desk, thinking it may have fallen, but there was no sign of it in the office anywhere.
That’s weird…
XXX
A week had passed, and Mick’s sweater still hadn’t turned up. It wasn’t in the laundry, or upstairs in his closet. He thought he’d come across it somewhere eventually, but that had never happened. The apartment was neat and orderly again, everything in place – except for his sweater.
“Did you borrow my black sweater?” he asked Josef later that night when the other vamp had come over for a visit.
Josef looked up at him from his place lounging on the chair, glass of blood in hand as usual. For a vampire who supposedly hated bagged blood, he never failed to head straight to Mick’s supply whenever he entered the apartment. “Me? Wear that off-the-rack stuff? You’ve got to be kidding. I wouldn’t be caught undead in those clothes you wear. No offense.”
“That’s really weird… It’s not here anywhere, and I know I left it in the office.” It was quickly becoming a puzzle that obsessed him. Could Sheppard have taken it? No, that didn’t make any sense; the serial killer didn’t break into his place to steal his sweater, and hadn’t been wearing it when he lost his head.
“Did you look in the laundry?” Josef supplied helpfully.
“Yes I looked in the laundry. I’ve been over every inch of this place, it’s not here.”
“If that’s true, then someone must have taken it. What is it that you crime solver types look for again? Something, means and opportunity?”
“Means, motive, and opportunity,” Mick corrected.
“Well okay then, let’s start with the first,” Josef said, sitting forward in his chair. “Who had the means? You can eliminate everybody without arms or hands, and your blind suspects too, since they wouldn’t have seen it.”
“You’re not taking this seriously!” Mick accused his friend.
“Imagine that,” Josef responded dryly.
Snarky though he might have been, Josef’s words reminded Mick to think like a detective. If it wasn’t there someone must have taken it. Who had been in the apartment besides him in between the time he left it on the chair and the time he noticed it missing? He’d already eliminated Sheppard. That left only Beth and Audrey. He could see Audrey possibly getting cold and borrowing it… But she hadn’t been wearing it when she left and he didn’t see her as the sweater stealing type. That only left one person. Beth. She was the only one who had the means and the opportunity. What of the motive though?
Why would Beth take my sweater?
XXX
Mick felt a bit uncomfortable, being there in Beth’s apartment when she wasn’t home, sneaking in, but his desire to solve the puzzle was stronger than his conscience. And truth be told, it wasn't the first time... He searched the place quickly, with a P.I.’s skill. A quick once over of the living room didn’t produce anything so he moved cautiously into the bedroom. The closet held only Beth’s clothes… and a few things of Josh’s, he noted sourly. That seemed to toss a bucket of cold reality on him, and he closed the door, intending to leave. How silly was it to think Beth had taken his sweater? It made no sense.
He was on his way out of the room when he passed the dresser and decided to take just one more look. He opened the drawers one by one… When he got to the bottom drawer, he was slightly embarrassed to come across Beth’s underwear…however, he could see a hint of dark peeking out from beneath the frilly undergarments. With sudden suspicion, he reached under and pulled the item out from its hiding place.
His sweater.
Now that he knew the truth, he was relentless in his quest for the rest of it. He brought the garment to his face and inhaled, letting his vamp senses give him a glimpse of the recent past. And reeled back in shock at the startling image that came to him; Beth, holding the sweater close to her, a warm smile on her face. In bed, asleep.
Beth sleeps with my sweater?!
He didn’t know whether to be amused, thrilled, or disturbed by the discovery.
Mick didn’t have time to decide, because at that moment he heard the key in the lock. He’d been too distracted to notice that Beth had arrived home. He considered slipping quickly out, but decided to hold his ground instead, so he merely stood there leaning against the bedroom doorframe as she let herself in.
Beth looked up to see him standing there, and startled slightly – but only slightly. “Mick! You scared me, what are you doing—“ then her voice abruptly died when her eyes fixed on the sweater in his hands.
“Did you take my sweater?” he asked, already knowing the answer of course, but interested to hear what she’d say.
Beth’s panicky mind cast about for excuses, diversions… “What are you doing sneaking around in my apartment when I’m not home anyway? And snooping through my things, going through my underwear?!” She fell back upon the tried and true offensive.
“You did,” he said, ignoring her words, smiling as he moved further into the room, closer to her. “Why did you steal my sweater?”
Because it’s yours? Because it makes me feel safe? Because…
“That’s very stalker-ish you know, and shows a total lack of respect for privacy…”
“I’ve stalked you since you were four, you didn’t seem to have a problem with it until tonight. I’m a private investigator, and I was on the case of a stolen sweater. Now I found the culprit.” He grinned, stopping in front of her. “I’d really like to know why you took it. Before I run you downtown and have you arrested for grand theft, sweater.” He knew why of course, he’d seen it, but he was enjoying teasing her too much.
Beth fought a battle between finding his teasing amusing and annoying. She was especially annoyed that what had worked before seemed to be failing her now. “Do you have an underwear fetish?” she said, the accusation sounding lame to her ears. It wasn’t going to work this time.
Mick grinned. “I’ll tell you what,” he said, pushing the sweater into her hands. “You can keep the sweater.” Vampire speed had him to the bedroom and back again before she could blink. “And I’ll keep this,” he said, now holding a pair of her panties. In another blink of an eye, he was gone.
Beth ran to the window and peered out, knowing he’d already vanished. “Mick St. John!” she yelled into the night. Outraged at his nerve… and titillated at the suggestive flirting.
She left the window and moved back into the apartment, clutching the sweater closer.
The end.
2/11/09
