Always Something To Lose. PG

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Catmoon
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Always Something To Lose. PG

Post by Catmoon »

Okay. So this is the first ML story I've written in 10 years. I'm doing a trope Bingo challenge on Dreamwidth, and its to fill one of my squares. I felt it was only right that MLA be the first place I post it, as this was my special ML home for a lot of great times.

Prompt: Deal With the Devil, at https://trope-bingo.dreamwidth.org/
Character/Pair: Mick, Josef, Mick/Beth
Words: 1862
Rating: PG
Summary: Can Mick's mysterious visitor make his dreams come true?
Warnings: None
Notes: Demogorgon - Greek name for the devil, it is said should not be known to mortals. Since Mick isn't mortal, it seemed a good choice.

My card, if anyone is interest to see what one looks like: https://mscatmoon.dreamwidth.org/10042.html


Always Something To Lose


Mick stood on the roof, staring at the lights of Los Angeles spread out before him. It was his favorite spot to brood, and he had a lot to brood about tonight. Beth was out of town...with Josh. It shouldn't bother him. Josh was her boyfriend. And Mick was a vampire. There was no future there, even if there hadn't been another guy in the picture. Still, he couldn't help feeling things he shouldn't. Jealousy. Possessiveness. It wasn't healthy. He'd known her since she was nine. Just because he'd saved her life, didn't give him any sort of claim on her.

“It's a good thing I'm not human,” Mick said to the empty roof. “Or I'd burn in hell for sure.”

“Funny you should mention that...”

Mick spun around at the sound of the voice. It was odd he hadn't heard anyone approach, since his vampire senses should have announced the person long before they got this close. “And who are you?” he asked, playing it cool despite his unease. He peered into the darkness, but oddly his eyes couldn't penetrate the shadows the stranger was standing in.

You may call me Demogorgon,” the man said, stepping out of the shadows and into the light. He was dressed in a dark suit with a long coat over it. His accent hinted at English but was hard to place.

Wondering if he was a fellow vampire, Mick sniffed the air. And smelled nothing. No blood, cologne, not even body odor, nothing but the usual smells of the city. Alarm growing, he cast his hearing out. There was no heartbeat to be heard, either.

“What are you?” Mick breathed.

Demogorgon came closer, a small smile on his lips. “I'm a businessman.”

“And what business are you in?”

“The business of souls, of course.”

Mick barked a bitter laugh. “Boy are you in the wrong place then. I don't have one.”

“That assumes I'm here to collect one.”

Some inner voice told Mick not to ask, not to engage this being any further, but he couldn't resist the compulsion. “Why are you here?”

“To ask you a question,” Demogorgon replied. “If you could have one wish granted, Mick St. John, what would it be?”

His eyes narrowed. “How do you know my name?” He wondered how this being would stand up to vampire strength, if it came to that.

“You Americans, so many questions. It's quite rude.

It was crazy to be standing on his roof, talking to a... a thing, who wasn't alive, and wasn't undead. One who was promising to give him his greatest desire. He would have believed himself to be dreaming, but vampires didn't dream. They slept the bottomless, blackness of the undead. This had to be real.

Mick abruptly laughed. Why not humor this thing, whatever it was (his mind shied away from the obvious answer). It wasn't like he was afraid of death. He was already dead. No soul, no heaven or hell. Nothing to lose. “Sure, okay. My wish would be to be human again. Can you do that?”

“As a matter of fact, I can.”

Mick wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, so they stood in silence for a few minutes. He contemplated the impossible. No more blood meals, jugular temptations, watching friends and loved ones die while he was cursed to remain forever among humans yet not a part of their world. To be with Beth...

“What's the catch? That's the usual deal, right? You give me my greatest desire, but want something in return?”

Demogorgon smiled, but there was nothing pleasant in it, it was more predatory than inviting. “Only one. Once done, it cannot be undone. You will never be able to return to the vampire world again. You will be forced to live a meager fifty years growing older, then die.”

“You think that's a catch?!” Mick asked, shaking his head. It only proved he didn't belong in a non-human world. They looked at mortals with disdain, happy being cursed. Mick wanted nothing more than to have the life back that was stolen from him without his permission. He thought about what it would be like. He could win Beth away from Josh. He would have something to offer, could give her a real life. Maybe even... children...

“Do it then!” he demanded, stepping closer. “If you can make me a normal human, do it.”

Demogorgon's smile this time was genuine. “Very well. If you insist.”

Demogorgon struck faster than a snake, hands reaching out to grab the vampire's face. Mick felt himself falling into the dark eyes penetrating him, senses swirling in a maelstrom of chaos. It was like his insides were being pulled out through his pores. He wanted to scream, but had no voice. Time ceased to exist...

Mick blinked, staring around the roof. He was alone. Shaking the confusion out of his head, he took stock of himself. What the hell had just happened? Hallucination? Or could it be real?

He shoved a hand in his pocket and grabbed his knife. Opening the blade, he took a deep breath and held it, then make a small cut on his palm. He watched the blood well up. Waited.

It didn't heal.

Feeling a bit giddy and a bit panicky, Mick brought the hand to his mouth, sucking on the blood.

And made a face of disgust, almost retching, because blood really wasn't the least bit appealing or tasty.

“Oh my God...” he breathed. He looked around the roof wildly, but he was still alone. Alone, and...

“I'm alive.” He fell to his knees as gratitude washed over him. Even if he ended up having to give up his soul in fifty years, he didn't care. It was worth it.


XXX

The rest of the night passed in a blur. He was hungry, so Mick made a trip for some Thai take out and spent a wonderful time enjoying the most delicious food he could ever remember eating. He daydreamed about his 'game plan', how he would coax Beth away from Josh. He knew it wouldn't be difficult. They'd had a connection, a chemistry that couldn't be denied. The only thing that had kept them apart was one of them being a vampire and the other human. Now, no such barrier existed.

Mick was dozing on the couch when the telephone woke him. He struggled to a sitting position, and groped for the cell phone on the table. “St. John.”

“Mick, it's Josef.”

Mick sobered slightly. It was going to be tough telling his best friend he was no longer a vamp. Josef would probably be upset. The older vamp was happy being undead and had never understood Mick's desire to return to the mortal coil.

“Josef, I'm glad you called. I need to come over, there's something I have to talk to you about.”

“I have something to tell you, too,” Josef responded with an odd, hesitant quality to the delivery.

Mick finally noticed the tone of his friend's voice. Something was wrong. And if it was a vampire thing, he wasn't going to be able to help anymore... “What is it?” he asked with trepidation.

The pause on the other end of the line was ominous. “I should do this in person, but I can't leave the house right now. It's Beth, Mick.”

Mick's breath caught in his throat at the name of the woman he loved. “What the hell are you talking about?!” he demanded. It wasn't anything bad. It couldn't be bad.

“She and Josh had a fight,” Josef continued in a rough voice. “So she left the resort and came home early. She was attacked outside her apartment, the man had a knife.”

Mick wanted to interrupt, stop him, but his voice wasn't working and Josef continued the damned flow of words.

“She couldn't get a hold of you by phone.”

“No!” Mick hadn't gotten any calls, no messages or texts. Nothing since Demogorgon had shown up, until now. It was obviously not a coincidence.

“So Beth called me. She was bleeding out, and she knew she wouldn't make it to the hospital. It wasn't survivable,” Josef pressed the point emphatically. “She asked me, Mick.”

“No!” Futile denial, ignored by the universe. He wanted to scream his anguish, but it would do no good. The deal was done.

“I had to turn her.”

“No...” Mick whispered, tears trailing down his human face.

Be careful what you wish for...

“Look Mick, I know how you feel about the whole vampire thing, but it'll be okay. She's doing great, and anxious to see you. And look at the positive side, now the two of you can be together. Forever, if that's what you want.”

“Once done, it cannot be undone. You will never be able to return to the vampire world again.”

“No. We can't,” Mick told him and pushed the end call button, tossing the phone back onto the coffee table. Too late he'd realized his mistake. He'd never asked about the price.

There was always a price to be paid.

Nothing had changed, except that he was now human and Beth a vampire. The same thing keeping them apart yesterday was still between them today. Worse. If he'd had a choice, he would have kept the curse of the vampire, and let Beth live her normal, human life. She could have been happy, with Josh. Married, raised a family. That life was dead to her now.

And it was Mick's fault.

XXX

Mick had a moment of panic upon awakening. He flailed, almost falling off the couch, before awareness returned and his heartbeat started slowing to normal. He rubbed at his eyes, willing the cobwebs to recede. This was an experience he hadn't had in many decades.

When he sat up, his eyes went to the dining table where the remains of a feast was strewn about. Hot dogs, pizza, donuts, over a dozen different items. Something nagged at him about that, a feeling of wrongness. It shouldn't be there. Last night he'd gone out to the Thai place on the corner, gotten the Panang Curry and a Thai ice tea. Came home and later got the call from Josef. So where did all the other food come from?

When he remembered, he wanted to cry from utter and complete relief.

Yesterday he'd taken Coraline's cure and become temporarily human. He'd binged on all the foods he'd missed all these years, eaten until he couldn't move. Fallen asleep on the couch. Vampires don't dream, no, but he was human right now. And the roof, Demogorgon, the deal... had all been a dream.

A nightmare.

Mick didn't know what was going to happen next, with the cure or with Beth, but he would try to learn from this overt and terrifying lesson. To appreciate more what he had, and yearn less for what he couldn't have. Try some faith, that no matter what, if he and Beth were truly meant to be, they'd overcome whatever obstacles came their way. Make it work, despite the difficulties and differences.

That was one dream he wanted to make come true.


The end
9/18/2019
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MoonMarg
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Re: Always Something To Lose. PG

Post by MoonMarg »

Wow - you had me there for a minute! Great lesson Mick got. Thank you for a new story.
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Re: Always Something To Lose. PG

Post by Catmoon »

MoonMarg wrote:Wow - you had me there for a minute! Great lesson Mick got. Thank you for a new story.
You're welcome. Thanks for commenting. I did the Dallas thing at the end, but I couldn't do that to Mick and Beth. In my head-canon she joins him eventually and they live happily ever forever. :hearts:
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Re: Always Something To Lose. PG

Post by Lilly »

Wow! Catmoon, this is great!
Catmoon wrote:No soul, no heaven or hell. Nothing to lose.
I knew that was going to come back to bite him. :chair: And you had me about as breathless as Mick by the end there. :confused2: The panic and realization after that phone call was all too palpable. As I was reading, I kept trying to think of a loophole -- that HAD to be a loophole. But you surprised me even so.

Great job! I'm so glad you came back to share this little gem with us. :hug:
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Re: Always Something To Lose. PG

Post by Ella713 »

Holy smokes this was fantastic! How tragic this would have been if true. Mick giving up everything just to be with Beth only to find her changed! No more deals Mick! A Devil's bargain only appears to work out well for you but to the Devil goes the spoils!!
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Re: Always Something To Lose. PG

Post by Catmoon »

Lilly wrote:Wow! Catmoon, this is great!
Great job! I'm so glad you came back to share this little gem with us. :hug:
Thanks! I figured the whole mortal cure was a perfect loophole. I've been writing again, so you never know there might be more ML from me in future.
Ella713 wrote:Holy smokes this was fantastic! How tragic this would have been if true. Mick giving up everything just to be with Beth only to find her changed! No more deals Mick! A Devil's bargain only appears to work out well for you but to the Devil goes the spoils!!
That's for sure! It's a valuable lesson learned. I'm glad you enjoyed!


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Re: Always Something To Lose. PG

Post by aolver »

Welcome back Catmoon! I have missed your MickBethness...lol
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Re: Always Something To Lose. PG

Post by allegrita »

Oh, wow--you had me convinced that Mick had gotten stuck in a true devil's bargain. :hankie: Thank goodness it was a food-coma nightmare! :phew: I'm so glad you couldn't bring yourself to leave Mick and Beth in that horrible dilemma.

Great, gripping, and SCARY story, CatMoon! :clapping: Thank you so much for sharing it with us. :hug:
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Re: Always Something To Lose. PG

Post by Catmoon »

aolver wrote:Welcome back Catmoon! I have missed your MickBethness...lol
Aww, thank you! :hearts:
allegrita wrote:Great, gripping, and SCARY story, CatMoon! :clapping: Thank you so much for sharing it with us. :hug:
You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
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Re: Always Something To Lose. PG

Post by Luxe de Luxe »

What a cool story. This is one dream story that doesn’t feel like a cheat. It’s completely understandable that Mick would dream his first night back being a human, especially after gorging on all that food. I loved your new supernatural character and the deal. My stomach flipped when Mick realized that he’d been conned and that Beth’s humanity was the price. I guess for me the dream represented Micks fear that he and Beth couldn’t be together, even if the one thing he felt was keeping them apart was no longer an issue. Thanks for adding a new story to the library in 2019!
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Re: Always Something To Lose. PG

Post by francis »

Phew, you had me there. I'm so glad it turned out to be a nightmare. Be careful what you wish for, eh? Great storyline!
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Re: Always Something To Lose. PG

Post by Catmoon »

Luxe de Luxe wrote:What a cool story. This is one dream story that doesn’t feel like a cheat. It’s completely understandable that Mick would dream his first night back being a human, especially after gorging on all that food. I loved your new supernatural character and the deal. My stomach flipped when Mick realized that he’d been conned and that Beth’s humanity was the price. I guess for me the dream represented Micks fear that he and Beth couldn’t be together, even if the one thing he felt was keeping them apart was no longer an issue. Thanks for adding a new story to the library in 2019!
Thanks! So glad it didn't feel like cheat. I definitely thought the whole first night human, pigging out was a perfect recipe for nightmares, which is why I thought it worked okay. Mick definitely has his fears to haunt him. You're welcome!
francis wrote:Phew, you had me there. I'm so glad it turned out to be a nightmare. Be careful what you wish for, eh? Great storyline!
Thanks. I couldn't let my first ML story in literally forever end in horror, even if it is almost Halloween...
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Re: Always Something To Lose. PG

Post by nutmegger911 »

Catmoon wrote:Okay. So this is the first ML story I've written in 10 years.
And well worth the wait! You really reeled me in on this one. Luxe is right, you took us into a dream without it feeling like a cheat. Well done.

Oh and this had me laughing out loud.
Spoiler:
Catmoon wrote: It was his favorite spot to brood,
P.S. Where are you getting prompts? I sure miss the reader writer challenges where someone would ask me to write for them.
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Re: Always Something To Lose. PG

Post by Catmoon »

nutmegger911 wrote:And well worth the wait! You really reeled me in on this one. Luxe is right, you took us into a dream without it feeling like a cheat. Well done.
Thanks! Glad you think it's worth the wait! I'm happy my old ML peeps are enjoying it! I've been dipping my toes into all my old fandoms, so I do hope to write more ML too (if the ideas come to me).
P.S. Where are you getting prompts? I sure miss the reader writer challenges where someone would ask me to write for them.
[/quote]

I have a journal on Dreamwidth, where there are quite a few multi-fandom challenge communities. A lot of the ones I do are drabbles: 100 to 300 words, but some are for longer fic, and Bingo cards, like the one I did this story for. Most of them put out a prompt per week, and whoever wants to use them can. Have you thought of starting one here? I confess I don't know how many people are still writing here, haven't really checked. But maybe it would inspire people. The small drabbles are a great way to write a little something, that doesn't take a lot of time or commitment (and can inspire one to longer fic). Or you could try a fic exchange, for the holidays. Just a thought.
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Re: Always Something To Lose. PG

Post by MickLifeCrisis »

I just found this. In the middle there, my stomach was clenching and I wanted to scream along with Mick when he realized what "the price" was. :gasp: I almost stopped reading, but am glad I saw it through to the end. Whew! You sure had me going there! :phew: I never suspected a dream!

Must calm down, now. :serenity: Thanks for the great story, CatMoon! :twothumbs: I hope this kicks Mick's butt into high gear now with regards to Beth!
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