SB 03 - Dealing (Mick's POV) (PG-13)
Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 4:35 pm
Usual disclaimers apply here too.
You find the illustrated version by diane31 here:
http://moonlight-illustrated-fanfics.bl ... ancis.html
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t have to, but still: Just when I thought the worst thing I could think about had happened, it got weird. There he was, with his lopsided grin, his mussy hair, and his sarcastic remarks. He wasn’t dead.
It took some moments to register that he surely had heard us outside and didn’t move a muscle to let us know. What was he thinking? I had been baring my soul to Beth, and he just sat there and grinned. I wanted to punch him. But I also wanted to hug him, ask if he was okay. I just couldn’t speak.
Then I heard Beth closing the door. I almost forgot about her. Josef stood up, and I came out of my stupor. I searched him for signs of what happened, and asked „How…“ Still was at a loss what to say.
He told me he fell out of the window. He fell? Did he jump, did he fly? He didn’t make sense. He voiced one of his sarcastic apologies that weren’t really apologetic: „I was a bit disheveled afterwards and lost my phone. So, sorry for trespassing into your loft without notice.“
I uttered a short bitter laugh. „You always invade my space without notice.“
Tell me something new, Josef, I thought.
I invited him in and walked first. I needed some space to get my brain to work. He wasn’t dead. He escaped. He wore my robe, and I could smell burnt fabric in my loft. I offered to lend him some clothes. When he told me that he healed I frowned at the implications and whipped my head around. „How did you heal from a fire?“ I asked. No vampire I have ever known could heal from a fire within such a short time. I still wondered how Coraline escaped at all. Now the second time a vampire I knew healed from a fire without a scar. I needed to know.
But he didn’t answer my question with more than a hint on his age. Do older vampires have additional powers? I gave up the thought of pestering him about that when I remembered that Beth was standing there. She shouldn’t have to deal with vampire business more than she already had, so I dropped the questions.
But Beth didn’t. I should have known. „So, you recovered from all of this without a scar?“
He told her that he healed after feeding, and offered to show her. I was tempted to throw him into the nearest wall, but reminded myself that he was just pulling my legs. Beth blushed, and the rush of blood into her face made my teeth ache. I actually wished that Josef was gone to deal with Beth, and that Beth was gone to deal with Josef. Having both here at the same time just overrode my hospitality. They just were too much.
Josef had the bad taste to laugh at the face I was sure I made. He was still taking all of this like just a nice joke that made his life entertaining for a while.
Because it was a chance to get him alone, I offered to go upstairs and give him some clothes. And it would prevent him from actually flashing something to Beth. I just wanted to protect her modesty. He didn’t have one. I didn’t know what Beth would do while we were upstairs, she must have felt a bit left out, but I couldn’t help it. I heard her go to the kitchen, maybe she was searching for something to eat. I had a bottle of soda and some apples, not very substantial for a hungry human. I needed to stock up for her. She was here a lot of time.
I took some clothes out for Josef. He would need something to keep the pants up, but I didn’t have suspenders like the ones he always wore. He was a belt AND suspenders kind of guy.
I turned around and briefly wondered what he was used to wear when he was younger. Probably ruffles, wigs and leather breeches. I hoped my shoes fit him. He didn’t talk. Now was the opportunity to ask the questions I couldn’t ask with Beth around.
But all I could think about was: „Did you hear us out there?“
He admitted it. I was embarrassed, and slightly angry. „Why didn’t you say something?“
He hesitated, then grinned. „I just wanted to know how Beth reacted.“
Okay, so he played with me just to see what Beth would say? I looked down. What a jackass. He didn’t even realize how much he meant to me, how much his behaviour hurted me. He was just out for some fun, reveling in the mayhem that his dissappearance caused, making fun of my concern for him. I left him to let him dress. There was no point in talking anymore.
Going downstairs I found Beth sitting on the couch. She expectantly looked up to me. „Maybe we should start to look into this together.“ she offered. I really wanted to kiss her for this. She always made me feel like I got my life back under control. I quickly got my laptop from the office and inserted the disk with the surveillance tape that Tom gave me. We watched the footage once, then I put it on loop.
„There’s one instant when we can see his face.“ she said. She was very observant. „Maybe there’s a chance that Josef knows her.“ I answered.
Josef came downstairs buttoning up the shirt. I let him have my place at the laptop to speed things up. I asked him if he knew the guy, but he shook his head.
Beth asked about his friends. That was a dangerous topic. Josef wasn’t one to show vulnerability in public, and Beth was public. He quipped one of his usual sarcastic remarks, but for the first time I got the impression that this whole scenario bothered him more than he was letting on. I reminded him that he was safe as long as he stayed here in my apartment and nobody knew he was alive. By now he had his mask back on, he commanded me in no uncertain terms to find the assassin as soon as possible. He actually thought he could order me around, but of course I let him. He was my friend, and I wanted to find this killer, too. If only for getting Josef out of my hair again, which was probably something we both needed.
Ryder obviously did something stupid and was out of the picture, but Beth offered to ask some hacker at Buzzwire to help us find the man. I have to admit I hurried to leave. Josef’s lackadaisical approach to this was getting on my nerves. I told him to stay at my place. I thought he would find something to entertain himself without me, and hoped he left my bar alone. After all, we wouldn’t be gone for long, and then I would see Josef alone and could finally kill him.
You find the illustrated version by diane31 here:
http://moonlight-illustrated-fanfics.bl ... ancis.html
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t have to, but still: Just when I thought the worst thing I could think about had happened, it got weird. There he was, with his lopsided grin, his mussy hair, and his sarcastic remarks. He wasn’t dead.
It took some moments to register that he surely had heard us outside and didn’t move a muscle to let us know. What was he thinking? I had been baring my soul to Beth, and he just sat there and grinned. I wanted to punch him. But I also wanted to hug him, ask if he was okay. I just couldn’t speak.
Then I heard Beth closing the door. I almost forgot about her. Josef stood up, and I came out of my stupor. I searched him for signs of what happened, and asked „How…“ Still was at a loss what to say.
He told me he fell out of the window. He fell? Did he jump, did he fly? He didn’t make sense. He voiced one of his sarcastic apologies that weren’t really apologetic: „I was a bit disheveled afterwards and lost my phone. So, sorry for trespassing into your loft without notice.“
I uttered a short bitter laugh. „You always invade my space without notice.“
Tell me something new, Josef, I thought.
I invited him in and walked first. I needed some space to get my brain to work. He wasn’t dead. He escaped. He wore my robe, and I could smell burnt fabric in my loft. I offered to lend him some clothes. When he told me that he healed I frowned at the implications and whipped my head around. „How did you heal from a fire?“ I asked. No vampire I have ever known could heal from a fire within such a short time. I still wondered how Coraline escaped at all. Now the second time a vampire I knew healed from a fire without a scar. I needed to know.
But he didn’t answer my question with more than a hint on his age. Do older vampires have additional powers? I gave up the thought of pestering him about that when I remembered that Beth was standing there. She shouldn’t have to deal with vampire business more than she already had, so I dropped the questions.
But Beth didn’t. I should have known. „So, you recovered from all of this without a scar?“
He told her that he healed after feeding, and offered to show her. I was tempted to throw him into the nearest wall, but reminded myself that he was just pulling my legs. Beth blushed, and the rush of blood into her face made my teeth ache. I actually wished that Josef was gone to deal with Beth, and that Beth was gone to deal with Josef. Having both here at the same time just overrode my hospitality. They just were too much.
Josef had the bad taste to laugh at the face I was sure I made. He was still taking all of this like just a nice joke that made his life entertaining for a while.
Because it was a chance to get him alone, I offered to go upstairs and give him some clothes. And it would prevent him from actually flashing something to Beth. I just wanted to protect her modesty. He didn’t have one. I didn’t know what Beth would do while we were upstairs, she must have felt a bit left out, but I couldn’t help it. I heard her go to the kitchen, maybe she was searching for something to eat. I had a bottle of soda and some apples, not very substantial for a hungry human. I needed to stock up for her. She was here a lot of time.
I took some clothes out for Josef. He would need something to keep the pants up, but I didn’t have suspenders like the ones he always wore. He was a belt AND suspenders kind of guy.
I turned around and briefly wondered what he was used to wear when he was younger. Probably ruffles, wigs and leather breeches. I hoped my shoes fit him. He didn’t talk. Now was the opportunity to ask the questions I couldn’t ask with Beth around.
But all I could think about was: „Did you hear us out there?“
He admitted it. I was embarrassed, and slightly angry. „Why didn’t you say something?“
He hesitated, then grinned. „I just wanted to know how Beth reacted.“
Okay, so he played with me just to see what Beth would say? I looked down. What a jackass. He didn’t even realize how much he meant to me, how much his behaviour hurted me. He was just out for some fun, reveling in the mayhem that his dissappearance caused, making fun of my concern for him. I left him to let him dress. There was no point in talking anymore.
Going downstairs I found Beth sitting on the couch. She expectantly looked up to me. „Maybe we should start to look into this together.“ she offered. I really wanted to kiss her for this. She always made me feel like I got my life back under control. I quickly got my laptop from the office and inserted the disk with the surveillance tape that Tom gave me. We watched the footage once, then I put it on loop.
„There’s one instant when we can see his face.“ she said. She was very observant. „Maybe there’s a chance that Josef knows her.“ I answered.
Josef came downstairs buttoning up the shirt. I let him have my place at the laptop to speed things up. I asked him if he knew the guy, but he shook his head.
Beth asked about his friends. That was a dangerous topic. Josef wasn’t one to show vulnerability in public, and Beth was public. He quipped one of his usual sarcastic remarks, but for the first time I got the impression that this whole scenario bothered him more than he was letting on. I reminded him that he was safe as long as he stayed here in my apartment and nobody knew he was alive. By now he had his mask back on, he commanded me in no uncertain terms to find the assassin as soon as possible. He actually thought he could order me around, but of course I let him. He was my friend, and I wanted to find this killer, too. If only for getting Josef out of my hair again, which was probably something we both needed.
Ryder obviously did something stupid and was out of the picture, but Beth offered to ask some hacker at Buzzwire to help us find the man. I have to admit I hurried to leave. Josef’s lackadaisical approach to this was getting on my nerves. I told him to stay at my place. I thought he would find something to entertain himself without me, and hoped he left my bar alone. After all, we wouldn’t be gone for long, and then I would see Josef alone and could finally kill him.