Moonlightaholics

I was on my way back to my apartment, to rescue Josef from the boredom that surely must have its grip on him by now. I had dropped Beth off at her car in front of my building. She wanted to go home and get some sleep, it was already late. I had slept yesterday morning while she was at work, and in the afternoon we met at Coraline’s bed. All of this seemed to be far away now. Josef’s case was on the forefront of my consciousness.

I was so busy mulling over the information about the attacker in my head that I almost missed the fact that the elevator smelled strange. When I left at my floor, I could hear loud music out of the loft. The door was open. Why the hell had Josef the door open? Then I smelled the females.

Seething angry I had to stop and ball my fists to get some control back. How could he? He was supposed to keep his sorry a** safe in my loft, not invite others in. And to leave the f**ing door open! Was I the only adult here?

I slowly walked towards the door and waited, hoping to alert him to my presence and to get him to stop whatever they were doing in there that I might not want to run in on.

I threw the door fully open. Josef was sitting in one of my armchairs, sipping something alcoholic, and a blonde girl in a skimpy dress was sitting at the armrest and glued up on him. Two others were dancing seductively to some modern beat in my living room. Their chatter stopped immediately when they saw me in the door.

It wasn’t the girls’ fault, they were clearly confused, but I needed them gone, as I wanted Josef alone for the vent I surely was going to have now.

I announced „Sorry, party’s over“, and grabbed the remote to shut off the music. If vampires could have headaches this would be enough to induce one. The girls voiced their regret. Josef with his debonair charme stood up and whispered to me: „But they just got here.“ As if that was a reason to let them stay. I set him straight: „What did I tell you.“ He told me he ordered in. As if the girls were some kind of takeout. He didn’t even think of them as human beings, who could put his life in jeopardy by their chattering. Was he that naive after 400 years of existence? I didn’t understand any of this.

I told him in no uncertain terms that they had to go. His face showed his annoyance at my words, but I didn’t care right now. I turned away.

Reluctantly he faced his girls and joked: „I’m sorry, ladies, daddy’s a little grumpy.“ He walked past me, giving me some look, and bid them farewell at the door. He made them kiss him on the cheek one after the other, disgusting. Finally he closed the door and turned around to face me.

I was confused, angry and hurt. Why did he risk everything for a small time of entertainment? Couldn’t he just watch TV or something? He didn’t risk just his own life, but mine as well. He breached my trust that I gave him when I allowed him to stay at my loft. He behaved as if the building belonged to him.

He smiled his guarded smile that didn’t really reach the eyes as I tore into him. But when I yelled at him if he wanted the attacker to wreck my place like he burned Tim and Dan, his face fell. He didn’t even think about that, huh? Well, he would see the light now. He was such an arrogant, insensitive prick sometimes, and especially today. Would he really risk to get me killed? I thought I was his friend.

He looked away briefly, then stammered something about getting lonely. Well, if this was the way he treated his friends I could see why.
But maybe I shouldn’t have said it. He was clearly hurt, but tried to get his uncaring mask back on. Maybe there was something else that bothered him, maybe he did have some plan with all of this. Maybe he scheduled all of this himself, to prepare a relocation. Was he intending to leave L.A., his Josef Kostan persona, his business, me? Did he try to piss me off so I wouldn’t miss him?

My head was spinning. We both didn’t know what to do now. Silence.

I tried to change the subject and told him about the assassin’s name. He told me he didn’t know him.
He walked a few steps away, turned his back to me. And then he told me he had to go to his office to get some cash. I couldn’t believe my ears. After all that! He wasn’t joking. I had just ripped his throat out verbally for bringing freshies to my place, and he wanted to go out. He still didn’t understand the scope of this, or had some hidden agenda. Maybe this was his exit to leave my life for good.

I didn’t know what to say anymore. And I didn’t care what he did now anymore. He knew my position on this, and I couldn’t make him do anything, or prevent him from doing anything. Let him kill himself, let him run away, I didn’t care. I went to bed, I needed time alone to think. If he got himself in trouble while I was sleeping I would hunt and kill him myself.

Great chapter! And the miss-cues continue on with Mick and Josef!

Off to read more!

mitzie

Argh. Josef heard how upset Mick was at the thought of him dying, and here he has to go, pushing Mick's buttons.
It's almost as if he can't help himself.

Great chapter!
I like how we can see how complicated their friendship can be, Josef has a 400 years' life and it made him lonely, maybe even a little selfish but he has a good reason for that. Mick is still young, so he can't really understand. That was a great time in the episode, the director showed it very well through a light and shadow game. You show it through their thoughts, very good!

Thank you! Yes, Josef is pushing Mick's buttons. In a way it's like the people who survive something tragic and then go and take every risk, almost despite themselves, because they are alive. It's as if Josef doesn't care, but he does.

yeah, ok, it definitely was a breach of Mick's trust. and I can see how JOsef's superficiality might become wearing, on even the best of friends. (I keep thinking about how both of them have acknowledged Josef's lack of genuine friends - perhaps due to this type of behaviour).

Thank you, Luxe. This time around it's Josef punishing Mick, in a way. And it truly shows that Mick has expectations in Josef, and Josef doesn't want to meet them. In a way, having friends means responsibility, and that's something Josef knows of course, but sometimes he wants to think that he is free to do as he wants.

I wonder if Josef's actions here were caused in part by the fact that he felt so out of control? He couldn't do anything about running his business; he couldn't go out and catch the person who was trying to kill him. He was dependent on Mick, didn't even own clothes, and couldn't do anything he wanted to do. He was frustrated, he was freaked out, he felt a lot of responsibility for the vampires who had been killed because of him. He wanted comfort, and he wasn't used to asking anybody's permission to do anything. So he just did what he wanted, without thinking of whose house he was in, and what danger he might be causing to his host.

Mick came home and yelled at Josef as if Josef was a petulant child...and that made Josef feel even less in control. He needed to do something to give himself some sense of power. Money is power. He needed money. And he was willing to risk everything to get some of his power back.

Great chapter!

Mick should really do something about getting a guest freezer. After all, his freezer could short out and a spare would be handy.

This scene has always been one of my favorite interactions between Mick and Josef. There would not have been any anger if there were not some genuine caring, although Mick has a point of the individual who attempted the hit in the first place could kill him as easily as the two other vamps at the poker game in Josef's office. The bit of vulnerability Josef exhibited when he said that he gets lonely may be the closest Mick would get to an apology.

And when Mick tells Josef to 'tidy up' - that was priceless. There is no way that Josef would tidy up and I think Mick knew that as well as Josef.

Nicely done!!!

Thanks, jen. Their personalities are so clashing in this episode, and it makes it all the more interesting that they are best friends. That's what I loved about SB.

Two others were dancing seductively to some modern beat in my living room.

Josef seems so superficial right now, seen through Mick's eyes, you can hardly see how they are best friends for so many decades.

Indeed, Mick has a lot in his head, Cora at hospital, Beth confused by all that is happening, his best friend still in danger and acting like a kid needing supervisor...a killer on the loose!

Francis ,you did remind me why Sleeping Beauty was one of my most favourite episodes!