Moonlightaholics

Title: Touched
Author: redwinter101
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I don't own Moonlight or any of its characters

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--- Touched ---


She touched me.

Soft, gentle hands, warmed with care, compassion, humanity. Maybe even love.

It wasn’t about sex, no matter what Josef said. It was a reminder of that moment. The very first moment she touched me.

Four years old and she brought me to my knees, because she had no fear. To her, I was no monster. I was not a thing to hide from. I was just a man, someone to trust, to grip onto in the darkness. She saw me and she wasn’t afraid.

That changed everything for me.

Everything.

It could have been anyone, I guess. But for so many years, no-one had dared. No-one had looked at me with trust. No-one had seen beyond skin and bone, flesh and fright.

Every moment since then, even the moments when she should have run, still, she touched me.

I wasn’t a thing any more. I wasn’t an object, a freak, darkness.

Every caress of her fingers said I mattered.
Every brush of hand on sleeve told me she wasn’t afraid.
Every press of hip to hip promised a future filled with hope.

I should have run. I should have saved myself. Anyone putting that much faith in you was a risk I couldn’t take, shouldn’t take. I should have known better.

But she touched me.

And I was alive.

I was alive.

It is stunning how deeply you understand this man.

Thank you, seamus. I was watching the original, unaired pilot today and there were so many things in it I hadn't thought about in a while. Such lovely Mick-ness.

Red

"I wasn't a thing anymore"

"I was alive"

I truly love this. She got under his skin with her acceptance. It's a weapon you can't defend yourself against.
I love the way you put the words together to be poetry.
You know, children have this magical ability to put life into their toys and inanimate objects, in their phantasy at least. But this four year old put life into a vampire by her touch, and it kept him alive for decades, until he met her again.
I still shed a tear whenever I think of that first hug of Mick and Beth in NSTAV. He is so hesitant at first, and then he just melts into her and holds her. Sigh.

Oh, that's SO lovely, francis, and such a perfect description.

Red

seamus is right. It is damn scary how much you understand Mick.

So much emotion....sadness and pain and wonder and amazement on Mick's part, packed into a powerful little piece.

redwinter101 wrote:She touched me.

I think every friendship, every love affair begins with a touch. It's the first thing we experience when we're born. Humans need it, they crave it, that close contact, that connection to another person. Mick had denied himself that simple necessity for so long, and he crumbles at the simple touch of a four-year old child.

redwinter101 wrote:I was not a thing to hide from.

redwinter101 wrote:No-one had looked at me with trust.

Here you convey Mick's pain so well, with a few short succinct sentences. Mick sees himself as a thing, as untrustworthy, as something to be feared. It takes a child to show him he's more human than he gives himself credit for.

redwinter101 wrote:Every moment since then, even the moments when she should have run, still, she touched me.

While Mick might be a vampire, it's Beth who's the stronger of the two.

redwinter101 wrote:And I was alive.

I was alive

.

Amazing how love works.

Lovely, babe...just lovely.

This is lovely, Red

ITA with what's been said before - no one "gets" Mick quite like you.

PNWgal wrote:While Mick might be a vampire, it's Beth who's the stronger of the two.

Amazing how love works.

I couldn't agree more. Thanks, babe - for the encouragement, and for the super comment. You are beyond awesome.

coco, thanks so much, honey.

Red

This is so gentle and so very beautiful, Red.

Touch says so much more than a look or even words can convey. It's probably the first thing we understand as newborns, the most basic form of human connection, and to someone who feels disconnected from that humanity, it is everything.

Your words here are soft and unrushed -- they perfectly illustrate Mick finding peace. This just shines in its simplicity.

redwinter101 wrote:
Every caress of her fingers said I mattered.

Every brush of hand on sleeve told me she wasn’t afraid.

Every press of hip to hip promised a future filled with hope.

Wonderful, Red. From the first word to the last, completely - wonderful.

Thank you.

What a lovely prose poem this is. It captures the emotions shining from his eyes, the things he never could say, even in voiceovers.

How magical, the trust of a child - especially a child whose trust could so easily have been destroyed. For Mick, that warm armful of little girl must have felt like the only anchor, the only piece of solidity in a maelstrom of loss and betrayal.

For Beth, Mick was always her savior. Never a monster. And the trust he saw in her face, even after she learned the horrible truth about him, must have brought him right back to that amazing, warm, innocent child who changed everything for him. Her steadfast belief in him helped him learn (slowly) to see himself through her eyes.

Thanks you, ladies.

Red

There is some truly amazing fanfic here, as many talented writers have chosen to share their talent with the rest of us. There was a thread somewhere around here where writers were asked to post what they thought their strengths or weaknesses were and I believe you mentioned that 'emotional honesty' was one of your strengths.

This.is.stunning.

You have the rare ability to weave words together that reach past the form of the scenes we saw on screen and find the substance beneath.

Lovely.

Thank you!

Woot!

Somebody's been Mick-whispering today!
I LOVE it when that happens.

This one was both beautiful and uplifting, yet still a tad melancholy. So very Mick.

jen, thanks for the super comment - and the reminder of that great thread - I just had a lovely re-read.

Grace, Beautiful, uplifting, melancholy - if I had to sum up Mick in three words, they would be excellent choices.

Red