Of Pains and Gains updated
The muses didn't leave altogether. :)
An AU look at how Mick and Beth find their way back to each other and past the trauma of Josh's death: www.fanfiction.net/s/4246394/1/Of_pains_and_gains
Brand, spanking-new Chapter 5 is below. I'd recommend reading the first 4. And [ahem] feel free to leave me comments at ff.net if you'd like. Iamabitofacommentwhoreafterall
She got up to leave before it was dark, laughingly protesting that she hadn't eaten so much in months, and nodding shyly when Mick said, “It was good to see you again.”
There was an awkward moment at the door when she turned around one last time and surprised the desire in his eyes. He faltered under the shock of Beth's indrawn breath; he hadn't mean it, not really, not immediately. It was just there, underneath everything and surely, surely she could ignore it?
Mick rubbed at his mouth reflexively. Shit. Shit. Shit. Could it have gone any better? 'Beth, I wet myself from eating and drinking too much, but come have lunch with me and let me undress you mentally....' What woman could resist the Mick St John charm? Right? Right?
Beth was the first to speak. “Are you- what was that?”
“What?” Mick's mind seemed to have turned to molasses because the words refused to come.
“You were staring.” She watched him with a puzzled frown growning between her eyebrows and an amused smile twitching at her mouth.
“Sorry, I was just thinking. Lost in space. Miles away. You know, off with the fairies.” Ouch. His masculinity winced for him.
The puzzled frown disappeared to be entirely replaced by amusement. It had been a while -strictly two months and change, memory nudged- since someone had looked at her like that. Beth watched him meet her eyes squarely and amusement shifted slightly. The conversation from lunch flowed back - 'Got a hot date tonight?' and the tangled words they had used to side-step the implications of their reactions. The desire had been there for a long time, for them both. Should she be shocked to see it? Yes, and no? Mick had been side-stepping the issue since New York. Beth had had other things to deal with. But it was...nice.
“Unh huh.” Beth tapped her fingers against the door jamb lightly and then decided to let it go. “Good luck with your golf handicapping.”
Mick laughed appreciatively. “Thanks. I'll uh, let you know how it turns out.” A loud rapping noise from the table startled them both. His phone jumped like a spawning salmon, buzzing loudly.
Beth nodded and waved lightly as she walked down the hallway.
The door had shut behind her and the elevator was opening up before she trusted herself enough to steal another glance down the corridor. Human, but still smooth when he wanted to be. 'Let you know how it turns out' - she grinned widely. And what would that entail? For the first time in a long while, longer even than the grieving and the mourning, she was kind of looking forward to seeing what fate would throw her way. He was so different in so many ways. And she had worried about that, wondered how they'd get past it, planned all the conversations so she could ask questions. Instead they'd had lunch and laughed and she'd found out things she'd never planned on knowing. Maybe she could ask her questions next time. Like, what's it like to...
“-be human again?” Mick repeated. The phone crackled assent at his ear. “Man, I can't explain it.”
Mick watched the street for her, wishing he still had his vampire eyesight. But it didn't matter, he sighed happily, he had seen everything he needed to in her confident strut towards the elevator. It had been touch and go at times, but the wary Beth had given way by degrees till it was almost as it always had been between them.
Guillermo sniffed heavily. “You gotta be careful still? I hear Kostan was pissed.”
“It's fine.” Mick snapped his wandering thoughts back. “We're uh, playing golf tonight.”
“You're playing golf? At night? With a vampire? The grapevine is right - loco doesn't begin to cover it. You need your brain back and I need my best customer. C'mon, Mick. Two months of you not getting shot or stabbed and my demand is starting to give the finger to my supply. Lots of dead people going to waste.”
“You know, shouldn't you be in bed?”
“I lost a bet and got the graveyard shift.”
“And decided to call me?”
“I need a favour.”
So that was it. Mick sighed. “Yeah?”
“Well, you've been hiding out, right? Some of the guys, they're not so sure it's true. The cure and all. I tried to explain but man, it doesn't make any sense to me either. There is no cure and yet you show up smelling like roast beef to a starving man, you know what I'm saying?”
“You want to parade me around the morgue so that people know you're not bullshitting this?”
“Not the morgue. Just...there's this chick-,” Guillermo began, then stopped at the first sounds of mirth. “You know, I can hear you laughing. Don't try holding the phone from your mouth; I can hear you! Come on man, you show up, I get laid tonight. Help a brother out?”
“So your immediate happiness rests on me?”
“You gonna turn eventually,” Guillermo retorted. “'Less you plan on feeding fresh again, you're gonna need to be on my good side.”
Mick was silent for a moment. “OK,” he said finally. “What time's she getting in?”
“Ten.”
“I'm meeting Josef before then. It needs to be earlier.”
“How about nine? I think I can make that happen,” Guillermo said hopefully.
“OK, nine. Just- no touching. OK? Tell her. And no cutting me to see if I bleed.”
“Man, you're crazy if you think I'm gonna serve you up like some freshie appetizer. Like I said, you're gonna turn eventually and I like my balls where they are.”
Mick burst out laughing. “Maybe you should stop betting. First the graveyard shift and now getting laid. Sounds like an addicton.”
“Yeah yeah, like you've never done anything stupid for a bet?”
“I'll see you at nine.” Mick conceded the point.
“Thanks.”
After he hung up, Mick decided to ignore the dirty dishes and stretch out on the couch. He wondered what Beth smelled like now; he missed smelling her. She looked softer and he couldn't tell if it was because of the fuzzier eyesight or because the last two months had tempered her fire.
She'd somehow gone from the little terrified girl whose arms fit snugly around his neck to one whose white arms pulled him into the maelstrom of her world. He spent the afternoon thinking of little Beth and a locker that hadn't been opened in fifteen years.
Nine o'clock and he was facing a wide-eyed vampire, barely restrained confusion and desire on her face. He tried to focus the beating of his heart when she cocked her head and sniffed at him gently - had it always been this sexy around Coraline? For a second he was reminded of just why he'd fallen in the first place. But this was no time; the cure was burning its way through and he was gone with a swift nod and a half-smile to Guillermo. Lucky bastard.
Ten thirty and there was a brief moment of horror on Josef's face when they pulled up in front of Putt n' Play.
Josef trounced him at mini-golf and then made him pay, literally.
Mick handed over the two fifties, laughing ruefully at his own folly. “Alright, so maybe the eyesight and the heightened perception comes in useful sometimes.”
Josef ignored him, smiling beatifically at the two copies of Ulysses S. Grant and nodded to the elements. “Candy from a baby never was so sweet.”
They turned in their putters and faced the whizzing nightmare of the fairground across the car park.
“No,”Josef whispered, just slightly pale with horror.
“Funnel cakes, man. Rollercoasters. Shooting ranges.” Mick's smile was so wide he looked like a little boy on Santa's knee.
“Food colouring, small children, sweating humans.”
“Easily impressed girls...”
Josef looked a bit thoughtful at that. “You want me to go into that sea of unwashed humanity for the chance to throw a few balls at a clown's nose and impress jailbait?” He stared pityingly at Mick. “Have you seen my freshies, Mick?”
He was answered by a quick shrug. “Or we could make another bet,” Mick said nonchalantly. “Shooting range,” he continued in response to the slow smile creeping across Josef's face. “Gives me an advantage.”
“You're on!” Josef clapped him on the back, propelling him forward. “So, buddy.” He led Mick like a lamb to the slaughter, “you gonna tell me why you have Blondie's scent all over you?” Four hundred year old fangs flashed briefly in the neon lights.
An AU look at how Mick and Beth find their way back to each other and past the trauma of Josh's death: www.fanfiction.net/s/4246394/1/Of_pains_and_gains
Brand, spanking-new Chapter 5 is below. I'd recommend reading the first 4. And [ahem] feel free to leave me comments at ff.net if you'd like. Iamabitofacommentwhoreafterall
She got up to leave before it was dark, laughingly protesting that she hadn't eaten so much in months, and nodding shyly when Mick said, “It was good to see you again.”
There was an awkward moment at the door when she turned around one last time and surprised the desire in his eyes. He faltered under the shock of Beth's indrawn breath; he hadn't mean it, not really, not immediately. It was just there, underneath everything and surely, surely she could ignore it?
Mick rubbed at his mouth reflexively. Shit. Shit. Shit. Could it have gone any better? 'Beth, I wet myself from eating and drinking too much, but come have lunch with me and let me undress you mentally....' What woman could resist the Mick St John charm? Right? Right?
Beth was the first to speak. “Are you- what was that?”
“What?” Mick's mind seemed to have turned to molasses because the words refused to come.
“You were staring.” She watched him with a puzzled frown growning between her eyebrows and an amused smile twitching at her mouth.
“Sorry, I was just thinking. Lost in space. Miles away. You know, off with the fairies.” Ouch. His masculinity winced for him.
The puzzled frown disappeared to be entirely replaced by amusement. It had been a while -strictly two months and change, memory nudged- since someone had looked at her like that. Beth watched him meet her eyes squarely and amusement shifted slightly. The conversation from lunch flowed back - 'Got a hot date tonight?' and the tangled words they had used to side-step the implications of their reactions. The desire had been there for a long time, for them both. Should she be shocked to see it? Yes, and no? Mick had been side-stepping the issue since New York. Beth had had other things to deal with. But it was...nice.
“Unh huh.” Beth tapped her fingers against the door jamb lightly and then decided to let it go. “Good luck with your golf handicapping.”
Mick laughed appreciatively. “Thanks. I'll uh, let you know how it turns out.” A loud rapping noise from the table startled them both. His phone jumped like a spawning salmon, buzzing loudly.
Beth nodded and waved lightly as she walked down the hallway.
The door had shut behind her and the elevator was opening up before she trusted herself enough to steal another glance down the corridor. Human, but still smooth when he wanted to be. 'Let you know how it turns out' - she grinned widely. And what would that entail? For the first time in a long while, longer even than the grieving and the mourning, she was kind of looking forward to seeing what fate would throw her way. He was so different in so many ways. And she had worried about that, wondered how they'd get past it, planned all the conversations so she could ask questions. Instead they'd had lunch and laughed and she'd found out things she'd never planned on knowing. Maybe she could ask her questions next time. Like, what's it like to...
“-be human again?” Mick repeated. The phone crackled assent at his ear. “Man, I can't explain it.”
Mick watched the street for her, wishing he still had his vampire eyesight. But it didn't matter, he sighed happily, he had seen everything he needed to in her confident strut towards the elevator. It had been touch and go at times, but the wary Beth had given way by degrees till it was almost as it always had been between them.
Guillermo sniffed heavily. “You gotta be careful still? I hear Kostan was pissed.”
“It's fine.” Mick snapped his wandering thoughts back. “We're uh, playing golf tonight.”
“You're playing golf? At night? With a vampire? The grapevine is right - loco doesn't begin to cover it. You need your brain back and I need my best customer. C'mon, Mick. Two months of you not getting shot or stabbed and my demand is starting to give the finger to my supply. Lots of dead people going to waste.”
“You know, shouldn't you be in bed?”
“I lost a bet and got the graveyard shift.”
“And decided to call me?”
“I need a favour.”
So that was it. Mick sighed. “Yeah?”
“Well, you've been hiding out, right? Some of the guys, they're not so sure it's true. The cure and all. I tried to explain but man, it doesn't make any sense to me either. There is no cure and yet you show up smelling like roast beef to a starving man, you know what I'm saying?”
“You want to parade me around the morgue so that people know you're not bullshitting this?”
“Not the morgue. Just...there's this chick-,” Guillermo began, then stopped at the first sounds of mirth. “You know, I can hear you laughing. Don't try holding the phone from your mouth; I can hear you! Come on man, you show up, I get laid tonight. Help a brother out?”
“So your immediate happiness rests on me?”
“You gonna turn eventually,” Guillermo retorted. “'Less you plan on feeding fresh again, you're gonna need to be on my good side.”
Mick was silent for a moment. “OK,” he said finally. “What time's she getting in?”
“Ten.”
“I'm meeting Josef before then. It needs to be earlier.”
“How about nine? I think I can make that happen,” Guillermo said hopefully.
“OK, nine. Just- no touching. OK? Tell her. And no cutting me to see if I bleed.”
“Man, you're crazy if you think I'm gonna serve you up like some freshie appetizer. Like I said, you're gonna turn eventually and I like my balls where they are.”
Mick burst out laughing. “Maybe you should stop betting. First the graveyard shift and now getting laid. Sounds like an addicton.”
“Yeah yeah, like you've never done anything stupid for a bet?”
“I'll see you at nine.” Mick conceded the point.
“Thanks.”
After he hung up, Mick decided to ignore the dirty dishes and stretch out on the couch. He wondered what Beth smelled like now; he missed smelling her. She looked softer and he couldn't tell if it was because of the fuzzier eyesight or because the last two months had tempered her fire.
She'd somehow gone from the little terrified girl whose arms fit snugly around his neck to one whose white arms pulled him into the maelstrom of her world. He spent the afternoon thinking of little Beth and a locker that hadn't been opened in fifteen years.
Nine o'clock and he was facing a wide-eyed vampire, barely restrained confusion and desire on her face. He tried to focus the beating of his heart when she cocked her head and sniffed at him gently - had it always been this sexy around Coraline? For a second he was reminded of just why he'd fallen in the first place. But this was no time; the cure was burning its way through and he was gone with a swift nod and a half-smile to Guillermo. Lucky bastard.
Ten thirty and there was a brief moment of horror on Josef's face when they pulled up in front of Putt n' Play.
Josef trounced him at mini-golf and then made him pay, literally.
Mick handed over the two fifties, laughing ruefully at his own folly. “Alright, so maybe the eyesight and the heightened perception comes in useful sometimes.”
Josef ignored him, smiling beatifically at the two copies of Ulysses S. Grant and nodded to the elements. “Candy from a baby never was so sweet.”
They turned in their putters and faced the whizzing nightmare of the fairground across the car park.
“No,”Josef whispered, just slightly pale with horror.
“Funnel cakes, man. Rollercoasters. Shooting ranges.” Mick's smile was so wide he looked like a little boy on Santa's knee.
“Food colouring, small children, sweating humans.”
“Easily impressed girls...”
Josef looked a bit thoughtful at that. “You want me to go into that sea of unwashed humanity for the chance to throw a few balls at a clown's nose and impress jailbait?” He stared pityingly at Mick. “Have you seen my freshies, Mick?”
He was answered by a quick shrug. “Or we could make another bet,” Mick said nonchalantly. “Shooting range,” he continued in response to the slow smile creeping across Josef's face. “Gives me an advantage.”
“You're on!” Josef clapped him on the back, propelling him forward. “So, buddy.” He led Mick like a lamb to the slaughter, “you gonna tell me why you have Blondie's scent all over you?” Four hundred year old fangs flashed briefly in the neon lights.