My Fair Vampire, Chapter 1
Title: My Fair Vampire
Fandom : Moonlight
Characters : Josef, Simone, Mick, Beth
Rating : R, for some sexual content and strong language.
Spoilers: Post "Sonata"
Summary : 9th entry into my post- "Sonata" series. Josef agrees to turn Simone, but naturally it's not going to be that simple. Simone has a mind of her own. Could she be Eliza Doolittle to Josef's Henry Higgins?
Disclaimer : I'm using these characters for fun and not for profit. No infringement intended.
A/N: This is really turning out to be a challenge to write. I’m so used to Mick’s “voice” in my head, that it’s been tough getting inside Josef’s. That being said, I’m enjoying the alternate p.o.v.-it’s definitely keeping me from becoming bored. I hope you feel the same after reading this first chapter.
JOSEF
Sometimes I just want to pull that stick from Mick’s ass and stab him in the heart with it. Now was one of those times, as he laid down his impossible poker hand and taunted us around the Cuban between his teeth. “Read ‘em and weep, boys.” The frustrated groans of the other guys filled my office as Mick pulled the blood vials from the pot to join the huge pile in front of him.
“Well, I’m out,” Guillermo said, looking morosely from his pitiful pair of Jacks to the empty place where his vials had been. I liked Guillermo; he wasn’t a whiner. Logan, on the other hand…
“You cheated, Mick. I don’t know how, but you did. You know the statistical impossibility of being dealt a royal flush?”
“I was never good at math, Logan,” came Mick’s dry reply.
“I don’t know why I always come back for more of this abuse. It’s always either you or Kostan who takes all my money.” Logan was such a pussy. If he wasn’t a friend of Mick’s, I’d gladly rip his throat out.
“Hey, I took your money last week,” Daryl Morgan countered, shifting to get comfortable, even in one of the huge leather chairs that surrounded my custom-made mahogany conference table. Morgan was like a big, friendly bear with muscles on muscles and the kind of laid-back, no-nonsense manner I respected in a mountain. And his wife was really hot.
Logan was back to his bitching and I was concentrating on ignoring him as the game broke up. It was about four in the morning, and I wondered if Simone had gotten home all right after her girls’ night with Beth. It was supposed to be like a bachelorette party, a sort of last hurrah at Simone’s favorite restaurant, where the plan was to gorge herself on steak and lobster before she started her new life as a vampire. Nothing but blood and booze for her from here on in. I sighed and absently waved goodbye to my poker night buddies, except a concerned Mick, who stayed behind.
“You were off your game tonight, Josef,” he was saying, while filling a felt, drawstring bag with the vials of rare blood types. “Normally I don’t annihilate you quite so completely.” What made Mick my best friend, despite the age difference, was how well we understood each other. He’d given me an opening to spill my guts without prying into my business.
“Maybe I still haven’t recovered from my recent bout with the human condition,” I said, referring to the last few months when I’d been on Mick’s so-called cure for vampirism. Oh, I’d been human alright; I still had the scars to prove it.
“Or maybe you’re just nervous about turning Simone tomorrow night.” I take back what I said about minding his own business.
I took a fortifying drink of Scotch, and tried for nonchalance. “I’m not worried a bit, Mick. Fangs in, fangs out. She drinks my blood-yada, yada, yada.”
I couldn’t miss Mick’s knowing smirk, the bastard. Now he was going to try to say something reassuring and helpful to try to put me at ease with this horrible mistake I was about to make.
“Have you worked out the details? I mean, romantic or clinical? Jugular or wrist? You already said you didn’t want witnesses, but do you want some sort of reception afterwards?”
Huh? “What are you, a wedding planner? What difference does it make? I’m killing the woman I love and turning her into a blood-sucking monster. Who the hell cares how romantic I am about it?”
Mick snuffed out his cigar, contemplating me like a bug under a microscope. “Simone is gonna care,” he said quietly. Boy Scout Mick was absolutely no fun.
“You’re probably right,” I admitted reluctantly. I guess I should think seriously about what he asked. Normally, I have some lackey see to the details of things, but I suppose this wasn’t an occasion where I could do that. Or was it? An inspiration hit me. “Hey! You wanna be my best man? Or maybe you’d be called my second. I don’t know.”
“Your what? You’re not getting married, and you said you didn’t want any witnesses, so best man at what? Between the two of us, I’m clearly already the ‘best man.’ And while you are technically killing someone, I’m not going to replace you if something goes wrong, so a second wouldn’t be required. Besides, I’m not too sure either Simone or Beth would be cool with my being there. ”
This hedging he was doing told me he truly didn’t want to be there for the blessed event. Some friend he was.
“No, I don’t want you to be present during the actual…turning…but you could help me with the specifics. So tell me, how would it be if you were turning Beth?” He visually blanched.
“If that ever happens, Josef, it’s gonna be a long time from now.” I could tell he was trying to decide how hard I was yanking his chain. I admit I was trying to draw attention from my situation and throw it back on him, but I found that I was actually curious about how he would do things. Go figure.
“Well, there’d be candlelight-“
“Naturally,” I said, not even trying to tamp down my sarcasm.
“You want to hear this or not?” He was annoyed. Now Annoyed Mick was fun.
“Sorry. Pray, go on please.”
Despite the dirty look he directed at me, he continued.
“Flowers maybe-whatever her favorite kind is. Maybe Champagne for afterwards-or before-hard to decide when. Some blood handy for when she wakes up…I don’t know, Josef. Go with your own gut, I guess, and with what would make Simone the most comfortable.”
“I take it the flowers shouldn’t be lilies…”
“I guess it is sorta like a funeral if you think about it, but no, I wouldn’t go with-“ He realized I was making fun of the romantic picture he had painted. “You know what? You can plan your own damn turning, Josef.” He got up, having finally had enough of me.
“Now, now. Don’t get your boxers in a twist. Nerves make me caustic. I like your candles and Champagne idea. And you’re right; I am nervous. The last thing I want is for something to go wrong. I’ve been in avoidance mode since I agreed to turn her, and I know there are practical considerations, but I just haven’t had the balls to think about them.” I was relieved to see Mick sit down again.
“No one says you have to do this, Josef.”
“True. But it’s time. We’ve been dating a few years and I don’t want any more years to pass by before I commit to Simone in the only way vampires really can. Besides…she said she’d leave me if I didn’t.” It was a tough admission-one that pointed directly to my manhood.
“Awww…” He acted as if it all made sense to him now.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, annoyed now myself.
“Just…awww…Never thought it would happen, that’s all. So, does Simone favor a bull whip or a horse whip?”
I smirked. He certainly had me pegged. “We actually prefer a leather strap, but that’s neither here nor there. So, where do I sign up with the Pussy Whipped Club, of which you are the founding member?”
He laughed. “I pay my dues every day, believe me. Welcome to the club, man.” He leaned back in his chair, toasting me with a vial of his winnings.
“There is one thing that I did already decide though, Mick. I think Simone should move in with me, at least until she can handle being around humans without attacking them.”
“Well, that’s good planning. Have you explained this to her?”’
“Yeah, but I don’t think she fully understands how out of control she’s gonna feel. I may need your help with that aspect of it. It’s hard to restrain a new vampire.” I remembered my first days after I was turned. I was alone and it was terrifying. At least Simone had a choice in the matter, unlike Mick and me.
“I remember,” Mick said simply. Given who his sire was, he didn’t need to say anymore on that subject.
“I’ll need to show her the ropes. Have some freshies on hand to help with the training.” I was finally getting into the details now. I guess the day before was better than the day after.
Mick made a derisive noise. “Kind of risky to let her feed on living people, don’t you think?”
“I know a few guys that can take it. You’d be surprised how many humans I’m putting through college right now.”
Mick laughed. “Wish I’d know about you when the War ended. I could have used the money.”
“You wouldn’t have been my type. I mean, you’re pretty and all, but not nearly blonde enough for me.”
“Speaking of blondes…” Mick was now seriously ready to take his leave. He got up, yawned and stretched. “I’d better get home and catch some freezer time. Got a big date with Beth tomorrow night. Our one-year anniversary.”
“No kidding? She put up with you for an entire year? Wait-a year since you started dating, or since you uh-did the deed?”
His embarrassed silence spoke volumes. I grinned at his discomfort.
“I guess that will be mine and Simone’s anniversary too now, or maybe we should call it her re-birthday,” I continued, letting him off the hook. “Works out well-we can prevent the wrath of the ladies and remind each other to buy flowers next year.”
By this time, he was at the door leading out of my office. “Just don’t buy lilies,” he shot back as he strode out.
“How about a tasteful wreath?”
I heard him chuckling all the way to the elevator.
~~~~~~~~~~
With Mick gone, I was alone with my thoughts, a place I’d been trying to avoid the last two weeks. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to have a companion, especially one who understood me as well as Simone. And the idea that she would be forever gorgeous had its perks too. What I didn’t want was for things to end badly. I’m not just talking about the actual turning, which had dangers in itself, but the idea of being responsible and bound to someone for the rest of what could be our very long lives-well, that had the potential to be a disaster of Biblical proportions. I mean, I’d seen Mick and Coraline nearly kill each other in just the thirty-odd years they were married. And the Monaghans, married and remarried for more than a century, pointlessly wasting their lives by cheating with freshies and going out in a blaze of dishonor. I’d seen too many similar examples over the years. Not the way I wanted things to go for Simone and me.
So why, you may be asking, did I agree to turn Simone? Good question. I guess I could blame it on my recent experience as a human. I re-learned how fragile human life is, and I didn’t want to lose another person I loved to something as tragic and unnecessary as mortality. Simone was aging, and I was not. The fact that she wanted to change for me, to give up all the benefits of being human, greatly appealed to my ego, I can’t deny it. The real reason for my desire to change her? I was in love with her, plain and simple. She was the first woman since Sarah to have completely bewitched me, obsessed me, enslaved me. Mick was right-I was totally whipped, and gladly. But could this feeling last an eternity? I guess I was about to find out.
A/N: So, what do you think? Please let me know. Reviews to me are like blood to a vampire, only not as icky and messy.