047 Banal - Moonlight - Kid Gloves Off
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vocab_drabblesAlso Written for: my Bingo square 'kittens and puppies,' for genprompt_bingo and inspired by corinalannister
Title: Kid Gloves Off
Fandom: Moonlight
Author: Cat Moon
Rating: PG
Words: 685
Characters: Josef & Beth friendship
Summary: Beth is healing, Josef is helping, but Mick is MIA.
Notes: This is a missing scene of a much longer fic, if/when I get it done, or may end up in the story itself (but can be understood on its own). Frankly, anything that helps me get more of that monster written is something I can’t pass up. Strictly speaking, not a kitten, but Moonlight vampires have complicated relationships with animals, and I couldn’t think of another way to include the prompt that Corina asked for. It's not a fluffy fic I'm afraid.
Warnings: Sensitive topic. You may choose to be spoiled, or not:
Josef stood at the foot of the hospital bed, watching Beth. Vampire senses told him she was on the verge of consciousness, so he waited rather than leave after dropping off his gift, even though he would have preferred to take the easy way out.
Soon Beth's eyes opened, cloudy with sleep, then clearing as awareness returned. She acknowledged Josef first, with a slight upturn of her lips, then her gaze rested on the enormous stuffed cat that sat upon the bed, taking up almost the entirety of the space.
"Hey," Josef murmured awkwardly. They'd always had remarkable ease with each other, but this situation was different, challenging, and complicated for many reasons.
"Hey," Beth echoed. "Is that for me?" her eyes slid to the kitty and then back to him.
Josef shrugged. "Well, flowers are so banal." He commented drolly, gratified when he earned a slight laugh. "How are you feeling?" He suppressed a self-deprecating smirk, acknowledging the banality of the question. He was out of his comfort zone. Not only with the all too human subject but also due to his position as both Mick and Beth's friend. And not to mention the current conditions with Sara Adams.
Beth glanced away. "They tell me I'm on the mend," she answered listlessly.
Josef moved closer, standing by the side of the bed. "Have you heard from Mick?"
Her eyes gave her away before she could answer. "No." She turned an unspoken question on him.
He shook his head. "We're going out looking for him. And we'll find him," Josef assured her with a hard edge to his voice that promised the reunion would have consequences for the other vamp.
Beth turned her head away, staring at the wall. "I know he hates me now," she whispered.
Josef sat down on the edge of the bed. "Mick is a foolish babe who needs to learn some lessons about living as a vampire," he told her brusquely, his current anger towards Mick coloring his tone.
To Beth, Mick was the guardian angel, her hero. Oh, she knew about his faults, she'd spent a considerable amount of time over the past year helping him get over his angst complex, but he'd always been there when she needed him. Now he wasn't.
Josef took a deep breath strictly to reign in his anger. "This is not your fault, and you know it. You had no reason to expect you'd get kidnapped, and you didn't know…" he hesitated slightly, "that you were pregnant."
Beth looked at him again, her expression asking for honesty. "Are you telling me that to make me feel better or because it's true?"
Josef felt an invisible pull towards the door. Emotional topics weren't something he engaged in easily, and he preferred to avoid them, but Beth was his friend, and in lieu of her husband being there, she needed something from him.
"You're too smart for that, Nora," Josef chided gently, using his nickname for her as he took her hand. "Don't take Mick's guilt issues upon yourself. It happened, and it sucks, and now you both need to heal together. Mick is an idiot, so it will take him a bit longer to figure it out. But he loves you more than he's ever loved anyone. It's himself he hates."
"I didn't want children yet," Beth admitted in a whisper. Her free hand petted the stuffed animal unconsciously. "I've been focused on my career…."
"So that's why you're blaming yourself," Josef guessed.
"I feel like I've let him down."
"None of us can be Mick's savior. He needs to save himself."
"Isn't that funny," Beth chuckled without mirth, "He saved me, so I guess I wanted to save him in return."
"You have," Josef told her adamantly. "More than you'll ever realize."
"You'll tell me sometime?" she implored. "About Mick's past, the things he won't?"
Josef reluctantly nodded. "If he doesn't tell you, I will," he agreed.
"Find him," Beth said, sounding stronger.
"Oh, we will. I'll take care of it." That was a promise he intended to keep, with kid gloves off.
The end
genprompt_bingo and inspired by corinalannister Title: Kid Gloves Off
Fandom: Moonlight
Author: Cat Moon
Rating: PG
Words: 685
Characters: Josef & Beth friendship
Summary: Beth is healing, Josef is helping, but Mick is MIA.
Notes: This is a missing scene of a much longer fic, if/when I get it done, or may end up in the story itself (but can be understood on its own). Frankly, anything that helps me get more of that monster written is something I can’t pass up. Strictly speaking, not a kitten, but Moonlight vampires have complicated relationships with animals, and I couldn’t think of another way to include the prompt that Corina asked for. It's not a fluffy fic I'm afraid.
Warnings: Sensitive topic. You may choose to be spoiled, or not:
Josef stood at the foot of the hospital bed, watching Beth. Vampire senses told him she was on the verge of consciousness, so he waited rather than leave after dropping off his gift, even though he would have preferred to take the easy way out.
Soon Beth's eyes opened, cloudy with sleep, then clearing as awareness returned. She acknowledged Josef first, with a slight upturn of her lips, then her gaze rested on the enormous stuffed cat that sat upon the bed, taking up almost the entirety of the space.
"Hey," Josef murmured awkwardly. They'd always had remarkable ease with each other, but this situation was different, challenging, and complicated for many reasons.
"Hey," Beth echoed. "Is that for me?" her eyes slid to the kitty and then back to him.
Josef shrugged. "Well, flowers are so banal." He commented drolly, gratified when he earned a slight laugh. "How are you feeling?" He suppressed a self-deprecating smirk, acknowledging the banality of the question. He was out of his comfort zone. Not only with the all too human subject but also due to his position as both Mick and Beth's friend. And not to mention the current conditions with Sara Adams.
Beth glanced away. "They tell me I'm on the mend," she answered listlessly.
Josef moved closer, standing by the side of the bed. "Have you heard from Mick?"
Her eyes gave her away before she could answer. "No." She turned an unspoken question on him.
He shook his head. "We're going out looking for him. And we'll find him," Josef assured her with a hard edge to his voice that promised the reunion would have consequences for the other vamp.
Beth turned her head away, staring at the wall. "I know he hates me now," she whispered.
Josef sat down on the edge of the bed. "Mick is a foolish babe who needs to learn some lessons about living as a vampire," he told her brusquely, his current anger towards Mick coloring his tone.
To Beth, Mick was the guardian angel, her hero. Oh, she knew about his faults, she'd spent a considerable amount of time over the past year helping him get over his angst complex, but he'd always been there when she needed him. Now he wasn't.
Josef took a deep breath strictly to reign in his anger. "This is not your fault, and you know it. You had no reason to expect you'd get kidnapped, and you didn't know…" he hesitated slightly, "that you were pregnant."
Beth looked at him again, her expression asking for honesty. "Are you telling me that to make me feel better or because it's true?"
Josef felt an invisible pull towards the door. Emotional topics weren't something he engaged in easily, and he preferred to avoid them, but Beth was his friend, and in lieu of her husband being there, she needed something from him.
"You're too smart for that, Nora," Josef chided gently, using his nickname for her as he took her hand. "Don't take Mick's guilt issues upon yourself. It happened, and it sucks, and now you both need to heal together. Mick is an idiot, so it will take him a bit longer to figure it out. But he loves you more than he's ever loved anyone. It's himself he hates."
"I didn't want children yet," Beth admitted in a whisper. Her free hand petted the stuffed animal unconsciously. "I've been focused on my career…."
"So that's why you're blaming yourself," Josef guessed.
"I feel like I've let him down."
"None of us can be Mick's savior. He needs to save himself."
"Isn't that funny," Beth chuckled without mirth, "He saved me, so I guess I wanted to save him in return."
"You have," Josef told her adamantly. "More than you'll ever realize."
"You'll tell me sometime?" she implored. "About Mick's past, the things he won't?"
Josef reluctantly nodded. "If he doesn't tell you, I will," he agreed.
"Find him," Beth said, sounding stronger.
"Oh, we will. I'll take care of it." That was a promise he intended to keep, with kid gloves off.
The end
