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vocab_drabblesTitle: Trust is the Secret
Fandom: Moonlight
Author: Cat Moon
Rating: G
Words: 610
Characters: Beth, Josef
Summary: One wants to control their destiny, the other trusts in it. Which is which may surprise you. A philosophical discussion.
Notes: 1. This fic is in my HB series but can be read as a standalone. There'll be a bit of mystery, but the message is clear.
2. This was supposed to be a drabble. Clearly, where my ML is concerned, this is a drabble.
TRUST IS THE SECRET
"I've been going to an ESP class," Beth confessed, gulping her glass of wine.
Josef raised an eyebrow at her. "O-kay," he drawled slowly, not sure how to respond to that tidbit of information offered out of the blue.
She continued, obviously taking his one word for encouragement. "I thought maybe it could help with the, you know, 'The Voice.' I haven't heard it lately, and it sure would be helpful to have that extra edge sometimes, a voice to guide me."
"Is it helping?"
Beth shook her head. "No. I'm getting nothing out of it except a boring hour of didactic lecturing as if she's looking down her nose at those of us who don't measure up to her standards."
"I thought you were skeptical of psychics. After that whole thing with Spring…."
"He turned out to be right," Beth pointed out, opening her mouth again as if to say more but instead closing it again.
"One could argue that he just got lucky, or really didn't give much in the way of specific facts at all."
"Maybe," Beth conceded with a shrug. "But where else am I going to look for help? It's not like they have classes to help people hear voices -- just drugs to prevent them," she added ruefully. "I've always figured it was one of the extra 'talents' of being half vampire," she continued, with a sidelong expectant look at Josef.
The penny dropped, and Josef realized why Beth had arrived early at his house for their get-together, rather than waiting for Mick to finish his client meeting. She was hoping he could lift some of the veils away from the mystery of half-bloods now that she knew Josef was one, too. He considered his response as he drank from his glass of bourbon. Truth or lie, how much to reveal? "I had a vision once," he finally told her.
Beth leaned forward intently. "Really?
"I saw several things. And later a few of them came true...and one of them… I'm making sure never does."
"What kind of things?"
"Private. Nothing to do with you or Mick," he reassured, hoping she would leave it at that.
"Doesn't it bug you that you can't control it?"
"I hope I never have another one," Josef stated vehemently, wondering if he really meant it. Knowing the future was the road to madness, of that, he was sure.
"Wow, there's actually something Mr. Always-In-Control doesn't want to command?" Beth teased.
Josef chose his words carefully. "I think maybe they only come in times of great need," he suggested philosophically. "Life and death."
"You said some of them came true; were they all about death?"
And life. "I had to be convinced," he admitted. "I wouldn't have taken it seriously if I hadn't seen some come to pass."
"And that's enough for you? Trusting they'll be there if you need them?"
"Control is a funny thing. The more you try desperately to hang onto it, the bigger mess you make of things. I've learned that the hard way. I've loosened my fist," he put his hand out palm up and fingers spread in demonstration, "and to my surprise, no sand slipped through my fingers."
Beth reached out, closing his hand into a fist. "Something tells me you still hedge your bets, just a bit," she told him with a smile to soften the words.
Josef nodded, conceding the point. "Trust," he said. "Trust is the secret."
Are control and trust mutually exclusive? Probably not, but these days Josef had more of the latter and less of the former… and so far, it was working out just fine.
end
Fandom: Moonlight
Author: Cat Moon
Rating: G
Words: 610
Characters: Beth, Josef
Summary: One wants to control their destiny, the other trusts in it. Which is which may surprise you. A philosophical discussion.
Notes: 1. This fic is in my HB series but can be read as a standalone. There'll be a bit of mystery, but the message is clear.
2. This was supposed to be a drabble. Clearly, where my ML is concerned, this is a drabble.
TRUST IS THE SECRET
"I've been going to an ESP class," Beth confessed, gulping her glass of wine.
Josef raised an eyebrow at her. "O-kay," he drawled slowly, not sure how to respond to that tidbit of information offered out of the blue.
She continued, obviously taking his one word for encouragement. "I thought maybe it could help with the, you know, 'The Voice.' I haven't heard it lately, and it sure would be helpful to have that extra edge sometimes, a voice to guide me."
"Is it helping?"
Beth shook her head. "No. I'm getting nothing out of it except a boring hour of didactic lecturing as if she's looking down her nose at those of us who don't measure up to her standards."
"I thought you were skeptical of psychics. After that whole thing with Spring…."
"He turned out to be right," Beth pointed out, opening her mouth again as if to say more but instead closing it again.
"One could argue that he just got lucky, or really didn't give much in the way of specific facts at all."
"Maybe," Beth conceded with a shrug. "But where else am I going to look for help? It's not like they have classes to help people hear voices -- just drugs to prevent them," she added ruefully. "I've always figured it was one of the extra 'talents' of being half vampire," she continued, with a sidelong expectant look at Josef.
The penny dropped, and Josef realized why Beth had arrived early at his house for their get-together, rather than waiting for Mick to finish his client meeting. She was hoping he could lift some of the veils away from the mystery of half-bloods now that she knew Josef was one, too. He considered his response as he drank from his glass of bourbon. Truth or lie, how much to reveal? "I had a vision once," he finally told her.
Beth leaned forward intently. "Really?
"I saw several things. And later a few of them came true...and one of them… I'm making sure never does."
"What kind of things?"
"Private. Nothing to do with you or Mick," he reassured, hoping she would leave it at that.
"Doesn't it bug you that you can't control it?"
"I hope I never have another one," Josef stated vehemently, wondering if he really meant it. Knowing the future was the road to madness, of that, he was sure.
"Wow, there's actually something Mr. Always-In-Control doesn't want to command?" Beth teased.
Josef chose his words carefully. "I think maybe they only come in times of great need," he suggested philosophically. "Life and death."
"You said some of them came true; were they all about death?"
And life. "I had to be convinced," he admitted. "I wouldn't have taken it seriously if I hadn't seen some come to pass."
"And that's enough for you? Trusting they'll be there if you need them?"
"Control is a funny thing. The more you try desperately to hang onto it, the bigger mess you make of things. I've learned that the hard way. I've loosened my fist," he put his hand out palm up and fingers spread in demonstration, "and to my surprise, no sand slipped through my fingers."
Beth reached out, closing his hand into a fist. "Something tells me you still hedge your bets, just a bit," she told him with a smile to soften the words.
Josef nodded, conceding the point. "Trust," he said. "Trust is the secret."
Are control and trust mutually exclusive? Probably not, but these days Josef had more of the latter and less of the former… and so far, it was working out just fine.
end
