Fic: Surrendering to Habit (R) 1/1
Title: Surrendering to Habit
Author: divinejoker
Spoilers: Missing scene for ‘Click’…
Rating: Heavy R
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, not mine; but they seem to be doing an excellent job themselves anyway. I’m making no money, and I’m wasting my own time to do this.
/start
Mick had watched her sleep before. A bright morning only a few months ago, after a brief stint with the Black Crystal had left her dazed and confused Vegas-style. It was one of the only times he had gone to sleep in his freezer with the flat set to stay warm, if not hot. Still, he’d watched her on the couch for a good hour before he’d risen from his chair to make her the coffee.
Today was no different.
One of the benefits of vampire-enhanced abilities was the tendency to make no noise when one felt like it. He’d woken early, not unusual for him and, leaving his freezer, had slipped down the stairs in his bare feet.
She was enshrined on the couch under a down-filled blanket, only the curls of her blonde hair slipping out from under the covers. Her entombment only served to remind him of their differences: he liked the flat to be chilled, however she was still a warm-blooded human and heat for her was nice, if not essential.
He shook his head and turned up the thermostat, the small rush of wind signalling the incoming hot air from the vents. It would take a bit for the entire area to warm up, but till then, he could wait.
Mick settled again on his favourite chair, hands settling comfortably on his lap before he took to truly observing the woman across from him.
He had to admit that there were plenty of women in the world who were pretty; they met or exceeded society’s general guidelines for being above average looking. However, there were few that would meet the ‘beautiful’ standards.
There was a certain amount of ‘je ne sais quois’ that littered the population, and only a select amount of it settled on people who would already have been deemed pretty.
He may have been biased, but he knew that Beth was one of those people. She was pretty in the standard sense: long, blonde hair, startling blue eyes, the symmetry of features that drew others gazes. She was lithe and attractive, and he knew that he wasn’t the only one to think that.
But there was more to it. There was a spark of life in her that made her *real*, and not just another sycophantic peon of society. She paved her own road, fought her own battles and generally stopped along the way to help those in need.
She wasn’t famous, she wasn’t rich; but he would be more than happy to admit that the lack of such celebrity made her all that much more alluring.
His pondering must have taken longer than he thought because she began to stir, a slight shift to the right and the blanket revealed her relaxed face, the realm of slumber still heavily on her. Beth’s eyes shifted under her lids, and a hand rose to brush at a non-existent tickle on her cheek. He smiled at her childish actions, a safe reaction to slumber when he knew that his life and home was anything but that.
He bit his lip. They’d been through this. He knew she was right; that he was the one that was afraid to get hurt, but really, in the end? Wasn’t it more likely to leave him with horrible, crippling regrets when she died anyway? It was inevitable. Even for the brief moment when he considered turning her - at her request only - time would still separate them eventually. Forever might have offered a long time, but circumstances never had bowed to the power of a promise.
He looked at her, her forehead tucked into the crook of her arm as the sunlight began to brush against her skin. Beth was comfortable with him, open to his life and his needs and the first time she saw him as a vampire again, there’d been nothing but acceptance and trust in her eyes.
And when it came right down to it, while time may have allowed him the pleasure of knowing that he’d eventually get over her, did he have the right to dictate how she lived her life because of his fears? He’d never love anyone else while she was alive, young or old, anyway.
And so, decision made for him, he knew that there was only one way for her to wake up this morning.
He moved next to the sofa, a small waft of air bringing her scent to his nose. He inhaled deeply, eyes closing as he savoured both scent and presence. She was here of her own accord and he could only smile at her tenacity.
Mick leaned down over her, one hand on the back of the sofa in support as he kissed her gently on her offered cheek.
“Beth.” He whispered, another kiss pressed to her temple. “Beth, time to wake up.”
“Mmmmm.”
Her hum vibrated along his arm, an alarming sensation that he wasn’t prepared for. She tipped her head towards him, and with his nerves still fired up, kissed her softly on the lips. She responded sleepily.
“Beth, come on.” His voice wasn’t even raised to talking volume, the whispers seeming more accommodating to the still light of the morning.
One eye slipped open and gazed up at him before a lazy smile tickled her lips. He watched as the tip of her tongue wet her sleep dry mouth and, mesmerized, he offered her another caress.
She was a little more pro-active on this one, leaning forward to accept his lips to hers and then even raising a hand to hold him to her. He indulged her sleepy demands, smiling against her in calm acquiescence.
“Good morning,” she murmured, finally surrendering to the end of the kiss. Her eyes slipped closed again as her other arm emerged from her cocoon and stretched cat-like above her head.
He allowed himself to admire the view until he saw that she’d caught him.
He smiled, hopefully his charm would throw off her curiosity as to his morning actions, but this was Beth Turner - BuzzWire reporter. She didn’t know how to say ‘no’ to her curiosity.
“I see that you’re a little less hesitant this morning,” she commented, her fingers finding his resting hand, tugging them towards her as she laced them together. She studied them, turned them, twisted them and pursed her lips as she came to some conclusion.
He took a deep breath, his eyes darting to the corner where the sun was beginning to highlight his kitchen. “Let’s just say that I’ve had somewhat of an epiphany.”
She grinned up at him, using their joined hands as leverage as she pulled herself up to meet him. “Let’s.”
There was no hesitancy now; she’d been waiting for him to make that decision so she wasn’t going to wait any longer.
The heaviness of the blanket wrapped around her legs as she pulled him tighter to her. His body leaned heavily on his supporting arm before tugging at the covering, letting it drop to the floor. As her heart sped up, his sense of smell intensified. He could nearly taste her by breathing her in; his desire to touch her exploding under the lure of her taste. She had worn his shirt to bed, the cotton tails separating tantalizingly high on her thigh, leaving him with a hint of her body beneath. She reached up to him, her hands still tight around his neck as she held him to her, kissing and tasting his explorations with fervour.
Mick shifted again, pulling his legs up and along hers, resting down against her, from toe to chest. She hummed agreeably, the sensation muting the chill of having the blanket fall to the floor. Holding himself on his elbows, his lips traveled along the lines of her jaw, over her cheekbones and lighted on the pink of her lips. She was fresh from sleep, a warm feeling of relaxation mixing with a rising pulse of arousal and Mick could feel as he began to drift apart from himself, a hunger other than desire rising in his chest.
He’d fought the battle before, tried to make the monster sleep while his humanity wandered the wonders of life; but the lure of freedom in her arms was something completely different. It wasn’t a battle of not letting her see, it was a war of not letting himself lose that control. He wanted to prove to himself that he *was* more than a vampire, just like Beth had claimed a few days ago. He rest his forehead against her neck, a deep breath gathering as he concentrated on not succumbing.
Beth brought his world back into stark focus when he warm hands found him, his pants having disappeared in the midst of his concentration. He shuddered, the crack in his focus shattering his control.
The world changed there, as he leaned over her, his eyes changing to take in the slight movement of her pulse beneath her skin, the faint glow of blood against her light skin. The sounds of Beth’s movements were magnified as the faint rasp of cotton against leather echoed in his ears, accompanied by the rhythmic thumping of her heart.
She took advantage of his distraction in his transformation to shift herself and him into a tighter embrace. She’d understood him better than he’d thought, he found now, because she was moving without giving him the benefit of thought.
Maybe it was better that way.
He found himself shockingly aware of her smell as she pulled him into her; there was more than sexual pheromones littering the sweat of her skin. He could have sworn that he was smelling and tasting her emotions, the confidence of her actions as she bound them together for the very first time. He’d never felt remotely this alive before.
He knew that years of celibacy were going to be just as trying on him as if he were human and his voice dropped to whisper in her ear, “If you insist on moving this quickly, it’s only fair to warn you that I didn’t eat breakfast this morning.”
Instead of the admission getting her to slow down, he listened to her breath catch, her heart skip a beat and heard it resume its pattern with a bit of an extra jump.
It aroused her. He could smell it, taste it, hear it; and finally forcing his eyes to meet her, he could see it as well. She didn’t flinch at the sight of his icy eyes, didn’t shudder with revulsion at the feel of his fangs against her tongue as they kissed.
Hesitations scattered to the wind as the pure, unadulterated joy of her acceptance overcame him; the lure of her skin and touch shattering his final resolve to not bite down when he came.
He couldn’t have stopped himself if he tried.
But even then, he couldn’t miss the deliberate tilt of her head as his breathing hitched.
If he didn’t want to, it appeared that she did.
“Mick,” she whispered, her chin tipping again, even as he felt her quickening against him.
As so he did bite her as his final nerves shattered in release. The hot liquor of her blood flowing freely against his tongue, assaulting his nose and melting his nerves into a incomprehensible and useless sensory organ. She sighed and released a small surprised cry; a pleasant surprise as her taste couldn’t overcome the feeling of her body stopping and shuddering in release.
He satisfied his immediate hunger before laving her wound with a willing tongue. The salt of her skin was an intoxicating mix with the iron of her blood - the rarity of her taste only heightening his need to satiate his desire.
It was an intricate mix of desire to feed and desire to feel, something that it appeared, she was willing to fill.
Finally, she relaxed into the overstuffed sofa, the lethargy of their encounter melting her muscles under him into a satiated Beth Turner.
“That,” she started softly, eyes still closed with a small smile tugging on her lips, “was entirely worth the wait.”
Mick’s unrelenting gratitude for her apparent understanding of all of his insecurities took its payment in her lips; a deep, passionate kiss that he hoped relayed every single ounce of appreciation and love that he could feel singing along his bones.
There were still things in his mind that he needed to overcome, but any reservations that he might have had about the romantic aspect of their lives had just died a fiery and complete death in his living room.
/finish
Author: divinejoker
Spoilers: Missing scene for ‘Click’…
Rating: Heavy R
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, not mine; but they seem to be doing an excellent job themselves anyway. I’m making no money, and I’m wasting my own time to do this.
/start
Mick had watched her sleep before. A bright morning only a few months ago, after a brief stint with the Black Crystal had left her dazed and confused Vegas-style. It was one of the only times he had gone to sleep in his freezer with the flat set to stay warm, if not hot. Still, he’d watched her on the couch for a good hour before he’d risen from his chair to make her the coffee.
Today was no different.
One of the benefits of vampire-enhanced abilities was the tendency to make no noise when one felt like it. He’d woken early, not unusual for him and, leaving his freezer, had slipped down the stairs in his bare feet.
She was enshrined on the couch under a down-filled blanket, only the curls of her blonde hair slipping out from under the covers. Her entombment only served to remind him of their differences: he liked the flat to be chilled, however she was still a warm-blooded human and heat for her was nice, if not essential.
He shook his head and turned up the thermostat, the small rush of wind signalling the incoming hot air from the vents. It would take a bit for the entire area to warm up, but till then, he could wait.
Mick settled again on his favourite chair, hands settling comfortably on his lap before he took to truly observing the woman across from him.
He had to admit that there were plenty of women in the world who were pretty; they met or exceeded society’s general guidelines for being above average looking. However, there were few that would meet the ‘beautiful’ standards.
There was a certain amount of ‘je ne sais quois’ that littered the population, and only a select amount of it settled on people who would already have been deemed pretty.
He may have been biased, but he knew that Beth was one of those people. She was pretty in the standard sense: long, blonde hair, startling blue eyes, the symmetry of features that drew others gazes. She was lithe and attractive, and he knew that he wasn’t the only one to think that.
But there was more to it. There was a spark of life in her that made her *real*, and not just another sycophantic peon of society. She paved her own road, fought her own battles and generally stopped along the way to help those in need.
She wasn’t famous, she wasn’t rich; but he would be more than happy to admit that the lack of such celebrity made her all that much more alluring.
His pondering must have taken longer than he thought because she began to stir, a slight shift to the right and the blanket revealed her relaxed face, the realm of slumber still heavily on her. Beth’s eyes shifted under her lids, and a hand rose to brush at a non-existent tickle on her cheek. He smiled at her childish actions, a safe reaction to slumber when he knew that his life and home was anything but that.
He bit his lip. They’d been through this. He knew she was right; that he was the one that was afraid to get hurt, but really, in the end? Wasn’t it more likely to leave him with horrible, crippling regrets when she died anyway? It was inevitable. Even for the brief moment when he considered turning her - at her request only - time would still separate them eventually. Forever might have offered a long time, but circumstances never had bowed to the power of a promise.
He looked at her, her forehead tucked into the crook of her arm as the sunlight began to brush against her skin. Beth was comfortable with him, open to his life and his needs and the first time she saw him as a vampire again, there’d been nothing but acceptance and trust in her eyes.
And when it came right down to it, while time may have allowed him the pleasure of knowing that he’d eventually get over her, did he have the right to dictate how she lived her life because of his fears? He’d never love anyone else while she was alive, young or old, anyway.
And so, decision made for him, he knew that there was only one way for her to wake up this morning.
He moved next to the sofa, a small waft of air bringing her scent to his nose. He inhaled deeply, eyes closing as he savoured both scent and presence. She was here of her own accord and he could only smile at her tenacity.
Mick leaned down over her, one hand on the back of the sofa in support as he kissed her gently on her offered cheek.
“Beth.” He whispered, another kiss pressed to her temple. “Beth, time to wake up.”
“Mmmmm.”
Her hum vibrated along his arm, an alarming sensation that he wasn’t prepared for. She tipped her head towards him, and with his nerves still fired up, kissed her softly on the lips. She responded sleepily.
“Beth, come on.” His voice wasn’t even raised to talking volume, the whispers seeming more accommodating to the still light of the morning.
One eye slipped open and gazed up at him before a lazy smile tickled her lips. He watched as the tip of her tongue wet her sleep dry mouth and, mesmerized, he offered her another caress.
She was a little more pro-active on this one, leaning forward to accept his lips to hers and then even raising a hand to hold him to her. He indulged her sleepy demands, smiling against her in calm acquiescence.
“Good morning,” she murmured, finally surrendering to the end of the kiss. Her eyes slipped closed again as her other arm emerged from her cocoon and stretched cat-like above her head.
He allowed himself to admire the view until he saw that she’d caught him.
He smiled, hopefully his charm would throw off her curiosity as to his morning actions, but this was Beth Turner - BuzzWire reporter. She didn’t know how to say ‘no’ to her curiosity.
“I see that you’re a little less hesitant this morning,” she commented, her fingers finding his resting hand, tugging them towards her as she laced them together. She studied them, turned them, twisted them and pursed her lips as she came to some conclusion.
He took a deep breath, his eyes darting to the corner where the sun was beginning to highlight his kitchen. “Let’s just say that I’ve had somewhat of an epiphany.”
She grinned up at him, using their joined hands as leverage as she pulled herself up to meet him. “Let’s.”
There was no hesitancy now; she’d been waiting for him to make that decision so she wasn’t going to wait any longer.
The heaviness of the blanket wrapped around her legs as she pulled him tighter to her. His body leaned heavily on his supporting arm before tugging at the covering, letting it drop to the floor. As her heart sped up, his sense of smell intensified. He could nearly taste her by breathing her in; his desire to touch her exploding under the lure of her taste. She had worn his shirt to bed, the cotton tails separating tantalizingly high on her thigh, leaving him with a hint of her body beneath. She reached up to him, her hands still tight around his neck as she held him to her, kissing and tasting his explorations with fervour.
Mick shifted again, pulling his legs up and along hers, resting down against her, from toe to chest. She hummed agreeably, the sensation muting the chill of having the blanket fall to the floor. Holding himself on his elbows, his lips traveled along the lines of her jaw, over her cheekbones and lighted on the pink of her lips. She was fresh from sleep, a warm feeling of relaxation mixing with a rising pulse of arousal and Mick could feel as he began to drift apart from himself, a hunger other than desire rising in his chest.
He’d fought the battle before, tried to make the monster sleep while his humanity wandered the wonders of life; but the lure of freedom in her arms was something completely different. It wasn’t a battle of not letting her see, it was a war of not letting himself lose that control. He wanted to prove to himself that he *was* more than a vampire, just like Beth had claimed a few days ago. He rest his forehead against her neck, a deep breath gathering as he concentrated on not succumbing.
Beth brought his world back into stark focus when he warm hands found him, his pants having disappeared in the midst of his concentration. He shuddered, the crack in his focus shattering his control.
The world changed there, as he leaned over her, his eyes changing to take in the slight movement of her pulse beneath her skin, the faint glow of blood against her light skin. The sounds of Beth’s movements were magnified as the faint rasp of cotton against leather echoed in his ears, accompanied by the rhythmic thumping of her heart.
She took advantage of his distraction in his transformation to shift herself and him into a tighter embrace. She’d understood him better than he’d thought, he found now, because she was moving without giving him the benefit of thought.
Maybe it was better that way.
He found himself shockingly aware of her smell as she pulled him into her; there was more than sexual pheromones littering the sweat of her skin. He could have sworn that he was smelling and tasting her emotions, the confidence of her actions as she bound them together for the very first time. He’d never felt remotely this alive before.
He knew that years of celibacy were going to be just as trying on him as if he were human and his voice dropped to whisper in her ear, “If you insist on moving this quickly, it’s only fair to warn you that I didn’t eat breakfast this morning.”
Instead of the admission getting her to slow down, he listened to her breath catch, her heart skip a beat and heard it resume its pattern with a bit of an extra jump.
It aroused her. He could smell it, taste it, hear it; and finally forcing his eyes to meet her, he could see it as well. She didn’t flinch at the sight of his icy eyes, didn’t shudder with revulsion at the feel of his fangs against her tongue as they kissed.
Hesitations scattered to the wind as the pure, unadulterated joy of her acceptance overcame him; the lure of her skin and touch shattering his final resolve to not bite down when he came.
He couldn’t have stopped himself if he tried.
But even then, he couldn’t miss the deliberate tilt of her head as his breathing hitched.
If he didn’t want to, it appeared that she did.
“Mick,” she whispered, her chin tipping again, even as he felt her quickening against him.
As so he did bite her as his final nerves shattered in release. The hot liquor of her blood flowing freely against his tongue, assaulting his nose and melting his nerves into a incomprehensible and useless sensory organ. She sighed and released a small surprised cry; a pleasant surprise as her taste couldn’t overcome the feeling of her body stopping and shuddering in release.
He satisfied his immediate hunger before laving her wound with a willing tongue. The salt of her skin was an intoxicating mix with the iron of her blood - the rarity of her taste only heightening his need to satiate his desire.
It was an intricate mix of desire to feed and desire to feel, something that it appeared, she was willing to fill.
Finally, she relaxed into the overstuffed sofa, the lethargy of their encounter melting her muscles under him into a satiated Beth Turner.
“That,” she started softly, eyes still closed with a small smile tugging on her lips, “was entirely worth the wait.”
Mick’s unrelenting gratitude for her apparent understanding of all of his insecurities took its payment in her lips; a deep, passionate kiss that he hoped relayed every single ounce of appreciation and love that he could feel singing along his bones.
There were still things in his mind that he needed to overcome, but any reservations that he might have had about the romantic aspect of their lives had just died a fiery and complete death in his living room.
/finish