Title: Happy Valentine's Day, Mick
Author: KatieTaylor
Written: 10 February 2008
Characters: MickBeth
Rating: T

Notes: This was inspired by the episode of Angel when he turns human, as well as the episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation when Deanna Troi is describing her hot fudge ice cream. ;)

Spoilers: The Mortal Cure
Summary: Mick's still human and Beth decides to pay him a visit on Valentine's Day.

Legal disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine. Don't sue!

Author disclaimer: I personally don't like chocolate, and I dropped out of chemistry so I wouldn't be surprised if I've completely got my facts wrong.

Today was Valentine's Day. It was just less than a month since Josh had died. Beth, however, wasn't thinking about Josh, despite what she was sure everyone else assumed. Mick was still human. They had spent some time together since the funeral, although not as much as she would have liked. Between dealing with Josh's affairs and then getting back into the swing of things at work, she'd been quite busy.

Mick had sounded happy at his new found humanity when she had first seen him the day of the funeral, but in the times she had seen him since she didn't get the same feeling. She wondered if the novelty had worn off so quickly; or if he just wasn't enjoying it as much as he thought he would. That was entirely possible; he had stubbornly refused to go to the hospital so his injuries weren't healing as quickly as they should – even for a human. He had also bashfully admitted to his take-out frenzy that first night. Since then, surprise, surprise, he hadn't enjoyed food quite as much as he thought he would. But Beth had a plan that should help cheer him up – for the day at least. She hoped he would remember it long after he forgot the taste of Mussou's prime rib.

Arriving at his flat, Beth knocked on the door and waited semi-patiently for Mick to answer. When he did, his eyes swept over her, taking in her appearance, and raised an eyebrow. He moved aside to allow her to enter, and as she did, she pulled on the tie of her black trench coat. She slid it off – to reveal a blood red spaghetti strap dress that dipped low and showed a lot of leg – and placed it with her oversized purse on the end of the couch, taking in the rumpled brown blanket.

"No wonder you're not fully enjoying your new human body. Waking up with back ache for a month would depress me, too." She turned back to face him, but instead of answering her, he was just staring at her. She smirked.

"Mick, why don't you get yourself a bed and enjoy the time you have left in comfort?"

"Huh?" He shook his head and met her eyes. "Oh, well, what's the point? I'll be a vampire again soon and then what do I need a bed for?"

"Well, you could always sell said unneeded bed, or donate it to charity. Or…keep it around, you know, just in case." That elicited the patented St. John eyebrow raise.

"'Just in case' of what?" She smiled at him, and moved to stand in front of him. Her sultry voice and breath against his next was heaven.

"You never know when one might unexpectedly have need of a bed." She was so very close to him. It was like there was no space between… Mick suddenly got a terrible sense of déjà vu.

"Beth, you haven't taken anymore of that BC, have you?" She moved away from him, still smiling.

"pfft. Of course not. Besides I wouldn't do it while you were still human. I don't think either of us would be able to fully appreciate its effects until you're vamp again." Another quirk of the eyebrow. "Mick, do you know what day it is?" Confused at the abrupt change in topic, he furrowed his brown, trying to think.

"Uh, Thursday?" She cocked her head to one side.

"Well, yes. But most importantly, it's Valentine's Day!" She took his hand and, walking backwards, led him to the couch and lightly pushed him down into it. She followed him down, sitting so impossibly close he was surprised she wasn't actually in his lap.

"Beth, what's gotten into you?" Mick was certain she had to have taken some of that BC.

"Are you complaining?"

"Well, no, but…"

"You're human. We don't know how long you're going to be human and unfortunately you have the worse timing on the planet because you chose the most cheesy, commercial, non-holiday of the year to be human for. Therefore, as it may be your only one, we still must celebrate." His brow furrowed. He turned to face her, resting his arm on the back of the couch and propping his head in his hand.

"I thought women liked Valentine's Day."

"Oh sure, if you've got a boyfriend – a good boyfriend, Valentine's Day isn't too bad. The rest of us hate it." Their eyes locked and Mick trailed a finger down the side of her face.

"Well, what do you have planned?" He saw a flicker of something in her eyes and had a sudden urge to kiss her. He moved in slightly to capture her lips.

"Mmm. Chocolate!"

"Huh?" She turned and pulled a box out of her large purse.

"I thought, seeing as you're human and Valentine's Day is the king of chocolate holidays, I'd introduce you to chocolate." Mick chuckled.

"Beth, I've been human for a month. I have had chocolate. I also remember chocolate from back in the day." She looked at him as if he'd grown two heads.

"Mick, I'm not talking about some crappy factory made hint-o-chocolate candy bar. I'm talking about the best hand-made Swiss chocolate money can buy." She held up the box. "THIS chocolate is better than sex. Can't say that about a Hershey bar." She took in his incredulous expression. Mick was certain he'd be able be able to prove that theory wrong, but kept the thought to himself "Okay, so maybe it depends on who you're having sex with… it's better than any sex I've ever had." .

"Well, it sounds like you will have to convince me of this, Beth." She winked at him and started opening the box.

"Well, for starters, chocolate isn't so much a food as it is a drug. The Aztecs invented chocolate and used it to get drunk. It gave them a tremendous high and was only for the most elite citizens. Did you know the best chocolate has something like 300 different chemicals in it?" She took out two small foil-wrapped pieces and handed one to Mick. He looked at it for a moment before unwrapping it and popping it into his mouth. A few quick chews and it was down his throat.

"Hey, that really was the best chocolate I've ever tasted. Can I have another piece?" Beth couldn't form words for a moment. "What?"

"If you're going to eat it like that, I'll get you one of those Hershey bars. This is the type of chocolate you savour." She slowly opened the wrapping on the piece she had kept for herself. Wrapping the foil around the bottom of the delicacy, she bit into it, taking half into her mouth, careful not to lose one delicious crumb. Mick watched her close her eyes as the chocolate started to melt in her mouth. Beth couldn't help the moan that escaped as she worked the piece – very slowly – in her mouth. When every hint of the chocolate was gone she slowly opened her eyes to find him still staring at her, mouth hanging open. She winked at him.

"Just like anything else, there are different types of chocolate. I've come to the conclusion that I prefer it dark and intense as opposed to light and sweet." Not knowing whether she was talking about chocolate or…something else, Mick filed that piece of information away for later use. For the first time in a month – maybe decades – he actually wished he were a vampire so he could use the heighten senses.

Beth removed the foil from the remainder of the chocolate she held in her hand and raised it to his lips. The hand his head rested on shot down to hold her wrist and she watched as his tongue snaked out to grab the morsel. He didn't release her until he was certain her fingers had been licked clean of every trace.

Beth returned to her lecture, but her carefully planned and researched scientific explanations were quickly going out the window as she watched Mick's mouth work the chocolate… She wondered briefly how that mouth would feel as it worked her… "Some of the chemicals in chocolate cause the release of endorphins which lessens pain, decrease stress, and are also released during sex; and dopamine which makes you want to have sex. Other chemicals just plain make you feel fantastic." Suddenly she felt the need to compare the taste of the chocolate straight from the wrapper to the taste of chocolate from the mouth of Mick St. John.

"So, how did that piece taste?" she asked him.

"Tasted pretty damn good. But it's still not better than sex." And she had a pretty good feeling that chocolate would definitely NOT be better than sex with Mick. She pulled his head closer and kissed him, tongue searching for the leftover taste of chocolate in his mouth. He quickly returned the kiss and ran a hand up her arm.

And then her phone buzzed at her.

Cursing under her breath, she broke away and reached into her purse to retrieve the offending device. It was Mo. Some Valentine's Day murder was waiting to be covered by Buzzwire's top crime reporter. Probably for the best, if she stayed much longer things would start happening that most definitely hadn't been in her plan.

"Well, duty calls I guess." Beth handed the box of chocolates over. She kissed his cheek, gathered her things and headed for the door. She slipped out the door but not before a quick look back to the couch.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Mick."