Title: A Quick 'Nip
Author: rijane
Rating: K
Summary: A complete bit of cheesy fluff that just wouldn't leave me be until I wrote it down (seriously, I spent innings 7 and 8 at the Indians/Yankees game thinking about this - nine was spent rejoicing over the well-fought Tribe victory).
Forgive me for my silliness. I'll go back to "See Me" shortly here.
Dedication: To Tanya, delightful Jason Dohring devotee who doesn't dig the angst ;)
Spoilers: Not to long after "Fated to Pretend"
"Don't move," Mick's whisper came from the dim recesses of his living room before Josef could take a step inside. The wash of light from the hallway vanished with the click of the door. The only light came from the city nightscape shining through Mick's windows.
Josef paused, sniffing the air for signs of blood, a struggle, enemies. He could see Mick's motionless form bent over his couch, kneeling and his chest flat on the seat, an arm curled awkwardly near a furry lump in the corner.
"What is that smell?"
"Shhh!"
"Is that... fur? And tuna?" Josef whispered.
"And catnip. Lots and lots of catnip. Be quiet."
The two stood in silence as Mick edged his hand closer and closer to the lump. He left his fingers within smelling distance of the pert little nose. A tail twitched and Mick tensed. But the little body didn't move. He closed the distance with a self-imposed lethargy.
His fingertips brushed against the fur, stroking from between the eyes back to the now-still tail. He repeated the motion. Again. Josef could see a slight smile on Mick's face. The first he'd seen since the night they'd dealt with Anders. His best friend was smiling, laying prostrate on the couch, petting a cat.
The gentle rumble of a purr filled Josef's ears. A laugh erupted from Josef and said cat rose, hissed and darted off into the furthest reaches of the apartment.
"Damn it, Josef!" Mick rose and snapped the lights on.
"Mick, what the hell are you doing?" Josef moved to the kitchen and pour two glasses. The room reeked of tuna fish. Mick's normally pristine counters were spotted with pawprints.
"Trying to tame the savage beast."
"Yours or its?" Josef handed his friend a glass. In the living room, it was worse. Cat hair had settled on every available surface. Green flecks of catnip were scattered in Mick's hair, all over his clothes. He reeked of the herb.
"His name is Travis and thanks to you he's back in the bathtub," Mick sighed. "It took me an hour to get him to the couch."
"Why, Mick, I didn't know you were a cat person," Josef considered settling on the couch, but the sheer amount of cat hair and cat nip kept him standing. No freshies here to lint roll his suit.
"I'm not. Well, I was. For a very brief time," he had the melancholy expression that Josef had learned to associate with Mick's brief stint as a human. "I just thought maybe, since he'd seen me before, I could be again."
"So you got a cat when you were human?"
"No, he belonged to Maureen," Mick would have blushed if he could. He took a nervous sip of the blood Josef had handed him. "We found him at her apartment and Beth's been hanging onto him while she looked for a permanent home. But Beth's landlord found out about Travis this morning and she had to get him out of there fast. She asked me to watch him while she did an interview at City Hall. And then she had a live feed from that reality show audition downtown. The crazy people with the singing."
"And Beth naturally thought, 'Mick St. John: Vampire Cat-sitter?'" Josef moved to the kitchen for a refill.
"Marissa is allergic. Steve's girlfriend said no. Lou will get evicted if her landlord catches her with another pet," Mick ticked off the options that Beth had clearly listed for him. "And between me and her job, the only other people she's seen in weeks are vampires."
"Ah."
"And I just thought. ... He knows my smell from when I was human, maybe he'd remember," Mick brushed at the coating of cat hair on the couch.
"And you decided a pound or two of catnip would help jog his memory?"
"Hey, it worked. He let me pet him. Until you got here."
"Sure, Dr. Doolittle."
"What do you want, Josef? Other than to give me grief?"
"Just checking on my little fledgling."
"Don't call me that."
"Cranky, cranky," Josef reached into his pocket. "Will a present make you feel better? Or do you just need a nap?"
Mick didn't answer, instead he pulled a lint roller from a hidden area of the bookshelf. He busied himself with cleaning the piles of fur from the couch.
"Here," Josef threw a stack of tickets on the table. "I thought since you and Beth were trying to 'figure it out,' you could do it some place fun. These are the freebies my assistance received for the week. Pick one. Leave your apartment. For social reasons. Not blood or case related. With Beth."
"Thanks," Mick sifted through the pile.
"Get laid, man, that's thanks enough," Josef headed toward the door. "Are you in for a round of golf Sunday?"
"Sure. Be ready to pony up that case of A positive," Mick moved to the stretch of cat hair on the rug.
"I'll let you get back to your pussy cat."
"Good night, Josef." When the door closed, Mick dropped the lint roller and headed to the bathroom in his most non-predatory gait.
"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty..."