Chapter 9
"Mick" Josef prodded Mick's still sleeping prone form on the bed, "Mick, come on wake up. I need you up and dressed."
"Why, what's the time" Mick stifled a yawn and opened his eyes, blinking the sleep from them at the same time, "I thought we weren't leaving until this evening?"
"We're not, but I want to spend some private time with Father Patrick before we leave and I need you to keep an eye on Katherine and Roisin." Josef replied matter of fact and tried to offer a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders, although the overly rigid posture he was holding himself in belied his level of concern.
"You think we have something to be worried about?" Mick asked and then looked slightly surprised as it finally registered with him that Josef was dressed in his vestments.
"Hopefully not," Josef replied, again trying to look as casual and unaffected as possible, "but I'm sure word would have gotten around by now, so why take the chance." He paused then and arched an eyebrow, giving Mick a slightly knowing smile as he followed up with the word "No."
"Josef, it's alright I think you managed to get that out of my system last night, for a while at least" he quickly added with a cheeky grin and a raise of one eyebrow, laughing to himself at the same time as he stood up and walked around to the other side of the bed to say a proper good morning to Josef. "I still think you look hot in though" he whispered to him half teasingly, as he wrapped his arms around Josef's waist and planted a quick kiss on his lips.
"I'll buy a costume for you when we get home." Josef leaned back for a moment and regarded Mick's face with a half suggestive raise of an eyebrow and a slightly cheeky grin of his own, before he returned Mick's kiss and then disentangled himself from his embrace, instructing him with another quick kiss to "go have a shower and get dressed", feeling Mick reach down and take his hand in his for a moment, before he turned to walk away. "Wait" Josef called out after his retreating form and grabbed his hand to draw Mick back towards him. "I just wanted to say thank you." he said, as he smiled and draped his arms around Mick's neck.
"What for?"
"For putting up with me these last few months," Josef held up a hand in front of Mick's face to stop what he sensed was Mick's planned protest of 'it doesn't matter'. "I know I haven't been easy to live with, Mick." He told him then, a slightly awkward note of contrition in his voice.
"Josef, it's ok," Mick laughed and kissed him once again, "I forgive you." Mick hesitated for a moment and then grinned at him conspiratorially. "I'll let you in on a little secret" he said, as he bent his lips to Josef's ear and whispered, "I'm kind of in love with you."
"Really?" Josef replied half sarcastically with mock tones of 'gee Mick you don't say' and then placed his own lips against Mick's ear and whispered back to him, "I kind of feel the same way," pausing for a moment before he added the word, "husband," and then laughing when he saw Mick reel back in his arms and give him a sideways pointed look of surprise. "Don't get any ideas" he half snorted then and returned the same slightly pointed look Mick was giving him, "you're still not allowed to call me that."
"No, of course not Josef" Mick rolled his eyes and scoffed with mock tones of understanding, "You do have a reputation to protect after all, can't have your image ruined by anyone possibly thinking you sound like prize breeding cattle" he finished with a sarcastic smile.
"Exactly, Mick" Josef quipped back at him cheekily, "thanks for being so understanding, you just give me more and more reasons to love you everyday. Now go have a shower and get dressed" he instructed him once again, the tone of his voice softer as he gave Mick one final kiss and then gently pushed him away.
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"So when are you leaving?" Father Patrick asked Josef as they wandered the courtyard gardens of the Church together.
"Later this evening, the plane's set to fly out at 7 pm."
Father Patrick smiled and nodded his understanding, then took a seat on one of the stone benches along the path they were walking and gestured for Josef to sit next to him.
"So have you found what you came here to look for?" he asked him then, regarding Josef with a gentle smile even as he raised an eyebrow ever so slightly in a hint of challenge.
"Well considering I didn't really know exactly what I was looking for in the first place," Josef replied matter of fact, "that's hard for me to say", he paused for a moment, searching for the right words before he added, "let's just say I've come to an understanding at least and leave it at that."
"Fair enough" Father Patrick replied with another understanding nod and then patted Josef's hand next to his affectionately, "I'm going to miss you, you know."
"Likewise." Josef replied simply.
"You and Mick" Father Patrick added with a slightly pointed smile and patted Josef's hand briefly once again.
"I've been meaning to ask you about that" Josef started to say and then laughed and shook his head when he saw the old Priest staring at him with an expression of 'my God dear boy, what on earth do you expect me to be able to tell you that you don't already know after spending fifty years with the man'. "No nothing like that" Josef laughed again and waved a slightly dismissive hand in the air in front of him, "You just seem very accepting of my relationship with Mick, more so than what I would expect from a man of your position."
"Ah" Father Patrick smiled knowingly and then reached into the side pocket of his robes and pulled out the small photograph he carried with him, "I was wondering when you'd bring this up. My son" he said with an almost wistful tone of tenderness and regret, as he handed the picture to Josef. "The result of a misspent youth before I joined the Priesthood," he quickly explained when he saw the quizzical look on Josef's face. "My son was g…" he stopped himself before he said the word and offered Josef a slightly apologetic look before continuing on. "My son", he repeated, "was in a relationship with another man and I was far from tolerant when it came to his choice of gender in a partner. I wasn't always so understanding of these things you see."
"You said he was in a relationship" Josef interrupted Father Patrick's flow of speech momentarily, "what happened?"
"He died," the old Priest replied after a moment's hesitation to gather his thoughts, the words coming out with a distinctly bitter edge borne out of the memory of regrets long past, "bashed to death on the streets I threw him out onto because I was too pigheaded and full of my own spiritual self indulgence to see their is still validity with love in any form. I swore I would never treat another human being or anyone for that matter,"he quickly added, "in such a deplorable manner again."
"Wow" was all Josef could think to say in response as Father Patrick very carefully extracted the picture of his son from Josef's fingers and placed it back into the pocket of his vestments.
"Why, Josef Kostan," Father Patrick smiled then and regarded Josef with an expression of faux surprise, "I do believe I've managed to render you speechless. Should I perhaps consider that an achievement?"
"Probably" Josef laughed in reply and then fell into an easy silence alongside the old Priest, spending a few moments next to him in quiet contemplation, before he broke the stillness between them and turned to Father Patrick to ask, "Will you take my confession, Father?"
Josef laughed once again and shook his head when he saw the more than slightly overwhelmed expression that had fallen over Father Patrick's features. "I do realise we may be here a while," he half quipped to him, then asked more seriously, "Do you mind?"
Father Patrick took a moment to process the enormity of what Josef was requesting of him and then smiled and stated with gentle simplicity, "Of course not," and gestured for Josef to go ahead.
"Bless me Father for I have sinned" Josef began slowly, before pausing for a moment and then continuing on. "It has been four hundred and twenty eight years since my last confession."
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"Are you ready to go?"
Mick looked up to see Josef walking towards him and Katherine, Father Patrick following closely behind looking decidedly pale, his body slightly stooped and rigid as if he were struggling under the weight of a burden and trying not to let it show. Beyond that Mick sensed an almost beatific air of acceptance and understanding in the old Priest. He wondered for a moment exactly what Josef and he had discussed in those final hours they had spent along together, out in the courtyard gardens of the Church. He decided whatever it was it was private; Josef would tell him in his own time if he wished to do so.
"Yeah, sure" Mick smiled and nodded casually as he stood up and walked over to Josef, placing his arms around Josef's neck and greeting him with a brief kiss. "Did you get to finish whatever it was you needed to do before?" he asked Josef then and felt a momentary twinge of jealousy when he saw the unspoken look of understanding that passed between Josef and the old Priest. There were simply some things he and Josef would never be able to fully share with one another, the experience of life as a Priest, past or present, was one of them. Despite his one hundred and thirty eight years of age, Mick suddenly felt very young and inexperienced. He pushed such thoughts to the back of his mind and smiled again when Josef replied with a simple "Yes" and leaned in to return his kiss.
"Well I suppose this is goodbye." Josef disengaged himself from Mick's arms and turned to Father Patrick, indicating the suitcases next to where Katherine was seated with a sleeping Roisin cradled in her arms.
"It certainly seems that way" Father Patrick gave a brief laugh and then walked over to where Josef stood, "You take care of yourself, Josef Kostan," he told him, smiling gently as he took one of Josef's hands in his and held it for a moment.
"You too" Josef replied simply and gave the old Priests hand a brief squeeze, "Dominus tecum" he told Father Patrick then, holding the Priests gaze with his own for a moment.
"Et cum spiritu tuo" Father Patrick replied and once again Mick felt a momentary twinge of jealousy pass through him at the sense of casual ease that seemed to flow between the old Priest and Josef.
If Josef noticed Mick's sudden irrational jealousy he didn't give any indication as he quickly said a final goodbye to Father Patrick, thanking him once again for everything he had done, and then walked back over to Mick. Speaking a gentle command of, "Come on, let's go home," he took Mick's hand in his and lead the both of them out to the Taxi that was waiting to take them to the airport, with Katherine and Roisin following closely behind.
"Our suitcases are inside." Josef instructed the driver outside, rolling his eyes and letting out a slight huff of annoyance when the driver didn't immediately jump to his command. Reaching into his pocket he quickly extracted a twenty dollar note from his wallet and waved it in front of the driver's face, giving him a pointed look and a smile that said, "today, thank you" at the same time, smiling to himself with satisfaction when he saw the driver take the money from his hand and turn to obey his instruction.
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The ride to the airport was spent in relative silence, Mick curled in Josef's lap, head tucked into his shoulder in an almost childlike pose and Katherine couldn't help but note to herself that if she didn't know any better she could have sworn they almost looked like father and son.
Mick broke the silence once, looking up at Josef and asking in far more plaintive voice than what he had intended, "Do you think Beth is going to be ok?"
"I don't know" Josef replied, absentmindedly caressing the side of Mick's face with his fingers, "I hope so," he added and pressed his lips against the top of Mick's head, brushing a few stray strands of hair from his forehead at the same time.
They fell silent again after that, Josef continuing to brush a nonchalant hand along the side of Mick's face as he stared out the window of the Taxi and watched the streets and fields of Galway roll by, until they reached their final destination.
They arrived at the airport earlier than their scheduled departure time. Rather than boarding the plane immediately they decided to wait out the remaining time in one of the airport's small cafeteria's, giving Katherine a chance to have something to eat before their flight back to Salzburg.
It was a mistake. Each distracted by their own private concerns and musings, neither of them saw what was coming until it was too late.
Snapshots of memory. A figure in black moving far too fast to be human. The flash of a gun barrel. The soft metallic click of the trigger being drawn back. The smell of cordite lingering in the air. An infant's screams as a spray of warm crimson fluid splashes across its tiny face. Pain, so much pain radiating from such an insignificant hole.
"Whatever happens, I don't want to die, ok?"
Hands, strong hands lifting her carrying her into a secluded corner. Voices, Mick's voice then Josef's.
"Josef. No"
"Mick, she'll die if I don't"
Hesitation, then a quick nod and a voice, Mick's voice again, drifting up out of the enveloping blackness, tinged with reluctant acceptance.
"Ok."
A sharp pain giving way to euphoria, fangs piercing flesh, a sudden rush of emotion swept along on a tidal wave of blood. A voice, Josef's voice this time, urging her to,
"Drink."
Lips being pressed against a bloody wound, the salty liquid flowing into her mouth. Awakening.
And then it was done.
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"Mick." The tone of Josef's voice was low and urgent, as he glared at Mick pointedly and told him to "hurry up and fetch some of the blood bags out of the suitcase", gritting his teeth and hissing sharply, "Mick, don't just stand there, for fucksake," when Mick was slow to respond.
"One of the Vamps working with Brogan?" Mick asked, as he returned to Josef's side carrying two bags of A negative blood, watching with trepidation as Josef quickly squeezed the contents of first one, then the other down Katherine's throat.
"I don't know" Josef replied distractedly, "probably."
Katherine parted her lips to let out a snarl then and Josef quickly clamped his hand over her mouth and growled a low warning of, "Not here," hurriedly adding, "We've attracted too much attention already," before turning to Mick and instructing him to "fetch Roisin and our suitcases and then help me get her onto the plane" gesturing his head towards the newly turned Vampire in his arms.
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"How are you feeling?" Josef tried to keep the tone of his voice light as he placed Katherine into her seat on the plane and fastened her seatbelt, pulling the strap tight across her body. He knew of course that she could easily breakout of the restraint if she wanted to, but counted on her not yet realising exactly what new strength she now possessed. Even so he was keeping a close eye on her.
"Alive" Katherine replied after struggling for a moment to find the right words, "and thirsty" she added in a half strangled whisper, "What happened?"
"You were shot" Josef smiled at her matter of fact, still keeping his tone as casual as possible, "and you're thirsty because you need to feed more often when you're newly turned. I'll get you some blood." He smiled again, more affectionately this time, reaching over to place a reassuring hand on Katherine's arm before excusing himself and heading into the plane's small well stocked kitchen to fetch some liquid refreshment for the both of them.
"So what happens now?" Mick asked as he got up from his own seat and followed Josef into the kitchen area of the plane, his tone slightly demanding and tinged with more than a hint of concern.
"What do you mean what happens now?" Josef turned to face Mick, cocking his head to one side and regarding him with a slightly bemused expression. "What do you think happens? We go home, we show her the ropes." He shrugged and gestured to indicate that Mick ought to know this already and why was he expected to explain it to him all again.
"As simple as that is it Josef." Mick took a step back and folded his arms across his chest, offering an almost challenging smirk in reply. "And I suppose you'll be dividing your time between the two of us now and I'm expected to just be happy about that," he finished with a pointed look.
"She's my fledgling now Mick, of course I need to spend time with her" Josef had been about to say, in a more than slightly cutting tone of annoyance, but stopped short when it dawned on him that Mick was thinking back to the past and a time when Josef turning him had meant a whole new slew of feelings to deal with and the start of a relationship between them.
"Mick, no it's nothing like that." Josef moved to reassure Mick then, reaching up a hand to the side of his face and holding his gaze with his own for a moment, "She's family, she might be several generations removed family," he remarked with a slight laugh at what he perceived to be the ever present strangeness of the overall situation, "but nonetheless she is still family and it doesn't work that way on family members" he shifted his hand to stroke the back of Mick's neck, arching an eyebrow and adding with a pointed smile, "not like it does on non family members. Ok?"
"Yeah, ok." Mick finally agreed after a lengthy pause, letting out a reluctant sigh of breath and averting his eyes.
"Mick?" Josef's voice was firmer this time, as he wrapped his arms around Mick's neck and offered him another pointed smile, "Ok?"
"Yeah, ok" Mick repeated back to him hurriedly, the slightest huff of annoyance in his voice as he rolled his eyes and then gave Josef a pointed look of his own to "please just drop it", beginning to regret ever bringing the subject up in the first place.
Josef hesitated for a moment and then pressed his lips to Mick's ear, whispering to him "and don't think I didn't notice your little display back at the Church, before." He felt Mick tense then and pull away from him slightly. Taking a step back he held Mick at arm's length and searched his face. "Care to tell me about it?" he asked, tilting his head to one side and looking at Mick with probing concern
"It's just…" Mick's hands reached up to grip the back of Josef's head then as he pressed his forehead against his and let out a sigh of breath, all traces of annoyance washed away by Josef's obvious concern for him. "It's just…I don't know, it doesn't matter," he finished with the smallest depricating laugh and then pressed his lips against Josef's and gave him a brief, tender kiss.
They stayed like that for a few moments; heads rested together, breathing in each other's scent until Josef broke the silence and told Mick gently, "putting your energy into creating irrational negative emotions isn't going to change what's happened with Beth."
"I know," Mick's voice was barely above a whisper as he swallowed nervously and felt the back of Josef's hand brush the side of his face.
"Come on," Josef said then, pulling away from the embrace, "I can't leave Katherine unattended for too long." He paused for a brief moment and then leaned in and gave Mick another quick kiss, whispering to him "I love you, you know that," before taking Mick's hand and leading the both of them back to their respective seats.
Mick watched as Josef took his seat back next to Katherine, watching him smiling at her proudly and listening as Josef began to explain to her some of the basics of Vampire life. He noted to himself how accepting Katherine appeared regarding her sudden, and complete, irrevocable change of circumstance, not even raising the slightest hint of protest when Josef had to gently break it to her that Roisin was sleeping in another area of the plane and it would be wise for Katherine not to be near her just now.
She seemed to be taking everything completely in her stride and the more Mick watched as Josef smiled and fawned over her like a proud father and the more he listened as Katherine nodded and smiled without question at everything Josef was telling her, the more he thought about Beth and the bitterness in her voice when she had told him how she hated what he had made her.
And he felt the familiar waves of guilt washing over him.
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"Take her upstairs to our room," Josef instructed Mick, carrying their suitcases through the door and gesturing to the squirming bundle in Mick's arms. "Get her settled and then come back down. We're dining in tonight."
Mick hesitated for a moment, his hand resting on the banister of the staircase, and then turned to face Josef; head tilted slightly, one eyebrow arched in a question.
"What?" Josef shook his head and then offered Mick an open palm shrug in reply, "Katherine needs to feed properly, Mick. Fledglings can't exist on store bought blood alone." He finished off with a pointed look and watched as Mick looked away then raised his eyes skyward for a moment and let out a reluctant sigh of acceptance.
What Mick wanted at that point was just to go upstairs and spend sometime alone, with Josef. The flight home had taken longer than expected, bad weather had meant an unscheduled change in flight path, in short they had flown the scenic route home, and Mick was more than a little tired and out of sorts. Nevertheless he knew Josef was right, Katherine needed to feed properly and truthfully he could probably do with a decent feed from an open vein himself.
Mick lowered his gaze back to Josef's and smiled, more agreeably this time, hurriedly telling him to "Go ahead and make the call, I'll be down in a minute," before turning away again and starting to mount the stairs to the second level of the house where the bedroom was situated, the now sleeping infant Roisin, nestled snugly in the crook of his arm.
Josef watched after Mick's retreating form for a moment and then turned back to Katherine.
"Mick can look after her," he quickly moved to reassure Katherine when he saw the forlorn look on her face as she watched Mick carrying her baby daughter up the stairs and away from her, her lips parting slightly and one arm half raised as if she meant to call out after them. "We've spoken about this," Josef added matter of fact, placing a fatherly arm around Katherine's shoulder at the same time.
"I know it's just…" Katherine let her voice trail off as she waved a hand through the air as if the gesture would complete the sentence for her.
Josef gave Katherine's shoulder a reassuring squeeze and then leaned in to plant a quick affectionate kiss on the side of the face, eliciting a slightly embarrassed smile from her lips.
"Come on" he stated somewhat cheerfully then, as he manoeuvred her over to the lounge and sat her down before walking over to pick up the cordless phone in the corner of the room, "let's get some decent blood into you."
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The freshie, Darla or was it Darlene, Josef hadn't been paying that much attention when she introduced herself at the front door, was definitely the wrong side of forty. Still she came highly recommended by the agency they had procured her from as properly experienced enough to handle a fledgling Vampire's first time.
Tottering inside on heels that were far too high for her five foot nothing frame, she sauntered over to where Josef stood and stuck out one overly manicured, bubble gum pink nailed hand and cleared her throat.
"Fifty dollars thanks darl…each" she rasped in a voice that sounded like it had spent one too many wasted nights in smoke filled rooms, "and I don't do no kinky three way shit either," she added, looking around the room with a pointed raise of an eyebrow.
"Believe me my dear," Josef replied in tones of exceedingly false politeness, as he made a slight bow and then offered a sarcastically charming smile, "we wouldn't dream of touching you in that way."
"Oh a wise guy hey" Darla rolled her eyes and scoffed at Josef, letting him know she had his measure, "I've met your sort before, many times. You didn't impress me then and you don't impress me now."
"What? You've met a lot of four hundred year and fifty eight year old Vampires in your time then have you?" Josef quipped back in reply.
"Four hundred?-"
"- and fifty eight. Yes"
Darla took a step back and regarded the Vampire standing in front of her with a quick nod and a smile to indicate that, 'yes indeed now you have managed to impress me', before taking the money being offered to her from Josef's outstretched hand and quickly tucking it into her left boot.
Giving Josef a quick business like nod of thanks, she took a few steps towards the lounge and sat down next to Katherine. Reclining back in the seat with an air of old world charm that belied her brash exterior, she extended her arm out towards the fledgling Vampire with an inviting smile.
The agency was right, she certainly did look experienced enough to put even the most nervous of first time fledglings at ease and even Josef had to admit a kind of grudging respect for her. Her confidence and seeming ability to project a kind of gentle reassurance, despite her rather gruff and garish outward appearance, was almost alluring in way. Josef figured, quite rightly, beneath the layers of powder and paint she had probably been considered a great beauty by mortal standards, at least at one time or another.
Mick sat at the opposite end of the couch and looked on as Josef knelt beside Katherine and quickly instructed her on the finer points of freshie feeding.
"Now remember." Mick could hear Josef telling Katherine, whilst she smiled and nodded and drank in his every word, "you want to bite hard enough to draw a good flow of blood, but not so hard as to tear chunks of flesh away and risk having your freshie bleed to death. We do actually want our willing freshies to remain 'willing freshies' and besides, calls to The Cleaners are a hassle at best."
Holding Katherine's hair out the way with one hand, Josef carefully lifted Darla's arm up towards Katherine's lips with the other. Supporting the weight of Darla's arm in midair, ready for Katherine to bite into, Josef looked on and smiled his approval when Katherine obeyed his instructions on correct feeding technique almost to the letter.
As he watched his fledgling take her first drink from a mortal's vein, Josef couldn't help but note that apart from a barely perceptible hitch in the rhythm of her breathing the moment Katherine's fangs first pierced her flesh; Darla had shown very little reaction to the bite. Knowing a freshie's reaction to the initial bite could make or break a first time experience for a newly turned Vamp; once again he had to admit a kind of grudging admiration for how well Darla seemed to be handling the whole experience.
Josef let Katherine take Darla's arm from him then, still holding her hair out the way for her and occasionally sweeping a few stray drops of blood up with one finger as he continued to smile his approval and speak soft words of encouragement in his fledgling's ear. It was almost the perfect chocolate box scene of domestic harmony, if chocolate was marketed to Vampires that is, and suddenly Mick felt more than a little left out.
Clearing his throat and waiting for Josef's gaze to meet his, Mick gave a slightly pointed look and then smiled to himself when Josef immediately scurried over to his side.
"She's doing well isn't she" Josef announced proudly as he wrapped his arms around Mick's waist and gave him a quick, affectionate kiss.
"She is", Mick smiled and nodded, stifling a laugh at the same time and then quickly tongue in cheek quipped, "you must be so proud."
"Oh I am." Josef rolled his eyes and smirked at Mick in reply, then nuzzled his forehead against the side of Mick's face for a moment and whispered. "Feed with me"
This time it was Katherine's turn to feel like the proverbial fifth wheel, as she lifted her eyes and watched them engage in an almost courtship ritual of feeding, snarling and purring softly at one another as they each fed from their respective positions on Darla's arms. They paused every now and then to lick the traces of blood from each others lips and fangs, mouths locked together and fingers stroking the back of each others neck tenderly as they fed, kissed, fed, kissed.
The more Katherine looked on, the more she began to get the distinct feeling that she was somehow interrupting something deeply personal and intimate. This time it was her turn to clear her throat pointedly, removing her own fangs from Darla's arm and waiting for a response.
Slowly managing to pull themselves away from the shared pleasure of feeding, Josef and Mick quickly exchanged pointed looks of their own as they heard Katherine announce with quiet embarrassment, that she thought she might have had enough for the evening.
The look was unmistakable, a heated exchange of glances summed up in two words, "Bedroom. Now."
Josef, despite his rather brisk manner, now acted the very image of the perfect gentleman, in complete contrast to his previous behaviour, as he pressed an extra fifty dollar note into the palm of Darla's hand and quickly ushered her out the door.
"We're um…I mean Mick and I are just going to ah…we'll be upstairs," Josef turned to Katherine and finally managed to stammer out, taking Mick by the hand and backing towards the staircase.
"It's ok, go ahead and have fun." Katherine laughed and waved a dismissive hand through the air in front of her and then smiled to herself as she watched after them. Both turning away without saying another word and somehow managing to orchestrate climbing the stairs, two by two, with legs and arms entwined and mouths already locked together.
Reaching the landing at the top of the staircase, Mick quickly tried to manoeuvre Josef down the short corridor and into their bedroom. Josef halted his attempt mid stride, muttering a hurried explanation of "Not in there, Roisin's asleep" before dragging him into the drawing room instead.
Kicking the door shut behind them, Josef pressed Mick against the left hand sidewall of the room and snarled into his mouth as he pressed his lips against Mick's and clawed deftly at buttons and zippers, quickly relieving Mick of his various layers of clothing.
They parted briefly, just enough time to allow Josef to strip out of his own clothing, before coming back together just as quickly in a heated, snarling clash of torsos and fangs.
"I love you." Josef panted into the side of Mick's neck as he smothered his throat with hot wet kisses and nipped at the sensitive skin there with his fangs.
"Ditto." Mick managed to half mumble in reply, just before Josef sank to his knees in front of him and grabbed hold of his erection, moistening his lips with saliva before wrapping them around the head of Mick's cock and taking him into his mouth.
"Fuck" Mick hissed under his breath through gritted fangs, his hands gripping the back of Josef's head, fingers tangling through his hair as he tried to guide the pace a little and Josef continued to work his lips and tongue expertly over the length of him.
When Josef used two fingers of his other hand to press firmly against Mick's perineum at the same time; however, Mick knew he had to call a halt to proceedings or risk slipping over the edge too soon.
"Josef." He tapped the side of Josef's face with his finger to try and get his attention, "Josef, stop. You'll make me…"
Mick had been about to say 'you'll make me come too quickly', but Josef was already one step ahead of him. Grinning up at him, before removing his mouth from Mick's erection and sliding back up his body, he then hurriedly shifted the both of them over to the desk against the back wall of the room.
Fumbling one handed with the small front drawer of the desk, Josef quickly retrieved what he was looking for and then pulled Mick down to the floor with him below, Mick landing sprawled on top as Josef took a moment to cover his lips and face with more wet kisses and ground his hips up against Mick's, pressing their erections together.
After a few minutes Josef pushed Mick up and away from him, muttering a half distracted command of "sit up for a moment" under his breath, before unscrewing the cap off the lubricant and quickly applying a generous amount of the slippery liquid over the head of his penis.
Holding his cock steady with one hand, Josef half sat up and reached around Mick's body with the other, pressing his hand into the small of his back and guiding him over his erection. He drew in a small gasp of breath, a slight tremor of anticipation running along the muscles of his torso, as Mick carefully lowered himself down onto his hardness.
Josef felt the initial breach of resistance and then let out a low moan of approval, feeling his full length slide into Mick's passage as Mick slowly pressed himself the rest of the way down Josef's erection.
Mick pulled Josef up into a seated position then, extending his lower legs out behind him and wrapping his arms around Josef's neck as he pressed his lips against Josef's and probed the inside of his mouth with his tongue.
In this position, vigorous thrusting wasn't really a viable option so Mick contented himself with rocking back and forth over Josef's pelvis, feeling Josef's cock inside him pressing repeatedly against his prostate as he did so. He varied the pace of his movements a little, trying to prolong his pleasure but soon found himself hovering on the brink of no return, a grimace of ecstasy on his face as he panted and snarled and Josef brushed damp sweat slicked strands of hair away from his forehead and kissed him repeatedly.
In the bedroom, Roisin stirred restlessly and then opened her tiny infant mouth and let out the start of a hiccupping cry. Josef could faintly hear Katherine downstairs, moving to respond to her daughter's demands for attention.
"I'll get it," Josef heard Katherine calling out breezily as she climbed the stairs, probably believing she was doing the right thing and being helpful considering the situation. Nevertheless, Josef was more than acutely aware of the dangers a fledgling Vampire posed to a newborn infant, even if that infant was the fledgling's own flesh and blood.
He quickly tried to disengage himself from Mick's embrace, pressing his lips fervently against Mick's mouth and muttering a repeated apology, promising Mick he would be right back.
Mick had other ideas. Digging his fingers sharply into the flesh of Josef's shoulders he held onto him and whispered desperately in his ear.
"Don't stop."
"Mick I can't let her be alone with-"
"Please Josef," Mick interrupted him with another desperate whispered plea, "I'm close, oh god fuck I'm so close."
Josef hesitated for a brief moment, quickly scanning the small area beyond the door of the drawing room with his acute Vampire hearing and noting to himself that Roisin's cries seemed to have stopped as quickly as they had started and that Katherine was now hovering just outside. The barely perceptible movement of the floorboards beneath her feet gave her away as she succumbed to the natural curiosity of a fledgling for their Sire and stood at the doorway listening to the sounds coming from the other side.
Satisfied that Roisin was no longer in any immediate danger, Josef turned his attention back to Mick. Nodding a quick "ok", he hurriedly covered the length of Mick's throat with a series of rabid kisses and then reached between their bodies to take hold of Mick's cock.
Mick began to alternate between repeated panting snarls and mewling whimpers, the movements of his hips becoming increasingly erratic as Josef stroked the length of him from base to tip.
Mick moaned then, a deeply animalistic moan more akin to a growl that sent shivers of delight along Josef's spine and made him lose sense of anything but the moment he was in. Somewhere off in the distance he was vaguely aware of a door being pushed open the smallest of cracks, of a fledgling Vampire watching their Sire and his lover fucking their way into oblivion, but he was beyond caring at that point.
Katherine stared in wide eyed surprise at the scene that greeted her through the narrow opening of the doorway. Mick was sitting astride Josef, his head thrown back, muscles straining, skin slicked with sweat. His face contorted with pleasure as his mouth hung open and he moaned with every breath. Josef's cock was clearly buried deep inside his arse and Mick was rocking his hips frantically back and forth as Josef worked his hand up and down the shaft of his erection.
Even more unnerving for her to watch was Josef's reaction to Mick's increasingly pent up desire. Josef's free hand gripped the back of Mick's head, fingers clutching fistfuls of hair as he panted and snarled against Mick's throat and said Mick's name over and over again, repeating the words 'I love you' along with it.
It came out sounding almost like a series of half choked cries and for the first time since she had made his acquaintance, Katherine felt more than a little fearful of Josef. She had seen and heard him make declarations of love to Mick before, but never like this, never with such fervor, almost to the point of near religious devotion. At that moment Katherine was suddenly and acutely aware that when it came to Mick St John at least, Josef Kostan could very well be capable of anything.
Katherine watched as Mick's body went rigid, his back arched, his breathing coming in rapid gasps as he hung suspended on a knife's edge, muttering the words 'oh god, oh fuck yes' under his breath.
She shut the door on them and turned away, just as she heard Mick's final roar of release and he sank his fangs deep into the side of Josef's neck and dug his nails into the flesh of Josef's back as his climax ripped through him and he went into near convulsions of pleasure, his fluid pumping out of him and flooding over Josef's hand.
Josef fell into his own orgasm then, as he felt Mick tighten around his cock and he sank his own fangs into the top of Mick's shoulders. Coming inside him in a series of pulses that made him shudder and moan, he clung to Mick's neck and rode out his climax.
As the last pulsations faded away, Josef was suddenly pulled back to reality by the sound of Katherine's footsteps once again making their way towards the bedroom where Roisin lay sleeping.
"Crap" he gritted his teeth and muttered to himself with barely disguised annoyance.
Mick quickly pulled himself off of Josef's cock then and rolled off to one side, briefly kissing the side of Josef's face before urging him to "go" and watching with some amusement as Josef hurriedly stumbled into his pants and threw on his shirt, then rushed out the door after his fledgling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He caught up with her just as she was lifting Roisin out of her bassinet in the corner of the room.
"What are you doing?" he smiled and arched an eyebrow questioningly, his easy manner belying a distinct note of challenge.
"I'm taking care of my daughter." Katherine set her mouth into a slightly petulant determined line and looked at Josef pointedly.
"You know I can't let you do that, Katherine." Josef's tone was gentle this time as he extended his arms out towards her and gestured for Katherine to hand the tiny infant over to him.
For a moment Katherine looked like she was going to defy Josef's request, before letting out a reluctant sigh of agreement and placing Roisin into his arms, still finding it at least somewhat necessary to offer a rather skulking protest of, "this sucks."
"I know it does," Josef tutted sympathetically in reply, "but it's only for a short time, we've been through all of this."
"Did you and Mick have fun?" she framed the question with carefully contrived innocence, feeling the need to change the topic of conversation. Just as quickly she regretted the direction she had chosen to take when Josef grinned at her knowingly and said.
"You should know you were watching us."
Katherine spluttered and felt a rising heat in her face and neck as she looked down at the ground and stammered a quick apology.
"It doesn't matter," Josef laughed and waved a hand through the air in a dismissive gesture, attempting to brush aside Katherine's embarrassment, "at that point I couldn't have cared less if we had a room full on onlookers."
"Yeah you looked, occupied."
Katherine pressed her fist to her mouth and tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh, as she heard Josef quip back in response,
"Well that's one way of looking at it I suppose."
Katherine paused for a moment, considering her next words carefully.
"You really love Mick, don't you?" she said then, the words more a statement than a question and Josef rolled his eyes at her and let out an exasperated breath, before noting the depth of sincerity in her eyes.
"I adore Mick." Josef's reply was simply but earnest and Katherine nodded her understanding and then decided to press a little further.
"He means a lot to you doesn't he?" she ventured carefully.
"He means everything to me." Josef regarded Katherine with a curious expression, wondering where this line of questioning had come from.
"He's lucky to have you, you know." Katherine laughed and placed an awkward hand of affection on Josef's arm.
"I suppose he could say the same about me." Josef arched an eyebrow and offered Katherine a slightly tongue in cheek grin, his expression falling serious once more as heard her reply with,
"I guess you're lucky to have each other then."
"That we are." Josef hesitated for a few moments before clearing his throat and adding with quiet sincerity, "Immortality can be a very lonely existence. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have found someone like Mick that I can share eternity with."
"It must be nice to love someone that much," Katherine looked at Josef somewhat wistfully then and rolled her eyes in mock exasperation when Josef cocked his head to one side and offered another tongue in cheek response.
"It has its moments" he replied with a mischievous grin and took Katherine by the arm.
"Come on," he announced then as he carried Roisin across his shoulder and lead Katherine downstairs, "let's get this little one fed and settled again shall we."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Josef?" Mick's voice was still and small in the glowing blue light of the freezer as he nuzzled his head into the crook of Josef's shoulder and draped an arm across his chest. "Promise me nothing will ever change."
"Mick" Josef laughed and kissed the top of Mick's head, running his fingers affectionately through his hair, "I don't have a pause button on life you know."
"I know, but promise me anyway."
"Alright." Josef laughed again and pressed his lips against the top of Mick's head once more. "You'll always be an angst ridden pile of guilt, Beth will always be a thorn in our sides and I will always put up with it because I love you. Now shut up and go to sleep."