Chapter 13
"What are you thinking?" Josef reached over Mick's shoulders and pressed a fresh glass of blood into Mick's hands, one arm wrapped around Mick's waist
"Would have been nice for us to have gotten married here." Mick stood at the window of the room and looked out over the expanse of Lestat's garden estate.
"Mmm" Josef's response was distracted, one hand slipping down the front of Mick's shirt, caressing his chest, lips pressed against Mick's throat.
"Josef, we've been here for two weeks now." Mick reached up to grasp Josef's wrist and gently rebuked his advances, "and we've hardly left this room."
"So?" Josef tightened his embrace across Mick's chest, "We didn't leave this room at all for at least a month the last time we were here."
"Josef, come on." Mick tried to pull way, only to be drawn back in. "We're supposed to be here working on our relationship."
"We are." Josef whispered into Mick's neck. "This is working for me."
Josef took a moment then and hesitated. Withdrawing his embrace he took a step away from Mick and reluctantly nodded his agreement.
"Come on then, Mr Maturity," Josef laughed and reached out for Mick's hand. "We'll go and lie on the bed together and sip glasses of blood wine and talk and then we'll fuck and then we'll drink more blood wine and talk some more and then fuck…" He let the sentence trail off and then arched an eyebrow and added, "Just don't try and talk and fuck at the same time, Mick. That never seems to quite work for you."
Mick shook his head and pursed his lips, rolling his eyes in mock exasperation as Josef lead him over to the bed and stretched out alongside him, each mirroring the other as Josef absentmindedly brushed strands of hair from Mick's forehead.
"How the fuck did things get so messed up between us Josef?" Mick began, his self reproach evident. "Everything was going so perfectly and then..." Mick made an encompassing gesture with his hands and then let out a frustrated breath.
"Mick," Josef placed a finger under Mick's chin and directed Mick's gaze to his. "If that were true we wouldn't be here right now, would we?"
Josef's response was so simple, so matter of fact in its logic that Mick found he couldn't form an argument.
"Do you think things can ever go back to the way they were before?" Mick's expression was a cross mix of hope and regret.
"I should hope not Mick." Josef replied in earnest, not a trace of his usual wit to be found, "I would rather hope things could be better."
Josef clutched a hand to the back of Mick's neck and drew him into his space, pressing his forehead against his.
"Don't worry." Josef's voice was low and determined. "We'll work things out, even if it takes us an eternity to do so. I'm not going anywhere. So you're stuck with me, get used to it"
Josef placed a brief tender kiss on Mick's lips and laughed when he heard Mick's reply,
"That suits me just fine."
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"By the way," Josef's tone was forced casual as he fastened and adjusted the cufflinks of his shirt the following evening, "I've been meaning to ask, did you ever end up opening that present I got you for our anniversary?"
On the opposite side of the room Mick rifled through suitcases trying to choose an appropriate shirt to wear for the evening. It seemed that everything he owned was either too dressed down or too dressed up, not that the concept of being too dressed up was one that Josef ever really seemed to embrace. Lestat's invitation that they join him for dinner that evening had included the words, 'neat casual attire', and neat casual attire for Josef consisted of looking immaculate in one of his best tailored suits.
Mick glanced over his shoulder and felt a twinge of envy at Josef's ability to look utterly nonchalant and perfectly at ease even when he was dressed to refinement. It was just one of the many things that Mick admired about him.
Returning to his reverie of shirt hunting, Mick muttered a shamefaced reply of "No, not yet," in response to Josef's question. "Look," Mick suddenly reached for the first shirt at hand and then turned to face Josef, his expression frustrated and contrite, "I don't even remember you giving it to me. I don't remember…"
"Mick, it's ok." Josef held up a hand to halt Mick's hurriedly blurted explanations and then walked over to him. "I was just going to say that it didn't matter if you hadn't," Josef smiled and shrugged, "I've decided to get you something better."
Seeing the readied look of protest that passed over Mick's face at that moment, Josef quickly moved to distract him. Snatching the shirt that Mick was clutching out of his hand and tossing it aside, he quickly picked another one out of the tangled pile of clothes in the suitcases and handed it to Mick with a helpful smile and a quick instruction of "Wear this one, the cut and colour goes better with the pants you're wearing better."
Not waiting for a response, Josef quickly slipped Mick's arms into the sleeves of the shirt and then pulled it up onto his shoulders. Moving around to the front he moved his hands deftly along the front of the shirt, doing up the buttons and prompting an indignant hiss of a protest from Mick.
"Josef," Mick rolled his eyes and batted Josef's hands out the way before finishing the job of buttoning the shirt himself, "I am capable of dressing myself you know."
"I never said you weren't." Josef took a step back and regarded Mick bemused for a moment before he huffed and added. "I don't see why you're making such a big deal out of it Mick, I've been straightening your collars and adjusting the sleeves of your shirt for you since before we even got together."
"Yeah, when you actually needed an excuse to touch me" Mick arched an eyebrow and grinned then fell serious again for a moment, "It's just the principal of it; I thought we agreed that you were going to stop being so over protective of me," Mick paused then and allowed a teasing smile to play at the corners of his lips as he added the word, "Dad."
"Well you know I was kind of under the assumption that we weren't talking about minor trivialities, Mick" Josef stepped back and folded his arms across his chest, legs spread in a stance of defiant challenge that failed to hide the look of offense that had fallen over his features.
"Josef." Mick moved to reassure Josef then, noticing the way he had purposefully ignored Mick's quip about him being 'dad' and the hurt look on his face, only to be met with a pointed smirk and the arch of an eyebrow. "Yeah ok, point taken." Mick rolled his eyes and let out a huff of breath then wrapped his arms around Josef's neck and offered a mock indulgent smile. "You can pick out my shirts and adjust my collars if it makes you happy."
"Oh it does Mick," Josef wrapped his own arms around Mick's waist and then leant back and tilted his head to one side, shooting Mick a completely insincere smile at the same time, "Nothing could possibly make me happier, it's all I've ever wanted to do with my immortal existence. As a matter of fact I've decided to give up work entirely so that I can do nothing but follow you around twenty four seven, making sure your shirt collars are perfectly aligned."
"Go on then." Mick arched an eyebrow and grinned back at Josef cheekily, "My shirt collars crooked right now, I know you're just dying to fix it."
Josef snorted a laugh and rolled his eyes, then reached up and quickly straightened Mick's collar.
"Right, there you are, perfect" Josef announced breezily as he brushed his hands down the front of Mick's shirt. "Now let's go and see who Lestat has on the menu for this evening shall we."
Neither one of them actually made to move then, the space between them growing awkward as they admitted the foolishness of what had just passed between them in a series of sheepish exchanged looks and silent positioning of bodies. Mick finally broke the moment when he averted his eyes for a brief second, muttering a hurried "We should get going, we'll be late otherwise," and then disentangled himself from Josef's arms.
"Mick, wait." Josef reached out to halt Mick's departure and pulled him back towards him. Drawing in a breath he began to speak, hesitant at first. "You asked me what happened exactly when Beth died." Josef drew another breath and held up a hand, pre-empting any protests that Mick may have decided to offer. "She was unconscious throughout, she didn't wake, she didn't say anything and she felt nothing."
It was a lie. Beth had regained consciousness briefly, the naked bones of her jaw opening in a silent scream just as the flames peeled the flesh away from her face. Josef decided it served absolutely no purpose for Mick to know that, the truth of that image would be one he carried with him to the grave, metaphorically speaking of course.
"You're lying to me." Mick reached up and gripped Josef's face in his hands for a moment, reading the truth written behind his eyes but not knowing exactly what that truth might be, "but thank you."
Mick drew Josef into his space then and pressed his forehead against his, staying like that for a moment and drawing in the feeling of proximity, before he released Josef from his embrace and took a step back.
"Come on," He instructed Josef, smiling and offering his hand for Josef to take, "We should really head down for dinner now; Lestat'll be waiting for us."
Josef hesitated for the briefest of moments, then swallowed and nodded his assent.
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"Well, I see you finally managed to pull your cock out of his arse long enough to grace us with your presence." Lestat leaned back in his chair and regarded Josef with a mocking smile.
"Oh come on now Lestat," Josef strode into the room, one arm draped loosely around Mick's waist, and flashed Lestat a completely insincere smile in return as he took a seat at the table opposite him, "You should know these things take time; I mean there's a whole process of deflation and extrication to go through."
"Touché." Lestat's expression was a picture of false grace as he raised his glass and inclined his head, then grinned at Josef and added, "So how is the Bitch Queen of New Orleans this evening?"
Mick reached for the glass of blood provided on the table in front of him and took a sip, promptly spraying the contents of his mouth over Lestat's crisp white table cloth when he heard what Lestat had just said.
"I'm sorry, the who of what?" Mick arched an eyebrow in Josef's direction and looked at him with an expectant grin. "Oh this oughta be good."
"Yes, well." Josef gritted his teeth and forced a smile, his own hands reaching for the glass of blood in front of him, raising it to his lips and taking a sip, "I really don't think we need to discuss that, do you?"
Josef shot daggers in Lestat's general direction, eliciting another faux gracious smile to tug at the corners of Lestat's mouth.
Taking another sip of blood, Lestat nodded with false acquiesce and then turned his attention to Mick. "It was a long time ago," he told him, "the end result of one particularly wayward night, involving the ingestion of a rather copious amount of illicit substances, high heels and way too much makeup."
If looks could kill Lestat would have been lying on the ground minus his head at that very moment.
"You've never done anything like that for me before." Mick placed a hand on Josef's arms and pretended to look thoroughly disappointed, attempting to break the sudden stand off that was unfolding back and forth across the table between Josef and Lestat.
"Ok Mick," Josef reached across and patted Mick's hand on his arm in a patronising gesture, "I'll make a deal with you. I'll put on a pair of heels and slap on some makeup for you, if you don a collar and leash and let me parade you naked along the Champs Elysees. We'll pretend you're my bitch."
For a moment Mick looked as if he were about to agree to Josef's suggestion. Josef shook his head and stared at Mick, looking thoroughly mortified until Mick grinned and Josef let out a relieved hiss of breath when he realised he was being had.
"Very funny Mick." Josef raised his glass and toasted Mick with mock sincerity.
The conversation turned to small talk then, relaxed discussions of respective business ventures and other innocuous topics. Several hours and a parade of freshies sampled later, Josef stood up from the table and gestured for Mick to take his hand.
"So what does the rest of the evening hold for the two of you?" Lestat asked as Mick accepted Josef's proffered hand and allowed himself to be helped to his feet.
"Don't know," Josef gave an open palmed shrug, "Go for a walk, check out the city, enjoy the sights and sounds of Paris at night."
"Sounds like fun." Lestat offered a nonchalant smile and then wished them both a very good night and then watched their retreating forms as Josef draped an arm across Mick's shoulders and lead the both of them towards the door.
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"You ok?" Josef placed a hand on Mick's arm and tracked his gaze to the building in front of them.
The had wandered through the streets of Paris, sampling the sights and sounds of the evening just as Josef has intended, before Josef found himself suddenly halted in his tracks when Mick stopped short and stood frozen to the spot, an expression of regret and horrified memory on his face.
"Fifty one years ago, I almost lost you in that place." Mick's voice was barely above a whisper, his hand pressed into his mouth as he looked up at the hotel that seemed to loom like an accusation before him.
"Mick don't, that's all in the past now." Josef's fingers gripped Mick's arm gently as he turned and began to walk away, trying to coax Mick to follow him.
"No," Mick shook Josef's grasp from his arm and stepped away, crossing his arms across his chest with a determined look, "I want to go up there. I want to see that room again."
"Mick, come on…"
"Josef please. I have to." Mick dropped his arms to his sides, his expression pleading.
Josef hesitated for a moment and then nodded his assent. Letting out a reluctant breath he took a step forward and reached for Mick's hand.
Ok, come on then. We'll go up there together." Josef told Mick then, as he took Mick by the hand and lead him towards their past.
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"What, you still expect my blood to be there?" Josef watched as Mick knelt on the floor of the hotel room and prodded the area of carpet where Josef had lain, bleeding to death fifty one years ago, with his fingers.
"What do you remember?" Mick placed his palm to the floor, feeling the sponginess of the carpet beneath his touch and then drew back his lips and inhaled, scenting the air around him. Any trace of Josef's blood was long gone, washed away by constant traffic and decades of man made chemicals.
"Well dying after three hundred and fifty odd years felt a little strange, I remember that much," Josef knelt beside Mick then, reaching out a hand to caress the nape of Mick's neck, "I also have this odd recollection of someone kneeling over me and making some rather histrionic declarations of love." Josef arched an eyebrow and grinned at Mick affectionately, his fingers stroking tendrils of hair at the base of Mick's skull.
Almost in spite of himself, Mick shook his head and laughed.
"…and all I had to do was almost cease to exist." Mick heard Josef say then.
Josef's words snapped Mick back to the cold dark reality of his own recollections of that night.
"Christ." Mick scrubbed his hands over his face and shook his head, "I have been such an idiot. I came so damn close to losing you for good fifty one years ago and then fifty one years later I turn around and do my best to lose you all over again."
Mick spat the words, his anger and remorse evident. Josef placed his hands on either side of Mick's shoulders and turned him around to face him.
"You didn't lose me though Mick," Josef stated simply "but you did lose Beth."
"Yeah, I lost Beth fifty one years ago Josef."
The guilt in Mick's voice was evident.
"You know the angst is endearing sometimes Mick," Josef smiled traced the back of his hand down the side of Mick's face, "but I think it's time to let it go."
Before Mick had a chance to launch any sort of protest, Josef stood up and pulled Mick to his feet with him.
"What are you doing?" Mick looked over his shoulder and raised a questioning eyebrow as Josef spun him around and began to manoeuvre him towards the wall in front of them.
"Proving to you that I'm still here."
Josef locked Mick's wrists one over the other and then placed Mick's hands against the wall. He pressed himself against Mick then, making sure each part of his own body made contact.
Josef stayed like that for a moment, letting Mick feel the weight of his solidness before he broke the contact briefly and began to work on undoing the various fastenings on Mick's jeans.
Mick drew in a rushed breath when he felt Josef's hands grip the sides of his jeans and lower them around his knees along with his underwear. Instructing him to keep his hands on the wall, Josef snaked one hand around Mick's waist and began to stroke his hardness whilst he fumbled with the fastenings on his own pants with the other.
Releasing his own erection into his hand, Josef quickly slicked himself with saliva and then pressed the head of his cock against Mick's body.
"You ok?" Josef asked, hearing Mick's wince of pain as he pushed past the initial resistance and began to enter him.
"Yeah." Mick gritted his teeth and nodded. "Just give me a moment."
Josef obeyed Mick's direction and held himself still, waiting until he felt Mick's body relax, accepting him. He slowly thrust the rest of his length inside Mick then and placed his own hands on either side of the wall next to Mick's.
Making sure each part of his body made as much contact with Mick's as possible once again, Josef carefully withdrew and then thrust himself back into Mick's passage. He kept the length of his thrusts short, trying to keep maximum contact as Mick whimpered and began to thrust back onto Josef's cock.
"Feel me." Josef pressed his lips against the side of Mick's neck and whispered to him. "I'm here, with you, right now and I'm not going anywhere Mick. You have me for eternity."
Josef stepped up the pace of his movements in response to a sudden groan of pleasure from Mick. His hand reached down to grip Mick's cock once again as he stroked the length of Mick's hardness and urged him to completion.
They both came almost simultaneously, Josef only a few short paces behind Mick, panting and snarling with abandon as they spilled themselves into and over one other and sank their fangs into each other's flesh.
When they were both spent, Josef withdrew himself from Mick's body and then quickly wiped Mick's semen from his hand with the handkerchief from his suit coat pocket.
"Come on, let's leave this behind us." Josef smiled at Mick and extended his hand to him, pointedly dropping the soiled handkerchief on the spot where his blood had once been spilled at the same time.
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"Are you coming to bed?" Josef stood up from his seat in Lestat's loungeroom and stretched.
"Yeah in a moment, soon." Mick smiled and took another sip of crimson liquid from the glass in his hand.
Mick watched as Josef moved over to him and bent down to kiss him goodnight. With another quick kiss and a whisper of "I love you" Josef turned and casually strode from the room, leaving Mick alone to ponder the details of a plan that had begun to formulate in his mind.
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Mick paused at the door of Lestat's bedroom for a moment and then drew in a breath and knocked, stifling a laugh when he heard Lestat's voice call out, "Come in if you're gorgeous."
"Well don't just stand there sugar." Lestat grinned at Mick hovering in the now open doorway of his room. "Come in. Nice to see you've got confidence in yourself by the way."
Lestat sat propped up by an array of gilded cushions on his overly decorative bed, rubbing scented cream over his hands and face. Mick shook his head and stifled another laugh before giving a polite nod and accepting Lestat's invitation.
"Why do you use that stuff?" Mick arched a quizzical eyebrow in Lestat's direction as he walked over and sat perched on the end of the bed. "It's not like we age or anything."
"I like the feel of it." Lestat shrugged and then extended a creamed hand towards Mick, "want some?"
"No thank you Lestat." Mick furrowed his brow and shook his head.
"Suit yourself, more for me." Lestat shrugged again and continued rubbing the cream over his face and hands, looking as if he were thoroughly enjoying the sensation. "So to what do I owe this pleasure then Mick?" He asked Mick then, taking a moment to quickly massage the remaining excess of lotion into his skin.
"I wanted to ask you something." Mick hesitated for a moment, chewing on his bottom lip thoughtfully. "Actually there's something else I want to ask you first."
"Sure honey, shoot." Lestat gave Mick an indulging smile and waited for him to speak.
"You and Josef," Mick looked down and scrubbed an embarrassed foot along the floor in front of him, "I was just wondering, have you ever…you know."
Lestat looked at Mick utterly bemused for a moment and then burst out laughing.
"Oh god no honey," Lestat spluttered, "Me and Josef, are you serious? He can be as much of a queen as I am when he wants to be, we'd kill each other." Lestat let out another burst of laugher and shook his head.
"Don't let Josef hear you calling him that." Mick grinned and then let out a snort of laughter himself.
"Oh I wouldn't dream of it." Lestat raised a knowing eyebrow. "I'm a little too fond of the idea that my head remains attached to my body."
"So what did you really come in here to ask me?" Lestat asked Mick then.
"I need a couple of suits made for me and Josef." Mick looked on as Lestat fumbled around in the drawer of the nightstand next to his bed and drew out a sketchpad and pencil.
"What did you have in mind?" Lestat's hand rested on the paper in front of him, pencil poised ready to draw.
Mick began to describe his ideas to Lestat and then paused mid sentence. Drawing in an excited breath he scurried along the mattress and propped himself up on the pillows beside Lestat before hurriedly outlining the rest of the details of the surprise he had planned for Josef.
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"Matching suits, how delightfully cliché Mick." Josef grinned and then adjusted the sleeves and collar of his shirt.
Two weeks had passed since the night Mick had sat on Lestat's bed and transcribed a vision of the event to come. One week later Lestat casually mentioned the idea of arranging a small gathering of close friends, with Josef and Mick as the guests of honour, as Josef sat across from him at the dining room table and sipped a glass of blood wine.
"I want to do something nice for the two of you, after all you've been through recently I mean." Lestat had told Josef with an indulgent smile, suppressing the urge to gush and reveal the secret he had been entrusted with when Josef had offered him his own polite smile and shrugged, "Sure, why not."
"Do you like them though?" Mick looked at Josef, standing in front of him now, with an anxious smile.
The suits were perfect; two elegantly cut dark charcoal and pinstripe specimens with matching deep purple shirts topped off with matching silver tie and purple pocket handkerchief accessories. Josef was impressed and he told Mick as much, in no uncertain terms, lavishing surprised praises on him for the quality of his efforts.
"I'm glad." Mick let out a relieved breath. "You look gorgeous in it of course."
Mick gave Josef an adoring look and then smiled when Josef answered. "You don't look so bad yourself Mick," and stepped forward to wrap his arms around Mick's neck.
"Come on my beloved." Josef tipped his face towards Mick's and placed an affectionate kiss on his lips. "We should hurry it along; we don't want to be late for Lestat's big event now do we."
Josef leaned back in Mick's arms and arched an eyebrow, then laughed and disentangled himself from Mick's embrace, offering Mick his hand to take instead.
"No we certainly don't want to be late, Josef. Not for what I've got in store for us at least." Mick smiled to himself knowingly and then accepted Josef's proffered hand in his.
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"Lestat's certainly gone to a lot of effort." Josef surveyed the garden scene in front of him.
No detail had been left to chance. From the colour of the napkins, to the fine silver candelabras that took centre place on the two trestles either side of the lawn setting, everything was refined to perfection.
"Come on." Mick smiled and placed a hand on Josef's arm. "Katherine's here, let's go say hello."
Attired in shades of red and purple, with the occasional splash of black or silver, guests, some of whom were old friends Josef hadn't laid eyes on in some years, milled around sipping a variety of rare blood types poured from crystal decanters.
Standing off to one side in the midst of the hustle and bustle of colour coordinated activity, Katherine stepped forward and greeted Josef fondly when she saw him approach arm in arm with Mick.
Dressed in a floor length satin gown, the colour of which matched the suit shirts that Mick and Josef wore, she was the very vision of ice blonde vampire elegance.
"You look lovely." Josef let go of Mick's arm and took Katherine by the hands, stepping back and holding her out in front of him whilst he admired his handiwork.
"Thank you." Katherine smiled graciously and then arched an indulgent eyebrow and added, "You two don't scrub up too badly yourselves."
"Thanks, I think?" Josef laughed and then turned to survey the setting laid out in front of him once more. "Well Lestat certainly wasn't joking when he said he wanted us to be guests of honour." He commented to Katherine as he draped an arm around Mick's neck and absentmindedly brushed his fingers through strands of hair at the base of Mick's skull.
Katherine and Mick exchanged glances then. Mick nodded a quick instruction to Katherine and then watched as Katherine made her excuses to leave and started to walk away, towards the small building at the back of the garden.
"Mick, what's going on?" Josef furrowed his brow and pursed his lips, head tilted to one side as he regarded Mick with a quizzical expression.
"You'll find out. I have a surprise planned for you." Mick couldn't suppress the grin on his face as he leant over to plant an affectionate kiss on the side of Josef's face.
Katherine returned a few moments late, a spray of blood red orchids in hand. A familiar face followed close behind.
Josef watched as Father Patrick took position at the head of the line of guests that had formed on either side. Realisation began to dawn on Josef then as Katherine made her way over to where her sire and his lover stood.
"Josef." Mick waited until the guests had assumed their final positions and then dropped to one knee, taking Josef's hand in his. "Will you marry me?" Mick laughed and then added the word. "Again."
"Right now?" Josef pretended to look incredulous, "I haven't even had a chance to mingle with our guests yet."
Josef looked down at Mick's face, eyes wide and expression fallen. Unable to suppress the grin that formed on his lips he pulled Mick to his feet.
"Mick you idiot, I'm joking." Josef laughed and shook his head, then smiled at Mick and said simply, "I married you once didn't I?"
Mick laughed in reply and nodded a sheepish agreement, then felt Josef's hand in his as Josef muttered a hurried "Come with me" and began to pull him away from the gathering.
"You're supposed to wait until after the ceremony." Lestat called out after their retreating forms, prompting Josef to turn heel and shoot back a smirking reply of "Shut up Leonard," emphasising the pointed use of Lestat's real name.
Back inside in the guest bedroom they had shared for the past weeks, Josef rummaged through a pocket section of his suitcase and drew out two small velvet boxes. He handed one to Mick and instructed him to, "Open it."
"Are these real?" Mick drew in an astonished breath as he regarded the handcrafted Celtic knotwork ring inlaid with what looked like diamonds in his hand.
"Of course they're real." Josef huffed indignantly and then paused to trace the back of his hand along the side of Mick's face and added gently, "Forged in the fires of hell."
"Just like us recently." Mick's expression fell serious. He swallowed back a lump of emotion and then placed the ring on his finger. "You know I really don't know why we didn't just use the rings we already had in Ireland?" He remarked, admiring the way the ring perfectly with the engagement ring he already wore.
"I suppose we were in too much of a hurry to be married to take note of things like that, Mick." Josef replied and inspected the ring on Mick's hand.
"Let's do it properly this time." Josef heard Mick say to him then and he knew Mick meant more than just the wedding ceremony.
"We will." Josef looked at Mick in earnest and then nodded his assurance.
Instructing Mick then to take the ring off and place it back in it's velvet holder, Josef draped an arm around Mick's waist and began to lead the both of them back outside to where Father Patrick and the rest of their guests awaited them.
Katherine stood to one side, pausing every now and then to wipe the back of her hand across her eyes and trying not to sniff too loudly, as she watched the two vampires she had come to regard as closer than family, take their positions in front of Father Patrick.
"Ready?" Father Patrick arched a questioning eyebrow.
"As we'll ever be." Josef laughed and drew his arm tighter around Mick's waist.
"Then let's begin."
Father Patrick drew a breath and then started the ceremony with a pointed smile in Josef's direction as he spoke the first words.
"Immortal Beloved…"