Title: All Those Years Ago
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Josef Kostan/Mick St. John
Fandom: Moonlight
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,494
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Josef Kostan or Mick St. John, unfortunately. Please do not sue.

***

Mick opened his eyes, blinking in the early-evening twilight. He had slept all day, which was something that he usually didn't do. But Josef had worn him out last night, so it probably wasn't surprising that he'd needed as much rest as he could get.

He turned over in bed, propping himself up on one elbow and looking down at the man sleeping next to him. Josef. When had their relationship gone from being friends to being lovers? He couldn't really put his finger on the exact time.

Of course, he could remember their first time together like it was yesterday. But the subtle shift from friends to lovers had begun long before that -- when he'd first realized that he wanted this man. It had come as a shock to him at first.

He'd never thought that he would want to be with another man. He'd always considered himself a ladies' man; there had never been another male who had made his body tighten with desire, made him breath come faster and his heart turn cartwheels.

He had thought that Coraline was the only person who would ever be able to do that -- until she'd turned him and changed him from a man into a monster. But Josef had been there for him -- and taught him that he didn't have to see himself in such a negative light.

Mick reached out to lay a hand on Josef's bare shoulder, moving his fingertips along the soft skin. He'd never thought that he would have romantic feelings for a man -- but then, Josef wasn't just any man. He was extraordinary in every way.

At first, they'd been close friends -- then the relationship had started to evolve into something more than that when Josef had told Mick of his horrific beginnings in the vampire realm. His experience had made Mick's turning seem like a trip to Disneyland.

It was the first time he'd been given a glimpse inside Josef's head -- and he hadn't known whether to be sorry or thankful. What he'd been told had explained so much of why the other vampire seemed so hard and unyielding at times.

Did the night of that painful confession mark the beginning of when he'd started to fall in love with Josef? Mick wasn't sure, but he thought it was a good bet. He'd wanted nothing so much as to take Josef in his arms and comfort him when the other man had spilled out his story.

But he hadn't done it -- not then. He had sensed that even though Josef was trusting him with something that he'd never told anyone before, he was still being kept at arm's length. It would take more than one night of remembrances for Josef to let him in completely.

After what he'd heard during those hours they'd spent alone in Josef's apartment, he hadn't expected the other man to let him in at all -- at least, not any more than he already had. And to his surprise, he'd felt an inexplicable regret at the thought.

He'd known on that night all those years ago that he wanted Josef as more than just a friend. And at the time, he'd told himself over and over again that it wouldn't be possible. After the cruelty that Josef had been subjected to when he was turned, he could never want to be with a man.

Mick's gaze turned tender as his hand moved down the curve of Josef's hip, pushing the sheet aside so he could admire his lover's slender body. He had been amazed when Josef had admitted that he wanted them to be much more than friends.

It had come as a bolt from the blue, a declaration that Mick had told himself he would never hear. He'd accepted the fact that he could never be more to Josef than a close friend, that he would never be able to have the one person he wanted more than anything.

He'd been shocked when Josef had told him pont-blank that he wanted Mick as a lover. It had been the typical Josef way of voicing his desires; no beating around the bush, simply saying what he wanted and putting it out in the open.

Mick hadn't been able to speak for several long moments, his mind racing ahead into the future, thinking of what it would be like to be with this man. He'd never been with another man before -- but then, Josef wasn't human. Maybe that was why the attraction was so intense.

All of his conflicting feelings about being attracted to another man had flown out of the window when he'd heard those words. He'd stepped forward and taken Josef into his arms, their lips meeting for the first time in a kiss that had been equal parts tender and demanding.

He had wanted to rip Josef's clothes from that delectable body and take him right to bed, but he'd held himself back. The knowledge of what Josef had been through over four hundred years ago was enough to make him move slowly and carefully.

And besides, he'd told himself, this would be his first time with a man. It might as well have been Josef's first time, too, considering that he'd never been taken with love. Mick wanted to make sure that it would be a good experience for both of them.

He'd taken Josef to bed that night -- or rather, early morning -- and they'd spent the day making love and discovering each other's bodies. It had been a time that Mick knew he would hold in his heart for the rest of his life, however long that might be.

It had been incredible to see how Josef had opened up to him emotionally; this man who he'd thought was so cold and calculating actually had a heart. And he'd made it clear that he was offering that heart to Mick, even though he was nervous about doing so.

Mick had promised himself that he would never betray Josef's trust in him, that he would hold the other man's heart carefully and never let it break. It was the least he could do for the person who had guided him into his vampiric life with such patience.

Memories of the long years that had gone by since he'd been introduced into this life swept over him, years when he'd first thought of Josef as a friend and mentor -- and how he'd slowly come to look at the other man as much, much more than that.

Those years would have been so empty if Josef hadn't been there. Over the decades, the two of them had grown closer, trusting each other more and more until neither of them could hold themselves back from the consummation that they'd slowly been heading for.

He knew that it hadn't been easy for Josef to hold out his heart to anyone -- he was a man who was used to keeping his emotions hidden, even pretending that he had no feelings. But somehow, Mick had managed to break through that cold veneer.

And now that he had, there was no turning back. Mick smiled as he moved his hand to rest on the flat plane of Josef's belly, his fingertips brushing the triangle of curls at the apex of the other man's thighs. His lover would be waking up at any moment now ....

As though Josef had heard Mick's thoughts, he stirred and opened his eyes, turning over and raising his arms above his head. Mick caught his breath when Josef smiled lazily up at him; there was something about that smile that would always tug at his heart.

"Good morning. Or should I say evening?" Josef said, his voice husky with sleep. "Are you just going to sit there and stare at me, or are you going to take advantage of the fact that I'm naked?" he asked, the mischievous twinkle in his eyes matching the teasing tone of his words.

Mick bent his head to press his mouth against those parted lips, surprised when he felt Josef's tongue tease his own. So that was what he wanted, hmmm? Well, he should be more careful what he wished for, Mick thought. He just might get it.

"Oh, I think I'm going to make this work to my advantage in every way," he murmured, sitting up and swinging one long leg over Josef's slender body. Within seconds, he was straddling the other man, holding Josef's wrists above his head and pinning him down.

***