Title: Payback
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Josef Kostan/Mick St. John
Fandom: Moonlight
Rating: R
Word Count: 1,882
Author's Note: Continuation of Comfortably Numb.
Warning: Non-con.
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.

***

"What did you expect, Mick?" Josef asked, rolling over to present his back to Mick. "You knew that there were people who had old scores to settle with me for things that I did long before you were born. Did you think that they would stay out of our lives forever?"

"No, I didn't," Mick admitted with a sigh. "But I didn't expect anybody like Bartolomy to come after you, either. I'd expected this to be like the problem you had with that guy who sent goons to stake you. The one who thought you were messing with some girl."

Josef let out a sharp bark of laughter, shrugging his slender shoulders. "That's nothing, Mick. That's a little feud that was pretty easily straightened out with a few phone calls. He's out of the way now. Permanently. Which is what I should have done before things got out of hand."

"But you can't do that to Bartolomy, because he's a lot more ancient than you are. And therefore, he's more powerful," Mick said, feeling his way along with each word. He didn't know if what he surmised was the truth, but he was sure that Josef would tell him. Eventually.

It was never easy to get Josef to talk about his past -- especially parts of his past that he found hurtful. He might not admit that they hurt to think about, but Mick had learned to read his boyfriend's expressions -- and talking about the night he'd been turned caused him a great deal of pain.

"Mick, I just want to forget it," Josef whispered, his voice muffled by the pillow. "It's over, it's done, and like he said, he's gotten what he wanted from me. He took his revenge. The two of us are done. He's not going to come after you -- or me -- again."

"Not unless one of us goes after him first," Mick said through clenched teeth. "He didn't have any right to hurt you, Josef. His brother died hundreds of years ago. And what you did to his brother was no less than what he deserved. The man was a rapist."

"So what do you expect me to do, Mick? Huh?" Josef sighed, rolling over onto his back and looking up at his lover. "Strike out at him? Try to pit my strength against a vampire who might be able to kill me in the end? I don't want to find out if he could."

"Neither do I," Mick admitted, trying to calm his anger. "I don't want him near you again. But why are you so sure that he'll leave us alone? I know he's an old-fashioned kind of guy, but you don't really think he has any notion of ancient 'honor,' do you?"

"Yes," Josef answered simply, his voice clear and firm. "You didn't live back then, Mick. You don't know what a man's honor meant to him. And for somebody like Bartolomy, that honor is everything. Even living in the modern world, he still holds on to those beliefs."

"So he thinks that he can force his beliefs on other people," Mick snarled, his hands bunching into fists. "That's hardly what I'd call 'honor.' I'd call it being a fucking bully." He wished that Bartolomy was in front of him at the moment; he'd flatten the bastard.

"You live in a different world than we did back then, Mick." Josef's voice was quiet, resigned; Mick had never heard his boyfriend sound like this. "I know when I'm beaten. Yes, he was in the wrong to come after me. But I'm not going to make this a never-ending vicious circle."

"I wish there was some way to get rid of him for good," Mick muttered, shaking his head. "But I'm betting he's probably way too alert for me to be able to get a sword through his neck. Or that he has too many bodyguards around him watching out for something like that."

"You'd be right on both counts." Josef sat up, his gaze searching Mick's face. "I know you don't want to let it go. I don't really want to either, but in this case, neither of us has a choice. Besides, I knew that this might happen sooner or later."

"You knew that he might come after you and rape you just like his brother did?" Mick was horrified at Josef's words; he didn't want to think that his boyfriend had lived centuries with the fear that he could be raped again -- and be powerless to do anything about it.

Now that the worst had happened, how would Josef react once it all sank in? Mick didn't want to think about that; despite what his boyfriend had already said, his assurances that he wasn't going to push Mick away, there was no guarantee that the wall wouldn't go up again.

So far, Josef had turned to him, not away from him. But Mick was still trying to err on the side of caution, and treat his boyfriend as though he was a fragile piece of porcelain. He wanted to reassure Josef, not get too close too quickly and make him step back.

Josef shook his head, frowning. "No, I didn't know exactly what he'd do. But I've had the feeling that he would try to retaliate, as soon as I found out that he had a grudge against me. We've always kept our distance, but I think he was just waiting and biding his time."

"What do you think made him finally come out of hiding?" Mick asked, the realization dawning on him as soon as he asked the question. He was the reason. His relationship with Josef hadn't exactly been hidden lately. They'd been open about it.

It had been all too easy for Bartolomy to plan his revenge -- and he'd probably even believed in his idea that witnessing his boyfriend being violated by another man would turn Mick away from him. But that bastard hadn't reckoned on the strength of his emotions.

Nothing would turn him away from Josef. Nothing. Even the True Death wouldn't keep his spirit away from the man he loved. If he'd had to die last night, he would still have been with Josef -- though he didn't think his boyfriend would have wanted to live on without him.

Josef's gaze was fixed on his face, those eyes taking in every thought that went through Mick's head. "Yeah, I think you've figured it out," he murmured, sighing. "I didn't think that being so open about my relationship with you would put you in the middle of this. I'm sorry, Mick."

"There's nothing to be sorry about, babe." Mick sighed softly, laying down and reaching for Josef, pulling the other man into his arms. "None of this is your fault. It all started with Bartolomy's asshole of a brother. You didn't start this vendetta. He did."

"I knew that I'd have to pay the piper someday," Josef sighed, curling into Mick's embrace, his own arms sliding around the other man. "But I didn't expect you to get dragged into it. I'd give anything for you not to have seen that. But I can't change what's happened."

"You don't have to," Mick told him, stroking Josef's hair and holding him close. "This doesn't change anything for us, Josef. I'm not going to leave you because of this, no matter what Bartolomy might have tried to convince you of." He had to make Josef understand that.

"I know, Mick." Josef's voice was softly, barely above a whisper. "And it doesn't change anything for me, either. I don't want this to put up barriers between us -- physical or otherwise. It might take me a few days to want to make love again -- but I will."

"Are you sure, babe?" Mick whispered, his throat constricting on the words. "The last thing I want you to do is feel like you owe me anything. If you're not comfortable with being physical for a while, I'll understand. I'm not going to push you."

"I'm sure." Josef let out a soft, rueful laugh, tilting his head back to regard the man holding him. "If I was uncomfortable with being close, would I be here in bed with you now? Would I be letting you hold me and cozying up to you when we're both naked?"

"I guess not," Mick had to admit, his own laugh joining Josef's. "I'm glad that we can be honest about what we're feeling," he said softly, raising a hand to brush back a few errant strands of hair from Josef's face. "And what I'm feeling right now is that I love you more than ever."

"I love you too," Josef whispered, resting his head against Mick's chest and closing his eyes. It took Mick a moment to realize that those words had come from Josef spontaneously; he'd obviously said them from his heart -- and meant every bit of them.

All he wanted to do was lie here for the rest of the night, with Josef in his arms, and feel that he could keep his lover safe and protected from any harm that might come to him. He didn't want a repeat of what had happened the night before, not at any point in their lives.

Whether Josef had felt that he would have to pay the piper one day or not, Mick still didn't think that some bastard from his past had the right to appoint himself to be that piper and to mete out a twisted form of what he might consider "justice."

He didn't plan on going after Bartolomy -- after all, he wasn't stupid enough to think that he could take on someone so powerful and come out of the confrontation alive. But he would keep an eye on the other vampire -- and he would search for any signs of weakness.

When he saw any proof of weakness on the other man's part, any kind of chink in his armor -- then he would pounce. He would bring Bartolomy's world crashing down around him, and he would take the revenge that Josef felt honor-bound to back away from.

Maybe it wasn't the best attitude to have. But it was how he felt, and he was going to stick to that plan. It might take a long time to come to fruition -- but they had all the time in the world, Mick thought, closing his eyes and pulling Josef closer against him.

He didn't know what was going to happen in the future. He had no idea if he would have a chance to pay Bartolomy back for the pain he'd caused. But Mick knew one thing -- if he could make that bastard pay the piper, he was going to do it. And he'd enjoy every moment of that payback.

***