Title: Siren Song
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Josef Kostan/Mick St. John
Fandom: Moonlight
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,277
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.

***

Los Angeles, 1955

He had never been fond of these big parties.

Even when he had first turned and large house parties that went on for days were de rigeur, they had never been something that Josef enjoyed. The only good thing about them was that he was able to find plenty of willing victims.

He'd thought of them as victims back then, but no longer, he told himself, strolling through the crowded room and glancing around at the people. He'd long since ceased to look at humans in that way -- even though he did still take his sustenance directly from the vein.

His gaze was disinterested, vague; there was only one person at this party who interested him in the least, and that man hadn't shown up yet. If he had, then Josef hadn't seen him -- and he was sure that when Mick was there, he would know it.

He didn't care about seeing anyone here but Mick St. John. The other man was the only person he had eyes for, the only person he wanted to spend time with or talk to. The only reason he'd even come to this bash in the first place as because he'd known that Mick would be here.

The other man wouldn't be looking for him, of course. He wouldn't even know that Josef was here; he'd say hello and be friendly, but it wouldn't make any difference to him if Josef was right by his side, or a million miles away with an ocean separating them.

No, Mick would have eyes only for Coraline, Josef thought bitterly.

And she didn't even care about him. Oh, she was obsessed with the idea of him; she wanted to be with him, wanted to turn him so that he would be hers and worship her forever. But as usual, her vanity was turned inwards, focused on herself.

She didn't care about Mick as a person. She didn't love him for who he was. She only cared about him as a mirror for her own vain aspirations; the only thing Mick meant to her was as someone to boost her ego, to tell her that she was everything Josef knew she wasn't.

The only reason Coraline wanted him around was to have a worshipper, someone who would tell her that she was perfect and could do no wrong. And, unfortunately, Mick seemed to have that attitude. He was besotted with her, without knowing who and what she was.

Josef wished more than anything that he could set Mick straight on that account, tell him exactly how evil and vicious Coraline could be. But how could he do that without making Mick think that he was exactly the same, cut from the same cloth that she was?

After all, they were both vampires. Mick probably wouldn't be able to see the differences between them, not at first. And Josef doubted that he would stick around to find out more about them and let himself learn just how important those differences were.

If it came down to choosing between the two of them, Mick would choose Coraline. At this point in the game, it would be no contest. She owned him, and Josef was painfully aware of that fact. But he intended to change it to his advantage, in any way he could.

No matter what he had to do.

That wasn't entirely true, he thought with an inward sigh. He wouldn't harm Mick, not for any reason. And unless the other man wanted to be turned, he wouldn't do that, either. Not unless it came down to a choice of saving Mick's life, or making him something he might not want to be.

He'd never felt this way about anyone before, not in all of the nearly four hundred years of his long life. No one had captured his imagination in the way Mick had, much less his heart. There had been lovers in his life, but he'd never fallen in love with any of them.

There had been Sarah -- but she was an anomaly. She had been unexpected, a whirlwind that had taken him by surprise, and had left his life just as quickly as she'd entered it. There had been none of the slow burn that he was experiencing with his feelings for Mick.

Mick's attraction was like a siren song that pulled him forwards, luring him further and further from his safety zone. He'd never allowed himself to care about anyone in this way before -- even his feelings for Sarah hadn't come close to this wild sweet urgency.

That siren song led him towards dangerous rocks that hid under the murky waters of his emotions, rocks that would batter him and crush him if they were given the chance. He had to navigate this stormy sea of his own emotions slowly, carefully.

He had no idea just how he was going to convince Mick that Coraline wasn't the right person for him. But somehow, he would. He had all the powers of persuasion at his command -- and he'd always been good with words.

There was a slight change in the air; Josef's head went up, his eyes widening as though he was sensing something that no one else could connect with. Mick was here, in the house; his presence was as clear to Josef as though the other man was standing right next to him.

All of his preternatural vampires senses were on the alert; he was the predatory creature of the night, on the lookout for its prey, ready to stalk and pounce when the time was right. Now that he had sensed his target, all that remained was to find it.

Josef pushed those instincts down firmly, taking a deep breath.

Mick wasn't his prey. Mick was the man he was attracted to, pulled towards by a siren call that was far beyond his power to resist. He wasn't going to do anything that might damage their growing friendship; he would take things slowly and calmly, without pushing.

All right, so that might be harder to do than it seemed, he told himself, wincing inwardly. But he'd make himself move slowly, no matter how hard it was to hold his feelings back. What was that old saying? "Slow and steady wins the race."

He intended to be the winner in the end. He would be the person who had Mick St. John standing by his side, united with him for the rest of eternity. Coraline had already gotten her hooks too far into this man, and Josef was determined to save him from himself.

Okay, okay, he told himself wryly, moving through the crowd towards that siren song that drew him inexorably in Mick's direction. Maybe he was more concerned with having Mick for himself than with saving him from that bitch. But it all came down to the same thing in the end, didn't it?

He wanted Mick. And he was going to have Mick. Coraline might think that she could beat him, but she hadn't dealt with him when he really wanted something. And if it came down to a declaration of war between them, then so be it.

And, Josef told himself as a wolfish smile spread across his face, all was fair in love and war.

***