Title: Raindancing
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Josef Kostan/Mick St. John
Fandom: Moonlight
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,690
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, 2008

"I can't believe we've never come here before," Mick told Josef, looking around him in appreciation. "It's really beautiful. A rose garden in the middle of the city. I always knew it was here, but I never had the time to come and see it. I wish I had."

"Well, you're seeing it now," Josef pointed out, flashing a smile at his boyfriend. "And I'm glad you've never been here before. Seeing it with me for the first time should mean that it's even more special to you. At least, I hope that's how you'd think."

"Of course I do," Mick said softly, slipping an arm around his boyfriend's waist and pulling Josef close against him. "I wouldn't want to see this place with anybody but you. There's nobody else I could ever feel romantic enough about to want to share this beauty with."

"Even .... her?" Josef's voice wavered, and Mick knew that he was thinking about Beth. It hadn't been that long since she had been out of his life, and Josef was still feeling threatened by the feelings that Mick had harbored for her one time -- or at least thought he had.

He hadn't really loved her. He knew that now. Josef had always been the one -- even when he'd been so damn obsessed with Coraline that he hadn't been able to figure out what he really wanted. Josef had always been there, as a friend and a shoulder to lean on.

And now, Josef was his lover, the person closest to his heart. More than that, Josef had given him the gift of immortality for a second time; this man was his sire, the one who had ushered him into the vampiric world even when he'd known that Mick was doing it for someone else.

Mick had bitterly regretted giving up his humanity at first, but now .... He had no more regrets. If he hadn't gone to Josef that night and begged to be turned, then he wouldn't have this chance at spending eternity with the man he'd always loved from the very depths of his heart and soul.

"Even her," Mick whispered, turning to face Josef and placing a finger under the other man's chin to tilt his lover's face up to his. "I love you more than I could ever possibly love anybody, Josef. You're my one and only. You always have been, even when I didn't realize that fact."

"I needed to hear that," Josef murmured, his gaze not wavering from Mick's -- until he blinked and looked up at the sky with a slight frown. "Damn, I think it's going to rain. Nice night I picked for bringing you here. Looks like we'll get rained out."

Mick followed his gaze, blinking when a raindrop fell onto his face just under his eye. "We can always wait and see if it lasts long, and then come back out here," he suggested, looking around at the roses that bloomed in profusion all around them. "It's a shame to waste this."

Josef nodded, taking his hand and starting to lead the way towards a small gazebo that had obviously been built for just this sort of circumstance. As they bounded up the steps into the shelter, the rain began to patter down more intensely, the shower springing up out of the blue.

Mick peered up at what he could see of the darkened night sky, wishing that the rain would stop. It figured that something would happen to ruin their romantic evening, he thought wryly, sinking back against one of the gazebo seats and hoping that the rain would stop soon.

"Sorry about this," Josef murmured as he sat down beside Mick. "I should've checked the weather to see what it was going to be like before I brought you here. I just assumed it would cooperate. Silly me, huh? I can always manage to screw up the romance."

"You didn't screw anything up." Mick stood up, grabbing Josef's hand and pulling his boyfriend to his feet. Without a word, he tugged Josef down the gazebo steps until they were standing out in the rain, in the midst of the roses, the sweet, heady scent permeating the air.

"Mick, what are you doing?" Josef protested, shaking his wet hair out of his face. "We'll get soaked!" But Mick noticed that his boyfriend wasn't trying to make his way back to the shelter. He was simply standing there, looking at Mick with that adorable crooked smile on his face.

"I'm dancing in the rain with you," Mick said softly, backing up a few steps and holding out his arms to his boyfriend. "Dance with me," he murmured, even though there was no music playing. "We can hear the music in our heads. Just pretend it's there."

Josef didn't speak, merely moving into Mick's embrace and sliding one arm around his waist. The two of them moved slowly around the concrete paths through the profusion of flowers as the rain continued to come down, soaking them both to the skin.

But neither man cared that their clothes were wet through; even the blooming roses that surrounded them had faded away. They were lost in a world where only the two of them existed, lost in each other's eyes, in the promises that they both read there.

Mick couldn't take his eyes from Josef's face; he was sure that he'd never seen his lover look so beautiful in all the time that they'd known each other. That face held his attention completely, the look in those eyes, the love that radiated from Josef's clear, direct gaze.

His gaze took in every feature; the softness of Josef's mouth, the curve of his cheek, the thickness of his long, curling lashes. How could any man have lashes like that? And the rain beading on them only made them look longer and more sensual.

Josef raised his face to Mick's, a smile curving his lips, a smile that took Mick's breath away and made his senses reel. Was this what Josef would look like if he could cry, and manage a smile through his tears? he thought, watching rivulets of rain streak down his lover's face.

But Josef wasn't crying, Mick told himself; his lover was laughing up at him as they waltzed down the paths between the banks of flowers, looking as though he was perfectly happy to be out here, getting soaking wet in the rain, without a care in the world.

His boyfriend was absolutely captivating when he was soaking wet, laughing in the rain, Mick thought, his own laughter joining Josef's. And even though neither one of them had expected this impromptu shower to cut into their romantic evening, he was glad that it had.

They slowly whirled to a stop, the rain still coming down on them, though not as heavily now. Mick couldn't take his eyes from Josef's face; all he could see was his boyfriend laughing up at him, looking more incredibly beautiful than he could imagine anyone being.

He didn't care if rained, snowed, or if the sun was shining brightly overhead. As long as he had Josef in his arms and in his heart, the world could go by and sweep him along in the tide. With Josef by his side, he could face anything that life threw at him.

"As many centuries as I've lived, I've never danced with anybody in the rain before," Josef whispered, his gaze never leaving Mick's face. "I thought I'd screwed up our romantic evening, but now I think that being out here in the rain might have just made it better."

"I don't care if it's pouring rain, or blazing sunlight, or if the wind is whipping all around us," Mick told him, his voice a husky whisper. "As long as I'm with you, I'm right where I want to be. Right where I belong. No matter what, Josef, my place is with you. For always."

When their lips met, Mick could almost feel the two of them dissolving together; Josef's hands came up to rest on either side of his face, then slide to tangle in his hair. His own hands were on Josef's back, holding the other man closer to him, never wanting to let him go.

He never wanted this kiss to end; the rain falling softly all around them only made it all the more romantic, all the more symbolic. Through any kind of weather, come rain or come shine, they would be together. Not only for now and the foreseeable future, but for all of eternity.

It seemed like an eternity before the kiss ended; Mick felt as though he couldn't speak, as if all speech were taken away from him and he would never be capable of saying another word again -- only of kissing Josef until they were both breathless.

When he could speak, his voice, to his ears, sounded weak and disoriented. "Do you think we should go home and dry off now?" he asked, wondering what Josef would say. He could imagine what they might do when they got back to Josef's penthouse .....

An evening by the fireplace, stripping off their wet clothes and lying down on that white fur rug in front of the fire .... Champagne and kisses, then leisurely lovemaking that would last for the rest of the night until the sun's first rays began to gleam across the awakening city.

Josef didn't answer his question; the other man merely took his hand and led him out of the flower garden, towards the exit that would lead them home. Mick followed him with alacrity, already planning the night ahead -- and savoring the idea of what the night could still have in store for them.

***