Title: Safer With Him
Fandoms: Moonlight
Pairings: Beth/Josef
Rating: Teen
Warnings/Spoilers: AU - No Mick. Episode 10 "Sleeping Beauty" & 13 "Fated To Pretend". Mentions of side character's canon death.
Summary: What if Beth never met Mick and asked for Josef to provide her protection?
Notes: Written for![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
smallfandomfest prompt see summary by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
corinalannister, 100ships prompt moonlight and 100fandoms prompt history.
[...100ships Table...] [...100fandoms Table...]
“I need your help.” Beth Turner stated in greeting as she walked into Josef Kostan’s office, bypassing his assistant and anyone else that may be in the room. She settled down in the chair before him, maybe a little less gracefully than she normally would since her nerves were rattled. She felt safer just by being near Josef, but the events of the night were still buzzing in the back of her mind.
Josef didn’t even need to glance over to or tell his assistant and the finance guys to leave, they were already up and walking by the time Beth sat down. He studied her silently, waiting for her to continue. She looked worn out and upset, he could smell the tears she must have wiped away before coming in. He could also smell a hint of blood, not hers thankfully. He could smell the difference, but he still felt the urge to go to her and check her out himself. He gripped his desk to stop himself. She was fine, she was sitting right in front of him, maybe upset but physically she was fine.
“What happened?” Josef asked once everyone had left, and to bring Beth’s attention back to him since she seemed lost in thought.
-
Her boss, Maureen “Mo” Williams was killed and so far there had been no clues as to who may have killed her. While she may not have always liked the stories Mo wanted her post about, she did respect the woman and to die as horribly as she did. Beth let out a shudder at the memory of seeing Mo’s dead body at BuzzWire. She’d seen many dead bodies over the last few months for various stories and she’d been to the morgue more times than she could count. But in those moments, she’d been expecting to see those dead bodies, and while she knew they had life stories and had love ones out there, she hadn’t personally known any of them. She knew Mo. Mo was her boss; maybe she wasn’t always pleasant and was more worried about hits and numbers than the story sometimes, but Beth respected her. She owed Mo for so much, for hiring her when no one else wanted to take a risk of a new reporter and supporting the type of stories Beth wanted to do. To see her lying there with blood everywhere among a destroyed BuzzWire was horrible. If she had gotten there any sooner, she’d probably have been right there with Mo since she had called her in for an unexpected late night meeting.
-
Josef doesn’t leave her side for even a moment since Beth had arrived at his office even after a week. Not that she minded, she felt safer with him than without, and she loved his company. She’d half expected him to leave her to head into his office after only a day – it wasn’t as if he was a bodyguard or a private investigator. He’s a CEO and hedge fund trader, he’d probably be needed sooner rather than later, but he never leaves her. Well, he lets her go into the bathrooms by herself at least, although he always flirts – with his smirk gracing his lips each and every time – about joining her for her showers. She’s utterly tempted at the offer each and every time, but she’s afraid of taking that next step with him.
He’s a vampire which she’s perfectly fine with, but he’s also been through the human-vampire relationship before that didn’t end well, so she knew she had to use caution if they ever took their relationship to the next level – beyond friendship. She wanted to, desperately, because the more time she spends with Josef, the faster she was falling for him. He wasn’t perfect, but neither was she. He just happened to have a lot more history than her. Several hundred, in fact, which she could understand why he is the way he is and why he’s rough around the edges. He tends to use humor and witty comments to cover up what he’s really feeling, or to keep others at a distance. And he was happy as a vampire – he didn’t want to be human, and honestly she was fine with that. He’d been able to help and protect her more than anyone else ever did or probably could because of what he is.
A part of her even thought about becoming a vampire herself, about how she could potentially live forever – how much soon-to-be history she could see and live through (or hopefully report on). She could learn so much, maybe she’d become a private investigator and solve cases for people – hell half the time it felt like she was doing that already since with Josef’s help within the last few months she could get into places the cops couldn’t. She could visit every part of every continent, or she could travel more. She knew the darker sides of being a vampire – the need for blood and outliving your loved ones, the secrecy – but she thinks she could live with that. That she could live with him.
But she wasn’t ready for that.
Not yet.
She hadn’t even admitted to liking him out loud yet.
-
Josef kills the vampire that killed Beth’s boss and had attempted to kidnap Beth. He’s not gentle with it, the anger and hatred he feels towards the dead vampire still pumps throughout his body. Josef is brutal in his beheading, and he can’t help but feel satisfied at watching the body burn. He could have had the cleaners do this part, since he had them clean everything else up, but this job he wanted to oversee himself.
He’d almost lost Beth tonight, just like he’d almost lost her a week and half ago when her boss had been killed – if she had been arrived anytime earlier for that meeting with her boss she could have been there at the same time as the killer. Just the thought of losing her nearly guts him; he couldn’t keep himself away from her since he learned about her boss. He’d been afraid she would be next, and he hated that he was right about that.
He hadn’t felt this strongly about a woman since Sarah and while he has a not so tiny fear that the same thing might happen if he turns Beth one day, he can’t help but want her anyway. He wants a future with Beth, and while he’d spend every day and moment by her side to protect her, he can’t help but want to see her as a vampire one day. How strong and resilient and utterly gorgeous she’d be just as she was as a human. How they could potentially spend forever with each other.
He doesn’t want to wait any more. He’s done pretending he doesn’t want more with Beth.
-
Beth greets him in his penthouse, and the idea of her somehow getting in there on her own has him feeling weirdly proud of her. His building didn’t slack in security and with his own updates to the security system because he might be a tad paranoid, it was no easy feat. Although he would probably have to fire someone, since Josef had tried to make sure his penthouse was impenetrable. But that could wait for the morning, he’d much rather focus on the woman in his living room.
She doesn’t say anything as he closes the distance between them, leaving little personal space between them. He studies her face and smirks at the concern lacing her features.
“Are you okay?” Beth finally asks, annoyance lacing her voice as she takes in his smug expression, her hand reaching up to touch the healing wound on his forehead. She knew he was. He was standing before her after all but that fight had been brutal and she hated that she couldn’t help at all with it. She knows the only reason he hadn’t been back sooner was because he was taking care of the body of Mo’s killer.
“I’m fine,” Josef states and his smirk fades into a genuine smile. When was the last time someone worried about him?
Beth huffs at his answer but smiles in return, unable to help herself she wraps her arms around him and pulls him into a hug. It’s quite clear he wasn’t expecting that move, as he slowly in return puts his arms around her, but she appreciates that he’s letting her have this moment. She lets out a relieved breath as she feels him surrounding her, and she tilts her head to look up at him and meets his gaze. And she couldn’t help herself.
She kisses him.
THE END.
Fandoms: Moonlight
Pairings: Beth/Josef
Rating: Teen
Warnings/Spoilers: AU - No Mick. Episode 10 "Sleeping Beauty" & 13 "Fated To Pretend". Mentions of side character's canon death.
Summary: What if Beth never met Mick and asked for Josef to provide her protection?
Notes: Written for
smallfandomfest prompt see summary by corinalannister, 100ships prompt moonlight and 100fandoms prompt history. [...100ships Table...] [...100fandoms Table...]
“I need your help.” Beth Turner stated in greeting as she walked into Josef Kostan’s office, bypassing his assistant and anyone else that may be in the room. She settled down in the chair before him, maybe a little less gracefully than she normally would since her nerves were rattled. She felt safer just by being near Josef, but the events of the night were still buzzing in the back of her mind.
Josef didn’t even need to glance over to or tell his assistant and the finance guys to leave, they were already up and walking by the time Beth sat down. He studied her silently, waiting for her to continue. She looked worn out and upset, he could smell the tears she must have wiped away before coming in. He could also smell a hint of blood, not hers thankfully. He could smell the difference, but he still felt the urge to go to her and check her out himself. He gripped his desk to stop himself. She was fine, she was sitting right in front of him, maybe upset but physically she was fine.
“What happened?” Josef asked once everyone had left, and to bring Beth’s attention back to him since she seemed lost in thought.
Her boss, Maureen “Mo” Williams was killed and so far there had been no clues as to who may have killed her. While she may not have always liked the stories Mo wanted her post about, she did respect the woman and to die as horribly as she did. Beth let out a shudder at the memory of seeing Mo’s dead body at BuzzWire. She’d seen many dead bodies over the last few months for various stories and she’d been to the morgue more times than she could count. But in those moments, she’d been expecting to see those dead bodies, and while she knew they had life stories and had love ones out there, she hadn’t personally known any of them. She knew Mo. Mo was her boss; maybe she wasn’t always pleasant and was more worried about hits and numbers than the story sometimes, but Beth respected her. She owed Mo for so much, for hiring her when no one else wanted to take a risk of a new reporter and supporting the type of stories Beth wanted to do. To see her lying there with blood everywhere among a destroyed BuzzWire was horrible. If she had gotten there any sooner, she’d probably have been right there with Mo since she had called her in for an unexpected late night meeting.
Josef doesn’t leave her side for even a moment since Beth had arrived at his office even after a week. Not that she minded, she felt safer with him than without, and she loved his company. She’d half expected him to leave her to head into his office after only a day – it wasn’t as if he was a bodyguard or a private investigator. He’s a CEO and hedge fund trader, he’d probably be needed sooner rather than later, but he never leaves her. Well, he lets her go into the bathrooms by herself at least, although he always flirts – with his smirk gracing his lips each and every time – about joining her for her showers. She’s utterly tempted at the offer each and every time, but she’s afraid of taking that next step with him.
He’s a vampire which she’s perfectly fine with, but he’s also been through the human-vampire relationship before that didn’t end well, so she knew she had to use caution if they ever took their relationship to the next level – beyond friendship. She wanted to, desperately, because the more time she spends with Josef, the faster she was falling for him. He wasn’t perfect, but neither was she. He just happened to have a lot more history than her. Several hundred, in fact, which she could understand why he is the way he is and why he’s rough around the edges. He tends to use humor and witty comments to cover up what he’s really feeling, or to keep others at a distance. And he was happy as a vampire – he didn’t want to be human, and honestly she was fine with that. He’d been able to help and protect her more than anyone else ever did or probably could because of what he is.
A part of her even thought about becoming a vampire herself, about how she could potentially live forever – how much soon-to-be history she could see and live through (or hopefully report on). She could learn so much, maybe she’d become a private investigator and solve cases for people – hell half the time it felt like she was doing that already since with Josef’s help within the last few months she could get into places the cops couldn’t. She could visit every part of every continent, or she could travel more. She knew the darker sides of being a vampire – the need for blood and outliving your loved ones, the secrecy – but she thinks she could live with that. That she could live with him.
But she wasn’t ready for that.
Not yet.
She hadn’t even admitted to liking him out loud yet.
Josef kills the vampire that killed Beth’s boss and had attempted to kidnap Beth. He’s not gentle with it, the anger and hatred he feels towards the dead vampire still pumps throughout his body. Josef is brutal in his beheading, and he can’t help but feel satisfied at watching the body burn. He could have had the cleaners do this part, since he had them clean everything else up, but this job he wanted to oversee himself.
He’d almost lost Beth tonight, just like he’d almost lost her a week and half ago when her boss had been killed – if she had been arrived anytime earlier for that meeting with her boss she could have been there at the same time as the killer. Just the thought of losing her nearly guts him; he couldn’t keep himself away from her since he learned about her boss. He’d been afraid she would be next, and he hated that he was right about that.
He hadn’t felt this strongly about a woman since Sarah and while he has a not so tiny fear that the same thing might happen if he turns Beth one day, he can’t help but want her anyway. He wants a future with Beth, and while he’d spend every day and moment by her side to protect her, he can’t help but want to see her as a vampire one day. How strong and resilient and utterly gorgeous she’d be just as she was as a human. How they could potentially spend forever with each other.
He doesn’t want to wait any more. He’s done pretending he doesn’t want more with Beth.
Beth greets him in his penthouse, and the idea of her somehow getting in there on her own has him feeling weirdly proud of her. His building didn’t slack in security and with his own updates to the security system because he might be a tad paranoid, it was no easy feat. Although he would probably have to fire someone, since Josef had tried to make sure his penthouse was impenetrable. But that could wait for the morning, he’d much rather focus on the woman in his living room.
She doesn’t say anything as he closes the distance between them, leaving little personal space between them. He studies her face and smirks at the concern lacing her features.
“Are you okay?” Beth finally asks, annoyance lacing her voice as she takes in his smug expression, her hand reaching up to touch the healing wound on his forehead. She knew he was. He was standing before her after all but that fight had been brutal and she hated that she couldn’t help at all with it. She knows the only reason he hadn’t been back sooner was because he was taking care of the body of Mo’s killer.
“I’m fine,” Josef states and his smirk fades into a genuine smile. When was the last time someone worried about him?
Beth huffs at his answer but smiles in return, unable to help herself she wraps her arms around him and pulls him into a hug. It’s quite clear he wasn’t expecting that move, as he slowly in return puts his arms around her, but she appreciates that he’s letting her have this moment. She lets out a relieved breath as she feels him surrounding her, and she tilts her head to look up at him and meets his gaze. And she couldn’t help herself.
She kisses him.
THE END.
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