orange_crushed: (Default)
orange_crushed ([personal profile] orange_crushed) wrote2008-10-13 09:20 pm

Short fic: Age before beauty. (True Blood/Moonlight, Eric & Josef, PG-13.)

Age before beauty. Okay, this is new for me, so please forgive any inaccuracies. It's a True Blood/Moonlight crossover. Eric and Josef, PG-13 for language, general snark at Mick and Bill's expense (bless.) This is, obviously, for [livejournal.com profile] the_grynne. Darling, I'd follow you into any fandom.


"He thinks sin is catching," he says, and swigs his drink empty. It leaves a wide red streak on the glass, like a church window. He rolls the droplets back and forth.






"Your companion is nervous."

Josef glances behind him, scans the bar- sure enough, Mick is at the corner, sipping from a bottle; giving everyone around him a glare of such puritan intensity that it ought to be taking the skin off of a few backs. A female vampire leans across the bar to lick her companion's wrist, and Mick's eyes practically bulge in their sockets. So much for the jaded Los Angeles attitude. Josef shrugs, turns back to his host.

"He thinks sin is catching," he says, and swigs his drink empty. It leaves a wide red streak on the glass, like a church window. He rolls the droplets back and forth.

"He does remind me of a priest," Eric says with a thin, wry smile. "Inexperience breeds suspicion."

They watch the other patrons from their vantage point; most of them are busy with lovers or chew-toys, though a few have paused to throw territorial glances at Josef, sitting so close to Eric's right hand. He'd be amused at his own sidestep into the power structure if he wasn't about two hundred years older than everybody else in the room. Fuck the provincials, Josef thinks. He glances over at Mick, who is now staring intently at the bottle in his hands.

"Look at this." Josef shakes his head. "He's probably trying to find out how many carbs that shit has." A waitress sets another glass down at Josef's side; he picks it up, savoring the slight warmth of the liquid. Eric is still silent. "Do you remember when everything was interesting ? Every woman, every meal, every argument ?"

"No," says Eric.

"Me neither." Josef indicates Mick with a slight nod of his head. "He does. And it's different." He shrugs. "Different is something."

The door opens and there's a shift of attention pronounced as a ripple in a pond. A dark-haired guy with a sullen face and a stretch of wrinkled cotton shirt slinks in, pulling a human girl along at his side. His arms are stiff, his posture formal. He nods at Eric before going to the bar and Eric nods back. The couple passes and Josef smells something good- the clean smell of sun-dried linens and grass, girl's shampoo and sweat. She looks at Eric and Eric looks both at her and past her with practiced disinterest.

"Hi," says the yellow-haired girl, with evident good manners, as she's led off to a table in the corner. She waves to Pam, slouching in a wing-back chair. "Hiya, Pam." Pam, improbably, gives her a smile.

The bar adjusts.

"I find myself," Eric says at last, "in a similar situation."

"Your situation smells delicious," Josef observes.

"Don't think," Eric replies, calmly, "that your age would keep me from ripping your arms off and feeding them back to you."

"Not my age." Josef finishes his drink. "My beauty, maybe."

And Eric laughs.

[identity profile] ghostrunner7.livejournal.com 2008-10-14 01:38 am (UTC)(link)
This is fucking genius.

For a moment, just a brief slice of a second, I thought I might have been reading something [livejournal.com profile] the_grynne wrote. I hope you understand and take that as the extreme compliment it was intended to be.

I love everything about this. Everyone is spot on even in their small appearances.

[identity profile] the-grynne.livejournal.com 2008-10-14 01:48 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, my dear. My goodness-gracious.

"Me neither." Josef indicates Mick with a slight nod of his head. "He does. And it's different." He shrugs. "Different is something."

You've given them such distinctive voices. I love them both, but they're really very different, and I can hear that here. And Eric is blithely threatening Josef with dismemberment, and Josef is...well, Josef is fitting in, the commentator and observer of all worlds.

You have them all down COLD. I love you for it. Thank you.

[identity profile] the-grynne.livejournal.com 2008-10-14 01:56 am (UTC)(link)
It leaves a wide red streak on the glass, like a church window. He rolls the droplets back and forth.

My thought, when I read that the first time, was: But wine doesn't do that.

And then the second time, I thought: Ooooooh!

:)
ext_2541: (josef)

[identity profile] transtempts.livejournal.com 2008-10-14 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
*glee*

This is perfect, and I adore it. These two? Wonderful together.

[identity profile] rosa-acicularis.livejournal.com 2008-10-14 05:11 am (UTC)(link)
Well, hello. This is awesome. I've seen about a fourth of an episode of Moonlight, and I still know this is completely, completely awesome.

[identity profile] alethialia.livejournal.com 2008-10-14 06:11 am (UTC)(link)
Here via [livejournal.com profile] the_grynne. I have no idea who half these people are, but you nailed Eric and Sookie (and Pam!).

"I find myself," Eric says at last, "in a similar situation."

"Your situation smells delicious," Josef observes.

"Don't think," Eric replies, calmly, "that your age would keep me from ripping your arms off and feeding them back to you."


Ahh, love the vamp possessive streak. Same goes for the others checking out Josef's favored position next to Eric. Really clean, spare piece that gets right to the guts of the situation. Very impressive. Thanks for sharing.

[identity profile] fan-elune.livejournal.com 2008-10-14 09:45 am (UTC)(link)
This was awesome. Here via [livejournal.com profile] the_grynne and, yeah. "Your situation smells delicious" is such a perfect Josef line and this absolutely needed to be written and you've done so admirably. I love the shift in the bar when Bill and Sookie walk in, everything is just so very perfectly spot-on and makes me want to read a lot more of you writing for True Blood. Preferably with Josef in it. Thank you for sharing!

[identity profile] the-grynne.livejournal.com 2008-10-14 12:28 pm (UTC)(link)
"Your situation smells delicious"

Can't you just imagine Dohring saying that in his most suggestive voice? *G*

[identity profile] fan-elune.livejournal.com 2008-10-14 01:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Precisely. You read that line and you can't help but hear and even see the way he would deliver it. Hands nonchalantly joined. (He's always doing something with his hands. Oh, Jason.)

(PS: will reply to your fragrance-related request soonish! I haven't forgotten.)

[identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/_kirsty/ 2008-10-14 07:20 pm (UTC)(link)
You wrote Eric fic! And it's lovely. I love how Eric is kind of thrown by his Sookie situation.

[identity profile] moimoietmoi.livejournal.com 2008-10-14 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Here via [livejournal.com profile] the_grynne.
I love the discussion between Eric and Josef! :)

[identity profile] dlasta.livejournal.com 2008-10-14 09:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, I so needed to read this. Yay!

Ps. Extra points for getting Josef just right.

[identity profile] space-cadet.livejournal.com 2008-10-15 02:43 am (UTC)(link)
Haha, love <3 Josef and Eric really would be best of friends, I think. Or at least, best of frienemies.

[identity profile] lila-roxo.livejournal.com 2009-04-20 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
Found your fics via a rec somewhere (please don't ask me to remember where because I have pea-sized memory when it comes to names ;) ) and I just had to comment with a short word:

Glee!

This fic is amazing. I'd thought that ML and Tb were so far apart (I'm including vamp mythology in this) that it was like trying to make Torchwood fit into Brothers and Sisters, but this is excellent and hilarious and your Josef is perfect. Gah, please excuse this stranger who is fangirling.

[identity profile] orange-crushed.livejournal.com 2009-04-20 03:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Glee, indeed!

Well, I'm glad you followed the trail and found me. This was a very nice comment. I think Josef is really the only thing I'll miss about Moonlight, but oh, Josef.

Forget getting excused, you're getting hugged. :)