Disclaimer: FK is the property of James Parriott and Sony/Tristar, no
copyright infringement intended
Archiving: Mel and any Dark Perk, all others please ask first
Note: This is the 3rd in my Miklos/Tracy series.  1st- 'Sleeping Beauty'
2nd -'Long Day's Night.'  They're from Tracy's POV and the first 2 are
archived at my site http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Hollow/1228/
Note 2:  I'm getting a great response to this series and I just want to
say thanks :)  You don't know how much I love feedback! <g>

Close Shave
By: Cousin Mary (Jenkins)

        The first thing I notice is the smell.  It's kind of like when you're
jogging first thing in the morning, after there's been a rain storm the
night before... there's this one plot done up as an herb garden in the
Botanical Gardens, basil, rosemary, thyme... that's what his pillow
smells like.  That's what Miklos smells like.  I smile and bury my face,
trying to breath it all in and drown in his scent.

        I spent the night with him again last night.  Normally I wouldn't have,
I mean, I hardly know him really.  But we already had... and well, it
feels like I've known him forever you know?  Well, maybe not like I
-know- know him, but it feels right.  Like, well, have you ever told a
stranger a secret?  Something that normally you wouldn't tell a living
soul outside your family or closest friends, but then you meet someone
and just know right away that they're going to be your best friend so you
tell them. And it's right, it feels right and in the end you know it's
okay simply because you feel it.

        All right, so it sounds like I'm setting myself up for a huge fall, but
it honestly doesn't feel like that.  Actually, I almost get the feeling
it's the other way around.  I mean, Miklos likes and trusts me, and don't
get me wrong, it's a wonderful thing to know someone feels that way about
you, but at the same time I'm afraid of letting him down.  When he looks
at me it's as if I'm the only thing in the world that matters to him, and
that scares me. I don't know if I can be that important.

        Slowly I become aware of something else, the sound of running water.  I
rise up a little, looking across the room to the half way open door that
leads to his bathroom.  He's standing at the sink, it looks like he's
getting ready to shave.  I slip out of bed and pull on his discarded
shirt, padding my way across the Persian carpet and into his bathroom.
He looks at me and smiles, "Beauty, I did not mean to wake you."

        "You didn't," I tell him as I smile like an idiot. I swear I haven't
been this goofy around a guy since middle school.  But then again, Miklos
never seems to notice when I don the mask of my alter ego, dork girl, he
just smiles at me with this look of pure pleasure that I'm there.  Boy am
I ever falling for this guy.

        He's beaming at me and I lower my eyes, I hope demurely, but then I find
myself staring at his chest.  Now I've seen it a couple of times, smooth
olive skin stretched incredibly well defined muscles, like the cover of a
Johanna Lindsey romance novel.  But oh god, he's just wearing a towel
and- yeah, my brain is starting to seize up in a hormone lock.  Batten
down the hatches, all hands to battle stations, Tracy try to keep control
of yourself!  I swallow back a giggle and look at the sink, pretty much
so I'll stop gaping, he's got all his shaving stuff out.  I look back up
at his face, he's looking at me with this curious expression, like he
doesn't know what I'm thinking.  Thank god he doesn't know what I'm
thinking!

        "Can I-" I cock my head to one side and look at him, I was going to ask
if I could help, but... maybe I don't have to.  Ask that is.  He'll let
me, I know it.  I take a step and put myself between him and the sink,
then I slide up and take a seat on the counter.  Grabbing the shaving
creme, I put a little in the palm of my hand to warm it before smoothing
it across his cheeks, jaw and throat.  He watches me intently but doesn't
say a word.  When I reach for the razor I find it's the old fashion kind,
you know long and skinny, all blade... not the disposable kind I do my
legs with.  I really think about stopping, but then I look back at Miklos
and something just clicks in me that says I should try.  I hold the
blade, turning it to the right angle and bring it within inches of his
face.  "Is this all right?"

        He nods, stepping closer to the sink... to me.  I have to spread my legs
a little so he can get closer, so he's standing between my knees.  Oh god
is this something or what?  The first swipe is easy, down his right
cheek.  He closes his eyes and again I'm struck by how much he trusts me.
 I mean, I have a five inch razor blade against his naked throat!  I
swallow and do the bit just in front of his ear before rinsing the blade
in the sink behind me, when I look back his eyes are on me again.

        "Beauty," He whispers and I smile at him, not a big smile, I hope I look
confident, maybe a little sultry, like one of those old movie stars from
the 40's, the kind who could seduce the male lead with a single glance.
Must have worked, because all of the sudden his hands are on my hips,
just holding me while I work.

        "Miklos..." I move to the left side, I feel the need to make
conversation.  Anything really, just so we can stop this intense whatever
it is that's hanging in the air, like shower steam only heavier.  "Tell
me about your master."

        He frowns slightly, but then nods.  "I do not actually know the one who
brought me into this life, I was attacked and left for dead."

        Could I possibly have picked a worse subject?!  "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't
mean-"

        "Shh," He holds a finger to my lips, thankfully stopping my babbling
apology, "It's all right, there's more."

        I bite my lip and nod, waiting for him to continue.

        "It was nearly twenty years ago, outside this very club," A small smile
curves his lips, like it's a pleasant memory.  "I'd been a customer,
drank too much, gained the wrong kind of notice... that very night I woke
up in the alley, dying of thirst, dying to kill."

        "First hunger," I interrupt without thinking, he looks at me but he
doesn't seem annoyed, just smiles and turns his face so I can continue.
I raise the blade and set to work on his jaw line, interesting going
since he continues talking, but as I swipe the blade he does pause.

        "Yes, first hunger," He agrees after a moment, "And I opened new eyes
and beheld an angel of mercy, Janette du Charme."

        I nod, the records said she'd been the previous owner, had opened the
Raven in '75 and had held the deed until she'd sold to Lucien Lacroix in
late '95.  "She took you in?"  I ask as I swipe the blade down his chin.


        "Yes, she took me into her haven and taught me the ways of the night."
As he's telling me this his voice has this quality of hero worship, like
he's in awe of the woman.

        "We're you lovers?"  Amazingly convenient way to have a conversation
really, he has to pause so I can run the blade, giving me a chance to ask
questions.  Okay, lets pretend I'm not jealous for a second.  Kay, long
enough.  Of course, I can't help but feel a little threatened here, I
mean, come on!

        There's this huge pause, and he looks down.  I watch him, his face is
closed, his eyes locked on some random spot on the tile floor, his
shoulders tense and I think I've finally run into a question he's not
going to answer... which really is kind of an answer in itself isn't it?
I reach out and take his chin gently and make him look up, his eyes meet
mine and I force myself to smile, then I push up his chin a little more
and begin running the blade down his throat.  We don't say anything, and
at first the strain between us is almost a palatable thing, but then it
starts to fade.  Like we could have said something, but the longer we
wait the less likely it is that we will, and then it's over, the chance
to say whatever is gone.  After I finish I take a damp wash cloth and
wipe away the left over shaving creme, as I pull it away from his face I
slide off the counter and into his arms.  He holds me tightly for a
moment. Suddenly I'm scared and I don't know why.

        "Beauty," He whispers into my hair as we cling to each other.  He's
scared too, and I wonder if he knows why.  He hesitates a moment, then
pulls back, "When do you have to be at work?"

        I freeze, a feeling of numb shock seems to fill my stomach, I just blew
it didn't I?  He wants me out of here.  "Six thirty."  I sigh, looking
down at my folded hands.  He doesn't say anything, and I can just feel
him staring at me.  His gaze is like this physical thing, pressing
against me.  I think I'm going to be sick.

        He reaches out and his hand slips across my cheek and into my hair.  He
makes me look at him, "It was not like this."

        For a second that makes absolutely no sense, then it clicks that he's
back to talking about Janette.  God, I'd totally forgotten about her at
the idea of losing him.  That probably means something, right?  "It
wasn't?"  Ugh, my voice sounds small, pathetic.  Plus I sound like I'm
fishing... though I guess I am.

        "She was..." He stops, like he's trying to find the right word.  "She
was everything, my world.  I would have gladly died for her, anything she
asked."

        Oh yeah, that makes me feel -so- much better. Vetter, Loser Cafe, table
for one.

        "But, she was not the one I wanted to be with," He stops and stays
silent until I meet his eyes again.  My heart thuds to a stop and drops
into my belly. "She was my savior, but I knew she would never be mine.
It was never like this."

        His hand tightens a bit in my hair, not painfully, I don't think he even
realizes he's doing it.  This, whatever it is that's between us is
important to him.  Very important.  Suddenly I get this feeling like I'm
swimming and have no idea how deep the water is.  Like I'm all right for
the moment, but in an instant it could get really scary.  "Miklos..." I
say his name, like it means something.  I haven't a clue what to say,
hell, I'm not even sure what I'm feeling.  Scared, happy, relieved,
unworthy, too many to count.

        "And then she left," He frowns, "Giving the club over to her master, and
he in turn took petty revenge by changing it to a place she would
detest... the strippers, the hunting... he knows she would hate it."

        At my questioning look he explains, "Janette built the Raven as a haven
for the lost souls of our kind, but also for her sisters... the ladies of
the night.  She wanted to save them all."  A smile touches his lips and
suddenly I like Janette du Charme very much.

        "Why'd she leave?"

        He sighs and looks off into the distance, not really at anything, just
lost in thought.  "She said she was losing herself, that she could not
hold on with the tides of Lacroix and her brother pounding against the
shores."

        Brother?  I freeze, he's not looking at me and I don't want to stop him.
 Ever get that feeling that someone's about to say something that you
shouldn't hear?  As a cop I get it occasionally, talking to a witness who
says the wrong thing.  It's this rush of excitement and dread.  It's like
a drug, and detectives are the biggest junkies.

        "When her brother came to this city six years ago, she was glad of it.
She had missed him, they have been together off and on for nearly eight
hundred years." He looks at me and I try not to look overly interested.
He keeps talking and I start to feel guilty... but not enough to stop
him.  "He then began his life here and started to neglect her, rarely
visiting unless he needed a favor... or her charms."

        "What a jerk."  I bristle.  Men like that should be drug out into the
street and shot... or staked as the case may be.  I happen to glance past
Miklos at the clock by the bedside, "Oh hell!  It's 5:30!"  His eyes
widen, the Raven opens in a half an hour and I assume there's got to be
some setting up he's got to do.  As for me,  "Oh god, Reese is going to
want my head on a pike as a warning to others if I'm late again!  I've
got to go!"

        I race around tugging on my clothes, wishing I'd folded them better the
night before.  By the time I'm finishing tying my shoes Miklos is dressed
and ready to go himself, he pulls me to my feet and gives me a kiss I
won't soon be forgetting.  "I can see you again, yes?"

        "Oh yeah," I smile, all pretense of coyness fried away by that soul
melting kissing.  I couldn't be a temptress now if my life depended on
it, especially in wrinkled khakis.  We smile at each other, charter
members of the idiots' guild once again.  He kisses me once more as he
open the door and suddenly I hear my partner's voice.

        "Lacroix it isn't going to happen again."

        "But my dear Nicholas, it always does..."

        I break away and look out into the club, Nick is standing there in the
middle of the dance floor looking back at who can only be the owner,
Lucien Lacroix.  What the hell?!  I hear Miklos draw a sharp breath and
then he's pulling me back inside his room.

        "We shall wait a moment until they are gone."  He tells me in a whisper
once the door shuts, and I nod like that's fine.

        That was Nick, my partner, my mortal cop partner!  Why the hell was he
talking to a 2000 year old master vampire who-  And then I know, like a
kick in the stomach it hits me with enough force to bring tears to my
eyes.  I shut them so Miklos won't see, but he's too intent on making
sure they don't hear us anyway.  I lean into him and he wraps his arms
around me without thinking.  Nick is Janette's brother. Nick's a vampire.
 Nick's a liar.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Hollow/1228/