Motel (M/B, PG-13)

[redwinter101]

Title: Motel
Author: redwinter101
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Moonlight or any of its characters
Note: I guess motels have been on my mind.

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--- Motel ---

Death is here, taking up residence among the cockroaches and sickly heat.

He has done all he can to save Leni and her baby and now he is entrusting her to me. In that moment, he is calm, serene. He has decided. A brief flash of regret, connection, a sense of what might have been between us. In this low place, filled with grime and stench, there is joy and wonder.

To him, this is how things should be, how things must be.

No-one should be that sanguine about dying. He values his life so little, a fair exchange to save a stranger. But I know I can't lose him; he can't die, no matter the cost or consequence.

This strong man's helplessness calls to me, a song of ages. He needs me, yet it doesn't even occur to him to ask. I am right here, red life coursing through me yet all he sees is the end of dreams.

I offer myself to him and watch the horror spread across his sickly face. He is appalled, disgusted at what he must do to survive.

He trembles with fear, of himself, of what is to come.

I am afraid, but not of him. I fear pain. I fear the unknown. I fear the hot swell of desire spreading through me. Above all I fear his death.

At that moment, his fear is overcome by the terrible beauty of need. He needs me and for the first time I understand what it means to save a life. I feel a power I could never have imagined: life, death, hope, wrapped in a tangle of emotions neither of us understands.

He pierces me, a growl, a sharp jag of pain. Drawing in close, he turns, pulling, hiding as he suckles.

My life to his.

I want this to last for ever.

Nothing will ever be the same again.

[jenstc2003]

OMG Red!! I love it! So poignant- and SO VERY perceptive of Beth. You caught the moment perfectly!

[francis]

Red this is great. I could quote the whole bloody thing. Pun intended.
I love that you write from Beth's POV, it hasn't been explored nearly enough yet. She is so determined to safe his life almost despite himself. I loved that in this scene. You breathe life into it once again.
Your writing is great, everything is so well worded and every sentence punches me in the gut. This one has some kind of serenity besides the urgency to safe his life. The mood is totally right for that scene.
Thank you!!!

[starbucksjunkie]

Oh red,

This is poetic. You have captured it with such grace.

This strong man's helplessness calls to me, a song of ages. He needs me, yet it doesn't even occur to him to ask. I am right here, red life coursing through me yet all he sees is the end of dreams.

The "end of dreams." Yes. And I can see so clearly that half-smile of his as she announces the obvious, "You're dying."

At that moment, his fear is overcome by the terrible beauty of need.

The above is my favorite line. What a captivating, truthful line.

Nothing will ever be the same again.

And it wasn't, was it?

This was so poignant, so full of truth. Brava.

[redwinter101]

Thanks, Jen. I love this scene so much - it gets me every time.

francis, you're very kind - and I'm very flattered.

sbj, out of all the wonderful work Alex and Sophia did in this series, this scene was, and for me always will be, their finest hour. It's just about the most beautiful thing I've ever seen on TV, even with the ridiculous ice cubes. And I finally got round to writing something about it. Thank you so much for the lovely comment - it really is appreciated.

Red

[wollstonecraft61]

Visceral, Red, absolutely gut-wrenching...and erotic.

[redwinter101]

Thanks, Woll .

Red

[allegrita]

Oh, Red...
That scene is the one that got me writing prose for the first time in my life. It will always be precious to me, both for what it was onscreen and for what it caused to happen to me personally. And you have made it sing.

Sometimes I'm just dumbfounded by the beauty of your writing.

[bank1115]

Simply beautiful. kays

[Albra]

Poignant ... yes, it is proper word.
I can saw all of this on their faces in that scene.
Thank you for turning view into words.

[redwinter101]

alle, kays, such very high praise - I'm touched. Thank you

Albra, thank you so much for reading and commenting - it really is appreciated.

Red

[wpgrace]

Oh what a cool way to see this scene... Beth's pov... her calm pov...

And this seems to me to be the definitive line in that whole scene:

I am afraid, but not of him. I fear pain. I fear the unknown. I fear the hot swell of desire spreading through me. Above all I fear his death.

His fears were more complicated; hers pretty simple.

Was that not just the best scene? LOVE what you did with it!

[redwinter101]

Thanks, Grace. More than anything else, and no matter what the writers did to Beth, the thing that always endeared her to me was that she didn't fear Mick - even when she should have done. I loved that about her from the very beginning and never more so than in this scene.

Red

[Raven]

Such brilliant truth in every word. I love this so much, Red.
My favorite passage...

I am afraid, but not of him. I fear pain. I fear the unknown. I fear the hot swell of desire spreading through me. Above all I fear his death.

In Fever, as I first watched Mick feed...his closed eyes open briefly, pale blue focusing on nothing, then close as he draws his life rejuvinating sustenance, it reminded me of a baby nursing at his mother's breast... so this line has a depth of feeling that enhanced the whole sequence...

Drawing in close, he turns, pulling, hiding as he suckles.

Love this.

[redwinter101]

Thanks so much, Raven.

I have lost count of the number of times I've watched this scene, but it still has the power to bring my hand to my mouth and make my heart pound. So, so beautiful.



Red