Broken ~ "Broken/Healing" Challenge #162 (PG-13)

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Broken ~ "Broken/Healing" Challenge #162 (PG-13)

Post by HotMicks »

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Rating: PG-13 (adult themes, dark tone)

Author's Note: Two stories in one week after 7+ years of nothing? I have no idea where this is coming from all of a sudden, but I'm not gonna question it. :shrug:

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She had broken him. Like some cheap, plastic gumball machine toy. There were no re-assembly instructions. Just a shadow of the man who once thought he would love her “forever.”


The Dating Game
**********************************************************

“Come on, Coraline, tell me about the first time you fell in love.”

“Mick, you don’t want to hear those boring old stories.”

They were parked in his car at the end of Mulholland after a night out dancing.

“Baby, your lips can do some amazing things, but talking about your past ain’t one of them. Why is that?”

Coraline shifted in her seat, pushing her knee against Mick’s leg.

“That’s not gonna work tonight. C’mon, I’m serious. What’s the deal — have you done something you’re ashamed of? Because I don’t care, you can tell me.”

He brushed her hand away from his leg.

“Let’s just say I’ve had a lot of life experience.”

“So he was the rough-and-rugged type, then?”

“Mick, please.”

“I’m just gonna keep at this until you tell me. I want to know everything about you. Tell me how you became this beautiful woman who has captivated my heart and soul.”

“Oh my love, you have no idea….”

“By all means, fill me in.”

Coraline stared through the windshield into the night — a distant, unfocused gaze that cut through time.

“I never told you this before, but I once lived in Paris. When I was… younger.”

“Really? Paris, France?”

“Yes, silly! You’ve been to Europe — you know where it is. Anyway, I met him there, in the Left Bank.”

Coraline searched Mick’s face for a reaction. Seeing none, she pressed further.

“He was different. At first I thought it was just his freckled face. I mean, no one in France has freckles.”

The evening breeze kicked up, so Mick put the seats back and raised the top on the convertible. He pulled her into his arms as his eyes wandered over the city lights.

“The more time I spent with him, the more I realized it wasn’t his looks, it was his outlook on life that was different,” she continued. “Everything in Paris back then was about piety and protocol. One faux pas and you were a social outcast, but he didn’t seem to care. Still, every party hostess in town went out of her way to invite him to her soirées. His family belonged to the landed gentry, so he spent most of his youth traveling and had the most marvelous tales from his adventures.”

Mick's eyebrows shot up. "The landed gentry, huh? Wow, that's something. I didn't know that was still around."

Coraline shifted her weight, pressing her back against Mick’s chest and resting her head under his chin.

“Yeah, it was rumored he came to Paris betrothed to the daughter of a wealthy wine merchant. No one could understand it, but apparently she broke off their engagement at the last minute. He never spoke of it and I didn’t ask, but it didn’t appear to have dampened his appetite for the fairer sex. At least not when it came to pursuing me.”

She looked up and fixed her gaze on his face, directly taunting him.

“I know how men look at me, Mick. I’ve always known.” Mick squirmed a little in his seat. “But he didn’t just look at me — he devoured me.”

Finally she got the reaction she had been expecting.

“Hey, you’re the one who wouldn’t let it go.”

She reached over and pinched his shoulder. It hurt more than it probably should have.

"Ouch!" Mick moved her head down into his lap and rubbed his shoulder. “So this guy, I take it he was, uh, significantly older than you?”

“Oh yeah, it was scandalous, actually.”

“I bet that was part of the thrill for you.”

“Score one for you, Mick, but you can back off now, okay? I was the one who was dumped in the end.”

“Sorry. I can’t imagine anyone kicking you out of bed.”

She grabbed his head and pulled him down into a long, lingering kiss. Mick could still taste the martini she’d had earlier at the club.

“You remind me a little of him, you know. You have that same lust for life.”

“So I’m a cheap substitute?”

“No, my darling, never. You have your own charms.”

**********************************************************

“Mick, this is Josef Kostan, a dear old friend of mine.”

Mick turned around to see a slender, smartly dressed man about his own age.

“Honey, from the way you talked about his business prowess, I expected a 60-year-old guy with a grey beard. Nice to finally meet you, man.”

“Yes.”

“Hey, I didn’t mean anything by that. It’s just… Coraline here is still kind of a mystery to me. You’re one of the first acquaintances of hers that I’ve met.”

“Should I feel honored?” Josef looked unimpressed. “And yes, she is quite the mystery... wrapped in an enigma, stuffed into a paradox.”

“Josef, play nice. Mick is delighted to meet you and I’m sure you’re the same?”

“Sure, whatever. This is your birthday celebration, after all. How many is it now?”

“Hush!”

When Coraline told Mick she had invited Josef on a double date, she implied that it was time the two of them met — but he always suspected there was an ulterior motive. It didn’t take long to surface. Before the waiter even collected their dinner plates, Josef was talking about the “little, independent record label” he had just acquired.

Coraline was never subtle.

“I’d love to have you come by and give me a better idea of which assets might be of any value.” Normally he let his staff handle the post-acquisition phase, but in this case Josef feigned interest for Coraline’s benefit. He owed her for a valuable investment tip and, well, he could never refuse her anything. Besides, the label was a little side deal worth less than the Berlinetta he drove to dinner that night.

“Sure, but basically the music biz is all about the talent attached to your label…”

They drifted off into a conversation about up-and-coming jazz artists while Coraline scanned the dessert menu.

“I think I’ll skip dessert tonight.”

“You say that every time we go out — and you barely touched your dinner.” Mick considered the dessert selections as his voice trailed off into the menu. “No wonder you and Josef are so thin — you both eat like birds.”

He heard the giggle from Josef's young companion, but missed the darting glance between Coraline and Josef.

“Bats might be a more appropriate analogy,” Josef mumbled under his breath.

“What’s that?”

“Nothing, never mind. I was just grumbling about this new juice diet I'm trying — it's supposed to do wonders for my clogged sinuses but so far it just makes me cranky. So, when do you think you might have some time to meet me at TwiTone? I hear they're really starting to get into jazz in Europe... might be a market there.”

**********************************************************

Coraline slipped into the back of the club, taking a seat in the corner. Mick’s set had just started, but the two women seated at the next table were already talking about him.

“I wouldn’t kick him out of bed for eating crackers.”

“You got that right!”

Coraline smiled. If only they knew. The band wrapped up a down-tempo number and started playing the opening notes of “Ain’t That Just Like a Woman.” Mick had spotted her. She smiled sweetly at him, then discreetly pointed to the women’s table.

As the piano player hit the final refrain, Mick came out into the audience and made his way over to them.

You can buy a woman clothes,
And give her money on the side,
No matter what you do,
She ain't never satisfied
Ain't that just like a woman?


Just to put them over the edge, he punctuated “woman” with a sexy chuckle and flashed them a smile that was sure to give them pleasant dreams for the next fortnight. Walking away with a wink, he approached Coraline, swept her up into his arms and gave her a deep, long kiss.

She always got a tiny thrill from the astonished look on their faces.


Scenes From A Marriage
**********************************************************

Mick fumbled with the buttons on his dress shirt as Josef struggled to pin his friend's boutonniere.

“Hold still!” Josef barked. “Or I’m going to stick you, and I can’t be responsible for what happens next.”

“What? Look, Josef, forget the flower for a minute and help me get my shirt buttoned.”

“Are you sure you know what you’re getting into here? I mean, I know the back-seat bingo must be pretty good, but marriage is forever, my friend.”

“Shut up and hand me my tie. You of all people know how good we are together. She makes me come alive.”

“If only.”

“What is with you today, Josef? You’re even more of a smart ass than usual. I know you have commitment issues, but do you have to be such a wet rag?”

“Yeah, that must be it… commitment issues.”

“I wouldn’t have asked you to stand up for me if I knew it was going to put you in such a state.”

“You’re happy, and I guess that’s all that really matters. Now, let’s go get you married.”

**********************************************************

Mick looked at his beautiful bride and thought no man had ever wanted his wife as much as Mick wanted Coraline at that moment.

“I’ll love you forever,” he whispered into her ear.

Turns out “forever” had a shorter shelf life than he knew. Most couples at least get a honeymoon before their marriage heads south, but Coraline destroyed hers before the ink even dried on the marriage license. Her ‘gift’ put an abrupt end to any Happily Ever After they might have had.

Forever.

He thought he had it all — thought he’d made a lucky catch, but catching Coraline was like catching the clap. It’s a fun ride but once it’s over, you’re gonna pay for it for the rest of your life.

Forever.

At first he was so consumed with anger that he spent all his energy trying to make her as unhappy as he was. He hated having to scrounge. To hide. To fight like hell against his urges. And he made sure she knew it. Cursing Coraline became a nightly ritual. They had epic, three-week arguments. At times, he refused to even get out of the icebox.

She cajoled. She coached. She flirted — first with him, and then with other men in an attempt to make him jealous. She was confident it was only a matter of time before he realized her gift gave them an eternity together.

Forever.

He'd come to despise that word.

**********************************************************

“Look Mick, you can either accept this or spend the rest of your miserable existence skulking around in your little dungeon of hate.”

“You put me there.”

“No darling, I choose to go dancing, wish upon a star, set sail for paradise and just generally enjoy the hell out of life. You, on the other hand, choose to be a sad sack. I don’t understand that.”

“Well, ain’t that a bite?”

Coraline walked up behind him and reached around to put her hand on his chest.

“Don’t let your heart grow too cold, my love. We’ve come too far to give up now.”

“I can’t do this anymore, Coraline. I hate myself. I hate you. I hate what we have to do every night. It’s sick.”

“Is that it?”

”What? No… wait, what do you mean?” He spun around to face her.

“Well, if you don’t enjoy the hunt, there are other ways….”

“What, like squirrels?”

“Don’t be absurd, Mick. I know someone at the morgue. If it’s guilt-free blood you want, he’s your guy.”

“Wait, does that work? I mean, don't they have to be alive? Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”

“I didn’t know it bothered you so much. You've focused all your wrath on me so I thought it was all about what I did, and well, let’s face it, I can’t take it back.”

“No, you can’t, can you?” Mick suddenly got very still. “Why didn’t you give me a choice?”

“How could you pass up the chance to live forever?”

They were right back where they started — a circular argument as tortured as their marriage had become.

**********************************************************

“Babe, could you hand me my necklace?”

Mick didn’t have to ask which one, grabbing the faded box on her dresser. He had given it to her on the night before their wedding, and she wore it every year since — even when they spent their anniversary apart.

A quarter-century is a long time to keep any marriage together, and Mick and Coraline had spent a good bit of theirs leading separate lives. Now they were on again, and so far it seemed to be going well.

He draped the delicate gold chain around Coraline’s neck and the fleur de lis pendant fell into place just as it always had. They brushed noses as she turned to kiss him.

“Mmm, eskimo kisses.” She reached up and wiggled his nose playfully before moving in for a kiss.

“Wanna hit the igloo before we head out?” Mick flopped onto the bed and blew kisses at her.

“Darling, I’m happy you continue to find me desirable after all these years, but we do have these tickets.”

God help him, but he still loved it when she played hard to get.

“We can skip the first act. You know the whole play by heart, anyway.”

“I do, but wouldn’t it be funner to do it in the cloak room?”

“You wouldn’t!”

“I would.”

**********************************************************

“Coraline, I’m not gonna do this.”

“Oh come on, babe, it’s Halloween,” she tempted, “the one time of year we can have a little fun.”

Scaring the wee ones wasn’t Mick’s idea of fun, and the way it appealed to Coraline was beginning to creep him out.

“Honey, you do realize you’re coming off a bit deranged here?”

She gave him a gentle shove.

“Lighten up, Mick, I was just joking.”

Somehow, he didn’t entirely believe her.


Broken Things
**********************************************************

Mick stared at the wedding photo wondering how it felt to be so happy. He no longer remembered. From the moment Coraline sashayed past him in that red dress, he was a mad man. But what she did the other night had finally broken him.

He had survived the war. He had survived the shock of Ray’s return. He had even survived his turning. Any one of these experiences would have squeezed the innocence out of a man, but seeing that young girl’s frightened eyes peering up at him from the corner of that hotel room — the same hotel room where Coraline had stolen his humanity 30 years ago? That sent Mick’s tortured soul over the edge.

He had seen Coraline do some selfish things over the years, but he never thought she was capable of this. He was done jockeying between his morals and his testosterone. When she dropped her dress their first night together after her party, Mick thought she was just about the most exotic woman he’d ever meet. Now he realized she was just batshit crazy, and her obsession with him would never end.

“You’re not gonna do this. I'm not gonna let you hurt that girl. I can't let you.”

His healing had begun.
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Re: Broken ~ "Broken/Healing" Challenge #162 (PG-13)

Post by MickLifeCrisis »

:twothumbs: Excellent. Every single word. Awesome job, HM! Whatever you're doing, keep feeding that muse!
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Re: Broken ~ "Broken/Healing" Challenge #162 (PG-13)

Post by Fleur de Lisa »

Wow. This is exceptional. Had me hooked from the first word to the last. You are a genius when it comes to capturing the dialogue of the time.

Brilliant job my friend. :heart:
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Re: Broken ~ "Broken/Healing" Challenge #162 (PG-13)

Post by allegrita »

Oh wow, what a wonderful tour through Mick and Coraline's relationship, with all its ups, downs, love and hatred. And Josef at his snarky best! :snicker: I agree with MLC, whatever you're doing, please keep on doing it! This is really great, HotMicks! :clapping:
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Re: Broken ~ "Broken/Healing" Challenge #162 (PG-13)

Post by darkstarrising »

Definitely keep doing this :hug:

Wonderful view into Mick's thoughts during his lifetime with Coraline, leading to their 'final' parting:
Mick stared at the wedding photo wondering how it felt to be so happy. He no longer remembered. From the moment Coraline sashayed past him in that red dress, he was a mad man. But what she did the other night had finally broken him.
Your story captures the essence of their relationship and the crux of their problem. Mick couldn't see past Coraline's beauty and sex appeal. He didn't want to. Why would he? She gave him everything he could possibly want, physically anyway. When the curtain was finally pulled back on the mystery that was Coraline, he realized that there was much more to love than just physical attraction and beauty.

Wonderful answer to the challenge, HM :rose:
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Re: Broken ~ "Broken/Healing" Challenge #162 (PG-13)

Post by choccyterri »

HotMicks, these are just wonderful. :heart:
I really enjoyed each little vignette. Making the whole story about so many things. How their love began. How it continued through so many stages, even when he hated her. To it's final..( or what he thought was final at the time...) conclusion.
I know that we'll never know if Mick went after Coraline once Lance had taken her away again. But I like to think that all they'd been through together would mean that he would. What a tangled relationship.
Thank you so much for sharing!! :flowers:
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Re: Broken ~ "Broken/Healing" Challenge #162 (PG-13)

Post by Luxe de Luxe »

I felt like I was looking in a window, HM, seeing and hearing these things in front of me. The only time I was thrown out of the illusion was hearing Mick describe Coraline as batshit crazy. From memory of the series Mick was always quite respectful of Coraline, even though he couldn't live with her. He even snapped at Beth once - 'she's my wife'. Other than that I think you had them all spot on.
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