Opposites Attract - PG-13

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bluedahlia3
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Opposites Attract - PG-13

Post by bluedahlia3 »

This was written, but never posted, for the relocation challenge. It’s a stand alone piece but could also be read as the introduction to a series of events preceding my story 'The Portrait'.

No infringement intended. Tip of the fedora to Trevor Munson and whoever else claims ownership of the Moonlight characters. A huge thank you given to Nutmegger911 for throwing stones at my errors.

Time frame:
Unspecified months after the marriage of Coraline Duval to Mick St. John and prior to the introduction of Beth into the story-line.
PG-13

Opposites Attract

“Well Coraline, what did you expect?” asked Cynthia, wiggling her toes into Italian
leather pumps. They had tried on every expensive shoe in the Neiman Marcus collection
and were sitting in upholstered chairs amid stacks of opened cardboard boxes.

“He hates it, he just hates it,” she said tossing aside the red alligator sling backs.

“It’s a glass house, it’s your house, and it’s a bourgeoisie pearl and you married a
peasant.”

“Why can’t you give him a chance?” Coraline shakes her head at the shoe clerk and the
strappy sandals he had found and was running towards her. The clerk’s feet were moving
at a rate of speed only a commissioned sale would warrant.

“Why would you expect him to like it or even be happy there? It’s just a building…find
another. It’s not like there aren’t plenty to choose from.” They’ve moved out of shoes
and are drifting though racks of summer dresses.

“But I like it, it’s a great house.” Coraline spins towards her friend holding up a green
silk sheath dress with a beaded neckline.

Cynthia shrugs. “So don’t sell it. Own more than one. Seriously, you married Joe
Average Dandelion and have stuck him in an orchid’s conservatory.”

“No one would call Mick St. John an average dandelion! Just look at him!” Coraline
said. Both ladies are carrying shopping bags and heading towards the front of the store.

The uniformed doorman opens the brass and glass doors as if on command, letting in a
whoosh of heat and stagnant night air.

“Ok then, you married a Ward Cleaver act-alike and now you’re surprised he’s not some sophisticated jet-setting vamp? One infusion of blood and you expect Howard Hughes?

It doesn’t work that way,” Cynthia lit a cigarette and blew the smoke upwards. “Do you
know what Howard is doing these days? According to the gossip columnists,
dating Ava Gardner!” she asked and answered.

“I thought he’d….” The limousine slid from its parking place moving forward to pick up
the ladies. A uniformed chauffeur got out. He opened the car door for the two and took
the bundles and headed towards the rear, loading the new packages next to the Saks bags
in the trunk of the vehicle.

“If you say change I’m hitting you with this shopping bag. Mick St. John isn’t going to
suddenly become a refined man of the world.”

“I’m not getting stuck in some little bungalow in Encino. Are you coming over or am I
dropping you at your hotel?”

“Thanks, it’s been a fun evening but I think I’ll miss the broody male part of your day.”

“Harold, stop at the Harwick.” Coraline directed the car driver. “You going out tonight
or is one of your special friends joining you? And why is it that men think they’re
entitled to freshies and somehow our supplies just get dropped in anonymously?”

“I’m getting into the tiniest of my new La Perla lingerie, finding the best-endowed,
sweetest tasting and staying put. It’s getting hot and I’m not in the mood to battle the
heat.”

“Then my advice is to start with the red one,” Coraline said.

“You did like that one didn’t you? See yourself in it?”

“No, I bought the ivory satin.”

“More Mick’s taste? See? That right there is another problem.”


The car drifted smoothly to the curb, stopped and the driver opened the door to let
Cynthia out. A doorman wearing a tiny red hat picked up the packages from the trunk
and followed her inside the hotel. The limousine turned right, away from the shopping
district and headed toward home. Heat lightning split the night sky into jagged sections
and then disappeared only to reappear in another location. Coraline was scarcely aware
of the trip or the approaching storm. She spent the travel time planning how to approach
Mick.

***
The windows in the glass house looked out over the well manicured lawns and deep into the mountains close by. The grass was mowed by a small army of Japanese gardeners who kept the outside groomed to a spit shine. A large concrete patio surrounded the home adding the charm of airport tarmac.

Coraline sat quietly in the dark of the living room. She sat without fidgeting. She had fed, showered and changed and was wearing a simple tunic and slacks with new shoes. Underneath the veneer of soft sophistication was the ivory La Perla lingerie set. Just in case. There was a lucite box half filled with a carton of cigarettes. When she sat down it was full. She had also worked her way through two tumblers of martinis laced with blood. It was almost dawn before Mick returned.

“Hi,” she said, keeping her tone soft and welcoming.

Mick did not acknowledge her presence. He kept moving past the chrome tables and the expensive drawings and paintings, his footfalls softened by the rugs. The art always slowed him down a bit. He hadn’t realized that his wife was such a collector when he married her. Of course, there were a couple of things he hadn’t fully understood. Mick kept moving. He had his own freezer in a corner of the basement; he was drowsy and he didn’t feel like taking any crap from Coraline.

“Mick.” She lit another cigarette and laid the lighter down on the coffee table.

“I’m tired Coraline, it’s time for bed.” Mick grumbled.

“Mick, we need to move.” Her voice floated after him, calling him back. She still hadn’t budged from the couch. She allowed the pitch and the message to draw him back to her.

“Why, what’s happened?” The soft pad of his leather loafers betrayed his presence before he spoke.

“Nothing, it’s just time for a change.” Shalimar perfume drifted up and curled away from Coraline.

“More games.”

“No, no games. Tomorrow we start looking for a place more suitable for us. Both of us.”

“There is no us. There’s you and there’s me. No us.”

“Mick, I don’t want to fight, just move. You tell me you wanted a normal marriage, a traditional marriage, well this is what married people do.”

“They move?” If he lived to be a hundred, now a distinct possibility, he would never understand this woman.

“They choose a home together and live there.”

“Moving doesn’t make it all better Coraline, this is not a geography issue.” It was an old argument, one that she couldn’t seem to quite grasp. “I need sleep.” He turned and headed for the circular stairs leading to the basement.

***

Tomorrow came and went and so did the next day. By the middle of the week Coraline was still insisting they had to go look at houses.

“The realtor found this. It’s an estate, and vacant.” The tone indicated she was excited.

“It’s still purchased with your money Cora. Why bother?”

“I can’t help that, Mick. Yes, it’s my money but we can’t live just anywhere, we still have to be careful and eventually you’ll have more cash and then we’ll move again. Right now this makes it better.”

“I don’t see how.” Mick said, but he knew this was a battle he wasn’t going to win.

“Please, let’s go look.”

Mick stared at the brochure the realtor had left. A brooding stone mansion with ornate iron gates was on the cover. A winding gravel drive led up to the house ending at the porte-cochere. Pictures of the inside showed the massive staircase and a library with mahogany shelves that surrounded the walls and ran up to the twelve foot high ceilings. Huge hedges and stone walls surrounded the estate. The effect screamed privacy and seclusion. The opposite of the glass house.

He looked at Coraline out of the corner of his eye. He was tempted. This house gave him the skits. Every ounce of vampire self-preservation said hide. Living here made him more nervous than he liked to admit. But he had also learned that his wife seldom did anything without an ulterior motive and the games tired him.

She caught him looking at her and knew…she’d won again.
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Re: Opposites Attract - PG-13

Post by wpgrace »

Oh I like this, blue... I loved The Portrait but wondered how they came to have THAT home... This is so cool to see, how it came about!

And I adore the shopping trip with Cynthia and Cora... he just wasn't fitting in yet... but Cynthia was wrong... he DID mature; he did become refined. Maybe not exactly as Cora wished, but his eventual refinement and perpetual cool--on his own terms-- is undeniable.

Lovely backstory!
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Re: Opposites Attract - PG-13

Post by francis »

This is just lovely. There's so much tension here, and Coraline is just the master manipulator who just can't accept that Mick is Mick and can't be what she wants him to be, and vice versa. It makes sense that a vampire would be uncomfortable in a glasshouse, especially a fledgling. Coraline tries to give him something he wants, but it will never be enough. I can understand Cynthia's frustration with all of this, she's just not used to handle a peasant. Great backstory to Mick's marriage.
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Re: Opposites Attract - PG-13

Post by bluedahlia3 »

I'm glad you two found this little fic. I wrote it a while ago and shelved it but thought something 'lighter' might be in order amoungst all the 'dark fic'. :dracula:

grace - I think I like Cynthia. I envision her as pretty vicious. Genuine evil, as it were. Thanks for reading and commenting.

francis - Yes, I think Cora is the master manipulator. Twisted, as opposed to Cynthia who is just nasty.
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Re: Opposites Attract - PG-13

Post by coco »

blue this was intriguing. Love the back story as to how this all came about.

Wonderful stuff. :thumbs:
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Re: Opposites Attract - PG-13

Post by Catmoon »

The girls shopping trip was fun. So real, even though they're vamps it's the type of conversation any BFF's might have while trying on clothes and shoes. I've always wondered why these vamps seem to like letting lots of light into their homes, like Mick you'd think they'd want to be somewhere enclosed, no sunlight pouring in. But both Josef and Coraline had homes like that.
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Re: Opposites Attract - PG-13

Post by bluedahlia3 »

Thanks coco and Catmoon for reading and commenting. I appreciate it. :bat2:

coco - I didn't get enough of Cynthia during the sixteen epi's. I wish there had been more. She's a dark creature, I think. :vampire:

Catmoon - Well as Alex put it, vamp's are among us.... and whats more natural than shopping for those two. I never quite felt comfortable with Cora's party house, I don't know why. :confusing:
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Re: Opposites Attract - PG-13

Post by allegrita »

Blue, this is a very cool story. I love the shopping trip, and boy, do I get it that Cynthia hates Mick. I don't know if I get a fully "evil" vibe from her, but I sure do get a "hate" one. Mick was not good enough for her little princess...

Coraline is a manipulator here, but she's not fully in control...and that must frustrate her no end. Mick definitely has a mind of his own, and he doesn't just go along with her schemes. But she's had a few hundred years' practice at getting what she wants, so he's at a major disadvantage, poor guy. And the house she's picked is definitely "safer" than the party house, for a guy afraid of the sun.

I like this story. It's full of believable details, and it does a good job of filling in some of the backstory. Plus, it's really interesting! :thumbs:
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Re: Opposites Attract - PG-13

Post by Luxe de Luxe »

bluedahlia this is sensational. you really caught the mood of the 50's, i loved the shopping scene. And Mick, broody, pissed off Mick. I really felt for Coraline here. I think she probably would have gone all out to win him over, show how sorry she was she'd misjudged. wonderful, wonderful stuff.
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Re: Opposites Attract - PG-13

Post by helloeeze »

Peek into what their marriage was like. Great little story.

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Re: Opposites Attract - PG-13

Post by jen »

Once again, very nicely done. The bleak picture of Mick's first marriage was definitely hinted at in the show. Not that it always remained that bleak, but it always returned there. If only Coraline had been more forthcoming at the outset, but that layed the foundation for all that came after.

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Re: Opposites Attract - PG-13

Post by jen »

Blue

Just reread this treasure. Your imagery is what first stood out, but now also your wonderful grasp on the Coraline-Cynthia dynamic. I don't believe they ever shared a scene really, just the photo at the hospital when Cynthia was getting Coraline out, but you have the easy tension down beautifully.

I truly feel for Coraline here. She essentially staked any chance they had at happiness when she turned Mick without his foreknowledge or consent. He was never able to get over that and she was never really able to understand his reaction during the years they were together. Perhaps, in the years they were apart, she did. That was a question never fully answered on the show.

You capture a Mick here that is so trapped and emotionally distant. To him, any love between then is a distant memory. He exhibits no desire to interact with her.

In spite of her inability to bridge the growing gap between then, this Coraline tried (as far as it was in her). It is just speculation of course, but I would imagine than when any vampire is first turned, they grieve the loss of their prior life in one way or another. Coraline probably did, too, but those memories may be long forgotten. Too bad.

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Last edited by jen on Thu Sep 16, 2010 7:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Opposites Attract - PG-13

Post by jen »

Love the Cynthia and Coraline shopping at the beginning. The way they talk just feels so right. Cynthia must have had another side to her from the one we saw on the show and even in that we got a glimpse of someone who was a dedicated friend.

And Coraline was determined to try, but she had already staked any chance they had at happiness, sprinkled it with holy water and burned it.

Thanks again,

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Re: Opposites Attract - PG-13

Post by jen »

What struck me in this reading was at the outset were two attractive women, trying on shoes and clothes and enjoying a day of shopping and girltalk, but in reality they were masquerading as something that they really were not a part of any longer. They may learn the moves and how to fool the humans, but they are still on the outside looking in.

Coraline has already made a miscalculation that will never be recoverable and I'm sure there were other issues long before she kidnapped a child to add to their family. I felt for her here. She just doesn't get it. Maybe she never will.
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Re: Opposites Attract - PG-13

Post by cassysj »

I didn't read this before. I'm a Cynthia fan and I love the shopping trip. Mick did smooth out his rough edges but I think it happened post Coraline.
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