since the sydcarmy fandom is seeing a renaissance we haven't seen for 2 years can I pls get some fanart of sydney taking this selfie haha asking for a friend the friend is me
what I love about the charluca community is that we don't have a very strong fandom presence but ever so often someone posts a fic or art or analysis or just thoughts and tags it like "please help I need to scream about them" unprompted. so like this isn't even fandom hive mind we aren't even egging each other on we are all independently individually tweaking over them at full force two months later, off nothing but the sheer power of their 5 total episodes of interaction š
BE WARNED, this fic contains spoilers for Poker Face S2 if you have never watched the show (but you should, it's great and I need more people to scream about it with).
Plot:Ā No matter how often she runs, the universe keeps bringing Charlie Cale and Luca Clark back together
Pairing:Ā Charlie Cale x Luca Clark
Warnings:Ā As I said above, Poker Face S2 Spoilers. Mentions of death and murder, Charlie hallucinating/thinking she's hallucinating, anxiety, kidnapping, Charlie and Luca being in danger. Also, smoking if that's a trigger. As always, if I miss any triggers, let me know!
Notes:Ā I FUCKING LOVE POKER FACE. I've shipped Luca x Charlie since I saw them on screen together, so always knew I wanted to write something for them, and here we are! My shaylas <3 Also bsed on the red string theory because I truly believe those two will always find each other.
Opening the door to the diner, Luca Clark smiles with relief, glad to be out of the cold. The melody of Sweet Caroline drifts through the air from the jukebox, and Luca sighs, inhaling the scent of coffee. The diner was blessedly quiet, with only a few customers inside. A man sits at the counter, drinking coffee and scrolling through his phone, ignoring the man beside him berating the waitress, a woman tries to feed her unhappy toddler some fruitā¦ And at the table right in the cornerā¦ Luca sees something, or rather someone, that makes his eyes widen and his heart stop. The one person he never expected to see here. However, the universe, as usual, conspired to bring them back together.
Her red curls are as messy as ever, and she pushes them back from her face as she stuffs her face with french fries, humming along to the music and licking salt off of her fingers. āHoly shit.ā He murmurs, slowly stepping closer. āCharlie?ā
The instant Charlie hears her name, she bolts upright, every muscle tensing as her eyes lock onto Lucaās. āShit.ā She murmurs, tossing some crumpled bills on the table and bolting for the door.
āFuck.ā
And once again, Luca Clark finds himself chasing Charlie Cale.
~ * ~Ā ~ * ~Ā ~ * ~Ā ~ * ~Ā ~ * ~Ā ~ * ~Ā ~ * ~Ā
He catches up with her outside, her trying desperately to hide beside the bins. āCharlie, listen-ā
āNo. You stay the fuck away from me!ā she orders, hurriedly getting to her feet.
āJesus, Charlie! Stop!ā Luca insists, reaching out to grab her arm. āOkay, I know I said the next time I saw you, Iād arrest you, but Iām not going to arrest you!ā Charlie jerks back, contorting her body away from him.
āNo! You shouldnāt be here. You need to go.ā Itās hard to deny the stinging feeling that appears at her words. Even though he said he would arrest her, deep down, Luca had no intention of doing it.
Honestly, heās never stopped looking for her. Heās spent months thinking of this moment, of countless late nights staring at the ceiling, thinking of Charlie and whether sheās safe, scouring news articles for any mention of her, hoping and praying he wouldnāt find her obituary instead, wondering if sheās missing him too and trying to ignore the growing feelings he has for her. And despite all that, Charlie doesnāt want to see him anymore, because she thinks he hates her. And he has only himself to blame for it.
āYouāre safe! Iām not taking you in!ā
āGod, Luca! Itās not that, dammit!ā
āThen what is it? Why do you keep running?ā
āI distinctly remember you telling me to run the last time you saw me. You gave me a head start, actually.ā She bites back. Luca rolls his eyes. At least she definitely hasnāt lost her sarcasm or her stubborn nature.
āWhat is it, then? Why wonāt you at least talk to me?ā
āBecause Iām fucking scared, Luca.ā Charlie admits, her voice cracking. She bows her head, her red curls covering her face. The sight of the brave, stubborn Charlie breaking like this stuns Luca into silence. Heās never seen this before. He doesnāt even know what to say, how to fix this, or even if he can. Sheās always been so strong, so confident, even when facing up to the mobster who put out a hit on her.Ā
But now, sheās so vulnerable, shivering and sniffling, wrapping her arms around herself for protection. In an instant, heās back on the cliff face where he last saw her. When he ignored all his training and protocol for the most stubborn woman he knows, the one who keeps getting back up, the one who keeps fighting to protect others, even above her own life.
Back then, Luca had no idea what to do, how the hell they were going to get out of this shitty situation. To be honest, he still doesnāt. But he knew what he had to do right then, at that moment. He had to protect Charlie Cale. And now, he has to do it again. He steps closer, hesitantly reaching out for her again. This timeā¦it doesnāt take her so long to jerk back.
āLook, even if I did bring you in, if youāre cooperative, I could tell them-ā
āI thought I saw her last night.ā Charlie interrupts him, her voice low. Luca knows exactly who she means, and his stomach drops.Ā
āWhat?ā
āShe was gone when I looked again, but I SAW HER, a-and the night before that, and two days before-ā Charlie rambles. Itās different from her usual Charlie rambles. She looks around wildly, hair tumbling over both shoulders. Sheās terrified. And it feels like a punch to his gut. āIt might be the lack of sleep, mind you, but she probably is hunting me down, and-ā she reaches for a cigarette, her hands shaking as she fumbles with the lighter. āAnd you probably think Iām stupid.ā
āOf course I donāt.ā He says, gently taking her wrist into his hand and pulling her closer without even thinking about it. āCharlie, you look like youāve seen a ghost. Whatever youāve seen, Alex or not, youāre clearly spooked.ā Charlie glances down, her eyes widening a little at the sight of Luca holding her wrist. Yet, she visibly relaxes at his touch, taking a breath. Luca couldāve sworn he even saw a whisper of a smile at the edge of her lips, causing his own to twitch.
But just as soon as he notices it, itās gone.
āA-And this whole being hunted by a serial killing hit woman thingā¦it really made me think. Especially about what you did.ā Charlie continues, pausing only to attempt to light another cigarette, giving up when she still canāt get her lighter to flicker to life. āWhy the fuck did you do that, Luca?!ā she demands, crossing her arms. The accusatory tone in her voice makes Luca pull back, frowning.
āDo what? Not let you go when you were hanging off a fucking cliff?! Are you insane?ā He retorts. āWhy shouldnāt I have?ā
āBecause now she knows you care about me. And if she sees me with you, sheāll know weāre close and sheāll probably use you as bait to draw me out, you know, the smart thing to do-ā
āGee, thanks.ā
āStop being a smartass and admit Iām right.ā Charlie snaps. But she is right. Lucaās been doing this a long time; he knows this is a classic villain move. And heās been in danger before. Countless timesā¦ but this time is different. It terrifies him. Not the thought of being hurt because of his proximity to Charlie Cale, but seeing her so terrified and knowing sheās been struggling with this for so long, and knowing that despite all his worrying about her, he hasnāt even bothered to reach out, to check sheās doing okay.
āSo what? What are we gonna do now?ā He asks.
āYouāre gonna let me go, and youāre gonna forget me. The woman who gets everyone close to her killed.ā Charlie sniffs, wiping her eyes. āItās what she does.āĀ
āNo, absolutely not.ā Luca says firmly, shaking his head. āYou think Iām not gonna protect you from her?ā
āI run, Luca. Thatās what I do. Itās what Iāve always done. You canāt chase me anymore. I wonāt let you.ā She insists, pulling away from him. Immediately, Luca closes the gap again.
āI will, and you know I will. Donāt you dare tell me thatās bullshit, Charlie Cale.āĀ
And Charlie knows itās not. She doesnāt know whatās scarier: being hunted down by Alex, or the thought of being loved by Luca... and realising she might love him back just as much.Ā
āItās me she wants. Youāre just collateral. I canāt let her take you.ā She shakes her head. āThe thought of losing someone else, of losing you, of it being my faultā¦scares me to death.ā she admits, finally meeting his gaze. The tears in her eyes break his heart. More than it already is, anyway.
āYou donāt think the thought of losing you fucking terrifies me, too?ā he asks, taking her hand. He hasnāt even realised heās crying until he feels a tear slipping down his cheek. āCharlie, when I gave you that head start and watched you go, I realisedā¦ you matter to me. The thought of you being in danger, of going through this alone-ā
āIāve been alone for months, Luca.ā
āWell, you donāt have to be alone anymore.ā Without another word, he pulls her into a hug. The action stuns Charlie, but she soon wraps her arms around him, pulling him even closer and burying her face in his shirt.
In another universe, one of those sappy romcoms that Luca likes way more than heāll ever admit to, this is where they would kiss, the music would swell, and they would live happily ever after. But the real world is a lot harsher, more dangerousā¦ and despite how much the universe brings them together, Charlie Cale and Luca Clark donāt get happy endings. Sheās right, Luca knows she is. If theyāre seen together, itāll just put them in more danger. Itās better this way, them leaving separately, pretending they donāt know each other.Ā
Pretending theyāre not falling in love with each other.
Pretending that Luca wouldnāt spend the rest of his life chasing her to make sure sheās safe.
Ā And pretending that Charlie doesnāt want him to.
Charlie pulls away first, stepping back from him. āIām gonna go.ā Reluctantly, Luca doesnāt follow. āYou lettinā me go then?ā She asks, raising a brow.
āNah.ā Luca chuckles, wiping his eyes. āItās like I told you. This is just a head start.ā
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Imagine spending years raking in thousands of dollars to be a mole in the FBI, being so good at your role that not even your good friend knows you're a no good dirty rotten two crosser, and then some random lady walks in drawn by coincidences and ruins everything for you.
Charlie was truly like Luca's stray cat that came wandering in with vital evidence and her god given luck and tripped up the main villains plan in one go
They only meet about four or five times over the span of two, two-and-a-half years. Luca trusts her implicitly. Charlie turns to him when sheās in really deep shit. Charlie gave Luca imposter syndrome. Luca risks his career for her not once but twice. Neither of them actually know anything about each other. Both of them would actively die for the other.
That is some soulmate in-every-life type shit. They have never spent a full twenty-four hours together over the span of over two years, and they act like that? I canāt even put into words.
Maybe itās because Luca is so lonely he canāt help but grasp onto the one thing that, while not stable, will keep him afloat. Maybe itās because Charlie needs a small line to keep her tied to shore in the ocean of humans and murders and adventures that she keeps finding herself in. Maybe itās because both just need a reminder that someone out there, one person in eight billion, will answer the phone everytime itās you. Because itās you.
Okay, but the parallel between Lucaās partner betraying and trying to kill him in 2.03 and Charlieās partner betraying and trying to kill her in 2.12. The betrayal in 2.03 led to Jeffrey Hasp dying, and the betrayal in 2.12 led to Beatrix Hasp dying.
That in both situations, Charlie and Luca end up showing faith and giving support to each other, when everyone else has written them off.
RIP to Luca Clark, who is going to have to describe Charlie to so many more FBI agents, and therefore have so many awkward moments where itās obvious to everyone heās talking with that heās in love the newest member of the the FBIās most wanted list.
vaporwave
dailybridgerton
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turnnoffyourmind
