Prompt: things you didn't say at all for matthew x alice, please!
Strange Corners of Life
AO3 | FF.NET
Set after the latest telemovie, so spoilers for that if you haven’t watched it!
—
He stepped closer to the morgue, his heart still hammering in his chest from earlier - he remembered how his hands shook slightly as he reached to help Alice out of the back of the ambulance.
Jean had figured it out, she’d put together the pieces like Lucien and of course went after Russell with Alice in tow. Matthew swallowed the knot of anger, fright, and worry in his throat. They’d gone after a killer, alone, but both had done extremely well. Jean came into her own as both councilwoman and an investigator; Alice had found her footing as Police Surgeon and having a larger role in the hospital at large.
He was proud - of both of them - but the incident with the ambulance jarred him to the core. There was still so much to process, but he had to check in with Alice. He had to.
Knocking on the frosted glass of the morgue door, Matthew peered around the edge of the door.
Alice looked up from cleaning autopsy equipment (“I may be the police surgeon, but no one’s going to clean this morgue the way I like it,” she told him a few months ago when he asked why she still did a number of the menial tasks she’d done as pathology registrar) and she smiled - her elation at catching criminals with Jean earlier still shining bright in her eyes.
God, that smile was a wonder to hold.
She rounded the autopsy table - no hesitation, no awkward dance around him like in Lucien’s study - and folded her hands in front of her.
“I’d have thought you would be at the police station with Jean, Superintendent.”
He gave her a half-smile, “I just came from there. I… I, uh, wanted to see you. To check in after um…”
Alice nodded, her smile softening, and she reached out to briefly squeeze his forearm.
Matthew caught her hand before she could fully retreat - her eyes widened in surprise, but she didn’t let go.
He was glad, it gave him the courage to speak.
“Alice, I…”
I was scared.
I was terrified of you getting hurt.
I was worried.
I’m so proud of you and all you’ve done.
“I…”
I think I love you.
Alice squeezed his hand and stepped forward.
As her arms wrapped around his neck (she had to stand slightly on her toes to do it, he mused), Matthew let out the breath he’d been holding in one long sigh. He held her close as they swayed slightly - their world shrinking to just them in the quiet of the morgue.
She hugged him tight and drew back - her lips pressing a kiss to his cheek as she rocked back down on her heels.
(He kept his arm around her waist - unwilling to increase the distance between them, not after potentially losing her)
“I’m alright, Matthew.”
“You almost weren’t.”
—
Alice cupped his cheek and felt her own turn warm (Must be the residual boldness from earlier, she thought).
“I’m sorry.”
Matthew shook his head with a soft smile, “Don’t apologize for being you, Alice.”
“I can’t promise I won’t get into tricky situations in the future.”
“I know.”
“I’ll try to be more careful.”
He smiled again, “You’re the most careful person I know.”
She smiled back - her heart fluttering in her chest at the warmth in his eyes.
“I should get back to work.”
Alice nodded, “Me too. I’ll have my incident report on your desk as soon as I finish cleaning.”
His arm slid from her waist and grasped her hand again. “No rush, I’m going to go make sure our newest constable is up to speed on procedure.”
He looked down at her hand and back up at her - chewing on his lower lip as he thought.
“I’ll see you tonight at Jean’s?” She finally asked quietly.
Matthew smiled and nodded. Her breath caught in her throat when he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on her cheek, close to the corner of her mouth (halfway between a friendly kiss and something more). He drew back - his smile wider - and squeezed her hand.
She knew her hesitation for their fledgling relationship (teetering between friendship and more, much more) held them back, but she worried. She worried what people would say, she worried her about her credibility, she worried all her hard work would be for nothing.
She worried about letting her walls down around someone (something told her she shouldn’t worry, that she already had with Matthew.)
“Matthew, I…”
I’m sorry.
I won’t change who I am.
I want this, I want us.
I’m trying.
“I…”
I think I love you.
Matthew squeezed her hand and simply smiled.
Neither one knew how to say what they wanted to, to give voice to the thoughts circling in their heads, but as Matthew let go and walked out of the morgue, Alice smiled.
They might not have been able to speak, but Alice saw one clear thought in his eyes as he left.
This week I’ve been working a lot on stories for a new ship that makes me really happy.
This is from a One Day At A Time fic set after S2, Penelope x Schneider:
“Mami visited you in rehab?”
“Yeah.”
“She never told me.”
“I didn’t want anybody to know. She’s classy, your mom. She can keep a secret.”
Penelope nodded, thinking back. “You know, she’s always liked you? I just thought it was the flirting. She loves attention from young and handsome men.”
what are your favourite aspects of the 2007 persuasion adaptation? i love it so much but have heard that cinematography etc and the like can irritate some people. what are your thoughts? (also, as a side note, do you have any idea where to find the soundtrack for that movie? it's actually magnificent)
The casting was generally great, but the directing made me feel like some people were underused (primarily I wanted Anthony Stewart Head to be a better Sir Walter, and I know he’s got it in him, but I guess for whatever reason a better performance just wasn’t drawn out of him?) The over-use of GoPro technology was a mistake and felt gimmick-y and at-odds with the style of the narrative with the jarring elements of the shots seeming out-of-place and to no real purpose. I’m really on the fence about Anne’s keeping a diary and breaking the fourth wall with direct-to-camera gazes, which I think Sally Hawkins did as beautifully as she could and acted her socks off, but...much like the more showboat-y camera-work, I’m not sure how it’s justified. I know Anne’s quiet interior pain can be difficult to get across, but I feel like the right script and direction and trusting the lead actor to convey Anne’s emotions can be done--it was done, in 1995. But I feel like, overall, Roger Michell is the more capable film director, and his work in theatre will have enabled him to make it a more subtle and intimate piece compared to Adrian Shergold, whose background in serial work in television maybe explains the more ~flair-y~ style of filming and editing.
As to the soundtrack, I’m afraid I can’t help you, there. :(
This would be an AU where Matthew and Alice were childhood sweethearts before he went off to war, and came back damaged in both body and soul. Unable to live with himself, let alone someone as bright and brilliant as Alice, Matthew pushed her until they broke and he succeeded in pushing her away. They moved on, never finding lasting love in others because what they’d had was an aching wound that refused to heal.
Then, as their solitary lives approached middle age, Alice accepted a job in Matthew’s hometown. She developed a quick friendship with Lucien and a polite fascination with Jean, both of which made it hard to avoid Matthew–no matter how strongly her pride and bruised heart longed to do so. They got to know each other again, these older, wiser versions of the people they had once been, and slowly began to love anew.
Not like the first time, with the fiery, careless devotion of youth…but something more complicated, stronger. All the tender places and secrets they collected in their time apart only added depth to the future they decided to share.
Their friends volunteered to host the wedding at the Blake home, with Lucien as best man and Jean as matron of honor. Alice thanked them both sincerely, grateful for the family that she found in Ballarat, who welcomed her into their lives along with Matthew.
But they eloped instead, and sent back postcards.
send me a fic title and i’ll tell you what story i would write
This one wasn’t a drabble prompt, so it’s a little longer! Nothing but parent fluff.
Lucien x Jean, The Doctor Blake Mysteries. Also on AO3.
He kissed the tip of her nose, following that with a yawn he tried valiantly to cover. “Well, you’re a vision. Motherhood agrees with you.”
After the wedding, Lucien was surprised by Jean’s declaration that she’d rather not use birth control.
“If it’s because of the Church,” he ventured cautiously, aware that her faith was still a tender subject, “I promise you, it–”
She took his hand, shaking her head. “No, Lucien, it’s not about that. Not really. I just…it doesn’t feel necessary. At our age, you know the chances. It’s so unlikely.”
Her clear eyes met his, shining a little. “And even if–well, if it did happen, against the odds…then it would be a gift. Wouldn’t it?”
Four days after their first anniversary, they received not one, but two gifts. Twins, beautiful babies with Lucien’s eyes and Jean’s brown curls.
“Our gifts of fate,” Lucien pronounced them in awe, cradling Elizabeth Alice and kissing Jean around Rebecca Anne’s sleepy form.
When the ‘terrible twos’ extended well into year three, he more often than not muttered ‘gifts’ ironically to himself as Jean chased the girls out of his office for the third time or while they clambered over him before dinner. Becoming parents again, at their age! Fate clearly had a sense of humor.
But of course, they were delighted, tickled by the fact that these were their children–Lucien and Jean’s little girls, possessing her fire and his quick wit. Together, they had made a whole new start at a family.
“Oh, I love you,” he murmured into her shoulder on the couch, face resting there until she nudged him away.
“Don’t you fall asleep on me,” she teased him. “When Lizbeth wakes from her nap, it’s your turn to fix a snack.”
“I know.” He pressed his lips to hers, taking advantage of the quiet moment. “Have I told you today how beautiful you are, Mrs. Blake?”
Her face lit up like the sun, every time he called her his wife. He hoped that never changed.
Jean returned his kiss with a little sigh. The girls were running her a bit ragged; she could admit to herself, if not to the busybodies in town, that parenting was more tiring than she remembered. She wasn’t as young as she used to be.
“As a matter of fact, Lucien, you had not. I was beginning to worry.”
He kissed the tip of her nose, following that with a yawn he tried valiantly to cover. “Well, you’re a vision. Motherhood agrees with you.”
“A nap would agree with me more,” she replied, giggling at his second stifled yawn. “You too, I see.”
Their sleepy lips met again, sinking into each other until a babbling voice rang out from the hall. “Mama! Daddy? Lizza?”
Lucien pulled back with a smirk. “What do you know? Maybe Rebecca will be an early bird like her mother, after all.” Stealing a final quick kiss, he left to catch Becky before she woke her sister.
Jean covered her own yawn, smiling as her eyes drifted shut. Marrying a family doctor had its benefits, at times. Lucien would have the girls well taken care of while she got a little rest.
And if she was very lucky, he would wake her like he often did these days–with a kiss.
You’ll know your soulmate in a dream, Matthew’s mother told him, long before he was old enough to understand; it’ll probably be the last person you expect, Alice’s sister said, wise beyond her years.
When she walked into his station for her first day of work, the connection was immediate, and obvious, and startling–both of them having long since given up waiting, neither of them ready to learn all the stories were true.
It wasn’t easy, finding a soulmate so late in life: so many years already gone, so much time to make up for…but it was well worth it.
give me a pairing + an AU setting and I will write you a three-sentence fic
happy birthday! prompt: why wasn't matthew at the hospital after lucien got stabbed? did he bash percy himself or drink himself into a stupor? did alice have to go find matthew and save him from himself? (i think yes) (also sorry that escalated quicker than i thought HAHA)
Thank you! I can only fit so much in 100 words, lol, but I tried to stick to the spirit of the prompt. :) Also on AO3:
Alice stood firm, blocking his path to the door. “What on earth are you doing?”
“I’m gonna take care of it.” Matthew’s jaw was clenched over his words, fury radiating from them.
“If by ‘it’ you mean your friend getting stabbed, there’s nothing you can do.” Looking at him, Alice rephrased. “There’s nothing you should do, Matthew.”
“He’s the closest thing I’ve got to a brother,” Matthew replied. “He could have died.”
“I know.” She brushed a hand over his cheek. “But getting yourself arrested for assault won’t help anything. You know what will?”
very important tag essay on my malice edit by @asummerevening: #YEAH HELLO #I WAS GOING TO SLEEP BUT #NO LONGER#THIS IS WHAT I LIVE FOR#i honestly and actually think that no two people are more made for each other than these two and that is a fact#this will just float in my head happily for hours #do you think #that maybe#one day when matthew returned to the station#he caught wind of alice's past the abuse the trauma the utter CRAP she'd been so brutally forced to expose#and a thought formed in his brain that maybe he had misunderstood this woman and it had taken him that long to realize#that the oddities she encompassed were a method of protection and self-preservation#and he saw one day the shell she'd built to protect herself from people in general#after being so hurt #he saw the cracks in her armour#her humanity. brokenness. hurt. dreams.#and he watched as his oldest friend unconsciously made her feel at ease#the free flowing nature of their relationship and it was as if before his eyes some of the cracks in alice's heart were healing#but matthew was only half relieved to see her stronger#because selfishly he wanted to be the one who brought a grin to her face#the one who made her stand a little taller#the one who made a comment that brought a glint of humour to her auburn eyes with a passing comment of his#the one who stroked her cheekbone silently as she cried#the one who complimented her only to hear her voice raise half an octave with a pleased little 'hmph' as she tugged on her coat#he wanted to reach out and touch her #he wanted to heal her#because he knew that if he could #she had the stuff in her to heal him too.#what was that i said about sleeping?
hilarious fact: i worked THIS EXACT THING into writing a Malice prompt last night before making the gifs. soo when i post that, it’ll look like i stole it but i swear i didn’t! lol
