So, my one-shot has turned into a monster 🙈 Might become a multi-chapter fic. But for now, here's the first part.
It's a pure speculation as well as canon divergence because the grandma doesn't show up just yet.
I don't own any of the characters, all of them and the show belong to the writers, production company and FOX channel.
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A Technicality
Serkan was sitting at his desk in Art Life office, deep in thought, contemplating all the mess he had managed to create for and around himself as well as his already very fragile relationship with Eda.
It wasn't how he had imagined everything going when he had asked Eda for those three wishes. The first one was her unconditional trust, which Eda, sadly, couldn't give him. And Serkan started suspecting that it wasn't really about Eda not being ready to trust him again. Serkan had a feeling that Eda's pride and stubbornness were to blame as well as lingering hurt. She hadn't completely forgiven him. Her denying him what he so desperately craved - herself - was her form of punishment. But in her desire to punish and teach him a lesson, Eda was only causing both of them more distress. And that's what Serkan found so frustrating. That is what actually pushed him to these extreme measures.
"Oh god, what am I doing? Unbelievable. Look, Eda Yıldız, at what you're making me do" Serkan thought for the upteenth time in the last couple of days.
It started the night Eda fulfilled his second wish and came to him. Although it wasn't much of a surprise for him because he just knew it in his bones, felt it in every cell of his body - that she would come. Balca's visit, however, was unexpected. And the moment Serkan saw the woman at his doorstep, a crazy idea sprung up in his mind - to invite her in just to push Eda's buttons. He cringed internally at his own suggestion they had dinner but desperate time called for desperate measures. And Serkan really was desperate. Call it a manipulation, and maybe it was, maybe that's what Eda would claim to be yet another attempt at controlling her, but Serkan was literally starting to go out of his mind. He could no longer stand being so close to her, with no more secrets between them, yet sometimes it seemed they were oceans apart. Eda was slipping away, she had erected a wall around herself, not allowing Serkan to get too close. Every time he thought they had made a step forward, Eda threw them three steps back by bringing up the contract.
Oh, how he hated the damn thing! He wanted to burn it, scatter the ashes in the wind and then proceed with wiping out every electronic copy out of existence.
So, he was basically grasping at straws, when he decided that Balca's presence could help him finally make Eda crack. He wasn't going to act interested because, for one, it would never work, he wouldn't be able to pull it off while Eda even as much as breathed in his general direction. He had, however, noticed Balca's interest, and decided to play along with that, pretending to be clueless about her advances. So he acted polite whenever Balca found an excuse and came to him. He ignored her sitting too close to him, supported her with his arm when she lost her balanced, fought the urge to pull away when she leaned over him or brushed his arm. He turned a blind eye on supposedly accidental touches. And all of that seemed to have been paying off because Eda looked more and more like a ticking bomb ready to explode.
But then their non-date on the skating rink happened and everything was so perfect that Serkan, unable to contain his happiness and feeling light-headed, confessed to Eda in a rush his grand plan to stir jealousy and force her to claim him as her man. Everything Serkan earned after this confession was yet another slap across his face and a "You're unbelievable, Serkan Bolat!".
Today, in the office, Eda had been sulking and demonstratively ignoring him. Add Balca and her unwanted attention, which was getting too bold to remain comfortable, into the mix and what you got would be a very annoyed and exhausted Serkan Bolat.
A knock pulled Serkan from his thoughts. He looked up to see Melek. She smiled blindingly at him and gave him a small wave:
"You busy, Enişte?"
Serkan felt a smile forming on his face upon hearing the word "Enişte", which now between himself and Melek had turned into a form of endearment.
"No, I am free for you. Come in" Serkan said with fondness.
Melek came up to his work desk and pulled a chair to sit down.
"So, what is it? Is it Eda? Is something wrong with Eda?" Serkan felt panic spreading in his chest and looked past Melek, at the open office space, frantically searching for Eda.
He relaxed a little when he saw her sitting at her regular place, studying something closely on her computer.
"Calm down, Enişte. Everything is fine. Dada is fine. Well, apart from being an idiot, she's fine"
"Hm, what? An idiot?" Serkan asked, confused.
"Yes, you are both idiots. Sitting here, brooding, instead of just talking. Look, Dada trusts you. And she wanted to tell you this that night on the skating rink but then you told her that you had been making her jealous on purpose. You know our girl, of course she got pissed off. To her it just looked like another one of your attempts to control her"
"I know that, Melek! I know it was dumb and manipulative. I just... I just wanted her to finally stop hiding behind the contract and do something"
"I understand that. And, I think, Eda does too now. She sees how much you've been trying to change. But you don't have to or need to change change, you know. She's not expecting you to become a different person"
"I am trying to be a better person, for her"
"And I am happy to hear you say that. But... just make sure you're doing it for yourself too, ok? Because you know what Dada said to me yesterday?"
Melek looked at Serkan with a small secretive smile.
"She said:
"Yes, he is a robot and he drives me crazy half of the time with his robotic tendencies. But he's my robot, Melo, you know? And what if he suddenly stops being my robot? What if I come to the office one day and there's a... vanilla prince charming instead of my robot? Looking like him but not actually him".
And then she turned into a crying mess. But my point is - she loves you for who you are. Faults and all. She just has trouble telling you that. I guess a communication problem is something you two have in common"
Serkan just full-on belly-laughed at Melek's comment. He suddenly felt so much lighter. All the worry, doubt, fear and insecurities of the recent days just... vanished. A sense of calm certainty settled inside of him instead. He believed now that him and Eda were gonna be okay. No matter what. No matter who.
Serkan was just about to open his mouth and thank Melek for having put his mind and heart at ease, when another knock echoed in his office and he saw Balca.
"I am sorry for interrupting but I need to discuss something with you, Serkan" said Balca and waved a yellow folder in her hands at him.
"Well, I was actually leaving. You two do your work thing and I will also go, do some... work. See ya around, Enişte!" Melek rambled and jumped to her feet.
"Melek! Thank you! We will talk a bit more later, ok?" Serkan said when Melek was about to exit his office.
"Yeah, sure thing, Enişte!"
Serkan switched his attention to Balca.
"I am listening, Balca, what is it?"
The young woman came to Serkan's desk and pulled out the chair, previously occupied by Melek. Balca took a seat and rolled closer to Serkan, which made her elbow bump into Serkan's forearm. Serkan shifted uncomfortably and tried to focus on the documents Balca had put before him. Balca started explaining that several business magazines wanted to publish interviews with him. She also showed a couple of press releases for him to approve. All in all, she remained professional and the next ten minutes or so passed relatively quickly.
"Ok, you can get in touch with the magazine, tell them I am ready to give an interview. But only on the dates I have mentioned"
"Got it. I will let you know once I hear from them"
Balca started collecting the documents and Serkan looked past her, his eyes searching for Eda. She wasn't, however, at her computer. Serkan scanned the open office space but there was no sign of Eda. So, when Balca rolled back in her chair and stood up, Serkan also got to his feet.
"Are you leaving?" Balca asked.
"No, just want to stretch my legs a bit. Shall we?" Serkan answered and motioned to the doors.
They exited Serkan's office together, with Balca walking closely. Serkan felt Balca's eyes on the side of his face but ignored the weight of her gaze. He noticed Melek sitting at one of the desks and approached her quickly.
"Melek!"
"Enişte?"
"Where is Eda?"
"Oh, I think she went to get a coffee"
"Ok, thank you"
Serkan moved in the direction of their office cafeteria when he noticed Balca following him. He stopped abruptly and Balca almost collided with his back. Serkan turned to face the woman and asked:
"Is there something else you want, Balca?"
"No, I think we've discussed everything" she answered with a smile.
"Then where are you going? I think you wanted to call the magazine and arrange that interview"
"Yes, of course, I will do just that. But I wanted to get some coffee first"
Serkan nodded and motioned for Balca to go forward. They entered the cafeteria together and Serkan immediately noticed Eda at the coffee machine. Eda heard approaching steps and turned her head in the direction of the sound. She visibly tensed upon seeing Balca and Serkan together.
"Eda, can I also get a cup of coffee?" asked Balca, coming to stand beside Eda at the coffee machine.
Even Serkan raised his eyebrows at that.
"By all means, be my guest" Eda motioned to the coffee maker with one of her hands.
She took a half-filled cup in her other hand and brushed past Balca. Eda moved to leave the cafeteria but Serkan quickly followed behind and caught her by the arm.
"Can we talk for a moment, please?" he said in a hushed whisper.
"There's nothing to talk about" Eda responded stubbornly.
"I think there is"
Serkan took Eda's hand and, threading their fingers together, pulled her in the direction of the stairs.
"What are you doing? Let go of my hand! Where are you taking me?" Eda protested.
"I am taking you to my other office on the second floor so that we could talk in private"
"Talk in private? I don't want to talk in private!"
Serkan stopped and turned to Eda with an exasperated sigh.
"You will talk to me"
Serkan pulled on Eda's hand but she refused to move.
"Eda, stop being a child. Let's go"
"I don't want to go. What are you gonna do? Throw me over your shoulder and carry me there?"
"You know, it's a great idea actually" he said dead serious.
Eda's eyes widened comically.
"Don't be ridiculous. Are you crazy? You cannot do such a thing"
"Oh, I can, Eda Yıldız. Because my patience is wearing thin"
"You won't do this"
"Try me"
Eda lifted her hand, still holding a coffee cup, higher.
"You wouldn't dare! I have hot coffee in my hand!"
"So what? You can splash it in my face all you want but then I will definitely throw you over my shoulder"
For the first time since Serkan got to know Eda Yıldız, she seemed lost for words. Serkan stepped closer to her, looked into her big eyes and said, softening his voice:
"Please, let's go and talk"
He tried to pour all his love, all his longing for her into his gaze. He mouthed a "Please" again. Eda's defences crumbled and she nodded quietly.
Never letting go of Eda's hand, Serkan led her upstairs to his office. Once they were inside, Serkan locked the door to prevent anyone from barging in. He moved to the couch and Eda followed, taking a seat beside him. Serkan shifted so that he was facing Eda who was now awkwardly nursing a cup of coffee between her hands. She brought it to her lips the same moment Serkan said:
"So, I am your robot"
Eda choked on her lukewarm coffee and started coughing violently. Serkan cursed at himself and took Eda's cup from her hands.
"Sorry" he mumbled.
He put her cup on the coffee table and handed her a tissue. Eda wiped at her hands and face, still coughing.
"Let me get you some water"
Serkan grabbed a water bottle from the coffee table and uncapped it for her.
"Here, drink this" he said, offering her the bottle.
Eda took it and made a couple of long gulps.
"Thank you" she finally managed to say.
"You okay?"
"Yes, I am, I'm fine" Eda nodded.
"So..."
Serkan rubbed his hands together and looked at Eda pointedly.
"Oh, shut up!" Eda exclaimed in embarrassment.
"I didn't say anything!"
"Your smug face is saying plenty"
"Well, I cannot help myself" Serkan said with a wide smile, his dimples showing.
"Melo told you, didn't she? Of course she told you! Offf...ya!"
Eda covered her face with both of her hands. Serkan moved from the couch and onto his knees, directly in front of Eda. He took her hands in his and pulled them from her face.
"Hey, look at me" he said softly.
Eda lifted her face, her cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment, and looked into Serkan's eyes.
"There's nothing to feel embarrassed about because nothing about what you said is silly or untrue. I am your robot. Yours only" Serkan told her with conviction.
Eda's face lit up with happiness, adoration and so much love. She cupped both of his cheeks with her hands, her eyes finding his.
"I love you, you know that? For who you are. Just the way you are. You don't need to change for me to love you" she told him.
"But I want to change. I want to be better for you" Serkan said.
"Well, if you want to... Just don't do this because you think it's something I want from you. All I need is you. Your love, your trust, your respect. Let's give each other all of that, ok? If we trust and support each other and talk to each other, we will be okay"
"We will, right?"
"Yes" Eda nodded with a smile and pressed her forehead to his.
Serkan closed his eyes, just living and breathing in the moment. They were sitting like this, in comfortable silence, for several minutes when Serkan finally whispered:
"You want to know my third wish?"
Eda chuckled and pulled away slightly.
"You know I do, I am curious like that" she said with a smile.
Serkan reached into his pants pocket and pulled out Eda's flower ring. He heard Eda gasp: "Serkan!"
"I know now is not the right time. But very soon, when you're ready, I want you to put this ring back on and never take it off again. And once it's back on your finger, I want to put another one here" he pulled her left hand from his face and ran his thumb over her ring finger.
Serkan watched Eda's eyes fill with tears when he asked in a whisper: "Okay?"
Eda nodded and whispered back: "Okay".
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The rest of the day went in a blur. Serkan felt like a teenager. Only he never felt this light, happy and carefree when he actually was a teen.
He was basically useless at work, unable to concentrate, so he just stopped trying and was watching Eda instead. From time to time he would ask her to come into his office. She pretended to be exasperated but the smiles she couldn't contain betrayed her.
Balca came by several times. She caught on his mood change immediately:
"You seem different. Happier. You weren't like that in the morning"
"Well, I received some good news"
"That's wonderful! Care to share?"
"It's personal"
The second Balca left his office with a tight smile and a dry nod, Serkan's eyes drifted to Eda but she wasn't at her desk. Serkan got to his feet and went out of his office, in search for Eda. He peaked into the conference room but found it empty and went to check the cafeteria. The only person there was Melek.
"Melek!"
"Enişte!"
"Have you seen Eda?"
"Hm... no. The last time I saw her she was working at her computer"
"Well, she isn't there now"
"She was going to leave earlier because she's got classes at the university but it's not the time yet"
There was clicking of heels and both Serkan and Melek turned to the source of the sound only to see Balca.
Serkan brought his attention back to Melo:
"Well, if you see her, please, tell her that I am looking for her"
"Will do, Enişte!" Melek responded enthusiastically and retreated, without even acknowledging Balca's presence.
Serkan moved to the coffee maker. Taking a cup for himself, he turned to Balca, who had taken a seat at the counter, and asked:
"Coffee?"
"Yes, thank you"
Serkan took another cup, placed it next to his own and switched on the coffee maker which started gurgling.
"Can I ask you something?" he heard Balca say.
Serkan looked at her and nodded silently.
"Why does Melek keep calling you her Enişte?" Balca asked, confused.
Serkan furrowed his brows, puzzled by the audacity of the question.
"Because I am her Enişte"
"But you and Eda are not married"
"Not on paper, not yet"
Serkan heard a telling click of the coffee machine and turned to fill the cups with hot liquid. He faced Balca again, who was watching him with an unreadable expression, and placed one of the coffees in front of her.
"Anyway, it's just a technicality. Because it feels like we are. Married, I mean" Serkan said and took his cup.
He held it up in a "Cheers!" move and dropped a "Enjoy your coffee" before exiting the cafeteria.
Once Serkan entered the open work space, he noticed Eda immediately. He approached her desk with: "Eda? Can you come into my office for a minute?"
Eda nodded silently and stood from her seat, following him. Once they were in his office, Serkan placed his coffee on the desk and turned to face Eda. She came to stand before him, but there was too much space between them, so Serkan took her hand and pulled Eda to him. She stumbled forward and basically fell on his chest with a chuckle.
"What are you doing? We're at work, remember?"
"Oh, I do. Otherwise I would be kissing you right now"
Eda's cheeks turned red.
"Stop it" she whisper-yelled at him.
"Why? That's true"
"You're such a dork"
"And you're perfect" Serkan said, meaning it with every cell in his body, every drop of his blood.
Eda shook her head with a smile:
"Romantic robot"
"Your romantic robot"
"Yes, my romantic robot" she agreed and added in a whisper: "I love you, Serkan Bolat"
"Our feelings are mutual, Eda Yıldız" he whispered back.
They kept staring at each other with dopey smiles on their faces for several more minutes before Serkan asked:
"Where have you been? I missed you"
"Don't be ridiculous, I just went to the ladies' room. I was away for like five minutes"
"Well, felt like an hour to me"
"You're hopeless. What are you gonna do when I leave in an hour and you don't see me until tomorrow morning?"
Serkan looked at her confused:
"What do you mean I won't see you until tomorrow morning? I thought we would meet after you finish your classes"
"Well, I finish quite late and then I have to go home because I promised Hala to help her with something"
"Well, I could pick you up after you help your aunt"
"I think it will be too late for us to go anywhere"
"Then we will just spend time at my place. You could stay the night" Serkan suggested, licking at his lips nervously.
Eda bit on her bottom lip and Serkan's eyes zeroed in on it, as if he was being hypnotized.
"Hey!" Eda's fingers snapped right in front of his face.
"Hm? Yes?"
"I am saying: we will spend the whole day together tomorrow. And I promise that we will leave work together and then do whatever you want or go wherever you want. And..." Eda moved closer to Serkan to whisper into his ear: "I might stay the night".
Serkan choked on air as well as his own saliva. Eda moved away from him with a suggestive smile.
The next hour was spent daydreaming and sneaking glances at Eda. Then Pırıl came with yet another crisis and Serkan got a bit distracted, managing to finally focus on something for the first time during the day. When at some point Serkan had a chance to lift his head from the papers, scattered before him, he noticed that Eda was gathering her things, getting ready to leave. He was about to stand and go to her, but Eda shook her head "No" with a smile and motioned for him to continue with what he was doing. She just looked at him for a moment and then mouthed: "I love you" - add blew him a tiny kiss.
Serkan grinned at her and mouthed back his own "I love you".
The rest of the day was surprisingly busy. By the time Serkan had dealt with all problems at the office, it was rather late. He texted Eda to call him once she was free. Then he drove home, went about his evening routine, checking his phone every now and then. No messages or missed calls from Eda. Serkan was getting anxious, when he finally heard a tell-tale sound of an incoming video call. Blowing out a breath he didn't realise he had been holding, Serkan answered his phone and finally felt himself relax, when he saw Eda's face, with her blinding smile and eyes that were dancing with mischief. They talked until Eda literally fell asleep holding a phone in her hand. Serkan looked at her peaceful sleeping face for several minutes before he finally disconnected the call. He felt uneasy, however. The moment he could no longer see her face, a strange nagging feeling settled somewhere in his stomach. He did his best to ignore it and tried to sleep.
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The morning found Serkan Bolat completely beaten. He practically hadn't slept all night. When he did manage to doze off, he was pulled from sleep by a strange feeling. It was a physical discomfort, reaction akin to anaphylactic shock that he had experienced only once in his life. Going into full-on panic mode, a hypochondriac that he was, Serkan called his family doctor. Once Delek Hanım came and examined him, she told him that he was completely fine physically and his condition was purely psychological. Serkan argued that there was nothing that could have triggered basically a panic attack. Quite the opposite - things were finally looking up for him and Eda. He had her back.
"Well, this can be the reaction to some impending stress. Maybe there's something important, some event coming that you might be worried about?" Delek Hanım asked.
Serkan just shook his head. He then thanked the doctor and after she left, immediately dialed Eda's number. She didn't pick up.
"It's fine, everything is fine" Serkan mumbled to himself while looking through his call log.
Once he found Melek's name, he started a call. Melo picked up on the third ring:
"Good morning, Enişte!"
"Good morning, Melek. I called Eda but she didn't answer. Is everything ok?"
"She's probably driving, that's why she didn't pick up. She left early today. Ayfer Abla had some special orders at the flower shop so Dada volunteered to help. She will go straight to the office once she deals with the flowers"
Serkan calmed down a bit after having heard that but there still was uncomfortable tightness in his chest. He was rubbing at the spot while he was driving to work, but it only got worse once Serkan arrived at the office. A tie around his neck started choking him so he had to get rid of the damn thing.
Melek came but there was still no sign of Eda.
Alarms started going off in Serkan's head when a concerned-looking Ceren showed up. Serkan came up to her while she was talking to Melo.
"What's going on? Where is Eda?"
The girls looked at each other, then at Serkan, and Ceren said:
"We don't know. None of us can reach her. She's not answering any of the calls or messages"
Serkan almost growled in frustration when his phone started ringing. He pulled it from his pocket hustily, only to see that it was his mother calling. He picked up with: "Mom, it's not the right time, I will call..." but stopped dead when he heard a sob and his mother's weak "Serkan, dear...".
"Mom?..." he asked timidly and didn't recognize his own voice.
Because it wasn't his voice, it wasn't the voice of a grown-up man, it was a boy's voice, the one a scared child would have.
"Mom, please, tell me she is okay"
"I am so sorry, dear..."
His phone slipped from his fingers and cluttered to the floor.
(to be continued... maybe 👀)