#i really just wanted an excuse to have mike and nathan fight

[immortalled]

open to any muses who might intervene

          "—oh, yeah, real mature! Really, really mature!" Nathan's voice carried sharply across the carpark. There was nothing unusual about that, he made famous little effort to use normal volume in any given situation, except that this time the upset in his tone wasn't bluster.

          "You know, you've hit a lot of lows in your time," he went on, throat tight, "but this is a new one, Dad. Even for you."

          He was really, very upset.

          "I'm being honest, Nathan." Mike stood near what must have been his car. In the face of Nathan's animated arm-waving and stiff posture, he looked... drooped. Tired. Already exhausted with this conversation and badly wishing that it would simply end. "Why would I lie to you about something like that?"

          "I don't know, you tell me!" Nathan snipped. "Maybe 'cos you're always looking for someone else to blame for your shit? 'Cos you want mum to look bad?"

          "Nathan, quiet down. You're making a scene," Mike said firmly. "I do not want to make your mother 'look bad', and I'm not blaming her for anything she didn't do. I saw other people because she stepped around on me fir—"

          Nathan would not let him finish. Couldn't stand to hear him finish. His fist met his dad's cheek with little skill but enough force to make Mike stagger backward, off-guard, into the side of his car. The mirror popped.

          "No! No, fuck you!" Nathan screamed. "Stop lying! Stop lying for once in your life! I'm so sick of it!"

          A white flash of pain shot between Nathan's eyes. His head snapped back and blood filled his mouth. Mike, frowning first at the red spot on his cardigan sleeve then at Nathan for putting it there, had punched him squarely in the nose.

          Nathan should let it go. If he'd learnt anything from dealing with his useless prick dad, it was that it was better to just let it fucking go. Some things weren't worth the effort. But this wasn't over a missed birthday, or spotting him with some tipsy slag on a Friday night when he was meant to be at a work meeting... this was insulting Mum. The lowest of the low. And Nathan couldn't believe the balls his dad had to call her a cheat when he was the King Cheat of them all. It made his blood boil. It made...

          It made Nathan go for him again.

          His leaner body hit Mike's at full force and both men fell to the concrete.

[halo-jpeg]

Bearable | A Reddie Fanfiction

Read it from the beginning

Chapter 7.5

Bev and Richie were sitting alone. It was long past midnight now, the moon high and mighty in the great big sky, and the two were the only ones still left in the clearing of Back Cove Park; Stanley had been the first to go, dragging a rapidly tiring (yet still reluctant to leave) Eddie and Bill behind him. Mike had excused himself next, and Ben had gone with him- the two of them had taken the flashlight, leaving Beverly and her friend in near-total darkness, though they really didn't mind. That was just over an hour ago now, and since the departure of the others neither Bev nor Richie had spoken a word. There was an odd tension in the air, waves of some negative feeling rolling off of Richie so subtly that she hardly noticed them. For a good 30 minutes or so she'd been debating asking him what was wrong, why he was so off, but she had been wondering whether that was really a good idea. There were a few different paths she could take here, and each had their own obvious pros and cons; the first option was to let Richie sit in his silence, to let him have his privacy because she knows how much that privacy meant to him. The next option was to, well, wrap up the evening and leave. Beverly was tired and she was certain that he was too, so maybe it was a good idea to get the both of them home safely to sleep on the struggles. The last option, most likely to best one, was to ask Richie about what was bothering him.

Just be forward Bevvie, she told herself, wringing her hands together and picking out the best words she could. Sucking in a silent breath through her teeth, Beverly let her eyes fall momentarily shut, psyching herself up and trying to scrape together enough confidence to speak. Richie and her were seated nearly back-to-back, nothing but one of the stones/stools between them. Richie had pulled his knees up to his chest, his head leaned back to rest on the rock, eyes upturned towards the sky. From her place cross-legged just behind him, she let her own head fall backwards, bumping gently against his own.

"So," She started, her voice gentle and soft and already warning Richie of her upcoming question, "Are you okay telling me what's wrong?" She rolled her head to the side, regarding him out of the very corner of her eye, and could see the way his shoulders tensed, the way he pulled his knees just a little closer, lifting his head upright. It was as if he were curling into himself, tucking himself away into a metaphorical shell as if he were a turtle.

"Nothing's wrong," Richie said, shrugging, "I'm all god, Bev. Don't worry." Uttering a sigh, Beverly sat up and shifted halfway around the rock so that her shoulder pressed against Richie's in as comforting a way as possible.

"I... I know you don't like it when I press but..." Beverly mirrored Richie's position. going silent for a moment as phrases of comfort and coaxing danced around in her mind. She was good at talking to people, good at becoming an impromptu therapist with nearly anyone who's ever come to her- anyone except for Richie. Something about seeing Richie, esteemed Trashmouth and Man of 1000 Jokes and 6000 Riddles, sad or scared or just bummed out threw her rational brain askew, tossing her to flounder into some ocean of unease and unfamiliarity. "I'm here for you, you know. You can tell me anything. We've been through hell together, Rich, and you'll always be stuck with me." A silence stretched between them, the tension pulled taut and threatening to snap any moment now. Those waves of negativity grew stronger, nearly moving in a pulsing tandem with the distant sound of the ocean; why, Beverly was unsure. It could be both because she was upsetting him even further, or because he was letting his walls down one brick at a time. For a moment, Beverly thought Richie was going to stay silent, to decline her invitation to vent- and then, he let his head fall sideways, resting gently upon her shoulder. He scooted a little closer, arm pressed against arm, and shrugged again, dejected and unsure.

"I..." for once in his life Richie Tozier was whispering. "I'm so gay, Bev. Like, so, so gay." Beverly couldn't help but bark out a quick laugh, resting her own head on top of Richie's and rolling her eyes though he wouldn't be able to see it.

"I know that much, Tozier. I also know that's not all that's bothering you, so what's up? What's the problem?"

"The problem is that stupid, jackass, lovely little guy named Eddie. Jesus, Bev, I didn't think I'd ever like another guy again after-" Richie paused for a moment, letting the silence spell out the name he wouldn't allow himself to say, "But here I fucking am and I just- It's scary, you know? It's goddamn terrifying." Beverly nodded her head, a frown scrawling itself over her face.

"What's the scary part?"

"Remembering. I'm... I'm afraid that I'll fall in love and just get fucked up all over again. It's stupid but I can't shake the feeling that-"

"It's not stupid, Richie!" Bev's tone took on something almost scolding, and she reached for one of Richie's hands to counter the harshness, "Jesus, it's not stupid at all. Nathan," Richie stiffened, "was a dick, he hurt you. It's entirely natural to be afraid of that happening again. I promise, I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't," Beverly wrapped her arm around Richie's shoulders, pulling him closer and planting a kiss into his hair, "Eddie's an angel, Rich, you know that he'd never hurt you, right? And if he did," Bev smiled, "I'd break his stupid, jackass, lovely little neck." Richie chuckled, still weak, and shook his head. For another few beats the two fell back into a lapse of silence. Beverly's thumb, which was rested on the top of Richie's shoulder, began to skate back and forth slowly, comfortingly, rhythmic circles that helped to soothe his mind just a little bit. Sadly, with that soothing came weakening.

"No, you don't have to... you don't have to say that. I dunno," He sighed, and lifted his free hand to peel of his glasses. With the heel of his hand he scrubbed at his eyes, and Bev was dumbfounded to discover that his eyes must have been watering. Seeing Richie cry when he wasn't playing a character was a rare occurrence. She hugged him tighter, laying her legs down and pulling Richie right against her chest, cradling him as if he were a baby. "I don't think I'll ever really make any moves on Eddie. I can't risk it." Beverly opened her mouth to speak again, to repeat that Eddie was a good guy, that he wouldn't do the same things as Richie's ex, but he spoke first, "I know, I know what you're gonna say, but that's not what I mean. What I mean is that I can't risk him hating me for it or something, because then Stan and Bill will probably hate me, too- and... And that means they'll hate all of us." Richie's voice had begun to waver. Never ever has Bev felt so utterly horrible, so guilty even though this isn't her fault. "I don't want them to hate me, and I couldn't stand watching them hate you and Ben and Mike because of me,"

"Richie..." Bev tucked Richie's face against her shoulder, placing one hand on the back of his head to run her fingers through his hair, "If they hated you because you were gay then I wouldn't want anything to do with them, okay? I don't want to know them if you can't be yourself around them." As she spoke, Richie's let out a hitching breath, his battle against his own tears clearly coming closer and closer to an end. She pulled him tighter against him, other arm wrapping securely around his shoulders, and felt him hug her right back with a certain desperation, a certain starvation, clinging to her shirt as if he'd never hugged anyone in his life. It was as if she was going to slip away. He shuddered, fighting back a wail rising in his throat, trying not to sob like a child. Even though Richie was so much bigger than Bev he felt like her arms were hiding him from the world. A wave of sudden vulnerability choked his throat.

"I'm just-" Richie's voice broke and that was it for him. He melted into Beverly, the tears finally flowing free, his glasses discarded somewhere nearby and his face pressed into her shoulder, her hair, smelling her lavender shampoo. He began to tremble lightly, gasping for breath between his tears, hating how quickly he'd broken and loving that Beverly was here to cling to because she was probably the person he trusted most on this fucked up planet. "I just- I'm so scared, Bev, I'm so fucking scared and-" He was interrupted by a racking sob, and his tears strengthened tenfold, "Everything- it's all so f-fucking hard and I- I can't- Why the hell am I like this? Why the fuck can't I just- why can't I just be normal?"

"Richard Wentworth Tozier, you are not allowed to speak like that!" Beverly held him tighter, afraid that she might literally be crushing him but feeling the way he hugged her back, "Being normal fucking sucks, dude! What, you want to be some stupid pencil-pushing white boy? Get a desk job, some lame-ass wife? You can have three kids and hate your life until old age finally takes you away?" Richie nodded into her shoulder and she shook her head furiously, grabbing fistfuls of his gross arcade-carpet button up and turning her head so that her face was pressed into the crown of his head, her voice muffled, "Fuck that, Richie. You're awesome. You are literally the single greatest person that I have ever known in my entire life. You're gonna be the best comedian on the planet, and you're going to find and marry the guy of your dreams. I'm not letting you make yourself miserable just because society wants you to be, okay?" Again, with hesitance, Richie nodded. That wasn't good enough for Bev. "You got it?"

"Y-Yes, yes I-"

"Good," The firmness in her voice leaked away, replaced by that Beverly Marsh tenderness that was always hidden deep down below her spitfire, "Because I don't know what I'd do with myself if you stopped making jokes and got all old and gross." Richie was still crying, his shoulders jumping with each attempted-to-stifle sob that he just couldn't hold in. Feeling rather than seeing the misery in Richie's soul, Bev knew she had to do something to bring back his flame of humor, of idiocy, of downright stupidity. He was a fool, and she loved him for it, so she would make a fool of herself if she had to. Beverly screwed up her face, trying to get her voice to change just like Richie's always do- it didn't come as easy to her, not in the slightest, and she mostly sounded like Beverly Marsh but also sounded just a teeny tiny bit like Richie Void Of Soul. "Oh, sorry Bevvie, I can't come and make you laugh because I have a work potluck," Her voice dragged out, taking on a false-tired, lifeless drawl, and it managed to get a shaky little snicker out of Richie that was wet and sad and overtaken by another shaking sob, "Oh, by the way, do you have a recipe for some coleslaw? Usually Karen in accounting brings coleslaw but she died of boredom right at her desk," Again, Richie let out a shaky little giggle, his voice hitching for breath, little hiccups slipping past his lips as he did. The character Beverly was going for was Richie If He Followed Social Norms. It seems the joke landed at least enough to brighten the usually unshakeable mood of Richie Tozier.

"You can drop that recipe off any time after five o'clock tonight," His voice was strained, tiny and Richie pitched it up an octave and tried his best to mimic the depressing lifelessness Bev had adopted, "Any earlier than that and I might be at my sweet angel Joseph's ballgame." Beverly was laughing now too, rocking gently back and forth with Richie still held tightly in her arms.

"What are you, a soccer mom?"

"O-Only if you take Joseph and the team out for pizza after, because I'm just so proud of them. Who cares if they lost!" Richie wiped his damp eyes on Bev's shirt and leaned away, his shoulders, which were hunched, leaning back just gently as he straightened up again. He was grinning in a way that almost looked frightening, tear-stricken and all tooth and self-loathing and relief to have cried out all the sadness.

"Everyone is a winner in my book! Saddle up gang, to the Pizza Hut we go!" Beverly pumped a fist into the air, wiping at her own damp eyes and wearing a grin not dissimilar to Richie's own. Reduced to sad, scared, giggling children in one another's arms, Richie began to feel just a little better. If he tried really hard and had his friends at his side then maybe he really would fine his soulmate or his dream guy or whatever other silly name existed for 'the one'. Maybe he would fulfill his dreams and become a real standup guy, or maybe he'd pursue ventriloquism or he'd become a Rockstar or a radio host or something like that. With a few more minutes together, Richie nearly squashing Bev under his weight, he began to feel good enough to function again. Richie leaned in one more time, wrapping his arms tightly around Beverly's shoulders and crushing the soul out of her in a bear hug. After a moment of near-suffocation he pulled away, his smile more natural than it had been moments later. The two began to untangle themselves from one another like some finicky Christmas lights, and then Richie sat heavily at her side still sitting shoulder-to-shoulder.

"Thanks, Bev." Richie clasped his hands, letting them rest in his lap. Beverly's smile shrunk into something serene and loving, and the two let minutes tick by in silence as Richie picked up his last stray pieces and clicked them back into place. Once Bev was certain he was A-Okay once more she let her head shift to look at him, watching him replace his glasses and piping up with a cheeky question and a cheekier grin. Humor and teasing always was the best way to get Rich's spirits up again.

"So Eddie, huh? I didn't take him as your type." Richie let out an incredulous sound, staring at her in disbelief. The way his eyebrows had shot up said 'What the hell are you talking about? Have you seen him?'.

"He's such a- such a little bastard, it's adorable. How can you not be into that?" At this, Beverly nodded her head, letting out a sound that meant 'you have a point' and accenting it with a half-shrug that clearly didn't suffice for Richie believing that she was convinced, "And he's smart and annoying and- well, he's cute, too. So cute with his freckles and his eyes and his hair- not to mention he's way shorter than me- and... uh..." Richie cut himself off, seeing the way that Bev was looking at him. Suddenly, his face went red, flushing with heat, and he lifted one hand to scratch at the back of his neck. He smiled sheepishly. "I... I like him, I think."

"Yeah, Rich," Beverly grinned, her heart swelling with endearment, "I think you probably do."

[sueboohscorner]

Suits, Season 8 Episode 3 "Promises, Promises", Review/Recap/Spoilers

Suits - Season 8, Episode 3 “Promises, Promises,” Review/Recap/Spoilers

Rating:  10/10

(Airdate 8/1/2018)

“Promises, Promises” will leave you wanting more of Suits.  I promise!  It did for me anyway!

Apparently, no one at the firm has a life outside of Zane Specter Litt… It’s late, and Harvey and Robert are having drinks in the office when Harvey excuses himself to use the restroom where he meets the cleaning lady, Anna Reed, who is crying.  Ever the gentleman Harvey asks if she’s ok and gives her his handkerchief.  She thanks him and says she just got some bad news, but she’s ok.  The next day she returns the handkerchief to Harvey and tells him her story.  Her mom is sick and needs surgery, and she can’t afford it.  She’s worked numerous hours of overtime, but because of her title something “Manager” she’s not eligible to receive overtime.  So Harvey tells Zane (when he tells Harvey not to pick a fight with the landlord, David Fox (remember that snake when Donna & Rachel went up against him last season when the firm almost lost its lease?) Harvey tells him he’s only going to talk to Fox, he won’t pick a fight.  Instead, Harvey goes to war with David Fox!  He tries to talk reason with Fox, but being the snake he is, he taunts Harvey and tells Harvey to pay the woman out of his own pocket because he won’t.

When Harvey returns Donna is there.  She tells him the toilets are clogged; later the elevators don’t work.  Donna knows this is a case that Mike would have loved, and Harvey missing Mike wants to take this on now.  We all know that Harvey has always been the guy to help people being wronged by big businesses.  But as Zane put it, “you don’t pick a fight with the guy that owns your house” so Harvey goes to the legal clinic Mike used to work at; unfortunately, neither Nathan nor Oliver are there, so Harvey decides to take the case himself.  He tells Anna Reed, and she tells him that she’s been fired!  Donna tells Harvey to talk to Mike.  Instead, Harvey thinks “WWMD?” (“What Would Mike Do?”); and comes up with a plan.  He shows it to Donna and tells her she should be the one to close it.  Let’s face it Donna has dealt with that snake Fox in the past, and she knows how to manipulate him.  Donna agrees and asks Harvey if she has “carte blanche” to deal with David Fox.  Harvey agrees.  So Donna goes to David Fox and hands him Harvey’s deal.  She basically tells him to reinstate Anna Reed, pay her the overtime she deserves, and if he ever does this type of thing again, he’ll have a class action suit brought against him.  She also tells him that he has Harvey’s legal advice free of charge for a year. (I don’t think Harvey will be too happy about that).  David tries to ask Donna for a date but before he even can ask she shuts him down! 

Louis goes to Robert Zane to tell him that he’s promised Katrina Bennett to have her name on the wall.  Zane tells him he doesn’t know if Katrina knows how to manage.  Louis then goes to Katrina and tells her that she needs to manage Brian Altman (the associate she tried to fire).  Katrina under pressure with a case says she doesn’t have the time, but Louis tells her to make time because she needs to impress Zane to make Partner.  She takes the task but leaves Brian high and dry and poor Brian takes the fall for it.  Katrina skips out on a meeting with a big client John Bigalow, leaving Brian to stutter through and piss off Bigalow (who even called Louis to complain).  Brian finds out from Katrina she was suffering from a migraine and couldn’t make the meeting.  She tells him that she only gets migraines when she’s under a lot of stress.  Brian tells her to tell Louis; she says she can’t because this is a chance for her to make senior partner but no one knows that.  Brian promises not to tell Louis.  Louis yells at Brian for messing up, and Brian takes it and even goes to Katrina to help her with the case, and they seem to bond a little.  They come up with a plan for court the next day that Katrina tells him he’ll be the one representing.  Later Louis congratulates Katrina for winning in court, and she tells him about her migraines and that Brian actually won in court not her.  She was the one who messed up, not Brian.  Louis tells her she’s going to be a great senior partner!

Samantha Wheeler tries to land Delta Airlines as a client, but when Alex Williams finds out, he tells her to drop it because he’s bringing on Gavin Industries.  She tells him, no, so Alex goes to Louis, Louis tells Samantha to drop it so she says she will, but not after making Louis feel very uncomfortable and that he knows he now owes her a favor.  She really knows how to make Louis squirm!

Alex brings the Renoir painting to Gavin Andrews.  Gavin is thrilled and signs with the firm.  He even takes an ad out in a legal journal to make the announcement!  Then Alex finds out that Gavin is as dirty as they come – trying to launder money through the Caymans.  Alex goes to Samantha and tells her she owes him and she needs to help him get out of this mess.  She tells him she tried to warn him, but he didn’t want to listen.  Alex tells her she should have come out and told him rather than beating around the bush – they are on the same team now.  She agrees to help him, and when Alex goes to see Gavin with the deal, Gavin is not a happy new client!  But Alex tells him if he ever tries to make him do something illegal Gavin will regret it.

Overall I think this episode was extremely well written and the acting was superb!  And even though Mike Ross isn’t there anymore, he definitely still there in spirit!

Next week is episode 4 “Revenue Per Square Foot.”

Until next week Suitors!!!