#i wrote this while listening to the grand budapest hotel's soundtrack and i think you can tell based off of... the general vibes??

[fishhateme]

okay fine let's address the elephant in the room i've abandoned this blog BUT i needed to cope after singapore yall after a good two months of no contact with any media of my pookie danny and the subsequent exposure to THE maxiel paddel date (ft. temporarily adopted paddel prodigy??) i'm ready to be back on my bullshit

this time? angsty introspective danny and max comforting him, aka ao3 hasn't been hitting and im in crisis

if it sucks it's because i haven't written fanfic in ages (started uni and it kicked me in the teeth, the only reason i can justify spending time on this is because at this point it's a Coping Mechanism™)

also i know the whole part things is a pain in the ass but tumblr wont let me write posts as long as i want them to idk i hate technology i was born in the wrong century (id rather die of the black death at 20 than have to deal with hyperlinks again thanks for asking)

read it here

[bastillewolf]

The Grand Tranquility Hotel (XV)

Pairing: Alex Turner/Reader

Summary: An eccentric hotel owner and an inquisitive writer find solace in each other when they both seemed to be at the edge of rock bottom.

Notes: Sorry this chapter took so long. I must have rewritten it about 5 times before I felt completely satisfied with it. Furthermore, thank you for all of your wonderful birthday wishes, it gave me a lot of joy reading them during times like these. I hope you’re all doing well and I hope to keep you entertained with more Alex Turner content in the (very) near future.

I’d advise you to listen to ‘The Linden Tree’ from the Grand Budapest Hotel soundtrack for the final ‘scene’. It somehow felt very fitting to me, as I’ve used most of this soundtrack while writing this story. The movie had lightly inspired me to make it.

Let me know if you’d like to be added to the tag list.

@edgythought​ @iwannabemorethanme​ @he4rtbre4khotel​ @juga-42​ @alexbandguy86​​ @imagine-that-505​

Chapter XV - Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino (Pt. III)

“You’re both idiots,” she huffed under her breath, as she rinsed the bloodied washcloth in the previously stark white sink. She didn’t bother to wipe away the splatters, since she’d had to rinse it ten times before that because Matt’s nose wouldn’t stop bleeding.

They had taken their mess to the kitchens, away from prying eyes, when a picture had almost been taken by one of the paparazzi that had been sneakily investigating them. Word must have gotten around that the writer of The Grand Tranquility Hotel was visiting the new estate and seen with the owner himself.

As she cleaned the remaining grime off of Matt’s cheeks and chin, she wasn’t being as careful as she usually would be. She was pissed off, and all the men did was cast their eyes downwards and shoot her regretful looks from time to time. Even if they did still feel resentment towards each other, they were very careful not to show it in her presence.

“You know, it’s not just your reputation you’re damaging,” she added, walking over towards the hotel owner’s messy features, “I’m an accomplished writer now. If you can’t behave properly, I’ll have to write another book and lie myself out of this. I’d rather not write a fake autobiography.”

“You mean an addition to the already existing one?” Alex muttered.

She raised a brow, the washcloth momentarily wavering over the bruised cheek she’d been tending to. The injuries to his face were less severe, and she was very much considering making them worse.

“You better watch your mouth, mate,” Matt growled.

“Or what? Are you going to hit me again?” Alex challenged.

Jamie was quick to hold Matt back when he tried to get out of his chair, while Nick took a hesitant step towards Alex, in case he was about to try something. But the hotel owner remained seated on the kitchen countertop, rubbing his temples tiredly.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” she sighed, “And I advise you to double check the personnel you’ve hired, as they clearly can’t keep their mouths shut.”

“It’s the paparazzi; they’re always here, even when we do keep an eye out for them. And my clerk is very trustworthy, he just needs some more training,” Alex told her defiantly.

“Just some training?! He was drawing squiggles in your guest book when we arrived, Al!”

“Matt, I do need you to shut up,” she snapped, “You’re letting your anger make you as spiteful as a ten-year-old. Go cool off.”

The man in question huffed, shaking Jamie’s hand off of his shoulder before making his way towards the door.

“Yes, go cool off, Matt, lest you try to beat someone up again.”

Her eyes met his in a desperate attempt to ask him to let it go, which wouldn’t have worked had it been the Matt from when they left the hotel together. The Matt now, however, was more calculated and reserved; though his tendency to use his fists as the main solution still lingers there. She had thought it gone by now, yet the circumstances had indefinitely proven her wrong.

The door slammed behind him with a finality, and she returned her annoyed gaze to Alex, clearly disappointed with the way he’s treating her best friend. Nick left shortly after, mumbling about what idiots they were being, to go search for Matt. Jamie didn’t stick around for too long either, evidently feeling awkward staying in the brooding tension that hung around them.

She silently continued to care for his split lip, peering up at his eyes ever so often, which seemed darker and more distant than usual.

“What did you mean by that?” she murmured.

“Mean by what?” he asked.

“You know what.”

He gave her a look, “You mean your fake tales about my perfect hotel?”

“I never wrote anything but the truth, Alex. I simply left out the lesser parts.”

He hummed, clearly not persuaded by her words. He was being stubborn, and he was very aware of it, yet she decided it would be better to continue the conversation rather than let unspoken words hang in the air for the remainder of her stay.

She fumbled with the stained cloth in her hands. “Did you read it?”

He met her eyes with a lifted brow, as if trying to decide whether or not to respond. “Of course, I read it,” he eventually admitted.

“Then you should know I didn’t fabricate anything. It wasn’t some publicity stunt I was trying to pull off, Alex. Naturally, I wanted to give your hotel the credit it deserved, but I wasn’t going to lie while doing so. That’s not who I wish to be.”

“Yet you left out all that I did to you. You could have ruined me. Why didn’t you?” He sounded almost desperate, now.

“I think you know why.”

She felt his hot breath waft over her lips. His face was suddenly so much closer to hers, making her inhale sharply. He smelled just as she remembered, like expensive cologne and cigarettes. He’d been smoking more.

“It’s not right, Alex.”

“Why not?” he whispered. His orbs had dilated significantly, and only wavered from hers to look at her licking her lips.

“Because you still despise me for what I’ve done.”

She ran her hand over his cheek, before stepping out of his embrace. She left the room without sparing him another glance, leaving him to his never-ending train of thoughts.

 Nick hadn’t been able to get much out of Matt, and saying it disappointed him was the understatement of the century. He had chased him around the hotel for a bit until they reached the doors to the gardens, where Matt was now taking photographs with his aged camera. Nick knew he needed to give Matt more time, yet his patience was running low. He had played the waiting game for long enough.

So, when Miles had arrived at the front desk asking for Alex, he had given him a relentless glare that made the mayor’s eyebrows shoot up so far they were almost closing in on his hairline. Only he could make this look as comical, and Nick felt his steadfastness waver around his friend. “Alex is a bit busy at the moment, I’m sure he’ll seek you out once he has the time.”

It was a lazy lie, which Miles obviously saw through, because all he replied with was an “ah” while his curious eyes trailed towards the guest book and skimmed over a familiar set of names. “I see,” he continued, “Very busy indeed…”

Before the clerk could say any more, the mayor was already trailing off towards the elevator, appearing deep in thought.

“I’ve always found the mayor such an odd man,” said the young man next to him.

Nick sighed. “Shut up, Mark.”

 She was surprised to hear a knock on her door. Not because she was deathly scared of knocks on doors, but because she wasn’t really sure who was still on speaking terms with her right now. If anything, she had expected to have been left alone for quite a while, with Matt needing time to brood and sulk and the others to decide whether to finally kick her out or not.

She hadn’t been sure what to expect when she opened the door, but it most certainly hadn’t been Miles Kane’s warm smile.

 He really didn’t want to have this conversation. And he’d really rather be anywhere else. Yet, here he was, in the gardens of his own hotel – if he could even call it a garden compared to his other property; the city didn’t allow much room for greenery – seeking out the man who had beat him up not hours before.

“Come to take another blow at me, then?” Matt asked. He had his camera raised; his right eye squinted shut to take a good look inside the lens. He stood facing the small pond that was outside; one of the very few hidden gems of the hotel.

“Wouldn’t want to ruin your pretty face any more than I already did,” Alex tried.

Matt huffed in response. They were both testing the waters here. “As if. You barely touched me last time.”

“Oh, really? You want to swap jumpers and make another move? I recall your timing being off. Those drumming classes haven’t done much for you, have they?”

They both snickered, a sense of familiarity washing over them like they were back in old Sheffield, when they had nothing more to worry about than homework and bickering over how to snog a girl.

“Not much to see around here, eh?” Matt asked, lowering his camera to run his eyes over the rest of the reasonably-sized plot.

“We were more concerned about the interior of the hotel.” Alex had his brow raised.

“Real shame. Not much space to keep horses and such.”

The inquiry was there, and Alex quickly picked up on it. “Mardy is being properly looked after, Matt. She’s doing fine.”

The man grumbled a bit under his breath about how ‘fine’ wasn’t good enough which the hotel owner decidedly ignored.

“I’m not here to bestow any more grief upon you, Matt. I’m here because we have a shared interest that I wanted to talk to you about.”

“A shared interest?” Matt repeated blankly.

“I…” Alex exhaled sharply. “I hope you’re happy together. I really do. And that’s all I’ve ever wanted for both of you in the end; happiness. I’m glad you’ve found it together.”

Matt’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Alex, we’re not together.”

“... You’re not?”

“Is that what that whole ordeal was about?”

Alex had a difficult time processing this new information being thrown at him, and could barely hide the glee that was bubbling up in his chest. He was interrupted, however, by Nick running towards them. He couldn’t recall him ever running so fast for anything in his life.

“I think we have a problem,” Nick gasped, “Miles is here.”

 “I’m happy to hear you didn’t lose your job,” she gave him a genuine smile as he poured her a fresh cup of tea and added in some milk.

“Me too, if I’m honest. Spending so much time on the hotel made me realize how much I actually liked doing it and how much I was missing it. I can only be glad people were still willing to vote for me. Guess my good looks pay off after all.” He winked at her, making her roll her eyes.

“I’m sure they voted for you because they were reminded of the goodness in you when you made that apology on the tele.”

“You watched that?” He asked.

“Of course, I did. Wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

The twinkle in his eyes seemed to diminish as he cast them downwards. He fumbled with the cup, his fingers making circular motions over the ceramic. “I’m not really sure I’m all that deserving of their praise. Not to mention, yours.”

“Miles-“

“I’m really sorry for what I did. I never meant to cause any of this. I really wanted to do right by Alex, because he’d been hurt by so many people before and I didn’t want to see it happen again and yet… When I showed him that notebook I think I only really did more harm than good. I know those words were never meant to be read by anyone else and that Alex would have been doing so much better had I just…” He let go of a shuddering breath.

She moved her hand to rest on his forearm in comfort, unable to bring about any form of resentment for the man. She met his eyes. “I know. You were only ever trying to protect him. I can only thank you for that. What happened between me and Alex would have happened either way, whether or not you showed him what I wrote. Neither of us were in the right state of mind back then.”

He gave her a watery yet relieved look, and nodded in understanding. He wrapped his arms around her. “I just hope he’ll get it into that stubborn noggin of his soon that he’s never going to find anyone better than you.”

She laughed against his shoulder quietly, “Me too.”

 When Miles finally left the room, it was nearing dinner time, so he was planning on heading straight down to the hall. He didn’t get much further than the lobby, though.

“Relax, Al,” he told the frantic hotel owner, “All we did was talk it out. Seems like you took the more violent approach.” Miles eyed his injuries carefully, as Alex avoided his gaze.

“Where is she?” Matt asked.

“In her room, last I checked. Why?”

“Alex has another stupid idea.”

 She was about ready to head downstairs for dinner when Matt burst through the door. He gave her a quick look up and down, shaking his head in disapproval as he did so. “Oh no, you’re not wearing that. Put on something fancy.”

“Excuse me?” she asked incredulously, placing her hands on her hips.

“You heard me,” he said, “I’m taking you to dinner. Now come on, hurry up.”

She wasn’t able to protest as he’d already disappeared back out the door. “This day just won’t end, will it?” she muttered.

 Now her mother should have seen her. Though perhaps all she would’ve done is complain about how she wasn’t married yet instead of taking a look at her state of dress. She was honestly quite proud of the work she’d put up, even going as far as to wear heels with it.

She took a gamble that she was supposed to meet Matt in the lobby when he didn’t appear to be waiting in the hallway outside, and a part of her expected him to already be sitting in the hall eating his fill of chicken wings. But he was nowhere to be found, not even at their usual table.

“Miss,” a voice stopped her as she was about to sit. It was Nick. “I’ve reserved a different table for you tonight. If you’ll follow me, please.”

“No.”

Nick gave her an annoyed look.

“Stop being difficult.”

“You like it when I’m difficult.”

 The first thing that filled her senses were the bright rays of lights hanging around the garden, and only when she’d taken in the starry night’s sky was when she noticed a record playing softly in the distance. Nick led her to a clearing near a pond hid behind a few bulky bushes, where she found a table and two seats waiting for her.

“Please, don’t be too difficult on him,” Nick whispered, before taking off again.

His footsteps on the soft grass made her turn back around.

God, he was wearing that same suit from all those years ago. And he still looked damn good in it.

“Would you care to join me for dinner?”

She blinked at him.

“You actually want me to?”

“Yes,” he said, and she could tell he meant it.

 He was busy pulling out her chair for her when someone rounded the corner.

“You’re still not ready?” Matt asked, his arms carrying what appeared to be a set of menus slumping against his chest in annoyance. “I’m never doing this again.”

“I recall you volunteering to be our waiter this time, Matthew. This was of your own volition.”

“Wait a minute,” she turned to glance back at the man in question, “You volunteered to be our waiter? What happened? I wasn’t absent for too long, last I checked.”

Matt rolled his eyes, before gesturing towards Alex. “You think I was just going to leave you alone with him? We compromised.”

“You suggested it,” Alex said.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Are you ready to order now, or should I take my outstanding services elsewhere?”

 “Why did you set all of this up?” she couldn’t help but ask. After Matt had run off to escape their incessant teasing about him maybe actually enjoying waitering, they had only managed to make some small talk. But of course, ‘how are you’s and ‘fine’s aren’t enough to form an entire conversation during dinner.

He gazed up at her, and he looked tired. No longer did she feel captivated by the boyish charm in his gaze; this time, she was completely entranced by the mature and graceful man that sat before her.

“I don’t despise you for what you did, love,” he murmured. “I did when it happened, but the moment you left, I knew I’d made the biggest mistake in the entire world.”

Of course, he’d made the biggest mistake. She felt her heart drop to her stomach.

He had realized that he should have rid of her long before that. That she was nothing but a bother in his perfect grandeur life.

“I never should have let you go.”

She was awaiting his rage, thinking this was the calm before the storm. That he would snap at her or insult her again. But, he didn’t.

For once in his life, Alexander Turner didn’t get defensive. He didn’t storm off, nor make a scene. He simply started talking, like it was the most regular thing for him to do. As if he had always done it, as unnatural as it may have seemed.

Her bottom lip started trembling, her exhaustion fuelling her already tensed emotions. “Then why did you never call? Why did you never pick up the phone? You said you always would if I called you.”

“I didn’t think you’d ever want to see me again after all the things I said to you, after how I lashed out on you.”

“But you could’ve at least tried,” she reasoned.

He nodded, running a tired hand through his hair before it landed on hers and squeezed it lightly. “I didn’t try because I knew you’d be better off without any of this.”

He gestured vaguely towards the looming hotel behind them. “This hotel… It was out of the money from the back of my pocket. The risk was far higher than I thought it would be, and as we were signing the official papers, all I could hear were your warnings being whispered in my ear over and over again.

The opening didn’t go without loss. We barely got any visitors in the first few months, and I was certain that that was going to be it. That it was all over. All I’d worked for, down the drain, because I’d taken one last pathetic gamble to get to the place I’d always wanted to be.

And then you came, a bright light shining over all that was bad, publishing a book about the grandeur Tranquility Hotel, with nothing but praise and comforting words.”

He narrowed his eyes at her for a fraction. “Of course, I read your book. And I only felt the guilt and shame that had been haunting me during all that time you were gone.

You deserve so much more than what I can give you, writer. You have talent, a big heart and the stubbornness of a swine and I love that. You’ve proven more than enough times that you can take care of yourself. It made me realize how much I was holding you back from your full potential after you left.”

“Alex-“

“I was not in the right set of mind, and I can’t say I am now. I’m not very patient, I have a bad temper and I can be cruel when I want to be. You saw the way I reacted when I came to the conclusion you and Matt were a thing. I haven’t changed. Not one bit. Me wanting you to be my girl again is the most selfish thing I could ask for, which is why I won’t.”

Her vision was blurry, and a lump had formed in her throat that felt so heavy it could drop back down to crush her heart in a beat. “You’re not selfish, Alex. I wrote that book for you. It was my last attempt to find some solace after all that had happened. I’m only glad to hear it worked out so well for you and the business, I would’ve hated to see your legacy go to waste.”

But if that’s how you feel, I’m asking you- I’m begging you, be selfish. Be selfish for and with me, because I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

A tear solemnly ran down the length of her cheek, which was swept away by Alex’ gentle caress. He captured her lips with his, and took her chin in between her fingers. It was soft and sweet; though felt as dramatic as the finale of an Italian opera, for his decision was made.

He loved her, and she loved him, and all was right in the world.

 She ran her thumb over his straining knuckles. “And please don’t worry about any of the boys, Al. They love you and care for you, even Matt. Even when you don’t make the best decisions, they’re there for you, because that’s what family does.”

“Family that needs to sock you in the jaw from time to time,” Matt himself added, as he set their plates of food in front of them.

Alex clasped his shoulder, a brotherly look exchanged between them once more.

 And so, the rest of the night was spent exchanging long awaited kisses and glances, until the plates were licked clean, wine glasses empty, and clothes strewn across the grassy yard behind conveniently placed bushes under the night’s sky.

The end.

 ?