MIKEY BUCKLEY
Kanima
Posts: 143
Age:
41
Occupation:
Line Cook
Status:
In a Relationship
Partner:
Mab Carmello
Played by:
Jodi
Broken isn’t the same as unfixable
Last seen Nov 12, 2024 16:41:49 GMT
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Post by MIKEY BUCKLEY on May 11, 2023 19:42:10 GMT
He’d made it to the big four zero. Who’d have thought it? Mikey certainly didn’t and his parents had doubts too. He was convinced he’d be dead before his thirty birthday, but he somehow made it through the decades, even if a majority of those years had been spent behind bars. The birthday buzz was lost when you woke up in a cold cell with a guard screaming at you that it was time for breakfast and they weren’t serving up birthday cake. Most years the day would just pass by without anyone knowing it was Mikey’s birthday, but some years that day would fall on visitation day. Those years were special because he’d get to see his brother, meanwhile his parents would be on the other end of the phone wishing him Happy Birthday. They didn’t even make the journey for that one day a year. It was all too much for them, apparently. He’d escaped the clutches of the Agnellis and he was blessed with another birthday on the outside, where he could eat cake for breakfast. A voicemail flashed up from his parents on his phone, but he clicked ignore for now. Even though he had been released from prison they still hadn’t arranged to see Mikey. Whilst he was inside the whole excuse was because they couldn’t bear to see him locked away, but now what was their excuse? He couldn’t even recall the last time he saw them. It was difficult not to let it weigh him down. Chase had done them both a favour by not dragging them up to New Orleans to see their parents. It would have been an awkward day, filled with unnecessary comments from his parents and tension so thick you would need a chainsaw to cut through it. He hadn’t bothered booking the day off at the Diner. Chase had to go to work, so what was Mikey going to do whilst his brother was at work? Some would have loved a day off to lie in bed, order takeaways and watch trash TV but that was Mikey’s idea of hell. Those days of doing nothing filled him with anxiety, reminding him of the endless hours he spent locked in his cell, counting the bricks or listening to other inmates scream and shout. He’d never learnt the art of relaxing, his body was wired to be on high alert. Unlike most of the other employees he hadn’t penned his birthday into the work calendar, mainly because he didn’t want people wishing him Happy Birthday. It was just another risk of having someone trying to engage in a conversation with him. It was why the job as line cook suited him. He was away from the customers and his human interaction was limited.
“Going for my break.” He announced the others as he made his way out of the kitchen, pushing the door open into the bar. He glanced up at the clock on the wall. Only another hour until he could go home. As he pulled his eyes away from the clock he spotted Mab walking through the door. “Hey.” He spoke as he approached her, “Are you lookin’ for a table? Cause if so I’ll have to get someone else out here.” He gestured towards one of the girls working behind the bar. They were pretty strict about the whole booking system. It was something that was way above his head. MAB CARMELLO  |
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MAB CARMELLO
Witch
Posts: 81
Age:
34
Occupation:
Unemployed
Status:
Interested In
Partner:
Mikey Buckley
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 16, 2024 18:04:55 GMT
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Post by MAB CARMELLO on May 12, 2023 17:10:12 GMT
Was there some rule against taking food from another place into the Diner? Probably. It wasn’t like she’d ever paid much attention to the rules though. Her family had been rewriting them since long before they’d left Sicily, practically scoffing over them as they’d walked off of the boat at this end. Their rules had kept the neighbourhood gripped in an iron fist until Uncle Francesco just had to go and play toy soldier. Nobody there cared now how hard her great-grandmother's foot would stamp. Nobody at the Diner would likely give a shit about her bringing these either.
Mab looked up from the display case, aiming a smile as sweet as the frosting piled high on the cupcakes at the girl behind the counter. ”Hey, can I get two of the chocolate and two of the caramel?” After a couple of weeks of Mikey living with her she had some clue of his tastes, but there were still a million small things both of them had hidden behind walls, ones they didn’t want the other clawing their way through. She’d respected that enough not to take one look at Mikey’s and storm right through them.
That was why it’d come as a surprise when she’d heard the bark of ’Buckley’ out of the guy in the post office. She’d turned, easing the door of her PO box closed, half expecting Mikey to be lurking behind her, but it’d been the man she’d noticed on the way in. He was the sort of guy you did when you’d spent the last decade watching your back for the sort of things that’d try tearing your heart out through it if you weren’t careful. It was probably the face that gave off that faint air of menace, knotted up with scar tissue, that potato of a nose pinched between his thumb and forefinger as he hissed out a sigh and started towards the counter, a birthday card clutched in one hand, the phone still in the other as he crabbed to someone about having plans for the night, his brother’s birthday. Well, wasn’t that a kick in the pants. Another thing Mikey had stayed silent about.
He’d been gone a minute later, the card he’d paid for clutched in his hand as he rushed out to the dark car she’d noticed at the curb. She hadn’t followed suit, although she had glanced at the cards as she’d headed out. Brightly coloured images, well wishes spelled out in those over-enthusiastic words, exclamation marks everywhere like it was a miracle you’d hit your eighteen birthday, or your thirty-fifth. Maybe there was one for her great-grandmother – wow, 132 years young today! The wizened old crone looked it at least.
The candles the girl in the bakery had slipped into the box at her request rattled against the card as Mab nudged open the door. They probably weren’t allowed either – some bullshit about setting off the fire alarms, or people not complaining about the smoke – but it was another item on the ‘don’t give a shit’ list. She wouldn’t have known real birthday celebrations from a hole in the ground, not when her great-grandmother hadn’t bothered with them. A day was a day, no matter what. You woke up, you trained, you sustained that hate in your belly. Joseph had shown up with a little white cardboard bakery box that last year though, a single cupcake and a candle lit for her to make a wish and blow it out. That part had been bullshit, what she’d wanted hadn’t come true, but the sentiment had stuck.
She’d been glancing towards the counting, expecting to have to ask one of the waitresses, or the guy who owned the place, for Mikey, but then he was slipping out from behind the counter. The corners of Mab’s lips twitched as he asked her if she was looking for a table. Maybe she’d have eaten after, but it hadn’t been her main reason for heading across the square. ”Hey. I was looking for you actually. Thought I’d have to get someone to hustle back into the kitchen to drag you out.” She’d gotten lucky though, nobody else had to find out what was in the box or turn this into one of those moments she’d seen on TV where the entire lunch crowd would start singing at him. Definitely not the aim. ”You got a few minutes? Maybe outside, or you know...” She gestured further into the Diner with the box. He’d been heading towards her, so back out the way they’d come was probably the better bet, tagging along to wherever he’d been going.
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MIKEY BUCKLEY
Kanima
Posts: 143
Age:
41
Occupation:
Line Cook
Status:
In a Relationship
Partner:
Mab Carmello
Played by:
Jodi
Broken isn’t the same as unfixable
Last seen Nov 12, 2024 16:41:49 GMT
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Post by MIKEY BUCKLEY on Jun 13, 2023 17:18:13 GMT
He wouldn’t go as far as saying he hated his birthday, but he didn’t look forward to it. It was a whole day focused on him, which he hated. Even as a child he didn’t come bouncing down the stairs the moment his eyes opened to see what presents he had. His mom would have to drag him out of bed so they could all watch as he unwrapped each gift. Just thinking about it now made him feel uncomfortable. Thankfully Chase didn’t force him to do the same. Nonetheless he left the wrapped gift on the table though, to be opened later with Chase because he knew whatever lay beneath the wrapping paper he’d like. It wouldn’t be some god awful shirt his mom was convinced he’d love, so he had to pretend it was lovely. Course he was relieved when Chase invited him back home, but a part of him missed staying with Mab. She did the impossible and managed to bring a smile to his face. There were moments she even made him laugh too which usually was like trying to blood from a stone, but Mab succeeded with ease. Then he crawled into her bed, invited of course, unlike his unannounced visit prior to that. His back was thankful for the invite, but also it helped to itch that feeling of loneliness inside of him. She hadn’t just helped him with a place to crash, but also helped him when he felt like he was drowning in guilt and regret. Completely submerged, struggling to find a way out and she was there to offer a hand. He never pegged her as the type of person who would offer a lending ear, but she sat there listening to his problems slip out of him that first evening. Problems that he would have usually kept to himself, letting them bubble up inside, but he shared it all with her. Well, not everything. How would she have reacted if she knew an ex-convict was lying next to her in bed? Just how Roxxi wanted to keep their brief thing a secret, he wanted to keep that a secret. He couldn’t find a way to work it into the conversation, nor could he find the right time. The exact problem Roxxi was having with Chase. She hadn’t kicked him out of her bed either which led him to believe she hadn’t taken a page out of Roxxi’s book and did some background research on him. He didn’t want to tell her either because what if she told him to never contact her again? He managed to stifle a stupid grin when she announced she was looking for him, but there was still a twitch on his lips. “Caught me just as I was headin’ for a break.” His eyes bounced to the box for a moment. “Yeah sure. I got a ten minute break.” He led the way, taking them both over to a vacant booth. “You alright?” He asked as he slipped into the booth. MAB CARMELLO |
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MAB CARMELLO
Witch
Posts: 81
Age:
34
Occupation:
Unemployed
Status:
Interested In
Partner:
Mikey Buckley
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 16, 2024 18:04:55 GMT
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Post by MAB CARMELLO on Jul 3, 2023 19:59:33 GMT
Sleeping in the same bed didn’t mean you had to end up neck deep in each other’s lives. Mab was sure that if Mikey’d had any other choices on the night his brother had kicked him out he wouldn’t have ended up at her place. She’d been the best of a handful of probably shitty options – the fact that it’d worked out was probably a bonus on his part. Maybe he’d been relieved to escape back to his brother’s place when the olive branch had been extended. Mikey would’ve been too polite to mention it, no matter how rough he was around the edges, he still had the sort of manners that she didn’t – her greatgrandmother had been narrow minded when it came to just which airs and graces she’d taught her. It took work to keep her own sharp edges blunt enough not to catch on everybody else.
This was soft right? The sort of thing that normal people did when birthdays came around?
She’d second guessed the move a dozen times since she’d crossed paths with Mikey’s brother – she could see which one got the looks, where those sharp corners had been dealt out when it came to the Buckley brothers – in the post office. Was this crossing some line or was it what was expected out of a … whatever they’d ended up being to one another after those tentative steps forward? Ah well, if it was a step over the line, then he’d have to put up with it, Mab figured, forcing herself to lighten up on her grip on the box as she’d headed out of the bakery. If she was doing it, then she didn’t wanna be turning up with smooshed cupcakes.
Serendipity had Mikey emerging from behind the counter just as she got there. That saved her having to talk either him or his boss into allowing him a few minutes out from behind the counter for this. She could’ve postponed it, got back in her car with the cupcakes and come back later, but it seemed as though all the pieces were falling into place.
Mab’s eyes narrowed faintly – with warmth, not the coldness that she knew could ooze out of her like a lizard’s cold gaze – as his lips twitched. They could curve more than that, she’d seen it, although Mikey always seemed reluctant to allow any trace of emotion touch his features. Maybe it was a survival mechanism, just like her cold-bloodedness. ”I’m definitely gonna call that lucky timing then,” she murmured. ”Ten minutes would be perfect, if I can steal all of that.” She’d have headed back out with him in tow if he’d wanted that. After hours in a hot kitchen, she imagined that you wanted the cool, fresh air. A breath that didn’t come tainted with the smell of hot grease or frying onions. Thanks to her great-grandmother she’d never worked any sort of normal job, honestly didn’t know what the 9-5 would’ve felt like.
Setting the box down on the table, Mab slipped into the opposite side of the booth. She nudged it squarely between the two of them. One brow hitched, amusement pulling at her lips again. ”I’m fine. This isn’t anything to worry about,” she promised him. Although her turning up in the middle of a shift, asking for a few minutes of his time probably wasn’t what he’d been expecting of her. Maybe a phone call to get coffee some time, or an invite for another take out dinner at her place – a minor replay of what’d worked out for them for a couple of weeks.
”I saw your brother earlier,” she admitted, setting her elbows on the edge of the table. Just rip the band aid off, tell the truth so Mikey wouldn’t start tying himself up in knots about what she might have been trying to drag him into again. ”I sort of got the hint that it might’ve been your … uh … happy birthday?” Almost wincing with the anticipation, Mab flipped open the bakery box. The candles lay in it, alongside the four cupcakes. ”If I got the wrong end of the stick, we’ll pretend that the candles aren’t there. Call it just a gift for an ex-roommate if it makes it easier.” Then she would crawl back under her rock and stop this attempt at playing a normal human being thing. She wasn’t delusional enough to belief that she was one, nobody raised in that house could’ve been, but maybe it was time it became something more than an actress playing a role that she hadn’t wanted in the first place.
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MIKEY BUCKLEY
Kanima
Posts: 143
Age:
41
Occupation:
Line Cook
Status:
In a Relationship
Partner:
Mab Carmello
Played by:
Jodi
Broken isn’t the same as unfixable
Last seen Nov 12, 2024 16:41:49 GMT
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Post by MIKEY BUCKLEY on Jul 26, 2023 21:32:47 GMT
Most people would be furious about working their birthday, like it was a sacred day and to be at work was sacrilege but Mikey was never that type of person. You could stick him in the apron on New Years Day and he’d be okay with it. Perhaps you couldn’t go as far as having him work Christmas Day because now that day actually did mean something to him. It was a day for him and Chase and no amount of double pay could pull him away from that. Plus, who the fuck wanted to go to a diner on Christmas Day? His mind was rushing through the reasons as to why Mab had come to find him at work, but nothing stuck out. Last year he might have accused her of coming to find him because she needed an idiot to help her break into somewhere, but she’d proven herself since that evening. He’d warmed to her, which was rare considering he kept everyone at arm's length. He had a very particular set of people he surrounded himself with because he’d fucked up as a teenage and surrounded himself with the wrong people. At first it was just Chase, then Roxxi almost crept into that category until he found out the truth he pushed her back to arm’s length, if not further. Then Mab somehow made her way into that category. He wasn’t sure how it happened, or when it happened, just that it happened and he was okay with it. There were still a few barriers up between him and her though, but every now and then a barrier would drop and she’d get that little bit closer to him. Truth was he tried not to think about it. “I’m all yours… for ten minutes.” Not that Kace would come and drag him back to the kitchen if he was a minute or two late back from his break. An amused smile crept across his face, mirroring Mab’s. She hadn’t come to the diner to drag him off to participate in a daylight robbery, but his attention was bouncing between her and the box, which was placed smack bang in the middle of the table. “Did I leave some things at yours?” Had he left behind one of his five t-shirts or maybe one of his two sweaters? His stomach dropped for a second when she said she’d seen Chase, but then he broke into a wide smile. He edged forward a little to peer inside the box to see the four cupcakes inside. “Mab…” He began, but he was lost for words, truly touched by her gesture. “Thanks. I appreciate it.” He reached inside the box, pulling one of the chocolate cupcakes, that wide smile still on his face. So, not only had Mab nudged her way into his inner circle, she’d also brought a genuine smile to Mikey’s face. “Didn't know you baked?” He’d never dare to criticise Mab’s cooking, knowing it was the last thing he’d ever do, but there were times she was a little heavy on the salt. He picked up one of the candles, gently pushing it into the cake, “I’m trustin’ you not to sing to me.” A silent happy birthday would be enough for him, but he was riding on the fact Mab wasn’t the type to draw attention to herself in a crowded dinner. He pulled out a lighter from his apron pocket before lighting the candle. Here was to another year of freedom, another year of getting his life back together, another year with Chase and who knows maybe another year with Mab in his life. MAB CARMELLO |
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MAB CARMELLO
Witch
Posts: 81
Age:
34
Occupation:
Unemployed
Status:
Interested In
Partner:
Mikey Buckley
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 16, 2024 18:04:55 GMT
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Post by MAB CARMELLO on Jul 29, 2023 20:30:05 GMT
This wasn’t going to be some grand thing with party hats and fifty well wishers crammed into the diner, ten minutes would be enough. She’d have questioned whether there were enough people in Mikey’s life for that, but not only was it none of her business, she already suspected she knew the answer anyway. Mikey wasn’t a social butterfly. If she was right about the past she’d only been privy to tiny crumbs of so far, then he’d had reasons not to be, just as she did. Each had been surrounded by bars of someone else’s making. Mikey’s had been sprung free for him to end up here, but hers had just stretched further – still visible in the distance, just giving her the impression of freedom for the moment.
For the weeks that he’d spent in her apartment, Mikey had joined her in that cage – not that he’d known it. Little bits of their lives had meshed together. It’d felt as though they’d peeled entirely apart when Chase had finally reached out to patch things up with his little brother, but as he asked if he’d left anything behind at her place, Mab realised that there were thin threads left stretched between them like spiderwebs, binding in a way that was almost invisible. The corner of her mouth kicked higher. ”Cause you brought so much with you that you might not’ve noticed before now?” Mikey hadn’t exactly packed heavy. Still, what had been there had felt like it had left a vacuum behind when he’d gone home – including the man himself.
Mab gaze drifted over Mikey’s face as she admitted to seeing his brother. She spun the story out, waiting for the moment the other shoe dropped and she got his reaction on this. Some would bristle at the idea of having a near stranger – albeit one they’d shared a bed with – nosing into their lives. Not Mikey. The smile lit up a face that could look grim at times. ”It’s not much,” she argued as he said her name. It was appreciated though, and that loosened those bands of worry in her chest.
She could still feel them there – she always did, anticipating the moment fate would snap them tight enough to leave her breathless again – as Mikey reached for one of the cupcakes. Chocolate, no real surprise there. That came as he wrung a laugh out of her. ”It’s one of my hidden talents,” she crooned, her eyes narrowing down for a moment. ”They’re from the bakery just off the square. I figured I’d let the experts handle it – I figured I’d avoid you having to pretend they tasted good if I tried to do it myself.” Would he have been a good enough actor to fake it? Or felt like he had to at all. Mikey hadn’t shied away from elbowing at her before, but his sleeping in her bed seemed to have shifted things away from that sort of animosity.
Leaning back in her seat as Mikey retrieved the candle, Mab held her hands up in surrender. She could’ve lit the candle with a single word, but what she could do was something she hadn’t approached again with Mikey since the night at Whitmore. After all the progress she’d made, she wasn’t going back to him not trusting her. ”My lips are sealed,” she promised. Her hands settled back on the edge of the table, her chin lifting towards the cake. ”Make a wish though.” As a kid she would’ve wished for the same thing every year. Undoubtedly it wouldn’t have come true, no child’s wish would save her from the fate her greatgrandmother had woven for her. ”Did your brother burst into song this morning? I’m guessing he had some sorta plans for you for today.” Otherwise she’d just have done this later. Turning up there might’ve caused more questions, especially from his brother, one that she wouldn’t be comfortable answering when she was talking to a cop.
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MIKEY BUCKLEY
Kanima
Posts: 143
Age:
41
Occupation:
Line Cook
Status:
In a Relationship
Partner:
Mab Carmello
Played by:
Jodi
Broken isn’t the same as unfixable
Last seen Nov 12, 2024 16:41:49 GMT
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Post by MIKEY BUCKLEY on Jul 30, 2023 19:51:08 GMT
It took him five minutes to pack his belongings up at Chase’s apartment. He’d never been the type of person who needed a wardrobe full of clothes and countless pairs of shoes. He only had two feet and washing machines existed. He didn’t unpack fully at Mab’s though, not because he was expecting a phone call from his brother at any moment, but because he didn’t want to impose on Mab's apartment too much. He already felt he was imposing when she offered to share her bed with him, but the awkwardness fell away quickly. He knew she wouldn’t have put forward the suggestion if she didn’t mean it. Her brutal honesty was sometimes one of her good traits, so when she opened her doors to him he knew she wasn’t doing it because she felt like she had to. She could have handed Mikey one single cupcake and he’d still have been touched. His upbringing kept him humble. He and Chase weren’t showered with expensive gifts on birthdays and Christmas. They didn’t run (of course Mikey walked) down the stairs Christmas day morning to find the tree overspilling with gifts. They had a few presents each and that was it. It was all their parents could afford. So, knowing Mab had gone out of her way and used her own money to buy him a few cupcakes was a bit more than ’not much.’ Now Mab was trying to be the humble one, brushing it off like she hadn’t put some thought into the gift. He had access to all the chocolate in the world now he was a free man, which satisfied his sweet tooth. One chocolate a week wasn’t good enough and that’s if he was lucky they hadn’t sold out by the time he reached the front of the line. There had been times where he had been handed an out of date one too, not by a few days either, usually a few months. They really were feeding prisoners the scraps. Mikey’s eyes matched Mab’s, narrowing slightly, as he waited to see if she was telling him the truth. He laughed lightly at her revelation. “I’ll show you how to make cupcakes one day.” It wasn’t an empty promise either. Alongside that he could teach her some basic cooking skills as well, starting off with lasagna maybe. His eyes fell down on the candle as Mab told him to make a wish, but nothing sprung to mind. The only thing he’d ever wished for was his freedom and now he had it, so what was next? Something came to mind though. He blew lightly on the candle, the flames extinguishing as he wished for the Agnellis’ to stay far far away from Mystic Falls. He pulled the candle out, laying it down on the table. “Nah, no singing from him either. I think we’re gonna head out for dinner later, nothin’ too fancy… as you could probably guess I don’t tend to make a deal out of my birthday. Just another year older and crankier.” He said with a grin on his face. Those bones would be creaking even louder now he was forty and something would give way soon. Mikey pushed the cake box towards Mab. “Gotta have one or I’ll eat the lot.” He peeled away the wrapper from the cupcake before taking a small bite. He nodded contently, “These are pretty good.” Give him an afternoon with Mab and she’d be making cupcakes just a good. MAB CARMELLO |
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MAB CARMELLO
Witch
Posts: 81
Age:
34
Occupation:
Unemployed
Status:
Interested In
Partner:
Mikey Buckley
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 16, 2024 18:04:55 GMT
|
Post by MAB CARMELLO on Sept 7, 2023 20:29:48 GMT
Mystic Falls was supposed to have been like any of the other hundred places she’d gone to under her great-grandmother’s orders. Chances had been that she’d put pressure on the Augustines and any other supernatural creature she could find in town – the sort of pressure that left the population shrinking by a couple of digits – and would find absolutely nothing about St John again. It was a pattern that had repeated itself for years, no amount of failures dissuading her great-grandmother from finally giving up her demand for vengeance. Mab would never have said it aloud, but people died in war. It was brutal and bloody and she was sure that her great-uncle hadn’t been under the impression that he was gonna swan out to Monte Cassino just to pay a friendly visit to the old country. People had been dying and he’d signed up to try and protect those lives by laying his on the line. The only mistake she’d ever been able to see in it all was her great-grandmother’s one in believing that the vampire could keep her son alive.
There were probably plenty of mistakes Mikey had made that he regretted, but instead of being eaten up by regret and bitterness, he was trying to turn something around. Honesty wasn’t a weapon for him, it was a way of trying to make that happen and Mab had to admire it. He hadn’t ended up suspicious enough at the world – or pissed enough at her – to give her just a single strike and then bar her from his world. Maybe she would’ve deserved it, if things had gone worse that night. Hell, if they hadn’t and the teenaged witch and warlock had brought St. John back to her, there wouldn’t have been an apartment there for Mikey to find sanctuary in. Fate had slotted them together, dovetailing that series of maladies into something that felt like friendship at the very least – a tie to that town she was supposed to have left in her rear view.
The idea of still being here one day should’ve had her feeling restless, but there was just the faintest tug of that fish hook that her great-grandmother still had buried in her as Mikey spoke as though there’d be some future time where the two of them would be puttering around a kitchen together again. ”You’ll have your work cut out for you. I don’t think I’ve baked anything since high school.” Because there hadn’t been the opportunity to. All those chances for a normal life – one domestic enough for a full fridge and sifting flour and family dinners (that didn’t happen in a dining room Dracula would’ve felt at home in) – had shot out of reach right around graduation. After that it had been a never ending carousel of hotel rooms and fast food.
Having Mikey in the apartment had changed that. Mab watched as he blew on the candle, wondering if the wish had been to never fall out with his brother again, or something a lot more like her own might’ve been – if she was still capable of imagining a future that didn’t involve washing the blood of vampires or wolves, or whoever else was holding out on her, off of her hands. Something settled had been her dream with Joseph and maybe some small part of her had felt the echo of that in the mornings that she’d woken up with Mikey in bed beside her, the two of them still wrapped around one another. ”I don’t know about the cranky part,” Mab drawled lightly, studying Mikey for a moment before shaking her head. ”I’m not exactly the big birthday sort either, but sometimes it feels like it needs to be acknowledged.” That had never happened with her great-grandmother. The days were much like any other, if something did happen then it came with expectations, the sort that took what little shine there was left off of the day.
Mab studied the box and considered Mikey’s order for a moment before she reached out for one of the caramel cupcakes, making sure to leave Mikey the other chocolate one for later. ]”Guess I better save you from yourself,” she murmured. Before peeling the wrapper from her own cupcake, she tapped it carefully against the side of Mikey’s. ”If I can’t make a decent cupcake, then I can be an expert at finding the really good ones. Happy birthday, Mikey.” The echoed words thickened her throat slightly, leaving her smothering the emotion that had struck with a bite of the cupcake. Shooting Mikey an almost surprised look, she groaned and swallowed. It hadn’t all been bluster, she really knew a freaking good cupcake when she saw one. And a good guy.
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