The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be: Studio 60
Title: The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be
Author: blueeyelinerx
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 50 sentences for 1sentence
Pairing/Character: Matt/Harriet
Summary: She offers him tea and Matt isn’t sure if it is a metaphor for something else but he accepts anyway and when Harriet places the steaming cup in his hands, he knows he is going to burn.
Spoilers/Warnings: The Christmas Show
Author’s Note: 50 sentences challenge about Matt and Harriet. Prompts are in chronologic order, not numeric (set Gamma). Some of the sentences are a stretch but this turned out to be harder than anticipated (and more fun!) Follows the pair through from the Pilot to the Christmas Show and then veers widely into my own fantasy. Big thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed any of my other stories; feedback is love.
It's like a storm that's never ending, it's like a shadow on the land and the sea. There's nothing so sad as a tomorrow gone bad - the future ain't what it used to be.
-- The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be, Meatloaf
06. Hurricane
Harriet imagines Matt’s laughter in her ears as Studio 60 collapses around her - its been slowly crumbling for four years and he’s long gone, nowhere near the disaster.
43. Search
Matt bumps into Harriet in the hallway and feels a headache emerging; one minute, he is arguing in familiar circles with Harriet and the next, he is her boss talking about looking forward to working with her and he doesn’t feel comfortable in either role.
28. Forgotten
She tells her friends she doesn’t even remember what attracted her to him in the first place and knows that everyone sees right through her.
15. Silk
Matt whigs out about the first show and the need for a killer cold open but he watches Harriet put on one of the long white gloves and relaxes.
45. Eclipse
Her talent is so bold and bright and overshadows everyone else so completely that it’s a wonder the audience doesn’t need sunglasses.
22. Journey
They have a history and a past and Matt is secure and comfortable in what it was and how it ended and this new thing, this present and the future, scares him because everything she says to him sounds foreign and all he knows is he misses her.
36. Laugh
Harriet slams the door to her dressing room after a particularly nasty conversation with Matt; they used to laugh a lot more before Matt left and she got famous.
19. Candle
Harriet waits for the spark to die, like a candle blown out by the wind, but it never happens.
03. Memory
Harriet remembers his secret smile and his loving touch but she also remembers his hurtful words and his stubborn pride and she is torn between remembering what she wants and what she can’t have.
35. Fever
The vision hits her without warning: nails scratching his back, his fingers reaching into her, the sound of their breathing in the quiet room; she has to lean against the wall when Jordan asks her if she’s ok.
14. Music
Matt hears a song on the radio and I only dream of you and you never know loops in his head for the rest of the day; later, he finds out the song is by a band named Muse and he smiles.
26. Ice
“I’m sorry,” Matt says and Harriet knows how hard it is for him to admit this; even she is amazed by the ice in her voice when she tells him it is not enough.
25. Mask
There are days Harriet doesn’t recognize herself in the mirror and those are the days she hates him the most.
37. Lies
He lets Jeanie come over and help him with his physical therapy, he lets a brunette at the wrap party clumsily flirt and seduce him, and when he gets them into bed, he pretends it is blonde hair splayed on his pillow.
42. Talk
They argue and they talk in circles because they are both too afraid to say what they really feel and Harriet thinks this is worse than when they were not speaking at all.
31. Sacred
There was a time Matt could tell it was love simply by the way she said his name; she still calls him Matthew but there is nothing special about it anymore.
18. Dream
Writer’s block plagues him sometimes but so do his dreams and he wakes up gasping for air after watching Harriet kiss Darren Wells over and over.
12. Temptation
He stumbles over a prop in the corner and mumbles something that even he can’t understand because all he can think about is bashing the pitcher’s head in with the bat that has his phone number on it.
13. View
“You know all the stupid things I say or do have no reflection on how I feel about you, right?” he asks her and she nods with a ghost of a smile on her face.
29. Dance
Martha O’Dell asks a lot of questions and Harriet circles around them because she doesn’t like talking about a subject where she doesn’t have the answers.
02. Hero
He tells her it was supposed to be him protecting her and she looks at him with wonder in her eyes and a broken heart in her chest.
04. Box
The day he puts everything into a box and leaves Studio 60 is the day everything began to fall apart, something Harriet doesn’t see till years later.
21. Silence
She listens to Sting with him and there is so much that isn’t said and she hates standing so close and being so far away.
07. Wings
Danny was one the one who found her but it was Matt who gave her wings to soar.
09. Red
She wears a red dress with a black bra to the wrap party and they speak of a lingerie shoot and it takes all of Matt’s resolve not to reach over and trace the lace with his tongue.
44. Hope
It is raining when he finds her in the parking lot and she lets him hold an umbrella over her head and Matt exhales and thinks it’s a start.
20. Talent
Harriet is an actor with a thousand faces but the face that Matt loves most is the one she wears when she is with him.
08. Cold
“You look beautiful,” he whispers from behind her and she shivers despite the warm LA night.
47. Highway
Harriet hopes in as few ways as possible but that doesn’t stop her from praying for the destruction of the gulf between them and the chance to lead each other to the road of recovery.
33. World
Her faith is what connects her to the world, what has helped her survive everything life has thrown at her, and it is among the many things Matt will never understand.
39. Overwhelmed
The cast has the flu and a father has killed his children and Jordan is pregnant and Harriet cannot tell a joke and later that night, she sobs in her shower because there are some days where she needs more than her faith to get her by.
30. Body
He leads her away from the crowd on a stupid pretense, he presses her against the wall so they are flush against each other, he leaves her disoriented and dizzy and dying for more.
10. Drink
Harriet’s eyes find Matt from across the room and she thinks she could drink a case of him and still be on her feet.
24. Strength
She dances with him and kisses him softly on the mouth; walking away is the hardest thing she has done in a long time.
41. Wait
She goes skiing with Jeanie and Samantha and when she comes back, she finds that he has waited for her.
16. Cover
He shows up on her doorstep late at night - too late for it to be a social call and the shadows fall across his eyes and maybe into them.
23. Fire
She offers him tea and Matt isn’t sure if it is a metaphor for something else but he accepts anyway and when Harriet places the steaming cup in his hands, he knows he is going to burn.
46. Gravity
There is an Albert Einstein quote about gravity not being responsible for people falling in love and Harriet understands as she looks into Matt’s eyes because there is no rhythm or rhyme in them and it doesn’t matter - they fell in love anyway.
05. Run
“It’s late, I should go,” he stammers because now that he is here, he is chickening out and he is getting ready to run.
11. Midnight
“I do my best work after midnight,” she tells him in a voice he hasn’t heard in months.
27. Fall
It is too much to resist and there is so much passion and frenzy in their kiss that they end up on the floor where Harriet laughs until she can’t breath.
17. Promise
There’s a chance he promised to make it right as they moved against each other; Harriet can’t hear anything but the pounding of her heart.
48. Unknown
He slips into her and she lets the tension slip out and when it is all over, she doesn’t know where she begins and he ends.
32. Farewells
The first goodbye was terrible; Matt isn’t sure he will survive a second.
40. Whisper
Her skin is hot and sweaty underneath him, she screams his name as she goes over the edge and he whispers I love you into her shoulder when he collapses seconds later.
49. Lock
He places the breakfast tray over her legs and watches her face light up; it’s been too long, he muses, and decides to make everything permanent.
50. Breathe
There’s a velvet box in her dressing room on Monday morning and he scares her when he steps out from a corner but he’s kneeling and saying all the right things and all Harriet can do is nod because she can’t breath, let alone speak.
#01 - Ring
There’s a moment of panic where he thinks he forgot the gold band but then he sees Danny contemplating it in the light of the window and the relief that courses through him is so strong, he has to physically sit.
34. Formal
Matt wishes they had chosen a simple ceremony on the beach, barefoot, but Harriet belonged, in some ways, to the church and the whole affair was so stiff Matt wanted to scream but he forgot why when he lifted the veil and kissed her and she breathed thank you against his lips.
38. Forever
Danny had been married twice and Matt knew both times his till-death-do-us part was utter bullshit; lying on a hammock entwined with Harriet made him feel like forever would go too fast.
//notes\\
# 10 is a line that is almost verbatim from “Case of You” by Joni Mitchell. Beautiful, angsty song that I had on repeat as I wrote this.
# 13 is a play on the chorus of “The Stupidest Things” by Robin Thicke that sums up Matt/Harriet to me.
Author: blueeyelinerx
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 50 sentences for 1sentence
Pairing/Character: Matt/Harriet
Summary: She offers him tea and Matt isn’t sure if it is a metaphor for something else but he accepts anyway and when Harriet places the steaming cup in his hands, he knows he is going to burn.
Spoilers/Warnings: The Christmas Show
Author’s Note: 50 sentences challenge about Matt and Harriet. Prompts are in chronologic order, not numeric (set Gamma). Some of the sentences are a stretch but this turned out to be harder than anticipated (and more fun!) Follows the pair through from the Pilot to the Christmas Show and then veers widely into my own fantasy. Big thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed any of my other stories; feedback is love.
It's like a storm that's never ending, it's like a shadow on the land and the sea. There's nothing so sad as a tomorrow gone bad - the future ain't what it used to be.
-- The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be, Meatloaf
06. Hurricane
Harriet imagines Matt’s laughter in her ears as Studio 60 collapses around her - its been slowly crumbling for four years and he’s long gone, nowhere near the disaster.
43. Search
Matt bumps into Harriet in the hallway and feels a headache emerging; one minute, he is arguing in familiar circles with Harriet and the next, he is her boss talking about looking forward to working with her and he doesn’t feel comfortable in either role.
28. Forgotten
She tells her friends she doesn’t even remember what attracted her to him in the first place and knows that everyone sees right through her.
15. Silk
Matt whigs out about the first show and the need for a killer cold open but he watches Harriet put on one of the long white gloves and relaxes.
45. Eclipse
Her talent is so bold and bright and overshadows everyone else so completely that it’s a wonder the audience doesn’t need sunglasses.
22. Journey
They have a history and a past and Matt is secure and comfortable in what it was and how it ended and this new thing, this present and the future, scares him because everything she says to him sounds foreign and all he knows is he misses her.
36. Laugh
Harriet slams the door to her dressing room after a particularly nasty conversation with Matt; they used to laugh a lot more before Matt left and she got famous.
19. Candle
Harriet waits for the spark to die, like a candle blown out by the wind, but it never happens.
03. Memory
Harriet remembers his secret smile and his loving touch but she also remembers his hurtful words and his stubborn pride and she is torn between remembering what she wants and what she can’t have.
35. Fever
The vision hits her without warning: nails scratching his back, his fingers reaching into her, the sound of their breathing in the quiet room; she has to lean against the wall when Jordan asks her if she’s ok.
14. Music
Matt hears a song on the radio and I only dream of you and you never know loops in his head for the rest of the day; later, he finds out the song is by a band named Muse and he smiles.
26. Ice
“I’m sorry,” Matt says and Harriet knows how hard it is for him to admit this; even she is amazed by the ice in her voice when she tells him it is not enough.
25. Mask
There are days Harriet doesn’t recognize herself in the mirror and those are the days she hates him the most.
37. Lies
He lets Jeanie come over and help him with his physical therapy, he lets a brunette at the wrap party clumsily flirt and seduce him, and when he gets them into bed, he pretends it is blonde hair splayed on his pillow.
42. Talk
They argue and they talk in circles because they are both too afraid to say what they really feel and Harriet thinks this is worse than when they were not speaking at all.
31. Sacred
There was a time Matt could tell it was love simply by the way she said his name; she still calls him Matthew but there is nothing special about it anymore.
18. Dream
Writer’s block plagues him sometimes but so do his dreams and he wakes up gasping for air after watching Harriet kiss Darren Wells over and over.
12. Temptation
He stumbles over a prop in the corner and mumbles something that even he can’t understand because all he can think about is bashing the pitcher’s head in with the bat that has his phone number on it.
13. View
“You know all the stupid things I say or do have no reflection on how I feel about you, right?” he asks her and she nods with a ghost of a smile on her face.
29. Dance
Martha O’Dell asks a lot of questions and Harriet circles around them because she doesn’t like talking about a subject where she doesn’t have the answers.
02. Hero
He tells her it was supposed to be him protecting her and she looks at him with wonder in her eyes and a broken heart in her chest.
04. Box
The day he puts everything into a box and leaves Studio 60 is the day everything began to fall apart, something Harriet doesn’t see till years later.
21. Silence
She listens to Sting with him and there is so much that isn’t said and she hates standing so close and being so far away.
07. Wings
Danny was one the one who found her but it was Matt who gave her wings to soar.
09. Red
She wears a red dress with a black bra to the wrap party and they speak of a lingerie shoot and it takes all of Matt’s resolve not to reach over and trace the lace with his tongue.
44. Hope
It is raining when he finds her in the parking lot and she lets him hold an umbrella over her head and Matt exhales and thinks it’s a start.
20. Talent
Harriet is an actor with a thousand faces but the face that Matt loves most is the one she wears when she is with him.
08. Cold
“You look beautiful,” he whispers from behind her and she shivers despite the warm LA night.
47. Highway
Harriet hopes in as few ways as possible but that doesn’t stop her from praying for the destruction of the gulf between them and the chance to lead each other to the road of recovery.
33. World
Her faith is what connects her to the world, what has helped her survive everything life has thrown at her, and it is among the many things Matt will never understand.
39. Overwhelmed
The cast has the flu and a father has killed his children and Jordan is pregnant and Harriet cannot tell a joke and later that night, she sobs in her shower because there are some days where she needs more than her faith to get her by.
30. Body
He leads her away from the crowd on a stupid pretense, he presses her against the wall so they are flush against each other, he leaves her disoriented and dizzy and dying for more.
10. Drink
Harriet’s eyes find Matt from across the room and she thinks she could drink a case of him and still be on her feet.
24. Strength
She dances with him and kisses him softly on the mouth; walking away is the hardest thing she has done in a long time.
41. Wait
She goes skiing with Jeanie and Samantha and when she comes back, she finds that he has waited for her.
16. Cover
He shows up on her doorstep late at night - too late for it to be a social call and the shadows fall across his eyes and maybe into them.
23. Fire
She offers him tea and Matt isn’t sure if it is a metaphor for something else but he accepts anyway and when Harriet places the steaming cup in his hands, he knows he is going to burn.
46. Gravity
There is an Albert Einstein quote about gravity not being responsible for people falling in love and Harriet understands as she looks into Matt’s eyes because there is no rhythm or rhyme in them and it doesn’t matter - they fell in love anyway.
05. Run
“It’s late, I should go,” he stammers because now that he is here, he is chickening out and he is getting ready to run.
11. Midnight
“I do my best work after midnight,” she tells him in a voice he hasn’t heard in months.
27. Fall
It is too much to resist and there is so much passion and frenzy in their kiss that they end up on the floor where Harriet laughs until she can’t breath.
17. Promise
There’s a chance he promised to make it right as they moved against each other; Harriet can’t hear anything but the pounding of her heart.
48. Unknown
He slips into her and she lets the tension slip out and when it is all over, she doesn’t know where she begins and he ends.
32. Farewells
The first goodbye was terrible; Matt isn’t sure he will survive a second.
40. Whisper
Her skin is hot and sweaty underneath him, she screams his name as she goes over the edge and he whispers I love you into her shoulder when he collapses seconds later.
49. Lock
He places the breakfast tray over her legs and watches her face light up; it’s been too long, he muses, and decides to make everything permanent.
50. Breathe
There’s a velvet box in her dressing room on Monday morning and he scares her when he steps out from a corner but he’s kneeling and saying all the right things and all Harriet can do is nod because she can’t breath, let alone speak.
#01 - Ring
There’s a moment of panic where he thinks he forgot the gold band but then he sees Danny contemplating it in the light of the window and the relief that courses through him is so strong, he has to physically sit.
34. Formal
Matt wishes they had chosen a simple ceremony on the beach, barefoot, but Harriet belonged, in some ways, to the church and the whole affair was so stiff Matt wanted to scream but he forgot why when he lifted the veil and kissed her and she breathed thank you against his lips.
38. Forever
Danny had been married twice and Matt knew both times his till-death-do-us part was utter bullshit; lying on a hammock entwined with Harriet made him feel like forever would go too fast.
//notes\\
# 10 is a line that is almost verbatim from “Case of You” by Joni Mitchell. Beautiful, angsty song that I had on repeat as I wrote this.
# 13 is a play on the chorus of “The Stupidest Things” by Robin Thicke that sums up Matt/Harriet to me.