(no subject)
Title: Heart Carved Tree
Pairing: Derek/Addison
Rating: PG
Summary: First time Addison meets Mrs. Shepherd (with a little Mark thrown in for good measure).
For:
picric_drea
A/N: Requested forever ago when I foolishly thought I had time on my hands. It's terribly short, but I hope you like it!
~-~-~-~-~-~
Heart Carved Tree
- Knapsack
~-~-~-~-~-~
"You're OCD grows by the day," Mark remarks, watching Addison huddled over his and Derek's expansive collection of crappy dvds and random cds.
"I like to be busy," Addison retorts halfheartedly, shuffling the 'J' pile after having deciding that alphabetical was going to be the only system that they could maybe remember. Besides, since she spends most of her time in their smelly little cage of an apartment she thinks she should be able to at least do something to help.
"I think it's cute," Derek smiles, brushing her arm with his sock, complete with a hole in the toe.
"Do you ever stop?" Mark growls, flipping the channel, holding the remote over the flaming locks that are half-blocking his view of the television. She's been annoyingly present lately, and he fears she's never really going to leave. He's just had that feeling in the pit of his stomach since he met her.
She's there. Constantly. He can never turn it off.
"Thank you," Addison grins, looking back over at Derek and shoving his dirty foot away from her soft skin.
"Not like it couldn't stand to benefit from some organization."
"I like it the way it is," Mark snarls, trying to get off the gardening channel. "I know where things are."
"That's pretty," Addison says, looking up at the screen that's impossibly close to her head.
"You would think that," Mark replies easily, not even thinking of a genuine comeback.
"I'll," Addison pauses, biting her lip. "I'll just go...study. I'll see you tomorrow Derek?" She stands, shifting slowly for the door, needing Derek to finally stand up for her. It's been months of the same old routine. She's tried. She's attempted conversation with his best friend, even attempted to double date with him, but all he's shown her is snide remarks and his overused scowl.
"Addie," Derek calls out, glaring at Mark. "Why don't we go out and grab some lunch, I am sure that Mark will be gone by the time we return."
She hears Mark yell, "Bros before-" as they make their exit, Derek's arm linked tightly through hers.
~-~-~-~-~-~
"I was thinking," Derek nervously begins, "maybe you could come up and visit me when I go home for a few days."
"I thought you were going to work-"
"I am," he soothes her frazzled mind, "I have a week off in between finals and my first shift, and my mom won't stop calling me so I figured...maybe we could both go."
"Oh, um...yeah, maybe," Addison grinds down on her bottom lip unrelentingly until Derek squeezes her fingers lightly. It's not that she's bad with parents, she's not, she's been bred into making small talk with people many years her senior, but this is unequivocally important in their relationship.
It's one of those moments that they'll never forget. Like the first time she stayed the night, their first kiss, their first date. The pressure is suffocating.
"She's going to love you," he placates, though he isn't really sure. His mother is no nonsense, no extravagance. And while she doesn't disprove, it's just not her cup of tea. Addison is not her cup of tea, but he's confident that once she gets to know the woman he's grown to love that they'll be infuriatingly inseparable. Picking out china sets and new drapes, cooing over children and planning his future together. Surprisingly, he doesn't think he'll mind.
"If you say so."
"I do," he assures her.
~-~-~-~-~-~
"Mark this place is a pigsty," Addison grumbles, dropping her new purse among the greasy pizza boxes on the counter. Derek's been cramming all weekend and unavailable, but they made plans for after his test for a nice night in, which is starting to look less and less nice.
"Well, Mark is a pig," an older woman returns with a gentle smile, her face very familiar.
"Hey," Mark complains out of habit but then shrugs it off when Carolyn pushes forward. This he will enjoy. Watching Addison get eaten alive should be nothing short of pleasing.
"Hello Dear, you must be the Addie Derek has been talking about nonstop."
"Addison," she corrects without thinking, cursing herself instantly.
"Addison," Carolyn repeats, eying her up and down, head to very expensive shoes.
"Forbes Montgomery," Addison adds on, stumbling over her words like a child. She can hear Mark laughing in the background.
"Carolyn Shepherd," she offers, quickly wrapping the stiff body in front of her in a warm hug that isn't reciprocated.
Addison's eyes widen in terror. She was supposed to have another week to prep for this, to learn all of Derek's sister's kids' names, their hobbies, their life goals. It's too late to fix the hug by the time her head finally catches up to what's happening, and she wobbles back out of it running into the counter and cursing under her breath. So far she's 0-for-3, and things are not looking up.
"Well, Addison Forbes Montgomery, come tell me everything about you. Spare no details," Carolyn instructs, gently urging Addison forward toward the destroyed living room.
"I-I'm sorr-y it's so filthy, it was present-able," Addison gulps, taking a seat on the old armchair in the corner, switching when Carolyn pats the couch invitingly.
Carolyn, who long since surrendered her home to reckless children, simply smiles. "No worry, I know how these two can be. Mark, go study." She points to his door pointedly, making it clear she'd like some alone time with the redhead. He's more than happy to oblige.
"So?" Carolyn asks once Mark is safely tucked away behind a closed door.
"Oh," Addison takes a deep breath. All decorum is lost, her mind a hazy blend of colors and lackluster details about her upbringing. Surely a story about her only pet, a short-lived hamster, is not interesting. "I'm from Connecticut," she squeaks inadvertently, and when Carolyn grins at her like The Grinch, she knows it's over before it had a chance to begin.
First impressions can be disproved, but never forgotten.
~-~-~-~-~-~
"She hates me," Addison almost cries, ragged from the interrogation, collapsing on the couch into the arms of Derek who arrived two thirds of the way through, only to watch and not rescue her.
"She doesn't," Derek argues instinctively, even though he knows he's going to be getting an earful from his mother very shortly here.
"No," Mark laughs, "she totally hates you."
And for as crass and uncaring as he can be, for as many tears as he'll pull from her later that night based off one rude comment, she knows he's right and Derek is lying.
Ignoring him, she curls into Derek's shoulder and prepares a million and one ways to handle the situation better next time. Because despite her standing with his mother she hopes there will still be a next time; a chance to repair the damage.
Life in the lie is better than life in the truth anyway.
~-~-~-~-~-~
Pairing: Derek/Addison
Rating: PG
Summary: First time Addison meets Mrs. Shepherd (with a little Mark thrown in for good measure).
For:
picric_drea
A/N: Requested forever ago when I foolishly thought I had time on my hands. It's terribly short, but I hope you like it!
~-~-~-~-~-~
Heart Carved Tree
- Knapsack
~-~-~-~-~-~
"You're OCD grows by the day," Mark remarks, watching Addison huddled over his and Derek's expansive collection of crappy dvds and random cds.
"I like to be busy," Addison retorts halfheartedly, shuffling the 'J' pile after having deciding that alphabetical was going to be the only system that they could maybe remember. Besides, since she spends most of her time in their smelly little cage of an apartment she thinks she should be able to at least do something to help.
"I think it's cute," Derek smiles, brushing her arm with his sock, complete with a hole in the toe.
"Do you ever stop?" Mark growls, flipping the channel, holding the remote over the flaming locks that are half-blocking his view of the television. She's been annoyingly present lately, and he fears she's never really going to leave. He's just had that feeling in the pit of his stomach since he met her.
She's there. Constantly. He can never turn it off.
"Thank you," Addison grins, looking back over at Derek and shoving his dirty foot away from her soft skin.
"Not like it couldn't stand to benefit from some organization."
"I like it the way it is," Mark snarls, trying to get off the gardening channel. "I know where things are."
"That's pretty," Addison says, looking up at the screen that's impossibly close to her head.
"You would think that," Mark replies easily, not even thinking of a genuine comeback.
"I'll," Addison pauses, biting her lip. "I'll just go...study. I'll see you tomorrow Derek?" She stands, shifting slowly for the door, needing Derek to finally stand up for her. It's been months of the same old routine. She's tried. She's attempted conversation with his best friend, even attempted to double date with him, but all he's shown her is snide remarks and his overused scowl.
"Addie," Derek calls out, glaring at Mark. "Why don't we go out and grab some lunch, I am sure that Mark will be gone by the time we return."
She hears Mark yell, "Bros before-" as they make their exit, Derek's arm linked tightly through hers.
~-~-~-~-~-~
"I was thinking," Derek nervously begins, "maybe you could come up and visit me when I go home for a few days."
"I thought you were going to work-"
"I am," he soothes her frazzled mind, "I have a week off in between finals and my first shift, and my mom won't stop calling me so I figured...maybe we could both go."
"Oh, um...yeah, maybe," Addison grinds down on her bottom lip unrelentingly until Derek squeezes her fingers lightly. It's not that she's bad with parents, she's not, she's been bred into making small talk with people many years her senior, but this is unequivocally important in their relationship.
It's one of those moments that they'll never forget. Like the first time she stayed the night, their first kiss, their first date. The pressure is suffocating.
"She's going to love you," he placates, though he isn't really sure. His mother is no nonsense, no extravagance. And while she doesn't disprove, it's just not her cup of tea. Addison is not her cup of tea, but he's confident that once she gets to know the woman he's grown to love that they'll be infuriatingly inseparable. Picking out china sets and new drapes, cooing over children and planning his future together. Surprisingly, he doesn't think he'll mind.
"If you say so."
"I do," he assures her.
~-~-~-~-~-~
"Mark this place is a pigsty," Addison grumbles, dropping her new purse among the greasy pizza boxes on the counter. Derek's been cramming all weekend and unavailable, but they made plans for after his test for a nice night in, which is starting to look less and less nice.
"Well, Mark is a pig," an older woman returns with a gentle smile, her face very familiar.
"Hey," Mark complains out of habit but then shrugs it off when Carolyn pushes forward. This he will enjoy. Watching Addison get eaten alive should be nothing short of pleasing.
"Hello Dear, you must be the Addie Derek has been talking about nonstop."
"Addison," she corrects without thinking, cursing herself instantly.
"Addison," Carolyn repeats, eying her up and down, head to very expensive shoes.
"Forbes Montgomery," Addison adds on, stumbling over her words like a child. She can hear Mark laughing in the background.
"Carolyn Shepherd," she offers, quickly wrapping the stiff body in front of her in a warm hug that isn't reciprocated.
Addison's eyes widen in terror. She was supposed to have another week to prep for this, to learn all of Derek's sister's kids' names, their hobbies, their life goals. It's too late to fix the hug by the time her head finally catches up to what's happening, and she wobbles back out of it running into the counter and cursing under her breath. So far she's 0-for-3, and things are not looking up.
"Well, Addison Forbes Montgomery, come tell me everything about you. Spare no details," Carolyn instructs, gently urging Addison forward toward the destroyed living room.
"I-I'm sorr-y it's so filthy, it was present-able," Addison gulps, taking a seat on the old armchair in the corner, switching when Carolyn pats the couch invitingly.
Carolyn, who long since surrendered her home to reckless children, simply smiles. "No worry, I know how these two can be. Mark, go study." She points to his door pointedly, making it clear she'd like some alone time with the redhead. He's more than happy to oblige.
"So?" Carolyn asks once Mark is safely tucked away behind a closed door.
"Oh," Addison takes a deep breath. All decorum is lost, her mind a hazy blend of colors and lackluster details about her upbringing. Surely a story about her only pet, a short-lived hamster, is not interesting. "I'm from Connecticut," she squeaks inadvertently, and when Carolyn grins at her like The Grinch, she knows it's over before it had a chance to begin.
First impressions can be disproved, but never forgotten.
~-~-~-~-~-~
"She hates me," Addison almost cries, ragged from the interrogation, collapsing on the couch into the arms of Derek who arrived two thirds of the way through, only to watch and not rescue her.
"She doesn't," Derek argues instinctively, even though he knows he's going to be getting an earful from his mother very shortly here.
"No," Mark laughs, "she totally hates you."
And for as crass and uncaring as he can be, for as many tears as he'll pull from her later that night based off one rude comment, she knows he's right and Derek is lying.
Ignoring him, she curls into Derek's shoulder and prepares a million and one ways to handle the situation better next time. Because despite her standing with his mother she hopes there will still be a next time; a chance to repair the damage.
Life in the lie is better than life in the truth anyway.
~-~-~-~-~-~