Chapter Text
“So who is going to be your plus one?” Oliver asks as they’re leaving the film set.
It’s just the two of them - they’ve given Charles some space and as much time as he needs to talk with Sazz. Mabel can relate. She’s had her fair share of conversations with her own ghosts.
She looks at Oliver, confused.
“I thought me and Charles were going together. Since we’re giving you away and everything,” she says.
“Oh, no,” Oliver says. “Charles has his own plus one. You need one too.”
“He does?” Mabel says, surprised. Her mind goes to Jan and how Charles still seems attracted to her, despite all the murdering. It might have been psychosexual manipulation from the start (minus the parkour), or plain old actual attraction.
“I don’t know how realistic this is,” she says thoughtfully. “I know detective Williams likes us, but I don’t think even she can delay Jan’s return to prison just so that she can attend a wedding with her ex-boyfriend and almost-victim.”
“What are you talking about?” Oliver says, looking at her like she’s crazy. “Charles is bringing Sazz.”
Mabel opens her mouth to ask how that is possible, but then she remembers the jar of ashes that Charles has been carefully draining of water for the past several days.
“Oh,” she says instead.
“Exactly,” Oliver says heavily.
“I’ll come by myself then,” she says without much thought.
“Twist the knife in the wound, won’t you, Mabel?” Oliver says, a look of abject betrayal in his eyes. “I’m only getting married this once - well, second time, but it’s the last one - and you want my wedding to be a failure? A laughing stock? Empty seats? Undrunk champagne? A deserted dance floor? You’d really do this to me, Mabel? This is the biggest show of my life and I want a full house! So please, if it’s not too much trouble, find someone to bring!”
“Okay, fine, I’ll bring someone!” she says, mostly to appease Oliver, and to her relief the glint of the groomzilla’s madness fades from his eyes.
But Oliver will remain appeased so long as she actually brings someone as her plus one. It’s not that hard to come up with someone. In truth there is only one person in the entire state of New York that she would like to ask.
Mabel: So, I know this is kinda last minute, but are you doing anything tomorrow?
Theo: Why, need help with anything?
Mabel: In a sense, yeah.
Theo: You need me to pick a lock?
Theo: Or steal and appraise jewelry?
Theo: I draw the line at disposing of a body.
Mabel: It’s worse.
Mabel: I’m inviting you to a wedding. Oliver’s getting married.
Theo: Do you need an usher or something? If you want catering from the deli it’s too late to plan, I think.
Mabel: I’m inviting you as my plus one, you dummy.
Theo: You must be truly desperate to come to me.
Mabel: Literally scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Mabel: So are you coming?
Theo stares at the text convo. He can’t think of anything more Mabel than to go radio silent for several days and then appear again with some bizarre plan or request. He thought she’d ask him to help her move the rest of her stuff in her squatter studio, not invite him on a … No, it’s not a date, she’s inviting him as a friend, he’s sure of it.
At least this time she’s not bursting in his apartment wearing a wedding dress and giving him a heart attack, scrambling to think who on earth she might be getting married to and why.
Theo: You make it sound so enticing. Sure, I’ll come.
He technically has work tomorrow, but he’ll switch shifts with just anybody and even give up some of his off days just to be free for the wedding. He tries not to dwell on the fact that Mabel is pretty much the only person he’d happily screw over his shifts for.
Mabel thanks him and sends him the details of the event, and even sends him a picture of the decorations put up around the courtyard of the Arconia so that he has an idea what the general aesthetic is.
Looking at the pastel colors of the flowers in the photo, he realizes that he has nothing to wear. He checks his watch. If he leaves now, he’ll have some time for last minute shopping.
“So who did you bring as your plus one?” Oliver asks as they’re waiting for Loretta.
“Oliver, do you really want to talk about this now?” Mabel groans.
“It’s either that or thinking how my bride is either running away as we’re speaking or getting murdered right in front of my son and hers. Because why else would she be late?” Oliver snorts nervously.
“Oliver!” Charles chides, a little shocked.
“Oh my god. I invited Theo, happy now?” Mabel says, trying very hard not to roll her eyes.
Oliver pauses, finally distracted from his horrible thoughts for a moment.
“I am, actually,” he says, and seems surprised by himself.
Mabel searches for Theo in the crowd of already seated guests. She knows he’s here because he texted her he had arrived some time ago, but she hasn’t had the chance to meet him - she’s been with Charles and Oliver all morning, trying to keep the latter’s nerves under control.
She thinks she catches a glimpse of him with the corner of her eye - dark hair, dark-rimmed glasses, but then Loretta appears, with Dickie and Will on either side of her. Mabel feels butterflies in her stomach, and she knows that not all of them flutter just for Oliver and Loretta.
She searches for him in the crowd after the ceremony, after she’s congratulated the newlyweds and checked on Charles. Finally a group of people disperses and she sees him by the fountain, apparently talking with Uma, of all people. She makes her way to them as fast as her heels let her, and though it is a bright day, when Theo looks at her it feels like the sun has just come out.
She smiles wide, the butterflies in her stomach delirious. She is so happy to see him, but it is almost eclipsed by an overwhelming sense of relief. She’s missed him so much these past many days - more than she could have imagined.
Hi, she says, and then adds, “I didn’t know you could sign, Uma.”
She knows the essential , Theo signs, clearly struggling to contain his laughter.
“I know fuck off and get out my way ,” Uma says grumpily and walks away, leaving the two of them alone.
You look great, Mabel says to Theo. It’s the first thing that comes to her mind, and she can’t stop herself. She can feel her cheeks flushing even as her hands are still forming the signs.
He does look good though. She realizes that she’s never seen him in anything other than dark colors. The suit he’s wearing now doesn’t fit him perfectly, but the soft shade of blue makes his eyes look brighter than ever, even behind his glasses.
Theo’s cheeks color too.
I bought it last minute, he says apologetically pointing at his suit. I only had things appropriate for a funeral, he explains.
“Occupational hazard,” she says with a grin, but she’s secretly glad he didn’t come here looking like a funeral director - it could have been the last straw for Oliver’s paranoid state of mind.
You look amazing, Theo says then, and oh, she had no idea what an impact a compliment from the right person can have. She feels like a flower is blossoming in her chest, spreading warmth through her body.
He half- expected to see her in something sparkly given how often she seems to opt for sequins in formal occasions, but she looks just as stunning in her fuchsia dress, with two locks of hair framing her beautiful face. She is like a flower at its prime, fresh and beautiful and ready for the joys of springtime.
She smiles, flattered, and he is at a loss for words. All he can do is smile back.
They have been like ships in the night these past few weeks, what with him working odd hours and her being tangled in yet another murder case. Even when she comes by his place to grab some clothes or boxes of personal items, he’s out, or asleep, or one of them is in a hurry.
He already misses the short time they had as roommates - movie nights, making coffee for each other depending who got up first in the morning, random late night conversations. For a mad moment it felt like something more - like their relationship was growing in a shape that friendship couldn’t quite contain, but it was all cut short too soon to know.
Come, let’s have a drink, Mabel says, and loops her arm around his.
They stay close to the bar when they get their drinks - it’s a good spot for people-watching, and it’s convenient to have somewhere to set their glasses down when they need free hands to sign.
It’s a beautiful day in late April and Theo wonders if it’s really the first day that it’s been so warm and sunny, or if he hasn’t been paying attention. But really, it feels like true spring is finally here after a dreary March. Among all the flower decorations Theo feels like he too is waking up slowly along with nature after a long winter. There’s something hopeful in the warm, fragrant air, like a promise for better days to come.
Next to him, Mabel also seems livelier than he has seen her lately, smiling and laughing. She seems lighter somehow, like a weight has been lifted off of her. Maybe it’s because she solved another case, or she’s just happy to see her best friend happy.
He follows her eyes. By her mellow smile, he knows she’s looking at Oliver and Loretta, holding hands while still receiving congratulations from guests.
Were they planning this for a long time? he asks Mabel.
She shakes her head, smiling.
“He had an epiphany during the shooting,” she says.
He tries not to wince. She had told him about the shooting before - she texted him to let him know she would be hiding at Charles’ sisters’ and would keep her phone turned off for a while. He had been worried sick of course, but he had appreciated she had kept him in the loop.
He said he knew what was important to him in life, and he didn’t want to waste another minute. So here we are, Mabel explains with a flourish of her hand.
Funny, it’s usually young people who rush into things, Theo observes, and shares a wry smile with Mabel.
They both know that given the average age of the wedding guests, they are some of the youngest people present, but neither of them feels it. And they know that despite all the mad things they’ve both done, they’re cautious in other ways - they keep their cards close to their chest, a protective screen for their hearts.
I don’t know, sometimes I worry I’ve wasted so much time. But then I look at them and I think, it’s never too late, right? There’s always a chance to get things right later, Mabel says.
Theo nods. It’s reassuring, he agrees. He knows how much Mabel has struggled with these thoughts and how long it’s taken her to embrace being a “late bloomer” of sorts. He’s glad to see her more at peace with herself.
But then again, I had a gun pointed at me yesterday, so maybe Oliver is right, life is too short and we can’t waste a minute, Mabel says then lightly.
Theo almost chokes on his sip of champagne. She hasn’t shared yet the details of how exactly they solved their latest case.
His immediate instinct is to say, what the hell , and, why didn’t you tell me about this, and, are you ok , but he refrains from saying any of these things. Mabel is right next to him, smiling, and looking generally fine. Even if she’s not, there’s no point in pressing the subject right now. He knows her well enough to know she won’t talk about things until she’s ready to do it on her own terms, and he won’t push her.
Instead, he puts his champagne flute down and says, Well, that does put things into perspective.
It earns him a bright grin that makes the sun pale in comparison.
Oliver is right, Theo says then, thinking about his own job and Mabel’s, about how short and impermanent everything is. There is no perfect future. Life is here and now. It’s up to us to enjoy it, right?
It’s a reminder to himself, mostly, but Mabel seems to agree.
I’ll drink to that, she says and picks up her champagne glass from the bar.
As their glasses clink, she looks him in the eyes and holds his gaze. He feels arrested, completely under her spell, and finds that he doesn’t mind at all.
Theo is an excellent plus one, Mabel has decided. He is great company, happily snacking on canapes and gossipping with her as the day progresses. He doesn’t ask her any details about the conclusion of the case, which she is grateful for. She knows she’ll want to share things with him eventually, but not just yet - everything still feels a little raw. She likes that he trusts her to make that choice. Instead they people-watch and try to catch up on everything else they’ve missed in each other’s lives. He makes her laugh, and he makes it look so easy, as if she’s not notoriously mirthless and snappy.
He patiently follows her whenever she goes to check up on Charles, sharing in their companionable silence, but isn’t attached to her hip and seems to manage just fine by himself whenever she gets whisked away by another guest. She always goes looking for him after, seeking his easy smiles, witty remarks and lingering looks like a moth drawn to a flame.
He can do more than be sassy and witty. When he goes to give his congratulations to Oliver and Loretta, Mabel comes along, and she almost blushes interpreting his kind and beautiful wishes to the newlyweds. She’s not the only one. Oliver has a happy, if not flabbergasted smile on his face, and Loretta has gone misty-eyed, moved by the words of a man she’s never met before.
“What happened to that other boy, Tobert?” she asks Mabel curiously.
Theo is being distracted by Lester, and his valiant efforts at ASL.
Mabel shrugs, a guilty smile on her lips. She realizes she hasn’t thought about Tobert since he left New York. It didn’t even cross her mind to text or call him while she was in L.A.
“It was never serious,” she says lightly, and smiles to reassure Loretta.
“And this boy, Theo?”
Loretta’s voice is flecked with friendly curiosity, but there’s something discerning in her expressive eyes. Actors are investigators, she had told Mabel just a week ago, and Mabel can see it now.
Mabel falters. What can she say about Theo? Once upon a time he was her secret enemy, her nemesis in the shadows. Then he became her begrudging -on her part- assistant sleuth. Then, slowly, slowly, her friend, then her roommate, and now… Now?
Now he’s her favorite person to complain about life over a grilled cheese and a cold beer. Now his message notifications are the only ones that put a smile on her face before she even reads the text. Now he visits her dreams on lonely nights, and holds her mind captive on idle moments in her waking time, but none of these are things she can share with Loretta.
“We go back a long way,” she says evenly, trying not to give herself away.
Theo chooses that moment to look up from Lester’s signing. His eyes find her and he smiles. His smile is sweet, surprised. He looks happy to see her, as if they haven’t been spending the day together already. But it is so genuine that Mabel can’t help herself and smiles back, like an absolute idiot.
“Oh, I can tell,” Loretta says, with quiet laughter in her twinkling eyes.