Archive of Our Own ^beta

"You know, I have been thinking a lot about magnets of late," Cory slurred, seated on the floor in front of his couch.

A lone crystal whiskey glass containing nothing but melting ice stood on the coffee table in front with only a half-empty bottle for company. Precipitated water from the outside pooling onto the ebony furniture.

"Is that so?"

Celine had sat beside him through his unusual quiet, unruffled, for what felt like an eternity. Now that he appeared to be willing to talk at long last, she perked up.

"Hmmm... The thing about magnetic forces is that it attracts and repels. There is something very...", he paused, searching for the right word. "Sexy! About how two magnets always... find each other, and become one. Inextricable."

He slammed his hands together. Clap!

"But change the orientation," he continued, twisting his hands so they were aligned in opposite directions. "Then the same magnets... they have this space between them that's... insurmountable," he sighed, pulling his hands just a little apart.

His face long; gaze steadfast on his hands.

"Maybe, it's not about the chemistry. Maybe... it's the physics, you know?"

Celine clicked her tongue, impatiently. "Oh là là, science was never my favourite subject in school," she said, moving to grab his hands

Cory was taken aback by the sudden contact. The warm softness of her hands temporarily freezing him. He shifted his eyes in her direction, dreading the sympathy he expected to find there but was instead met with something else entirely.

"If you are trying to use some fancy cryptic metaphor to tell me Bradley was not right for you, yes, Bradley was not right for you. I told you, didn't I? She isn't your type. I was right. I'm always right. And I'm also right in saying that this isn't you either."

Just as suddenly, she let go of his hands. Flicking her bob away from her face, she reached across the table to pick her handbag.

"You're leaving?" Cory asked, blinking stupidly.

Halfway to the door, Celine turned around. "I came to tell you that I am going to get the Board behind me so we can arm twist Stella into approving your studio deal. First thing tomorrow morning. And I can definitely use your help in making them see your vision the way I do. So, I'm not going to ask you to stop drinking now but if I were you, I'd bring every bit of my sweet talking charm and doggy persistence to that discussion. This is your fight after all and we have a lot of work to do."

Cory bolted upright, doing his best to ignore the way his head spun from the simple action.

"Thank you. Thank you, Celine," he repeated, his face breaking into a genuine smile as life seemed to enter back into his body. "You have no idea how much this means to me. I-- I promise I will be there with my full arsenal locked and loaded."

She regarded him for a second, eyes travelling up and down his frame, taking in his dishevelled appearance and the familiar glint in his eye that was absent when she had come knocking. "Good," she finally stated, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Make me riche, Cory Ellison," she said, walking towards the door.

"Vos désirs sont des ordres, madame!"