#the way they act so TETHERED to one another. the way greg is like OH YEAH for a second i forgot | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

alittlextrathatway · 3 years

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#10

Brettsey ❤

“You want to play pretend? Well two can play at that game.”

******

Coming here was a mistake.

When Olivia had learned what was happening between Sylvie and Casey and then the mess that followed with Greg Grainger she’d insisted on meeting up with her for a drink to talk about Sylvie’s “options”.

Options, as it turns out, means dating prospects. Sylvie has no wish to go on any more dates or hurt anyone else, but Olivia is a very determined and task-oriented person. It’s part of why they get along so well. Olivia insists that the right person will make her forget all about Matt and that Greg simply wasn’t that person.

Sylvie thinks that it’s a pointless endeavor and her heart is just forever hopelessly tethered to Matt’s. (The way his is forever hopelessly tethered to Gabby’s, she thinks bitterly.) But explaining that to Olivia doesn’t make a dent in her resolve.

“I thought you said Matt and I were meant for each other?” Sylvie had asked her teasingly.

“You are but that doesn’t mean someone else can’t be a perfectly adequate fit too. I already know of one guy who I think would be perfect for you.”

There is no deterring her. So, Sylvie shows up at Molly’s to meet Olivia for a drink. It’s a slow night in the middle of the week so there’s really no one else around except off duty first responders. Which includes, Sylvie notices with an internal grimace, Matt Casey.

It also includes a very handsome stranger sitting next to Olivia. Olivia sees her, winks, and then nods toward tall, built, and handsome. Brett immediately knows what’s happened. She’s been set up.

Oh, no. No. The guy is very cute and his smile is...wow. If she sits there and talks to him all night, she knows she’ll agree to a date if only to be polite. She can’t go over there without back up.

Stella’s off and no one she knows is around…

Except Matt.

Shit.

She makes a split second decision, making a beeline for Matt, and sitting herself on the empty stool next to him. She leans in, letting herself be closer to him than she’s been in weeks. She’s hesitant to ask him for help but, dammit, she wouldn’t be in this position if he wasn’t hung up on Gabby. This is his fault and he owes her.

Matt looks up in surprise from where he’d been staring into his glass of whiskey. “Are you actually acknowledging me?”

Her eyes narrow and she sighs, suddenly tired of pretending she doesn’t notice him every moment they’re in the same room. She also doesn’t want to take the bait and argue with him. Her frustration with him, her hurt, and her inability to move on grows by the day.

So, she decides to keep it simple. “Yes. I need a favor and, since you’re the reason I’m in this situation, you owe me.”

His brow furrows. “What situation?”

She pastes on a smile and waves over her shoulder at Olivia who is giving her a very suspicious glare.

“I made the mistake of talking to Olivia about what happened with you and me and now she’s determined to set me up with someone. I need you to pretend we patched things up because that’s the only thing that will get her off my back,” she explains, turning her back on Olivia again. “And it needs to be convincing.”

“Set you up?” He asks, wrinkle in his brows setting in deeper. “What about Grainger?”

“I ended that two weeks ago,” she answers quickly, not wanting to dwell on why. “Will you pretend we worked it out or not? She brought someone with her so if you don’t want to do it then I have to find another excuse—“

“I’m in,” he says, determination settling over his face while hope shines in his eyes. She’s not sure she likes that combination in this context.

He stands to go with her to the table and as they turn he slips an arm around her waist and lowers his lips to her ear.

Giving him the perfect moment to whisper, “you want to play pretend? Well, two can play at that game.”

They reach Olivia and her friend before she can ask him what the hell that’s supposed to mean, but it doesn’t matter. She has her answer almost as soon as Matt finishes greeting Olivia.

He guides Sylvie to her chair and then swipes a kiss as she sits. The gesture was quick and comfortable and yet completely earth shattering. She’s pretty sure she the building shook for the split second he had his lips on hers. Dammit. She should have bailed on Olivia. This is going to be torture. She can’t have him even if he’s going to be next to her all night.

“Rosé?” Matt asks her knowingly, nodding toward the bar.

She starts to nod but then changes her mind. “No, an old fashioned.”

She needs a stronger type of liquid fortification.

He nods, rubbing a hand over her back before walking away. The tingle of his touch on her back will linger for the rest of the night just as her lips continue to tingle now. This is a mistake. She’s going to have to recover from missing him all over again. Not that she truly did the first time around, but she’s gotten very good at pretending.

Olivia leans across the table with a wary expression. “You said you were keeping your distance from him.”

“Well, we talked this afternoon and worked it out,” Sylvie lies. “I mean mostly worked it out. We still have lots to talk about but we’ll get there.”

God, how she wishes that were the truth.

Matt comes back with her drink, saving her from further explanation and sits down next to her.

Matt points toward the well-built god Olivia brought to meet Sylvie and gives him an apologetic glance. “I’m sorry. Remind me of your name again? Eric?”

“Aaron,” the guy answers with a wan smile. He looks down at his watch and then fakes a grimace. “Oh man, would you look at that? I forgot I have a patient meeting tonight. I’m a physical therapist,” he explains. “Can’t leave a patient hanging. It was nice to meet you both, Sylvie and Matt, but I should be going.”

They all know it’s a lie and they all pretend they don’t.

“Nice to meet you too,” Sylvie says politely. At least that’s one less problem to deal with. Once he’s gone, Sylvie gives Olivia a dry glance. “I thought you wanted to get together and hang out. Not set me up on a date.”

“I thought I could kill two birds with one stone,” Olivia answers with a shrug. A slow pleased grin spreads over her lips as she continues. “But looks like my interference wasn’t even needed because Matt Casey came to his senses. As he should have. Sylvie’s an eleven and you’d be an idiot to let her be the one that got away.”

“I know that,” Matt agrees. “I’ve always known that. I just needed to get my head out of my ass and show it. That tripped me up for a while.” He swivels his gaze from Olivia to her, meeting her eyes with the full force of his solemn stare. “But it’s not gonna trip me up anymore.”

Her breathing hitches and she swallows thickly. This doesn’t feel like part of the act. His gaze is too earnest, too steady.

“Good,” Olivia replies, taking a sip of her wine. “I told her forever ago that you two were meant for each other and I hate being wrong.”

His eyes stay focused on Sylvie’s and he smirks confidently. “Oh, you did, huh? She never told me that.”

He drapes his arm across the back of her chair causing his hand to rest on her shoulder. As he continues, his fingers knead the stiffness in her muscles. It melts some of her tension away, even if she doesn’t want it to.

“But don’t worry, I have no intention of proving you wrong,” Matt promises, eyes drifting back to Olivia. “Sylvie’s the only person I want — has been for a long time — whether she believes me or not.”

They have a lot of issues to talk about and playing pretend hasn’t solved any of them, but he’s found the crack in her walls and managed to slip through. Another attempt at discussing their situation can’t be far off and this time she gets the distinct impression he’ll actually have some real answers.

She’s in big trouble, at risk of letting him back in, but maybe…

Maybe that’s exactly what she’s been hoping for all this time.

#brettsey #sylvie brett #matt casey #chicago fire #fanfiction #angellwings writes #my fic #fanfiction prompt game #ask prompt #Olivia needs to make her triumphant return and fix this angst shit #she could do it

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