A Fickle Thing: Knives Out Marta (F) Cold (Spoilers)

[matilda3948]

Several folks said they'd be interested in reading some Kives Out sneeze fics, so this is my first crack at it. Blanc's accent is tricky to write, but so fun. As a southerner myself, I love the total over-the-top colloquialisms. This story features a sneezy Marta and a friendly Detective Blanc. I think it's just a short one-shot to test my hand at the dialogue. 

This is full of spoilers...

please don't ready if you plan on seeing the movie...

Okay? Ready?

*

He hadn’t planned on making a trip up to the Cabrera nee Thromby mansion that particular weekend but when Alicia called Benoit expressing concern over her sister’s recent behavior he was on the road within the hour. He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, humming along with the music on the radio. The last time he’d seen Marta she seemed fine—a bit overwhelmed by the life she’d inherited, but that was to be expected. Perhaps odd that she’d sent her mother and sister to a weekend spa without attending herself, but everyone is entitled to a bit of privacy now and then.

It was this that concerned Detective Blanc: was he intruding on her intentional quiet time? If Marta had truly gone through the effort and expense to have a few days alone, he didn’t want to interfere. But he decided he could always head home in the morning if that was the case.

The guard waved him through the gate with a smile. Blanc had personally overseen the new security measures installed at the mansion but was not at all surprised that Marta insisted on keeping the old guard in his position (despite Blanc’s personal opinion that she should hire someone even vaguely familiar with the digital age). He parked in the circular driveway and rang the bell next to the enormous oak doors. Blanc stood with his hands in his pockets overlooking the front of the house, but turned back when he heard the lock disengage.

“Miss Cabrera,” he said warmly when she opened the door. She blinked owlishly at him, seemingly unable to process the sight before her. It occurred to Blanc that she might have been asleep—she was in sweatpants and a tshirt, hair loose and untamed. “I’m sorry if I’m intruding. I probably should have called instead of just showin’ up on your doorstep like a stray dog.” She shook her head like she was trying to clear away mental cobwebs and she held the door open.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re always welcome here, Benoit. I just wasn’t expecting you.” He frowned, not liking the sound of her voice—tired, maybe a little strained. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Well, you see, I received a phone call this morning about an interestin’ new case.” Marta paled at the thought that he might ask her to be his partner again. “Oh no, nothing like that,” he said, noticing her reaction. “No, this person was curios as to why a certain young woman was declining a weekend at a high-end day spa with—”

“Which one of them was it?” she sighed, rubbing a hand against her forehead.

“Your sister.” Marta muttered something in Spanish and he fought the urge to smile.

“So my sister calls and you just get in the car?”

“To be fair, I packed a bag first,” he said with a shrug. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears and she gave a watery laugh.

“I’m really glad to see you,” she said. Her lower lip trembled and Benoit wrapped an arm around her shoulders pulling her towards him.

“Now, now. What’s all this about?” he asked quietly. He heard her sniffle and he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. He leaned back a little so he could see her face.

“I’m sorry. I just…” she mumbled. He squeezed her shoulder.

“Hush, now. Everything’s alright. Let’s go sit a spell and you tell old Benoit what’s got my favorite partner in such a state.”

“I should warn you that I—ahhKtschh! ahKitchhoo!” Marta was glad she still had his handkerchief as it allowed her to avoid embarrassing herself even further.

“God bless you! You catchin’ a cold?”

“Caught is a more accurate word,” she said, wiping her nose. He tsk’d and steered her towards one of the less formal of several sitting rooms, got her settled on the sofa, and then sat down next to her. Just as he was about to ask her a question, she held up a finger, turning her head and bringing the handkerchief back up to her nose. Blanc frowned and watched as her breath caught in several barely audible hitches before she finally sneezed.

ahhKtschh! Ktschhoo! Ahhktschhoo!

“God bless you. Oh, my dear girl, how long have you been feelin’ poorly?” he asked. She leaned her head back against the sofa cushion and looked up at the ceiling.

“About a week. Can’t quite shake it.”

“Hmm.” His brow wrinkled with concern. “Marta, given your…unique history….I feel compelled to ask: is this another nontraditional physical manifestation of some kind of inner emotional turmoil?”

This time she genuinely laughed, and the sound relieved some of the worry that had been coiling in the detective’s chest since she answered the door barefoot and exhausted.

“It’s nothing like that,” Marta said.

“I’m glad to hear it, but something’s troublin’ you more than just the sniffles. Now, I won’t pry—not just yet, anyway—but you know I’ll always lend an ear.” She looked unsure and he added, “But there’s no rush as I will be staying either until your family returns or you are back in the pink of health. Now, how about a cup of hot sweet tea? Give that sore throat of yours some relief?”

When he came back a few minutes later, Marta was texting someone on her cell phone.

“You’re not scoldin’ your sister, are you?” he asked, sitting back down and handing her a mug.

“Actually, I’m thanking her.” She tossed the phone on the table and cleared her throat several times before taking a sip of tea. Blanc noticed it was the same phone with the shattered screen from when he first met her.

“You know, you inherited $60million. You could probably afford a new phone,” he teased.

“There’s nothing wrong with it.” He huffed a laugh but didn’t argue. Marta curled up in the corner of the sofa and sipped her tea, then turned so she could look at Blanc. “It’s been six months,” she said quietly.

“MmHm.” Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out how to explain what she was feeling. While Blanc was perfectly comfortable just sitting there with her, after a few moments of watching her struggle, he offered her an exit. “This is not a come to Jesus meeting, Marta. We can talk about it when—”

“I can’t sleep,” she blurted out.

“When did that start?”

“Few weeks ago. I thought I was fine, but I think I was just so busy thahh ahh AhhKTSHH! Kitshhoo! Ktschoo! Ahh ahh hah…ahhIHKTSHHoo!

“Goodness! God bless you, Marta. Let me see if I have another one of those,” he added, nodding toward the handkerchief in her hand. After check two pants pockets and his coat, Benoit found a clean cloth and handed it to her. “You’re tremblin’ like a newborn foal,” he said with a frown. After taking a blanket off the back of a nearby chair, he wrapped it around her shoulders and sat close enough he could wrap an arm around her shoulders. It was so reminiscent of that fateful day of Ransom’s arrest that Blanc smiled from nostalgia. The younger woman relaxed against him and her head slowly came to rest on his shoulder. “You know,” he said quietly. “Trauma is…well, it’s a fickle thing, Marta. It can hibernate until you forget it’s layin’ in wait and then you let your guard down and it rushes the gate. I feel confident it’ll pass you by once you have some time to process the myriad of changes that have—” He stopped when he heard a congested sigh and angled his head to see Marta’s face. “Of course, since it seems the insomnia problem is, at least, temporarily resolved, we can table this conversation for now,” he said to the sleeping woman. He toed off his shoes and propped his feet up on the coffee table in front of him, continuing his one-sided monologue as Marta slept. “I am perfectly content to just sit here and enjoy your excellent company until you find yourself ready to resume our previous discussion.”

[Travel]

I'm loving this! 

[spicy]

I loved this movie and you nailed the characters! I can totally imagine this clearly. Please continue! This is so cute and wholesome 🥰

[Heathcliff]

I sort of had a "fangirl squee" moment as I read this.

I loved this movie, Agatha Christie style detective stories are a passion of mine, and I thought this was a brilliant tribute. And certainly you have nailed the characters involved.

"I feel compelled to ask: is this another nontraditional physical manifestation of some kind of inner emotional turmoil?”

I genuinely laughed at that. I'm looking forward to seeing what you write next.

[Owlinatree]

jdjhfsd this is so great!

On 12/15/2019 at 8:13 PM, matilda3948 said:

despite Blanc’s personal opinion

of course, he has his opinions, but i love that you've kept marta's kindheartedness

On 12/15/2019 at 8:13 PM, matilda3948 said:

“Marta, given your…unique history….I feel compelled to ask: is this another nontraditional physical manifestation of some kind of inner emotional turmoil?”

i also laughed out loud at this! and he's not...entirely wrong?

On 12/15/2019 at 8:13 PM, matilda3948 said:

continuing his one-sided monologue as Marta slept.

aww! you really nailed the tone and his voice

[CeruleanBlue]

Aww, poor Marta. Adorable though, loved it!