Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It may not be a big deal to some, but it is to Mabel. 

She knows a lot of kids from the city—some younger than her—are allowed to go out on their own, ride the subway alone, and generally make their way through the world unsupervised. But her aunt tends to keep her on a tighter leash. Maybe it’s because Mabel isn’t her own kid and she doesn’t want to mess up and catch hell from her sister. Or maybe she’s just naturally the paranoid type. 

Regardless of the why’s, up until very recently, Mabel has always been told to stay within the Arconia’s property lines. 

But not anymore. She supposes 12 years must be the magic number because now she’s allowed to venture out of the Arconia and go down the block to the bodega alone if she wants a snack or if her aunt needs something while she’s fixing dinner. 

So now, clutching her plastic bag full of candy bars, soda and a Cosmo magazine her mom would definitely not be ok with her buying, Mabel feels a little more grown up as she waits in the lobby for the elevator. 

She’s lost in her own fantasy world of pretending to be a real city kid, alone and untethered, when someone reaches out and presses the call button repeatedly and impatiently. Broken out of her thoughts, she turns to see an adult man standing next to her, and on the other side of him, a boy about her age. 

She knows them by sight, though not by name. Her aunt had told her at one point, but after hearing the boy was deaf and didn’t usually socialize with the other kids in the building, she’d promptly moved on. 

The elevator doors open and the three of them step inside, the man moving to swiftly press the button for his floor—six—and then jabbing the ‘Close Doors’ button as if he couldn’t wait to get moving. Mabel has to practically duck under his arms to press the button for her floor. 

They ride up in silence, though Mabel can’t help but sneak looks at the boy. He stands slightly behind his father, clutching at the straps of his book bag and looking at his shoes as if he’s used to being told to stay out of the way. 

He’s wearing a school uniform and Mabel’s first thought is one of pity that his school hasn’t let out yet for the summer. Her second thought, upon noticing the crest on his jacket, is to wonder what kind of school he goes to. Is it a special one for deaf kids? The uniform and the crest make it look like it’s probably pretty fancy. Probably leagues away from her own public school back on Long Island. 

She wonders if he has any friends there.

Their floor comes quickly and the man steps out first. The boy follows, but before he does, he looks up for the first time since they entered the elevator and looks at Mabel, then gives her a tight smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. 

She barely has time to smile back at him before he’s off following his father, who has already started making his way down the hall. 

The doors close and Mabel is left alone with her thoughts again. But instead of fantasizing about galavanting around the city on her own, she thinks about the boy, and his smile—if you could call it that—and how lonely he seems to be. 

Chapter Text

“Are you sure Tim can get us the stuff? And I mean like, nice stuff. I don’t want another night where we’re forced to drink only peach schnapps because that’s what he was able to sneak out of his parent’s liquor cabinet.”

“I happen to like peach schnapps, thank you very much,” Zoe sniffs, then laughs as she punches the elevator call button. “And yes, Tim was able to work it out this time.”

“Fine,” Mabel allows. “But I’m just saying, if I catch a whiff of schnapps, I’m bailing.”

“And miss Oscar’s sweet little sixteen?” Zoe pauses as the elevator doors open in front of them and she and Mabel step in and press 11. “Kind of a dick move considering he was the one holding your hair when you puked at yours—oh, hold up.” 

She dives forward and pushes the ‘Open Doors’ button. Mabel automatically looks out toward the lobby, curious to see who on god's green earth Zoe would actually hold the elevator for. Usually she delighted in rapidly pressing the ‘Close Doors’ button as Arconia residents hustled in vain toward them. 

She’s surprised to see Theo Dimas walking toward them with one arm raised slightly, silently telling them to hold the door for him. He’s walking slightly hunched over as if he’s doing his best to take up as little space as possible. He looks serious, almost sullen as he approaches them, not quite looking either of them in the eyes from under his long, thick bangs. 

Once he’s in the elevator, he nods at each of them, then turns to press the button for the sixth floor and remains with his back to them. 

Silence reigns until the doors shut and Zoe turns to Mabel. 

“Is it just me, or has he gotten hotter lately?” she asks, jerking her head in Theo’s direction. 

“Zoe!” Mabel chides. 

“What? It’s not like he can hear us,” Zoe shrugs. 

“Hmm,” Mabel hums noncommittally. She looks Theo up and down from behind. It’s hard to get any idea what his body might be like under his heavy coat. He isn’t very tall though, and normally she likes tall guys. 

“Have you ever seen his eyes up close?” Zoe continues as the elevator begins climbing. 

“No… have you?” 

She nods. “Like, the most gorgeous blue. Here, wait until he gets out. I’ll get him to turn around.” 

Mabel is starting to feel a little weird about doing all this literally behind Theo’s back, and the sixth floor can’t rise up to meet them quickly enough. 

When the elevator dings, Theo takes one step toward the door before Zoe makes her move. She reaches out and quickly taps him on the shoulder, making him turn around. 

Mabel watches as Theo glances between the two of them, his eyebrows raised… and damn, Zoe is right. He does have the most gorgeous eyes. 

Zoe, meanwhile, is playing the whole thing like she had only wanted to wave goodbye to him. As the doors close, Theo slowly waves back at them, clearly confused. 

Once they’re alone again, Zoe turns back toward her. “Sooo?” she implores. “Am I losing my mind here or has he gotten hotter?” 

Mabel nods, still staring at the point in space where Theo’s head had been. “Yeah. I totally get it. Theo Dimas: secret hottie. Who’d a thought?”

Chapter Text

Mabel absentmindedly runs her fingers through her hair for probably the 20th time that night, unable to keep from fidgeting with the acrylic pink strands that have been woven into her dark tresses. She knows she looks fine, if her slightly warped reflection in the elevator doors is anything to go off of. 

This elevator seems to be taking forever and she’s already annoyed that she’s broken the seal so early in the evening, which means having to take trips back inside to use the bathroom. Someone should put a bathroom on the roof, she thinks in her slightly fizzy brain.

A few seconds later and there’s finally a ding, followed by the doors opening on an ascending lift. Mabel is taken aback for a second when she realizes the elevator isn’t empty. 

Theo Dimas is standing in one of the corners. He’s dressed in his usual dark attire and looks bundled up… and more sullen than usual. 

He briefly raises a hand to her in acknowledgment and gives another one of those tight smiles. She’s received dozens of them from him over the years, those smiles that seem almost perfunctory, like he’s only sharing them because he understands it’s what’s expected of him. 

Which is a shame, because in the last year or so, having listened to Zoe casually mention more than a few times that she thought Theo was hot, Mabel has started to think so, too. She would really like to see a genuine smile on his face. 

And tonight, she thinks as she joins him in the elevator and notices he seems to be headed to the same place she is, she just might be tipsy enough to try something.

She takes her place in the corner opposite from him and waves, getting his attention. Slowly, she points to herself, then spells out her name in ASL. 

Theo watches, his brow slightly furrowed. When she’s finished, he signs something back to her, but she only catches the “I” at the beginning. Or maybe it’s “me” or “my.” All she knows is that he pointed to himself. 

She shrugs with her hands out, a guilty look on her face. Busted. She doesn’t really know any ASL aside from her name. 

She cringes a bit when Theo huffs and signs again, shorter this time. He points to himself and then makes a curt gesture on the side of his head while mouthing “I know.” 

Oh. Well then. 

Instead of a smiling Theo, now she has a slightly annoyed Theo, if his expression and body language is any indication. Which, shit. You try to be nice and this is where it gets you. 

Although he knows who she is, which is interesting, because this is the most extensive conversation they’ve ever had. 

Mabel’s saved by the bell, or rather the ding, because the elevator has reached the floor with roof access. She glances at Theo, wondering if he’s about to stomp out the same way his father often leaves the elevator, but she’s caught off guard when instead he gestures for her to go first and smiles. 

Ok, it was still closed-lipped and it looked like he was still just trying to be polite, but still. She’d take it.

She took his silent invitation and exited the elevator, glancing behind her to see he was following her in the direction of the roof access. Maybe she’d try to talk to him some more at the party… after she’d met back up with her friends. 

Chapter Text

She’s still not sure she’s done the right thing. 

Yes, it had seemed a quick and obvious choice when her aunt had asked her to move in and help with renovations. Why not take advantage of free housing in the city? Anything to get off Long Island. 

But then she’d actually done the thing, moved in and began living there, and now she’s realized there’s a problem: The Arconia is full of ghosts. 

She’s only been there a week and already she feels like she can’t escape the tidal wave of memories that seem to lurk around every corner. Some are good—she doesn’t mind walking through the courtyard and thinking about sitting there with Tim. 

But some—like the very vivid, horrifying memory that haunts the sidewalk out front—she could do without.

Mabel’s just had to walk past The Spot and is recovering and waiting for the elevator when another ghost appears, this one in the form of Theo Dimas. 

She supposes she shouldn’t be too surprised to see him here. After all, real estate in New York is a luxury, so it isn’t far-fetched at all that even in his mid-twenties he’s still living with his father. And even if he doesn’t still live here, there’s no reason to think he never comes to visit his dad.

What she is surprised by is the immediate, visceral reaction she has to seeing him. Her stomach flips over and she can taste bile in the back of her throat. The last time she saw him was in this same elevator, less than an hour before her best friend died… and now the sight of him is taking her right back to that night. 

He’s looking at his phone while he waits and he doesn’t seem to have noticed her yet, which is good because she’s definitely staring. 

Theo the man hasn’t grown any taller since when he was Theo the teen, but she can tell through his t-shirt that his shoulders are now slightly broader. He still wears his dark hair roughly the same way and still has the same dour expression and she wonders if he still gives out those same tight smiles he used to.

He also still seems to favor darker clothing, if today’s charcoal shirt and black jeans are any indication. Though this takes Mabel back to another memory, and she realizes that, no, that night wasn’t the last time she’d seen Theo. She’d seen him at the funeral. He’d seemed exceptionally upset as he sat in the church next to his father, much more so than she’d have expected from him and she wonders now if he and Zoe had ever been a thing. 

It would have made teenage Mabel jealous, but at this point she’s too exhausted to care. 

The elevator doors open with a ding and she enters and presses her button, then shuffles backward to stand in the corner. Theo follows her in and, after pressing the button for six, retreats to his own corner and finally looks up and notices her. 

She knows the second he recognizes her, because all of a sudden it looks like he’s seen his own ghost. He blinks a few times and she sees his Adam’s apple bob as he swallows and stares back at her. 

Feeling like she should do or say something, she gives him a small smile and a wave, trying to wordlessly let him know that she means him no harm and this doesn’t have to be a thing if they don’t make it one. They can each conquer their own ghosts in the privacy of their own heads. 

Theo seems to understand and gives her a curt nod, then looks at his shoes for the remaining seconds until the doors open at his floor.

He exits swiftly, but before the doors shut again, Mabel watches as Theo pauses and turns around to glance back at her with heartbreak written clearly across his face. 

The elevator doors shut again and Mabel is left to wonder how many ghosts Theo has wandering around here. She somehow doubts she’s the only one.

Chapter Text

It’s been only a couple weeks since Coney Island and wrapping up the investigation and Mabel has been enjoying the quiet.

She’s riding the elevator down to go enjoy a few solitary hours at the art collective when the elevator slows down for a stop and her breath catches as she realizes it has stopped halfway down her descent to the lobby. Like, exactly halfway down. 

She nearly scoffs at herself. There are a few people who live on six and he doesn’t even live in the building anymore so she shouldn’t have this kind of reaction. But then of course the doors open on Theo Dimas, reminding her that if the world is small, the Arconia is microscopic. 

Surprisingly enough, Theo is actually smiling for once, a genuine smile, the same one he gave her when he dropped her off in front of the diner after their adventure together, and she smiles back, realizing that she, too, is genuinely happy to be sharing this ride down to the lobby with him. 

He signs to her and she catches him mouthing “How are you?”

She’s been making some efforts to learn ASL for reasons she still struggles to admit fully to herself and has some of the basics down, so she knows enough to sign back, “I’m good. How are you?” 

Theo’s reaction to her signing instantly makes all those hours on YouTube totally worth it. He lights up and signs back, “I’m good. You’re signing?” 

Mabel has enough time to respond slowly with “I’m learning,” before they reach the lobby and the elevator opens. As always, Theo lets her get off first, then takes a couple quick steps to catch up with her. When he’s level with her, he gives her two enthusiastic thumbs up, but then cringes slightly as if he’s afraid of looking too happy. 

“I’m happy you’re learning,” he then signs. 

“I’m new,” Mabel replies, which is as close as she can sign to “I’ve just started.”

But Theo understands and nods, still smiling. They’ve reached the front doors by now and Theo motions that he’s going right. Mabel points to the left and he nods and waves to her and starts to turn away. 

A thought occurs to her then, though, and she takes a few quick steps after him and grabs his arm. He looks surprised but pleased when he turns around and lifts his brows expectantly. 

And that’s when Mabel realizes: she’s nervous. She hasn’t done this in a while. Usually people ask for her number, not the other way around. But she tells herself this isn’t like that. Theo is… a friend. And it’s good to have friends’ numbers. 

She gestures with her phone until Theo understands and they exchange numbers before parting again. 

As she walks away, Mabel can’t help but think back to that day—the day they went to Coney Island. She realizes now, with clarity of hindsight, everything Theo did for her.

In her mind’s eye, she sees him gently leading her through the streets to his place, then later taking off her bloody coat and helping her get into his bed. And she’d let him—even in the fugue state she had been in, she must have recognized him as someone she could trust. 

Which was weird, taking into account all they had been through and everything he’d done to her. But even with all that, she can’t discount the fact that in her bones she must have trusted Theo.

Her subconscious must have known what it had taken her conscious mind the rest of the day to figure out: that she feels comfortable around Theo, even though she shouldn’t really feel comfortable with him at all. 

And, perhaps strangest of all, that she likes being around Theo. 

Chapter Text

The walls of the Arconia, along with containing a warren of passageways, are thin, and it’s easy for Mabel to hear other residents celebrating as she calls the elevator. 

She isn’t really one for celebrating New Year’s Eve, given her history, and right now all she wants is to go down to the lobby, collect the Chinese takeout waiting for her there, and get back to her apartment. Charles and Oliver are otherwise occupied for the night and she’s staring down an evening alone full of bad reality TV. 

The elevator arrives and she steps on and it begins its descent, only to slow down and stop at the sixth floor. Mabel is looking at her phone and therefore only has half a second to realize what’s happening before the doors open and Theo is standing in front of her. 

She had no idea he was at the Arconia tonight. Not that she knows his every move, but they do text every couple of days. Mostly just short back and forths, sharing memes and little updates on their lives. 

Once they had exchanged selfies and Mabel had been surprised and a little embarrassed by how often she went back and stared at the photo Theo had sent her of him looking proud while holding homemade chive and cheddar bread. 

He usually mentions if he is going to be at the Arconia, but not tonight. Mabel’s been operating under the assumption (because yes, she’s thought about how he might be spending New Years) he would be going out, like most people. She isn’t sure if he has a girlfriend or boyfriend or something like that, and she can’t quite bring herself to ask, suspecting she might not like hearing if he does. 

But here he is, giving her a little wave as he steps onto the elevator and stands next to her. She notices his smile is back to looking fixed.

“Happy New Years,” he signs, raising his eyebrows sardonically. 

She signs the same thing back to him with a sad little laugh. It doesn’t escape her that he probably hates this night as much as she does. 

“Visiting your dad?” she asks, trying to enunciate and signing the words ‘your dad.’ 

Theo nods and signs something back to her as the elevator lands and the doors open. She doesn’t catch any of it though, and shakes her head in confusion. 

They step out together, but linger in front of the doors. Mabel waits patiently as Theo somewhat reluctantly pulls out his phone and writes something that he then shows her. 

“I came to see him but wanted to leave before his party kicks off. I fucking hate NYE.”

Mabel nods and signs back, “Me too.” 

There’s a moment of silence between them and Mabel wonders if Theo is waiting for her to say something more. There’s so much they could say right now, so much between them, but this night is exhausting enough and that’s exactly the type of introspection she’s trying to avoid. 

So she chooses a different option. 

She gestures to his phone and he hands it over. She types into his notes app, “I ordered Chinese. Do you want to come and eat it with me?” 

Whatever Theo had been expecting from her, it’s clear an invitation wasn’t it. He looks surprised, but then quickly recovers and nods, his face brightening. 

“Ok,” Mabel says, handing his phone back over and looping an arm through his. She isn’t exactly sure what she’s doing, whether it’s technically ok or not. But she does know that it feels ok, and that’s enough for now. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

Mabel’s feet are aching as she walks through the lobby of the Arconia toward the elevator, but even so, she feels like she’s walking on cloud nine. 

Sore feet are a small price to pay for the evening she’s had, and anyway she’s pretty sure that if she asked, Theo would be more than willing to scoop her up and carry her the rest of the way back to her apartment.

Taking him as her date to the podcast awards ceremony tonight had been one of the better choices she’s made as an adult. Having Theo by her side (plus downing a few glasses of champagne each) had helped turn an evening she’d been feeling pretty meh about into a great one. 

Since she didn’t care much about 99% of the awards being given out, she’d spent most of the night gabbing and signing with everyone at her table—especially Theo. And when their podcast had lost to some pretentious show about linking current events to weather cycles, she’d barely cared because Theo had chosen that moment to grab her hand and give it a squeeze.

Back in the present, together they make their way to the elevator and Mabel presses the call button, then turns to gaze at Theo. 

He looks good tonight, damn good. The crisp black suit he’s wearing is seriously doing things for her, as is the fact that he grabbed her hand again as they left the subway station and hasn’t let go since. She’s startled when the elevator dings and it’s time to get on. 

She’d been surprised when Theo offered to walk her home. They aren’t together, not really, but she’d immediately thought that if he was angling for a goodnight kiss at her door, she was very willing to take that step tonight. Which is why she’s a little confused when they get on the elevator and Theo presses both the 6 and 12 buttons. 

He must see it in her face, because he lets go of her hand and signs to her, “I’m going to sleep at my father’s place tonight. Too late to walk home.” 

She immediately feels like a popped balloon. “Ok,” she signs back, then adds, “Thanks for coming with me tonight.”

He grins and nods and the doors slide shut. “I had a good time. Thanks for inviting me.”

This is it, Mabel thinks. If he’s not walking me to my door, this is the end of the night.

She can’t help but lean in. Her blood is humming and she’s close enough to be able to see the individual hairs in Theo’s eyelashes. The ones that frame those perfect blue eyes.  

“I wouldn’t have gone with anyone else,” she signs to him. 

Theo raises his brow and smiles. “Really?” he signs, and to her great delight, leans in a little closer too. Their bodies are now close enough that she doesn’t think she could fit her hands between them to sign a response, but that doesn’t matter. There are other ways to communicate. 

She reaches out and places a hand on his chest, and watching his face carefully for any signs of rejection, slides it up until it’s resting on his shoulder. And credit to Theo, because he’s able to read the room if his hands on her waist are any indication. 

Mabel moves in, bringing her face closer to his until finally, she can feel his lips graze against hers, feel the slight scratch of the stubble on his upper lip… and that’s when the elevator dings. 

She jumps a little, startled by the noise, and Theo frowns, oblivious to why she stopped them. Mabel pulls back a little and points to the door as it slides open to reveal the sixth floor.

But apparently Theo’s plans have changed. Still holding her to him with one hand, he leans out and jabs at the ‘Close Doors’ button. 

Mabel has just enough time to grin triumphantly before Theo pulls her back to him and kisses her for real this time. 

His lips move against hers and she can taste the faint remains of champagne when she flicks her tongue against his. It feels like an invisible weight between them has been lifted and Mabel moans into his mouth because this feels so damn good. 

She wonders if Theo is able to feel the vibration across his lips, because his grip on her tightens and he spins her around to press her against the back wall of the elevator. Mabel’s hands fly into his hair, gripping it as he begins kissing across her jaw and down her neck, stoking the heat that’s currently building low in her core. 

She tosses her head back and moans again, just before Theo recaptures her lips. As he kisses her—and god, who knew he could kiss like this?—his hands begin to wander southward, over her hips and back around her upper thighs, playing at the hem of her dress until he’s grabbing at her and hoisting her up.

Mabel wraps her legs around his waist as he holds her tightly to him and presses her against the wall. She can feel him pressed against her through her tights. The feel of him just there sends a little shiver of desire through her and she’s just starting to wonder how far she’s willing to go in this public elevator when the bell rings again and the doors begin to open, this time on her floor. 

Theo must be able to sense that the elevator is no longer moving because he stops kissing her (damn) and pulls back a little, though he makes no effort to put her down (good). 

Neither of them can sign like this, so Mabel does the best she can with no hands. She jerks her head in the direction of her apartment, then raises her eyebrows and mouths as clearly as she can, “Do you want to come in?” If her intentions aren’t clear enough yet, she rolls her hips against him, making Theo’s eyes flutter shut for a second.

When they open again, his eyes look darker than usual and he’s panting slightly as he looks up at her. Finally, he nods slowly and lets her down. 

Mabel smooths her skirt back down from where it’s ridden up around her hips, then reaches over and grabs Theo’s hand. They exit and begin making their way down the hall together as the elevator doors slide shut behind them.