Michael Fassbender / Reader (3)
It had been a completely normal day at work when you had gotten a phone call from a customer who then had introduced himself as Michael Fassbender. You had been working at the customer service of a big insurance company for some months, dealing with insurance indemnities and customer complaints. It was not the most ideal job because people never called you when they were satisfied or having a good day. Mr. Fassbender had not been any different.
He had called to the customer service after he had accidentally crashed his new car to a lamppost when he had been texting to his manager about the new movie deal that he had received. There had been not much speed, in fact he had been just parking the car when he had accidentally mistaken throttle as brake pedal. Mr. Fassbender’s call had been directed to you, just by a coincidence and that had been the call that had then changed your life, not at first but eventually.
Mr. Fassbender had been more or less furious and quite an unpleasant customer. He had just blurted his answers as you had been forced to ask him questions about the accident. You had asked the standard questions like if he was under any sort of influence at the time when the accident happened and he had actually started to shout at you. You had listened to the customer cursing and calling you with all kind of names, but then again, that was unfortunately what you had to tolerate every day. Working at the insurance customer call-center was not your ideal job, no, but it paid the bills and made it possible for you move to London from (your city) when you had been hired, basically straight after you had graduated.
You had handled the situation well up to the point when the caller had asked you “don’t you know who I am?” with an arrogant tone. At that point your voice had cracked a bit as you had answered that you did not care about who he was because it did not have anything to do with how you did your job. He had then mocked your professionalism and then you had snapped. You had told him that he had crashed the car all by himself and you were the wrong person that he should be shouting at when all you tried to do was to help him and do your job. If he wanted to be angry at someone, he could look in the mirror and find the person to address his insults.
After the call you had filled the insurance claim –form for him according to his personal information and the answers that you had gotten during the phone call. You had made a reservation for an auto repair but you had not needed to call a tow truck because the car was still okay to drive although the exterior had suffered from the crash.
Then you had sent the form via email to the customer and sent him a text message about the auto repair. You had signed the email with “(Y/N), London” as the company policy was although you had hoped that this time you didn’t have to because your day had been ruined by the rude phone call and the attitude of this “Michael Fassbender” –dude. The name had sounded weirdly familiar and you had decided to google him. “Ah… that explains it” you had scoffed as you had found out that he was a famous actor. At that point you had not seen any of his movies but just out of curiosity you had downloaded one of his movies via Torrent after work and then sighed deeply as you had been captured by his on-screen-charm. “Only if he was as charming in person” you had thought.
Your life went on and nothing out of the ordinary happened for a couple of weeks. Then suddenly one day you were called to the lobby. No one told you why but luckily your lunch break was about to begin so you were able to leave your desk for a moment. It had been a rough day and you were not really in a mood for any surprises. You told the secretary who was working in the lobby that you would be there in few minutes and asked what it was about. She however did not tell you anything, she told you to hurry instead. You took an elevator to the lobby and walked to the front desk.
- Hey, what’s up? you asked and leaned to the counter that was up to your waist.
- There is someone to see you. the secretary said and subtly pointed at the couches where the business customers usually waited for their insurance negotiation meetings. You turned your head and saw a man in jeans and leather jacket sitting with a balloon and a flower bouquet. He was wearing a stylish hat so you did not recognize the man at all.
- I did not know that you have fans! the secretary whispered. She was more enthusiastic about the whole thing than you were yourself.
- I… don’t. you answered and tried to process the situation; had you planned a date for today or what was going on?
- Well, don’t keep him waiting! the secretary exclaimed and her voice drew the mans attention. He stood up and waited patiently for you to walk to him.
- Good afternoon. What can I do for you? you said with your professional tone. The man smiled and you recognized him. He was that “don’t you know who I am?” –customer.
- I came to apologize. he answered as he offered the red balloon to you. You chuckled and took it. It had “I’m sorry” written with silver-colored letters and then when you looked more closely, there was “I was a stupid jerk” added with black marker. You started to laugh as you read the additional note that the actor had written himself. After you had regained your composure you said
- This is… highly unnecessary-
- No, it really is not-
- …but I do appreciate the gesture. you continued and smiled. The man, Michael Fassbender, handed you the flowers as well and asked if you could come outside for a quick chat. You told him that you had your lunch break now and you had 30 minutes.
- How is your car? you asked when you had reached the front yard.
- Never mind the car. I came to apologize personally and thank you for managing my situation so well. the man said and smiled. He looked a bit shy as if he had not been completely sure if his apology had been accepted or not.
- Well, I was just doing my job, Mr. Fassbender-
- Please, call me Michael. he said immediately.
And you did from that moment on. You kind of clicked from the first moment on and the lunch break slipped away completely unnoticed. You were quite sad when you had to tell him that you had to return to your desk so he suggested that you would continue the conversation after your work. He would come and pick you up from work when the office closed and then take you out for a dinner or a pint in a cozy pub, anyway you liked. You were quite speechless but managed to accept his invitation.
- Pub… pub is fine. you said and smiled nervously. Michael exclaimed “great!” and then let you get back to work. At 6 PM he was waiting for you on the parking lot as he had promised and then you had spent the evening with him at a pub eating pub-snacks and drinking a cold one. When it was getting late Michael gave you a lift home and asked for your number. He had managed to casually ask you what your relationship status was and then hide his excitement when you had told him that you were “just you”.
Michael called you the next day and that was how it started. You kept seeing each other a couple of times in a week and suddenly, after a half year of regularly being seen together, you were referred as his girlfriend. It was strange at first to attend some few, well selected events with Michael as his girlfriend but you got used to it. You kept working at the insurance company but you were promoted from the call center to the business-to-business –sector and it meant that your salary went up and the job became more bearable since the companies did not usually call from the bottom if the ditch, literally and metaphorically speaking.
You had been dating Michael officially for almost 3 years when something happened. You were getting to work in morning rush, taking the subway like you always did. You were a bit late and you ran towards the exits without really minding the surrounding world. There were some men right outside the metro station fixing the sign when one of them accidentally dropped his old, somewhat heavy Nokia-phone and it fell on your head. It was one of those freaky accidents that no one saw coming and were highly unlikely to happen, but it did.
A sharp, sudden pain was the only thing that you felt but since you were late, you had no time to think about it more. You ran to work and started your day with the help of a strong painkiller pill. Then suddenly when it was time for the afternoon coffee break, you felt very nauseous and dizzy as you stood up in your office. You managed to take a few steps and then collapsed onto the floor as everything went black.
It took almost an hour to anyone to find you laying on the floor unconscious. Your next client had arrived to her meeting and sat in the lobby waiting until the secretary had come to see what was taking so long. The customer was an important one and she did not like to wait. The secretary had called the ambulance immediately and after 15 minutes they had taken you away on stretchers. The secretary called Michael immediately because he was your “in case of emergency” –contact. The company had a policy that every employee had an ICE –person listed for the situations like this.
You opened your eyes. Your head was hurting and you had no idea why. You had no idea where you were and after taking a quick look around, you noticed that you were in a hospital, or at least the room smelled, sounded and looked like a hospital. The next thing you noticed was a man sitting, currently sleeping, in the chair next to your bed. There were some flower bouquets on the table and a heart-shaped balloon with a text that was wishing you quick recovery.
A doctor entered the room. He told you that something had fallen on your head and caused a concussion which had been most likely made worse when you had fainted and hit your head to the corner of a desk. You had no memory of any of it. The doctor also told you that you had been unconscious for some days but you were going to be alright. He mentioned that you boyfriend had been so worried and refused leaving you even though the visiting hours were over.
- My boyfriend? But… I don’t have a… boyfriend. you said and looked at the man who was now waking up in the chair. No… he did not look familiar and you were completely sure that you were not dating anyone. The doctor said that it was completely normal that you were not able to remember some details of your life immediately but he was sure that it would come to you and soon you would remember everything. After that the doctor left the room and you were alone with the stranger.
- Hey… how are you doing? the man asked.
- Who are you? you asked instead of answering his question. The look on the mans face changed from relieved to confused as he played the question on repeat in his mind.
- I am… Michael. Your fiancée. he answered and kept staring you intensely. His light blue eyes were penetrating into your mind in such way that you had to look away for a moment so therefore you focused your gaze to your left hand that had no ring decorating any of the fingers.
- Although, I have not proposed you yet. the man added when he noticed you checking your hand for an engagement ring.
- I do not know you. you stated bluntly as you felt a slight state of panic settling in. This Michael –dude was standing there by your hospital bed, stating that he was dating you and he had intentions to ask you to marry him although he had not asked you yet… but you had no memory of him or your life together. In your mind you were just a student in a small town, a hopeless romantic with plenty of experience of countless of first dates that never led into anything because nothing ever clicked.
It hurt Michael to see you like that. You looked at him like he was a complete stranger and there was no hint of recognition in your eyes. After a couple of days you got a green light to go home on the condition that you had someone with you at all times. Michael told the doctor that he would be there and he would bring you back if your condition got worse. The doctor wrote a prescription for strong painkillers which Michael got for you on your way home.
You stared at the city that looked completely unfamiliar to you as you sat in the car, watching the traffic and scenery outside. The thing was that you had moved to London after graduating and being employed at the insurance call-center but your memories from the past years were completely gone. You stared at London and it stared back at you. When you got home you found the apartment in a total state of mess. There were boxes everywhere and some of your things were still on their places. You stepped in, took off your shoes and the jacket and walked further.
Michael gave you time to look around and possibly ask some question because he was more than certain that your mind was filling with them as you walked around the chaos. The apartment did not look familiar but your things did although you had bought the furniture when you had moved to London. However your taste of interior decorations and style had not changed since your student years and it was the thing that made your things look familiar to you. You had had always strong opinions about what you wanted your apartment to look like and you were now pleased to see that you had managed to get yourself furniture that pleased your eye greatly.
- Why the boxes? you asked after a long silence. It had been quite enough to leave the hospital with a man that you did not know especially because you had to reject him when he had tried to hug you and then even listen to him promising to the doctor that he was not going to leave you alone… and now… you stood in your own apartment, in your home that was partially packed and ready to go. Quite a mind-fuck.
- You are moving in with me. the man, Michael, answered. His tone was calm and it was clear that he was trying to hide his own emotions, disappointment most likely.
- When? you asked with a shaky voice.
- In few days. We have been packing your belongings during the evenings after your work-
- Work? you asked. So many things had apparently changed.
- Yes… You work as a b2b –negotiator at an insurance company downtown. Michael answered.
You were silent and then started to cry. You had been holding your tears in the entire time but now you could not stop them anymore. You were living in city, working in the field of insurance, what the hell, dating this tall, charming man with whom you were about to move in together and you could not remember any of it. You excused yourself to bathroom and stared at your reflection that also looked very unfamiliar. You had a completely different hairstyle compared to your student years, although you were happy to see that you had kept the overall style the same and you had wrinkles in the corners of your eyes that you had not had before, or you did not remember having.
You came out from the bathroom and sat down on the floor in the middle of the boxes that were currently being packed with kitchen stuff.
- Am I throwing away all my stuff? you asked. There was nothing that was indicating into that direction but you needed to have a confirmation because your belongings were the only thing that you could relate yourself to.
- No, of course not! Michael exclaimed and made himself some room on the floor so he was able to sit opposite from you. That way he had the opportunity to examine your expressions without being too obvious or awkwardly turning his head if he wanted to see your face.
- Why in few days? I mean… the apartment does not look even remotely done…
- Well, the packing stopped when you got into the accident and I have been spending all my time there, watching you… holding your hand. he answered. His tone was soft and considerate but there was an undertone of sadness in it. It was clearly hurting him that you did not remember him and every time he tried to hug you, you stepped away and got anxious.
- Oh… Could I… not… move in with you? you asked. It was a blunt and inconsiderate question but you were not ready to move in with anyone.
- I’m sorry… but the new tenants are going to move in within a week and we have to have this apartment emptied and cleaned before that. Michael answered. He took your tablet that was in an open box with your other computer things and turned the device on. He moved to sit next to you and started to show you the pictures from a folder where you had restored your favorite ones from the time you had been first seeing each other and then dating.
It was too much. You said “stop” and stood up. Sure you had seemed happy in those few first pictures that the man had managed to show you but it was too soon, way too soon. Michael put the tablet away and said with a defeated tone
- You have no idea how much it hurts me when you behave like you did not know me-
- Because I don’t! you exclaimed. It was so frustrating when he did not just get it!
- …and you are unwilling to try to remember me! Michael exclaimed and then immediately felt bad for raising his voice.
- Can you please go? you asked. He shook his head which made you groan and then tell him to get lost.
- No! I promised the doctor that I will not leave you alone. he stated with a firm tone.
- I don’t want you here. you answered and crossed your arms as you stared at him with a defiant look on your face.
- Fine… but someone has to be here with you. I will call your friend-
- But I do not know them either! I know no one here. I do not know this place and even I feel unfamiliar to myself. you shouted and gasped for air. After a moment you continued packing your things in silence. There was nothing else to be done and since you were moving, you had to get your things packed in time. Michael helped you but he kept his distance. Then after a few days you had packed everything and it was the day of emptying the apartment and moving into the other apartment which you had not wanted to even go and see yet. You had gotten emotionally attach to this apartment during the few days and leaving now felt terrible.
When the van was full and your apartment was empty, cleaned even with the help of your friends, whom you did not remember either. They fortunately did not care about it and had agreed to help because you had to avoid exertions. Besides they worried for you, you were their friend no matter what. You closed the door behind you and you had no other choice than to go to the new apartment. The van was quickly unpacked by the movers and when they were done, you had to dare to step into your new home.
You still had no memories about anything that had happened during past 5 years or maybe 6, or even 7… it was so difficult to try to remember exactly; how could you remember what you had forgotten if you had forgotten remembering it in the first place? The only thing that you were completely sure about was that your memories from the years that you had lived in London were completely gone.
You took an elevator to the penthouse and then stepped in to the hallway, walked towards the door in the end of it. The door was slightly open and you could hear Michael talking with a man who apparently was your co-worker. He had come to help you with the moving. When you went in, they immediately stopped talking and stared at you as you saw the apartment for the first time. Of course you had seen it before but the memory of that was among all the other memories that had been completely wiped out.
The furniture was arranged according to what you had previously, before the accident, agreed upon and fortunately you still liked the apartment and the order of furniture. You even liked Michaels stuff and you thought that it went quite nicely with yours. Your co-worker told you that your boss was sending you his best wishes and that your job was waiting for you when you got your memory back or even before. Maybe it would restore your memory faster if you hung out in places you had known and with the people that were your friends. You felt a bit anxious about the idea but thanked him anyway and watched Michael walking him to the elevator. The idea or having people that knew you and whom you were supposed to know as well felt a bit threatening and scary. Everything was happening now so fast and you did not keep up. It was almost like you had been living a life that was not really yours and no one understood it. They wanted what was best for you but at the same time failed to understand that everything was new for you; the places, the people… even your “fiancée”.
Then Michael got back to the apartment and asked you how you were doing. You told him that you were quite alright although you had a slight headache. Michael brought you a painkiller and a glass of water to flush the pill down and then you both started to open the boxes and unpack them. For the first time you started a conversation with him and even blushed a couple of times when he smiled at you. Yes, Michael was a very handsome man and he had nothing but kind towards you although you had treated him like shit occasionally. You had rejected him both physically and mentally and kept your distance to him at all times. It was cruel but you had not been ready to let him close in any way.
After a couple of days of living in the new apartment with Michael, you were unpacking one of the last boxes, it was the one that had your computer things. You found the tablet. Michael was cooking dinner when he noticed you sitting on the floor going through the pictures and the videos. He laughed at himself silently when he heard you laughing at funny pictures or a video that you had taken when you had surprised Michael on his birthday by throwing him a surprise party. The look on Michaels face had been shocked when you and his selected friends had started to sing to him at the moment he had turned on the lights in his old apartment. You continued going through the pictures and decided to google him since there were some pictures of you and him on the red carpet.
- Michael… you asked casually.
- Yes? he answered.
- What was your surname? you asked. You kept your tone as laid-back as you could.
- Fassbender.
- How do you spell that? you asked when you opened the search and typed in his first name.
- F-A-S-S-
- Oh… I got it! you said when Google filled in the rest.
You hit tapped the search –icon and stared at the massive amount of results. You read the Wikipedia article about him and saw yourself mentioned as the current girlfriend. You checked out the picture results and blushed when you realized that you were dating a famous actor. Michael put the dinner into the oven. He was making a beef roast with oven baked potatoes and carrots and after wiping the kitchen counters, he sat down on the sofa where you had moved at some point of your internet investigation.
You raised your head from the tablet to Michael and confirmed to yourself that he indeed was the same person than in the army of gif-pictures that you had been staring at for the past 10 minutes. You had not been outside or not much even interested in the surrounding world since the accident so you had had no idea. You had not seen any of his movies during your studying years so you had basically no clue about his profession. You had not asked either since there had been too much to think about and so much to know even about yourself.
- So… Found anything fun? Michael asked casually.
You laughed as you continued opening the pictures in the Google picture preview. Then you stopped laughing and blushed as you had just managed to come across with a couple of gif-pictures from the movie called “Shame”. The other of the pictures contained full frontal nudity and the other was a gif of him walking naked away from the camera. You immediately closed the browser and put the tablet away.
- What is it? Michael asked as he noticed your cheeks turning red. You took a sofa pillow and buried your face into it. You started to laugh nervously and for a moment Michael thought that you were crying, quickly he realized that you were laughing and you were not in pain or something. He had not tried to get close to you after the accident, not even to hug you, or he had tried but you had always stepped away. He had been sleeping on the floor and not even suggested otherwise. Now however the atmosphere was quite relaxed and you had showed signs of being interested in him as well as in your relationship with him, so he encouraged his mind and got up.
The sofa was quite large, very minimalistic but comfortable. It was dark gray and it had a divan piece in the other end. That was where you were currently sitting. You felt the sofa settle as Michael crawled on your feet and then removed the pillow from your hands. Your laughter died instantly as you stared at his smiling, calm face in a closer distance than before. You were quite sure that you could smell the scent of his cologne and feel his warmth radiating from his body.
You raised your hand and traced the face of your boyfriend with your fingertips so very softly. It was strange just how familiar he felt. Your mind did not remember him although you had managed to connect with some feelings that you had before the accident by going through your photos and videos, but your skin remembered. Your heart was beating quite fast when you traced Michaels lips with your thumb and finally leaned closer to kiss him.
Michael supported himself by placing his hands on the back of the sofa, on the both sides of your head as you leaned to lay comfortably against the sofa pillows. Michael did not want to put any of his weight on you, just in case it would make you feel trapped but you surprised him by wrapping your arm around him and sinking the fingers of your other hand into his hair. He carefully lowered himself on you and wrapped his arm around you as his lips explored yours gently.
Michael felt familiar. At that moment you were completely assured that you knew him. His lips moved from yours onto your neck. Then suddenly you whispered “I love you” which made him stop and pull back. He was breathing rapidly, staring deep into your eyes with an expression that you could not quite interpret. As if he had been trying to make sure that you were not just saying what you knew that he wanted to hear.
- I love… you said and then paused for a moment with a slightly puzzled look on your face.
- …you. you said and then smiled. Those words were so easy and natural to say and it was so strange that you meant them although you did not know the man that was in front of you on his all fours. Michael smiled and then returned to kiss your lips. He kept his kisses sweet and modest although they were also slightly hungrier and more possessive now that you had said those three small words to him.
After the dinner you asked Michael to share the bed with you. It had been a while and Michael asked you if you were sure about it. You nodded and told him that you would even share the blanket with him, but only if you both were wearing pajamas and he promised to behave himself. You were a bit afraid that he would get either offended or disappointed about your conditions, but he did not. It made you very happy and you enjoyed falling asleep in his arms as his fingers drew random shapes on your skin with featherlike touches.
It took a little over six months for you to recover entirely. You started to have dreams about your life before the accident but you did not really care if you remembered everything or not. You however started to have déjà vu’s and reconnect with your life in London. You sometimes asked Michael to tell you stories about your adventures with him and one of your favorite ones was the story of your first meeting. However after six months you remembered everything again… or at least you remembered so much that it felt like you did.
You never found out what had hit you that day, you never found out what had caused the accident. “A concussion by a fallen blunt object followed by another concussion caused by fainting” was what the official documents stated, but three things were certain; you paid more attention when you were walking outside, you appreciated your memories more and last but definitely not least you loved Michael more than your words could ever describe for staying by your side through the ups and downs, even when you had told him to get lost.