#carmine isnt afraid to point out your faults

[fantasyfandommaiden]

ML Counsellor AU: Audrey Bourgeois session

Carmine was was just trying to enjoy her day off when Audrey decided to intrupted her lunch, trying to either one up Carmine or insult her, she isn’t sure. What Audrey doesn’t expect is to get chewed out for her terrible parenting style and her even worse personality by the usually calm and collective school Counsellor.

(Post Style Queen And Queen Wasp)

Carmine was having a spectacular day off. She had woken up early and finished some cleaning around the apartment, than had finished the prep work for a very nice dinner later that evening. She was now in one of her favourite cafe, sitting at her favourite table (outside near one of the trees for some shade, but close enough she could smell the baked goods inside). 

She was currently waiting for her sandwich and soup to arrive as she typed away at her laptop, working on some writing. She paused for a moment to have a sip of tea (not as good as hers but it would due), letting out a soft sigh. Today was just plain blissful.

She heard a slight scoff and someone pull out the chair opposite of her from the table before said person sat down, causing Carmine to look up to see who was joining her only to see one Audrey Bourgeois. Suddenly, her prefect day was anything but.

Carmine looked at the blonde woman for a solid ten seconds with a neutral face before looking back at her laptop, typing away.

Audrey drummed her fingers against the table, starring straight at Carmine for another thirty seconds before breaking the silence.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“Your the one who sat down at my table Madame.” Carmine replied in a bored, even tone, continuing to type and not bothering to look up from her screen.

Audrey continued to look at her, before bringing others her phone and beginning to read what was on it. “‘May your hair turn as grey and course as that of a goat and your eyes continue to look like that of a dead fish.’ ‘May you sag in all the weird places, and shirk to the size of a toddler’, ‘I hope you sleep with a fish.’” She looked at Carmine who continued to type “These, apparently, were just some of the things you said to me at Gabriel’s fashion show three days ago.”

“The literal translation loses some of its whimsy when translated to French, its much more insulting in Yueh.” Carmine stated simply as she continued to type, not looking at the woman at all.

Audrey let out a loud ‘huff’ “Didn’t anyone tell you it’s rude to not look at someone when they are talking to you?”

Carmine stopped typing, looking up from her laptop screen so she stared Audrey straight in the eyes “... didn’t anyone tell you it’s rude to insult your daughter in front of all of her classmates while it’s being televised on national television?” She asked back sharply, her voice dripping with venom.

Most would have missed the way Audrey’s lips tightened slightly in guilt, but not Carmine.

“If you want to talk about me being rude, I will gladly discuss your own behaviour as well.” Carmine stated simply to the blonde woman, saving the file she was working on before closing the laptop to look at Audrey.

Audrey looked straight at Carmine through her sunglasses, her fingers still drumming against the table as the two woman had a stare down. “... it has come to my attention that my daughter has been seeing you for ‘counselling’.”

Carmine did not say anything, continuing to look at Audrey, from her face to her hands, noticing and noting ever fidget, tick and micro expression the woman was showing. The more she observed the more she found that although Audrey was indeed annoyed and maybe even a bit angry, she was no where near as furious as she was attempting to portray.

“I understand she has been... attempting to became a ‘better person’.” Audrey continued. Carmine simply raised a brow with her deadpanned expression still on her face, not saying anything.

“... oh will you say SOMETHING!” Audrey groaned, looking at Carmine with a bored expression. “My daughter hasn’t spoken to and even attempted to speak to me since that event! I know she has spoken to you well she has been at school!”

“Think it has anything to do with being publicily humiliated on national televison?” Carmine asked sarcastically, picking up her tea cup and sipping it. “Or possibly you suddenly appearing in her life again after being away for so many years without so much as a word? Or that you keep getting your own daughters name wrong, repeatedly I might add.”

Audrey rolled her eyes, seeming not caring at all about Carmine’s insults at All, her lack of empathy annoying Carmine but she remained calm, looking at the blonde fashion critic with an almost bored expression as she spoke again “What do you want Madame Bourgeois, If you wanted an apology you would have started by demanding one and than threatening to fire me when I refused.”

Audrey looked at her “... your making her weak.”

Carmine blinked, confused “... excuse me?”

“Chloe, your making her weak. From what I was hearing from before the summer she was a queen bee, she had everyone in the school and hotel wrapped around her finger. She was able to control a situation with ease, and handle everything with an ironed, well manicured, fist.” Audrey stated, looking straight at Carmine, her tone conveying slight annoyance “Now she is taking a back seat, She is letting others tell her what to do, letting others walk all over her, her grades are falling behind, she isn’t even class president for heavens sake! So when I ask my idiot of a husband what happened, he said that after she was Akumatized she was required to see you, and she didn’t stop.” She looked at Carmine with a mild glare that held no heat to it “You’ve made my daughter a push over.”

Carmine looked at Audrey for a few moments with a very unamused expression on her face, before shaking her head “You And I both know that’s not true.” She said as Audrey fumed “Your not mad at me because of that, at least not in the way your saying.”

“Oh, a psychologist telling me how I feel, how rich. Tell me what your three psychology degrees say about me.” Audrey stated in a bored tone.

“They tell me quite a bit, as well as your body language.” Carmine said, placing her tea cup down “For starters, you keep tabs on your daughter, otherwise you wouldn’t have known about all the changes that have occurred since Hawkmoth’s first appearance. Your upset that your daughter isn’t a queen bee anymore, but I don’t think it’s because she isn’t in charge anymore.” Carmine looked at Audrey, her expression softening slightly “... I think your worried that your daughter may have lost some of her back bone in her attempts to become a nicer person, which is ridiculous. If anything it has made her stronger as a person.”

Audrey became eerily quiet, her fingers stopped drumming against the table as she looked at Carmine “No one ever made it in history by being ‘nice’. Chloe was taught at a young age you need to fight for what you want, and to get it by any means necessary. You need to fight by any means, to use any tactic to get what you want. You would know that what with your credentials.” She stated snapping her fingers. A butler came out of nowhere and handed on the blonde woman the file. Carmine noticed her name on the file and felt her body tense up, and she somehow managed to keep her face neutral.

“Carmine Regal, born in Canada but traveled a lot due to your families work, eventually stopping to live in New Orleans, where you lived until you were 19 years old and you came over to Paris to study aboard. After you graduated with three phd’s in psychology and one in ancient history you applied for a duel citizenship, to which you received, and had a private practice until Hawkmoth appeared, to which you agreed to become the school Counsellor. You’ve written a children’s book and are currently working on your next one, at least according to your publisher you are. Your most notable aqquantances are Gabriel’s assistant Nathalie Sancour, investigating reporter Blaine Bishop, as well as several other notable people who I don’t feel a need to mention.” She snapped the file closed, looking at Carmine. “There’s more, but it’s unimportant, I did however find out about your family history, or lack there of.”

Carmine looked at the file that was in the blonde woman’s hand, before looking back at Audrey. “... a quick google search can tell you most of that, as well as my Facebook. I’ll have to remember to put that to private after this.” She said not taking her eyes off Audrey “Was this suppose to prove a point, or scare me? I don’t really have anything that you can blackmail me with.” She stated in a nonchalant tone.

Audrey looked at Carmine with a neutral expression, a crack of a smile on her face forming, almost a complete change from the beginning of the conversation. “... you know what I appreciate more than fashion, Mlle Regal?” She asked simply as a waiter brought over a glass of water with a slice of lime in the water and a lemon wedge on the rim, than promptly ran away quickly. “People who are hard working, who don’t get scared or intimidated easily. Who forge their own accomplishments and say ‘fuck you’ to those who try to stand in their way. People like you.”

She took a sip of her water and let out a soft groan “Like my fool of a husband USE to be. I believe in hard work and that the world doesn’t give you handouts, and when I try to teach Chloe that? ‘Daddy’ goes behind my back and gives the girl what she wants anyways, making her spoiled. I became so fed up I ended up leaving for New York.” She stated “I admit that perhaps it was a bit of over kill to get back at my husband, but I thought it would help. I’m acting just like my mother did to me and I turned out fine. If only Chloe saw I was doing this for her own good, but like I said she won’t come to see me at all like she use to-“

“I’m going to stop you there.” Carmine said suddenly, looking at the woman dead in the eyes with a cold stare “Just because your mother treated you like shit and you somehow turned out ‘alright’ DOES NOT mean that it will work on another child. Children need equal amounts of encouragement and discipline in order for them to grow into functional members of society, not for their parent to up and leave them because they don’t like how their partner is handling the child rearing.”

“Secondly, continuing to insult, belittle, neglect, or humiliate children at any age has been PROVEN to cause long term, sometimes life long anxiety and social problems, even depression. I would know because I co-wrote a thesis on the matter for my final grade in university. If it weren’t for the fact that André completely dots on Chloe, albeit a bit too much, she would not be as stable as she is right now.” She said in a somewhat heated tone “And also, children will always try to play their parents against each other, it’s up to the parents to be a team in order for it not to happen.”

Audrey continued to look at Carmine, as she took another breath to speak “If YOU want to talk to Chloe, than YOU need to make the effort to see her, and speak to her. For some strange reason I can not comprehend, she values your option very highly, and what you said three days ago? About the only thing that was ‘extraordinary’ about her was having you as a mother? That nearly destroyed her.” She all but growled “If you want to talk to Chloe I can’t stop you, it you better make DAMN sure whatever you have to say to that girl is positive because I will be damned if I let all of her hard over the past several months to become a better person be thrown down the drain by someone who isn’t going to care about her!”

Carmine was nearly panting after her rant, glaring at Audrey with a look at could freeze hell over. The two woman had a stare down, the cafe around them quiet, as if everyone wanted to see who would look away first.

Audrey was the first, looking down at her drink, picking it up to sip from it again “Your a poor example of a psychologist, I thought you were suppose to remain ‘distant’ and ‘not get too attached’.” She said mockingly.

Carmine took another deep breath, slowly exhaling through her nose “I am a counsellor right now, it’s my job to care about what happens to these kids.” She stated back “Just like how it was your job to look after, care and nurture for Chloe. And since you have failed at that job, it will be Chloe’s decision on whether or not she wishes to speak to you, not mine, not your husbands, and not yours.”

Audrey glared at Carmine and pointed straight at her “You can’t talk, your not even a parent.”

Carmine looked back at her with a neutral expression “No, but I am one hell of an example of a decent human being.” Her expression than turned coy as she asked in a sweet, venomous voice “Can the same be said for you, Madame?”

Audrey let out a low growl before standing up “I would watch your tone, I have a lot of influence in this city.” Audrey said

“True, you do. But I have my fair share of influence as well.” She said sipping her team looking at Audrey before letting out a soft sigh, “... and if you decide to ever become a decent human being, my door is open.” Carmine said half heartedly. She may not like the woman, but she had a personal code that didn’t allow her to turn down someone if they needed it, and boy did she need help.

Audrey turned up her nose and walked away without giving her a second look, the butler however, Chloe’s butler from what Carmine could remember, looked at her. “... do you have a card, Mlle?” He asked her softly “For the Madame.”

Carmine wordlessly handed him one as the butler quickly caught up with Audrey. Finally, she could enjoy her lunch in piece.... than she heard screaming, great an Akuma attack and she still had yet to receive her lunch. Day ruined.