SelDem One-Shots (English)

Unexpected Arrival

Plot: What if Demir's Dad turned up in episode 20 when Selin is staying with Ayda and Merve.

Deep down, Demir was a wounded child. He'd constantly been abandoned by the people who were meant to care for him - his parents, Eylül and now ... Selin, the woman he had loved like no other, had moved out of their house. It felt lifeless without her. He understood where she was coming from when she'd decided to leave; he knew she needed time to gather her thoughts but still, it didn't stop him from missing her.

Selin had become a staple in Demir's life and he had meant it when he'd said he couldn't stay away from her, not even for a day. That night she'd been stuck on Büyükada because of the storm had been the worst night of his life. Right now, her presence in the house was palpably absent and Demir couldn't help but feel a stark detachment to the place that he hadn't been expecting.

For weeks when he'd first moved back to the city, Demir had persisted that the house was rightfully his but now he knew the house didn't matter, at all. They could live in this little bubble of theirs in the heart of Istanbul or on a houseboat on the River Thames ... all that mattered was that Selin was by his side.

She was his home.

When Demir was at his lowest, when he was frightened or having a nightmare, when his Dad began making demands, all Demir wanted was Selin. There was something about her fun-loving and frivolous nature that calmed him. Selin was the ray of sunshine that fought through his grey clouds and made everything better, brighter.

Last time he'd been feeling lost, he'd laid his head down on her lap, cuddled into her warmth and she'd soothed him with that gentle touch and melodic voice of hers.

"My head feels like it's going to explode." Demir closed his eyes, inhaling deeply as he tried to collect his thoughts.

"Is it your Dad?" At that time, that hadn't been the reason - it had been Eylül's unexpected arrival.

But today, when Selin wasn't there to console him, the matter at hand was indeed his negligent Father who had suddenly began feigning interest in him.

Atilla Erendil had spent months trying to contact his son and after countless rejections, his patience was wearing thin. Demir had been in Istanbul for what felt like forever and now that he was making substantial progress with Artemim; all Atilla wanted was a few minutes to talk to his only son. It seemed the apple didn't fall too far from the tree because much like himself, Demir was stubborn and Atilla knew the only way to overcome this hurdle was to ambush him. He was done asking for an appointment with Demir; Atilla had just decided to turn up.

After a long - and stressful - day at the office, Demir had come home, desperately yearning for a cup of Selin's magical kahve and one of her tight hugs. He wanted her to stroke his head, kiss his neck and tell him that everything was going to work out in the end.

But much to Demir's disappointment, he knew she was staying with Ayda and Merve again tonight. He knew her head was spinning at a thousand miles an hour, envisioning situation after situation between him and Eylül. She'd seen the two of them having a meeting at Artemim and had gone out of her way to close the door so that they could have some privacy. Demir knew what she was doing, he knew she was torturing herself and it hurt him to think she was putting herself through so much pointless pain.

He loved her, and only her - but if only that was enough to clear her head.

Sighing heavily, Demir dredged through their empty home, flicking on light switches as he ventured along. With Selin not here, he'd lost his appetite and frankly, all he wanted to do was go lie down, a pain in his head sprouting from one side to the other.