Who: Tony W, Kent B, Cate A What: Living that Wizzywood life: Kent and Cate visit Tony on set during reshoots. When: Wednesday, May 22. Afternoon. Where: Wizzywood, Los Angeles, California Warnings: Some serious talk, some flirting, some kissing, some LARP-ing
As Tony was finding during his stint in Wizzywood so far, acting involved a lot of hurry-up-and-wait: wait for makeup and costume to be ready for you, wait for the soundstage to be reset, wait for the director to finish consulting with the writers and producers, wait for extras to get their directions, wait for actors to rework their lines and blocking and cues, wait for cameras and lights and booms to be hauled in and adjusted, wait for last-minute rewrites and changes that could push back the schedule for hours. He'd been handed his script for the afternoon's reshoots and sent off to a trailer to wait to be called again, and now he was lying across a rather uncomfortable couch in full, really awesome black dragonleather costume and makeup, with his legs over Kent's lap and his head in Cate's, reading his slightly-different lines for his last big scene.
"Ooh, this is different," he informed them both, and held the script up for Cate to see. "Look at that. This is right after Penelope and her bad guys open the cursed door to the Underworld, and Damien has to jump through to save the kids, and I'm telling him I won't let him go alone. After all these years, Damien... I came back for you. I'm with you until the end. It used to be, like… After all these years, I still feel the same. Something like that. And he was like I know." Tony smiled up at Cate upside-down, and nudged Kent with his foot. "Truuuue love. I wonder why they changed it?"
Resisting the urge to run her fingers through Tony's hair was more difficult than she would have expected, but she didn't want to give the hair folks any more work than they already would have after their lounging about. Instead, she contented herself with lightly tracing her fingers along the neckline of his jacket and occasionally straying up to his ear and temple. "I mean, the whole 'I know' response is a bit overdone at this point, don't you think? Star Wars will have always done it better, and it's an overdone homage."
She frowned slightly as she leaned in and skimmed the page he was holding up. "Though it does leave something to be desired in the romance resolution department. Maybe they're trying to draw it out longer?"
"It's totally a Marvel tie-in. They're capitalizing on the Stucky fandom," Kent immediately on the heels of Cate's answer and supposition. "''Cause I'm with you 'til the end of the line.'" His hands were curled over Tony's calves, and flexed arrhythmically every once in awhile. He wasn't at 100 percent, but his brain wasn't actively trying to kill him anymore, so it was working out more or less for the best. The mind healer wasn't an incompetent idiot, at the very least, even if Kent despised every second in her octogenarian presence.
Kent continued like he hadn't just had a massive geek moment. "I do wonder who's who of the pair of you? I'm pretty sure you're Bucky. Man with a tarnished past that everyone thought was dead, suddenly back and on the path to good. Yup, totally Bucky."
Tony laughed, catching Cate's hand and giving it a squeeze and a kiss. "Dork," he said, and tipped his head to look up at her, grinning. "He's such a no-maj dork. It's adorable. Is Bucky the hot one with the eyeliner?" He'd sat through some of those movies, mostly willingly, though he hadn't become invested. The alien stuff had lost him. "I don't mind being him. Who does that make Griffin? Is he the hot lady spy?"
He flipped the page in his script and read for a moment, and then punched the air victoriously, grinning wider. "Yessss, they added another kiss before he walks into the fire, and I dive through right after him. There's your romantic resolution, Catey. It's sad, though, because then we die. Maybe. But you know, this is TV, so…"
Cate squeezed Tony's hand, but her eyes were on Kent as she said, "It's hot, but only about half accurate. No way is Damien supposed to be Steve Rogers. He's not nearly wholesome enough. In the best ways," she added with an eyebrow waggle down at Tony. "He gives me Loki vibes, totally. And ohmygod it would be called Lucky, and I immediately need to know if the internet has given me this ship or not."
Except her phone was just out of reach, and she wasn't willing to give up a lapful of warm Tony just yet. The script was plenty of distraction from that particular mission. "No way are they dead. This has fandom obsession written all over it. There are so many ways to get them back from the Underworld."
A laugh bubbled out of him, and Kent grinned over at the pair of them. In this particular second, he was wholly unconcerned about the things that had been done to him. Except even just that glancing thought touched off another: Bucky being controlled, his mind fucked with, and Kent had never related to a fictional character on such a visceral level in his entire life. His smile faded, but he tried to hang on to some vestige of it. "You know it'll happen. Maybe not next season, but probably three or four. Just watch for when they start mentioning it heavily in the 'Previously On' or dropping reminders into the dialog. Besides, no way they're permanently dropping a drool-magnet like Griffin. That's just criminal and fandom suicide."
He shrugged, as he stated his fact: "Either way, this is clearly just the start of your glorious Wizzywood career."
Tony sat up, swinging his legs down from Kent's lap. "You think so? Griffin said he already got his contract extended for a few episodes next season that might be flashbacks, they haven't really told him anything yet. But Orrin hasn't said anything to me one way or another. I can't tell if he thinks I'm doing okay or…" He shrugged, leaning over the other way to drape an arm around Kent's shoulders and tugging at Cate's hand to get her to scootch over, too. "I don't know. Maria, the director, said I was good, but I guess they might be waiting to see how the episodes turn out. But I'm not gonna worry about it right now." He kissed Kent's temple softly. "I'm really glad you both could come out here. I want to thank you for being, you know… not laughing at the whole idea. Thank you."
Cate moved over to tuck herself into Tony's side. "Always," she said with a smile, kissing him on the cheek. "Because, first off, I'd support you even if what you wanted to do was ridiculous. But second, this is not. Cracky teen drama or not, you've easily put in two weeks of work in only a few days of shooting. And if the director says you're good? The fans will be crazy not to follow."
"Or criminally stupid." The sentiment was muttered, but severely undercut by the soft smile on his face and the way he melted into Tony's side. Kent shrugged the shoulder that wasn't pressed into his boyfriend. "And it's like I told you when this first came up, if this is something you want to do, if this is your dream, there's no way in hell I'm making fun of that. There's no reason to, to begin with, because the world deserves to see that gorgeous mug of yours anyway, and, well, I've been on the other side of people being dismissive of dreams and it sucks and I told myself I'd never make anyone feel like that, even if I am a professional asshole."
"Aw," Tony answered, and tipped his head down to catch Kent's lips in a kiss, and then turned to do the same to Cate. "You two. No wonder I have an ego, huh? It comes from you two saying sweet things about me all the time." He grinned down at Cate, draping his other arm around her. "I don't know if it's my dream, but it's fun. I'd come back if they wanted me to. Especially if it means getting paid to make out with Griffin Lee."
Cate's eyes lingered on Kent for a moment at his admission, but she didn't react other than a little quirk of a smile just for him. Then she was focused once again on Tony, laughing unexpectedly at his statement. "Not gonna lie. I wouldn't mind getting paid to make out with Griffin Lee, either. None of my teachers ever looked like that!" She giggled even more.
"I never wanted any of my teachers to look like that. I'm pretty sure I still don't." Kent's lip curled back in distaste, but even he had to concede to himself the fact that his school experience was extremely atypical. He was never of an age where being attracted to his classmates or his teachers and then professors was ever going to be okay in any sense of the word. "But what do I know. Maybe attraction makes the learning retention rate higher. I'm sure there's a study or two out there. But...that's so beyond the point."
He looked over at the two of them, openly curious. "So what are your dreams? If you could do anything, what would it be? No barriers, no restrictions. What would you do with the rest of your lives?"
"Quodpot," Tony answered without hesitation, though it clenched in his heart; he'd been avoiding thinking about that mess now that he'd brought it to the Aurors in Deseret, because it was easier not to. "I'd go back to Quodpot, but." He sighed, slouching down against the back of the couch. "I don't want to think about that right now. Anyway, Nat would kill me if a broom crash didn't first. Uh, I dunno… move to Mexico. Or buy an island. You said no restrictions, right?" He smiled up at Kent and Cate, but it wasn't very bright. "What about you, Catey?"
Cate wasn't sure if it was the sadness in Tony's eyes, or simply her willingness to plumb the depths of herself with these two when she'd normally keep her sights on the bright side, but her mind leaped to an unexpected place at that question. No restrictions. She was glad for an excuse to snuggle tighter into Tony's side, hopefully as much comforting as it was taking comfort.
"I'd want to be able to apparate," she said, her voice uncharacteristically timid. "It's the only thing I can't quite stop envying about wizards: the fact that you can be almost anywhere you want within a few seconds. I want to be able to get a text message saying I should come over and then be there, rather than driving or waiting for a ride. I want to pop over to San Diego to see friends at a whim, or see all of Europe in two weeks because I don't have to rely on trains." She pressed her face into his side, feeling silly. "Barring that, I guess I want an excuse to travel in general."
It was a one-two punch of insensitivity. Every word, every tentative wish was the swipe of a nundu's nasty, poison-tipped claw. Kent's jaw clenched around the pain he'd just inadvertently caused, and, icing on the cake, the hunted, terrified look on Will's face floated through his thoughts as it had uncountable times since that awful day. He was not a good person. He didn't deserve nice things. He definitely didn't deserve the two people he was with.
Crawling his way back from that dark edge took considerable effort. That little demonizing voice sometimes became deafening. Kent took a deep breath. He put a hand on Tony's leg, and reached past to slide the other against Cate's half-hidden face. "I would give so much to make that happen for both of you. I would give the whole fucking world."
"Aw, sweetheart," Tony said, purposely lightening his tone, and tipped his head again to kiss Kent playfully. Thank goodness for anti-smudging charms on his makeup. He released him after a moment and grinned, attempting to raise the mood in here just with his facial expressions. "I don't think the world's actually yours to give, but I know you'd try. Anyway, we can make Catey's dream come true, kind of." He squeezed his arm around her, looking down at her face. "I'll take you anywhere you want, anytime, no questions asked, twenty-four seven. I know Dr. Scruffyface would, too. We can be your own personal Wizrail. Open for business every day of the year. Hope you enjoy the ride." Tony smiled at her, hoping to get a smile back. "I know it's not the same as being able to do it for yourself, but we're here for you."
Cate smiled at him, mostly because she didn't have the heart to turn the conversation any deeper and sadder than it had just gotten. She liked that she could share these things with them, but there was a time and a place. "I know you would. And anyway, it's not as if it's often I need or want to be somewhere badly enough that it's necessary anyway, so save your white horse for the special occasions, alright?" She made an even greater attempt to put the dismal thoughts where they belonged, and her smile grew fractionally. "I mean, look where I am right now."
She tapped his script. "Are you studying here or what? Oo, can I do Damien?" She looked up at him with an imitation of the character's expression as she imagined it in the scene. "Come on. Hit me with the line. Let's see if it gives me long-lost love vibes or not."
Leave it to Cate to change the mood again. Kent was grateful, probably pathetically so, especially since all he'd had in mind to do was to apologetically reiterate Tony's offer. The playacting diversion was an infinitely better idea, and he nodded at the pair of them before getting to his feet. He turned to them and held up his fingers in approximately a rectangle, and squinted through them as he tried to bring them into 'frame'. "All right, you two. I want passion, here! This is the end of the road for one of you. The end of everything. Sell us on your long lost love. Make me believe it!"
Tony laughed at him as he stood, tugging Cate to her feet as well. "You're a terrible Maria, baby," he told him, "that's not what she sounds like at all. Okay, Damien, you're here, getting ready to jump through the cursed door--" He positioned Cate in front of the couch, eyeballing the distance as he took a few steps back. "And then I rush in with the kids following, and I call your name, and you turn…"
Acting wasn't that hard; you just had to figure out how your character felt about things, and then make yourself feel like that too. He pictured Cate ready to sacrifice herself without telling anyone, pictured the cursed flames licking at her outstretched hand, and put an expression on his face that he hoped was more alarmed and pain-stricken than constipated. "Damien!" he called out, and took the three quick steps to fit his hands around Cate's waist, yanking her away from the imaginary doorway. "No! There has to be another way!"
Cate flashed an amused look at Kent before attempting to get herself into character. She didn't know anything about acting, other than it made her feel vaguely ridiculous to play such a serious role out of the blue, but at the same time, it was exhilarating, too. "You know there isn't," she said, putting a hand on his cheek and looking directly into his eyes. "My watch, my responsibility."
Only a well placed knuckle against his mouth kept Kent from laughing outright, but his lips were definitely trembling with the effort. This was turning out far more entertaining than he could have imagined.
Tony kept his eyes on Cate's, stepping in closer and pulling her in against him. "I can't lose you again," he said, with an impressively convincing break in his voice. She was a lot shorter than Griffin, so he couldn't lean his forehead against hers like he would have done in the real thing. "After all these years, Damien… I came back for you. I'm with you until the end."
Cate looked up at him and opened her mouth as if she would say something, then instead surged up onto her tiptoes and kissed him as if she expected to never see him again, hands going around his neck. When she pulled away, it was to hold his gaze intently for a few seconds before cracking a soft smile. "There's no one I'd rather be here. My only regret is that we didn't get more time." She kissed him one more time for good measure. "Remember me."
Then she turned, contemplated her options with the couch, and calmly stepped up onto it before sitting on its back, facing him.
Tony kissed her back, desperately, clinging for a moment. He stared back into her eyes, drawing in a shaky breath, and as she turned away he reached out as if helpless to pull his lover back. In the real thing there would be fake flames (to be edited in post-production, naturally) casting flickering golden light on both their faces, but with her bright hair Cate didn't really need that to glow; he really did have to catch his breath a little as she stepped through the doorway. Or onto the couch. Whichever.
He turned, looking back over his shoulder at the imaginary faces of Gabe and his friends. He lifted a hand to brush over the chair that was there instead, just like he would touch his brother's shoulder when they filmed it. And then, without another word, he turned back to the couch and jumped, twisting midair to land sprawled beside Cate's legs.
"And then everybody cries, because we are dead and gone forever," he pronounced with satisfaction, and looked up at Kent. "Right, babe?"
It was funny, really funny, right up until the moment when it wasn't. Kent wasn't sure if it had been that little crack in Tony's voice, or the way they'd kissed each other, but the entire effect of the scene shifted for him. It was like he was losing them. To one another. And he was stuck in the real, cold world. His fingers were still pressed to his lips, and he could feel the curve of them at the corners, a simulacrum of amusement. It could have been believable, except for the two traitorous tears that were running down his cheeks. Bastards.
"It was great," he said tightly. "The fans are gonna go fucking nuts."
There was a second when Cate was grinning stupidly down at Tony, because playing out that scene had been even more fun than she expected, but the strangeness in Kent's drawn drew her attention away almost immediately. She hopped off the couch and was at his side in two strides in the tiny trailer, and she put her hand on his cheek in an odd parallel to the scene she'd just played out, except this time her expression was one of genuine concern. She brushed at one of the tracks of tears with her thumb. "Hey, what's wrong?"
Tony sat up, turning to look at Kent more closely, and frowned quizzically at him. Following Cate more slowly to his side, he leaned in and kissed the other tear away from his cheekbone. "You okay, babe?" he added, and took his hand, wrapping his fingers around Kent's. "Is it the head, or are we just that good at acting?" He smiled over at Cate, but his brow remained creased, worried.
Dropping his hand, Kent suppressed most of a shiver, but it was enough for his neck to go taut as his jaw clenched tight under Cate's hand. He shut his eyes tight and let out a laugh that had nothing to do with humor. "Head's a fucking cruel liar," he muttered. Kent forced himself to look at Cate and then over at Tony. He was tired. So tired. There'd been a battlefield in his head for two weeks now, and it was better but still there. "But… you were good. It just got, I dunno, twisted. It's stupid. Sorry. I'm sorry. You were both great. Tony, you're going to be fantastic. You really are. This show is so fucking lucky to have you. And-and so am I."
"It's not stupid," Cate insisted, leaning in just enough to kiss his shoulder before snuggling up to it. "You're still healing. Don't be so hard on yourself." She looked over at Tony. "And he is going to be fantastic. I got totally sucked into that scene, no joke. I can't wait to see the real thing."
Tony smiled back at her, squeezing Kent's hand. "Thanks, cheer squad. I hope the rest of the world agrees." His attention was focused on Kent, though; he brushed his free fingers over his temple, pushing his hair back. "You need a potion, sweetheart? Has it been bugging you the whole time? Tell us when you're hurting, baby, we want to know." He leaned in to kiss his forehead.
Another self-directed unkind thought tried to push its way to the forefront, but Kent drowned it in the warmth on either side of him, the press to two familiar bodies. His eyes closed again, and he pressed his lips together for a moment before answering. "It's… finding a new baseline. It hurts, but not as much. I'm okay for now. Really. Besides, if I take a potion, I won't get to enjoy the rest of this day without being high. Hard pass. I'd rather be present."
Cate kissed Kent's shoulder again and slid one arm around his back, gripping his waist and giving it a squeeze. "I'm with Tony on this one. You know I'd always rather know, even if I don't like what I'm hearing." She looked up at Kent with a soft smile. "Just say the word if you want a head massage. I've been told I have talented fingers." She let that sit for a moment before raising an eyebrow at the double entendre and waiting, hoping to ease of bit of the tension in his face.
Tony laughed at that and slipped his arm around Kent too. "I can confirm that she does," he reported. "Look, I don't have anything to do until they call us, so why don't you--"
His suggestion was destined never to see the light of day; there was a knock on the door of the trailer, it opened, and the eyelinered, extensively teased-haired head of Tony's TV lover popped in. "Hey, y'all," Griffin Lee greeted them with his soft Texarkanian twang that was so different from the voice he used for Damien, raising an eyebrow at the three of them. "Tony, you ready to go? They're finally ready for us on set."
Tony squeezed Kent once before dropping his arm. "Yeah! We've been rehearsing, actually, I'm totally set." He smiled over at Kent and Cate. "They can come watch, right?"
"Yeah, no problem," Griffin answered. "You two can join the peanut gallery." He grinned, making a sweeping gesture with his arm out the door. "Come on, let's get before Maria sends her PA over to hurry us up. You met Alfred yet? Boy, has he got a look that reminds me of my momma."
Cate hung back a little as Tony followed Griffin out of the trailer, partly just in case Kent needed any last thing before they left, and partly because being around the TV star left her a little lightheaded in the best sort of way. She looked up at Kent and gave him a rather silly sort of smile. "Is it just me, or is he way hotter in person even than on TV?"
Kent watched the two actors go, and, yeah, he was wearing kind of a silly smile of his own. "It's not just you."