WHO: Lucy Mason and Rafe Brightstar WHAT: Charity mixer WHEN: Sunday, October 20, 2019 (backdated) | evening WHERE: Probably a hotel somewhere RATING: Fairly tame
When it came to industry events, Lucy was very much of two minds. On the one hand, she was quite pleased to be invited to them, that was where networking was done after all. However, she was still adjusting to her potions recalibration, which meant that her baseline level of control was out of whack. Snippets of half-formed thoughts sounded in her head as she moved throughout the room.
Well, if the suppressing potions weren’t going to do their jobs, she could certainly turn to the next best thing: alcohol. She never would have imagined at fifteen that she would have missed the mood stabilizers. “Double Vodka and soda, extra lime.” That way if she was photographed she could claim it was a simple club soda.
Drink in hand, Lucy headed back into the fray, smile firmly affixed to her face.
Rafe hadn't intended to come to this particular mixer, even as recently as that morning. The night before had been a late one, with Tony's party and its aftermath, and they had reshoots starting early the next day. A smart actor would be planning to be in bed soon. That had been his intention until an early afternoon nap had resulted in one of the most horrific nightmares he'd had in a very long time—and the worst part was that he still wasn't sure whether it had been a regular dream or one that meant something.
"Ginger ale, about a half shot of vodka, dash of lime juice, please." He gave the bartender his most winning smile and dropped a dragot into the tip jar. It was true that he wasn't feeling his most social, but it was also true that talking to other people was the best way to get out of his own head. Always had been.
Once his drink in hand—and had been tested to be sure it wasn't too heavy-handed on the alcohol—he wove his way through the modest crowd, striking up conversations with a few people, but mostly drifting and watching. He was relieved that this event wasn't specifically related to the Merlinverse, which meant that he knew fewer people than he might have otherwise. It was far easier to get away with a fake good mood with strangers. He'd even started to relax when he came around a pillar and stopped only a couple of feet from running face first into someone he did know. "Lucy." That first word was more shock than greeting, and he was sure his expression had shown a flash of that, too, before he recovered. "Wow, it's been awhile. How are you?" He immediately felt stupid for the question, but what else was he going to say? It wasn't every day that he ran into an old friend's ex-fiance.
The alcohol had barely had time to hit her system, but just by knowing it was there she felt her shoulders come down a fraction of an inch and her muscles begin to loosen. In all honesty, she probably should have skipped the evening, but her role on Trial By Water wouldn’t last forever. It was always a good idea to have a contingency plan, hence why she made an appearance. Running into Rafe Brightstar, however, was making her regret her decisions.
They weren’t friends, exactly. He was within the circle of friends her ex had and one that relationship finally ended they drifted off one by one like months, following his bright light. She still ran into some of the from time to time, but not Rafe. Until now. “Rafe.” She tried not to wince when she looked at him. There had always been something off about him, but she didn’t remember him being so loud. “Well, thank you. I hear congratulations are in order. Camelot Rising.” Not that she had much to do with the wider universe, but still. “Exciting.”
Those few seconds of Lucy talking should have been enough for him to recover his equanimity—and would have been, if not for the sudden rush of images playing through his head, like flipping through the pictures on someone's phone without any context for what he was seeing. It had been a long time since he'd had this sort of influx of disparate and varied visions all stacked on top of each other. Years. Was this related to the afternoon's nightmares, or just the stress of the new job, maybe?
He struggled not to frown and to pay attention to what she was saying, but managed the gist of it. "Thanks. I'm pretty used to setting out into whole new worlds by now, but I can't say I ever expected to try my hand at acting. I only hope I don't embarrass anyone who's actually a professional at this." He chuckled, and it wasn't entirely affected; he wasn't self-conscious about his burgeoning abilities, but it did amuse him to think of how some of his old friends would react when he saw them again. "What are you up to these days? When you're not on the WOMP, I mean." He'd seen her pop up on the cover of various gossip magazines over the years, but he knew better than to give too much credence to those headlines.
“This, that, and other things.” Lucy waved a hand. There had been some modeling and advertising work. A couple of fan conventions welcomed her, primarily for her work on the Defenders, but occasionally for the Merlinverse. There was a chance she might be in one of the shows in the Demimonde, but until that was for certain, Lucy wasn’t going to mention it. And even then she might not say anything out of fear of jinxing herself. “But staying busy as always.”
She couldn’t look straight at him. When she did, Lucy felt an incredible pressure at her temples, as if her own thoughts were being pressed out of head against her will. So she looked just past his shoulder, at the back of an old woman’s head.
"I guess there's not really any such thing as being bored around here unless you're between projects," Rafe said with a shrug, taking a sip of his drink. There was an odd buzzing sort of sensation in his head, like he was trying to remember something that was just out of his memory, without any luck. Usually, it was a sign of some sort of snippet of vision, but when nothing other than a few flashes that could have been his own memories, he relegated it to the back part of his brain. "I'd forgotten how fast-paced things could be while I've been away."
"Oh? Were you doing anything fun?" Lucy sipped her drink, bubbles popping along her tongue as the alcohol burned pleasantly. She would need another vodka soda soon, but everything was nearly silent. Except for Rafe, but he was at least muffled now. All that remained was that pressure, like a terrible sinus infection. Opening her mouth to ask another question, Lucy's voice got stuck in her throat as a man's thought so vulgar and loud it practically echoed in her mind. It made her physically flinch and she turned to give the aforementioned man a sharp, disgusted look.
"Spending time with family, mostly, so hit or miss on the fun," Rafe said, chuckling. It had always been like that, especially with Sam and Zophie, but things with Sam, at least, had been better in recent years. "I did manage to spend a few weeks with a friend in Thailand and swing back through via portkey to Germany for a client, so I can't complain. Had to get the wandering out of my system for a little while before I was tied down to the Merlinverse."
He'd opened his mouth to ask her another question, but Lucy's odd reaction to something he hadn't seen or heard stopped the conversation in its tracks. "You okay?" he asked, his free hand extended toward her without actually touching her, concern on his face.
He didn't touch her, but Lucy jerked back anyway. Touch was always a funny thing with her, particularly when she least expected it. "It's nothing." Dragging her gaze away from the man, she tried to focus back on Rafe, only for it to skitter away again. Like they were the same poles of a magnet, repulsed from one another. "Just thought I saw someone I had a bad on-set experience with. You know how it is." The lie fell so easily from her lips Lucy almost believed it herself.
"I don't yet, thankfully." Rafe offered her a smile, though he couldn't help the slightly bewildered edge to it. He couldn't begrudge her the right to not elaborate on her personal business—especially given their tenuous acquaintance—but he couldn't see anything that fit her reaction. Then again, he supposed 'on-set' could even involve some production staff member he wouldn't recognize, and not only another actor. "Advantage of being new, I guess. Don't have enough of the good sort of experience yet, but also don't have the bad sort." Which wasn't to say he hadn't in life, but that was too deep for a casual conversation like this.
"You will have little trouble, I think." Rafe had always been magnetic. The type of person others wanted to be around, the type of person others wanted to like. She had experienced it herself back when they socialized.
Lucy put her empty cocktail glass on a passing server's tray and regretted the action almost immediately. She was forever someone who needed to do something with her hands and now without her crutch she could not help but feel vulnerable. It was a feeling she disliked immensely. Instead, she resorted to fiddling with the clasp of her clutch, opening and closing it repeatedly in rapid succession. "While I'm sure you've probably received larger and better ones, welcome to the Merlinverse. Officially."
"Thank you. On both counts. And hey, maybe we'll get to work together at some point. Never know when we might get one of those juicy crossovers." Rafe thought it probably wasn't likely, but it was a fun idea all the same. Maybe Guinevere could get seduced to the dark side of Chicago for an episode or two. He nearly laughed aloud at the thought. He glanced toward the server as he carried off Lucy's empty glass. "I don't want to keep you, but it was good to see you. Really." He knew things hadn't ended well with their former mutual friend group, but he'd never been the sort who wanted to cut acquaintances because of other associations.