The first TW/DW RPF COMMENT-FIC CARNIVALE!
Oh hallo. Are you here for something?
Of course you are.
What's your name? You're Candy?
Of course you are.
On behalf of Myself, cruentum, and degenerates everywhere, welcome to:
( Read more... )
Of course you are.
What's your name? You're Candy?
Of course you are.
On behalf of Myself, cruentum, and degenerates everywhere, welcome to:
( Read more... )
As a good Welshman, Gareth has a fairly impressive repertory of drunks. There's his down-the-pub-screaming-rugby drunk, and that's for his mates and home turf, for street cred and flipping off the industry switch now and then. There's the gig-and-con drunk where he can get away (mostly) with being a right Welsh arse and it still plays to the peanut gallery. And to the girls, mustn't forget that, even if it's got him in the doghouse a time or five. There's the epic drunk he connects with wrap parties and industry mates who have to scrape him off the floor of lounges and bathrooms. These days there's a more domestic drunk, and that's takeaway and telly and greasy kisses and sloppy, heated sex wherever he and Gemma happen to land.
This one's none of the above. It's one of the introspective ones, where he can soak his head in the booze from now til morning and his brain will still refuse to disconnect.
Gareth doesn't need a reason, but this time he's got one. He's getting pissed (Brit) because he's pissed (American). He's pissed (both ways) because pissing John Barrowman has pissed off from this con and left him to piss along on his own.
The part of his brain that won't switch off tells him this is stupid. He's known for months that John wouldn't be here. He knows why. But he's been in a tailspin since he got the text from Marsters today, and even the knowledge that Kai's coming round to take up the slack can't get him out of the funk.
John could have put in an appearance. The Energizer Bunny West End star has been cramming more interviews and appearances into Zaza's schedule than should be humanly possible. It's the Barrowman superpower, and as long as there's exposure (ha) and fan-love involved, he bloody feeds off it. Skipping off to Birmingham for a morning would take some doing but he's John, he'd make it happen, or rather Rhys would.
The thing that eats at Gareth a little, between pulls of beer, is that this might be John's idea of doing him a favour. Because they both know that he's incapable of not hogging the limelight, and maybe he thinks it's Gareth's turn. Given that, well, Torchwood is bloody over, for Gaz at least, and unlike John he doesn't have a West End show or American TV beckoning or a full line-up of interviews and crap telly presenter gigs. He's back to being a striver with a provincial accent and a garage band, and the cons are a way of milking cult star status for a bit longer.
Pretty pathetic, put like that, he thinks, his fingers worrying the bottle label. He's already shredded the first three.
Then there's the whole Ianto-is-dead fallout, which is bloody easy for John to take in stride but affects Gareth a bit more personally, thank you very much.
Gareth might not have much to go on for comparison, but he knows (and John probably does, too, he's no fool about anything in the business) that Torchwood was both a huge bit of luck and something way fucking out of the norm -- and it's largely down to John on both counts. John was the glue that held the set together and just as often made it fall hysterically apart. John was The Star, and for all that he makes a big deal of not having diva perks in his riders, he always took it out in trade.
Meaning: dropping trou, groping and snogging co-stars, filthy texts, constant pranks and innuendo. Harassment, sir, in any other job, and shit that would get Burn or Gaz himself called on the carpet if they'd tried it on. Naoko and Eve always seemed fine with it, Naoko maybe because she knew John already, Eve because she's the textbook definition of "good sport," and both were wholly capable of egging John on from time to time. If Burn had an issue with it, he never let it show.
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And Gareth always has, along with everyone else, because he knows there isn't a grain of malice in John's perfectly-coiffed head, and because he's been the beneficiary of the hijinks as often as he's been the butt.
It's one of his quiet points of professional pride, all the times the Powers That Be took him aside and praised him for his scenes with John. Getting the best out of him, you are, keep up the good work. Nice to hear that it went both ways. He and John only got into the habit of discussing their characters after the terrifying baptism by fire of shooting "Cyberwoman." John's idea, and he can't pretend it didn't help. Mostly.
He remembers the run-up to "Meat," when he and John were hanging with the script and beer in John's trailer, on that poncy sofa of his. Mostly done with the script at that point and on to the beer, and Gareth was sliding quickly into another of his drunks, the one where he disconnects the filter between his brain and mouth. "So, who do you think tops?" he heard himself saying.
(Early days, and it will be awhile before he hears that question at a con. Still, it sometimes gives him the willies, not to mention embarasses the fuck out of him, that he'd actually asked John first.)
John, languid for once, was resting his head on the back of the sofa, profile and jawline attractively displayed and eyes closed, but at that he'd rolled his head to one side and looked directly at Gareth. "Why, do you think it's that simple?" he'd said, amused in some not exactly obvious way. "Straight boy."
"Well, we've already decided Ianto is," Gaz protested, not exactly caring that he'd just waded in deeper. "So..."
John stared at him a long moment, then slid his eyes down to his beer bottle. "Jack switches. That I'm sure of. Hey, he's into threesomes, after all." He traced one finger up and down the condensation on the bottleneck, idly, and Gaz would have sworn it wasn't deliberate -- innuendo from John is usually fucking obvious -- but the sight delivered a small jolt all the same. John went on, "But what he really likes is getting fucked. With a big, thick, uncut cock."
The last was said in John's porno-Jack voice, and there'd been no pretending that it hadn't had the intended effect, even if the waggled eyebrows had camped up the impact a bit. Gareth had reached for another beer and concentrated on getting to the next stage of intoxication (the one that renders him incapable of acting on the smallest hormonal urge).
He woke up on the crap sofa with his shoes off and that damn red-and-orange hand-crocheted afghan spread over him.
They don't ever discuss it, but Gaz would bet that conversation had something to do with the number of times "Jack" put "Ianto's" hand over his knob while they were shooting "Meat," and his mock-disappointment that none of the shots made the final cut.
Which brings Gaz right back to where he started, about beer number two: John getting away with shit. John having no fucking boundaries at all. And whether it's a star thing, a gay thing, or a John thing.
John watching his back, and enjoying the view while he's about it, which he knows is a John thing.
It's for the best that he's ducking out of cons after March. Money's good, and there's plenty of shits and giggles even without the fangirl come-ons, but he really doesn't want to spend the next five years answering the same questions about his fictional character's sex life.
Still. It's been good, yeah? Yeah. It's just always been more fun with John around.
He looks down, blearily, at the shredded labels at his feet, and wanders off to grab another beer.
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Recaptcha: cess bouncers. :)
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Still. It's been good, yeah? Yeah. It's just always been more fun with John around.
Bit of an end-of-an-era kind of feel to it and yknow, life goes on and all but aww man, poor guy.
I have a thing for the details and the language in this.
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Timid anon is timid, o mistress of mischief.
Recaptcha: ransacks students
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He probably used it to protect his couch from dog hair, so it would make sense to him to drape it over drunk castmates. He's very literal-minded sometimes, is JB.
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Good story!
Also, I think if points were being given: Still. It's been good, yeah? Yeah. would have to get at least three!
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Thanks for reading, glad you enjoyed!
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