You Must Remember This-Entourage V/E
Title:You Must Remember This
Fandom:Entourage
Pairing: Vince/Eric
Warnings:Spoilers through season five. Cliche fictional amnesia
Notes: Thanks to Lindsey and Felicia as always. Thanks to dancinbutterfly for the fest, and the extensions *g*.
Prompt:130)Vince is suffering from amnesia following an accident. He puts the clues together-how protective E is, E moving across the country for him, the fact that they live and work together, the way everyone refers to them as the most important person in each others lives and comes to the obvious conclusion that they must be lovers. E reluctantly agrees not to correct him out of fear of causing more damage. Wacky hijinks ensue.
For entourage_fest
Vince had great balance. He really did. That's why nobody even considered a stunt man to do the scene--in hindsight, that might have been a mistake. Vince's last thought right before he fell off the rail and down the stairs was 'shit, this is really going to hurt'. Well, actually, his last thought was 'ow!' and then everything went black.
There was a lot of noise around him. Banging, muffled voices, thumping--oh wait, that was actually in his head. His head hurt and he didn't really want to open his eyes but there was a voice in his ear, pleading for him to wake up. It sounded pretty desperate. He cracked his lids tentatively, opening them wider when it didn't make his head hurt any more. A hand was stroking his hair softly, and another rested on his chest. Gorgeous blue eyes stared down at him, flooding with relief when they met his own.
"Thank God! Fuck man, you had us scared shitless. Are you okay?"
He thought about it for a moment. "Maybe?"
"Okay, just keep still. They've already called for an ambulance."
"What happened?"
Blue-eyes frowned. "You don't remember?"
He shook his head, then winced. Bad idea. It felt like a marching band practicing in there.
Blue-eyes peered at him. "Look at me."
That was no hardship at all. The blue eyes were attached to a cute face, and from what he could see a compact, tight body. It came in a little package, but a very nice one.
Blue-eyes' curious expression was again tinged with worry. "What's the last thing you remember?"
He tried but drew a blank. Nothing. Shit. He couldn't remember anything. Or rather he could remember things like he knew what a marching band was, but he couldn't remember stuff like who he was. That might be a problem. "Um, nothing?"
"Shit!" Blue-eyes stood up and he resisted the urge to pull him back down, missing the comforting hands instantly. "Hurry the fuck up with that ambulance!"
He wanted to say he didn't need an ambulance but when he shifted, a sharp pain shot through his arm and soon his wrist and his head were throbbing in rhythm. Maybe blue-eyes knew best.
The EMT was extremely attentive during the ride to the hospital, practically crawling onto the stretcher, despite the glares blue-eyes directed his way. Apparently his name was Oh my God!Vincent Chase and the guy--Davy--loved his 'stuff' whatever that meant. He slipped a piece of paper with his number on it into Vince's pocket before they unloaded him, and Vince had the feeling it was more than his 'stuff' Davy was interested in.
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A crowd showed up at the hospital. It turned out he was an actor and a lot of people with cameras were really interested in how much his head hurt.
It also turned out he had 'people'. An agent, Ari who looked at him like he wanted to cry, and a publicist, Shauna who did cry, just a little bit. Plus his big brother Johnny, best friend Turtle and blue-eyes, who was Eric and who was his manager and his best friend and from what he could tell pretty much ran his life.
The doctor was brisk but friendly, like some character from a sit-com--something else he remembered. Any minute now, he was going to get hit on the head again, the laugh track would kick in and his memory would come back. "Well Mr. Chase, your test results all look good. The wrist injury is just a minor sprain as we thought. As far as the head injury goes, frankly I can't see where the memory loss is coming from." He looked down at his chart again. "According to Mr. Murphy you were unconscious for less than a minute. There are no signs of a concussion. I'm inclined to think it's stress related, but I'd like to keep you over-night for observation in any case."
"Vin don't get stressed."
The doctor gave Turtle a polite smile, with a little edge apparent. He seemed to be gritting his teeth. "You're welcome to get a second opinion."
"Turtle, let the nice man with the college education do his job." The words were polite, Ari's snarl was not.
Turtle shrugged. "I'm just saying."
The first time the doctor had come in to see him, he'd tried to clear the room of at least some of them. The doctor explained that because Vince's amnesia kept him from being the sole decision maker about his medical future they needed at least one other person with him, but everybody couldn't stay. The doctor glanced over at Vince, who shrugged. It's not like he knew who the right person to stay would be. His brother he supposed, though he kind of wanted Eric as well. Johnny refused to leave anyway--said he was next of kin and he wasn't leaving is baby bro alone with Sweeney Todd.
Turtle's comment that "Sweeney Todd was a barber not a doctor you idiot!" lead to a history lesson from Johnny about barbers as surgeons, that was interrupted by Eric.
"You work in LA Dr. Epperson; you understand it's a little different for Vince than for your non-famous patients. Shauna and Ari need to be here to make decisions about Vince's career and Turtle is family. I've got Vince's power of attorney if there's a problem." It was all said in an 'I'm a reasonable guy but don't fuck with me tone' that Vince found kind of sexy.
The doctor frowned, turning back to him. "Is that okay with you Mr. Chase?"
Vince shrugged again. "Fine." He should probably be more concerned but the truth was it felt okay--these people around him all the time. It felt...well, it's not like he would know what 'normal' was for him, but yeah, it felt normal.
Since then, Dr. Epperson had barely tolerated dealing with an entire entourage for the process. "As of now I'm recommending that Mr. Chase get plenty of rest and that you give his memory a chance to come back on its own. I'd like to see him again in a week unless his condition alters before then."
There was a lot of furious arguing between Eric, Ari and Shauna once the doctor had been in. Most of it in lowered voices once the nurse threatened to kick them out. They didn't exactly consult him, and Vince thought maybe he should be bothered by that, but again he really wasn't. Mostly, he just enjoyed watching them-- especially Eric--whose brow crinkle and flush of anger Vince also found strangely appealing. Or well not strange really since he'd been finding Eric hot since he opened his eyes.
They all reluctantly cleared out after the last visiting hours ended. Vince wasn't really sick enough to convince the staff that someone needed to stay with him all night, though it wasn't from a lack of trying.
Eric was the last to leave. He reached out and squeezed Vince's shoulder, holding on for a long moment. "Everything's going to be okay."
Vince knew he should probably be freaking out like everyone else was, but he wasn't, mostly he thought because he got the feeling that if everything wasn't okay, Eric would do everything in his power to make it that way.
A cute night nurse showed up with a copy of US magazine with him on the cover and asked for an autograph. She gave him a shy smile. "I'm really not supposed to do this, I could get into big trouble, but I'm just such a huge fan."
Vince signed--no idea if the scrawl that came out was his regular signature or not-- and handed it back with a wink. "There's nothing wrong with being a little naughty. It keeps life interesting." He looked back down at the magazine cover. There was a picture of him and a huge headline proclaiming to know the story behind 'Aquaman's real life Aquagirl.' "As a matter of fact, do you think you could get me a copy of this? Normally I don't have the time to read all this stuff about me, but there's not a lot to do around here."
"Sure! I have some others too if you want to see them. Like I said, I'm big fan. I can run home on my break."
He felt a little guilty since he was pretty much going against the doctors orders and he had a feeling Eric and Ari and the rest of them would not be happy. They'd already decided how much to tell him--which was just enough so he could pretend like everything was okay in public, but not enough to give Vince any real ideas about himself. And though he might not be worried he was curious.
He flipped through the tabloids, trying to get a general idea of himself, not that he could tell what was true and what wasn't but through instinct alone he rejected some of the Vinces’ the magazines presented. For example, he was pretty sure--despite the Weekly World News' insistence--that he hadn't bred with any mermaids lately. The pictures were better--some of him with a beautiful older woman identified as his mother at the Aquaman premiere which-just Jesus, Aquaman? Really? Him with various gorgeous women, none of which stirred a real interest. Lots of him with Johnny, Turtle and E--those told a story he believed.
The Entertainment Weekly piece was the most revealing though and he couldn't believe they hadn't even mentioned his Oscar nomination. There were pictures and interviews, a story of the round about way he got the role in the first place and what he kept coming back to, the pictures of him and Eric. One where Eric was reaching up, straightening his tie, their eyes only on each other and a second where he was standing behind Eric, no space between them, mouth to his ear. Which, *huh*--he guessed that explained his urge to jump Eric whenever he was around Also, he should probably stop flirting with the nurses.
The magazines had been interesting but there were enough contradictions in them that he had to take everything they said with a grain of salt. He wanted the real story from somebody. He figured either Turtle or his brother for the soft sell. Sure enough, the next morning, after Eric left for a meeting and his brother left for some publicity for the TV. show he was on, Turtle was left to baby sit him. Again, he should probably be offended by the idea that he needed a baby sitter, but the truth was he wasn't crazy about the idea of being alone.
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Ari and Shauna were arguing again. It had been fun yesterday but he had to admit the doom and gloom talk this morning might be giving him a little bit of a headache, because really--he was rich and famous with a cute boyfriend and an Oscar nomination? The amnesia thing didn't really seem like a big deal compared to that. "So, I'm rich and famous and have a cute boyfriend and an Oscar nomination? The amnesia's not really a big deal guys." The lack of filter from his head to his mouth might be though.
He watched as two sets of accusing eyes turned towards Turtle who flushed. "Don't look at me. You said don't tell him anything and I didn't"
It was true. Turtle had been a lot harder to crack than he anticipated.
"We left him alone with you for two hours you moron." Shauna crossed her arms and glared at Turtle. "All of a sudden he has a boyfriend?"
Turtle shook his head, holding up his hands defensively. "He didn't ask, I didn't tell. He figured out...I mean assumed from the stuff he read."
"What stuff?"
"Guys?" They ignored him, circling Turtle like he was chum thrown in the sea.
"Guys!" Vince reached under the pillow and pulled out the stack of tabloids the night nurse had brought him. "These." That finally got their attention. Now that he had it though, Vince didn't know why he wanted it.
Ari rifled through them, picking out the National Enquirer's 'Who's Gay' issue. "Fuck my life! Just kill me now." He flipped open the magazine to the article, and shook his head. "No, seriously, can I get Doctor Kevorkian up in this joint?"
Shauna snatched the magazine out of Ari's hands. "Turtle, why the fuck are you letting him read this crap?"
"I didn't give them to him!" He hunched his shoulders. "I just didn't think it was a good idea to upset him right now. You're the ones that said the doctor knew so much."
"So you thought letting him think he was gay was a way to avoid stress?"
Vince raised a hand tentatively. "Um, I think I pretty much remember that I like boys all on my own."
"What the fuck, Vin?"
Shauna slapped him on the arm. "Hey, hey! Stress, Ari."
Turtle grinned at him conspiratorially, and then said. "Yeah, Ari. Don't stress the star."
Ari sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "Yeah, I'll be sure and tell them to put that on my grave stone when my heart explodes."
Shauna rolled her eyes. "That'll be a neat trick considering you're a heartless bastard." She turned to him. "Vince honey, you realize you can't go around saying stuff like that in public right?"
"Yeah, of course." He had amnesia, but he wasn't stupid. One of those things he knew was about 'the closet'. "But you knew right?" From the looks Ari and Shauna exchanged, he guessed the answer was no.
Vince looked at Turtle, worried. "You knew though?"
Turtle gave him a soft half smile. "Yeah, Vin. It's cool. I knew."
Thank God! He was starting to think he'd gotten it wrong--what these people meant to him.
Ari opened his mouth and closed it again. He looked like he was swallowing a lemon. He gave Vince a tight smile, and Vince thought Ari might be right about that heart exploding thing. Too bad. He liked Ari.
"Great! Who exactly is this mystery boyfriend? And if you tell me it's Billy Walsh I will have to gut you and leave you out for the seagulls, Turtle."
Vince had seen pictures of Billy Walsh in one of the magazines. The guy was kind of hot, in a crazy/cool way. Not really his type though. "E." Man they obviously had done a really good job of hiding things, but really when he thought about it, it seemed so obvious to him, he didn't see how Shauna and Ari hadn't known.
Ari gritted his teeth hard enough to make Vince wince, then gave him another bright, phony smile. "E. Of course it is."
"Of course it is what?"
Vince's stomach fluttered embarrassingly at the sight of Eric standing in the doorway. "Hi."
Eric grinned at him. "Hey. How you doing?"
"Oh my God!" Ari reached out and grabbed Eric's arm. "E, can I talk to you a minute? Privately?"
Eric rolled his eyes at Vince before he followed Ari into the hall.
"What! Are you fucking kidding me?"
Eric's shout was quickly shushed, and they could just barely hear the urgent whispers. Turtle glanced at him nervously and Vince shrugged. Ari and E had been arguing off and on pretty much the whole time they'd been there. Neither seemed the worse for where, so he figured they'd survive this one as well.
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It would be great to be home after two days in the hospital if he actually remembered home, and if he hadn't been tucked in his room for a nap like a five year old as soon as they got there. His attempts to rest lasted about thirty minutes, and he'd forced himself to last that long.
Eric was at the sink, rinsing out a glass when Vince wandered into the kitchen. He walked up behind him, pressing up against him. Eric turned around with a small squeak.
"I thought you were going to lie down."
He shrugged. "I was bored." He leaned down and kissed Eric. E was stiff against him for a moment then he gave a soft sigh and relaxed, opening his mouth to Vince's. Vince pulled away, trailing tiny kisses across E's chin and under his neck. He knew they'd probably done this a thousand times but it was all brand new to him now. He whispered that in E's ear, following the words with his tongue, and felt a shiver go through E's body.
"Do we role play?" He wiggled his brows suggestively. "We could pretend I'm a virgin."
Eric jerked back, flushing red. "Um, that's..." He cleared his throat and tried again, and Vince stifled a smile. It was cool he could still get him so hot and bothered after years together. "I don't really think the doctor wants you exerting yourself."
"How about I lay there then and let you do all the work." That actually sounded pretty hot.
Eric jerked, knocking a bowl off the counter. Fortunately it was plastic and didn't break. "Drugs!"
Vince frowned, confused. "What?"
"I mean drugstore. I need to go to the drugstore and get your prescription filled. The doctor didn't really want you alone, but Turtle should be here in a few minutes."
Then he was gone, leaving Vince staring after him, frown still in place. He'd practically burned rubber out of there. The drugs--sleeping pills and anti-anxiety meds--were only if he actually needed them, which considering his lack of freak out to this point, he doubted he would, so it wasn't urgent. He wondered what was going on. He bent down to pick up the bowl Eric had knocked over. He'd have to see if Turtle or Johnny knew anything.
Turtle was cagey, which made Vince sure something was up. He looked like he'd rather be anywhere but there. "You don't really talk about that stuff."
"But are we fighting or something?"
Turtle put a hand across his heart. "I swear I don't know. You're just really, really private."
Vince frowned. "We don't even talk about it around you guys?"
"Vin, I can honestly say I've never even seen the two of you kiss. Wanna play Fight Night?"
Vince let himself be distracted by the video game, muscle memory apparently kicking in well enough for him to beat Turtle's ass. He was slightly disgruntled that Turtle refused to share his joint because "Dude, you do not need to kill any brain cells right now. Besides, E would kill me." He didn't argue though because he was really looking forward to getting laid later and he didn't want to do anything to piss E off and hamper that.
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Eric swore they weren't fighting, but the rest of the day he jumped every time Vince came near him which for some reason Johnny and Turtle found extremely funny.
Vince watched Eric walk past his bedroom door with a frown. " Hey." Eric turned around, giving him a questioning look. "I thought you said we weren't fighting."
"We're not."
"Then where are you going? I know we have two bedrooms for show, but you don't actually use that one do you?"
Eric flushed. "Oh. I just... it's. I don't think it's a good idea for us to sleep together until you're better."
"I was hoping we'd be doing more than sleeping." He grinned. "Endorphins are a great healer."
Eric frowned. "Vince I'm not having sex with you. You don't even know me."
Vince resisted the urge to spout something sappy which might or might not be true, but still probably wouldn't get him into Eric's pants. "So it'll be like our first time again. Besides, don't tell me you've never had a one night stand before."
"Not with my best friend."
It was sad he found even Eric's 'ethics' cute. Man he must have it bad--especially since it meant he wasn't getting laid tonight or apparently for a while. Not that he wasn't going to try and change Eric's mind eventually. "Fine. No sex. Come to bed anyway."
"Vince you just got out of the hospital this morning."
"I feel fine. I keep telling all of you that." He dropped his head forward, looking up at Eric through his lashes. Funny how he still knew how to do this too. Flirt, pout, knew what effect it had. Another kind of muscle memory maybe. "Unless you think you can't control yourself."
"I can control myself fine." Eric crossed his arms with a frown.
"Good. Then there's no reason we can't sleep together. Besides, the doctor said I'm not supposed to be stressed and I will be veryveryvery stressed if I have to sleep alone."
Eric rolled his eyes, but he sighed and came back, pushing open the bedroom door. "You're not gonna be able to use that to get your way on everything you know."
He couldn't help a smug grin. Yeah, right.
"Oh, and for the record? Our first time sucked. We found the one thing you were bad at. I only tried again because I felt sorry for you."
Vince narrowed his eyes at Eric's earnest expression. "You're fucking with me."
Eric shrugged, his own grin a little bit smug. "That's for me to know, and you to remember."
Vince's revenge was to wait until Eric was settled in bed and wrap himself around him. He grinned to himself when Eric finally gave up trying to put some space between them, and wondered how long it would take him to wear Eric down.
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Vince was starting to think he should just give Ari and Shauna a room at the house since they were over for 'strategy' meetings every day anyway. It was like they were planning to invade a country or something. Come to think of it, Vince believed those two probably could.
"What about the movie?" It had only been a couple of days and Eric, Turtle and Johnny rotated out keeping him company but he was still starting to go a little stir-crazy.
Ari waved a hand dismissively. "They agreed to give you a couple of weeks. They'll shoot some filler."
"But I feel fine." He was really getting tired of saying that--particularly since everyone ignored it. "I can go back to work." There may have been a slight whine in his voice.
"Besides, it's not like baby bro needs to remember who he is to pretend to be somebody else." Johnny brought him a plate. "Try this, Vince."
Vince stifled a grimace as he tried to figure out what the shiny green substance on the plate was. He sat it down unobtrusively. He'd have to dispose of it later after Johnny left. His brother had been feeding him all kinds of weird things he found on the Internet. Stuff to stimulate his brain functions, reduce stress, stuff to keep him calm. If he had to drink one more cup of green tea he was going to puke--not to mention he felt like he'd gained ten pounds.
Shauna tapped something into her PDA, glancing up at him absently and then back down at the screen. "Right now it's not a good idea, honey. We don't really need to advertise this."
Ari shook his head. "Can you imagine the fucking nightmare? Leeches coming out of the woodwork."
"So I'm stuck under house arrest until my memory comes back?"
"Vince you're the kind of guy that remembers everybody. Not just names, but all kinds of random shit about them." Johnny draped an arm across his shoulder. "Trust me bro, people will notice."
He could feel himself pouting and he resisted the urge to storm off dramatically to his room. Vince didn't know if it was the actor thing or what, but he had the feeling he was used to getting what he wanted in life.
"Look Vinny, this thing isn't going to last. You'll be back to your old self in no time." Ari said it with a brisk certainty that almost had Vince convinced but he could see the worry in Ari's eyes.
"What happens if I'm not?"
"We'll worry about that if it happens." He tapped Vince lightly on the arm with his fist, and gave him a big smile that was only half fake. " Meanwhile enjoy the vacation."
So he was rich, famous, Oscar nominated with a cute boyfriend--who wasn't having sex with him-- and he was stuck under house arrest. It was a house most people would kill for sure but still this amnesia thing was starting to suck.
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It wasn't a vacation if you couldn't actually remember working. It was Eric's turn with him and Eric had tucked him on the sofa with a script to read and was working on his laptop. Vince read some of the script but he couldn't tell if it was good or not. Somehow he didn't think not having his memory had anything to do with that. He tossed it to the side with a sigh. "I'm bored."
Eric glanced over at him and rolled his eyes. "Vince there's a ton of stuff for you to do around here."
He pouted and flashed the puppy dog eyes until Eric sighed and closed his laptop. "Okay, fine. What do you want to do?"
He grinned.
"And not that. I told you..."
"I know. No sex. I promised. Let's play pool."
"Okay."
He widened his eyes innocently. "For favors."
Eric eyed him warily. "Okaay. At least I know you aren't hustling me. You're a terrible pool player, Vince."
He shrugged. "Lucky you."
Eric was right though. He'd already lost three games in a short time, and Eric wouldn't name anything he wanted.
"Don't worry about it. I'm keeping tally for when you memory comes back."
Still, the sight of Eric bent over the table lining up his shot was a verypleasant view, so it wasn't a total loss. "Did we ever fuck on this table?"
Eric missed his shot, ball careening into the side of the table and bouncing up and off, onto the floor. Eric glared at him and bent to pick it up and Vince grinned, far from bored now.
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Another day, another strategy meeting.
"Three days ago you said he couldn't leave the house." Eric crossed his arms, frowning at Shauna and Ari in turn.
Vince was settled on the sofa, watching. He always thought of Eric as his 'champion' in these little battle royals.
Shauna shrugged. "That was before the Tabs started speculating."
Ari nodded. "He can't stay locked up here forever, people are going to start thinking he's dead."
Shauna frowned. "Or worse, horribly disfigured."
"Just keep it simple. Go out to dinner somewhere. Act normal, come home."
Vince wrapped an arm around Eric's waist. "Hey E, now we can have a nice romantic dinner out." Eric snorted and rolled his eyes at him.
It was a toss up to who looked more horrified, Shauna or Ari. Ari was the one that finally spoke. "No! You take Turtle and Johnny with you."
Turtle, who had been pretty much ignoring them all glanced over. "Hey! I have plans with Jamie."
Ari gave Turtle the death stare and he sighed. "Fine, we can all go."
Johnny shrugged. "Yeah, sounds good. I'll bring Marissa."
"Is your latest skank at least presentable Johnny?"
"Fuck you, Ari."
"Oh, hey it'll be like couples dating." Vince said it just to see how many shades of red he could get Ari to turn.
Dinner was like crazy-town. People kept coming up to the table, some he recognized from the tabloids. He mostly got well wishes but a few snide remarks were slipped in there as well. Of course since he didn't know any of them, it sort of rolled off his back. it was nice actually.
Johnny ordered for him, telling him he knew all Vince's food allergies anyway. "Don't worry baby bro. I know just the thing to tempt your palate. Some whole grains, a nice oily fish, some good brain food, to help out with the ah..." He looked around and leaned in towards Vince. "Problem."
Eric refused to let him have anything to drink, and Turtle kept asking if he needed anything.
"You guys aren't gonna cut my food up too are you?"
Jamie laughed at that while Johnny's girlfriend piped up. "Aw, I think it's cute."
When his plate came and Johnny picked up his knife, for a minute Vince really did think he was going to cut it up for him, but he just wanted to test the tenderness and color of the meat which was almost as bad. It was all kind of disturbing, but Vince had to admit Marissa was right, it was kind of cute too. Especially when Eric let him steal sips of his drink, and pretended not to notice.
The whole time though there was a steady influx of traffic to their table. Everybody pretty much took it in stride though he noticed Marissa getting wide eyed and silent at a few of the well wishers. Trying to eat was bad enough, but when they left there were paparazzi everywhere outside the restaurant, shouting questions at him. His life really was like some kind of sitcom, something cool and a little crazy--definitely on cable.
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He straddled Eric on the couch, leaning down and nuzzling his neck. So far he'd made it to first base with Eric. At this rate, he'd be an old,old man before he actually got laid again.
"Vince!"
"Hey, this is not sex. This is just keeping in practice." He wiggled forward and Eric's eyes widened.
"You don't need practice." He rested his hands on Vince's hips, keeping him still.
Vince cocked an brow. "I'd hate to disappoint you for our second, first time." He wanted it to come out casually but from the frown on Eric's face, he didn't quite manage it.
"You're going to get your memory back."
"But what if I don't? Are we never going to have sex again? Are you going to dump me for somebody that knows who they are?" He wasn't worried exactly, he was just--okay worried might be the right word or, he might need to invest in a thesaurus.
Eric stilled under him, then he reached up and pulled Vince's face down to his, planting a soft kiss on his mouth. "I know who you are, Vince and even if--which it will--but even if your memory never comes back. That's enough."
That night, Eric was the one that pulled him close.
After two weeks, he went back to work on the movie. The insurance company had started squawking, and the tabloids were working their way into a frenzy. They had to tell the director and his co-stars, and because nothing is actually a secret in Hollywood, it leaked out, and was a late night punch line for a while until something more interesting happened. He had script notes to work from and Johnny had been right, not remembering didn't hurt his performance at all.
Dr. Epperson was still encouraging them to let his memory come back naturally. No one wanted to face the fact that at some point they were going to have to make a decision otherwise. For now though, Vince was content to wait. Being told wasn't the same as knowing, and despite his occasional whining, his life was pretty damn good.
There was still a no sex moratorium but every night they'd lie in bed and make out until they were at the danger zone, and then cuddle. And Vince wasn't ashamed to say it, especially since it made Eric blush whenever he did.
"I love you." The hand stroking his head paused for a moment, and then the soft motion continued. He waited for the usual 'how do you know?' but it didn't come.
"I love you too, Vince."
He smiled and closed his eyes.
When Vince woke up the next morning, the sun was shining through the window casting a golden glow to the room. Birds were singing outside, and E was curled up around him like he had been every night for the past month. Vince remembered everything. "Fuck! Eric!"
Eric mumbled something and shifted closer.
"E!"
He opened his eyes. "What, Vince?"
"For the record? Our first time was incredible. I made you come so hard you lost a few brain cells."
Eric sat up, staring at him. “Vince?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, Thank God!"
And he was flat on his back with Eric on top of him, mouth devouring his, hands scrabbling at Vince's t-shirt.
Afterward, they dozed for a while, then woke up and made love again.
"We should probably tell the others."
"Yeah. E, why didn't you say anything?"
"What could I say? The deal was, we'd never lie about us. Until now, no one ever asked us if we were fucking."
"Yeah, but I'm the one that drug us into the closet and bolted the door, and then this and I spill everything."
"Hey, you weren't alone."
He hadn't been since he was five years old. Even when he couldn't remember that, some part of him knew.
Eric leaned down and kissed Vince on the forehead. "I really missed you."
Vince took Eric's face in his hands, leaning forward until their foreheads met. He closed his eyes, memories dancing around him. Adding this new one. "I'm here now."
Fandom:Entourage
Pairing: Vince/Eric
Warnings:Spoilers through season five. Cliche fictional amnesia
Notes: Thanks to Lindsey and Felicia as always. Thanks to dancinbutterfly for the fest, and the extensions *g*.
Prompt:130)Vince is suffering from amnesia following an accident. He puts the clues together-how protective E is, E moving across the country for him, the fact that they live and work together, the way everyone refers to them as the most important person in each others lives and comes to the obvious conclusion that they must be lovers. E reluctantly agrees not to correct him out of fear of causing more damage. Wacky hijinks ensue.
For entourage_fest
Vince had great balance. He really did. That's why nobody even considered a stunt man to do the scene--in hindsight, that might have been a mistake. Vince's last thought right before he fell off the rail and down the stairs was 'shit, this is really going to hurt'. Well, actually, his last thought was 'ow!' and then everything went black.
There was a lot of noise around him. Banging, muffled voices, thumping--oh wait, that was actually in his head. His head hurt and he didn't really want to open his eyes but there was a voice in his ear, pleading for him to wake up. It sounded pretty desperate. He cracked his lids tentatively, opening them wider when it didn't make his head hurt any more. A hand was stroking his hair softly, and another rested on his chest. Gorgeous blue eyes stared down at him, flooding with relief when they met his own.
"Thank God! Fuck man, you had us scared shitless. Are you okay?"
He thought about it for a moment. "Maybe?"
"Okay, just keep still. They've already called for an ambulance."
"What happened?"
Blue-eyes frowned. "You don't remember?"
He shook his head, then winced. Bad idea. It felt like a marching band practicing in there.
Blue-eyes peered at him. "Look at me."
That was no hardship at all. The blue eyes were attached to a cute face, and from what he could see a compact, tight body. It came in a little package, but a very nice one.
Blue-eyes' curious expression was again tinged with worry. "What's the last thing you remember?"
He tried but drew a blank. Nothing. Shit. He couldn't remember anything. Or rather he could remember things like he knew what a marching band was, but he couldn't remember stuff like who he was. That might be a problem. "Um, nothing?"
"Shit!" Blue-eyes stood up and he resisted the urge to pull him back down, missing the comforting hands instantly. "Hurry the fuck up with that ambulance!"
He wanted to say he didn't need an ambulance but when he shifted, a sharp pain shot through his arm and soon his wrist and his head were throbbing in rhythm. Maybe blue-eyes knew best.
The EMT was extremely attentive during the ride to the hospital, practically crawling onto the stretcher, despite the glares blue-eyes directed his way. Apparently his name was Oh my God!Vincent Chase and the guy--Davy--loved his 'stuff' whatever that meant. He slipped a piece of paper with his number on it into Vince's pocket before they unloaded him, and Vince had the feeling it was more than his 'stuff' Davy was interested in.
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A crowd showed up at the hospital. It turned out he was an actor and a lot of people with cameras were really interested in how much his head hurt.
It also turned out he had 'people'. An agent, Ari who looked at him like he wanted to cry, and a publicist, Shauna who did cry, just a little bit. Plus his big brother Johnny, best friend Turtle and blue-eyes, who was Eric and who was his manager and his best friend and from what he could tell pretty much ran his life.
The doctor was brisk but friendly, like some character from a sit-com--something else he remembered. Any minute now, he was going to get hit on the head again, the laugh track would kick in and his memory would come back. "Well Mr. Chase, your test results all look good. The wrist injury is just a minor sprain as we thought. As far as the head injury goes, frankly I can't see where the memory loss is coming from." He looked down at his chart again. "According to Mr. Murphy you were unconscious for less than a minute. There are no signs of a concussion. I'm inclined to think it's stress related, but I'd like to keep you over-night for observation in any case."
"Vin don't get stressed."
The doctor gave Turtle a polite smile, with a little edge apparent. He seemed to be gritting his teeth. "You're welcome to get a second opinion."
"Turtle, let the nice man with the college education do his job." The words were polite, Ari's snarl was not.
Turtle shrugged. "I'm just saying."
The first time the doctor had come in to see him, he'd tried to clear the room of at least some of them. The doctor explained that because Vince's amnesia kept him from being the sole decision maker about his medical future they needed at least one other person with him, but everybody couldn't stay. The doctor glanced over at Vince, who shrugged. It's not like he knew who the right person to stay would be. His brother he supposed, though he kind of wanted Eric as well. Johnny refused to leave anyway--said he was next of kin and he wasn't leaving is baby bro alone with Sweeney Todd.
Turtle's comment that "Sweeney Todd was a barber not a doctor you idiot!" lead to a history lesson from Johnny about barbers as surgeons, that was interrupted by Eric.
"You work in LA Dr. Epperson; you understand it's a little different for Vince than for your non-famous patients. Shauna and Ari need to be here to make decisions about Vince's career and Turtle is family. I've got Vince's power of attorney if there's a problem." It was all said in an 'I'm a reasonable guy but don't fuck with me tone' that Vince found kind of sexy.
The doctor frowned, turning back to him. "Is that okay with you Mr. Chase?"
Vince shrugged again. "Fine." He should probably be more concerned but the truth was it felt okay--these people around him all the time. It felt...well, it's not like he would know what 'normal' was for him, but yeah, it felt normal.
Since then, Dr. Epperson had barely tolerated dealing with an entire entourage for the process. "As of now I'm recommending that Mr. Chase get plenty of rest and that you give his memory a chance to come back on its own. I'd like to see him again in a week unless his condition alters before then."
There was a lot of furious arguing between Eric, Ari and Shauna once the doctor had been in. Most of it in lowered voices once the nurse threatened to kick them out. They didn't exactly consult him, and Vince thought maybe he should be bothered by that, but again he really wasn't. Mostly, he just enjoyed watching them-- especially Eric--whose brow crinkle and flush of anger Vince also found strangely appealing. Or well not strange really since he'd been finding Eric hot since he opened his eyes.
They all reluctantly cleared out after the last visiting hours ended. Vince wasn't really sick enough to convince the staff that someone needed to stay with him all night, though it wasn't from a lack of trying.
Eric was the last to leave. He reached out and squeezed Vince's shoulder, holding on for a long moment. "Everything's going to be okay."
Vince knew he should probably be freaking out like everyone else was, but he wasn't, mostly he thought because he got the feeling that if everything wasn't okay, Eric would do everything in his power to make it that way.
A cute night nurse showed up with a copy of US magazine with him on the cover and asked for an autograph. She gave him a shy smile. "I'm really not supposed to do this, I could get into big trouble, but I'm just such a huge fan."
Vince signed--no idea if the scrawl that came out was his regular signature or not-- and handed it back with a wink. "There's nothing wrong with being a little naughty. It keeps life interesting." He looked back down at the magazine cover. There was a picture of him and a huge headline proclaiming to know the story behind 'Aquaman's real life Aquagirl.' "As a matter of fact, do you think you could get me a copy of this? Normally I don't have the time to read all this stuff about me, but there's not a lot to do around here."
"Sure! I have some others too if you want to see them. Like I said, I'm big fan. I can run home on my break."
He felt a little guilty since he was pretty much going against the doctors orders and he had a feeling Eric and Ari and the rest of them would not be happy. They'd already decided how much to tell him--which was just enough so he could pretend like everything was okay in public, but not enough to give Vince any real ideas about himself. And though he might not be worried he was curious.
He flipped through the tabloids, trying to get a general idea of himself, not that he could tell what was true and what wasn't but through instinct alone he rejected some of the Vinces’ the magazines presented. For example, he was pretty sure--despite the Weekly World News' insistence--that he hadn't bred with any mermaids lately. The pictures were better--some of him with a beautiful older woman identified as his mother at the Aquaman premiere which-just Jesus, Aquaman? Really? Him with various gorgeous women, none of which stirred a real interest. Lots of him with Johnny, Turtle and E--those told a story he believed.
The Entertainment Weekly piece was the most revealing though and he couldn't believe they hadn't even mentioned his Oscar nomination. There were pictures and interviews, a story of the round about way he got the role in the first place and what he kept coming back to, the pictures of him and Eric. One where Eric was reaching up, straightening his tie, their eyes only on each other and a second where he was standing behind Eric, no space between them, mouth to his ear. Which, *huh*--he guessed that explained his urge to jump Eric whenever he was around Also, he should probably stop flirting with the nurses.
The magazines had been interesting but there were enough contradictions in them that he had to take everything they said with a grain of salt. He wanted the real story from somebody. He figured either Turtle or his brother for the soft sell. Sure enough, the next morning, after Eric left for a meeting and his brother left for some publicity for the TV. show he was on, Turtle was left to baby sit him. Again, he should probably be offended by the idea that he needed a baby sitter, but the truth was he wasn't crazy about the idea of being alone.
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Ari and Shauna were arguing again. It had been fun yesterday but he had to admit the doom and gloom talk this morning might be giving him a little bit of a headache, because really--he was rich and famous with a cute boyfriend and an Oscar nomination? The amnesia thing didn't really seem like a big deal compared to that. "So, I'm rich and famous and have a cute boyfriend and an Oscar nomination? The amnesia's not really a big deal guys." The lack of filter from his head to his mouth might be though.
He watched as two sets of accusing eyes turned towards Turtle who flushed. "Don't look at me. You said don't tell him anything and I didn't"
It was true. Turtle had been a lot harder to crack than he anticipated.
"We left him alone with you for two hours you moron." Shauna crossed her arms and glared at Turtle. "All of a sudden he has a boyfriend?"
Turtle shook his head, holding up his hands defensively. "He didn't ask, I didn't tell. He figured out...I mean assumed from the stuff he read."
"What stuff?"
"Guys?" They ignored him, circling Turtle like he was chum thrown in the sea.
"Guys!" Vince reached under the pillow and pulled out the stack of tabloids the night nurse had brought him. "These." That finally got their attention. Now that he had it though, Vince didn't know why he wanted it.
Ari rifled through them, picking out the National Enquirer's 'Who's Gay' issue. "Fuck my life! Just kill me now." He flipped open the magazine to the article, and shook his head. "No, seriously, can I get Doctor Kevorkian up in this joint?"
Shauna snatched the magazine out of Ari's hands. "Turtle, why the fuck are you letting him read this crap?"
"I didn't give them to him!" He hunched his shoulders. "I just didn't think it was a good idea to upset him right now. You're the ones that said the doctor knew so much."
"So you thought letting him think he was gay was a way to avoid stress?"
Vince raised a hand tentatively. "Um, I think I pretty much remember that I like boys all on my own."
"What the fuck, Vin?"
Shauna slapped him on the arm. "Hey, hey! Stress, Ari."
Turtle grinned at him conspiratorially, and then said. "Yeah, Ari. Don't stress the star."
Ari sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "Yeah, I'll be sure and tell them to put that on my grave stone when my heart explodes."
Shauna rolled her eyes. "That'll be a neat trick considering you're a heartless bastard." She turned to him. "Vince honey, you realize you can't go around saying stuff like that in public right?"
"Yeah, of course." He had amnesia, but he wasn't stupid. One of those things he knew was about 'the closet'. "But you knew right?" From the looks Ari and Shauna exchanged, he guessed the answer was no.
Vince looked at Turtle, worried. "You knew though?"
Turtle gave him a soft half smile. "Yeah, Vin. It's cool. I knew."
Thank God! He was starting to think he'd gotten it wrong--what these people meant to him.
Ari opened his mouth and closed it again. He looked like he was swallowing a lemon. He gave Vince a tight smile, and Vince thought Ari might be right about that heart exploding thing. Too bad. He liked Ari.
"Great! Who exactly is this mystery boyfriend? And if you tell me it's Billy Walsh I will have to gut you and leave you out for the seagulls, Turtle."
Vince had seen pictures of Billy Walsh in one of the magazines. The guy was kind of hot, in a crazy/cool way. Not really his type though. "E." Man they obviously had done a really good job of hiding things, but really when he thought about it, it seemed so obvious to him, he didn't see how Shauna and Ari hadn't known.
Ari gritted his teeth hard enough to make Vince wince, then gave him another bright, phony smile. "E. Of course it is."
"Of course it is what?"
Vince's stomach fluttered embarrassingly at the sight of Eric standing in the doorway. "Hi."
Eric grinned at him. "Hey. How you doing?"
"Oh my God!" Ari reached out and grabbed Eric's arm. "E, can I talk to you a minute? Privately?"
Eric rolled his eyes at Vince before he followed Ari into the hall.
"What! Are you fucking kidding me?"
Eric's shout was quickly shushed, and they could just barely hear the urgent whispers. Turtle glanced at him nervously and Vince shrugged. Ari and E had been arguing off and on pretty much the whole time they'd been there. Neither seemed the worse for where, so he figured they'd survive this one as well.
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It would be great to be home after two days in the hospital if he actually remembered home, and if he hadn't been tucked in his room for a nap like a five year old as soon as they got there. His attempts to rest lasted about thirty minutes, and he'd forced himself to last that long.
Eric was at the sink, rinsing out a glass when Vince wandered into the kitchen. He walked up behind him, pressing up against him. Eric turned around with a small squeak.
"I thought you were going to lie down."
He shrugged. "I was bored." He leaned down and kissed Eric. E was stiff against him for a moment then he gave a soft sigh and relaxed, opening his mouth to Vince's. Vince pulled away, trailing tiny kisses across E's chin and under his neck. He knew they'd probably done this a thousand times but it was all brand new to him now. He whispered that in E's ear, following the words with his tongue, and felt a shiver go through E's body.
"Do we role play?" He wiggled his brows suggestively. "We could pretend I'm a virgin."
Eric jerked back, flushing red. "Um, that's..." He cleared his throat and tried again, and Vince stifled a smile. It was cool he could still get him so hot and bothered after years together. "I don't really think the doctor wants you exerting yourself."
"How about I lay there then and let you do all the work." That actually sounded pretty hot.
Eric jerked, knocking a bowl off the counter. Fortunately it was plastic and didn't break. "Drugs!"
Vince frowned, confused. "What?"
"I mean drugstore. I need to go to the drugstore and get your prescription filled. The doctor didn't really want you alone, but Turtle should be here in a few minutes."
Then he was gone, leaving Vince staring after him, frown still in place. He'd practically burned rubber out of there. The drugs--sleeping pills and anti-anxiety meds--were only if he actually needed them, which considering his lack of freak out to this point, he doubted he would, so it wasn't urgent. He wondered what was going on. He bent down to pick up the bowl Eric had knocked over. He'd have to see if Turtle or Johnny knew anything.
Turtle was cagey, which made Vince sure something was up. He looked like he'd rather be anywhere but there. "You don't really talk about that stuff."
"But are we fighting or something?"
Turtle put a hand across his heart. "I swear I don't know. You're just really, really private."
Vince frowned. "We don't even talk about it around you guys?"
"Vin, I can honestly say I've never even seen the two of you kiss. Wanna play Fight Night?"
Vince let himself be distracted by the video game, muscle memory apparently kicking in well enough for him to beat Turtle's ass. He was slightly disgruntled that Turtle refused to share his joint because "Dude, you do not need to kill any brain cells right now. Besides, E would kill me." He didn't argue though because he was really looking forward to getting laid later and he didn't want to do anything to piss E off and hamper that.
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Eric swore they weren't fighting, but the rest of the day he jumped every time Vince came near him which for some reason Johnny and Turtle found extremely funny.
Vince watched Eric walk past his bedroom door with a frown. " Hey." Eric turned around, giving him a questioning look. "I thought you said we weren't fighting."
"We're not."
"Then where are you going? I know we have two bedrooms for show, but you don't actually use that one do you?"
Eric flushed. "Oh. I just... it's. I don't think it's a good idea for us to sleep together until you're better."
"I was hoping we'd be doing more than sleeping." He grinned. "Endorphins are a great healer."
Eric frowned. "Vince I'm not having sex with you. You don't even know me."
Vince resisted the urge to spout something sappy which might or might not be true, but still probably wouldn't get him into Eric's pants. "So it'll be like our first time again. Besides, don't tell me you've never had a one night stand before."
"Not with my best friend."
It was sad he found even Eric's 'ethics' cute. Man he must have it bad--especially since it meant he wasn't getting laid tonight or apparently for a while. Not that he wasn't going to try and change Eric's mind eventually. "Fine. No sex. Come to bed anyway."
"Vince you just got out of the hospital this morning."
"I feel fine. I keep telling all of you that." He dropped his head forward, looking up at Eric through his lashes. Funny how he still knew how to do this too. Flirt, pout, knew what effect it had. Another kind of muscle memory maybe. "Unless you think you can't control yourself."
"I can control myself fine." Eric crossed his arms with a frown.
"Good. Then there's no reason we can't sleep together. Besides, the doctor said I'm not supposed to be stressed and I will be veryveryvery stressed if I have to sleep alone."
Eric rolled his eyes, but he sighed and came back, pushing open the bedroom door. "You're not gonna be able to use that to get your way on everything you know."
He couldn't help a smug grin. Yeah, right.
"Oh, and for the record? Our first time sucked. We found the one thing you were bad at. I only tried again because I felt sorry for you."
Vince narrowed his eyes at Eric's earnest expression. "You're fucking with me."
Eric shrugged, his own grin a little bit smug. "That's for me to know, and you to remember."
Vince's revenge was to wait until Eric was settled in bed and wrap himself around him. He grinned to himself when Eric finally gave up trying to put some space between them, and wondered how long it would take him to wear Eric down.
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Vince was starting to think he should just give Ari and Shauna a room at the house since they were over for 'strategy' meetings every day anyway. It was like they were planning to invade a country or something. Come to think of it, Vince believed those two probably could.
"What about the movie?" It had only been a couple of days and Eric, Turtle and Johnny rotated out keeping him company but he was still starting to go a little stir-crazy.
Ari waved a hand dismissively. "They agreed to give you a couple of weeks. They'll shoot some filler."
"But I feel fine." He was really getting tired of saying that--particularly since everyone ignored it. "I can go back to work." There may have been a slight whine in his voice.
"Besides, it's not like baby bro needs to remember who he is to pretend to be somebody else." Johnny brought him a plate. "Try this, Vince."
Vince stifled a grimace as he tried to figure out what the shiny green substance on the plate was. He sat it down unobtrusively. He'd have to dispose of it later after Johnny left. His brother had been feeding him all kinds of weird things he found on the Internet. Stuff to stimulate his brain functions, reduce stress, stuff to keep him calm. If he had to drink one more cup of green tea he was going to puke--not to mention he felt like he'd gained ten pounds.
Shauna tapped something into her PDA, glancing up at him absently and then back down at the screen. "Right now it's not a good idea, honey. We don't really need to advertise this."
Ari shook his head. "Can you imagine the fucking nightmare? Leeches coming out of the woodwork."
"So I'm stuck under house arrest until my memory comes back?"
"Vince you're the kind of guy that remembers everybody. Not just names, but all kinds of random shit about them." Johnny draped an arm across his shoulder. "Trust me bro, people will notice."
He could feel himself pouting and he resisted the urge to storm off dramatically to his room. Vince didn't know if it was the actor thing or what, but he had the feeling he was used to getting what he wanted in life.
"Look Vinny, this thing isn't going to last. You'll be back to your old self in no time." Ari said it with a brisk certainty that almost had Vince convinced but he could see the worry in Ari's eyes.
"What happens if I'm not?"
"We'll worry about that if it happens." He tapped Vince lightly on the arm with his fist, and gave him a big smile that was only half fake. " Meanwhile enjoy the vacation."
So he was rich, famous, Oscar nominated with a cute boyfriend--who wasn't having sex with him-- and he was stuck under house arrest. It was a house most people would kill for sure but still this amnesia thing was starting to suck.
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It wasn't a vacation if you couldn't actually remember working. It was Eric's turn with him and Eric had tucked him on the sofa with a script to read and was working on his laptop. Vince read some of the script but he couldn't tell if it was good or not. Somehow he didn't think not having his memory had anything to do with that. He tossed it to the side with a sigh. "I'm bored."
Eric glanced over at him and rolled his eyes. "Vince there's a ton of stuff for you to do around here."
He pouted and flashed the puppy dog eyes until Eric sighed and closed his laptop. "Okay, fine. What do you want to do?"
He grinned.
"And not that. I told you..."
"I know. No sex. I promised. Let's play pool."
"Okay."
He widened his eyes innocently. "For favors."
Eric eyed him warily. "Okaay. At least I know you aren't hustling me. You're a terrible pool player, Vince."
He shrugged. "Lucky you."
Eric was right though. He'd already lost three games in a short time, and Eric wouldn't name anything he wanted.
"Don't worry about it. I'm keeping tally for when you memory comes back."
Still, the sight of Eric bent over the table lining up his shot was a verypleasant view, so it wasn't a total loss. "Did we ever fuck on this table?"
Eric missed his shot, ball careening into the side of the table and bouncing up and off, onto the floor. Eric glared at him and bent to pick it up and Vince grinned, far from bored now.
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Another day, another strategy meeting.
"Three days ago you said he couldn't leave the house." Eric crossed his arms, frowning at Shauna and Ari in turn.
Vince was settled on the sofa, watching. He always thought of Eric as his 'champion' in these little battle royals.
Shauna shrugged. "That was before the Tabs started speculating."
Ari nodded. "He can't stay locked up here forever, people are going to start thinking he's dead."
Shauna frowned. "Or worse, horribly disfigured."
"Just keep it simple. Go out to dinner somewhere. Act normal, come home."
Vince wrapped an arm around Eric's waist. "Hey E, now we can have a nice romantic dinner out." Eric snorted and rolled his eyes at him.
It was a toss up to who looked more horrified, Shauna or Ari. Ari was the one that finally spoke. "No! You take Turtle and Johnny with you."
Turtle, who had been pretty much ignoring them all glanced over. "Hey! I have plans with Jamie."
Ari gave Turtle the death stare and he sighed. "Fine, we can all go."
Johnny shrugged. "Yeah, sounds good. I'll bring Marissa."
"Is your latest skank at least presentable Johnny?"
"Fuck you, Ari."
"Oh, hey it'll be like couples dating." Vince said it just to see how many shades of red he could get Ari to turn.
Dinner was like crazy-town. People kept coming up to the table, some he recognized from the tabloids. He mostly got well wishes but a few snide remarks were slipped in there as well. Of course since he didn't know any of them, it sort of rolled off his back. it was nice actually.
Johnny ordered for him, telling him he knew all Vince's food allergies anyway. "Don't worry baby bro. I know just the thing to tempt your palate. Some whole grains, a nice oily fish, some good brain food, to help out with the ah..." He looked around and leaned in towards Vince. "Problem."
Eric refused to let him have anything to drink, and Turtle kept asking if he needed anything.
"You guys aren't gonna cut my food up too are you?"
Jamie laughed at that while Johnny's girlfriend piped up. "Aw, I think it's cute."
When his plate came and Johnny picked up his knife, for a minute Vince really did think he was going to cut it up for him, but he just wanted to test the tenderness and color of the meat which was almost as bad. It was all kind of disturbing, but Vince had to admit Marissa was right, it was kind of cute too. Especially when Eric let him steal sips of his drink, and pretended not to notice.
The whole time though there was a steady influx of traffic to their table. Everybody pretty much took it in stride though he noticed Marissa getting wide eyed and silent at a few of the well wishers. Trying to eat was bad enough, but when they left there were paparazzi everywhere outside the restaurant, shouting questions at him. His life really was like some kind of sitcom, something cool and a little crazy--definitely on cable.
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He straddled Eric on the couch, leaning down and nuzzling his neck. So far he'd made it to first base with Eric. At this rate, he'd be an old,old man before he actually got laid again.
"Vince!"
"Hey, this is not sex. This is just keeping in practice." He wiggled forward and Eric's eyes widened.
"You don't need practice." He rested his hands on Vince's hips, keeping him still.
Vince cocked an brow. "I'd hate to disappoint you for our second, first time." He wanted it to come out casually but from the frown on Eric's face, he didn't quite manage it.
"You're going to get your memory back."
"But what if I don't? Are we never going to have sex again? Are you going to dump me for somebody that knows who they are?" He wasn't worried exactly, he was just--okay worried might be the right word or, he might need to invest in a thesaurus.
Eric stilled under him, then he reached up and pulled Vince's face down to his, planting a soft kiss on his mouth. "I know who you are, Vince and even if--which it will--but even if your memory never comes back. That's enough."
That night, Eric was the one that pulled him close.
After two weeks, he went back to work on the movie. The insurance company had started squawking, and the tabloids were working their way into a frenzy. They had to tell the director and his co-stars, and because nothing is actually a secret in Hollywood, it leaked out, and was a late night punch line for a while until something more interesting happened. He had script notes to work from and Johnny had been right, not remembering didn't hurt his performance at all.
Dr. Epperson was still encouraging them to let his memory come back naturally. No one wanted to face the fact that at some point they were going to have to make a decision otherwise. For now though, Vince was content to wait. Being told wasn't the same as knowing, and despite his occasional whining, his life was pretty damn good.
There was still a no sex moratorium but every night they'd lie in bed and make out until they were at the danger zone, and then cuddle. And Vince wasn't ashamed to say it, especially since it made Eric blush whenever he did.
"I love you." The hand stroking his head paused for a moment, and then the soft motion continued. He waited for the usual 'how do you know?' but it didn't come.
"I love you too, Vince."
He smiled and closed his eyes.
When Vince woke up the next morning, the sun was shining through the window casting a golden glow to the room. Birds were singing outside, and E was curled up around him like he had been every night for the past month. Vince remembered everything. "Fuck! Eric!"
Eric mumbled something and shifted closer.
"E!"
He opened his eyes. "What, Vince?"
"For the record? Our first time was incredible. I made you come so hard you lost a few brain cells."
Eric sat up, staring at him. “Vince?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, Thank God!"
And he was flat on his back with Eric on top of him, mouth devouring his, hands scrabbling at Vince's t-shirt.
Afterward, they dozed for a while, then woke up and made love again.
"We should probably tell the others."
"Yeah. E, why didn't you say anything?"
"What could I say? The deal was, we'd never lie about us. Until now, no one ever asked us if we were fucking."
"Yeah, but I'm the one that drug us into the closet and bolted the door, and then this and I spill everything."
"Hey, you weren't alone."
He hadn't been since he was five years old. Even when he couldn't remember that, some part of him knew.
Eric leaned down and kissed Vince on the forehead. "I really missed you."
Vince took Eric's face in his hands, leaning forward until their foreheads met. He closed his eyes, memories dancing around him. Adding this new one. "I'm here now."