fic: remember to forget (broadway rpf, borle/bundy, borle/foster)
Title: Remember to Forget
Author: empressearwig
Rating: G
Pairings: Christian Borle/Laura Bell Bundy, Christian Borle/Sutton Foster
Disclaimer: Don't know them, don't sue me.
Spoilers: All based on rumor and innuendo.
Author's Notes: Written for backstagetales Valentine's Day "Guess the Author" challenge. Thanks to normative_jean for trying to help me make this shorter. I'll notice everyone else ignoring word limits next time, I promise.
Author's Notes the second: I wrote this February 2008, so it is very, very old.
Christian never liked Valentine’s Day.
Sutton had loved it, and seeing her enormous smile whenever he went all-out had been reward enough to indulge in what he thought was a crass, commercial holiday.
Christian had always been too cynical for Sutton.
Last year, he’d practically been on his honeymoon, and now he was in the middle of a divorce.
Happy Valentine’s Day to him.
*
Everybody else only had to live in a pink-colored world during the holiday, but six days of Christian’s week were filled with the pinkest musical in history. Seeing the rest of the world take on the intimately familiar color barely fazed him.
It was the conversations backstage that made him realize Valentine’s was approaching. He should have remembered on his own, but Laura hadn’t said anything. He still thought of it as Sutton’s holiday, not something that belonged to him and someone else.
He realized that probably wasn’t the right attitude to have about his almost-ex. But he didn’t know how to erase five years of Sutton’s smiles when he brought her flowers to celebrate a holiday she knew he hated.
For the days leading up to Valentine’s, every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was that smile.
*
Just before the holiday, he wandered into a tiny florist’s in Times Square with the intention of ordering flowers for Laura. At the very least, he had to do that. Having trouble letting go of the past didn’t mean that he could ignore the woman he was with now, especially on this holiday.
Ordering Laura flowers was easy. On the rare occasions he’d had reason to send them before, they’d always been pink tulips; he saw no reason to change that now. She loved them, and the history of them would matter to her.
It had always mattered to Sutton.
On his way out of the store, he saw a display of multi-colored carnations, and paused. Years before, when he and Sutton had just gotten together, he couldn’t afford the lavish flowers the holiday called for; so he’d bought her carnations so as to not go to her empty-handed. After that, even when he bought her other things, at some point during the holiday he’d bring her a bouquet of carnations. She always smiled her brightest smile when she saw them.
On a whim, he returned to the counter and purchased a dozen carnations to be delivered to the condo that he no longer called home. When the salesclerk asked if he wanted a card, he declined.
She’d know who they were from.
*
The holiday itself went well enough. Laura thanked him profusely for the flowers, though she seemed shocked that he remembered at all. Their relationship was never really hearts and flowers, so the sudden injection of them surprised her (and him). They made plans for a late dinner at home after the show, but once it ended, Christian said he’d meet her there and slipped out into the Manhattan night.
It’s easy for him to be anonymous on a dark street, even one filled with emerging theater audiences. He knew he didn’t look famous, and for once he’s glad for that.
He told himself he was just walking, but when he wandered down Broadway, he realized he always knew where he was headed. When he’s outside the Hilton, waiting for Sutton at the stage door, he knew he was making a mistake.
But he couldn’t help himself, and so he watched from across the street as Sutton signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans. He watched her smile and laugh, and remembered when she did that for him.
He smiled wistfully, and headed back to Broadway. He couldn’t remember the past any longer, not when the future he wanted was waiting for him.
He’d always buy Sutton flowers on Valentine’s Day, though. Eventually, he’ll just stop sending them.
Author: empressearwig
Rating: G
Pairings: Christian Borle/Laura Bell Bundy, Christian Borle/Sutton Foster
Disclaimer: Don't know them, don't sue me.
Spoilers: All based on rumor and innuendo.
Author's Notes: Written for backstagetales Valentine's Day "Guess the Author" challenge. Thanks to normative_jean for trying to help me make this shorter. I'll notice everyone else ignoring word limits next time, I promise.
Author's Notes the second: I wrote this February 2008, so it is very, very old.
Christian never liked Valentine’s Day.
Sutton had loved it, and seeing her enormous smile whenever he went all-out had been reward enough to indulge in what he thought was a crass, commercial holiday.
Christian had always been too cynical for Sutton.
Last year, he’d practically been on his honeymoon, and now he was in the middle of a divorce.
Happy Valentine’s Day to him.
*
Everybody else only had to live in a pink-colored world during the holiday, but six days of Christian’s week were filled with the pinkest musical in history. Seeing the rest of the world take on the intimately familiar color barely fazed him.
It was the conversations backstage that made him realize Valentine’s was approaching. He should have remembered on his own, but Laura hadn’t said anything. He still thought of it as Sutton’s holiday, not something that belonged to him and someone else.
He realized that probably wasn’t the right attitude to have about his almost-ex. But he didn’t know how to erase five years of Sutton’s smiles when he brought her flowers to celebrate a holiday she knew he hated.
For the days leading up to Valentine’s, every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was that smile.
*
Just before the holiday, he wandered into a tiny florist’s in Times Square with the intention of ordering flowers for Laura. At the very least, he had to do that. Having trouble letting go of the past didn’t mean that he could ignore the woman he was with now, especially on this holiday.
Ordering Laura flowers was easy. On the rare occasions he’d had reason to send them before, they’d always been pink tulips; he saw no reason to change that now. She loved them, and the history of them would matter to her.
It had always mattered to Sutton.
On his way out of the store, he saw a display of multi-colored carnations, and paused. Years before, when he and Sutton had just gotten together, he couldn’t afford the lavish flowers the holiday called for; so he’d bought her carnations so as to not go to her empty-handed. After that, even when he bought her other things, at some point during the holiday he’d bring her a bouquet of carnations. She always smiled her brightest smile when she saw them.
On a whim, he returned to the counter and purchased a dozen carnations to be delivered to the condo that he no longer called home. When the salesclerk asked if he wanted a card, he declined.
She’d know who they were from.
*
The holiday itself went well enough. Laura thanked him profusely for the flowers, though she seemed shocked that he remembered at all. Their relationship was never really hearts and flowers, so the sudden injection of them surprised her (and him). They made plans for a late dinner at home after the show, but once it ended, Christian said he’d meet her there and slipped out into the Manhattan night.
It’s easy for him to be anonymous on a dark street, even one filled with emerging theater audiences. He knew he didn’t look famous, and for once he’s glad for that.
He told himself he was just walking, but when he wandered down Broadway, he realized he always knew where he was headed. When he’s outside the Hilton, waiting for Sutton at the stage door, he knew he was making a mistake.
But he couldn’t help himself, and so he watched from across the street as Sutton signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans. He watched her smile and laugh, and remembered when she did that for him.
He smiled wistfully, and headed back to Broadway. He couldn’t remember the past any longer, not when the future he wanted was waiting for him.
He’d always buy Sutton flowers on Valentine’s Day, though. Eventually, he’ll just stop sending them.