I Dream of Jensen (Part Seven)
Title: I Dream of Jensen
Author: queeberquabbler
Fic Prompt: Disney's Aladdin
Pairing: J2
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 for swearing. No warnings otherwise--it's your standard J2 :)
Disclaimer: See Master Post.
Eric K. Sullivan is pacing a canyon into the floor of his studio office. He’s been in stressful situations before, but this time, he’s sure he’s going to have a heart attack by the end of the day. Stopping at his desk, he picks up the schedule for today’s absolutely last minute auditions. To his dismay, there are still only three names on the list. They’ve already seen the first two, and they were terrible.
“No, terrible is putting it too nicely,” he mutters as he thinks back. “They sucked worse than the suckiest thing that ever sucked.” His head drops, and he rubs the heels of his palms over his eyes. “One guy left. Last fucking chance to get this right.” He looks up at the ceiling. “Please, throw me a bone,” he begs of God. “I don’t want to get half our budget sliced just because we can’t find a good actor! So many good people would lose their jobs…I just…look, I’m begging you here, all right? Please, PLEASE let this last one work out.”
“You really think He’s listening?” asks a voice at the door-one that Eric REALLY does not need to hear right now.
“I hope He is,” Eric answers carefully, and he plants a smile on his face as David walks into the room. The tension between the two men is palpable-thick mortar separating heavy bricks. “What is it, David?” Eric asks at last, just wanting to get whatever the hell this is going to be over with.
“I was in my trailer, thinking about your little casting problem, and I had an idea.”
Eric scoffs at that. “I’ll bet.” He sits down and motions for David to do the same. “For the last time, I’m not dumping Malakai until all the auditions are over. And there’s one guy left, and he’ll be here any minute, so I really-”
David holds his hand up in a stop gesture, and Eric shuts his mouth, though he drops an indignant glower at the actor. “I don’t want you to get rid of Maluku,” David informs his boss. Eric, of course, is stunned.
“Okay, that’s a new one… And it’s Malakai, by the way.”
David shrugs. “Like I said, I’ve been thinking it all over and well…” He lets out a little self-aware laugh. “I think I was wrong. There, I said it. Hope I just made your day.”
“It’s nice to hear, David, but I know there’s an ‘and’ or a ‘but’ coming up…”
David smiles. “But,” he deigns with a bow of his head, “I think there’s an easier way to cast the role.”
Eric holds his hands out like he’s welcome to all suggestions. “I’ll bite. What’s your idea?”
“Let me play him.”
Eric smirks for a moment before he shakes his head. “Wow. So, what-you want to stop playing Seth so you can take on the new role?”
“No, I want to play BOTH roles.” David smiles through Sullivan’s laugh of dismissal. “Just hear me out,” David insists. “Think about it: what if the new Mage is Seth’s twin brother?”
“Hey look, a shark just jumped over our show.”
“Okay, well, maybe he’s the evil side of Seth? He got split off when some spell went awry.”
“Just jumped again.”
“Or perhaps the new Mage is actually Seth, but from another dimension?”
“Jesus, you really want to sink this show, don’t you!”
“I want to SAVE this show,” David snaps, unable to keep his anger in check any longer. “And if you insist on keeping Maluku-”
“Malakai!”
David waves the name out of the air. “Whatever, who the hell cares! Either you let me play the role or you forget about it once and for all.”
Eric pounds his fist on the desk and stands up. “You just don’t know when to shut up, do you,” he seethes.
David stands up and leans across the desk until he’s in Eric’s face. “That’s because everything I say is important. And you WILL listen to me.” He twirls his snake ring, and his eyes blaze with red fire. Eric’s expression falls blank, and his own eyes glaze over as David’s will burns into his very being. “You will give me the role of Maluku,” David orders.
“Yes, David…you will play…” Eric frowns and snaps out of it for a second. “But you can’t even remember the character’s name!”
“You WILL give the role to me!” David demands, leaning right into him. Eric nods slowly.
“I will give the role…to…”
The sound of trumpets fills the air, and it takes both men a moment to realize that it’s the ring tone of Eric’s cell phone. David backs off as Eric answers the call. “Yeah? Ooh, great!” He checks his watch as he nods along with what he’s hearing. “Great. Be there in a sec.” He pockets his phone and heads toward the door.
“We’re not done yet, Eric,” David hisses, but he gets ignored. Eric jogs over to where a gaggle of crew members have gathered, and David rolls his eyes but follows at a distance.
“Hey!” Eric says as he reaches the group. He holds out his hand to the person at the center. “I’m Eric K. Sullivan, series creator and head writer. And you must be Tristan Leck!”
The tall young man returns a strong handshake. “That’s me. This is my handler, Jensen,” he nods to the slightly shorter man next to him, and Eric shakes his hand as well.
“Nice to meet you both. This is Traci, she’s our Casting Director. Next to her is Sam-she plays Tasha on the show, and next to HER is Aldis. He plays John.” Handshakes and greetings all around. “All right, let’s go to the casting office. Traci, if you’ll lead the way…”
David, who is still watching from a distance, watches the group walk away. One of the new people remains behind, however, and the other newbie notices and walks back. David moves a little closer and ducks down behind a cart to listen.
“You’re not coming with me?”
“Hey, it’s your audition, not mine. I’ll go rustle up some lunch while you’re in there.”
The tall man nods, appearing a bit sad, but the shorter man claps him on the shoulder. “Knock ‘em dead, Tristan. I’ll save you a cookie.”
That gets a smile out of the other one. The men go their separate ways, and David gets up to follow when-
“Ahem.”
-he is spotted by someone. He turns around and comes face to face with…some guy. He’s vaguely familiar, definitely works around here, but David’s never bothered to learn his name. He’s a Nobody, after all, so why should he?
“Don’t you have work to do?” David asks in his snobbiest tone.
“Don’t you?” the PA fires back. David rolls his eyes and shoves past him, making sure to bang his shoulder into the younger man’s. He smirks when he hears the cry of pain behind him.
“Nice,” the PA calls. “Real mature.” He rubs his shoulder-that really fucking hurt.
“Hey, you all right?”
The PA looks up at the face of the new guy’s helper, who is offering him a small bag of ice. The PA readily accepts it. “Yeah,” he replies, setting the bag on his aching shoulder. “Thanks, man.”
“You’re welcome.” He holds out his hand. “I’m Jensen.”
“Chad,” the other answers as he shakes. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” Jensen watches David disappear down a corridor behind Chad and frowns. “So, uh, what’s the deal with that guy? Bad depth perception?”
Chad snerks, “Nah, he’s just your typical Grade-A Asshole. Thinks he’s better than everybody else.”
Jensen nods, though his frown grows deeper. “Why the hell do you put up with it?”
“Don’t really have a choice,” Chad shrugs. “David’s the star of the show. We’re stuck with him.”
Shit, Jensen thinks, shutting his eyes. He was hoping that the douchebag that just walked through here was only the star’s stunt double, not David himself. Why does Jared like such a jerk? he can’t help but wonder.
“Hey, you hungry?” Chad asks, and Jensen blinks his eyes open at the question.
“Always,” he smiles. “I was gonna grab some lunch for me and Tristan, anyway.”
“Well here, I’ll show you where the caf is. Then you can tell me what exactly a handler does.” Chad grins when his statement makes his new acquaintance snort.
“It isn’t like I’m the guy’s hand holder, if that’s what you’re implying,” Jensen answers, grinning right back at Chad. “I just take care of things for him, y’know? I handle this, I handle that.”
“Ah. Gotcha.”
They walk down the hallway next to the one David went into, and Jensen considers splitting himself into two so one of him can go spy on the guy and make sure Jared is all right. But he decides against it-he knows Jared wants to nail this audition, and he doesn’t want to take any chances of screwing anything up for his master. He’ll just have to find some other way to learn more about David. The light bulb goes on over his head, and he turns back to Chad.
“So tell me more about that asshole.”
Chad laughs. “Why? You like hearing stories that make you want to punch the wall?”
Jensen punches his fist into his palm. “Absolutely.”
They arrive in the caf, and Chad points to an empty table. “Then save us a seat, Jensen, and get comfy, ‘cause I got about a million of ‘em.”
David knows he’s in trouble the moment he hears the group laugh. It isn’t the kind of laugh one makes when someone is screwing up their audition-no, it’s bright and happy. That means they like the new guy.
That means David has his work cut out for him.
Easing the door open, he steps into the casting office just as Eric directs them to read from another scene. Traci smiles and waves for David to come in and join them. David walks to the table where Traci is sitting with Eric, and Traci stands up as he arrives.
“David, I’d like you to meet Tristan Leck.” She beckons Tristan over and the young man strides up to the desk and shakes David’s hand. “Tristan, this is David Boreanaz, though I’m SURE I didn’t need to tell you that.”
“No, ma’am, not at all.” He smiles at David and adds, “I’m a huge fan of your work. I’ve seen everything you’ve ever been in.”
“Wow, everything?” David chuckles. “Even the shitty stuff?” Traci and the others laugh-even Eric coughs up a polite guffaw. But the new guy smiles even more brightly and shakes his head.
“There wasn’t ANY shitty stuff. It was all great, I mean it.”
David nods and smiles back. “Thanks, man.” Tristan turns away to get back to the scene, and David twirls his ring several times as he fights to keep that completely fake cheer on his face. Like I need your pity OR your compliments, he seethes, but he manages to sit down and keep quiet.
“We were just about to have him read through the meet and greet scene with Aldis and Sam. You want us to go back to his first meeting with your character?”
“No, no, that’s fine. Let’s just stick with this one.” David nods for them to go ahead, and he crosses his arms and sits back in his chair. He’s going to enjoy going Simon Cowell on this amateur’s ass.
But five minutes later, David is speechless. The kid. Is. GOOD. Better than good, actually-he’s a natural. And everyone else in the room knows it, too. Sam’s already leaning in to give her new co-star a peck on the cheek, and Aldis is behind him, shaking him by the shoulders as he welcomes him to the show. Then Eric gets up and embraces him like he’s his own goddamn son. David’s blood sizzles through his veins, and he has to hide his hand in his pocket before his ring’s glowing eyes relay his own anger.
“David?”
The addressed looks up at Tristan, who is standing in front of him, again with his damn hand out for a shake. “I’m really looking forward to working with you,” he smiles, stupid dimples making David want to puke. But he holds it in and shakes Tristan’s hand.
“Yeah, me too! See ya bright and early tomorrow.”
“Actually,” Eric speaks up, “Tristan’s going to start shooting some of his solo stuff today. After lunch and about a zillion introductions, of course.”
Tristan positively beams down at his new boss. “Sounds great! Thank you so much for this-you’ve made my day. My month! Hell, my YEAR!”
Aldis whistles while Sam and Traci coo over the polite young man, and they all lead Tristan out of the room. Eric, clearly in a dynamite mood, clamps his hand on David’s shoulder. “We found him, can you believe it?” he grins. “We finally fucking FOUND him!” David just gives him a stiff nod and an even stiffer smile, but Eric is too elated to notice. He leaves David alone in the room, and a few seconds later, David hears his boss announce Tristan as their new star. The place erupts in cheers, and David…well, David just plain erupts. He sets his hand back on the table, and the surface starts to bubble from the heat.
You just called him the new star. The table cracks in several places. I’M the star, Sullivan, and you fucking well KNOW it! He kicks his chair, and both it and the table burst into flames. The fire alarm sounds, and the sprinklers activate at once, filling the room with steam as the water douses the flames. David is long gone by the time the emergency crew arrives, having taken the long way back to his trailer to avoid both them and all the crew members rushing to the set to meet the new guy.
Gabe is already in the trailer when David storms in, and he gets out of the way without being asked. David plods over to his bar-turned-Gothic altar and hunches over it. “It didn’t work,” he informs his assistant. “Even with the extra juice I conjured up for the ring, it wasn’t enough. We just hired a new guy for the Mage role.” He pinches the area between his eyebrows and turns around. “Even worse, the guy’s got talent.” He shakes his head and laughs, “Can’t believe I’m saying this, but he might actually be a threat.”
“So what are you going to do, sir?”
“Not sure yet,” David admits. “But somehow, I’ll find a way to say good-bye to Mage Maluku.”
Jared’s hands are sore from being shook-almost as sore as he arms are from playful punches and his ears are from all the cheering. But he welcomes the pain: it’s a constant reminder that this is really, truly happening. He passed the audition! He’s officially playing Malakai! And though it’s fun ‘meeting’ all these people he already knows and has worked with for months, there’s only one face he wants to see right now. As he enters the cafeteria, he finally finds him.
“Jensen!”
The genie is sitting at a table with Chad, Alona, Misha, and Sandy, and Jared chuckles, wondering if it’s just a coincidence that Jensen befriended Jared’s closest friends. But that question will have to wait for now-he has to ‘meet’ them first, after all.
“Hey, Tristan!” Jensen greets. “Saved you a spot at the cool kids’ table.”
“Cool kids?” Alona repeats. “Then why the hell is Chad here?” They all laugh as Chad nods a ‘very funny’ and stuffs a few fries in his mouth. Across from him, Jensen stands up and clears his throat.
“Intros. Girls and guys, Tristan. Tristan, this is Mervis-”
“That’s MISHA,” the Props Master says with a smile.
“Marsha?”
“MISHA!” the rest all say together with a laugh.
“Okay, okay, I heard you!” Jensen grins. “Sheesh, it’s not my fault his parents named him Mushy.”
“Mushy!” Chad exclaims. “Why didn’t I ever think of that?”
“Because that would require thinking,” Misha deadpans. They all laugh, and Misha looks up at Jensen. “I can live with Mushy. Finish the intros already, Generic Jennifer Johnson.”
Jensen mimes a punch to the gut at Misha’s name-calling salvo. “Okay, Tristan, this is Mushy, Sandy, Alona, and Chad.” Jensen points them out to Jared in turn. “Say hello, everyone.”
“Hiiii, Tristaaan,” they chorus together, sounding bored on purpose.
Jared smirks. “So what, I’m at some self-help group now?” They all laugh again, and Jared sits down next to Jensen and smiles. “Hi!”
“Hi yourself! Did you get it?”
“Hell yeah!”
“WOOHOO!” Jensen hugs him tight, taking Jared by surprise. Surely the genie knew he’d get the part? But Jensen just keeps squeezing, and Jared finally has to push him away.
“Dude, you’re cracking my ribs here!”
“Sorry! I’m just so happy for you!” Jensen cuffs Jared gently on the chin and warbles, “Our little girl’s becomin’ a woman!”
“If he’s a girl, then I’m switching sides,” Sandy announces, and Alona purrs in agreement. Jared ducks his head to hide his blush. He can feel Jensen’s grin radiating through him, and it makes him blush even more.
“You want to break their hearts now or later, loverboy?” the genie ribs him. Jared doesn’t answer, but the girls sigh in disappointment, already figuring it out.
“Why are the super hot ones always gay or taken?” Sandy moans.
“Or both?” Alona asks, just as frustrated.
“Hey, I’m not gay OR taken!” Chad argues. The look the girls give him flattens him, and he folds his arms as he hurrumphs them. “Wish Jared was here. He’d have my back.”
“No I wouldn’t!” Jared laughs-and freezes, realizing what he just said. They’re all staring at him, and he gulps at his blown cover. But then they all burst into laughter, even Chad, who tells him he’ll fit right in. Jared’s eyes go to Jensen, who smiles with good humor.
They heard you say “he,” not “I.” The Glamour watches out for verbal mistakes, too, Jensen says-without moving his lips. Jared does a double-take, and Jensen taps at his right temple. Yeah, you’re hearing me in your mind. I’m a magic genie. You gotta stop forgetting that. He gives a quick wink and turns them back to the conversation.
“So Jensen’s been telling us all about you,” Alona begins, and Jared groans.
“Lies, all lies.”
“So you’re not the nicest guy in the world?”
“And you don’t tell funny jokes?” Misha pouts.
“And you don’t light up the room with your smile?” Sandy finishes. They all look at him with knowing grins, and Jared finally laughs in defeat.
“Okay, well maybe they weren’t ALL lies.”
Jensen claps him on the back and stands up. “And on that note, I’m outta here.” They all whine and ask him to stay, but Jensen puts his hands up. “Now now, I wouldn’t be much of a handler if I didn’t take care of all the damn paperwork. You know how it is, contracts to sign, waivers to waiver, et cetera and so on.” He points at his new friends. “Be nice to my boss, okay? And you,” he looks down at Jared with a fond smile. “Remember to kiss some serious ass. They’re going to be helping me take care of you, so pucker up and compliment!”
He walks off, and Jared’s eyes follow him out of the room. “Mmm, don’t you just wanna take a bite out of it?” Alona asks, and Jared turns to her.
“Out of what?”
“His tight little ass, of course!” She clicks her teeth together as she bites the air. “Sweet, juicy peaches. MM!”
“Movin’ to the countryyy,” Chad sings, “gonna eat me a lot of peaches…” Jared kicks him under the table, and Chad laughs. “Was that for my singing or the subject matter?”
“Take your pick,” Jared grins. They settle in to happy conversation, and Jensen, watching from the doorway, smiles at them all.
So happy for you, Jared, he thinks. You have no idea. But Jensen sighs as he turns away. He knows that not everything is perfect-not yet. If he really wants his master to get his Happily Ever After, he has to make sure that a potential problem doesn’t turn into a disaster. Now if only it wasn’t such a touchy subject with him… Jensen shakes his head. This isn’t going to be easy. Need some advice, he decides.
A young woman is heading in his direction, so Jensen smiles at her and asks, “Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to the props warehouse?”
Several hours later, Jared is happy, but exhausted. He’s sitting in his brand new and mostly empty trailer-right next to David’s, just as he’d hoped, but at the moment, he also hopes the star doesn’t walk in and see him like this. Jared is still in Malakai’s disguise costume, which is really just a dark green cloak that covers his normal clothes; the rest of his costume isn’t done yet, since Sandy has to make almost every aspect of it bigger to fit the tall actor. And though the cloak itself is what Malakai is wearing when the audience first sees him, it’s the state it’s in that has Jared embarrassed. Caked in mud and sand, it’s staining the sofa he’s sitting on with dirty souvenirs of the desert wind storm scene he was filming all afternoon.
Nothing like taking the training wheels off right away, he thinks, every muscle sore from the harness he had to wear for two hours straight. He’s so excited to see the completed scene and watch his own body descend from a tornado his character created, but that would have to wait until the special effects were added. For now, his attention is taken up entirely by Ache, and occasionally disrupted by its brother, Throb.
Wonder if I can talk Jensen into a single freebie and get some aspirin the size of a hula hoop? And it occurs to Jared that he hasn’t seen his friend since lunchtime. He spies his satchel at the far end of the trailer, and he tries to stand up to go and get the lamp that’s still tucked inside of it, but his back bitches at him while his hips moan. Jared holds his hand out, telling himself to use the Force, but it doesn’t work.
A knock comes at the door instead.
“Who is it?” Jared calls.
“Security, Mr. Leck. May I come in?”
“Go ahead, door’s open.” And I can’t move, he adds in his mind. The doorknob turns, and Jared wonders what the hell security wants with him. He scans his memory for anything he might have done wrong today but finds nothing.
“Hi, Mr. Leck,” the security guard says. Jared looks up and finds his old friend Jim smiling back at him.
“Hi Jim!” He flinches after he says the name, but then he remembers that the Glamour spell will take care of it.
“So you know my name,” Jim smirks.
Oh shit, he heard it! “Um…” Jared nods several hundred times as he tries to come up with an excuse, but Jim chuckles and holds his hand up to get him to stop.
“S’alright, son. I know yours, too.” He bends down and leans into the actor’s face. “Jared,” he winks.
Jared’s back goes rigid, and damn if that doesn’t hurt. It’s a good thing the rest of him is too panicked to note the new pain. “Wha? How do you-I mean, no, heh, that’s… I’m not Jared, I’m Tristan.”
“Maybe to everybody else around here, kid, but I can see right through it.”
Jared gulps so loudly that it echoes through the room, and Jim chuckles. “Calm down, I’m not gonna report you or nothin’. Just saying you don’t hafta pretend with me is all.” He looks over Jared’s shoulder and says, “Ain’t that right, Jensen?”
Jared follows Jim’s gaze and sees a five-inch Jensen resting comfortably on Jared’s left shoulder. “Nothin’ gets past you, Jim,” he grins back.
Jared looks at Jim, then back at Jensen. “What the…” Another look at Jim, and another at Jensen. “How do you two…?” A third look-
“Stop it, Jare, you look like you’re watching a tennis match,” Jensen jokes. He jumps off Jared’s shoulder and grows back to normal, and he props an arm up on Jim’s shoulder as they both smile back at the very confused man in the chair.
“You guys…KNOW each other?!” Jared blurts out, voice high and freaked out, and Jensen laughs.
“Somebody just earned himself another cookie!”
“THIS ISN’T A GOOD TIME FOR COOKIES, JENSEN!” Jared shouts, finally managing to lift himself from the chair and stagger around. “What’s going on? Who the hell IS he?” He points at Jim as he asks it, then glares back at Jensen and shrieks, “And why aren’t YOU freaking out right now?!”
The men don’t answer him outright, nor do they urge him to calm down. Instead, Jim and Jensen turn to each other with smiles before looking back and giving Jared a shared “Awwww.”
“Told you he’s adorable when he’s confused,” Jensen adds.
“But that’s only after I told YOU he was a diamond in the rough,” Jim replies. “Was I right or was I right?”
THUMP!
Their eyes go to the floor, where Jared has just collapsed after fainting. Jensen waits a beat before he says, “Way to go, Jim.”
“What? It ain’t my fault your weirdo magic freaked him out!”
“Well he’s seen me do weirder stuff with my magic, and he didn’t faint then…” Jensen gives him a fake stern look and shakes his head with equally fake disappointment.
“Watch it, kid. I know where you live. Now help me get him back on the couch.”
Jensen salutes. “You’re the ex-Master.”
On to Part Eight
Master Post
Author: queeberquabbler
Fic Prompt: Disney's Aladdin
Pairing: J2
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 for swearing. No warnings otherwise--it's your standard J2 :)
Disclaimer: See Master Post.
Eric K. Sullivan is pacing a canyon into the floor of his studio office. He’s been in stressful situations before, but this time, he’s sure he’s going to have a heart attack by the end of the day. Stopping at his desk, he picks up the schedule for today’s absolutely last minute auditions. To his dismay, there are still only three names on the list. They’ve already seen the first two, and they were terrible.
“No, terrible is putting it too nicely,” he mutters as he thinks back. “They sucked worse than the suckiest thing that ever sucked.” His head drops, and he rubs the heels of his palms over his eyes. “One guy left. Last fucking chance to get this right.” He looks up at the ceiling. “Please, throw me a bone,” he begs of God. “I don’t want to get half our budget sliced just because we can’t find a good actor! So many good people would lose their jobs…I just…look, I’m begging you here, all right? Please, PLEASE let this last one work out.”
“You really think He’s listening?” asks a voice at the door-one that Eric REALLY does not need to hear right now.
“I hope He is,” Eric answers carefully, and he plants a smile on his face as David walks into the room. The tension between the two men is palpable-thick mortar separating heavy bricks. “What is it, David?” Eric asks at last, just wanting to get whatever the hell this is going to be over with.
“I was in my trailer, thinking about your little casting problem, and I had an idea.”
Eric scoffs at that. “I’ll bet.” He sits down and motions for David to do the same. “For the last time, I’m not dumping Malakai until all the auditions are over. And there’s one guy left, and he’ll be here any minute, so I really-”
David holds his hand up in a stop gesture, and Eric shuts his mouth, though he drops an indignant glower at the actor. “I don’t want you to get rid of Maluku,” David informs his boss. Eric, of course, is stunned.
“Okay, that’s a new one… And it’s Malakai, by the way.”
David shrugs. “Like I said, I’ve been thinking it all over and well…” He lets out a little self-aware laugh. “I think I was wrong. There, I said it. Hope I just made your day.”
“It’s nice to hear, David, but I know there’s an ‘and’ or a ‘but’ coming up…”
David smiles. “But,” he deigns with a bow of his head, “I think there’s an easier way to cast the role.”
Eric holds his hands out like he’s welcome to all suggestions. “I’ll bite. What’s your idea?”
“Let me play him.”
Eric smirks for a moment before he shakes his head. “Wow. So, what-you want to stop playing Seth so you can take on the new role?”
“No, I want to play BOTH roles.” David smiles through Sullivan’s laugh of dismissal. “Just hear me out,” David insists. “Think about it: what if the new Mage is Seth’s twin brother?”
“Hey look, a shark just jumped over our show.”
“Okay, well, maybe he’s the evil side of Seth? He got split off when some spell went awry.”
“Just jumped again.”
“Or perhaps the new Mage is actually Seth, but from another dimension?”
“Jesus, you really want to sink this show, don’t you!”
“I want to SAVE this show,” David snaps, unable to keep his anger in check any longer. “And if you insist on keeping Maluku-”
“Malakai!”
David waves the name out of the air. “Whatever, who the hell cares! Either you let me play the role or you forget about it once and for all.”
Eric pounds his fist on the desk and stands up. “You just don’t know when to shut up, do you,” he seethes.
David stands up and leans across the desk until he’s in Eric’s face. “That’s because everything I say is important. And you WILL listen to me.” He twirls his snake ring, and his eyes blaze with red fire. Eric’s expression falls blank, and his own eyes glaze over as David’s will burns into his very being. “You will give me the role of Maluku,” David orders.
“Yes, David…you will play…” Eric frowns and snaps out of it for a second. “But you can’t even remember the character’s name!”
“You WILL give the role to me!” David demands, leaning right into him. Eric nods slowly.
“I will give the role…to…”
The sound of trumpets fills the air, and it takes both men a moment to realize that it’s the ring tone of Eric’s cell phone. David backs off as Eric answers the call. “Yeah? Ooh, great!” He checks his watch as he nods along with what he’s hearing. “Great. Be there in a sec.” He pockets his phone and heads toward the door.
“We’re not done yet, Eric,” David hisses, but he gets ignored. Eric jogs over to where a gaggle of crew members have gathered, and David rolls his eyes but follows at a distance.
“Hey!” Eric says as he reaches the group. He holds out his hand to the person at the center. “I’m Eric K. Sullivan, series creator and head writer. And you must be Tristan Leck!”
The tall young man returns a strong handshake. “That’s me. This is my handler, Jensen,” he nods to the slightly shorter man next to him, and Eric shakes his hand as well.
“Nice to meet you both. This is Traci, she’s our Casting Director. Next to her is Sam-she plays Tasha on the show, and next to HER is Aldis. He plays John.” Handshakes and greetings all around. “All right, let’s go to the casting office. Traci, if you’ll lead the way…”
David, who is still watching from a distance, watches the group walk away. One of the new people remains behind, however, and the other newbie notices and walks back. David moves a little closer and ducks down behind a cart to listen.
“You’re not coming with me?”
“Hey, it’s your audition, not mine. I’ll go rustle up some lunch while you’re in there.”
The tall man nods, appearing a bit sad, but the shorter man claps him on the shoulder. “Knock ‘em dead, Tristan. I’ll save you a cookie.”
That gets a smile out of the other one. The men go their separate ways, and David gets up to follow when-
“Ahem.”
-he is spotted by someone. He turns around and comes face to face with…some guy. He’s vaguely familiar, definitely works around here, but David’s never bothered to learn his name. He’s a Nobody, after all, so why should he?
“Don’t you have work to do?” David asks in his snobbiest tone.
“Don’t you?” the PA fires back. David rolls his eyes and shoves past him, making sure to bang his shoulder into the younger man’s. He smirks when he hears the cry of pain behind him.
“Nice,” the PA calls. “Real mature.” He rubs his shoulder-that really fucking hurt.
“Hey, you all right?”
The PA looks up at the face of the new guy’s helper, who is offering him a small bag of ice. The PA readily accepts it. “Yeah,” he replies, setting the bag on his aching shoulder. “Thanks, man.”
“You’re welcome.” He holds out his hand. “I’m Jensen.”
“Chad,” the other answers as he shakes. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” Jensen watches David disappear down a corridor behind Chad and frowns. “So, uh, what’s the deal with that guy? Bad depth perception?”
Chad snerks, “Nah, he’s just your typical Grade-A Asshole. Thinks he’s better than everybody else.”
Jensen nods, though his frown grows deeper. “Why the hell do you put up with it?”
“Don’t really have a choice,” Chad shrugs. “David’s the star of the show. We’re stuck with him.”
Shit, Jensen thinks, shutting his eyes. He was hoping that the douchebag that just walked through here was only the star’s stunt double, not David himself. Why does Jared like such a jerk? he can’t help but wonder.
“Hey, you hungry?” Chad asks, and Jensen blinks his eyes open at the question.
“Always,” he smiles. “I was gonna grab some lunch for me and Tristan, anyway.”
“Well here, I’ll show you where the caf is. Then you can tell me what exactly a handler does.” Chad grins when his statement makes his new acquaintance snort.
“It isn’t like I’m the guy’s hand holder, if that’s what you’re implying,” Jensen answers, grinning right back at Chad. “I just take care of things for him, y’know? I handle this, I handle that.”
“Ah. Gotcha.”
They walk down the hallway next to the one David went into, and Jensen considers splitting himself into two so one of him can go spy on the guy and make sure Jared is all right. But he decides against it-he knows Jared wants to nail this audition, and he doesn’t want to take any chances of screwing anything up for his master. He’ll just have to find some other way to learn more about David. The light bulb goes on over his head, and he turns back to Chad.
“So tell me more about that asshole.”
Chad laughs. “Why? You like hearing stories that make you want to punch the wall?”
Jensen punches his fist into his palm. “Absolutely.”
They arrive in the caf, and Chad points to an empty table. “Then save us a seat, Jensen, and get comfy, ‘cause I got about a million of ‘em.”
David knows he’s in trouble the moment he hears the group laugh. It isn’t the kind of laugh one makes when someone is screwing up their audition-no, it’s bright and happy. That means they like the new guy.
That means David has his work cut out for him.
Easing the door open, he steps into the casting office just as Eric directs them to read from another scene. Traci smiles and waves for David to come in and join them. David walks to the table where Traci is sitting with Eric, and Traci stands up as he arrives.
“David, I’d like you to meet Tristan Leck.” She beckons Tristan over and the young man strides up to the desk and shakes David’s hand. “Tristan, this is David Boreanaz, though I’m SURE I didn’t need to tell you that.”
“No, ma’am, not at all.” He smiles at David and adds, “I’m a huge fan of your work. I’ve seen everything you’ve ever been in.”
“Wow, everything?” David chuckles. “Even the shitty stuff?” Traci and the others laugh-even Eric coughs up a polite guffaw. But the new guy smiles even more brightly and shakes his head.
“There wasn’t ANY shitty stuff. It was all great, I mean it.”
David nods and smiles back. “Thanks, man.” Tristan turns away to get back to the scene, and David twirls his ring several times as he fights to keep that completely fake cheer on his face. Like I need your pity OR your compliments, he seethes, but he manages to sit down and keep quiet.
“We were just about to have him read through the meet and greet scene with Aldis and Sam. You want us to go back to his first meeting with your character?”
“No, no, that’s fine. Let’s just stick with this one.” David nods for them to go ahead, and he crosses his arms and sits back in his chair. He’s going to enjoy going Simon Cowell on this amateur’s ass.
But five minutes later, David is speechless. The kid. Is. GOOD. Better than good, actually-he’s a natural. And everyone else in the room knows it, too. Sam’s already leaning in to give her new co-star a peck on the cheek, and Aldis is behind him, shaking him by the shoulders as he welcomes him to the show. Then Eric gets up and embraces him like he’s his own goddamn son. David’s blood sizzles through his veins, and he has to hide his hand in his pocket before his ring’s glowing eyes relay his own anger.
“David?”
The addressed looks up at Tristan, who is standing in front of him, again with his damn hand out for a shake. “I’m really looking forward to working with you,” he smiles, stupid dimples making David want to puke. But he holds it in and shakes Tristan’s hand.
“Yeah, me too! See ya bright and early tomorrow.”
“Actually,” Eric speaks up, “Tristan’s going to start shooting some of his solo stuff today. After lunch and about a zillion introductions, of course.”
Tristan positively beams down at his new boss. “Sounds great! Thank you so much for this-you’ve made my day. My month! Hell, my YEAR!”
Aldis whistles while Sam and Traci coo over the polite young man, and they all lead Tristan out of the room. Eric, clearly in a dynamite mood, clamps his hand on David’s shoulder. “We found him, can you believe it?” he grins. “We finally fucking FOUND him!” David just gives him a stiff nod and an even stiffer smile, but Eric is too elated to notice. He leaves David alone in the room, and a few seconds later, David hears his boss announce Tristan as their new star. The place erupts in cheers, and David…well, David just plain erupts. He sets his hand back on the table, and the surface starts to bubble from the heat.
You just called him the new star. The table cracks in several places. I’M the star, Sullivan, and you fucking well KNOW it! He kicks his chair, and both it and the table burst into flames. The fire alarm sounds, and the sprinklers activate at once, filling the room with steam as the water douses the flames. David is long gone by the time the emergency crew arrives, having taken the long way back to his trailer to avoid both them and all the crew members rushing to the set to meet the new guy.
Gabe is already in the trailer when David storms in, and he gets out of the way without being asked. David plods over to his bar-turned-Gothic altar and hunches over it. “It didn’t work,” he informs his assistant. “Even with the extra juice I conjured up for the ring, it wasn’t enough. We just hired a new guy for the Mage role.” He pinches the area between his eyebrows and turns around. “Even worse, the guy’s got talent.” He shakes his head and laughs, “Can’t believe I’m saying this, but he might actually be a threat.”
“So what are you going to do, sir?”
“Not sure yet,” David admits. “But somehow, I’ll find a way to say good-bye to Mage Maluku.”
Jared’s hands are sore from being shook-almost as sore as he arms are from playful punches and his ears are from all the cheering. But he welcomes the pain: it’s a constant reminder that this is really, truly happening. He passed the audition! He’s officially playing Malakai! And though it’s fun ‘meeting’ all these people he already knows and has worked with for months, there’s only one face he wants to see right now. As he enters the cafeteria, he finally finds him.
“Jensen!”
The genie is sitting at a table with Chad, Alona, Misha, and Sandy, and Jared chuckles, wondering if it’s just a coincidence that Jensen befriended Jared’s closest friends. But that question will have to wait for now-he has to ‘meet’ them first, after all.
“Hey, Tristan!” Jensen greets. “Saved you a spot at the cool kids’ table.”
“Cool kids?” Alona repeats. “Then why the hell is Chad here?” They all laugh as Chad nods a ‘very funny’ and stuffs a few fries in his mouth. Across from him, Jensen stands up and clears his throat.
“Intros. Girls and guys, Tristan. Tristan, this is Mervis-”
“That’s MISHA,” the Props Master says with a smile.
“Marsha?”
“MISHA!” the rest all say together with a laugh.
“Okay, okay, I heard you!” Jensen grins. “Sheesh, it’s not my fault his parents named him Mushy.”
“Mushy!” Chad exclaims. “Why didn’t I ever think of that?”
“Because that would require thinking,” Misha deadpans. They all laugh, and Misha looks up at Jensen. “I can live with Mushy. Finish the intros already, Generic Jennifer Johnson.”
Jensen mimes a punch to the gut at Misha’s name-calling salvo. “Okay, Tristan, this is Mushy, Sandy, Alona, and Chad.” Jensen points them out to Jared in turn. “Say hello, everyone.”
“Hiiii, Tristaaan,” they chorus together, sounding bored on purpose.
Jared smirks. “So what, I’m at some self-help group now?” They all laugh again, and Jared sits down next to Jensen and smiles. “Hi!”
“Hi yourself! Did you get it?”
“Hell yeah!”
“WOOHOO!” Jensen hugs him tight, taking Jared by surprise. Surely the genie knew he’d get the part? But Jensen just keeps squeezing, and Jared finally has to push him away.
“Dude, you’re cracking my ribs here!”
“Sorry! I’m just so happy for you!” Jensen cuffs Jared gently on the chin and warbles, “Our little girl’s becomin’ a woman!”
“If he’s a girl, then I’m switching sides,” Sandy announces, and Alona purrs in agreement. Jared ducks his head to hide his blush. He can feel Jensen’s grin radiating through him, and it makes him blush even more.
“You want to break their hearts now or later, loverboy?” the genie ribs him. Jared doesn’t answer, but the girls sigh in disappointment, already figuring it out.
“Why are the super hot ones always gay or taken?” Sandy moans.
“Or both?” Alona asks, just as frustrated.
“Hey, I’m not gay OR taken!” Chad argues. The look the girls give him flattens him, and he folds his arms as he hurrumphs them. “Wish Jared was here. He’d have my back.”
“No I wouldn’t!” Jared laughs-and freezes, realizing what he just said. They’re all staring at him, and he gulps at his blown cover. But then they all burst into laughter, even Chad, who tells him he’ll fit right in. Jared’s eyes go to Jensen, who smiles with good humor.
They heard you say “he,” not “I.” The Glamour watches out for verbal mistakes, too, Jensen says-without moving his lips. Jared does a double-take, and Jensen taps at his right temple. Yeah, you’re hearing me in your mind. I’m a magic genie. You gotta stop forgetting that. He gives a quick wink and turns them back to the conversation.
“So Jensen’s been telling us all about you,” Alona begins, and Jared groans.
“Lies, all lies.”
“So you’re not the nicest guy in the world?”
“And you don’t tell funny jokes?” Misha pouts.
“And you don’t light up the room with your smile?” Sandy finishes. They all look at him with knowing grins, and Jared finally laughs in defeat.
“Okay, well maybe they weren’t ALL lies.”
Jensen claps him on the back and stands up. “And on that note, I’m outta here.” They all whine and ask him to stay, but Jensen puts his hands up. “Now now, I wouldn’t be much of a handler if I didn’t take care of all the damn paperwork. You know how it is, contracts to sign, waivers to waiver, et cetera and so on.” He points at his new friends. “Be nice to my boss, okay? And you,” he looks down at Jared with a fond smile. “Remember to kiss some serious ass. They’re going to be helping me take care of you, so pucker up and compliment!”
He walks off, and Jared’s eyes follow him out of the room. “Mmm, don’t you just wanna take a bite out of it?” Alona asks, and Jared turns to her.
“Out of what?”
“His tight little ass, of course!” She clicks her teeth together as she bites the air. “Sweet, juicy peaches. MM!”
“Movin’ to the countryyy,” Chad sings, “gonna eat me a lot of peaches…” Jared kicks him under the table, and Chad laughs. “Was that for my singing or the subject matter?”
“Take your pick,” Jared grins. They settle in to happy conversation, and Jensen, watching from the doorway, smiles at them all.
So happy for you, Jared, he thinks. You have no idea. But Jensen sighs as he turns away. He knows that not everything is perfect-not yet. If he really wants his master to get his Happily Ever After, he has to make sure that a potential problem doesn’t turn into a disaster. Now if only it wasn’t such a touchy subject with him… Jensen shakes his head. This isn’t going to be easy. Need some advice, he decides.
A young woman is heading in his direction, so Jensen smiles at her and asks, “Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to the props warehouse?”
Several hours later, Jared is happy, but exhausted. He’s sitting in his brand new and mostly empty trailer-right next to David’s, just as he’d hoped, but at the moment, he also hopes the star doesn’t walk in and see him like this. Jared is still in Malakai’s disguise costume, which is really just a dark green cloak that covers his normal clothes; the rest of his costume isn’t done yet, since Sandy has to make almost every aspect of it bigger to fit the tall actor. And though the cloak itself is what Malakai is wearing when the audience first sees him, it’s the state it’s in that has Jared embarrassed. Caked in mud and sand, it’s staining the sofa he’s sitting on with dirty souvenirs of the desert wind storm scene he was filming all afternoon.
Nothing like taking the training wheels off right away, he thinks, every muscle sore from the harness he had to wear for two hours straight. He’s so excited to see the completed scene and watch his own body descend from a tornado his character created, but that would have to wait until the special effects were added. For now, his attention is taken up entirely by Ache, and occasionally disrupted by its brother, Throb.
Wonder if I can talk Jensen into a single freebie and get some aspirin the size of a hula hoop? And it occurs to Jared that he hasn’t seen his friend since lunchtime. He spies his satchel at the far end of the trailer, and he tries to stand up to go and get the lamp that’s still tucked inside of it, but his back bitches at him while his hips moan. Jared holds his hand out, telling himself to use the Force, but it doesn’t work.
A knock comes at the door instead.
“Who is it?” Jared calls.
“Security, Mr. Leck. May I come in?”
“Go ahead, door’s open.” And I can’t move, he adds in his mind. The doorknob turns, and Jared wonders what the hell security wants with him. He scans his memory for anything he might have done wrong today but finds nothing.
“Hi, Mr. Leck,” the security guard says. Jared looks up and finds his old friend Jim smiling back at him.
“Hi Jim!” He flinches after he says the name, but then he remembers that the Glamour spell will take care of it.
“So you know my name,” Jim smirks.
Oh shit, he heard it! “Um…” Jared nods several hundred times as he tries to come up with an excuse, but Jim chuckles and holds his hand up to get him to stop.
“S’alright, son. I know yours, too.” He bends down and leans into the actor’s face. “Jared,” he winks.
Jared’s back goes rigid, and damn if that doesn’t hurt. It’s a good thing the rest of him is too panicked to note the new pain. “Wha? How do you-I mean, no, heh, that’s… I’m not Jared, I’m Tristan.”
“Maybe to everybody else around here, kid, but I can see right through it.”
Jared gulps so loudly that it echoes through the room, and Jim chuckles. “Calm down, I’m not gonna report you or nothin’. Just saying you don’t hafta pretend with me is all.” He looks over Jared’s shoulder and says, “Ain’t that right, Jensen?”
Jared follows Jim’s gaze and sees a five-inch Jensen resting comfortably on Jared’s left shoulder. “Nothin’ gets past you, Jim,” he grins back.
Jared looks at Jim, then back at Jensen. “What the…” Another look at Jim, and another at Jensen. “How do you two…?” A third look-
“Stop it, Jare, you look like you’re watching a tennis match,” Jensen jokes. He jumps off Jared’s shoulder and grows back to normal, and he props an arm up on Jim’s shoulder as they both smile back at the very confused man in the chair.
“You guys…KNOW each other?!” Jared blurts out, voice high and freaked out, and Jensen laughs.
“Somebody just earned himself another cookie!”
“THIS ISN’T A GOOD TIME FOR COOKIES, JENSEN!” Jared shouts, finally managing to lift himself from the chair and stagger around. “What’s going on? Who the hell IS he?” He points at Jim as he asks it, then glares back at Jensen and shrieks, “And why aren’t YOU freaking out right now?!”
The men don’t answer him outright, nor do they urge him to calm down. Instead, Jim and Jensen turn to each other with smiles before looking back and giving Jared a shared “Awwww.”
“Told you he’s adorable when he’s confused,” Jensen adds.
“But that’s only after I told YOU he was a diamond in the rough,” Jim replies. “Was I right or was I right?”
THUMP!
Their eyes go to the floor, where Jared has just collapsed after fainting. Jensen waits a beat before he says, “Way to go, Jim.”
“What? It ain’t my fault your weirdo magic freaked him out!”
“Well he’s seen me do weirder stuff with my magic, and he didn’t faint then…” Jensen gives him a fake stern look and shakes his head with equally fake disappointment.
“Watch it, kid. I know where you live. Now help me get him back on the couch.”
Jensen salutes. “You’re the ex-Master.”
On to Part Eight
Master Post