Fic: The Place Where Dreams Come True (2/2)
Title: The Place Where Dreams Come True
Author: therumjournals
Fandom: Star Trek RPF
Pairing: Chris/Zach
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~14,000
Warning: sick kid
Summary: Zach and Chris meet in the happiest place on earth. (Disney World AU)
Part 1 Part 2
Chris crossed and re-crossed his legs, trying to find a comfortable position on one of the unforgiving plastic chairs that lined the waiting room. He’d just settled for resting his elbows on his knees, picking nervously at a cuticle, when the doors to the ER slid open. Chris glanced idly at the entrance, his breath catching as he saw Zach step through the entryway. He dimly registered the garment bag slung over one shoulder, more focused on the fact that Zach hadn’t done anything to un-style his Aladdin hair, and that his eyes still bore a faint trace of eyeliner. A quick glance confirmed that Sierra’s brothers were still glued to The Incredibles on the TV screen in the corner. Zach dropped his bag on a chair as Chris surged up out of his seat, and they crashed together in a hard embrace.
“Zach.” Saying his name felt amazing, as did the comforting warmth of the arms wrapped around him, the brush of a kiss against his hair.
“Hey,” Zach said, his voice soothing. “How’s Sierra, is she okay? What happened?”
“We were at the park, and she had some kind of seizure…we should have left earlier, it was so hot, but she wanted to see everything-” Chris broke off, remembering how one minute she’d been talking excitedly about seeing Crush and Nemo, and the next her tiny body had spasmed, head flailing so hard it hit the back of her wheelchair. His first aid training had kicked in quickly, and he’d calmly used his walkie-talkie to contact Disney Emergency Services, but inside he’d been terrified, panic clutching at his chest. Tears sprang to his eyes at the memory, and he pulled away, wiping at his face and sniffing, suddenly self-conscious. He avoided Zach’s eyes as he took a steadying breath. “We, uh…we just talked to the doctor. She’s okay, she’ll be okay…she’s just dehydrated, but she’s really weak, and it’s not good, it’s really not good for her to go through something like this. I should’ve paid more attention, I shouldn’t have-“
“C’mere.” Zach reached for him, and Chris leaned willingly into his solid chest.
“Thanks for coming,” Chris mumbled, slipping his arms around Zach’s waist, and they held onto each other, letting everything that had already happened between them catch up to this moment.
He wondered if he should kiss Zach, or if it would be weird to do that here, in the middle of a hospital waiting room. It was almost as if he could feel Zach making the same decision, and just as he’d made up his mind, convinced himself that this was the moment, the orchestra music swelling in the background, they heard the staccato sound of footsteps approaching. They dropped their arms quickly and stepped back.
“Chris, I just spoke with the doctor and he said - oh, I’m sorry!” Sierra’s mom stopped abruptly when she noticed Zach, putting a hand to her chest and glancing between them.
“Um, Mrs. Reed, this is Zach. He, uh…he plays Aladdin at Disney World, and I thought-“
“Aladdin!” Mrs. Reed’s face lit up. “Oh, Sierra will be so thrilled!”
“I mean, uh-“ Chris looked nervously at Zach. “I don’t know if you brought-“
“Yeah, I did,” Zach said, picking up the garment bag he’d set down. “Just, don’t tell anyone, okay? The Mouse will kill me if I get caught bringing the costume offsite.”
Chris smiled gratefully at him, and Mrs. Reed clasped her hands happily. “Well, I was just about to tell Chris, Sierra’s awake now, and the doctor said it would be okay if you’d like to go in and see her. I’m sure she’d love it if Aladdin could join you.”
“Oh, I think we could probably arrange that,” Zach said, flashing Mrs. Reed his most charming smile. He nodded at Chris. “I’ll meet you in there.”
Chris walked down the hall to Sierra’s room and peeked inside. She was propped up in her hospital bed, an IV-line stretching from her right wrist. She looked tired and pale, but at the sight of Chris she gave a valiant grin.
“Hey, sweetie,” Chris said, pulling up a chair to sit beside her. “How are you feeling?”
“Okay.”
“Okay? You comfortable? Did they send in the pillow plumpers to plump your pillows for you?” Chris asked, patting the pillow beside her head.
“No,” Sierra laughed, shaking her head.
“No? Oh dear. Well, we’ll have to rectify that. Is everything else okay? Does your arm hurt where they put the tube in?”
Sierra shook her head, and Chris was reminded that she was used to this, that she’d spent too many hours of her young life in hospital beds, being pricked with needles, passing long hours waiting for test results or recovering from treatments.
“Juice please,” Sierra said, pointing to the nightstand. Chris held the cup so she could take a sip from the straw.
“Hey, guess what. I brought a special visitor to see you.”
“You did?”
“Uh-huh. He should be here any minute now.” He set the juice down, and as he turned back he caught a glimpse of Zach hovering outside the door in his full Aladdin get-up. Zach caught his eye, winked, and swung dramatically around the doorframe and into the room.
“I can show you the world,” he sang, as Sierra’s face transformed from pale exhaustion to glowing excitement. “Shining, shimmering, splendid-“ Zach perched on the edge of Sierra’s bed, taking her hand as he serenaded her, “tell me, Princess Sierra, now when did you last let your heart decide?”
Zach’s voice was doing cruel, cruel things to Chris’s loins. He swallowed hard and tried not to dwell on how unfair it was that he could just do that.
“I can-“
“Open your eyes,” Sierra chimed in, and Zach gave a delighted laugh.
“Take you-“
“Wonder and wonnnder!”
“Over, sideways, and under-“ Zach met his eyes, and Chris shook his head. But he knew Sierra was watching, so he took a breath and joined in, “on a magic carpet ride, a whole new worrrrrld!”
The three of them collapsed in laughter before they could finish the song, which was good because Chris had been pretty sure he couldn’t make it through much more of it without jumping Zach in an altogether inappropriate fashion. Just watching him with Sierra was hard enough, the two of them giggling as he let her try on his fez, the rapt expression on his face as she told him an involved story about a princess and a magical cat named Hamburger.
“And then what happened?” Zach asked, as the story finally wound down and Sierra rested her head back on the pillow. “Did they live happily ever after?”
“Yep,” Sierra sighed. She gave Zach an adoring smile, and Chris was pretty sure that at that moment he had the exact same expression on his face.
“Good,” Zach said softly. “Well Princess, I have to get back to Agrabah now, before Jasmine gets worried. Will you do something for me?”
Sierra nodded.
“Feel better soon, okay?”
“Okay,” Sierra said, almost too quietly for them to hear as her eyelids fluttered shut.
“Goodnight,” Zach whispered, standing up from the side of the bed. He gave Chris’s shoulder a squeeze and slipped out the door.
It wasn’t until a few minutes later, after Chris had carefully extracted his hand from Sierra’s small but powerful grip, tucked the sheet up to her chin, and eased quietly out into the hallway, that it occurred to him that Zach might actually have left. The bathroom wasn’t occupied, and Zach was nowhere to be seen in the waiting room. Chris felt a pang of disappointment, though he couldn’t really fault him. After all, technically he had said goodnight…
He found Mrs. Reed in the waiting room, and offered to take Tyler and Sean back to the hotel. She looked over toward the play area, where they had apparently discovered the hospital’s stash of video games and were in the midst of an epic Cars showdown. She looked back at Chris. “Honestly, I think they’d rather stay here, especially if you’d take them to get some ice cream in the cafeteria in a couple hours. They’re…pretty used to sticking around during Sierra’s hospital stays,” she added, with a twinge of regret in her voice.
“No problem, Mrs. Reed, I understand. Honestly, I’d kind of rather be here, too.” He promised to keep an eye on the boys, and folded himself into one of the plastic chairs as Mrs. Reed headed back to Sierra's room. He was considering moving over a few seats to get a better view of Monsters Inc. on the TV screen, when a shadow fell over his legs and he looked up to see Zach standing in front of him.
“Zach! I thought you left!”
“I was just throwing my stuff in the car,” Zach said, sitting down beside him. A thought seemed to occur to him and he straightened, turned halfway in his chair to look at Chris. “Um, that is, if it’s cool if I stay. I mean, I can go if-“
“No, it’s cool, it’s cool. Are you - I mean, do you have anywhere to be, because you don’t have to-“
“I don’t. I mean, we were supposed to have dinner anyway and-“ Zach’s eyes darted to the side “-let’s just say I left the rest of the night open.” Chris blushed, and Zach scooted closer on his chair. “Chris…” Zach reached for him, cupping his cheek with a warm palm. Anticipation crackled in the air. Chris licked his lips, and he could see Zach watching his mouth, tilting his body slightly forward…
Suddenly, Chris remembered where they were, and he pulled away. “We probably shouldn’t…” He glanced across the waiting room, and Zach followed his gaze to the play area, where a few other kids were zooming trucks around Sierra's brothers on the carpet.
He saw Zach bite his lip as he attempted to stifle his disappointment. “Yeah, I think you’re right.” He leaned back in his chair with a rueful chuckle, rubbing a hand over his mouth as he met Chris’s gaze with twinkling eyes. “So, uh. What kind of music do you like?”
They talked quietly for a while, making first date conversation. Chris told Zach about his life as a struggling actor in New York City, where he worked as a temp to pay the bills in between auditions. During his senior year at NYU, a friend of his had asked him to play the lead in a one-time performance of a play that had been written by a 16-year old with muscular dystrophy. That was how he’d first learned of Wishgranters, and he’d been a volunteer ever since.
In turn, Zach talked about his childhood, growing up in Pittsburgh, performing in community theater, trips to Disney World with his mom and brother, and the decision to escape to Florida after college instead of trying to find a real job. As they talked, their hands inched closer until their fingers touched, overlapped, and then intertwined, sending an illicit thrill through Chris’s chest.
They took a few breaks, to the cafeteria for food with the boys, or down the hall to the vending machine for weak coffee in Styrofoam cups, and each time they’d settle back into their chairs, their hands automatically finding each other again.
** OOO **
Zach opened his eyes to the sound of footsteps, and he straightened in his chair, momentarily disoriented. They were in the waiting room - they must have nodded off during a lull in conversation, but he had no idea how long they’d been asleep. Chris’s hand was still firmly in his, and Sierra’s mother was leaning down to touch Chris’s shoulder.
“Chris?”
“Huh, what?” Chris said, coming awake suddenly, his face taking on a sheepish expression. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Reed.”
“It’s okay, honey. I was actually just coming to suggest that you go back to the hotel to get some rest.”
Chris glanced around blearily. “What time is it?”
“It’s almost 5:00.”
“What about the boys?”
“They’re fine.” She gestured to the corner of the waiting room, where Sean and Tyler were sprawled across three chairs each, mouths half open and hair plastered to their foreheads, sleeping soundly under blankets that some kind nurse had draped over them in the night. “No need to wake them, but I thought you might not be as comfortable sleeping in that chair.”
Chris winced and stretched his neck. “How’s Sierra?”
“She’s doing okay, a little restless. The doctor just wants to keep her here for a few more hours. And of course he wants us to take it easy today, so I think we’ll plan to stay at the hotel. They’ll provide transportation for us.”
Chris ran a hand over his face and let go of Zach to stand. Zach stood, too. “I can drive you back,” he offered.
Chris looked at Mrs. Reed, then at Zach. “Yeah, okay.” His mouth was turned down in a frown and he stared at the floor, arms crossed tightly across his chest.
“What’s wrong?” Zach asked, feeling strange about the question, about the fact that he could tell something was wrong, about wanting so badly to help.
“I just…” Chris shook his head. “We were supposed to go to the tea party today, with Alice in Wonderland.” He blinked, and Zach watched in wonder as a tear slid down his cheek. “She was so excited about wearing her princess costume again.” Chris wiped his cheek with a palm and gave them a sheepish look. “Sorry,” he sniffed.
“Oh, you sweetheart,” Mrs. Reed said, reaching up to pull Chris into a hug. Chris returned the embrace, meeting Zach’s eyes over her shoulder. Zach had to suppress a sudden, unreasonable urge to push the woman out of the way and wrap Chris in his own arms forever.
Instead, he stood by silently as Chris said goodbye and made Mrs. Reed promise to call if anything changed, and to call if Sierra asked for him, and to call when they got back to the hotel.
“I promise, Chris,” she assured him, and Zach set a hand on his back and led him reluctantly out of the hospital.
They held hands again in the car, as Zach drove and Chris rested his head against the window, watching the palm trees glide by.
“You really are a sweetheart, aren’t you?” Zach said, smiling a little as he glanced at Chris out of the corner of his eye.
“Yeah, I’m a real softy,” Chris sighed.
“I’m serious, you…I think you really are the kindest, most true-hearted and…selfless person I’ve ever met.” He had the urge to say more, but he had no idea how any of the precipitous declarations he wanted to make would be received.
“Yeah,” Chris chuckled ruefully. “I was real selfless last night when I was jerking off to your voice while there’s a sick kid I’m supposed to be responsible for in the next room over.”
Zach shifted in his seat at the memory and squeezed Chris’s hand. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Chris blew out a breath. “I know.”
“The doctor said Sierra’s going to be fine.”
“I know.”
Zach glanced at him again. “You do realize I’m not taking you back to your hotel, right?” he said lightly.
“Ummm…where are we going?” Chris sounded wary, but not upset.
“I have to take the costume back, plus I’m on for a character breakfast at 8:00. I was thinking maybe I’d give you a little behind the scenes tour?”
Chris couldn’t help but smile at that. “Behind the scenes?”
Zach smirked. “Backstage, as it were.”
Chris laughed. “Yeah, alright. Let’s see what you have to show me.”
** OOO **
Chris dozed for the rest of the ride, and woke up to the slam of the car door, as Zach got out and reached into the backseat for the garment bag. Chris climbed slowly out of the car, into the misty gray air of the morning. They were in a parking lot Chris didn’t recognize, one that was slowly filling up with cars at 5:30 in the morning as the “cast members” arrived, straggling in from their real lives to transform the lives of ordinary people into a fairy tale come true.
Zach led him across the parking lot to an innocuous-looking fake cliff. “Wait here, I have to go check in.” Chris opened his mouth to respond, but Zach was already heading toward a low building with a sign that read “Cast-Members Only.” Chris yawned and stared at his feet as he waited, and a few minutes later he was startled by the creak of a door opening out of the side of the boulder. “Psst. In here.” Chris raised his eyebrows and followed Zach inside as the door clicked shut behind them.
They were in a long, wide tunnel with a concrete floor. Pipes and air-ducts ran along the ceiling, and the walls were lined with industrial shelves holding a vast range of hardware, paint, cleaning supplies, and props.
“Jesus,” Chris said, clutching his chest in shock as they turned a corner to find themselves face-to-face with a long row of body-less Mickey Mouse heads.
“Sorry,” Zach murmured, taking his hand and pulling him to the side as an electric cart whirred past them down the tunnel.
“Are you sure this is okay?” Chris whispered. “Sneaking me in like this?”
Zach glanced back at him as they continued through the tunnels. “Chris, I’ve already done so many illegal-slash-frowned-upon things for you…it would be a damn shame to stop now.”
Chris shrugged his acceptance and sped up to match Zach’s pace as they turned up a short ramp leading to another door. Zach pushed it opened and stuck his head out, looking both ways before he gestured for Chris to follow.
The morning air smelled damp, and Chris could hear birds chirping in the trees - or, more likely, from the speakers in the trees. He listened closely until he determined that, yes, those birds were definitely whistling a familiar tune - Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Da, as a matter of fact. “Hey, we’re behind Splash Mountain, aren’t we?!”
Zach nodded, then looked him in the eye. “Great ride, or greatest ride?” he asked seriously.
“Greatest ride ever.”
“Damn right,” Zach confirmed, but he led them away from the entrance, past the empty line and toward the lagoon, where a wooden sign pointed them toward Tom Sawyer Island.
Exhilaration bubbled in Chris’s chest, and he chuckled as they wobbled their way across the rickety floating bridge. Once on solid ground again, Zach took his hand and led him down a wooded path, around a mill with a working water-wheel and beneath the ladder to the tree fort.
“Why do I feel like you’ve done this before?” Chris asked, when Zach pulled back a tangle of cargo nets to reveal the mouth of a low cave.
“I haven’t. Well, not what you’re thinking, anyway.” He ducked into the cave and gestured for Chris to follow him in. “Tinkerbell and I used to smoke up in here after hours.”
“Tinkerbell? Seriously?”
“Total stoner.”
“I’m so glad I met you.”
“Really?” Zach asked, sitting down and tugging Chris to him by the hand. “Because we haven’t even gotten to the good part yet.”
Chris dropped to his knees beside Zach. Exhaustion was quickly catching up to him, and he could feel a giddy lightness in his limbs. “Is that so?”
“Mm-hmm.” Zach reached for him, running a hand up along his side. “God, I’ve been waiting for this.”
“Me, too,” Chris murmured, and they leaned in together for a kiss, their lips parting automatically, tongues tangling without prelude. They explored each other with keen hands, beneath shirts, over muscled backs and flat stomachs, dipping beneath waistbands, then back up to dig fingertips into hips and shoulder blades as the kiss intensified. They were flushed and breathless by the time they pulled apart to look at each other, laughing at their eagerness, but Chris could only stay away for a second before he lunged in again, capturing Zach’s lips with an impatient sound. Zach hummed his approval and pressed his hands into Chris’s hair, sucking on his tongue and wrapping a leg around his waist to pull him closer.
They were practically horizontal now, stretched out along the impeccably clean cave floor, rolling over to rut against each other. Zach got a hand between them, wrestling with Chris’s fly until he got the zipper down, easing his long fingers beneath Chris’s boxers to wrap around his aching cock.
“Oh fuck,” Chris gasped, stars already bursting behind his eyes as Zach worked his way down to nuzzle at the base of his dick, still working his shaft with short, tight strokes.
“Wanna make you come,” Zach rumbled, looking up at him with dark eyes.
“Yeah,” Chris panted, propping himself up on an elbow to watch. “You will.”
With a subtle smirk, Zach shifted his focus and went to town on Chris’s cock, licking up the length of it to take the head between his lips, sucking gently as he closed his fingers around the shaft. Chris swallowed hard and tried to watch, but the mix of sensations felt so good that he had to squeeze his eyes shut, tilt his head back and bite his lip to make it last a little longer. Zach kept switching it up, pulling off to tongue his slit, wrapping his lips around the tip, or bobbing his head as he sucked. Chris was panting like he’d just run a marathon, wheezing as he felt the telltale tightening of his balls, and he sucked in a breath to let Zach know that he was almost there. Zach grunted in understanding, and with a devilish twist of his wrist took the bulk of Chris’s load across his tongue. He let it dribble between his lips, rubbing his mouth over the sensitive head, and he milked Chris’s cock until a last spurt of come splashed against his jaw.
Chris blinked hard, glancing down through a bleary, orgasmic haze to see Zach looking back at him with a mischievous, cum-sloshed grin. “I feel so dirty right now.”
“Really? Because you’re not the one with spunk dripping down your chin.”
Chris pulled him up by the shoulders and snaked his tongue along the line of Zach’s jaw.
“That better?” He let his head fall back against the ground, his chest still heaving. Zach nuzzled into him, kissing at his neck. It felt nice, and Chris was almost content to let him continue, until he felt the press of Zach’s erection against his leg, and he was suddenly reminded of the details of their phone conversation. “Shit,” he murmured, lifting his head and twisting to look at Zach. “Wasn’t this supposed to be the other way around?”
Zach’s lips curled up in a smile like he’d been waiting for Chris to ask, and he rolled onto his back, unfastening his fly as he did. “Be my guest.” He gestured grandly to his crotch.
Chris scooted down between Zach’s legs, stifling a yawn as he did. “Fair warning, I might fall asleep on your dick.”
“Mmm. I’ll take the risk.”
Chris tugged at the elastic waistband of Zach’s boxer-briefs until his cock sprang free, curving up long and thick from a dark tangle of curls. Chris licked his lips and leaned down run his tongue along the shaft. “Okay, I’m awake.”
Zach shifted his hips and reached down to run his fingers through Chris’s hair. “Good. And now we find out if all that stuff you said on the phone was just talk.”
Chris smirked at him, parted his lips, and took Zach’s cock into his mouth in one smooth motion.
Beneath him, Zach’s hips twitched once, then stilled as he let Chris take control. Chris sucked hard, his cheeks hollowing with the force of it, mouth tight against Zach’s shaft as he breathed in through his nose and groaned in satisfaction. His nose was pressed into Zach’s pubes and he was loathe to move, but he bobbed his head slowly, going deeper every time, until the head of Zach’s dick bumped against the back of his throat. He swallowed, and Zach gasped, tightening his fist in Chris’s hair. The combination of Zach’s grip and the cock stuffed in his mouth were making Chris’s eyes water, so he pulled off to breath, to tongue at Zach’s slit and to shoot him a seductive glance. “Want to fuck my mouth?” he offered.
Zach shook his head, hair falling limply over his lust-darkened eyes. “No, just…do that again, Jesus Christ, I’m so close.”
“Your wish is my command.” Chris sucked down Zach’s spit-slicked shaft until his lips were wrapped around the base. The effort was taking everything he had, but he loved it, the smell, the taste. The slurping, grunting sounds of his enjoyment were as much a turn-on for him as he could tell they were for Zach. On a whim, he slid a hand up to fondle Zach’s balls - apparently a good decision, as Zach made a strangled sound and bucked up into his mouth, unleashing his load for Chris to swallow down with a hot, zealous hunger.
Chris pulled off but didn’t go far, resting his cheek against the exposed skin of Zach’s pelvis. Slowly, Zach’s fist loosened and he carded his fingers lightly through Chris’s hair.
“Not your first backstage blowjob, I take it,” he asked with a wry grin.
“A princess doesn’t kiss and tell,” Chris murmured.
“Well, you’d better get up here and kiss me then.”
Chris could have fallen asleep where he was, but he made himself move until they were stretched out together, exchanging lazy kisses on the still-cool floor of the cave.
“I wish I didn’t have to leave tomorrow,” Chris said, his voice tight as he finally gave in to the thought that had been plaguing him for the past few hours.
“Mmm…” Zach traced the shape of Chris’s lips with his thumb. “Maybe I know a genie who can help you out.”
Chris snuggled against his shoulder. “Wouldn’t it be weird, if that really happened? If, like, I woke up tomorrow, and it was three days ago, so I could come find you and we could start all over again?”
“Mm-hmm…or you know what else would be weird? If you did go home tomorrow, but there was some magical device that would let us talk to each other across the vast distance that separates us. Or, oooh, if only there were some sort of magic carpet that could fly me through the air to see you again.”
“Zach…”
Zach gave a slight shake of his head, asking him not to consider the practicalities, and sealed their mouths together for another kiss. Chris let his head thunk softly against the ground, let his eyes slide closed so he could focus on the sensation of Zach’s warm lips on his, and for a moment he almost felt like he was dreaming.
“Hey. Chris. You can’t fall asleep here, babe.” Zach’s voice brought him out of it, deep and real, and he rolled onto his side into warm arms.
“But it’s so comfy.”
“I know. But it’s about 30 minutes from being overrun by a plethora of children in the grip of manic sugar highs from the syrup they poured all over their Mickey Mouse waffles.”
Chris grinned at him.
“What?”
“’Plethora.’”
“What about it?”
Chris shook his head. “You’re perfect, that’s all.”
Zach shook his head bashfully, then pulled him up by the hand. “You do realize you’ll have to fight Jasmine for me.” Chris laughed, and gave the butterflies in his stomach a stern warning to quit it.
As they headed back across the lagoon, an official looking cast member with a walkie-talkie clipped to his belt nodded at Zach.
“Causing trouble, Quinto?”
Zach winked at him as they walked past. “Cleanup on Aisle 5.”
“Ew.”
“Um, can that guy get you in trouble?” Chris asked once they’d moved away.
Zach shrugged. “Nah. That’s Nate, he’s in charge of the Jungle Cruise. Half of his skippers do a line of coke every time they go on shift, so let’s just say he’s not about to blow the whistle on anyone else.”
Chris raised his eyebrows and Zach gave him a guilty look. “Oh my god, I’m totally destroying your childhood illusions here, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, kinda. But to be honest, it does explain a lot about that ride…”
“Let me make it up to you?”
“How? Let me guess, you’re going to tell me that Mickey and Minnie are crackwhores.”
“Well, no. But Mickey is usually played by a girl.”
“Goddammit!”
Zach laughed as they came to a stop just outside the door to the parking lot and tangled their fingers together. “Seriously though. Tonight, if Sierra is feeling better, bring her to Wishes.”
“Wishes?”
“The fireworks show. I’ll meet you there, and I’ll take you guys to the best viewing spot in the park. We can make her last night here really special. And yours.”
Chris was finding it a little harder to smile than he should have, and he swallowed hard. “Yeah. Yeah, that sounds great.” He leaned in for a light brush of their lips before he turned to open the door out to the parking lot. Zach had to stay, but he’d pointed out across the lot to where Chris could grab a shuttle bus back to the hotel, and Chris headed in that direction.
“Chris,” Zach called, stopping him.
“Yeah?”
“If you want, you could…” he trailed off, like he wasn’t sure he should go on. At Chris’s questioning look, he continued in a rush. “You could have Sierra’s tea party at the hotel. Call room service, order one of the cookie packages. Ask them to bring a tea set. Invite all of her stuffed animals and let her wear her princess outfit.” His expression was hopeful, encouraging. Chris’s heart swelled in his chest, and it was all he could do not to tell Zach he loved him right then and there.
“You…are a genius,” he said instead.
Zach smiled, relieved. “Maybe you could even lend her your tiara?”
“If I’m feeling generous,” Chris said with a wink. “I’ll see you tonight, okay?”
“Yeah. See you tonight.”
** OOO **
Main Street, Magic Kingdom was packed with people streaming into the park in time to catch the late night fireworks show. Chris maneuvered Sierra’s wheelchair through the crowd, with Mrs. Reed and the boys following close behind. For the most part, people were pretty good about moving out of the way to let them pass. Amidst the crowd, Disney vendors hawked all manner of glowing neon accessories. Chris wondered if he should stop and get something for Sierra, but Zach had texted that he was waiting for them at the base of Cinderella’s Castle, and he was loathe to stop before they got there.
They’d been making steady progress, but as they got closer the crowd seemed to thicken, forming a seemingly impenetrable wall between their small party and the castle. Chris said his "excuse me’s" a little more loudly and looked around for another route, but the masses seemed intent on keeping them from reaching their goal. He was resisting the urge to use Sierra’s wheelchair as a battering ram, when suddenly a path opened up in front of them and they made their way through to find Zach waiting on the other side.
He looked damp and fresh, like he’d showered after work, and he’d changed into a gray t-shirt and jeans. A pink glow-in-the-dark necklace lit up his smile as he knelt down before Sierra and handed her a glowing red rose.
“You look lovely this evening,” he told her, and she reached for the rose with wide, adoring eyes.
He stood to give glowing necklaces to the boys and Mrs. Reed. He handed one to Chris, winking as their fingers brushed.
“Aladdin’s dressed funny,” Sierra observed.
Chris made a face at Zach as he tried to figure out how to answer, but Zach was way ahead of him.
“Shh,” Zach whispered. “I’m in disguise. Can’t have everyone knowing that I’m Aladdin, right? Or they’d all want to get their picture taken with me, and tonight is just for you.”
Sierra grinned and shook her head. “Nooo.”
“No?”
“I know you’re a real person,” she said, sounding very sure of herself.
“Is that so?” Zach asked, amused. “Who am I?”
“Umm…”
Chris leaned down and whispered in her ear.
“Zach!” she crowed happily.
“Cheater,” Zach grumbled, but he couldn’t hold his fake scowl for long. He took Sierra’s hand, and Chris pushed her wheelchair as they followed him along the low stone wall abutting the castle.
Chris dutifully let Zach guide them, though his brows furrowed with confusion. He’d been under the impression that Zach was going to take them inside, but instead he seemed to be leading them away from the castle. They came to a stop, and Zach let go of Sierra’s hand to hop up onto the wall. “Where are you taking us?” Chris asked, looking up at him.
Zach crouched on the wall, looking down at them. “Do you trust me?”
“I…yeah, of course.”
“I’m taking you to the best viewing place in the park - we just need to get the wheelchair up here first.”
Zach helped Mrs. Reed and the boys up, and Chris lifted Sierra carefully from her chair. She was capable of standing on her own, but she was still weak from the hospital, and didn’t mind being babied just a little. She was as light as a feather in Chris’s arms, and he couldn’t help but brush a light kiss atop her trusty pink bandana before handing her up to her mom and Zach.
Chris collapsed the wheelchair and set it on the wall, then climbed up himself, and together they walked up a short grassy hill.
“I was thinking riiiiight about here,” Zach said. He turned and pointed up into the sky. “What do you think?” Sierra lifted her head from his shoulder, and Chris looked along with them, up at the castle, lit a pale purple against the night sky.
“It’s so pretty,” Sierra breathed. Chris had to agree.
“Just wait until the fireworks,” Zach said. He handed Sierra to Chris, set his backpack down, and pulled out a blanket to spread on the ground, big enough for the five of them to lie on.
“This is amazing,” Chris said, sitting down beside Zach as they waited for the fireworks to begin. Tyler and Sean were having a fake sword fight with their necklaces, and they knelt down on the blanket so Sierra could join in, attacking fiercely with her glowing flower.
“I’m sorry I gave away my rose,” Zach murmured to Chris.
“It’s okay,” Chris said, and for a second it looked like Zach was going to say something else, but before he could a flailing, giggling six-year-old landed in Chris’s lap, distracting him.
“Oh no!” Chris yelled, not missing a beat, “I’ve been hit! I must retaliate, but the only weapon I have is…TICKLES,” he roared, wiggling his fingers. Shrieking with laughter, Sierra squirmed onto the blanket between him and Zach. Chris braced himself, pretty sure he was about to be tackled by an 8- and a 10-year old, too, but before that could happen they heard a BOOM, and golden fireworks erupted in the sky above them.
Silence descended over the park, and they lay back in hushed awe as Jiminy Cricket’s voice sounded all around them, welcoming them to the show as a mosaic of colorful explosions filled the air.
From their vantage point on the lawn, the fireworks seemed almost close enough to reach up and touch. Sierra stared up at the sky in rapt attention, but Chris’s eyes were drawn to Zach, memorizing his profile as each new burst bathed him in a pastel splash of light. He looked almost as mesmerized as Sierra. His eyes were bright, and his lips moved as he sang softly along to the music.
Like a bolt out of the blue,
Fate steps in and sees you through.
When you wish upon a star, your dreams...come...true
Chris reached across the blanket and found Zach’s hand searching for his. He tangled their fingers together and glowed quietly from within.
Zach pointed up at the castle, and Chris gasped along with everyone else as Tinkerbell appeared on the tallest spire, flying high above them on the wings of Disney magic.
Star light, star bright,
first star I see tonight.
I wish I may, I wish I might,
have the wish, I wish tonight.
Chris held his breath and wished with all of his heart that this night, this moment, would last forever.
He had a feeling everyone on the blanket with him was wishing the same thing.
** OOO **
They didn’t talk as they made their way down Main Street. Everything Chris wanted to say sounded too much like “goodbye,” so he stayed quiet, and the heaviness in his heart seemed to tug at the corners of his lips. They’d gotten as far as the exit, following the crowd toward the shuttle buses, before Mrs. Reed came up alongside him and gently took the handles of the wheelchair from him with a smile.
For a moment, Chris and Zach stood uncertainly on the sidewalk, then they were reaching for each other, clinging with a desperate urgency that surprised them, made them laugh softly together.
Chris brushed his lips against Zach’s ear. “Would it be really cheesy of me to say that tonight was totally magical?”
He felt the smile, then the lingering kiss that Zach pressed against his temple, the flex of his biceps as he tightened his embrace. “Something to remember me by,” he said, his voice gruff.
Chris squeezed his eyes shut, his heart pounding. “Zach, this…this isn’t one of those things, is it, one of those Disney fairytale…connections, the kind that never happen in real life?”
“Actually,” Zach murmured against his temple, “I think it is.”
“You do?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Fireworks sparked in Chris’s chest and shimmered through his limbs. He pressed his fingertips into Zach’s back, their bodies already molded together so closely that anything more would have been indecent in a Disney World parking lot.
“Hey, Chris?”
“Yeah?”
“I can feel your ‘little princess’ poking me in the thigh.”
“Oh my god,” Chris choked, laughing and groaning into Zach’s shoulder. “I think you just managed to ruin Disney movies and my dick for me with that one sentence.”
“I’ll help you through it,” Zach said, loosening his arms. He leaned back far enough to catch Chris’s eye. “So, you’ll call me?”
Chris swallowed and nodded, hating every inch of air between them. He had no idea how he would deal with miles. “I’ll call you.”
** OOO **
Three months later
Zach checked his watch as he made his way through Hollywood Studios. The park was just opening, but Naya had been insistent that he get there early. Which surprised him, because although Zach enjoyed occasionally spending an hour in the park before his shift, Naya usually just rolled her eyes and told him that he was weird for wanting to watch MuppetVision 3D again, especially since he could already lip synch the entire movie. Whatever - it was still funny every time. This morning, however, Naya was waiting for him by the fountain as planned. As soon as she spotted Zach, she grabbed his hand and dragged him down one of the side streets.
“Naya, where are we going?”
“I want you to meet someone.”
“Meet someone? I thought we were going to watch MuppetVision 3D.”
“This is better than MuppetVision 3D.”
“I highly doubt that,” Zach scoffed. “Wait, Naya, you’re not taking me to meet some guy, are you?”
Naya gave him a look and didn’t let go of his wrist.
“Naya, come on,” Zach pleaded, dragging his feet. “I know you think long-distance relationships aren’t a real thing or whatever, but Chris and I are going to make this work.” He felt a flood of warmth at the thought of Chris and at the memory of his visit to New York a month earlier. He’d taken a 24-hour bus ride up to see him, and they’d had four blissful days together, spending half their time wandering around Broadway in awe and the other half locked in Chris’s bedroom giving new meaning to the lyrics over, sideways, and under. He knew it would be a while before they’d be able to see each other again, and recently their phone calls had consisted primarily of lamenting that fact, but he was still positive that this - that Chris - was what he wanted. So it figured that Naya would pick now as the perfect time to drag him around, introducing him to Walt Disney World’s most eligible bachelors.
Finally, Naya came to a halt behind the building that housed the Voyage of the Little Mermaid live show. Zach knew exactly where they were, mainly because his straight friends were always trying to hook up with the newest Ariel. He vaguely recalled hearing a rumor that one of the actors who played Prince Eric had gotten a role in a touring show, and suddenly he knew what Naya was up to. He glared at her.
“No fucking way, Naya, you are not trying to set me up with another Prince Eric. Since when has that ever ended well?”
“Since now?” The voice that answered from the backstage door sounded familiar, and Zach spun around, not believing his ears. Chris was smiling at him, looking ridiculously, unfairly gorgeous in Eric’s princely regalia.
“Shit,” Zach murmured eloquently, still not able to fully comprehend what he was seeing.
“How do I look?” Chris asked, holding his arms up for Zach’s appraisal.
“You look….” Zach said slowly, taking a step towards him, “like you need help getting out of that costume…”
“Whoa, okay,” Naya interjected, as Chris glanced down with a bashful grin. “Zach, just try not to destroy any more Disney property, okay?”
“I’ll be gentle,” Zach said, smirking. He paused, shaking his head in disbelief. “Chris, what are you doing?”
“Uh, costume fitting? I got hired to play Prince Eric! I start next week.”
“Yeah, but…why?”
A playful expression crossed Chris’s features as he took a step toward Zach, reaching for his hand. “Let’s just say I wanted to be…part of your world.”
Zach laughed and pulled him in for a tight hug. “I love you so much, you corny motherfucker.”
“So…good surprise?”
“Oh my god, best surprise ever. I…I don’t even know what to do, I was so ready to be in a dedicated long distance relationship!”
“If it makes you feel better, we can still have phone sex.”
Zach laughed and pulled away, his hands lingering on Chris’s waist as he glanced down at the golden epaulets and sash. “So how much longer for the costume fitting?”
“I think we’re done, actually. I just have to change out of this…why, you have plans?”
Zach glanced at his watch. “Wanna go watch MuppetVision 3D?”
“Umm…”
“We can sit in the back row and make out in between the good parts,” he offered.
“Well in that case…hell, yeah.”
Zach shot a triumphant look at Naya, who rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide her grin. “Well, my job here is done. You boys enjoy yourselves, k? I’ll try not to make too many ‘Two Princes’ jokes, but I’m warning you right now, it’s not going to be easy.”
“Goodbye, Naya,”
“Thank you, Naya,” Chris called as she walked away, leaving them alone in the alley.
Zach reached for Chris’s hand as they turned to go inside.
“So,” Zach said, as they stepped through the backstage door, “did I ever tell you that watching The Little Mermaid is how I first realized that I was gay?”
OOO
(and they lived happily ever after)
~*~ The End~*~
Author: therumjournals
Fandom: Star Trek RPF
Pairing: Chris/Zach
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~14,000
Warning: sick kid
Summary: Zach and Chris meet in the happiest place on earth. (Disney World AU)
Part 1 Part 2
Chris crossed and re-crossed his legs, trying to find a comfortable position on one of the unforgiving plastic chairs that lined the waiting room. He’d just settled for resting his elbows on his knees, picking nervously at a cuticle, when the doors to the ER slid open. Chris glanced idly at the entrance, his breath catching as he saw Zach step through the entryway. He dimly registered the garment bag slung over one shoulder, more focused on the fact that Zach hadn’t done anything to un-style his Aladdin hair, and that his eyes still bore a faint trace of eyeliner. A quick glance confirmed that Sierra’s brothers were still glued to The Incredibles on the TV screen in the corner. Zach dropped his bag on a chair as Chris surged up out of his seat, and they crashed together in a hard embrace.
“Zach.” Saying his name felt amazing, as did the comforting warmth of the arms wrapped around him, the brush of a kiss against his hair.
“Hey,” Zach said, his voice soothing. “How’s Sierra, is she okay? What happened?”
“We were at the park, and she had some kind of seizure…we should have left earlier, it was so hot, but she wanted to see everything-” Chris broke off, remembering how one minute she’d been talking excitedly about seeing Crush and Nemo, and the next her tiny body had spasmed, head flailing so hard it hit the back of her wheelchair. His first aid training had kicked in quickly, and he’d calmly used his walkie-talkie to contact Disney Emergency Services, but inside he’d been terrified, panic clutching at his chest. Tears sprang to his eyes at the memory, and he pulled away, wiping at his face and sniffing, suddenly self-conscious. He avoided Zach’s eyes as he took a steadying breath. “We, uh…we just talked to the doctor. She’s okay, she’ll be okay…she’s just dehydrated, but she’s really weak, and it’s not good, it’s really not good for her to go through something like this. I should’ve paid more attention, I shouldn’t have-“
“C’mere.” Zach reached for him, and Chris leaned willingly into his solid chest.
“Thanks for coming,” Chris mumbled, slipping his arms around Zach’s waist, and they held onto each other, letting everything that had already happened between them catch up to this moment.
He wondered if he should kiss Zach, or if it would be weird to do that here, in the middle of a hospital waiting room. It was almost as if he could feel Zach making the same decision, and just as he’d made up his mind, convinced himself that this was the moment, the orchestra music swelling in the background, they heard the staccato sound of footsteps approaching. They dropped their arms quickly and stepped back.
“Chris, I just spoke with the doctor and he said - oh, I’m sorry!” Sierra’s mom stopped abruptly when she noticed Zach, putting a hand to her chest and glancing between them.
“Um, Mrs. Reed, this is Zach. He, uh…he plays Aladdin at Disney World, and I thought-“
“Aladdin!” Mrs. Reed’s face lit up. “Oh, Sierra will be so thrilled!”
“I mean, uh-“ Chris looked nervously at Zach. “I don’t know if you brought-“
“Yeah, I did,” Zach said, picking up the garment bag he’d set down. “Just, don’t tell anyone, okay? The Mouse will kill me if I get caught bringing the costume offsite.”
Chris smiled gratefully at him, and Mrs. Reed clasped her hands happily. “Well, I was just about to tell Chris, Sierra’s awake now, and the doctor said it would be okay if you’d like to go in and see her. I’m sure she’d love it if Aladdin could join you.”
“Oh, I think we could probably arrange that,” Zach said, flashing Mrs. Reed his most charming smile. He nodded at Chris. “I’ll meet you in there.”
Chris walked down the hall to Sierra’s room and peeked inside. She was propped up in her hospital bed, an IV-line stretching from her right wrist. She looked tired and pale, but at the sight of Chris she gave a valiant grin.
“Hey, sweetie,” Chris said, pulling up a chair to sit beside her. “How are you feeling?”
“Okay.”
“Okay? You comfortable? Did they send in the pillow plumpers to plump your pillows for you?” Chris asked, patting the pillow beside her head.
“No,” Sierra laughed, shaking her head.
“No? Oh dear. Well, we’ll have to rectify that. Is everything else okay? Does your arm hurt where they put the tube in?”
Sierra shook her head, and Chris was reminded that she was used to this, that she’d spent too many hours of her young life in hospital beds, being pricked with needles, passing long hours waiting for test results or recovering from treatments.
“Juice please,” Sierra said, pointing to the nightstand. Chris held the cup so she could take a sip from the straw.
“Hey, guess what. I brought a special visitor to see you.”
“You did?”
“Uh-huh. He should be here any minute now.” He set the juice down, and as he turned back he caught a glimpse of Zach hovering outside the door in his full Aladdin get-up. Zach caught his eye, winked, and swung dramatically around the doorframe and into the room.
“I can show you the world,” he sang, as Sierra’s face transformed from pale exhaustion to glowing excitement. “Shining, shimmering, splendid-“ Zach perched on the edge of Sierra’s bed, taking her hand as he serenaded her, “tell me, Princess Sierra, now when did you last let your heart decide?”
Zach’s voice was doing cruel, cruel things to Chris’s loins. He swallowed hard and tried not to dwell on how unfair it was that he could just do that.
“I can-“
“Open your eyes,” Sierra chimed in, and Zach gave a delighted laugh.
“Take you-“
“Wonder and wonnnder!”
“Over, sideways, and under-“ Zach met his eyes, and Chris shook his head. But he knew Sierra was watching, so he took a breath and joined in, “on a magic carpet ride, a whole new worrrrrld!”
The three of them collapsed in laughter before they could finish the song, which was good because Chris had been pretty sure he couldn’t make it through much more of it without jumping Zach in an altogether inappropriate fashion. Just watching him with Sierra was hard enough, the two of them giggling as he let her try on his fez, the rapt expression on his face as she told him an involved story about a princess and a magical cat named Hamburger.
“And then what happened?” Zach asked, as the story finally wound down and Sierra rested her head back on the pillow. “Did they live happily ever after?”
“Yep,” Sierra sighed. She gave Zach an adoring smile, and Chris was pretty sure that at that moment he had the exact same expression on his face.
“Good,” Zach said softly. “Well Princess, I have to get back to Agrabah now, before Jasmine gets worried. Will you do something for me?”
Sierra nodded.
“Feel better soon, okay?”
“Okay,” Sierra said, almost too quietly for them to hear as her eyelids fluttered shut.
“Goodnight,” Zach whispered, standing up from the side of the bed. He gave Chris’s shoulder a squeeze and slipped out the door.
It wasn’t until a few minutes later, after Chris had carefully extracted his hand from Sierra’s small but powerful grip, tucked the sheet up to her chin, and eased quietly out into the hallway, that it occurred to him that Zach might actually have left. The bathroom wasn’t occupied, and Zach was nowhere to be seen in the waiting room. Chris felt a pang of disappointment, though he couldn’t really fault him. After all, technically he had said goodnight…
He found Mrs. Reed in the waiting room, and offered to take Tyler and Sean back to the hotel. She looked over toward the play area, where they had apparently discovered the hospital’s stash of video games and were in the midst of an epic Cars showdown. She looked back at Chris. “Honestly, I think they’d rather stay here, especially if you’d take them to get some ice cream in the cafeteria in a couple hours. They’re…pretty used to sticking around during Sierra’s hospital stays,” she added, with a twinge of regret in her voice.
“No problem, Mrs. Reed, I understand. Honestly, I’d kind of rather be here, too.” He promised to keep an eye on the boys, and folded himself into one of the plastic chairs as Mrs. Reed headed back to Sierra's room. He was considering moving over a few seats to get a better view of Monsters Inc. on the TV screen, when a shadow fell over his legs and he looked up to see Zach standing in front of him.
“Zach! I thought you left!”
“I was just throwing my stuff in the car,” Zach said, sitting down beside him. A thought seemed to occur to him and he straightened, turned halfway in his chair to look at Chris. “Um, that is, if it’s cool if I stay. I mean, I can go if-“
“No, it’s cool, it’s cool. Are you - I mean, do you have anywhere to be, because you don’t have to-“
“I don’t. I mean, we were supposed to have dinner anyway and-“ Zach’s eyes darted to the side “-let’s just say I left the rest of the night open.” Chris blushed, and Zach scooted closer on his chair. “Chris…” Zach reached for him, cupping his cheek with a warm palm. Anticipation crackled in the air. Chris licked his lips, and he could see Zach watching his mouth, tilting his body slightly forward…
Suddenly, Chris remembered where they were, and he pulled away. “We probably shouldn’t…” He glanced across the waiting room, and Zach followed his gaze to the play area, where a few other kids were zooming trucks around Sierra's brothers on the carpet.
He saw Zach bite his lip as he attempted to stifle his disappointment. “Yeah, I think you’re right.” He leaned back in his chair with a rueful chuckle, rubbing a hand over his mouth as he met Chris’s gaze with twinkling eyes. “So, uh. What kind of music do you like?”
They talked quietly for a while, making first date conversation. Chris told Zach about his life as a struggling actor in New York City, where he worked as a temp to pay the bills in between auditions. During his senior year at NYU, a friend of his had asked him to play the lead in a one-time performance of a play that had been written by a 16-year old with muscular dystrophy. That was how he’d first learned of Wishgranters, and he’d been a volunteer ever since.
In turn, Zach talked about his childhood, growing up in Pittsburgh, performing in community theater, trips to Disney World with his mom and brother, and the decision to escape to Florida after college instead of trying to find a real job. As they talked, their hands inched closer until their fingers touched, overlapped, and then intertwined, sending an illicit thrill through Chris’s chest.
They took a few breaks, to the cafeteria for food with the boys, or down the hall to the vending machine for weak coffee in Styrofoam cups, and each time they’d settle back into their chairs, their hands automatically finding each other again.
** OOO **
Zach opened his eyes to the sound of footsteps, and he straightened in his chair, momentarily disoriented. They were in the waiting room - they must have nodded off during a lull in conversation, but he had no idea how long they’d been asleep. Chris’s hand was still firmly in his, and Sierra’s mother was leaning down to touch Chris’s shoulder.
“Chris?”
“Huh, what?” Chris said, coming awake suddenly, his face taking on a sheepish expression. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Reed.”
“It’s okay, honey. I was actually just coming to suggest that you go back to the hotel to get some rest.”
Chris glanced around blearily. “What time is it?”
“It’s almost 5:00.”
“What about the boys?”
“They’re fine.” She gestured to the corner of the waiting room, where Sean and Tyler were sprawled across three chairs each, mouths half open and hair plastered to their foreheads, sleeping soundly under blankets that some kind nurse had draped over them in the night. “No need to wake them, but I thought you might not be as comfortable sleeping in that chair.”
Chris winced and stretched his neck. “How’s Sierra?”
“She’s doing okay, a little restless. The doctor just wants to keep her here for a few more hours. And of course he wants us to take it easy today, so I think we’ll plan to stay at the hotel. They’ll provide transportation for us.”
Chris ran a hand over his face and let go of Zach to stand. Zach stood, too. “I can drive you back,” he offered.
Chris looked at Mrs. Reed, then at Zach. “Yeah, okay.” His mouth was turned down in a frown and he stared at the floor, arms crossed tightly across his chest.
“What’s wrong?” Zach asked, feeling strange about the question, about the fact that he could tell something was wrong, about wanting so badly to help.
“I just…” Chris shook his head. “We were supposed to go to the tea party today, with Alice in Wonderland.” He blinked, and Zach watched in wonder as a tear slid down his cheek. “She was so excited about wearing her princess costume again.” Chris wiped his cheek with a palm and gave them a sheepish look. “Sorry,” he sniffed.
“Oh, you sweetheart,” Mrs. Reed said, reaching up to pull Chris into a hug. Chris returned the embrace, meeting Zach’s eyes over her shoulder. Zach had to suppress a sudden, unreasonable urge to push the woman out of the way and wrap Chris in his own arms forever.
Instead, he stood by silently as Chris said goodbye and made Mrs. Reed promise to call if anything changed, and to call if Sierra asked for him, and to call when they got back to the hotel.
“I promise, Chris,” she assured him, and Zach set a hand on his back and led him reluctantly out of the hospital.
They held hands again in the car, as Zach drove and Chris rested his head against the window, watching the palm trees glide by.
“You really are a sweetheart, aren’t you?” Zach said, smiling a little as he glanced at Chris out of the corner of his eye.
“Yeah, I’m a real softy,” Chris sighed.
“I’m serious, you…I think you really are the kindest, most true-hearted and…selfless person I’ve ever met.” He had the urge to say more, but he had no idea how any of the precipitous declarations he wanted to make would be received.
“Yeah,” Chris chuckled ruefully. “I was real selfless last night when I was jerking off to your voice while there’s a sick kid I’m supposed to be responsible for in the next room over.”
Zach shifted in his seat at the memory and squeezed Chris’s hand. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Chris blew out a breath. “I know.”
“The doctor said Sierra’s going to be fine.”
“I know.”
Zach glanced at him again. “You do realize I’m not taking you back to your hotel, right?” he said lightly.
“Ummm…where are we going?” Chris sounded wary, but not upset.
“I have to take the costume back, plus I’m on for a character breakfast at 8:00. I was thinking maybe I’d give you a little behind the scenes tour?”
Chris couldn’t help but smile at that. “Behind the scenes?”
Zach smirked. “Backstage, as it were.”
Chris laughed. “Yeah, alright. Let’s see what you have to show me.”
** OOO **
Chris dozed for the rest of the ride, and woke up to the slam of the car door, as Zach got out and reached into the backseat for the garment bag. Chris climbed slowly out of the car, into the misty gray air of the morning. They were in a parking lot Chris didn’t recognize, one that was slowly filling up with cars at 5:30 in the morning as the “cast members” arrived, straggling in from their real lives to transform the lives of ordinary people into a fairy tale come true.
Zach led him across the parking lot to an innocuous-looking fake cliff. “Wait here, I have to go check in.” Chris opened his mouth to respond, but Zach was already heading toward a low building with a sign that read “Cast-Members Only.” Chris yawned and stared at his feet as he waited, and a few minutes later he was startled by the creak of a door opening out of the side of the boulder. “Psst. In here.” Chris raised his eyebrows and followed Zach inside as the door clicked shut behind them.
They were in a long, wide tunnel with a concrete floor. Pipes and air-ducts ran along the ceiling, and the walls were lined with industrial shelves holding a vast range of hardware, paint, cleaning supplies, and props.
“Jesus,” Chris said, clutching his chest in shock as they turned a corner to find themselves face-to-face with a long row of body-less Mickey Mouse heads.
“Sorry,” Zach murmured, taking his hand and pulling him to the side as an electric cart whirred past them down the tunnel.
“Are you sure this is okay?” Chris whispered. “Sneaking me in like this?”
Zach glanced back at him as they continued through the tunnels. “Chris, I’ve already done so many illegal-slash-frowned-upon things for you…it would be a damn shame to stop now.”
Chris shrugged his acceptance and sped up to match Zach’s pace as they turned up a short ramp leading to another door. Zach pushed it opened and stuck his head out, looking both ways before he gestured for Chris to follow.
The morning air smelled damp, and Chris could hear birds chirping in the trees - or, more likely, from the speakers in the trees. He listened closely until he determined that, yes, those birds were definitely whistling a familiar tune - Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Da, as a matter of fact. “Hey, we’re behind Splash Mountain, aren’t we?!”
Zach nodded, then looked him in the eye. “Great ride, or greatest ride?” he asked seriously.
“Greatest ride ever.”
“Damn right,” Zach confirmed, but he led them away from the entrance, past the empty line and toward the lagoon, where a wooden sign pointed them toward Tom Sawyer Island.
Exhilaration bubbled in Chris’s chest, and he chuckled as they wobbled their way across the rickety floating bridge. Once on solid ground again, Zach took his hand and led him down a wooded path, around a mill with a working water-wheel and beneath the ladder to the tree fort.
“Why do I feel like you’ve done this before?” Chris asked, when Zach pulled back a tangle of cargo nets to reveal the mouth of a low cave.
“I haven’t. Well, not what you’re thinking, anyway.” He ducked into the cave and gestured for Chris to follow him in. “Tinkerbell and I used to smoke up in here after hours.”
“Tinkerbell? Seriously?”
“Total stoner.”
“I’m so glad I met you.”
“Really?” Zach asked, sitting down and tugging Chris to him by the hand. “Because we haven’t even gotten to the good part yet.”
Chris dropped to his knees beside Zach. Exhaustion was quickly catching up to him, and he could feel a giddy lightness in his limbs. “Is that so?”
“Mm-hmm.” Zach reached for him, running a hand up along his side. “God, I’ve been waiting for this.”
“Me, too,” Chris murmured, and they leaned in together for a kiss, their lips parting automatically, tongues tangling without prelude. They explored each other with keen hands, beneath shirts, over muscled backs and flat stomachs, dipping beneath waistbands, then back up to dig fingertips into hips and shoulder blades as the kiss intensified. They were flushed and breathless by the time they pulled apart to look at each other, laughing at their eagerness, but Chris could only stay away for a second before he lunged in again, capturing Zach’s lips with an impatient sound. Zach hummed his approval and pressed his hands into Chris’s hair, sucking on his tongue and wrapping a leg around his waist to pull him closer.
They were practically horizontal now, stretched out along the impeccably clean cave floor, rolling over to rut against each other. Zach got a hand between them, wrestling with Chris’s fly until he got the zipper down, easing his long fingers beneath Chris’s boxers to wrap around his aching cock.
“Oh fuck,” Chris gasped, stars already bursting behind his eyes as Zach worked his way down to nuzzle at the base of his dick, still working his shaft with short, tight strokes.
“Wanna make you come,” Zach rumbled, looking up at him with dark eyes.
“Yeah,” Chris panted, propping himself up on an elbow to watch. “You will.”
With a subtle smirk, Zach shifted his focus and went to town on Chris’s cock, licking up the length of it to take the head between his lips, sucking gently as he closed his fingers around the shaft. Chris swallowed hard and tried to watch, but the mix of sensations felt so good that he had to squeeze his eyes shut, tilt his head back and bite his lip to make it last a little longer. Zach kept switching it up, pulling off to tongue his slit, wrapping his lips around the tip, or bobbing his head as he sucked. Chris was panting like he’d just run a marathon, wheezing as he felt the telltale tightening of his balls, and he sucked in a breath to let Zach know that he was almost there. Zach grunted in understanding, and with a devilish twist of his wrist took the bulk of Chris’s load across his tongue. He let it dribble between his lips, rubbing his mouth over the sensitive head, and he milked Chris’s cock until a last spurt of come splashed against his jaw.
Chris blinked hard, glancing down through a bleary, orgasmic haze to see Zach looking back at him with a mischievous, cum-sloshed grin. “I feel so dirty right now.”
“Really? Because you’re not the one with spunk dripping down your chin.”
Chris pulled him up by the shoulders and snaked his tongue along the line of Zach’s jaw.
“That better?” He let his head fall back against the ground, his chest still heaving. Zach nuzzled into him, kissing at his neck. It felt nice, and Chris was almost content to let him continue, until he felt the press of Zach’s erection against his leg, and he was suddenly reminded of the details of their phone conversation. “Shit,” he murmured, lifting his head and twisting to look at Zach. “Wasn’t this supposed to be the other way around?”
Zach’s lips curled up in a smile like he’d been waiting for Chris to ask, and he rolled onto his back, unfastening his fly as he did. “Be my guest.” He gestured grandly to his crotch.
Chris scooted down between Zach’s legs, stifling a yawn as he did. “Fair warning, I might fall asleep on your dick.”
“Mmm. I’ll take the risk.”
Chris tugged at the elastic waistband of Zach’s boxer-briefs until his cock sprang free, curving up long and thick from a dark tangle of curls. Chris licked his lips and leaned down run his tongue along the shaft. “Okay, I’m awake.”
Zach shifted his hips and reached down to run his fingers through Chris’s hair. “Good. And now we find out if all that stuff you said on the phone was just talk.”
Chris smirked at him, parted his lips, and took Zach’s cock into his mouth in one smooth motion.
Beneath him, Zach’s hips twitched once, then stilled as he let Chris take control. Chris sucked hard, his cheeks hollowing with the force of it, mouth tight against Zach’s shaft as he breathed in through his nose and groaned in satisfaction. His nose was pressed into Zach’s pubes and he was loathe to move, but he bobbed his head slowly, going deeper every time, until the head of Zach’s dick bumped against the back of his throat. He swallowed, and Zach gasped, tightening his fist in Chris’s hair. The combination of Zach’s grip and the cock stuffed in his mouth were making Chris’s eyes water, so he pulled off to breath, to tongue at Zach’s slit and to shoot him a seductive glance. “Want to fuck my mouth?” he offered.
Zach shook his head, hair falling limply over his lust-darkened eyes. “No, just…do that again, Jesus Christ, I’m so close.”
“Your wish is my command.” Chris sucked down Zach’s spit-slicked shaft until his lips were wrapped around the base. The effort was taking everything he had, but he loved it, the smell, the taste. The slurping, grunting sounds of his enjoyment were as much a turn-on for him as he could tell they were for Zach. On a whim, he slid a hand up to fondle Zach’s balls - apparently a good decision, as Zach made a strangled sound and bucked up into his mouth, unleashing his load for Chris to swallow down with a hot, zealous hunger.
Chris pulled off but didn’t go far, resting his cheek against the exposed skin of Zach’s pelvis. Slowly, Zach’s fist loosened and he carded his fingers lightly through Chris’s hair.
“Not your first backstage blowjob, I take it,” he asked with a wry grin.
“A princess doesn’t kiss and tell,” Chris murmured.
“Well, you’d better get up here and kiss me then.”
Chris could have fallen asleep where he was, but he made himself move until they were stretched out together, exchanging lazy kisses on the still-cool floor of the cave.
“I wish I didn’t have to leave tomorrow,” Chris said, his voice tight as he finally gave in to the thought that had been plaguing him for the past few hours.
“Mmm…” Zach traced the shape of Chris’s lips with his thumb. “Maybe I know a genie who can help you out.”
Chris snuggled against his shoulder. “Wouldn’t it be weird, if that really happened? If, like, I woke up tomorrow, and it was three days ago, so I could come find you and we could start all over again?”
“Mm-hmm…or you know what else would be weird? If you did go home tomorrow, but there was some magical device that would let us talk to each other across the vast distance that separates us. Or, oooh, if only there were some sort of magic carpet that could fly me through the air to see you again.”
“Zach…”
Zach gave a slight shake of his head, asking him not to consider the practicalities, and sealed their mouths together for another kiss. Chris let his head thunk softly against the ground, let his eyes slide closed so he could focus on the sensation of Zach’s warm lips on his, and for a moment he almost felt like he was dreaming.
“Hey. Chris. You can’t fall asleep here, babe.” Zach’s voice brought him out of it, deep and real, and he rolled onto his side into warm arms.
“But it’s so comfy.”
“I know. But it’s about 30 minutes from being overrun by a plethora of children in the grip of manic sugar highs from the syrup they poured all over their Mickey Mouse waffles.”
Chris grinned at him.
“What?”
“’Plethora.’”
“What about it?”
Chris shook his head. “You’re perfect, that’s all.”
Zach shook his head bashfully, then pulled him up by the hand. “You do realize you’ll have to fight Jasmine for me.” Chris laughed, and gave the butterflies in his stomach a stern warning to quit it.
As they headed back across the lagoon, an official looking cast member with a walkie-talkie clipped to his belt nodded at Zach.
“Causing trouble, Quinto?”
Zach winked at him as they walked past. “Cleanup on Aisle 5.”
“Ew.”
“Um, can that guy get you in trouble?” Chris asked once they’d moved away.
Zach shrugged. “Nah. That’s Nate, he’s in charge of the Jungle Cruise. Half of his skippers do a line of coke every time they go on shift, so let’s just say he’s not about to blow the whistle on anyone else.”
Chris raised his eyebrows and Zach gave him a guilty look. “Oh my god, I’m totally destroying your childhood illusions here, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, kinda. But to be honest, it does explain a lot about that ride…”
“Let me make it up to you?”
“How? Let me guess, you’re going to tell me that Mickey and Minnie are crackwhores.”
“Well, no. But Mickey is usually played by a girl.”
“Goddammit!”
Zach laughed as they came to a stop just outside the door to the parking lot and tangled their fingers together. “Seriously though. Tonight, if Sierra is feeling better, bring her to Wishes.”
“Wishes?”
“The fireworks show. I’ll meet you there, and I’ll take you guys to the best viewing spot in the park. We can make her last night here really special. And yours.”
Chris was finding it a little harder to smile than he should have, and he swallowed hard. “Yeah. Yeah, that sounds great.” He leaned in for a light brush of their lips before he turned to open the door out to the parking lot. Zach had to stay, but he’d pointed out across the lot to where Chris could grab a shuttle bus back to the hotel, and Chris headed in that direction.
“Chris,” Zach called, stopping him.
“Yeah?”
“If you want, you could…” he trailed off, like he wasn’t sure he should go on. At Chris’s questioning look, he continued in a rush. “You could have Sierra’s tea party at the hotel. Call room service, order one of the cookie packages. Ask them to bring a tea set. Invite all of her stuffed animals and let her wear her princess outfit.” His expression was hopeful, encouraging. Chris’s heart swelled in his chest, and it was all he could do not to tell Zach he loved him right then and there.
“You…are a genius,” he said instead.
Zach smiled, relieved. “Maybe you could even lend her your tiara?”
“If I’m feeling generous,” Chris said with a wink. “I’ll see you tonight, okay?”
“Yeah. See you tonight.”
** OOO **
Main Street, Magic Kingdom was packed with people streaming into the park in time to catch the late night fireworks show. Chris maneuvered Sierra’s wheelchair through the crowd, with Mrs. Reed and the boys following close behind. For the most part, people were pretty good about moving out of the way to let them pass. Amidst the crowd, Disney vendors hawked all manner of glowing neon accessories. Chris wondered if he should stop and get something for Sierra, but Zach had texted that he was waiting for them at the base of Cinderella’s Castle, and he was loathe to stop before they got there.
They’d been making steady progress, but as they got closer the crowd seemed to thicken, forming a seemingly impenetrable wall between their small party and the castle. Chris said his "excuse me’s" a little more loudly and looked around for another route, but the masses seemed intent on keeping them from reaching their goal. He was resisting the urge to use Sierra’s wheelchair as a battering ram, when suddenly a path opened up in front of them and they made their way through to find Zach waiting on the other side.
He looked damp and fresh, like he’d showered after work, and he’d changed into a gray t-shirt and jeans. A pink glow-in-the-dark necklace lit up his smile as he knelt down before Sierra and handed her a glowing red rose.
“You look lovely this evening,” he told her, and she reached for the rose with wide, adoring eyes.
He stood to give glowing necklaces to the boys and Mrs. Reed. He handed one to Chris, winking as their fingers brushed.
“Aladdin’s dressed funny,” Sierra observed.
Chris made a face at Zach as he tried to figure out how to answer, but Zach was way ahead of him.
“Shh,” Zach whispered. “I’m in disguise. Can’t have everyone knowing that I’m Aladdin, right? Or they’d all want to get their picture taken with me, and tonight is just for you.”
Sierra grinned and shook her head. “Nooo.”
“No?”
“I know you’re a real person,” she said, sounding very sure of herself.
“Is that so?” Zach asked, amused. “Who am I?”
“Umm…”
Chris leaned down and whispered in her ear.
“Zach!” she crowed happily.
“Cheater,” Zach grumbled, but he couldn’t hold his fake scowl for long. He took Sierra’s hand, and Chris pushed her wheelchair as they followed him along the low stone wall abutting the castle.
Chris dutifully let Zach guide them, though his brows furrowed with confusion. He’d been under the impression that Zach was going to take them inside, but instead he seemed to be leading them away from the castle. They came to a stop, and Zach let go of Sierra’s hand to hop up onto the wall. “Where are you taking us?” Chris asked, looking up at him.
Zach crouched on the wall, looking down at them. “Do you trust me?”
“I…yeah, of course.”
“I’m taking you to the best viewing place in the park - we just need to get the wheelchair up here first.”
Zach helped Mrs. Reed and the boys up, and Chris lifted Sierra carefully from her chair. She was capable of standing on her own, but she was still weak from the hospital, and didn’t mind being babied just a little. She was as light as a feather in Chris’s arms, and he couldn’t help but brush a light kiss atop her trusty pink bandana before handing her up to her mom and Zach.
Chris collapsed the wheelchair and set it on the wall, then climbed up himself, and together they walked up a short grassy hill.
“I was thinking riiiiight about here,” Zach said. He turned and pointed up into the sky. “What do you think?” Sierra lifted her head from his shoulder, and Chris looked along with them, up at the castle, lit a pale purple against the night sky.
“It’s so pretty,” Sierra breathed. Chris had to agree.
“Just wait until the fireworks,” Zach said. He handed Sierra to Chris, set his backpack down, and pulled out a blanket to spread on the ground, big enough for the five of them to lie on.
“This is amazing,” Chris said, sitting down beside Zach as they waited for the fireworks to begin. Tyler and Sean were having a fake sword fight with their necklaces, and they knelt down on the blanket so Sierra could join in, attacking fiercely with her glowing flower.
“I’m sorry I gave away my rose,” Zach murmured to Chris.
“It’s okay,” Chris said, and for a second it looked like Zach was going to say something else, but before he could a flailing, giggling six-year-old landed in Chris’s lap, distracting him.
“Oh no!” Chris yelled, not missing a beat, “I’ve been hit! I must retaliate, but the only weapon I have is…TICKLES,” he roared, wiggling his fingers. Shrieking with laughter, Sierra squirmed onto the blanket between him and Zach. Chris braced himself, pretty sure he was about to be tackled by an 8- and a 10-year old, too, but before that could happen they heard a BOOM, and golden fireworks erupted in the sky above them.
Silence descended over the park, and they lay back in hushed awe as Jiminy Cricket’s voice sounded all around them, welcoming them to the show as a mosaic of colorful explosions filled the air.
From their vantage point on the lawn, the fireworks seemed almost close enough to reach up and touch. Sierra stared up at the sky in rapt attention, but Chris’s eyes were drawn to Zach, memorizing his profile as each new burst bathed him in a pastel splash of light. He looked almost as mesmerized as Sierra. His eyes were bright, and his lips moved as he sang softly along to the music.
Like a bolt out of the blue,
Fate steps in and sees you through.
When you wish upon a star, your dreams...come...true
Chris reached across the blanket and found Zach’s hand searching for his. He tangled their fingers together and glowed quietly from within.
Zach pointed up at the castle, and Chris gasped along with everyone else as Tinkerbell appeared on the tallest spire, flying high above them on the wings of Disney magic.
Star light, star bright,
first star I see tonight.
I wish I may, I wish I might,
have the wish, I wish tonight.
Chris held his breath and wished with all of his heart that this night, this moment, would last forever.
He had a feeling everyone on the blanket with him was wishing the same thing.
** OOO **
They didn’t talk as they made their way down Main Street. Everything Chris wanted to say sounded too much like “goodbye,” so he stayed quiet, and the heaviness in his heart seemed to tug at the corners of his lips. They’d gotten as far as the exit, following the crowd toward the shuttle buses, before Mrs. Reed came up alongside him and gently took the handles of the wheelchair from him with a smile.
For a moment, Chris and Zach stood uncertainly on the sidewalk, then they were reaching for each other, clinging with a desperate urgency that surprised them, made them laugh softly together.
Chris brushed his lips against Zach’s ear. “Would it be really cheesy of me to say that tonight was totally magical?”
He felt the smile, then the lingering kiss that Zach pressed against his temple, the flex of his biceps as he tightened his embrace. “Something to remember me by,” he said, his voice gruff.
Chris squeezed his eyes shut, his heart pounding. “Zach, this…this isn’t one of those things, is it, one of those Disney fairytale…connections, the kind that never happen in real life?”
“Actually,” Zach murmured against his temple, “I think it is.”
“You do?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Fireworks sparked in Chris’s chest and shimmered through his limbs. He pressed his fingertips into Zach’s back, their bodies already molded together so closely that anything more would have been indecent in a Disney World parking lot.
“Hey, Chris?”
“Yeah?”
“I can feel your ‘little princess’ poking me in the thigh.”
“Oh my god,” Chris choked, laughing and groaning into Zach’s shoulder. “I think you just managed to ruin Disney movies and my dick for me with that one sentence.”
“I’ll help you through it,” Zach said, loosening his arms. He leaned back far enough to catch Chris’s eye. “So, you’ll call me?”
Chris swallowed and nodded, hating every inch of air between them. He had no idea how he would deal with miles. “I’ll call you.”
** OOO **
Three months later
Zach checked his watch as he made his way through Hollywood Studios. The park was just opening, but Naya had been insistent that he get there early. Which surprised him, because although Zach enjoyed occasionally spending an hour in the park before his shift, Naya usually just rolled her eyes and told him that he was weird for wanting to watch MuppetVision 3D again, especially since he could already lip synch the entire movie. Whatever - it was still funny every time. This morning, however, Naya was waiting for him by the fountain as planned. As soon as she spotted Zach, she grabbed his hand and dragged him down one of the side streets.
“Naya, where are we going?”
“I want you to meet someone.”
“Meet someone? I thought we were going to watch MuppetVision 3D.”
“This is better than MuppetVision 3D.”
“I highly doubt that,” Zach scoffed. “Wait, Naya, you’re not taking me to meet some guy, are you?”
Naya gave him a look and didn’t let go of his wrist.
“Naya, come on,” Zach pleaded, dragging his feet. “I know you think long-distance relationships aren’t a real thing or whatever, but Chris and I are going to make this work.” He felt a flood of warmth at the thought of Chris and at the memory of his visit to New York a month earlier. He’d taken a 24-hour bus ride up to see him, and they’d had four blissful days together, spending half their time wandering around Broadway in awe and the other half locked in Chris’s bedroom giving new meaning to the lyrics over, sideways, and under. He knew it would be a while before they’d be able to see each other again, and recently their phone calls had consisted primarily of lamenting that fact, but he was still positive that this - that Chris - was what he wanted. So it figured that Naya would pick now as the perfect time to drag him around, introducing him to Walt Disney World’s most eligible bachelors.
Finally, Naya came to a halt behind the building that housed the Voyage of the Little Mermaid live show. Zach knew exactly where they were, mainly because his straight friends were always trying to hook up with the newest Ariel. He vaguely recalled hearing a rumor that one of the actors who played Prince Eric had gotten a role in a touring show, and suddenly he knew what Naya was up to. He glared at her.
“No fucking way, Naya, you are not trying to set me up with another Prince Eric. Since when has that ever ended well?”
“Since now?” The voice that answered from the backstage door sounded familiar, and Zach spun around, not believing his ears. Chris was smiling at him, looking ridiculously, unfairly gorgeous in Eric’s princely regalia.
“Shit,” Zach murmured eloquently, still not able to fully comprehend what he was seeing.
“How do I look?” Chris asked, holding his arms up for Zach’s appraisal.
“You look….” Zach said slowly, taking a step towards him, “like you need help getting out of that costume…”
“Whoa, okay,” Naya interjected, as Chris glanced down with a bashful grin. “Zach, just try not to destroy any more Disney property, okay?”
“I’ll be gentle,” Zach said, smirking. He paused, shaking his head in disbelief. “Chris, what are you doing?”
“Uh, costume fitting? I got hired to play Prince Eric! I start next week.”
“Yeah, but…why?”
A playful expression crossed Chris’s features as he took a step toward Zach, reaching for his hand. “Let’s just say I wanted to be…part of your world.”
Zach laughed and pulled him in for a tight hug. “I love you so much, you corny motherfucker.”
“So…good surprise?”
“Oh my god, best surprise ever. I…I don’t even know what to do, I was so ready to be in a dedicated long distance relationship!”
“If it makes you feel better, we can still have phone sex.”
Zach laughed and pulled away, his hands lingering on Chris’s waist as he glanced down at the golden epaulets and sash. “So how much longer for the costume fitting?”
“I think we’re done, actually. I just have to change out of this…why, you have plans?”
Zach glanced at his watch. “Wanna go watch MuppetVision 3D?”
“Umm…”
“We can sit in the back row and make out in between the good parts,” he offered.
“Well in that case…hell, yeah.”
Zach shot a triumphant look at Naya, who rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide her grin. “Well, my job here is done. You boys enjoy yourselves, k? I’ll try not to make too many ‘Two Princes’ jokes, but I’m warning you right now, it’s not going to be easy.”
“Goodbye, Naya,”
“Thank you, Naya,” Chris called as she walked away, leaving them alone in the alley.
Zach reached for Chris’s hand as they turned to go inside.
“So,” Zach said, as they stepped through the backstage door, “did I ever tell you that watching The Little Mermaid is how I first realized that I was gay?”
OOO
(and they lived happily ever after)
~*~ The End~*~