Fic: Off the Stage (1/14)
Title: Off the Stage (1/14)
Author: gradgirl (aka Ali)
Rating: PG-13 (eventually NC-17 - no one is more shocked by that then me)
Characters/Pairings: Van Hansis/Eric Sheffer Stevens
Summary: Future fic. What happens off the stage when Van and Eric meet again?
Warnings: RPS. If you are offended by the idea, please do not read this story.
Disclaimer: Complete fabrication, never happened, never expect to happen. There are no intentions to offend or cause harm.
Author’s Notes: The whole thing (credit and blame) goes to cherimola. Without her, I never would have attempted to write this. Thanks to my amazing beta, reilaroo, I cannot post without and thanks also to slayerkitty for insisting I post. Comments are appreciated and loved. Thank you ~Ali
Chapter One
“Van Hansis,” the director, Neil Baxter, read the name off of the headshot. “Hmm, great name,” he murmured to himself. The man in question appeared on the stage and started reading the lines. The director flipped the headshot over, reviewing his credentials. He was in his mid-30s but could easily pass for ten years younger, which was good, because that was around the age of the character. Van had done a few soaps, more movies though, and about a half dozen plays-mostly in the last four years.
When Van hit the crucial part of the monologue, where he would grab the audiences or completely lose them, the director dropped the headshot and watched the scene unfold. Van was mesmerizing. In just a few minutes, he completely embodied the character. The director was relieved. They wouldn’t have to audition anyone else, and Van vaguely reminded Neil of the actor they had hired the day before to be his character’s half-brother. It might lend some authenticity to the production, but the director had felt the same way about that other actor as he did about Van. He completely embodied the character.
“All right, thank you!” the director called out.
Van offered a nod and thanks as well before heading off the stage. He thought he might have nailed the audition, and he loved the play. Van really wanted this job, and he hadn’t felt that way in a while. He was energized, and he hoped the call from his agent would be positive.
The director turned to two of the producers. He didn’t need to say anything; they had all seen Van’s performance. He looked from one producer to the other, and they both nodded their heads.
“I’ll call his agent,” the director confirmed.
*
Eric loved the first day of a play: the rehearsal process, getting to know his co-stars. Just being on the stage, escaping into that world, rarely was there any other place he loved to be. He knew at a young age that he wanted to be an actor, the work was difficult and intermittent, but booking a job, starting a new play, as he was going to today, it made it all worth it.
He felt a little nervous, but he was more excited than anything. He got to the theater early. He wanted to find his way around, familiarizing himself with the stage. He nervously tapped the pages of his script against his thigh. He was anxious to get started, meet the rest of the cast; especially the guy they had cast as his half-brother. It was a good script, family drama at its best: everyone coming together for a family funeral, power struggles ensue. Eric’s character and that of his half-brother fight the most, eventually finding a way to coexist after years of hatred. He wanted to meet the actor, begin the process. Eric just hoped that the other actor would want to focus on lines and character building as much as Eric did.
“Is that…the great Reid Oliver?” an incredulous and terrifyingly familiar voice sounded behind Eric.
The redhead paused. He hadn’t been on World Turns in six years, and while he still thought of the character and how much fun he had, rarely did he hear that name. And then the voice, it belonged to the man he worked with the most, the man who held him, touched him, and kissed him with a passion Eric had rarely felt outside of his personal life. But it couldn’t be possible.
“Eric Sheffer Stevens you’re going to have to face me eventually,” the voice said again, and this time Eric’s heart thudded around his chest cavity. He hadn’t realized, or maybe he hadn’t acknowledged how much he’d actually missed that voice and especially the person it was attached to.
He turned and this time his heart stopped briefly before beating on rapidly. He felt like it was going to burst right out of his chest. “Van.” He offered a nervous smile, taking in the man before him. The voice hadn’t changed, but after five years very little about Van had changed. His hair, which constantly battled between blonde and brown, was a dark blonde, a little on the short side, but the devilish grin was still there on his face. The grin caused the heart palpitations. Eric tried to calculate Van’s age and he figured he was around 34-35 now, almost the same age he was when they worked together.
Eric wasn’t sure why he was nervous, maybe he felt awkward about not keeping in touch with Van. They had tried, like everyone does, and for the first year, they shared the occasional email. Eric preferred phone calls, and they’d get together, usually with Jake, and have dinner or get a drink. But Van had gone out to LA, gotten some work, while Eric stayed on the east coast, racking up more theater credits and doing a few movies.
Van quickly closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Eric, pulling the man close for a tight hug. Eric froze for a moment. He forgot how free Van was, in some ways the polar opposite of Luke, but the need to touch him, to be physically affectionate, was something Van had in common with his character. It had taken Eric a little bit of getting used to. Early in their working together, they had the conversation about touching, how much they wanted to rehearse, would either one (read: Eric) be uncomfortable with a touch, a caress or a glance lasting too long. Luke would become annoyed and would physically move Reid around. Early on, most of their work was devoted to choreography. They rehearsed that almost as much as they did the lines they had to memorize. Sometimes Eric would trip over Van’s feet, but the younger man always had a firm grip on Eric; he felt safe with Van.
Pulling himself away from the half dozen conversations he was reliving with Van, Eric’s arms came up and he wrapped them around Van, holding the other man close. Eric’s chin had to lift up slightly to rest on Van’s shoulder. The blonde shuddered in his arms or maybe that was Eric. He softly patted Van on the back and pulled away.
“Hi, Van,” he greeted him.
The younger man shook his head. “After what? Five years? And that’s all you got?” He pulled Eric close for another hug. “How the hell are you?”
Eric let himself be held by Van again. He sometimes thought of the younger man, associated him with the work he’d done on the soap. Occasionally his mind would wander and think about the people he’d worked with, wondering where they were, how they were doing. He had a dozen questions for Van, of course, and if he still knew the blonde, then Van would have a hundred questions in return. For now, he’d just let Van hold him, tease him, and then they’d figure it out.
Finally, Van pulled away, but he kept his hand on Eric’s shoulder. “So Cliffs Notes version, I know it’s been five years, and we’ll have to get together and talk, but are you in the play?” he asked.
“Yes,” Eric responded. “I play Davis.”
“That’s insane!” Van said, incredulously. “I just got cast as Campbell.”
“What?” Eric asked. He knew that the younger man would have to be in the play; otherwise, he wouldn’t be there, but the confirmation still surprised him.
“Yeah, I got cast a few days ago. I can’t believe it.” Van’s smile deepened. “I always wanted to work with you again, but this…”
“Yeah, I know,” the redhead replied. “I was just thinking,” he voice trailed off with a shake of his head.
Van chuckled softly. “Don’t tell me you were thinking of me. Although I must admit, I am flattered.”
He offered a smile and Eric briefly wondered if he was flirting with him, but Van’s nature was a little on the flirtatious side. It never bothered him before. Eric found himself smiling in return when he realized it didn’t bother him now.
“In a way, I probably was thinking of you,” the older man admitted. “With this play, I was thinking that whoever was cast as Campbell, I wanted to work with him, build that relationship. I hadn’t really thought of that since you and I worked together on the show.”
Van nodded his head in understanding. “Yeah, of course. I loved playing Luke with you, you made those last few months wonderful. I…” he stopped and ducked his head, nervously patting the back of his neck. “I loved the idea of doing this play and now that you’re in it with me.” A smile tugged at his lips. “This is going to be great, Eric, I can’t wait to work with you again.”
This time Eric pulled Van close for a hug. He generally kept a physical distance with Van. They had worked well together and hung out a few times while they were on the show. They’d seen more of each other outside of work after the show wrapped. But Van had just said exactly what Eric was thinking, and the physical need to hold Van, to touch him, had become too overwhelming not to give in.
“Well, this is great,” the director, Neil, announced as he found his two leads sharing a hug. “Are you rehearsing the last scene already?”
The two men jumped apart. Eric offered a sheepish grin and Van wrapped his arm around the older man’s waist, not wanting to let him go just yet. “Mr. Baxter-”
“Neil,” he instructed holding up his hand.
“Thanks. Neil, Eric and I worked together…” He paused and looked at Eric for a moment. “Has it really been six years?”
“Yeah,” Eric answered.
“We did a soap together six years ago; this is the first we’ve seen of each other in a long time,” Van said.
“Great,” Neil said. The two men were their top choices, a history and possible friendship should add to the play and build their relationship. With all the family drama, it was the connection between the brothers that was most important. “Well the rest of the cast is starting to wander in, let’s get started.”
*
“Van, there you are,” Robert, one of the producers, greeted him.
Van was a little worried. The day before he’d been given a couple of scenes to memorize and told he needed to come in and read with a couple of actors auditioning for the part of Noah’s doctor. If anything, he figured Jake would be there for the readings and looking at the scenes at first, he was still a little unsure. Luke and Dr. Oliver appeared to absolutely hate each other. Van wondered if that old adage was going to be true: there is a thin line between love and hate. The doctor’s lines were hilarious, though.
“Yeah, Robert?” Van asked pulling himself out of his thoughts.
“The actors are here. We need you in the rehearsal hall.”
Van’s steps picked up pace, and he followed the producer. Walking toward the hall, Van saw three guys. Two were in suits and one was standing off to the side in jeans and a T-shirt. Van paused for a moment. He wasn’t conventionally attractive. He kind of looked like a dad about to run errands to the hardware store, but there was something about him. As though sensing Van’s gaze on his, the actor looked at him for a moment. Van almost felt like the guy was checking him out and when Van offered a smile, the actor rolled his eyes. Van chuckled softly to himself; he wasn’t going to be deterred.
Robert led Van into the hall and the first actor came in. He was wearing a suit and Van felt his palms sweat for a moment. The actor was very attractive, almost like a model. When they started the scene, the actor had an air of intelligence and professionalism, but the arrogance wasn’t there. The second actor came in. He was dressed similarly-expensive suit and he carried himself well. He had an Australian accent, and Van had to stop himself from trying to speak the same way. The second guy was a little better then the first, but Van couldn’t help but think about the other guy, the one who hadn’t come in yet.
Finally, the last actor was called in. There was a problem with the camera and the guy seemed annoyed. Van kind of loved it, but mostly he hoped that this guy was just acting and he wasn’t really an asshole.
Van hated the silence and walked up to the last actor. “I’m Van,” he said offering his hand.
The guy looked at it briefly before shoving his hand into his pocket. “Eric,” he replied and again his eyes travelled up and down Van’s body.
The blonde tried not to be affected, knowing it was all part of the act.
“All right! We’re ready!”
The two men were called over to their marks to film the audition scenes. Van didn’t move, but looked at Eric for a moment, until the redhead met his gaze.
“What?” Eric demanded.
“Next time you check me out, don’t be so obvious,” Van commented. “If Dr. Oliver is gay, Luke probably won’t figure it out for a while.” Van turned on his heel and went to his mark.
Eric’s mouth fell open for a moment. The actors had been told Reid was gay, but to keep it a secret. He wasn’t sure how soaps worked, and he didn’t think Van was supposed to know, either. He quickly moved to hit his mark, and they ran through the few scenes.
Van had loved working with Eric. The guy acted like a complete asshole. He was far and away better then the other two actors. Van’s only concern was that Eric wasn’t “acting.”
A few weeks later, Van was heading down to the set to film with Jake. He hadn’t seen is co-star and figured the tall brunette was still in make-up. Van stopped when he heard his name being called. He turned to the producer, Robert, who was standing with and the man from the audition. Van swallowed a smile, glad to see the producers had made the right choice. Briefly thinking of his concerns about this guy, that he was a jerk after all, Van looked at Eric. He noticed the redhead was nervously tapping his left hand next to his thigh. Van’s gaze stayed on the man for a moment. He was just acting, Van realized.
“Van, you remember Eric Sheffer Stevens. He was just cast as Reid Oliver.”
The redhead smiled shyly, and Van was momentarily transfixed. “Hi.” Van offered his hand. “Van Hansis.”
Eric’s smile deepened. “Right.” This time he shook the blonde’s hand. He’d gotten a couple of the first scripts. Reid’s character was acerbic, rude and funny. Eric knew he would relish playing him.
“Eric. It’s nice to meet you properly.”
“You too.”
Van smiled. “Robert, I assume you’re going to give Eric the grand tour.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, I have to head to the set. Eric, if you want to drop by my dressing room when you’re done, we can talk about running lines and…” He winked and put his hand next to his mouth. “I’ll tell you all the gossip about the producers,” he stage whispered.
Eric chuckled softly and chanced a glance at Robert, who was trying to hold back a smile.
“Van, you ready man?” a very tall brunette came up to them and he patted Van on the back.
“Yeah, Jake, they’ve found your doctor,” Van replied nodding his head in Eric’s direction.
“Oh, hey, that’s great. I’m Jake Silbermann,” the brunette said. “I play Noah.”
Eric introduced himself and he briefly wondered how his character would come between these two.
“We have to head to the set,” Van said. “And I meant what I said if you want to talk, come to my dressing room.” He started to follow Jake, but then he stopped and came back to Eric. “This place can be difficult to navigate, so when you end the tour, go back to the main entrance. Then go up two flights, turn left and go to the fifth door on the right.”
“Fifth door on the right?” Eric checked.
“Yeah,” Van said. “That’s my dressing room. Mr. One-Take-Jake means we’ll be done soon.”
Eric chuckled softly at the nickname.
“Hey!” the brunette had come back to see what was delaying his friend.
“You gave yourself the nickname, Silbermann,” Van said.
“Three years ago,” he argued.
“Yeah, but it’s funny,” Van said as he shrugged his shoulders. “How could we let it go?” Van looked at Eric for confirmation, but the redhead was trying not to chuckle. He would definitely like working with these guys.
----------------
Thank you for stopping by and taking a chance on this story. If you’re not completely horrified, then please let me know what you think. ~Ali
Onto Chapter Two...