Fic: Off the Stage (14/14)
Title: Off the Stage (14/14)
Author: gradgirl (aka Ali)
Rating: PG-13
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 slayerkitty for insisting I post. Comments are appreciated and loved. Thank you ~Ali
Previous Chapters: { Chapter 1} { Chapter 2} { Chapter 3} { Chapter 4} { Chapter 5} { Chapter 6} { Chapter 7} { Chapter 8} { Chapter 9} { Chapter 10} { Chapter 11} { Chapter 12} { Chapter 13}
Chapter Fourteen
“Do you really have to leave?” Eric asked Van. He hated this moment in the play the most. Despite the weeks of rehearsals and even the knowledge that when he went to bed that night, Van would be with him, this was the moment Eric dreaded the most.
It was the last scene of the play, and it was also opening night.
Every time they got to this scene, Eric hated it. He was reminded of the last scenes they filmed: Reid’s death. He finally understood how painful it had been for Van. The older man mostly had to lie there while listening to Van’s heart get ripped out. It wasn’t until years later that he fully understood how difficult those scenes were for the younger man, but more than that, it was saying good-bye to their relationship. Understanding the full extent of Van’s feelings for him at the time, Eric had a better appreciation for what it took for Van to make it through those last few days.
This scene was different, Eric knew that, but it didn’t mean he wanted to act this out night after night.
Van’s eyes were shining, and the redhead wondered if he was thinking the same thing Eric was. “Yes, Davis, I have to leave. You should know that better than anyone else.” He moved walking around, his arms opened wide, indicating the Hale Household, but it looked liked the whole world. “You walked out so you should know more than anyone-”
“I was wrong!” Eric cut him off. Davis and Campbell were starting to finally mend their relationship. Davis was getting his brother back, or so he thought.
Van circled back to Eric. “No, you weren’t. I can’t stay here. I didn’t want to. Father wanted you to run the company.”
“He wanted us to run it together,” he argued. His hand started to twitch, and he shoved it into his pocket.
“No, he didn’t,” Van replied. “It was one more plan: get you back where he thought you belonged.”
Davis wasn’t about to give up, and he still had one more argument, more fight in him. Maybe it was coming off as too much fight, because Eric wasn’t ready to say good-bye. “What will you do?”
Van moved so he was standing next to Eric. Their shoulders grazed as they both looked out into the full theater. Van wouldn’t allow his gaze to linger on Terri’s excited grin or Jake’s weary anticipation. “I’m an architect, remember? Taking classes covertly in between business wasn’t easy, but I’m done. I even have a job lined up. It’s in California.”
“Across the country,” Eric replied miserably.
“We’ll still be in touch,” Van countered, but he couldn’t keep his voice steady either. “And I’ll be back,” he continued on, keeping the false optimism in his voice. “For the wedding,” his voice cracked on the last word.
Eric moved as Davis finally realized, “You’re in love with my fiancée. That is why you’re leaving. It’s not the house.”
“Yes, it is!” Van insisted. “This house… You should be leaving too. You will not like who you’ve become and worse yet, neither will Laura.”
“You’re really in love with her,” Eric repeated, his voice a little steadier now and louder.
“Stop saying that!” Van insisted and practically put his hands over his ears and wanted to shout and throw a tantrum.
“It’s the truth, isn’t it?” the redhead’s voice was deceptively calm. “Aren’t you always demanding that of me? Don’t I deserve that much?”
“Why does it matter if I’m in love with Laura?” Van questioned, instead of addressing Davis’s question.
And then the reality of everything about what his life would be like and the realization of what Davis had to do made itself known. “You have to leave,” Eric responded.
“I know,” Van said emphatically and started to walk toward the center of the stage. The set was divided, a living room and then the entryway, a thin wall separated them. The other half of the stage was dimmed, waiting for Van’s arrival.
“And you have to take Laura with you,” the redhead told Van’s retreating form.
Van finally stopped. He slowly pivoted around. “Wh-what?” he tried to project his voice, but it sounded like a hesitant pant. “What?” he tried again.
“I left once and didn’t save you. What kind of brother would I be if I didn’t give you this opportunity now?”
The younger man walked up to Eric and closed the distance between them. “But how can you give her up?” he questioned as though it were the last thing he could imagine.
“I don’t love her, not the way you do; not the way she needs to be loved. You’re willing to walk away, even though you love her; you don’t want to hurt her. I’ve never loved anyone that much. Go find her and take her away from here. Please,” Eric insisted and his hands came up in a silent prayer. “Do this for me.”
Van started to shake his head and move away. “No.”
“If you love her, take Laura away from all of this.”
Van turned again and walked up to Eric. “Davis…” It was on the tip of Van’s tongue to say he loved him, but that wasn’t the line. “Thank you.”
Eric pulled the younger man closed for a hug. They had to practice this; of course, the distance had to be just right, not too familiar but not awkward either.
Once the director realized they were actually dating, the hugging scenes became easier to deal with. The reveal, though, and been an embarrassing moment for Van, when Neil had come to the set early and found them sharing a kiss. Neil knew how to guide Eric and Van without making anyone question the characters or especially the two men.
The reveal came a few weeks after the weekend Eric spent in Van’s bed. The men had gotten to the theater before anyone else. They’d been talking quietly, going over a scene, and Eric had teased Van about the fact that they would have to hug today and asked if Van would freak out. The blonde had reached for Eric’s shirt, tugged him close, and crashed his mouth into Eric’s. And that was the moment Neil walked in. He actually hadn’t been too surprised to find the two interacting that way. After their talk, and the nervous reaction from both men, Neil suspected there was more to their relationship than their past work.
After realizing they had been caught, and that Eric wasn’t ashamed or concerned in any way, Van finally felt that unspoken knowledge he’d been seeking: knowing that Eric was fully committed to him and their relationship. Talking it through, assuring Neil that their working relationship would not be affected was what got them through rehearsal. They still searching for the right balance, but it wasn’t as awkward for Van because everything was out in the open.
After a few moments, the two men pulled apart. Campbell left in search of Laura and Davis was left alone on the stage. Davis’s section went dark, and then Van and Mia appeared again on the other side. They were kissing and Eric was grateful for the darkness. He knew that Van loved him and they had this future to look forward to, but it didn’t mean he wanted to watch his boyfriend kiss their pretty co-star.
And then the entire stage went dark and the curtain came down.
*
At the after-party, Terri came racing up to Van. She had been such a fan of him and a supporter of his relationship with Eric. The guys had gotten together with her for dinner a few times. After about the first five minutes, in which she had bombarded Van with so many questions, his love for her was cemented.
“I couldn’t look at you some times,” Van admitted after greeting her. “I’m supposed to be upset and in love with my brother’s fiancée, and you’re just so happy!”
Terri chuckled. “Because I’m happy for you and Eric. The minute he told me about your crush on him back in the day…” her voice trailed off. “I’d been rooting for the two of you,” her voice changed, noting the seriousness. “Besides, I missed watching you guys act together. Please tell me you have other projects lined up.”
“Isn’t that bad luck, to talk about your next play on the opening night of the first one?” Van checked. “We don’t know what the critics will have to say…” He tried to keep this calm, but Terri had such an infectious personality and he often found himself caught up in her excitement. He felt like he could finally let go of the past, and let go of the man who had feelings for Eric several years ago, Van could tell that guy that it was all going to be work out. That while it hurt then, now he would be happy.
“Oh, please,” Terri assured him and smacked him on the shoulder with the back of her hand. “You guys are brilliant. The play is outstanding. And once your fans realize that can see Reid and Luke together again, the ticket sales will be through the roof. Now come on, I need a drink.”
“You got it,” Van said, offering Terri his arm and leading her toward the bar.
*
Eric wasn’t too surprised to have Jake greet him. He hadn’t gotten to see the younger man as often as he would have liked. Jake lived in California with his family, and he’d come back to town just once since Eric and Van had gotten reacquainted. Van usually kept Eric abreast of news in Jake’s family, even admitting some of Jake’s concerns about Eric and Van’s relationship. The three guys were to get together later in the week to have dinner.
“You were great,” Jake greeted him with a handshake.
Eric tried not to be put off. In the past, Jake was generally an affectionate guy, often hugging Eric. The handshake was a bit of surprise. “Thanks, Jake. It’s good to see you again. I know Van appreciates you coming out and supporting him.”
“He’s my best friend, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him,” his voice was cool, but the edge was easy to detect.
Eric slowly nodded his head. “This is where you give me the speech.”
“Speech?” Jake’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he crossed his arms over his chest.
“If I break his heart, you’ll kill me speech,” the redhead noted.
Despite himself, Jake smiled. “You were there then, but you had no idea. I think he might have loved you then,” the younger man mused.
Eric opened his mouth, but Jake held up his hand to stop him.
“We both know it was wrong and if anything happened while the show was still on, it would have been a big mistake,” Jake continued. “But I am Van’s best friend, and I was on the receiving end of a few drunken phone calls and a lot of sadness when he lost track of you. And it was more than a crush; he lost a guy-a friend-he cared about.”
Taking a few moments, Eric let Jake have his say and the older man kept his response short and to the point. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m in love with Van, and the last thing I want is to hurt him and after a rough start, for which I’ll always regret, I’ve proven to him that I’m in this.”
Jake’s face broke out into a wide grin. “That’s all I needed to know.”
*
While Neil had knowledge about Van and Eric’s relationship, they kept it from the rest of the cast. The guys tried to keep the relationship under wraps. Van graciously avoided all of Mia’s attempts to set him up with her brother. In another time or place, he might have agreed. He finally told her that he had started dating someone, an old friend.
It wasn’t until the night of the opening that Mia fully understood what Van had meant. She’d brought her brother, Tristan, as a guest. He always supported his sister, and he was a fan of Van’s work. When he learned she’d actually been working with both Van and Eric he was quite excited. Tristan hoped not to make a fool out of himself, or embarrass his sister. While she went around the room, introducing him to people, he caught sight of Van out of the corner of his eye.
“Oh my God,” he whispered and reached for his sister’s arm. Tristan tried to take a couple of deep breathes. He’d seen the man acting with his sister not more than a half hour ago. But that was different. He had been caught up in the play, not even seeing his own sister, just watching the story unfold. Now, Van was less than ten feet away.
Mia had been talking to the actress who played Van’s mother and was drawn away by the tug on her arm. She turned and understood what had drawn his attention. “Do you want to meet him?” she asked.
Before Tristan could respond, Eric walked up to Van. The two men just looked at each other and smiled. Eric had some food in his hand and Van appeared to be asking him about it. Eric tried to pull his hand away but Van reached around Eric, his body pressing into the older man’s, intent on getting the food. The two men shared a laugh.
“They’re totally sleeping together,” Tristan muttered to Mia.
Her mouth fell open in shock. She knew that Van was gay, but she didn’t think Eric was interested in him. However, looking at the two of them, Tristan’s words made perfect sense: Van’s deflections about a set-up, the way they instinctively knew what the other was thinking, or the rare times when a scene wasn’t working and they’d come in the next day prepared, having everything perfect. “Uh…yeah…okay,” Mia responded. “Do you still want to…” She couldn’t finish her question.
“Why don’t we give them a few minutes?” Tristan suggested.
“Yeah,” she murmured, still trying to wrap her mind around what she was seeing.
*
“I thought the food thing was just Reid,” Van teased, still not able to get a taste of the food Eric had been raving about.
“Hey,” the older man tried to argue. “I was just acting my ass off up there, I’m hungry.”
Van shook his head and leaned in closer. “You weren’t alone up there,” he reminded his boyfriend.
A smile tugged at Eric’s lips, and he brought up a little pastry for Van to taste. The blonde’s eyes locked with Eric’s, and he took a bite.
“Well?” he asked.
“Not bad, but you taste a lot better,” Van assured him.
Eric swallowed thickly and hated that he didn’t have a quick response. “Later,” he could only say, his voice a little strained.
“What?” Van asked, trying to keep an innocent look, but he knew exactly what Eric was telling him.
“Van…” Eric groaned.
Looking around, Van leaned in even further and brushed his mouth against Eric. “I love you.”
“I love you back.”
*
Eric tried not to be concerned. He loved that even after all this time his kids enjoyed coming over for Sunday dinners. However, they generally didn’t disappear after dinner and spend a half hour with Van. After re-introducing his children to Van, Nate immediately bonded with Van. Nate found the blonde easier to talk to about school, and when Nate finally told his parents that he wanted to study acting, it was only after Van’s encouragement and support. Both Jenny and Eric were grateful that Nate had a confidante. Sarah took a little bit longer to bond with Van. She had developed a bit of crush on him, and then to learn that her father was dating Van had been difficult for her, not so much that her father was in a relationship with another man, but that was a man she thought was cute. It made her uncomfortable, but since she was all of ten at the time, she quickly outgrew the crush and had found another object for her affections.
The weekly dinners had become a tradition quite a while ago and had been Van’s suggestion. He wanted Eric, and of course Eric’s kids, to be comfortable with their relationship. The blonde thought the best way to go about that was to spend time together, to let the kids get to know Van as a new member of the family.
Five years and countless dinners later, Eric knew he shouldn’t be concerned and yet…
“Van…” the redhead began. They’d just finished doing the dishes and were heading into the living room to watch a little television before heading to bed. They were both in plays, and Monday was dark in the theater. They’d planned to spend the next day relaxing, or so Eric thought; he had to wonder what was so important that Van and the kids had disappeared for so long.
“Yeah?” Van asked. He was sitting on the couch, flipping through the channels, trying to find a soccer game for Eric to watch.
“Everything okay?” the redhead checked. He sat down next to Van on the couch so he could face the younger man.
“Yeah, why?” Van asked quizzically. He’d been anxious about his conversation with the kids, but now that it was over with, he felt exceptionally happy.
“It’s just you and the kids were together for a while.”
Van finally turned off the television and turned so he could face Eric. “And that bothers you?”
The redhead’s shoulders slumped. “Of course not. You know I’m glad Nate and Sarah love you. But…” He took a deep breath. “I hate surprises. You know that, right?”
Van chuckled gently. “Yes.” And then he realized, “Your fiftieth birthday is coming up soon and you’re worried I’ll throw you a surprise party.”
“You wouldn’t, would you?” he asked, anxiety coloring his voice, making it sound high pitched.
“I loved the fortieth birthday party you threw for me,” Van countered, his own voice sounded indignant. “And you’re going to be a half-century-
we need to celebrate that!”
“No.” Eric vigorously shook his head. “When you turn a half-century-and don’t ever say that to me again-” the older man said, holding up his finger in warning, “then you can talk about a surprise party. Van…I just want a quiet night with you…the kids maybe…”
“Maybe?” Van cocked an eyebrow. “Why Mr. Stevens, what would you suggest we do to commemorate such a milestone?” He leaned in closer and wrapped his arms around Eric’s neck. “A weekend in bed, perhaps?”
Eric started to lean in and kiss Van, but he pulled back at the last minute. “No, you don’t get to do that. You can’t distract me with sex. What are you and the kids planning?”
Van’s arms slipped down away from Eric and into his own lap. “All right, all right.” He couldn’t quite meet Eric’s gaze as he continued, “It wasn’t so much as a surprise as a question.”
“What?” Eric asked and he reached out, tucking his finger underneath Van’s chin. “What did you ask them?”
Van smiled and he felt his throat start to clog a little. If he’d been told five years ago, or even a dozen years ago that someday he would be in this moment with Eric, he would never believe it, and he’d absolutely never allow himself to hope… “I love you,” he said and he felt tears pinprick his eyes. He could see how much Eric loved him.
“I love you back,” Eric assured him.
Van offered a watery grin and he hastily wiped at his eyes. “Nate’s only condition was that I not cry when I do this… He’s gonna kill me,” he muttered.
“Do what?” Eric questioned.
“I love you completely, and I know it really wasn’t easy for us, your fears, and my insecurities, and then when you…” He took a deep breath and reached for Eric’s hands. “After that first night together, when you told me, when you promised it was just the start for us… I knew that was it for me. We had so much to do, we had a whole future in front of us, and I think we still do. Eric, you’re it for me, there is no one else, and there never will be. The reason I was with Nate and Sarah tonight, I needed to get their permission.”
“For what?” the older man whispered.
“To be their step-dad and to let me love you forever. I want to marry you, Eric. Will you let me?”
Words escaped Eric for a moment and he jerkily nodded his head. “Yes!” he finally gasped; the words had made it through their struggle and found voice. “Yes. Of course, you’re right, it’s forever.”
Van gave him a blinding smile before tugging Eric close. Their mouths crashed together, sealing the next chapter of their lives together.
~Fin~
-------------------------------------------------
Well, we got the last look at their play. Also, decided to try a flashforward for this last chapter. Thank you again for taking this trip with me. It started out as a story for a dear friend and that you all have embraced and enjoyed it…I am at a loss for adequate words. Just thank you. ~Ali
P.S. Happy (early) birthday to foreverbossy27!