Happy Holidays, tazlet!
Title: Much Ado about Immortals
Author: The Bard of Avon
Written for: Tazlet
Characters/Pairings: Duncan MacLeod, Methos, Joe Dawson, Amanda, Richie Ryan, Walter Graham, Gina de Valincourt, Robert de Valincourt.
Rating: PG-13
Author’s Notes: This takes place in an alternate universe where Fitz and Richie are still alive.
Summary: Gina de Valincourt loves amateur theater - and coercing her friends into acting in them. Too bad that two of her players are engaged in a verbal war. Luckily, a few others of her acting troop also like playing matchmaker.
"Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania"
A Midsummer's Night's Dream
Act II, Scene I
There were three things that Gina de Valincourt loved. First, of course, was her beloved Robert. Second was hosting parties at their estate outside of Paris. And third was putting on theatricals, in which she coerced her Immortal friends to take part, and for which a sizeable theater had been built in the lower right wing of the de Valincourt mansion. So as she surveyed the stage where a wood outside of Athens was taking form so that she could play Titania to her beloved Robert's Oberon, she should have been the happiest woman in France.
With a sigh, she made her way to the rehearsal room where a collection of her dearest friends were sitting around a table, scripts in hand. They were all, to a man, pointedly not looking in Duncan MacLeod's direction.
"Thank you for coming early to rehearsal," she began.
"How is Raines?" Marcus Constantine asked, polite concern on his face. He might not like Cory Raines, as he disliked both thieves and con men, but he had been raised with Old World manners and Raines had been part of their (reluctant) company.
"He has recovered well," Gina assured him, sharing a reassuring smile with the other members of the theatrical company.
"Of course he did," Duncan said, rolling his eyes at the unnecessary dramatics. "He's Immortal!"
"You pushed him off the stage!" Gina said indignantly. "He broke his neck!"
"He pinched my ass!" Duncan protested.
Walter Graham gave him an amused look. "You should have just turned the other cheek, MacLeod."
"I did! He pinched that, too! That's when I pushed him."
There was a snicker, most likely from Fitz Cairn, although when Duncan turned to glare at him, the damnable man was innocently examining his manicure.
"Duncan, it is too, too bad of you!" Gina said reproachfully. "Cory has refused to return! We shall have to cancel the play!"
"Oh, thank god!" Richie said, tossing down the script that he'd been frowning over. "No more Puck for me! Been nice, everyone, but I'm off to the bar for a beer."
"What bar?" Joe Dawson asked from where he sat, making notes about the rehearsal schedule. "Mine is closed at the moment."
"Oh, I was thinking of a nice place that I know - in Monte Carlo. Bye, guys. Mac, I'll call you later."
"Oh, you will not desert us, too, Richie!" Gina said in dismay, fluttering her eyes at him in that devastating way that she adopted when she wanted to get her way. Duncan could even see tears on her eyelashes.
Richie looked as if it was taking all his will-power to resist that look. "If we don't have anyone to play Cory's part - "
"Oh, but we do!" Robert said, entering the room. "Look who just arrived back in Paris."
Behind Robert was the young Immortal, Adam Pierson. Wearing an old pair of jeans with his hands stuffed into the pockets of an old hoodie, he looked barely old enough to be a graduate student. Of course, at least half of the company knew that he was also Methos, the oldest living Immortal.
"Gina, my dear, you remember Adam Pierson."
"But of course!" she said, smiling in delight at Methos. "What a pleasure to see you again! And how kind of you to agree to help us with our theatrical."
"Always glad to help," Methos said, taking her hand and kissing the back of it.
Duncan snorted. “Since when?”
Both Gina and Methos ignored him. “You brought your luggage, yes? I will have the maid ready your room - everyone is staying here till after the party.”
“She’s afraid we’ll try to escape,” Richie muttered to Nick, who snickered at that.
“Thanks,” Methos said to Gina, handing her the keys to his car. Then he turned back to the rest of the group. “Well. What do we do now?”
************
"You must not, sir, mistake my niece. There is a
kind of merry war betwixt Signior Benedick and her:
they never meet but there's a skirmish of wit between them."
Much Ado About Nothing
Act 1, Scene 1
Robert and Gina took their leave of the company to check that the stage would be ready for rehearsal that afternoon. Joe nodded a greeting to Methos while Richie and Fitz came over to shake hands. Amanda gave him a hug and introduced Nick. Then Methos turned towards where Duncan was sitting.
"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Duncan said sardonically.
"Speaking of cats," Methos said, smirking. "Is that the yowling of an alley cat I hear? Or - no, just Duncan MacLeod."
"Oh, very witty," Duncan said. "The beaches of Bora-Bora get too hot for you?"
Methos shrugged. "There's something about Paris at Christmas time. The lights. The colors."
"The free booze?"
“Don’t need free if I can run a tab.”
Duncan snorted. “And you would know all about running, wouldn’t you?”
Richie watched the two of them, a grin on his face, waiting for one of them to break, to move forward and hug.
Methos scowled. “At least I know when to run and when to stay, unlike some people. But then, you never had much sense, did you, Highlander?”
“Blah, blah, blah,” Duncan said, miming talking with his hand. “Are you still talking? Because no one is listening to you.”
"Are they always like this?" Nick asked Amanda in a whisper.
She was watching the pair with a little frown. "They've always traded quips, a friendly little competition between them, but not usually this sharp. Except for when …. Well, never mind."
She broke off, biting her lip. The last time they had all been in Paris together, just before she had left for Canada, Duncan and Methos had seemed just fine. They had all drunk champagne on the barge, toasting the future, and she'd thought that they'd smoothed out the bumpy bits of their friendship. In fact, she’d bet herself that the two of them were on the way to being more than friends. Looked like she’d lost that bet.
Amanda glanced over at Joe and he grimaced, which told her that he knew what was behind the down-right chilliness between the two men.
"All right, guys, settle down," Joe said, rising from his place at the table. "Adam, here's your script. You're taking Cory's part so you're playing Helena."
Methos paused in reaching out to take the script. "I'm playing who?"
"Helena."
He blinked. "Why not Lysander or Demetrius?"
"Mac's playing Demetrius and Nick is Lysander."
"Well, then Bottom - "
Fitz waved his hand in the air.
"You can play Puck," Richie said eagerly. "I would be more than happy to let you have my part."
"Not Puck," Methos said decisively. "So why am I playing a woman's part?"
"It was my idea," Walter Graham said, walking into the rehearsal room. "Updating the classic heteronormative tale of two pairs of lovers by embracing a wider vision of love, while at the same time looking back towards the roots of theater when young men played the female parts." He paused. "We also have more male actors than female."
"You could do a different play," Methos pointed out.
"And Gina wanted to play Titania."
Joe handed Methos the script. "Welcome to the cast, Pierson."
********
After a break for lunch, they read through the play to bring Methos up to speed. By then it was dinner and Joe dismissed the company for the day, with instructions to be ready for blocking the next day.
As everyone drifted out of the room, Robert grasped Methos by the shoulder and smiled at him. "Excellent work, Adam! You have a quick mind, to have learned your part so well."
"His tongue is even quicker than his mind," Duncan said, brushing past them and jostling Methos’ other shoulder. "And twice as sharp."
He left the room and Robert looked after him, then turned back to Methos with a wry smile. "Your bon ami, Duncan, is not so happy with you. You have lost his heart, Adam."
Methos smiled thinly. "He let me borrow it for a while, in exchange for mine - or so I thought. So yes, you might say that I have lost it."
He left the room and Robert watched him leave with a frown, then turned to Amanda. "What has happened to Adam and Duncan? When they helped me get Gina back, they seemed the best of friends. But now..."
"I have no idea, but Joe will," Amanda said firmly, and set off in search of the Watcher.
********
"Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,
Men were deceivers ever,
One foot in sea and one on shore,
To one thing constant never:
Then sigh not so, but let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny."
Much Ado About Nothing
Act II, Scene III
If Joe did know the cause of the chill between the two friends, he wasn’t talking. Instead, he made himself scarce until after breakfast the next morning when he arrived to take charge of the crew. Under Walter’s direction, the actors took their places on the stage for an attempt at a complete run-through of the play.
It was a disaster. The ensemble made it through Act I with no problem, and Act II seemed to proceed well, although the speeches between “Demetrius” and “Helena” in Scene II had undercurrents of rancor on both sides. Helena's declarations of adoration fell decidedly flat. By the time they had made it through Act III, however, it appeared more likely that Demetrius and Helena would come to blows than fall into each other’s arms. The rehearsal ended abruptly before the end of Act IV, with Duncan and Methos storming off of the stage in opposite directions, leaving the rest of the company staring after them in varying degrees of irritation.
"This will not do!" Gina complained to Amanda and Fitz as Joe called an end to the rehearsal for the day. "Helena is supposed to be in love with Demetrius! Instead, Adam looks like he would like nothing better than to put a knife between Duncan's ribs."
"Duncan's just as bad," Amanda said with a sigh. "No one would believe that Demetrius has fallen in love with Helena, not the way he glares."
"Surely we can find someone else to take up the part of Helena," Fitz said to Gina.
Gina shook her head. "Not in time. The party is in two days! That is not enough time for someone to learn the part, even if we had another person. Unless you could make Cory change his mind," she said, appealing to Amanda.
Amanda shook her head. "Not even I could convince him to play against Duncan again. It would be easier to make Adam and Duncan fall in love with each other than to change Cory's mind."
Fitz drew in a sharp breath and exchanged a look with Gina. Amanda, feeling the sudden tingle of an insane plan in the air, looked at the two of them.
"What?"
"Of course!" Gina said, her face lit up with enthusiasm. "Exactly like the characters they play!"
"Not exactly," Fitz felt obliged to point out. "Not having any magic potions lying around."
"No, no!" Amanda exclaimed, falling into the spirit of the idea. "Like in that movie! Where they trick the two characters into thinking that the other one loves them."
Gina seemed to find no fault with this. Fitz, on the other hand, felt a sudden and unusual qualm.
"Don't you think it's a bad idea to trick them into thinking the other is in love with them?" he asked. "They're bound to find out the truth sometime."
"But it is the truth," Gina replied. "They love each other. I know they do - I can feel it. They are just being stupid men, not seeing the truth because of their pride."
Fitz was inclined to take affront at the "stupid men" comment, but fortunately they were joined by Robert before Gina's temper got the best of her. She turned to her husband at once, sure of his agreement with her for although Robert might be a man, he was the most romantic one that she knew. As she had hoped, Robert immediately liked the idea.
"It will have to be soon," he declared. "Before they have a chance to let these new hurts fester - or incite the rest of the cast to riot. And we will need more assistance."
Richie was readily convinced to assist in the scheme, his sense of fun loving the idea of getting something over on his mentor. Joe was less willing to go along with a plan to trick his friends, although he did agree with them that Something had to be done.
And so, with many high hopes and much crossing of fingers, they prepared to bait their traps.
*********
"If it proves so, then loving goes by haps:
Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps."
Much Ado about Nothing
Act III, Scene I
It was easy enough to bate the trap for Duncan. Robert had given him leave to use their salle for practicing, and after his latest run-in with Methos, Duncan had seemed to need the chance to blow off some energy. Since general rehearsals had been postponed till the next day while Walter put “Bottom” and his company of players through their scene, Duncan spent that time going through his katas.
The trio assigned to set the bait for Duncan waited until he was finished and thus was in a more relaxed state of mind before making their way to the salle. Their purported errand was to fetch prop swords for the players to carry, and both Richie and Fitz were careful to talk loudly as they walked down the hallway so as not to catch Duncan unaware. As they had expected, he had no wish to talk to anyone and ducked out of sight into the changing room, though they had no doubt that he could hear them.
"Here are the swords Robert mentioned," Joe said, leading the way to the cabinet that held the non-lethal practice rapiers. "How many do we need?"
"Three," Richie said, as if distracted, and then turned to Fitz as if continuing a conversation. "So you're telling me that Methos is in love with Mac? Are you kidding me?"
From the direction of the changing room they heard the sound of something dropping onto the tile floor. All three men ignored it.
"So Joseph was telling me at lunch," Fitz said, examining each of the weapons for signs of damage along the blade. "Tell Ryan what you told me, Joe."
"Just that the Old Man was a fool if he thought about looking in that direction," Joe growled. He wasn't entirely comfortable with this deception, but the truth of the matter was that he was fond of Methos and didn't want him to avoid Paris because of Duncan MacLeod.
"Why?" Richie asked, affronted. "Don't you think Mac's good enough for him?"
"Don't get me wrong," Joe said. "Mac's a great guy. But Methos - well, he's something special. He doesn't deserve to get his heart broken."
"Joe has a point," Fitz pointed out. "Mac has always had a bit of a roving eye. And he's too stubborn to change his ways, or to make amends."
"And you think Mac will break his heart?"
"He did two years ago," Joe growled. “Why do you think he left Paris?”
"You think it's Mac's fault that they had a falling out?" Richie asked, quickly rising to the defense of his mentor.
"I don't know," Joe said with a sigh. "Maybe it wasn't anyone's fault. Mac probably just said or did something that Methos took the wrong way - you know how prickly the old man can be. And now neither one will admit there's a problem or try to make things better."
Richie groaned. "Sounds hopeless to me."
Fitz agreed with him, adding, "You'd better advise Methos to give up any hopes in that direction, Joe."
"Yeah," Joe agreed, his voice heavy with a sadness that he didn't need to feign. "I'm just worried that it'll be too much for Methos, hanging around here and watching Mac parade his new conquests. I think that the next time he leaves Paris, it will be for good."
There was another sound from the changing one, this time an exclamation that was hastily smothered. The three men exchanged an amused look and Fitz said, very quietly, "I think that this fish has been hooked, gentlemen." Aloud he added, "We'd better take these back to the theater, to be ready for tomorrow."
The others agreed and they left the room, to tell the other members of their little conspiracy that the first seeds had been planted.
Duncan barely allowed them to clear the salle before he stumbled out of the changing room and sat heavily on one of the benches. He felt as if he was slightly drunk, caught halfway before disbelief and exhilaration. Methos loved him? Could it be true?
He had thought so, two years earlier, and had courted the skittish older Immortal with as much patience as he could bear. He had just been about to declare himself - over a private dinner on the barge, with candlelight and wine and luxurious sheets on the bed - when Grace had called him in desperate need of help. And when he'd returned to Paris, the bird had flown the nest.
Methos had gone, his apartment cleaned out, and Joe was being cagey about his new location. Duncan had been devastated, then furious, then despairing before finally allowing acceptance to settle into his heart. Methos didn't want to see him - that was clear - so he would give the other Immortal space.
He just hadn't realize how much it had hurt until Methos walked into the rehearsal room. His hurt had risen up, bitter and hard, and he'd done his best to show his utter disdain for the older Immortal. If Methos didn’t care about him or his friendship, then neither would he.
And now, to his amazement, he learned that Methos loved him! He wanted to shout with joy. He wanted to throw up his arms - no, throw them around that damned prickly, stubborn, amazing old man and kiss him until neither one of them could remember their names.
Methos loved him.
And this time, there would be no hesitation. He would let Methos know that his feelings were requited and, if it wasn't too late, they would finally get their happy ending.
With joy in his heart and a lightness to his step, Duncan headed for his room so that he could shower and change before hunting down the old Immortal.
**********
Methos wasn’t as easy to find, for he had taken to hiding where none of the rest of them could find him. But at last Amanda tracked him to the library where she discovered, quite by accident, that he had taken refuge in one of the window alcoves, curled up on the bench and half-hidden behind the heavy curtains, with his nose in and old tome. She quickly gathered up Gina and Robert, and the three of them settled on the sofa before the fireplace to talk about the other members of the company.
"Oh, but I have the most delicious bit of gossip about Duncan!" Gina said when enough time had passed to allay suspicion but before Methos could get bored enough to disrupt them. "He's in love! Fitz told me that he had it from Richie. And you'll never guess with whom!"
"I think that I can guess," Amanda said, smirking. "The way he's been acting since Adam arrived - just like a little boy pulling the pig-tails of the girl they like."
"Adam?" Robert asked, in apparent disbelief. "You think that Duncan is in love with Adam Pierson?"
There was a startled sound, quickly muffled, from behind the curtained alcove, which the three of them ignored.
"Impossible!" Robert continued. "The way he's been acting towards the poor boy - I'd sooner believe that he dislikes him entirely."
Gina shook her head. "If Duncan disliked him, he'd just ignore Adam or go away. I've seen him act this way before, although never so extreme. I think that Adam might just be The One." She looked over at Robert with the affection that hadn’t died, even after three hundred years.
"I hope not, for Duncan's sake," Amanda said with a sigh. "I'd hate to see his heart broken again."
Gina echoed her sigh. "Fitz said that Duncan was just about to tell Adam how he felt two years ago, but Adam just left Paris all of a sudden before he could."
"Maybe that was for the best," Amanda said. "I hate to think how much it would have hurt if he'd spoken and Adam had turned him down."
"Why, don't you think Pierson returns his feelings?" Robert asked.
"I think he likes Duncan, but he's too proud to admit to anything deeper," Amanda said. "Not that I blame him. It's a scary thing to fall in love with another Immortal. I didn't think I'd ever feel so deeply for someone, not until I met Nick."
"He's a good man," Robert said. "I hope that you will both be as happy as Gina and I have been."
"But you don't think that Duncan deserves to be as happy?" Gina persisted.
"I think he deserves every happiness," Amanda replied. "I just don't think that Adam is capable of returning his feelings."
Robert nodded. "I have to agree. I think Richie should advise Duncan to try to forget about his feelings for Adam."
"It will not work," Gina said gloomily. "Fitz said that it's been nearly two years and still Duncan shows no sign of changing his feelings. Richie thinks he might leave Paris, go to one of those holy places he likes, and who knows when we will see him again?"
"Well, all we can do is to try to be good friends to Mac, as he was when we were in trouble," Robert said. He glanced at the clock above the mantle. "It's nearly time for the bell, and I haven't changed for dinner."
The three headed for the doorway, talking about the upcoming party and that night's entertainment, and as they left the room, they exchanged smug smiles.
Methos waited until he was certain that the three had left the library before emerging from his hiding place, but he didn't follow them. He had much to think about before he could face anyone else.
He was too smart to fall for the little trap that they had tried to set for him. Five thousand years had instilled in him a keen sense for the machinations of others, and many people had sought to ensnare him over the centuries. And it was an odd quirk of nature that those engaging in amateur theatricals often felt compelled to play match-maker to those around them. But he couldn't dismiss their words entirely, for there was a nugget of truth at the core of it.
Duncan MacLeod had been behaving in an atypical manner lately.
He'd read the man's chronicles and had known MacLeod's history almost better than his own Watcher. He'd perused the records of MacLeod's romantic and sexual adventures, admiring the exuberance of the man, even when love had led to heartbreak. He'd been half in love with the man before they'd even met, and nothing had shaken him from that deep-seated attraction that could so easily be fanned to flame.
It had never happened, though. MacLeod had never seemed to look at him in that light; there'd been a number of women in and out of the man's life, not to mention the whole Horsemen incident. But then, suddenly, two years earlier, it had seemed as if Duncan might be looking at him in a different light. Amanda had left town for good shortly after the three of them had shared that bottle of champagne on the barge. Duncan had turned all of his attention in Methos’ direction. There had been flirting and casual touches, invitations to dinner and the opera, and he often felt Duncan’s eyes on him Methos had been nearly certain, had allowed his own feelings to develop and show -
And then MacLeod had taken off at the beckoning of one of his past lovers, the knight on the white horse off to the rescue without a backward look or even a word in farewell.
Methos had packed his flat (again), had moved back to London, had taken a new job and started to forge a new life, one without MacLeod. He'd kept in touch with Joe, of course, and the other man had visited him in London, but not once had Joe mentioned MacLeod. Nor, apparently, had MacLeod asked after him or, as he'd half-expected, shown up on his doorstep. Methos had buried his feelings (again) and hardened his heart against all fickle Highlanders, no matter how enticing they might be.
Still, when Joe had called him two days earlier, Methos had felt a spark of interest at learning that MacLeod was among the band of amateur actors. He'd agreed to come, dropping his (admittedly boring) Christmas plans to come to Paris, and somewhere inside he'd hoped for…something.
And now his fellow players were trying, in their inept way, to convince him that Duncan was pining madly for him. He would have thought it a prank in poor taste except for the fact that Joe was apparently involved in it. He knew that his friend would never be a party to an attempt to humiliate him, especially since Methos suspected that Joe knew how he felt. So that meant that Joe, at least, saw something in MacLeod's behavior that encouraged him to believe - what? That Duncan MacLeod was ready to declare his love for him? Then why hadn't the bloody Scot done so?
Unless MacLeod was uncertain that his feelings would be returned. Had he mistaken Methos' sudden departure two years earlier? Methos could certainly see why the man could have felt rejected (except he'd rejected Methos first - hadn't he?). But then why hadn't he asked Joe about Methos? But what if he had and Joe had refused to say anything? What if Joe had misread Methos' sudden departure, had thought that Methos didn't want to see MacLeod?
Methos drew in a deep breath, fighting down the urge to hunt down MacLeod and demand an explanation. He would be patient and wait there, and should Duncan show up he would look for signs of love in the other man. And if they were there, well, he would allow himself to be horribly in love in return.
And if the others were making a May game of them, he would burn down the mansion with them inside.
**********
"Thou and I are too wise to woo peaceably"
Much Ado About Nothing
Act V, Scene II
Duncan wandered through the mansion, checking each of the rooms, with no sign of Methos. Even the library seemed deserted, the warmth of the fire wasted on air and books. He was just about to give up until the next day, thinking that Methos had hidden himself away in his room, when a slight movement from the other side of the library caught his attention. The flick of a book page turning told him where his quarry had gone to ground. Quietly, Duncan closed the door behind him and turned the lock.
“Methos? Is that you?”
“Shout my name a little longer, MacLeod - I’m sure that there are a few people here who you haven’t revealed my real name to.”
“They’re all at dinner.” Duncan strolled forward until he could see the other man. Methos was stretched out on the sofa, a book in his hands, and the image was so familiar that it made his breath catch in an audible groan.
Immediately, Methos dropped his book and sat up. “MacLeod? Are you all right?”
“No. I’m not,” Duncan said frankly, seeing his opportunity. “Are you?”
“Me?” Duncan could almost see Methos’ defensive walls going up. “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I was hoping that you missed me as much as I’ve missed you.”
Methos drew in a sharp breath. “What are you saying, Mac?”
“I’m saying that there is no one in the world that I love as much as I love you.” Silence greeted his words. “Do you believe me?”
“As much as I believe that I love you.”
As if alarmed by his own words, Methos jumped up from the couch and strode over to the fireplace. “Ignore me, MacLeod. I don’t know what I’m saying.”
“I think that you do,” Duncan said. “I think you love me.” He slowly advanced on the other Immortal, pinning them between himself and the fireplace. “And I will fight the man who says that I don’t love you.”
Methos’ eyes dilated and his breath caught as unconsciously he leaned closer to Duncan. “Then I confess that I feel the same.”
“Then say it,” Duncan said, leaning in to press a brief kiss against Methos’ lips. “Say what’s in your heart.”
“I love you with so much of heart that nothing is left.”
At that very satisfactory answer, Duncan pulled Methos into his arms and there was no more conversation between them.
*********
"For man is a giddy thing,
and this is my conclusion."
Much Ado About Nothing
Act V, Scene IV
Two days later, the performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by the company of players went off without a hitch, much to Gina’s delight. The production was greeted by much laughter and applause by the assembled guests at the de Valincourt estate, and the actors were called back for one curtain call after another.
Except for the actors playing Demetrius and Helena, who disappeared after their first bow and were last seen running hand in hand toward the parking lot. And if their friends were careful to avoid Duncan’s barge for the next week, it is certain that this courtesy went unnoticed. Two years was a lot of time to make up for, after all.
The End
Author: The Bard of Avon
Written for: Tazlet
Characters/Pairings: Duncan MacLeod, Methos, Joe Dawson, Amanda, Richie Ryan, Walter Graham, Gina de Valincourt, Robert de Valincourt.
Rating: PG-13
Author’s Notes: This takes place in an alternate universe where Fitz and Richie are still alive.
Summary: Gina de Valincourt loves amateur theater - and coercing her friends into acting in them. Too bad that two of her players are engaged in a verbal war. Luckily, a few others of her acting troop also like playing matchmaker.
"Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania"
A Midsummer's Night's Dream
Act II, Scene I
There were three things that Gina de Valincourt loved. First, of course, was her beloved Robert. Second was hosting parties at their estate outside of Paris. And third was putting on theatricals, in which she coerced her Immortal friends to take part, and for which a sizeable theater had been built in the lower right wing of the de Valincourt mansion. So as she surveyed the stage where a wood outside of Athens was taking form so that she could play Titania to her beloved Robert's Oberon, she should have been the happiest woman in France.
With a sigh, she made her way to the rehearsal room where a collection of her dearest friends were sitting around a table, scripts in hand. They were all, to a man, pointedly not looking in Duncan MacLeod's direction.
"Thank you for coming early to rehearsal," she began.
"How is Raines?" Marcus Constantine asked, polite concern on his face. He might not like Cory Raines, as he disliked both thieves and con men, but he had been raised with Old World manners and Raines had been part of their (reluctant) company.
"He has recovered well," Gina assured him, sharing a reassuring smile with the other members of the theatrical company.
"Of course he did," Duncan said, rolling his eyes at the unnecessary dramatics. "He's Immortal!"
"You pushed him off the stage!" Gina said indignantly. "He broke his neck!"
"He pinched my ass!" Duncan protested.
Walter Graham gave him an amused look. "You should have just turned the other cheek, MacLeod."
"I did! He pinched that, too! That's when I pushed him."
There was a snicker, most likely from Fitz Cairn, although when Duncan turned to glare at him, the damnable man was innocently examining his manicure.
"Duncan, it is too, too bad of you!" Gina said reproachfully. "Cory has refused to return! We shall have to cancel the play!"
"Oh, thank god!" Richie said, tossing down the script that he'd been frowning over. "No more Puck for me! Been nice, everyone, but I'm off to the bar for a beer."
"What bar?" Joe Dawson asked from where he sat, making notes about the rehearsal schedule. "Mine is closed at the moment."
"Oh, I was thinking of a nice place that I know - in Monte Carlo. Bye, guys. Mac, I'll call you later."
"Oh, you will not desert us, too, Richie!" Gina said in dismay, fluttering her eyes at him in that devastating way that she adopted when she wanted to get her way. Duncan could even see tears on her eyelashes.
Richie looked as if it was taking all his will-power to resist that look. "If we don't have anyone to play Cory's part - "
"Oh, but we do!" Robert said, entering the room. "Look who just arrived back in Paris."
Behind Robert was the young Immortal, Adam Pierson. Wearing an old pair of jeans with his hands stuffed into the pockets of an old hoodie, he looked barely old enough to be a graduate student. Of course, at least half of the company knew that he was also Methos, the oldest living Immortal.
"Gina, my dear, you remember Adam Pierson."
"But of course!" she said, smiling in delight at Methos. "What a pleasure to see you again! And how kind of you to agree to help us with our theatrical."
"Always glad to help," Methos said, taking her hand and kissing the back of it.
Duncan snorted. “Since when?”
Both Gina and Methos ignored him. “You brought your luggage, yes? I will have the maid ready your room - everyone is staying here till after the party.”
“She’s afraid we’ll try to escape,” Richie muttered to Nick, who snickered at that.
“Thanks,” Methos said to Gina, handing her the keys to his car. Then he turned back to the rest of the group. “Well. What do we do now?”
************
"You must not, sir, mistake my niece. There is a
kind of merry war betwixt Signior Benedick and her:
they never meet but there's a skirmish of wit between them."
Much Ado About Nothing
Act 1, Scene 1
Robert and Gina took their leave of the company to check that the stage would be ready for rehearsal that afternoon. Joe nodded a greeting to Methos while Richie and Fitz came over to shake hands. Amanda gave him a hug and introduced Nick. Then Methos turned towards where Duncan was sitting.
"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Duncan said sardonically.
"Speaking of cats," Methos said, smirking. "Is that the yowling of an alley cat I hear? Or - no, just Duncan MacLeod."
"Oh, very witty," Duncan said. "The beaches of Bora-Bora get too hot for you?"
Methos shrugged. "There's something about Paris at Christmas time. The lights. The colors."
"The free booze?"
“Don’t need free if I can run a tab.”
Duncan snorted. “And you would know all about running, wouldn’t you?”
Richie watched the two of them, a grin on his face, waiting for one of them to break, to move forward and hug.
Methos scowled. “At least I know when to run and when to stay, unlike some people. But then, you never had much sense, did you, Highlander?”
“Blah, blah, blah,” Duncan said, miming talking with his hand. “Are you still talking? Because no one is listening to you.”
"Are they always like this?" Nick asked Amanda in a whisper.
She was watching the pair with a little frown. "They've always traded quips, a friendly little competition between them, but not usually this sharp. Except for when …. Well, never mind."
She broke off, biting her lip. The last time they had all been in Paris together, just before she had left for Canada, Duncan and Methos had seemed just fine. They had all drunk champagne on the barge, toasting the future, and she'd thought that they'd smoothed out the bumpy bits of their friendship. In fact, she’d bet herself that the two of them were on the way to being more than friends. Looked like she’d lost that bet.
Amanda glanced over at Joe and he grimaced, which told her that he knew what was behind the down-right chilliness between the two men.
"All right, guys, settle down," Joe said, rising from his place at the table. "Adam, here's your script. You're taking Cory's part so you're playing Helena."
Methos paused in reaching out to take the script. "I'm playing who?"
"Helena."
He blinked. "Why not Lysander or Demetrius?"
"Mac's playing Demetrius and Nick is Lysander."
"Well, then Bottom - "
Fitz waved his hand in the air.
"You can play Puck," Richie said eagerly. "I would be more than happy to let you have my part."
"Not Puck," Methos said decisively. "So why am I playing a woman's part?"
"It was my idea," Walter Graham said, walking into the rehearsal room. "Updating the classic heteronormative tale of two pairs of lovers by embracing a wider vision of love, while at the same time looking back towards the roots of theater when young men played the female parts." He paused. "We also have more male actors than female."
"You could do a different play," Methos pointed out.
"And Gina wanted to play Titania."
Joe handed Methos the script. "Welcome to the cast, Pierson."
********
After a break for lunch, they read through the play to bring Methos up to speed. By then it was dinner and Joe dismissed the company for the day, with instructions to be ready for blocking the next day.
As everyone drifted out of the room, Robert grasped Methos by the shoulder and smiled at him. "Excellent work, Adam! You have a quick mind, to have learned your part so well."
"His tongue is even quicker than his mind," Duncan said, brushing past them and jostling Methos’ other shoulder. "And twice as sharp."
He left the room and Robert looked after him, then turned back to Methos with a wry smile. "Your bon ami, Duncan, is not so happy with you. You have lost his heart, Adam."
Methos smiled thinly. "He let me borrow it for a while, in exchange for mine - or so I thought. So yes, you might say that I have lost it."
He left the room and Robert watched him leave with a frown, then turned to Amanda. "What has happened to Adam and Duncan? When they helped me get Gina back, they seemed the best of friends. But now..."
"I have no idea, but Joe will," Amanda said firmly, and set off in search of the Watcher.
********
"Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,
Men were deceivers ever,
One foot in sea and one on shore,
To one thing constant never:
Then sigh not so, but let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny."
Much Ado About Nothing
Act II, Scene III
If Joe did know the cause of the chill between the two friends, he wasn’t talking. Instead, he made himself scarce until after breakfast the next morning when he arrived to take charge of the crew. Under Walter’s direction, the actors took their places on the stage for an attempt at a complete run-through of the play.
It was a disaster. The ensemble made it through Act I with no problem, and Act II seemed to proceed well, although the speeches between “Demetrius” and “Helena” in Scene II had undercurrents of rancor on both sides. Helena's declarations of adoration fell decidedly flat. By the time they had made it through Act III, however, it appeared more likely that Demetrius and Helena would come to blows than fall into each other’s arms. The rehearsal ended abruptly before the end of Act IV, with Duncan and Methos storming off of the stage in opposite directions, leaving the rest of the company staring after them in varying degrees of irritation.
"This will not do!" Gina complained to Amanda and Fitz as Joe called an end to the rehearsal for the day. "Helena is supposed to be in love with Demetrius! Instead, Adam looks like he would like nothing better than to put a knife between Duncan's ribs."
"Duncan's just as bad," Amanda said with a sigh. "No one would believe that Demetrius has fallen in love with Helena, not the way he glares."
"Surely we can find someone else to take up the part of Helena," Fitz said to Gina.
Gina shook her head. "Not in time. The party is in two days! That is not enough time for someone to learn the part, even if we had another person. Unless you could make Cory change his mind," she said, appealing to Amanda.
Amanda shook her head. "Not even I could convince him to play against Duncan again. It would be easier to make Adam and Duncan fall in love with each other than to change Cory's mind."
Fitz drew in a sharp breath and exchanged a look with Gina. Amanda, feeling the sudden tingle of an insane plan in the air, looked at the two of them.
"What?"
"Of course!" Gina said, her face lit up with enthusiasm. "Exactly like the characters they play!"
"Not exactly," Fitz felt obliged to point out. "Not having any magic potions lying around."
"No, no!" Amanda exclaimed, falling into the spirit of the idea. "Like in that movie! Where they trick the two characters into thinking that the other one loves them."
Gina seemed to find no fault with this. Fitz, on the other hand, felt a sudden and unusual qualm.
"Don't you think it's a bad idea to trick them into thinking the other is in love with them?" he asked. "They're bound to find out the truth sometime."
"But it is the truth," Gina replied. "They love each other. I know they do - I can feel it. They are just being stupid men, not seeing the truth because of their pride."
Fitz was inclined to take affront at the "stupid men" comment, but fortunately they were joined by Robert before Gina's temper got the best of her. She turned to her husband at once, sure of his agreement with her for although Robert might be a man, he was the most romantic one that she knew. As she had hoped, Robert immediately liked the idea.
"It will have to be soon," he declared. "Before they have a chance to let these new hurts fester - or incite the rest of the cast to riot. And we will need more assistance."
Richie was readily convinced to assist in the scheme, his sense of fun loving the idea of getting something over on his mentor. Joe was less willing to go along with a plan to trick his friends, although he did agree with them that Something had to be done.
And so, with many high hopes and much crossing of fingers, they prepared to bait their traps.
*********
"If it proves so, then loving goes by haps:
Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps."
Much Ado about Nothing
Act III, Scene I
It was easy enough to bate the trap for Duncan. Robert had given him leave to use their salle for practicing, and after his latest run-in with Methos, Duncan had seemed to need the chance to blow off some energy. Since general rehearsals had been postponed till the next day while Walter put “Bottom” and his company of players through their scene, Duncan spent that time going through his katas.
The trio assigned to set the bait for Duncan waited until he was finished and thus was in a more relaxed state of mind before making their way to the salle. Their purported errand was to fetch prop swords for the players to carry, and both Richie and Fitz were careful to talk loudly as they walked down the hallway so as not to catch Duncan unaware. As they had expected, he had no wish to talk to anyone and ducked out of sight into the changing room, though they had no doubt that he could hear them.
"Here are the swords Robert mentioned," Joe said, leading the way to the cabinet that held the non-lethal practice rapiers. "How many do we need?"
"Three," Richie said, as if distracted, and then turned to Fitz as if continuing a conversation. "So you're telling me that Methos is in love with Mac? Are you kidding me?"
From the direction of the changing room they heard the sound of something dropping onto the tile floor. All three men ignored it.
"So Joseph was telling me at lunch," Fitz said, examining each of the weapons for signs of damage along the blade. "Tell Ryan what you told me, Joe."
"Just that the Old Man was a fool if he thought about looking in that direction," Joe growled. He wasn't entirely comfortable with this deception, but the truth of the matter was that he was fond of Methos and didn't want him to avoid Paris because of Duncan MacLeod.
"Why?" Richie asked, affronted. "Don't you think Mac's good enough for him?"
"Don't get me wrong," Joe said. "Mac's a great guy. But Methos - well, he's something special. He doesn't deserve to get his heart broken."
"Joe has a point," Fitz pointed out. "Mac has always had a bit of a roving eye. And he's too stubborn to change his ways, or to make amends."
"And you think Mac will break his heart?"
"He did two years ago," Joe growled. “Why do you think he left Paris?”
"You think it's Mac's fault that they had a falling out?" Richie asked, quickly rising to the defense of his mentor.
"I don't know," Joe said with a sigh. "Maybe it wasn't anyone's fault. Mac probably just said or did something that Methos took the wrong way - you know how prickly the old man can be. And now neither one will admit there's a problem or try to make things better."
Richie groaned. "Sounds hopeless to me."
Fitz agreed with him, adding, "You'd better advise Methos to give up any hopes in that direction, Joe."
"Yeah," Joe agreed, his voice heavy with a sadness that he didn't need to feign. "I'm just worried that it'll be too much for Methos, hanging around here and watching Mac parade his new conquests. I think that the next time he leaves Paris, it will be for good."
There was another sound from the changing one, this time an exclamation that was hastily smothered. The three men exchanged an amused look and Fitz said, very quietly, "I think that this fish has been hooked, gentlemen." Aloud he added, "We'd better take these back to the theater, to be ready for tomorrow."
The others agreed and they left the room, to tell the other members of their little conspiracy that the first seeds had been planted.
Duncan barely allowed them to clear the salle before he stumbled out of the changing room and sat heavily on one of the benches. He felt as if he was slightly drunk, caught halfway before disbelief and exhilaration. Methos loved him? Could it be true?
He had thought so, two years earlier, and had courted the skittish older Immortal with as much patience as he could bear. He had just been about to declare himself - over a private dinner on the barge, with candlelight and wine and luxurious sheets on the bed - when Grace had called him in desperate need of help. And when he'd returned to Paris, the bird had flown the nest.
Methos had gone, his apartment cleaned out, and Joe was being cagey about his new location. Duncan had been devastated, then furious, then despairing before finally allowing acceptance to settle into his heart. Methos didn't want to see him - that was clear - so he would give the other Immortal space.
He just hadn't realize how much it had hurt until Methos walked into the rehearsal room. His hurt had risen up, bitter and hard, and he'd done his best to show his utter disdain for the older Immortal. If Methos didn’t care about him or his friendship, then neither would he.
And now, to his amazement, he learned that Methos loved him! He wanted to shout with joy. He wanted to throw up his arms - no, throw them around that damned prickly, stubborn, amazing old man and kiss him until neither one of them could remember their names.
Methos loved him.
And this time, there would be no hesitation. He would let Methos know that his feelings were requited and, if it wasn't too late, they would finally get their happy ending.
With joy in his heart and a lightness to his step, Duncan headed for his room so that he could shower and change before hunting down the old Immortal.
**********
Methos wasn’t as easy to find, for he had taken to hiding where none of the rest of them could find him. But at last Amanda tracked him to the library where she discovered, quite by accident, that he had taken refuge in one of the window alcoves, curled up on the bench and half-hidden behind the heavy curtains, with his nose in and old tome. She quickly gathered up Gina and Robert, and the three of them settled on the sofa before the fireplace to talk about the other members of the company.
"Oh, but I have the most delicious bit of gossip about Duncan!" Gina said when enough time had passed to allay suspicion but before Methos could get bored enough to disrupt them. "He's in love! Fitz told me that he had it from Richie. And you'll never guess with whom!"
"I think that I can guess," Amanda said, smirking. "The way he's been acting since Adam arrived - just like a little boy pulling the pig-tails of the girl they like."
"Adam?" Robert asked, in apparent disbelief. "You think that Duncan is in love with Adam Pierson?"
There was a startled sound, quickly muffled, from behind the curtained alcove, which the three of them ignored.
"Impossible!" Robert continued. "The way he's been acting towards the poor boy - I'd sooner believe that he dislikes him entirely."
Gina shook her head. "If Duncan disliked him, he'd just ignore Adam or go away. I've seen him act this way before, although never so extreme. I think that Adam might just be The One." She looked over at Robert with the affection that hadn’t died, even after three hundred years.
"I hope not, for Duncan's sake," Amanda said with a sigh. "I'd hate to see his heart broken again."
Gina echoed her sigh. "Fitz said that Duncan was just about to tell Adam how he felt two years ago, but Adam just left Paris all of a sudden before he could."
"Maybe that was for the best," Amanda said. "I hate to think how much it would have hurt if he'd spoken and Adam had turned him down."
"Why, don't you think Pierson returns his feelings?" Robert asked.
"I think he likes Duncan, but he's too proud to admit to anything deeper," Amanda said. "Not that I blame him. It's a scary thing to fall in love with another Immortal. I didn't think I'd ever feel so deeply for someone, not until I met Nick."
"He's a good man," Robert said. "I hope that you will both be as happy as Gina and I have been."
"But you don't think that Duncan deserves to be as happy?" Gina persisted.
"I think he deserves every happiness," Amanda replied. "I just don't think that Adam is capable of returning his feelings."
Robert nodded. "I have to agree. I think Richie should advise Duncan to try to forget about his feelings for Adam."
"It will not work," Gina said gloomily. "Fitz said that it's been nearly two years and still Duncan shows no sign of changing his feelings. Richie thinks he might leave Paris, go to one of those holy places he likes, and who knows when we will see him again?"
"Well, all we can do is to try to be good friends to Mac, as he was when we were in trouble," Robert said. He glanced at the clock above the mantle. "It's nearly time for the bell, and I haven't changed for dinner."
The three headed for the doorway, talking about the upcoming party and that night's entertainment, and as they left the room, they exchanged smug smiles.
Methos waited until he was certain that the three had left the library before emerging from his hiding place, but he didn't follow them. He had much to think about before he could face anyone else.
He was too smart to fall for the little trap that they had tried to set for him. Five thousand years had instilled in him a keen sense for the machinations of others, and many people had sought to ensnare him over the centuries. And it was an odd quirk of nature that those engaging in amateur theatricals often felt compelled to play match-maker to those around them. But he couldn't dismiss their words entirely, for there was a nugget of truth at the core of it.
Duncan MacLeod had been behaving in an atypical manner lately.
He'd read the man's chronicles and had known MacLeod's history almost better than his own Watcher. He'd perused the records of MacLeod's romantic and sexual adventures, admiring the exuberance of the man, even when love had led to heartbreak. He'd been half in love with the man before they'd even met, and nothing had shaken him from that deep-seated attraction that could so easily be fanned to flame.
It had never happened, though. MacLeod had never seemed to look at him in that light; there'd been a number of women in and out of the man's life, not to mention the whole Horsemen incident. But then, suddenly, two years earlier, it had seemed as if Duncan might be looking at him in a different light. Amanda had left town for good shortly after the three of them had shared that bottle of champagne on the barge. Duncan had turned all of his attention in Methos’ direction. There had been flirting and casual touches, invitations to dinner and the opera, and he often felt Duncan’s eyes on him Methos had been nearly certain, had allowed his own feelings to develop and show -
And then MacLeod had taken off at the beckoning of one of his past lovers, the knight on the white horse off to the rescue without a backward look or even a word in farewell.
Methos had packed his flat (again), had moved back to London, had taken a new job and started to forge a new life, one without MacLeod. He'd kept in touch with Joe, of course, and the other man had visited him in London, but not once had Joe mentioned MacLeod. Nor, apparently, had MacLeod asked after him or, as he'd half-expected, shown up on his doorstep. Methos had buried his feelings (again) and hardened his heart against all fickle Highlanders, no matter how enticing they might be.
Still, when Joe had called him two days earlier, Methos had felt a spark of interest at learning that MacLeod was among the band of amateur actors. He'd agreed to come, dropping his (admittedly boring) Christmas plans to come to Paris, and somewhere inside he'd hoped for…something.
And now his fellow players were trying, in their inept way, to convince him that Duncan was pining madly for him. He would have thought it a prank in poor taste except for the fact that Joe was apparently involved in it. He knew that his friend would never be a party to an attempt to humiliate him, especially since Methos suspected that Joe knew how he felt. So that meant that Joe, at least, saw something in MacLeod's behavior that encouraged him to believe - what? That Duncan MacLeod was ready to declare his love for him? Then why hadn't the bloody Scot done so?
Unless MacLeod was uncertain that his feelings would be returned. Had he mistaken Methos' sudden departure two years earlier? Methos could certainly see why the man could have felt rejected (except he'd rejected Methos first - hadn't he?). But then why hadn't he asked Joe about Methos? But what if he had and Joe had refused to say anything? What if Joe had misread Methos' sudden departure, had thought that Methos didn't want to see MacLeod?
Methos drew in a deep breath, fighting down the urge to hunt down MacLeod and demand an explanation. He would be patient and wait there, and should Duncan show up he would look for signs of love in the other man. And if they were there, well, he would allow himself to be horribly in love in return.
And if the others were making a May game of them, he would burn down the mansion with them inside.
**********
"Thou and I are too wise to woo peaceably"
Much Ado About Nothing
Act V, Scene II
Duncan wandered through the mansion, checking each of the rooms, with no sign of Methos. Even the library seemed deserted, the warmth of the fire wasted on air and books. He was just about to give up until the next day, thinking that Methos had hidden himself away in his room, when a slight movement from the other side of the library caught his attention. The flick of a book page turning told him where his quarry had gone to ground. Quietly, Duncan closed the door behind him and turned the lock.
“Methos? Is that you?”
“Shout my name a little longer, MacLeod - I’m sure that there are a few people here who you haven’t revealed my real name to.”
“They’re all at dinner.” Duncan strolled forward until he could see the other man. Methos was stretched out on the sofa, a book in his hands, and the image was so familiar that it made his breath catch in an audible groan.
Immediately, Methos dropped his book and sat up. “MacLeod? Are you all right?”
“No. I’m not,” Duncan said frankly, seeing his opportunity. “Are you?”
“Me?” Duncan could almost see Methos’ defensive walls going up. “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I was hoping that you missed me as much as I’ve missed you.”
Methos drew in a sharp breath. “What are you saying, Mac?”
“I’m saying that there is no one in the world that I love as much as I love you.” Silence greeted his words. “Do you believe me?”
“As much as I believe that I love you.”
As if alarmed by his own words, Methos jumped up from the couch and strode over to the fireplace. “Ignore me, MacLeod. I don’t know what I’m saying.”
“I think that you do,” Duncan said. “I think you love me.” He slowly advanced on the other Immortal, pinning them between himself and the fireplace. “And I will fight the man who says that I don’t love you.”
Methos’ eyes dilated and his breath caught as unconsciously he leaned closer to Duncan. “Then I confess that I feel the same.”
“Then say it,” Duncan said, leaning in to press a brief kiss against Methos’ lips. “Say what’s in your heart.”
“I love you with so much of heart that nothing is left.”
At that very satisfactory answer, Duncan pulled Methos into his arms and there was no more conversation between them.
*********
"For man is a giddy thing,
and this is my conclusion."
Much Ado About Nothing
Act V, Scene IV
Two days later, the performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by the company of players went off without a hitch, much to Gina’s delight. The production was greeted by much laughter and applause by the assembled guests at the de Valincourt estate, and the actors were called back for one curtain call after another.
Except for the actors playing Demetrius and Helena, who disappeared after their first bow and were last seen running hand in hand toward the parking lot. And if their friends were careful to avoid Duncan’s barge for the next week, it is certain that this courtesy went unnoticed. Two years was a lot of time to make up for, after all.
The End