Fic: In The Static
Title: In The Static
Author: jenlynn820
Pairing: Chris Pine/Zachary Quinto
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don’t know Zach or Chris and I make no profit from this work.
Summary: Chris is in a bad mood during the press junket in LA and Zach finds out why.
Beta: eruberueth
Word Count: 2163
Note: Awhile back someone suggested that Chris seemed to be in a mood during one of the junket interviews. This fic is based on that idea.
Zach considered himself to be a pretty perceptive guy. He’d always been very attuned to the moods of people around him. Especially family or friends. Even when someone was pretending to be in a good mood he’d pick up on the subtle or not so subtle clues that indicated they were completely full of shit. That’s why it came as such a surprise to Zach that he didn’t notice sooner. It really was a testament to Chris’ talent that he’d covered it up so well until now. But here they were, doing what felt like the three thousandth interview of the day when the cracks started to show.
The first sign was Chris’ almost complete non-reaction to what Zach thought was a pretty funny quip about Spock’s first name. Chris turned his head, as if he was engaged in what Zach was saying but his eyes stayed down and he didn’t react at all to the revelation that Spock’s first name was Jim-Bob. It was only when Zach mentioned that Leonard had said that Spock’s first name was Mister that Chris cracked a smile. Well, a sort of smile, if you could call the barely there, perfunctory quirk of Chris’ mouth that, which would be generous at best.
Zach noted Chris’ mood but kept focus on answering the interviewer’s questions. In addition to his finely honed empathy, Zach also excelled at multitasking. He began filing away tiny bits of information. Chris’ posture, the space between their shoulders which was far greater than usual, the way Chris was pretending to pay attention to Zach, to be focused on what he said but in reality was zoning in and out. Zach could see Chris’ eyes shifting up and down, could see Chris leaning away from him, glancing down at his hands instead of looking at Zach, readying himself to strike at the first opportunity at humor.
It was also a testament to Chris’ professionalism that, whatever the cause of his mood, he was suppressing it well enough to smile and be charming. But the jig was already up as far as Zach was concerned and he could now see right through all the little fissures in the façade Chris had built up. Zach began cataloging all the events of the day in his head, trying to pinpoint what had Chris off his game. Little red flags popped up as tiny signs of Chris maybe not being in the best frame of mind became obvious to Zach.
In fact, if he really thought about it, it started last night after dinner with his mother and Joe and a few members of the Trek cast, including Chris. Dinner had ended and Chris and Zach had gone back to Zach’s house and Chris had been oddly quiet. When pressed about it, Chris had pleaded an oncoming headache and Zach had accepted that. It hadn’t stopped them from having sex. Hot, sweaty, borderline angry sex. Still, Zach hadn’t thought much of that either, too busy thinking about the weekend junket and the upcoming LA premiere and a brief trip to NY for some more press engagements. Besides, Chris had kissed him hard and fallen asleep against Zach’s chest in the aftermath and any inkling of concern had fled Zach’s mind.
But now Zach realized something was wrong. What, he didn’t know. But Chris had been surly this morning, quiet and distant. Zach had let him be, assuming it was the headache from the night before. After a few cups of coffee Chris had perked up and they had arrived at the hotel for the junket, settling into endless interview after endless interview.
Zach watched Chris as he spoke now, paying attention to his words and also trying to pick up on what exactly Chris’ mood was. Was he just tired? Was it really just a headache? It was only when Zach did what he’d done a million times before, a little playful mocking and a mild imitation of Chris, that he’d begun to wonder if he was the cause of Chris’ mood.
“It’s paramount to my understanding of the character,” Zach said, dropping his voice an octave and delivering the line in a snooty tone. Chris reaction was to turn his head and shake it, several times, looking away from Zach. It was so strange to see Chris bristle, to not smack the ball back into Zach’s court or laugh that Zach felt instantly compelled to say something to explain himself, to make it up to Chris. The next words came from Zach’s lips, unbidden. “I love you. I’m kidding. I’m kidding, buddy,” he said.
The interviewer soldiered on, talking about the love that was obviously there between them. Zach kept talking, kept joking about Chris’ mood, hoping to blunt the confession he’d just made on an interview that would potentially be seen by thousands on the internet. Whatever the reason, be it Zach’s apology or something else, Chris snapped back into his usual jocular mood and they fell easily into their casual banter, joking about chakra aligners and tanners and pedicures. Zach felt the tension ebb but noted, with interest, Chris’ remark that Zach was putting him down a lot that day. It wasn’t true, they were simply engaging in the shtick they always did but this was just another window into whatever the root cause of Chris’ mood was and Zach was determined to get to the bottom of it before the day was out.
****
By the time Zach was heading home from the long day of press he was in the mood for two things. A hot bath and Chris’ mouth against his. They’d spent the last half hour apart, doing a few separate interviews and Zach had gotten a ride home from one of the publicists from Paramount. Chris’ silver convertible was parked right out front and if the girl behind the wheel recognized it she said nothing. Zach thanked her for the ride and headed into his house.
His mother and Joe were hanging out in his living room, obviously waiting for him to come home so they could grab dinner. They were currently poring over old family albums as his mother liked to do whenever she came out west to see her boys. He gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. “Is Chris here? I saw his car out front,” Zach said.
“He got here a couple minutes ago and said he just needed to get something upstairs. He was in a pretty surly mood. Did you two fight?” Joe asked.
“Not yet,” Zach frowned. “Excuse me.” Zach headed for the stairs, taking two at a time and arriving outside his bedroom seconds later. Chris was inside, rummaging through the dresser. “Looking for something?”
“Zachary Quinto, master of the obvious,” Chris said. “Yeah, I’m looking for my blue cardigan, have you seen it?”
Zach shook his head, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Can’t say I have. Are you sure it’s here and not at your place?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. I tried to find it yesterday and it wasn’t there,” he said, slamming the dresser drawer shut and going over to the closet where some clothes were piled on the floor. He crouched down and started sifting through it.
“If it was here it might have gotten sent to the dry cleaners with some of my stuff,” Zach said.
Chris continued looking through the pile of clothes and then stood back up after he’d clearly found nothing. “Well that’s fucking great,” Chris said.
“If you want a cardigan I’ve got about a half dozen at least,” Zach said.
“I don’t want a cardigan. I want my cardigan. I want to take mycardigan and go back to my apartment and lock the damn door and be alone for awhile, is that okay?”
Chris’ voice was angry and low, his blue eyes flashing. “What the fuck is the matter with you? You’ve been in a shitty mood all day,” Zach said, all at once giving up on the subtle approach to discerning what was bothering Chris.
“Nothing’s the matter with me. I’m fine,” he said, taking a few steps so he could walk around Zach and out the bedroom door but Zach moved to block him. “Zach, get out of my way.”
“No. I want you to tell me why you’re acting like such an asshole,” Zach said. “Why you were pissy at me all fucking day. What the hell did I do?”
“What did you do? You didn’t do anything,” Chris said.
“So what’s the problem?” Zach said.
“That’s the problem, asshole. You didn’t do anything. You know, it didn’t bother me at first that you never call me your boyfriend, that we leave this whole thing undefined. I was cool, you know? I figured that’s how you were. One of those guys, right? Which is fine because I’m one of those guys too, mostly. But I at least thought that I mattered to you a little bit more than one of your buddies. That I was more than just a body to keep you warm. Clearly I was mistaken.”
Zach was dumbstruck. “And how did you arrive at that conclusion?”
“Simple. When I introduced you to my parents you weren’t fourth in a list of our Star Trek buddies after Zoe and John and Anton but before Karl and Eric.”
Zach narrowed his eyes. “That’s what this is about? The order I introduced you in.”
Chris exhaled and looked down at his feet before seeming to gather the nerve to meet Zach’s eyes again. His eyes didn’t flash now; they were subdued, sad almost. Chris shrugged. “I didn’t even register it at first. And then as dinner went on it started to nag at me. This little voice picking at my brain, making it crystal fucking clear that I’m a total idiot for thinking we’re more than fuck buddies.”
“You’re unbelievably stupid,” Zach said.
Chris laughed. “That’s great. Thanks. Just get out of my fucking way, Zach. I want to go home.”
“No, absolutely fucking not,” Zach said, reaching out and grabbing hold of Chris’ hand and yanking him out of the bedroom.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Letting you know how much of a goddamned moron you really are,” Zach said, pulling Chris with him down the stairs and into the living room until they were standing right in front of his mother and Joe. “Mom, I want you to see something,” he said and then before Chris could react, he had the other man pulled flush against him.
Zach kissed Chris hard, his mouth bruising and rough as he smashed it against Chris’, as he pushed his tongue down his throat and kept Chris pressed tight to his body. Chris was stiff in his arms for a long while until he loosened against Zach, lips growing pliant, body relaxing. Zach was panting, chest heaving against Chris’ when he drew his lips back. He looked over at his mother and brother and then back into Chris’ wild blue eyes.
“Mom, I just want you to know that Chris and I have been fucking since about two weeks into filming Star Trek and that even though he can be an unmitigated idiot I’m so desperately in love with him that I can’t even see straight.” Zach could feel the hard thump of Chris’ heart against his and see the softening of his expression.
“Since when have you ever been able to see straight?” Joe quipped.
“Joe,” Margo Quinto admonished softly. “I think that’s very nice, sweetheart,” she continued, her voice lilting with humor.
“Yeah, very nice, sweetheart,” Joe said. “Can we go get some food now? Mom and I are starving. And you’re buying dinner, Mr. Soon To Be Movie Star.”
“Actually, I think I’m buying dinner,” Chris rasped, eyes not leaving Zach’s. “You pick the place, my treat.”
“Oh, then there’s this incredibly expensive seafood place on Sunset I’ve been itching to try,” Joe said. Both Zach and his mother said “Joe” at the same time. “Or Domenico’s is good, too.”
“Come on, Joe, let’s go wait in the car,” Margo said, leading Joe out of the living room.
Zach and Chris were still flush together, chest to chest, eyes locked. “I love you. You get that now, right?” Zach said.
Chris nodded. “I got it. I’m not sorry though. You left me hanging for a long time, dude.”
Zach nodded. “I know. So I forgive you for being an ass.”
Chris laughed. “You forgive me. That is some seriously twisted Quintonian logic right there.”
“Don’t act like you don’t love it,” Zach smirked, lips soft against Chris’.
“I do. I love it almost as much as I love you,” he said, kissing Zach with purpose. “We’d better get going, don’t want to keep your mom and brother waiting.”
“You think you can handle three Quintos all at one time?”
Chris grinned. “Yeah, I got this,” he said.
Zach chuckled and opened the front door. “Just don’t freak when my mom starts asking when we’re giving her grandkids,” he said as they stepped outside.
Chris looked back at him. “I’ll tell her I’m on the pill,” he said with a wink that made Zach laugh as they climbed into Zach’s Prius to head to dinner.
~fin~
Author: jenlynn820
Pairing: Chris Pine/Zachary Quinto
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don’t know Zach or Chris and I make no profit from this work.
Summary: Chris is in a bad mood during the press junket in LA and Zach finds out why.
Beta: eruberueth
Word Count: 2163
Note: Awhile back someone suggested that Chris seemed to be in a mood during one of the junket interviews. This fic is based on that idea.
Zach considered himself to be a pretty perceptive guy. He’d always been very attuned to the moods of people around him. Especially family or friends. Even when someone was pretending to be in a good mood he’d pick up on the subtle or not so subtle clues that indicated they were completely full of shit. That’s why it came as such a surprise to Zach that he didn’t notice sooner. It really was a testament to Chris’ talent that he’d covered it up so well until now. But here they were, doing what felt like the three thousandth interview of the day when the cracks started to show.
The first sign was Chris’ almost complete non-reaction to what Zach thought was a pretty funny quip about Spock’s first name. Chris turned his head, as if he was engaged in what Zach was saying but his eyes stayed down and he didn’t react at all to the revelation that Spock’s first name was Jim-Bob. It was only when Zach mentioned that Leonard had said that Spock’s first name was Mister that Chris cracked a smile. Well, a sort of smile, if you could call the barely there, perfunctory quirk of Chris’ mouth that, which would be generous at best.
Zach noted Chris’ mood but kept focus on answering the interviewer’s questions. In addition to his finely honed empathy, Zach also excelled at multitasking. He began filing away tiny bits of information. Chris’ posture, the space between their shoulders which was far greater than usual, the way Chris was pretending to pay attention to Zach, to be focused on what he said but in reality was zoning in and out. Zach could see Chris’ eyes shifting up and down, could see Chris leaning away from him, glancing down at his hands instead of looking at Zach, readying himself to strike at the first opportunity at humor.
It was also a testament to Chris’ professionalism that, whatever the cause of his mood, he was suppressing it well enough to smile and be charming. But the jig was already up as far as Zach was concerned and he could now see right through all the little fissures in the façade Chris had built up. Zach began cataloging all the events of the day in his head, trying to pinpoint what had Chris off his game. Little red flags popped up as tiny signs of Chris maybe not being in the best frame of mind became obvious to Zach.
In fact, if he really thought about it, it started last night after dinner with his mother and Joe and a few members of the Trek cast, including Chris. Dinner had ended and Chris and Zach had gone back to Zach’s house and Chris had been oddly quiet. When pressed about it, Chris had pleaded an oncoming headache and Zach had accepted that. It hadn’t stopped them from having sex. Hot, sweaty, borderline angry sex. Still, Zach hadn’t thought much of that either, too busy thinking about the weekend junket and the upcoming LA premiere and a brief trip to NY for some more press engagements. Besides, Chris had kissed him hard and fallen asleep against Zach’s chest in the aftermath and any inkling of concern had fled Zach’s mind.
But now Zach realized something was wrong. What, he didn’t know. But Chris had been surly this morning, quiet and distant. Zach had let him be, assuming it was the headache from the night before. After a few cups of coffee Chris had perked up and they had arrived at the hotel for the junket, settling into endless interview after endless interview.
Zach watched Chris as he spoke now, paying attention to his words and also trying to pick up on what exactly Chris’ mood was. Was he just tired? Was it really just a headache? It was only when Zach did what he’d done a million times before, a little playful mocking and a mild imitation of Chris, that he’d begun to wonder if he was the cause of Chris’ mood.
“It’s paramount to my understanding of the character,” Zach said, dropping his voice an octave and delivering the line in a snooty tone. Chris reaction was to turn his head and shake it, several times, looking away from Zach. It was so strange to see Chris bristle, to not smack the ball back into Zach’s court or laugh that Zach felt instantly compelled to say something to explain himself, to make it up to Chris. The next words came from Zach’s lips, unbidden. “I love you. I’m kidding. I’m kidding, buddy,” he said.
The interviewer soldiered on, talking about the love that was obviously there between them. Zach kept talking, kept joking about Chris’ mood, hoping to blunt the confession he’d just made on an interview that would potentially be seen by thousands on the internet. Whatever the reason, be it Zach’s apology or something else, Chris snapped back into his usual jocular mood and they fell easily into their casual banter, joking about chakra aligners and tanners and pedicures. Zach felt the tension ebb but noted, with interest, Chris’ remark that Zach was putting him down a lot that day. It wasn’t true, they were simply engaging in the shtick they always did but this was just another window into whatever the root cause of Chris’ mood was and Zach was determined to get to the bottom of it before the day was out.
****
By the time Zach was heading home from the long day of press he was in the mood for two things. A hot bath and Chris’ mouth against his. They’d spent the last half hour apart, doing a few separate interviews and Zach had gotten a ride home from one of the publicists from Paramount. Chris’ silver convertible was parked right out front and if the girl behind the wheel recognized it she said nothing. Zach thanked her for the ride and headed into his house.
His mother and Joe were hanging out in his living room, obviously waiting for him to come home so they could grab dinner. They were currently poring over old family albums as his mother liked to do whenever she came out west to see her boys. He gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. “Is Chris here? I saw his car out front,” Zach said.
“He got here a couple minutes ago and said he just needed to get something upstairs. He was in a pretty surly mood. Did you two fight?” Joe asked.
“Not yet,” Zach frowned. “Excuse me.” Zach headed for the stairs, taking two at a time and arriving outside his bedroom seconds later. Chris was inside, rummaging through the dresser. “Looking for something?”
“Zachary Quinto, master of the obvious,” Chris said. “Yeah, I’m looking for my blue cardigan, have you seen it?”
Zach shook his head, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Can’t say I have. Are you sure it’s here and not at your place?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. I tried to find it yesterday and it wasn’t there,” he said, slamming the dresser drawer shut and going over to the closet where some clothes were piled on the floor. He crouched down and started sifting through it.
“If it was here it might have gotten sent to the dry cleaners with some of my stuff,” Zach said.
Chris continued looking through the pile of clothes and then stood back up after he’d clearly found nothing. “Well that’s fucking great,” Chris said.
“If you want a cardigan I’ve got about a half dozen at least,” Zach said.
“I don’t want a cardigan. I want my cardigan. I want to take mycardigan and go back to my apartment and lock the damn door and be alone for awhile, is that okay?”
Chris’ voice was angry and low, his blue eyes flashing. “What the fuck is the matter with you? You’ve been in a shitty mood all day,” Zach said, all at once giving up on the subtle approach to discerning what was bothering Chris.
“Nothing’s the matter with me. I’m fine,” he said, taking a few steps so he could walk around Zach and out the bedroom door but Zach moved to block him. “Zach, get out of my way.”
“No. I want you to tell me why you’re acting like such an asshole,” Zach said. “Why you were pissy at me all fucking day. What the hell did I do?”
“What did you do? You didn’t do anything,” Chris said.
“So what’s the problem?” Zach said.
“That’s the problem, asshole. You didn’t do anything. You know, it didn’t bother me at first that you never call me your boyfriend, that we leave this whole thing undefined. I was cool, you know? I figured that’s how you were. One of those guys, right? Which is fine because I’m one of those guys too, mostly. But I at least thought that I mattered to you a little bit more than one of your buddies. That I was more than just a body to keep you warm. Clearly I was mistaken.”
Zach was dumbstruck. “And how did you arrive at that conclusion?”
“Simple. When I introduced you to my parents you weren’t fourth in a list of our Star Trek buddies after Zoe and John and Anton but before Karl and Eric.”
Zach narrowed his eyes. “That’s what this is about? The order I introduced you in.”
Chris exhaled and looked down at his feet before seeming to gather the nerve to meet Zach’s eyes again. His eyes didn’t flash now; they were subdued, sad almost. Chris shrugged. “I didn’t even register it at first. And then as dinner went on it started to nag at me. This little voice picking at my brain, making it crystal fucking clear that I’m a total idiot for thinking we’re more than fuck buddies.”
“You’re unbelievably stupid,” Zach said.
Chris laughed. “That’s great. Thanks. Just get out of my fucking way, Zach. I want to go home.”
“No, absolutely fucking not,” Zach said, reaching out and grabbing hold of Chris’ hand and yanking him out of the bedroom.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Letting you know how much of a goddamned moron you really are,” Zach said, pulling Chris with him down the stairs and into the living room until they were standing right in front of his mother and Joe. “Mom, I want you to see something,” he said and then before Chris could react, he had the other man pulled flush against him.
Zach kissed Chris hard, his mouth bruising and rough as he smashed it against Chris’, as he pushed his tongue down his throat and kept Chris pressed tight to his body. Chris was stiff in his arms for a long while until he loosened against Zach, lips growing pliant, body relaxing. Zach was panting, chest heaving against Chris’ when he drew his lips back. He looked over at his mother and brother and then back into Chris’ wild blue eyes.
“Mom, I just want you to know that Chris and I have been fucking since about two weeks into filming Star Trek and that even though he can be an unmitigated idiot I’m so desperately in love with him that I can’t even see straight.” Zach could feel the hard thump of Chris’ heart against his and see the softening of his expression.
“Since when have you ever been able to see straight?” Joe quipped.
“Joe,” Margo Quinto admonished softly. “I think that’s very nice, sweetheart,” she continued, her voice lilting with humor.
“Yeah, very nice, sweetheart,” Joe said. “Can we go get some food now? Mom and I are starving. And you’re buying dinner, Mr. Soon To Be Movie Star.”
“Actually, I think I’m buying dinner,” Chris rasped, eyes not leaving Zach’s. “You pick the place, my treat.”
“Oh, then there’s this incredibly expensive seafood place on Sunset I’ve been itching to try,” Joe said. Both Zach and his mother said “Joe” at the same time. “Or Domenico’s is good, too.”
“Come on, Joe, let’s go wait in the car,” Margo said, leading Joe out of the living room.
Zach and Chris were still flush together, chest to chest, eyes locked. “I love you. You get that now, right?” Zach said.
Chris nodded. “I got it. I’m not sorry though. You left me hanging for a long time, dude.”
Zach nodded. “I know. So I forgive you for being an ass.”
Chris laughed. “You forgive me. That is some seriously twisted Quintonian logic right there.”
“Don’t act like you don’t love it,” Zach smirked, lips soft against Chris’.
“I do. I love it almost as much as I love you,” he said, kissing Zach with purpose. “We’d better get going, don’t want to keep your mom and brother waiting.”
“You think you can handle three Quintos all at one time?”
Chris grinned. “Yeah, I got this,” he said.
Zach chuckled and opened the front door. “Just don’t freak when my mom starts asking when we’re giving her grandkids,” he said as they stepped outside.
Chris looked back at him. “I’ll tell her I’m on the pill,” he said with a wink that made Zach laugh as they climbed into Zach’s Prius to head to dinner.
~fin~