Fic: in the blink of an eye and be gone from me
Title: in the blink of an eye and be gone from me
Word Count: 1100
Pairing: Pinto (friends or pre-slash, depends on how shiny your tinhat is)
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Chris has some insecurities
Warnings: This is unbeta'ed RPF. Please don't read if RPF squicks you. Lots of fluff.
Disclaimer: None of this is true, except possibly in my headcanon.
A/N: eefreeboo and I have been spending a lot of time trying to figure out what goes on in Chris' pants head. This was inspired by our conversations and Fingergate. The title is taken from Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane over the Sea.
“Quit messing with it, it looks fine.”
Chris let out a deep breath and dropped his hands from his bow tie. He took one last look in the mirror and checked the time on his cell phone. The limo should be arriving any minute.
“You have nothing to be nervous about.” His mom stepped up to him and smoothed down the lapels of his tux. She smiled up at him. “Besides, Zach will be there so you two should just enjoy and have fun.”
A horn sounded outside, signaling the arrival of the car service that was picking Chris up for the Golden Globes.
“Okay, thanks mom. I’ll call you tomorrow.” He grabbed his keys and placed a quick kiss on her cheek before stepping out the door.
When the driver opened the door for Chris, he saw that Zach had already been picked up. He grinned and slid in next to his friend.
“Hey, man. You look good.”
“Thanks,” Zach replied. “You too. How’s it going?”
“I’m really nervous. Like, really really nervous. I haven’t eaten anything all day. Now I’m kind of hungry but I’m still too anxious to eat.” Chris’ hands gestured wildly.
Zach frowned a bit. “Are you going to be okay? I mean, it’s going to be a couple hours before we get to eat. We can ask the driver to swing by somewhere.”
Chris shook his head. In his short career, he’d only been to a handful of small red carpet events, nothing like this. Their purpose tonight was to promote Trek as the new Kirk and Spock. It was supposed to be an easy appearance, but anticipating the impending scrutiny tonight, all those repetitive questions about what it was like to step into Shatner’s shoes, was undoing him.
He hated to admit that he slightly envied Zach. Here they were together, young, ambitious, eager, embracing roles that would likely change their careers forever, for better or worse. And right from the start, Zach had the blessing and mentorship of Leonard Nimoy, which meant he had gained the trust and acceptance of Trek fans worldwide. Not that Zach hadn’t already established a loyal following from Heroes, but an endorsement from the original Spock himself certainly solidified his credibility.
Chris, on the other hand, had a letter from William Shatner, which more or less wished him good luck. No words of wisdom, no parting advice. Not even a real blessing. He had yet to even meet the man who created this icon.
He quickly learned to stop reading comments about him being miscast as Kirk and the criticisms of him having only a pretty face and limited acting ability. They only helped to chip away at his confidence. Maybe he would be an awful Kirk. Maybe he’d be so bad that they’ll recast him for the sequels. In the meantime, he clung to the belief that he had poured himself into this role and welcomed whatever insight Leonard was willing to generously offer him.
The day Chris and Leonard filmed the mind-meld scene on Delta Vega, Leonard quietly pulled him aside and gently held his elbow.
“Lean on each other. Because you can’t prepare yourself for what is about to happen. You and Zachary, I know you are good friends, but there will be times when,” Leonard paused. “When no one else can possibly understand. And that is when you’ll see that during this process here,” he gestured to the set around them, “of creating fictional worlds among the stars, the very real roots of your friendship have embedded so deeply in your hearts, so inextricably stubborn, that when everything else fades away, it may be the only comfort and sense you can find.”
Chris didn’t know how to respond. He blinked rapidly and nodded, but no words would form. Seeming to understand that he had overwhelmed his younger co-star, Leonard simply smiled and barked out a laugh.
“Oh but don’t you ever tell Bill I said that!”
Chris was staring blankly out the window when Zach nudged him.
“You okay there?”
With a small smile, Chris nodded and looked down at his hands in his lap.
“Hey,” Zach said softly. Chris lifted his eyes to his friend. “What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know. I mean, part of it is, I hate being photographed,” Chris said. He paused and knitted his brows. “Do you think this is a dream or a nightmare?” he asked.
Zach’s eyes widened. “Okay, this isn’t about the Golden Globes anymore.”
“Sometimes, I feel like I’m so lucky. I’m Captain Kirk. And that’s awesome but it’s also terrifying. No one likes that I’m Kirk. They didn’t embrace me like they did with you. What if I’ve completely fucked up this character? What if forever in Trek canon, I’m the one who ruined the reboot?”
The words came tumbling out before Chris could stop himself.
“Whoa, stop that. Chris, you don’t really think that, do you?” Zach asked gently.
“I, well, I don’t know,” Chris replied softly.
Zach reached out and gave Chris’ hand a squeeze. “You auditioned as Kirk and I got chills. Like, the kind you get when you’ve just witnessed something that is probably going to change your life. You were stunning then and you were a force to behold while we filmed. I don’t know where this,” he gestured vaguely with his other hand. “This sudden lack of confidence is coming from. You’re terrific, Chris. I wouldn’t lie to you.”
Chris studied Zach’s face. The slope of his eyebrows, the curve of his jaw, the silent plea in his expressive eyes.
“Zach,” he said quietly.
“I mean every word of it.” Zach continued, “And did you not get the memo that we’re in this together? It’s not going to happen, cause the movie’s amazing, but if there’s anything, any kind of negative reception, you know that we’re all going down together. The whole ship.”
“The whole Enterprise?” Chris grinned.
Zach returned his grin. “Yeah, the whole fucking starship, bridge crew and all.”
They sat in silence as they approached the venue, Zach still holding onto Chris’ hand.
“So, umm, we should stick together tonight. You know, lean on each other. Or something like that. And we should try to have fun at some point. Maybe after I get food,” Chris suggested.
Zach laughed. “Sounds like a good plan.”
The car came to a stop and after a couple minutes, the driver opened Zach’s door and they were flooded with the sound of hurried voiced and camera flashes. As he exited the limo, Zach turned around and smiled at Chris.
“Captain. They’re ready for you.”
what a beautiful dream
that could flash on the screen
in a blink of an eye and be gone from me
soft and sweet
let me hold it close and keep it here with me
-In the Aeroplane over the Sea
Neutral Milk Hotel
Word Count: 1100
Pairing: Pinto (friends or pre-slash, depends on how shiny your tinhat is)
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Chris has some insecurities
Warnings: This is unbeta'ed RPF. Please don't read if RPF squicks you. Lots of fluff.
Disclaimer: None of this is true, except possibly in my headcanon.
A/N: eefreeboo and I have been spending a lot of time trying to figure out what goes on in Chris' pants head. This was inspired by our conversations and Fingergate. The title is taken from Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane over the Sea.
“Quit messing with it, it looks fine.”
Chris let out a deep breath and dropped his hands from his bow tie. He took one last look in the mirror and checked the time on his cell phone. The limo should be arriving any minute.
“You have nothing to be nervous about.” His mom stepped up to him and smoothed down the lapels of his tux. She smiled up at him. “Besides, Zach will be there so you two should just enjoy and have fun.”
A horn sounded outside, signaling the arrival of the car service that was picking Chris up for the Golden Globes.
“Okay, thanks mom. I’ll call you tomorrow.” He grabbed his keys and placed a quick kiss on her cheek before stepping out the door.
When the driver opened the door for Chris, he saw that Zach had already been picked up. He grinned and slid in next to his friend.
“Hey, man. You look good.”
“Thanks,” Zach replied. “You too. How’s it going?”
“I’m really nervous. Like, really really nervous. I haven’t eaten anything all day. Now I’m kind of hungry but I’m still too anxious to eat.” Chris’ hands gestured wildly.
Zach frowned a bit. “Are you going to be okay? I mean, it’s going to be a couple hours before we get to eat. We can ask the driver to swing by somewhere.”
Chris shook his head. In his short career, he’d only been to a handful of small red carpet events, nothing like this. Their purpose tonight was to promote Trek as the new Kirk and Spock. It was supposed to be an easy appearance, but anticipating the impending scrutiny tonight, all those repetitive questions about what it was like to step into Shatner’s shoes, was undoing him.
He hated to admit that he slightly envied Zach. Here they were together, young, ambitious, eager, embracing roles that would likely change their careers forever, for better or worse. And right from the start, Zach had the blessing and mentorship of Leonard Nimoy, which meant he had gained the trust and acceptance of Trek fans worldwide. Not that Zach hadn’t already established a loyal following from Heroes, but an endorsement from the original Spock himself certainly solidified his credibility.
Chris, on the other hand, had a letter from William Shatner, which more or less wished him good luck. No words of wisdom, no parting advice. Not even a real blessing. He had yet to even meet the man who created this icon.
He quickly learned to stop reading comments about him being miscast as Kirk and the criticisms of him having only a pretty face and limited acting ability. They only helped to chip away at his confidence. Maybe he would be an awful Kirk. Maybe he’d be so bad that they’ll recast him for the sequels. In the meantime, he clung to the belief that he had poured himself into this role and welcomed whatever insight Leonard was willing to generously offer him.
The day Chris and Leonard filmed the mind-meld scene on Delta Vega, Leonard quietly pulled him aside and gently held his elbow.
“Lean on each other. Because you can’t prepare yourself for what is about to happen. You and Zachary, I know you are good friends, but there will be times when,” Leonard paused. “When no one else can possibly understand. And that is when you’ll see that during this process here,” he gestured to the set around them, “of creating fictional worlds among the stars, the very real roots of your friendship have embedded so deeply in your hearts, so inextricably stubborn, that when everything else fades away, it may be the only comfort and sense you can find.”
Chris didn’t know how to respond. He blinked rapidly and nodded, but no words would form. Seeming to understand that he had overwhelmed his younger co-star, Leonard simply smiled and barked out a laugh.
“Oh but don’t you ever tell Bill I said that!”
Chris was staring blankly out the window when Zach nudged him.
“You okay there?”
With a small smile, Chris nodded and looked down at his hands in his lap.
“Hey,” Zach said softly. Chris lifted his eyes to his friend. “What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know. I mean, part of it is, I hate being photographed,” Chris said. He paused and knitted his brows. “Do you think this is a dream or a nightmare?” he asked.
Zach’s eyes widened. “Okay, this isn’t about the Golden Globes anymore.”
“Sometimes, I feel like I’m so lucky. I’m Captain Kirk. And that’s awesome but it’s also terrifying. No one likes that I’m Kirk. They didn’t embrace me like they did with you. What if I’ve completely fucked up this character? What if forever in Trek canon, I’m the one who ruined the reboot?”
The words came tumbling out before Chris could stop himself.
“Whoa, stop that. Chris, you don’t really think that, do you?” Zach asked gently.
“I, well, I don’t know,” Chris replied softly.
Zach reached out and gave Chris’ hand a squeeze. “You auditioned as Kirk and I got chills. Like, the kind you get when you’ve just witnessed something that is probably going to change your life. You were stunning then and you were a force to behold while we filmed. I don’t know where this,” he gestured vaguely with his other hand. “This sudden lack of confidence is coming from. You’re terrific, Chris. I wouldn’t lie to you.”
Chris studied Zach’s face. The slope of his eyebrows, the curve of his jaw, the silent plea in his expressive eyes.
“Zach,” he said quietly.
“I mean every word of it.” Zach continued, “And did you not get the memo that we’re in this together? It’s not going to happen, cause the movie’s amazing, but if there’s anything, any kind of negative reception, you know that we’re all going down together. The whole ship.”
“The whole Enterprise?” Chris grinned.
Zach returned his grin. “Yeah, the whole fucking starship, bridge crew and all.”
They sat in silence as they approached the venue, Zach still holding onto Chris’ hand.
“So, umm, we should stick together tonight. You know, lean on each other. Or something like that. And we should try to have fun at some point. Maybe after I get food,” Chris suggested.
Zach laughed. “Sounds like a good plan.”
The car came to a stop and after a couple minutes, the driver opened Zach’s door and they were flooded with the sound of hurried voiced and camera flashes. As he exited the limo, Zach turned around and smiled at Chris.
“Captain. They’re ready for you.”
what a beautiful dream
that could flash on the screen
in a blink of an eye and be gone from me
soft and sweet
let me hold it close and keep it here with me
-In the Aeroplane over the Sea
Neutral Milk Hotel