Fic: The Three L's (RPS, if that's not your thing, keep moving)
Title: The Three L’s; Love, Laughter and Laptops
Written by: The Eternally Damned One ( mrssjw )
Length: Lotsa Scrolls
Genre: RPS
Characters: Naoko Mori, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd, John Barrowman
Rating: I'm gonna give this one an "R" rating, simply because of Naoko's content.
Summary: Naoko meets her friends for lunch, and they proceed to have some fun at Gareth's expense. ^_^
Disclaimer: I know, I know... you don't have to tell me. I don't own them, I don't know them, and I'm only getting a little twisted pleasure out of this, but no money. I'm seriously doubting this has ever happened, or that it ever will, for that matter. It's all a figment of my imagination.
The Three L's; Love, Laughter and Laptops
Naoko Mori glanced up from her laptop screen with a wicked grin as Eve Myles and Gareth David-Lloyd settled into chairs around the table. She’d decided to take a trip down memory lane, and when Evie had invited her to lunch with them at the Blue Box Café, Naoko just couldn’t resist.
“You look wonderful, darlin’!” Eve exclaimed, reaching across the table to grab one of Naoko’s hands. “Have you done something with your hair?”
“It’s lighter,” Gareth commented, his easy going smile in place and he reached a one armed hug around Naoko’s shoulders. He’d always loved spending time with Naoko, and got the impression that the feeling was very much mutual. This idea was only further enforced when she leaned into his embrace momentarily.
“So, what are you up to?” Eve asked interestedly, and waved off the waiter who was hovering nearby. There would be time for eating later, after the big questions were out of the way. Gareth glanced around the café amusedly while Naoko reeled off the important facts of her career and relationship status to Eve. He was only half-listening, so when his name came up it took him by surprise.
“What was that?” He asked distractedly looking between the two women at the table. Eve was giggling, the little gap in her front teeth showing itself in such an adorable fashion that it made Gareth smile. Naoko was wearing that grin that told you whatever she was thinking probably wasn’t pre-watershed material.
“I was just saying how popular you’ve recently become. Even more so among certain fans.” Naoko was still smiling in that not so reassuring way, and Gareth floundered for a moment as to how to respond. Luckily, he was saved by having to think of something, because John decided to make that the moment for his entrance.
Long ago, it had been mutually decided that John Barrowman could not walk into a room. He had to enter. There was something in his genetic make-up that simply would not allow him to simply come into a room and be done with it. There was never any official fanfare (at least, not when it was just them getting together; cast parties and premieres were another kettle of fish entirely,) but it was a fact all the same.
As soon as John stepped across the threshold, the entire place changed. Every eye was focused and every heart did a double beat before returning to normal. So, it wasn’t any surprise when the bustling café paused for the collective breath before returning to the usual standard of noise.
John smiled, not his movie-star toothy grin he used in photo shoots, but an actual, genuine smile that brightened his eyes and made the occupants of the room wish for their sunshades. He made his way to the table where the other three sat, and soundly kissed each of them on the lips. Even Gareth, who was used to such gregarious behavior and rolled his eyes in a good-natured way.
John dropped down into the chair next to Eve and slung an arm across the back of hers.
“You’re looking hot today Naoko, what’s the occasion?” He asked, waving over the waiter. He stood awkwardly off to one side and quickly took their orders. Eve smiled at him encouragingly, which made the poor kid stammer and blush before escaping behind the relative safety of the counter.
“I think he has a crush,” Gareth teased Eve, who smiled even wider. Everyone loved Eve, there was no alternative; so it wasn’t a big deal when they came across yet another fan who probably had wet dreams about the Welsh woman.
“Nothing special, just felt like getting a bit dressed up today.” Naoko replied to John question as if there hadn’t been any interruption at all.
“I must admit,” she continued, sliding her laptop to the side slightly, “I do sort of miss all the fun stuff that Tosh got to wear. Especially the mahogany coat.”
John grinned, knowing how much Naoko had loved that coat. There’d been some worry that she wouldn’t like the color when the costume department had first brought it up, but the opposite had happened, and Naoko had wheedled her way into getting to wear it as much as possible, both on screen and off, around the sets.
As their lunch was served, the conversation flowed freely among them. The latest exploits of Naoko and Eve, an update on how Gareth’s music was going, even a long, and rather over-dramatized performance of John’s latest close encounter of the fandom kind.
“She was not looking well at all, and I asked if she was okay, and she just dropped. Passed out just like that!” he snapped his fingers to demonstrate, “She probably would have hit her head on the frozen foods compartment if I hadn’t caught her.”
Laughter was never in short supply with these friends, and it was mentioned a few times about how they should have kidnapped Burn for lunch, rather than letting him get on with filming his latest. Finally, after the plates had been cleared, dessert ordered and devoured and the drinks refilled, Eve brought up the conversation that John had originally interrupted.
“Ninnie was telling us earlier about Gareth’s sudden rise to fan fiction fame.”
“She was?” Gareth was suddenly very alert; that must have been the part of the conversation that he’d missed. John laughed and slapped his hand on the table.
“It was only a matter of time,” he agreed then waved at the laptop. “Go on then, let’s see what you’ve got! What sort of delicious, illicit acts do they have Ianto committing this time?”
The wicked grin was back, and with it a dark sparkle of humor that didn’t sit well with Gareth.
“Oh, John, you only like Ianto fan fiction because it’s normally him and Jack. You’re such an egotistical bastard sometimes,” Eve told him, but she was smiling, so there was no sting in her words. John winked, but that simple action spoke volumes.
“Can I help it if the fandom knows what it likes?”
“Unrepentant,” Gareth said, pointing at John, and the others laughed. It was true, and a good word to describe John in all his glory.
“All right then, go ahead; give me the worst of it.” Gareth resigned himself to his fate, and Naoko beamed, pulling the computer closer and tapping wildly across the keys.
“Okay, how about this one… ‘He leaned in, enjoying the weight of his partner, feeling the warmth seep through the fine silk shirt; knowing that tonight would end in passion’…” Naoko read from the screen, pausing to glance up at Gareth to judge his reaction.
He shrugged, it was a lot better than he’d been expecting, and he was pretty sure that it was better written than a lot of the stuff he’d stumbled across on his own. Naoko bit her lip and then continued.
“ ‘There was a sharp rap at the door, but the two lovers ignored it. They were too engrossed in one another… Their passions were building, and the younger man reached out to grasp the other’s cock, warm and firm. Pressing insistently against his chest, he forced his lover back slightly so he could take the head in his mouth’…”
“Graphic,” hummed Eve, who seemed to be on the edge of her seat, anxious for more. John sat very still next to her. It was strange to see him so motionless, but there was an almost tense expression on his face. It startled Naoko for a bit, before she realized he was staring intently across the table at Gareth. Gareth, on the other hand, was leaning back in his seat, remarkably relaxed. Naoko bit back an obscene giggle, knowing that wouldn’t last long. She continued reading.
“ ‘The older man followed his lover with bright blue eyes, though they fluttered momentarily at the heat of the other man’s lips and avid tongue on his skin. He gasped when that talented tongue rasped along the sensitive underside of the head of his cock. A single sigh escaped his lips; his lover’s name a breathless, heady plea for release.”
“Ianto,” John whispered, and Eve looked like she was going to faint from the heat. Naoko shook her head, met John’s curious eyes head on, and said,
“Gareth.”
That man nearly flung himself out of his chair at that, causing Eve to dissolve into tiny gasping giggles.
“What did you say?” Gareth demanded, standing behind his chair, gripping the back of it tightly.
“A single sigh escaped his lips;” Naoko repeated obediently, trying not to follow Eve’s example just yet, “His lover’s name a breathless, heady plea for release. ‘Gareth.’ That’s what the story says.”
She showed him the screen, and he dropped back into his chair with a curse. John was now laughing right along with Eve, and Naoko couldn’t help but fall in suit. Gareth sat glowering at them for a moment, before the levity of the situation returned and he cracked a tiny smile.
“You should have seen your face, Gaz! That was classic!” John whooped and several people looked in their direction, trying to figure out what was so amusing.
Gareth turned pink, either from the fact that his friends were laughing at his expense (not all that an unusual occurrence with these particular friends) or from the attention they were receiving, it wasn’t certain.
“Why me?” he offered dramatically, burying his face in his hands for a second. Eve reached across the table to Naoko.
“Can I see that for a bit, hun?”
“Gonna read the rest of it, are you?” Gareth accused her, trying to look stern. Eve grinned in his direction.
“Well, we’ve got to see if you’re any good, don’t we?” Gareth tipped his head back to the ceiling.
“I cannot believe we’re having this conversation.” He muttered, more to himself that anyone at the table.
“What I can’t believe,” John told him, “Was that you were a porn star and you never told me.”
“How was I supposed to know?!” Gareth asked, moving his head to look at John straight on. Not that there was anything straight about John.
“You honestly didn’t know about this?”
“John,” Naoko tipped in her two pence, “Gareth’s not the only one who was in that story.”
“Oh my god…” Eve breathed, and picked up a napkin to fan herself, making John laugh again. She hadn’t turned her attention away from the screen, and the only movement from her was the tiny clicking movement when she needed to scroll, and the increased rate of her breathing.
“Must be good,” John murmured, looking over her shoulder to read a few paragraphs. His eyes widened, and he turned to stare at Gareth in amazement.
“I didn’t know you were that flexible.”
“What?! I’m not… it’s not… that’s only fiction, John!” His ears were red, and he was quickly running out of words. Naoko took pity on him a little, and rested a hand on his arm.
“Don’t worry Gaz, you’re not the first one to end up in RPF.” He turned a confused look on her, and she explained.
“Real Person Fiction. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve been dropped in there as well. Usually as an after thought, but I always get some good action before the writer’s dispose of me.” She opened up her wicked grin again,
“Guess I must not be as flexible.”
Eve sat back in her chair, looking dazed and exhilarated. John examined her closely; pupils dilated, cheeks flushed, eyes slightly glazed over…
“Was it good for you too, baby?” he stage-whispered near her ear, and she turned wide eyes on him.
“Don’t do that John… just give me a minute.” John looked mildly impressed and made to take the computer from her. She glared at him and slapped his hand away. He was taken aback, but kept his hands to himself with a chuckle.
“I really don’t want to know how that story ends,” Gareth muttered, a mutinous look on his face as glared at the laptop as if it had offended him and his mother in some way.
“I told you, you’re getting more popular than ever before. Especially after the whole Sex, Wales and Anarchy thing.” Naoko pointed out reasonably, sounding more like Tosh than ever before. Gareth stared at her uncomprehendingly.
“The book about fisting?” she asked, hoping to prompt the memory before having to elaborate. He groaned and covered his face with his hands again.
“You found any good ones about that?” John asked interestedly, making Gareth drop his hands and glare at his co-star.
“No John,” he said, much in the same way one would scold a young child.
“I was just curious,” John started, smiling.
“No John,” Gareth repeated, and John smiled even wider, this time his ‘convincing smile’, as Gareth had come to think of it.
It was the same smile that always made sure John got his way. He’d seen John’s mother use it once before too. Seems a knack for performing wasn’t the only trait the Barrowman family shared.
“Just one little fan fic?” John asked, though his hands were already dancing across the table toward the computer. Eve smacked him again and he pulled back.
“You keep your hands over there, Jinnie, I’m reading.” She pouted her full lips at him, and sent him a death glare. He raised his hands in defeat.
“All right, I can see when I’m outnumbered.” He glanced at the watch on his right arm then added, “I’m supposed to be in Wardrobe in ten anyway.” He got to his feet, and came around the table to give Naoko a big bear hug.
“It was so great to see you again.” He told her, and she returned the affectionate embrace. He kissed her quickly, and then let her go. He whispered something in her ear which made her giggle and glance over at Gareth.
Gareth just sat, still as a stone, and refused to react. John turned to Eve, who didn’t take her eyes off the screen, but tipped her cheek in his direction. Sighing, he kissed her cheek lightly, then moved back around the table again, toward Gareth.
Grinning evilly, he dragged the other man up out of his chair, and looked him in the eye. Gareth knew that the after lunch crowd in the café was thin, but he could see over John’s shoulder that the latest bunch from the guided studio tour was coming their way.
“See you later, John.” He said, trying for calm, and was impressed by the steadiness of his own voice. John glanced at Naoko out of the corner of his eye, then leaned closer to the young Welshman.
“I will be seeing you later, we still have a scene to shoot tonight, in the SUV.”
The unspoken message that Gareth read in the bright blue gaze filled him with a sense of foreboding. That scene was one that they’d been preparing for all week. A scene that had been written by a fangirl-turned-scriptwriter. He swallowed hard when he saw the predatory gleam in John’s expression. He got more and more like Captain Jack everyday.
The door opened behind them, and the previously quiet café was suddenly filled with the noise of hungry customers. One of them gasped and called out to the others.
“Oh my god! Look at that!” Gareth didn’t need to look to know they were staring at him and John, and John had the nerve to wink, and kiss him full on the lips.
Warm heat suffused Gareth, and it only had a little to do with embarrassment. How was he going to explain this one to himself? All those rehearsals and the late nights hanging out with John would make any one, Human or otherwise, want to be closer, and Gareth had to admit to a certain degree of… what was it the fans called it? A man-crush? Yeah, that was it. He had a man-crush on John.
Not an uncommon thing, as far as John was concerned. He probably had just as many men lusting after him as women. It was unseemly that Gareth should be lumped in with the other millions of people who wanted to jump John Barrowman. The thought made him grin a little, and at the squeals of delight from the fans, gave in and kissed John back.
But only a little, because then Eve was muttering ‘oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,’ over and over again, as if she was a breathless little fangirl herself, and Naoko was giggling again. John pulled back and met his gaze for one intense moment, then he blinked his big baby blues and the spell was broken. He smiled at Gareth, and Gareth felt his heart skip a beat as it always did whenever John smiled like that at him, like he was smiling just for him.
Then John turned, grinned and waved at all the flashbulbs going off from the entranced and wager fans, and before the rest of their eyes had cleared from the glare, he was gone.
That was another thing about John, Gareth thought to himself. He couldn’t enter a room without fanfare, but he could slip from them before anyone realized he was gone. He sat back down in his chair and looked at Eve. She was slumped back in her chair again, fanning herself frantically with a menu. The enchanted waiter from earlier was at her elbow with a glass of water, and she gratefully gulped down a few sips.
She took a deep breath, then tipped her head back and laughed. Really laughed, from the gut, and without restrain. Naoko joined in after a second or two, and Gareth began to chuckle. Just like that, they were all back to normal, and the three rounded out their afternoon with another set of drinks and more desserts.
-end-
Written by: The Eternally Damned One ( mrssjw )
Length: Lotsa Scrolls
Genre: RPS
Characters: Naoko Mori, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd, John Barrowman
Rating: I'm gonna give this one an "R" rating, simply because of Naoko's content.
Summary: Naoko meets her friends for lunch, and they proceed to have some fun at Gareth's expense. ^_^
Disclaimer: I know, I know... you don't have to tell me. I don't own them, I don't know them, and I'm only getting a little twisted pleasure out of this, but no money. I'm seriously doubting this has ever happened, or that it ever will, for that matter. It's all a figment of my imagination.
The Three L's; Love, Laughter and Laptops
Naoko Mori glanced up from her laptop screen with a wicked grin as Eve Myles and Gareth David-Lloyd settled into chairs around the table. She’d decided to take a trip down memory lane, and when Evie had invited her to lunch with them at the Blue Box Café, Naoko just couldn’t resist.
“You look wonderful, darlin’!” Eve exclaimed, reaching across the table to grab one of Naoko’s hands. “Have you done something with your hair?”
“It’s lighter,” Gareth commented, his easy going smile in place and he reached a one armed hug around Naoko’s shoulders. He’d always loved spending time with Naoko, and got the impression that the feeling was very much mutual. This idea was only further enforced when she leaned into his embrace momentarily.
“So, what are you up to?” Eve asked interestedly, and waved off the waiter who was hovering nearby. There would be time for eating later, after the big questions were out of the way. Gareth glanced around the café amusedly while Naoko reeled off the important facts of her career and relationship status to Eve. He was only half-listening, so when his name came up it took him by surprise.
“What was that?” He asked distractedly looking between the two women at the table. Eve was giggling, the little gap in her front teeth showing itself in such an adorable fashion that it made Gareth smile. Naoko was wearing that grin that told you whatever she was thinking probably wasn’t pre-watershed material.
“I was just saying how popular you’ve recently become. Even more so among certain fans.” Naoko was still smiling in that not so reassuring way, and Gareth floundered for a moment as to how to respond. Luckily, he was saved by having to think of something, because John decided to make that the moment for his entrance.
Long ago, it had been mutually decided that John Barrowman could not walk into a room. He had to enter. There was something in his genetic make-up that simply would not allow him to simply come into a room and be done with it. There was never any official fanfare (at least, not when it was just them getting together; cast parties and premieres were another kettle of fish entirely,) but it was a fact all the same.
As soon as John stepped across the threshold, the entire place changed. Every eye was focused and every heart did a double beat before returning to normal. So, it wasn’t any surprise when the bustling café paused for the collective breath before returning to the usual standard of noise.
John smiled, not his movie-star toothy grin he used in photo shoots, but an actual, genuine smile that brightened his eyes and made the occupants of the room wish for their sunshades. He made his way to the table where the other three sat, and soundly kissed each of them on the lips. Even Gareth, who was used to such gregarious behavior and rolled his eyes in a good-natured way.
John dropped down into the chair next to Eve and slung an arm across the back of hers.
“You’re looking hot today Naoko, what’s the occasion?” He asked, waving over the waiter. He stood awkwardly off to one side and quickly took their orders. Eve smiled at him encouragingly, which made the poor kid stammer and blush before escaping behind the relative safety of the counter.
“I think he has a crush,” Gareth teased Eve, who smiled even wider. Everyone loved Eve, there was no alternative; so it wasn’t a big deal when they came across yet another fan who probably had wet dreams about the Welsh woman.
“Nothing special, just felt like getting a bit dressed up today.” Naoko replied to John question as if there hadn’t been any interruption at all.
“I must admit,” she continued, sliding her laptop to the side slightly, “I do sort of miss all the fun stuff that Tosh got to wear. Especially the mahogany coat.”
John grinned, knowing how much Naoko had loved that coat. There’d been some worry that she wouldn’t like the color when the costume department had first brought it up, but the opposite had happened, and Naoko had wheedled her way into getting to wear it as much as possible, both on screen and off, around the sets.
As their lunch was served, the conversation flowed freely among them. The latest exploits of Naoko and Eve, an update on how Gareth’s music was going, even a long, and rather over-dramatized performance of John’s latest close encounter of the fandom kind.
“She was not looking well at all, and I asked if she was okay, and she just dropped. Passed out just like that!” he snapped his fingers to demonstrate, “She probably would have hit her head on the frozen foods compartment if I hadn’t caught her.”
Laughter was never in short supply with these friends, and it was mentioned a few times about how they should have kidnapped Burn for lunch, rather than letting him get on with filming his latest. Finally, after the plates had been cleared, dessert ordered and devoured and the drinks refilled, Eve brought up the conversation that John had originally interrupted.
“Ninnie was telling us earlier about Gareth’s sudden rise to fan fiction fame.”
“She was?” Gareth was suddenly very alert; that must have been the part of the conversation that he’d missed. John laughed and slapped his hand on the table.
“It was only a matter of time,” he agreed then waved at the laptop. “Go on then, let’s see what you’ve got! What sort of delicious, illicit acts do they have Ianto committing this time?”
The wicked grin was back, and with it a dark sparkle of humor that didn’t sit well with Gareth.
“Oh, John, you only like Ianto fan fiction because it’s normally him and Jack. You’re such an egotistical bastard sometimes,” Eve told him, but she was smiling, so there was no sting in her words. John winked, but that simple action spoke volumes.
“Can I help it if the fandom knows what it likes?”
“Unrepentant,” Gareth said, pointing at John, and the others laughed. It was true, and a good word to describe John in all his glory.
“All right then, go ahead; give me the worst of it.” Gareth resigned himself to his fate, and Naoko beamed, pulling the computer closer and tapping wildly across the keys.
“Okay, how about this one… ‘He leaned in, enjoying the weight of his partner, feeling the warmth seep through the fine silk shirt; knowing that tonight would end in passion’…” Naoko read from the screen, pausing to glance up at Gareth to judge his reaction.
He shrugged, it was a lot better than he’d been expecting, and he was pretty sure that it was better written than a lot of the stuff he’d stumbled across on his own. Naoko bit her lip and then continued.
“ ‘There was a sharp rap at the door, but the two lovers ignored it. They were too engrossed in one another… Their passions were building, and the younger man reached out to grasp the other’s cock, warm and firm. Pressing insistently against his chest, he forced his lover back slightly so he could take the head in his mouth’…”
“Graphic,” hummed Eve, who seemed to be on the edge of her seat, anxious for more. John sat very still next to her. It was strange to see him so motionless, but there was an almost tense expression on his face. It startled Naoko for a bit, before she realized he was staring intently across the table at Gareth. Gareth, on the other hand, was leaning back in his seat, remarkably relaxed. Naoko bit back an obscene giggle, knowing that wouldn’t last long. She continued reading.
“ ‘The older man followed his lover with bright blue eyes, though they fluttered momentarily at the heat of the other man’s lips and avid tongue on his skin. He gasped when that talented tongue rasped along the sensitive underside of the head of his cock. A single sigh escaped his lips; his lover’s name a breathless, heady plea for release.”
“Ianto,” John whispered, and Eve looked like she was going to faint from the heat. Naoko shook her head, met John’s curious eyes head on, and said,
“Gareth.”
That man nearly flung himself out of his chair at that, causing Eve to dissolve into tiny gasping giggles.
“What did you say?” Gareth demanded, standing behind his chair, gripping the back of it tightly.
“A single sigh escaped his lips;” Naoko repeated obediently, trying not to follow Eve’s example just yet, “His lover’s name a breathless, heady plea for release. ‘Gareth.’ That’s what the story says.”
She showed him the screen, and he dropped back into his chair with a curse. John was now laughing right along with Eve, and Naoko couldn’t help but fall in suit. Gareth sat glowering at them for a moment, before the levity of the situation returned and he cracked a tiny smile.
“You should have seen your face, Gaz! That was classic!” John whooped and several people looked in their direction, trying to figure out what was so amusing.
Gareth turned pink, either from the fact that his friends were laughing at his expense (not all that an unusual occurrence with these particular friends) or from the attention they were receiving, it wasn’t certain.
“Why me?” he offered dramatically, burying his face in his hands for a second. Eve reached across the table to Naoko.
“Can I see that for a bit, hun?”
“Gonna read the rest of it, are you?” Gareth accused her, trying to look stern. Eve grinned in his direction.
“Well, we’ve got to see if you’re any good, don’t we?” Gareth tipped his head back to the ceiling.
“I cannot believe we’re having this conversation.” He muttered, more to himself that anyone at the table.
“What I can’t believe,” John told him, “Was that you were a porn star and you never told me.”
“How was I supposed to know?!” Gareth asked, moving his head to look at John straight on. Not that there was anything straight about John.
“You honestly didn’t know about this?”
“John,” Naoko tipped in her two pence, “Gareth’s not the only one who was in that story.”
“Oh my god…” Eve breathed, and picked up a napkin to fan herself, making John laugh again. She hadn’t turned her attention away from the screen, and the only movement from her was the tiny clicking movement when she needed to scroll, and the increased rate of her breathing.
“Must be good,” John murmured, looking over her shoulder to read a few paragraphs. His eyes widened, and he turned to stare at Gareth in amazement.
“I didn’t know you were that flexible.”
“What?! I’m not… it’s not… that’s only fiction, John!” His ears were red, and he was quickly running out of words. Naoko took pity on him a little, and rested a hand on his arm.
“Don’t worry Gaz, you’re not the first one to end up in RPF.” He turned a confused look on her, and she explained.
“Real Person Fiction. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve been dropped in there as well. Usually as an after thought, but I always get some good action before the writer’s dispose of me.” She opened up her wicked grin again,
“Guess I must not be as flexible.”
Eve sat back in her chair, looking dazed and exhilarated. John examined her closely; pupils dilated, cheeks flushed, eyes slightly glazed over…
“Was it good for you too, baby?” he stage-whispered near her ear, and she turned wide eyes on him.
“Don’t do that John… just give me a minute.” John looked mildly impressed and made to take the computer from her. She glared at him and slapped his hand away. He was taken aback, but kept his hands to himself with a chuckle.
“I really don’t want to know how that story ends,” Gareth muttered, a mutinous look on his face as glared at the laptop as if it had offended him and his mother in some way.
“I told you, you’re getting more popular than ever before. Especially after the whole Sex, Wales and Anarchy thing.” Naoko pointed out reasonably, sounding more like Tosh than ever before. Gareth stared at her uncomprehendingly.
“The book about fisting?” she asked, hoping to prompt the memory before having to elaborate. He groaned and covered his face with his hands again.
“You found any good ones about that?” John asked interestedly, making Gareth drop his hands and glare at his co-star.
“No John,” he said, much in the same way one would scold a young child.
“I was just curious,” John started, smiling.
“No John,” Gareth repeated, and John smiled even wider, this time his ‘convincing smile’, as Gareth had come to think of it.
It was the same smile that always made sure John got his way. He’d seen John’s mother use it once before too. Seems a knack for performing wasn’t the only trait the Barrowman family shared.
“Just one little fan fic?” John asked, though his hands were already dancing across the table toward the computer. Eve smacked him again and he pulled back.
“You keep your hands over there, Jinnie, I’m reading.” She pouted her full lips at him, and sent him a death glare. He raised his hands in defeat.
“All right, I can see when I’m outnumbered.” He glanced at the watch on his right arm then added, “I’m supposed to be in Wardrobe in ten anyway.” He got to his feet, and came around the table to give Naoko a big bear hug.
“It was so great to see you again.” He told her, and she returned the affectionate embrace. He kissed her quickly, and then let her go. He whispered something in her ear which made her giggle and glance over at Gareth.
Gareth just sat, still as a stone, and refused to react. John turned to Eve, who didn’t take her eyes off the screen, but tipped her cheek in his direction. Sighing, he kissed her cheek lightly, then moved back around the table again, toward Gareth.
Grinning evilly, he dragged the other man up out of his chair, and looked him in the eye. Gareth knew that the after lunch crowd in the café was thin, but he could see over John’s shoulder that the latest bunch from the guided studio tour was coming their way.
“See you later, John.” He said, trying for calm, and was impressed by the steadiness of his own voice. John glanced at Naoko out of the corner of his eye, then leaned closer to the young Welshman.
“I will be seeing you later, we still have a scene to shoot tonight, in the SUV.”
The unspoken message that Gareth read in the bright blue gaze filled him with a sense of foreboding. That scene was one that they’d been preparing for all week. A scene that had been written by a fangirl-turned-scriptwriter. He swallowed hard when he saw the predatory gleam in John’s expression. He got more and more like Captain Jack everyday.
The door opened behind them, and the previously quiet café was suddenly filled with the noise of hungry customers. One of them gasped and called out to the others.
“Oh my god! Look at that!” Gareth didn’t need to look to know they were staring at him and John, and John had the nerve to wink, and kiss him full on the lips.
Warm heat suffused Gareth, and it only had a little to do with embarrassment. How was he going to explain this one to himself? All those rehearsals and the late nights hanging out with John would make any one, Human or otherwise, want to be closer, and Gareth had to admit to a certain degree of… what was it the fans called it? A man-crush? Yeah, that was it. He had a man-crush on John.
Not an uncommon thing, as far as John was concerned. He probably had just as many men lusting after him as women. It was unseemly that Gareth should be lumped in with the other millions of people who wanted to jump John Barrowman. The thought made him grin a little, and at the squeals of delight from the fans, gave in and kissed John back.
But only a little, because then Eve was muttering ‘oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,’ over and over again, as if she was a breathless little fangirl herself, and Naoko was giggling again. John pulled back and met his gaze for one intense moment, then he blinked his big baby blues and the spell was broken. He smiled at Gareth, and Gareth felt his heart skip a beat as it always did whenever John smiled like that at him, like he was smiling just for him.
Then John turned, grinned and waved at all the flashbulbs going off from the entranced and wager fans, and before the rest of their eyes had cleared from the glare, he was gone.
That was another thing about John, Gareth thought to himself. He couldn’t enter a room without fanfare, but he could slip from them before anyone realized he was gone. He sat back down in his chair and looked at Eve. She was slumped back in her chair again, fanning herself frantically with a menu. The enchanted waiter from earlier was at her elbow with a glass of water, and she gratefully gulped down a few sips.
She took a deep breath, then tipped her head back and laughed. Really laughed, from the gut, and without restrain. Naoko joined in after a second or two, and Gareth began to chuckle. Just like that, they were all back to normal, and the three rounded out their afternoon with another set of drinks and more desserts.
-end-