by Morgan James
They settled at the breakfast bar and dished out food.
“How was the first day as a fairy?”
Ash paused, his fork halfway to the paneer dish, and gave her a look.
She shrugged. “Nope, it’s never going to get old. I’ll make that pun until I die.”
Ash took a bite of paneer. “Numpty.”
Etta narrowed her eyes. “If you think I don’t know what that means after four years, then the only numpty here is you.” She pointed a judgmental finger at him.
Ash grinned. “So, how was your day, dear?”
She rolled her eyes at the tired joke and reminded him that she’d spent much of her day watching his sorry ass—ouch—but then, as always, she shared some conversation, news from home, her trip to the gym.
The very best of traditions.
After they finished eating, he tidied up while Etta watched him, smirking. Then, because of their early start in the morning, they said good night and retreated to their bedrooms.
Ash curled up round his pillow and closed his eyes. With his heart made light by a new job and love from his brother, he fell into an easy sleep.
Chapter Two
“I WILNAE make ye brownies,” Hamish said in the firmest tone he could, which wisnae very.
“Not even for me, love?” Niall batted his eyelashes as he leaned across the counter.
“I dinnae make brownies for aught.”
“Please?” Roxanne leaned in too, doing her best to look sweet and innocent. A remarkable feat for a 600-year-old vampire, but it was much less of one for Jasmine behind the mask.
“No. I’ll no’ be a cliché.” Hamish sniffed and turned away—and Ash caught sight of a familiar face standing behind the camera. Remy? Ash froze, his heart hurried up, and his mind went blank. He hadn’t thought—but here Remy was on the set of Ash’s new job.
“Hamish? Darlin’?” Niall’s voice cut through the fog of Ash’s surprise, and he turned back to his costars, trying to remember what he was meant to be doing.
He licked his lips, then shook his head. He couldn’t fake his way through this one. He was too rattled. Even though the lines came back to him, he’d too thoroughly blown the pace of the scene.
“Sorray,” he said. “I, uh, dinnae ken what happened.” He colored, suddenly embarrassed that he struggled to go in and out of Hamish’s stronger brogue—even if he had to keep the accent lightish for American viewers—and that Remy was hearing him speak like this, as though he’d grown up in the Highlands a few hundred years ago and not outside Glasgow in the ’90s.
“No problem,” said Sophia, the director, a local Ash knew well from his days on Restraint. “Happens to the best of us. Let’s take it from ‘I won’t make you brownies,’ please.”
Ash resettled in front of the counter, touched his pendant hidden beneath his costume, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. When he opened them, Michael and Jasmine eyed him curiously, but he shook his head minutely, and neither of them asked. Then the director called action, and they started again.
This time Ash firmly ignored everyone behind the camera and made it through the scene… barely.
Once they’d finished the run-through, Sophia called it a wrap for the morning and sent them on their lunch break. Ash bit his lip and avoided eye contact, embarrassed to have scuppered a scene so completely.
Michael clapped a hand on his shoulder and tilted his head to the side. “Join us?”
Ash glanced about, but Remy no longer stood behind the camera.
He nodded. “Aye.” Time alone wouldn’t do him any good.
They gathered food from craft services and settled together to eat. Because Michael and Jasmine were fantastic people—and also fellow actors who understood—neither of them mentioned Ash’s somewhat pathetic prelunch performance, and instead Jasmine launched into a story about her weekend trip to Banff with her boyfriend and dog, which soon had the others chuckling.
Before getting this job, Jasmine hadn’t much television experience. She’d mostly worked in sketch and stand-up comedy and much of it for YouTube. At times she made her last gig obvious when she told one of her “you won’t believe what happened to me last Saturday” stories.
He and Michael were still wiping away tears when Janet said, “Looks like I’d better hear this one.”
Ash turned to her and his breath hitched. Remy stood with her, dimpling shyly at their trio.
Forewarning did nothing to dull the effect of seeing him. Ash looked down at his plate and took calming breaths.
“Definitely,” Michael said with a chuckle. “Now, introduce us to your adorable shadow.” Michael shot Remy a very flirty smile, and hot jealousy flared in Ash’s gut.
“I’d love to.” Janet beamed and waved a hand. “This is Remy Beaumont, newest addition to our writing team—part intern, part advisor. He’s got a degree in magical monsters, so he’s gonna help keep your backstories straight, as well as bring in different species of guest stars.”
Ash managed enough courage to raise his gaze to Remy once again. He looked… God, better than he had months ago, which was terribly unfair. He had a longer hairstyle, which better suited his face, and new glasses with large frames that made his eyes pop.
Remy waved and smiled at them. “Hello.”
Ash wanted to lunge across the table and kiss him. He looked away, surprised by the fierceness of the desire. His heart pounded.
“Remy, meet the lovely and hilarious Jasmine, the charming and beautiful Michael, and our shy and sweet Ash.”
“Nice to meet you,” Remy said to Jasmine and Michael, then turned to Ash and tilted his head, asking permission.
“We’ve already met,” Ash’s mouth said, surprising him almost as much as the others.
“You have?” Janet looked back and forth between them. “You never said anything,” she accused.
Remy shrugged. “It wasn’t a long acquaintance. I wasn’t sure he’d remember, and I didn’t want to sound like I was name-dropping for a job.”
Janet chuckled. “As if you’d need to. You came highly recommended, and you’re overqualified for the intern position as it is.”
Remy grinned at the praise.
“So, will we see you around set much?” Michael asked, thankfully not fluttering his lashes or some such nonsense.
Janet nodded. “I want him here as much as possible at first, to get used to things, and then we’ll see. Maybe on days with new creatures, so he’s on hand to troubleshoot. No point in hiring that big brain if we’re not going to use it,” she added cheerfully.
“It’s fun being on set,” Remy said earnestly, with a little bounce. “I’ve never seen anything being filmed before.”
Michael chuckled. “Hopefully you’ll still feel that way after you watch us act out a scene twenty times in a row.”
“Well, if each take gets the same care and variation as I saw earlier today, I don’t see why not.”
Had Remy always been so optimistic?
Janet laughed and slung an arm around his shoulder. “Come on, kid, you got more people to meet. Might as well quit this group while you’ve got them all charmed with your naïveté.”
“It was nice to meet you.” He smiled at Jasmine and Michael. “And to see you again, Ash. I like the new look,” he called over his shoulder as he was dragged away.
Scruffing his beard, Ash watched him go, then turned back to his friends, who were watching him. Ash blushed furiously.
“Well,” Michael said, “I want to know everything.”
Judging from Jasmine’s jerk and Michael’s jump, she’d kicked him under the table—hard. “You don’t have to tell us anything.” She smiled kindly at him. “Of course, if you want to….”
Ash sighed. “There isn’t anything to tell, really. I ran into him when I was playing tourist in Toronto last year. He was doing the same, and we tagged along with each other.”
Michael hummed disbelievingly, but Jasmine nodded. “Good day, then?”
&n
bsp; “Yeah,” he said simply.
“What did you think of my hometown?” she asked.
“You’re from Toronto?”
She shrugged. “Sorta. Came here when I was a kid. Grew up in the ‘Greater Toronto Area.’ Which means my parents couldn’t afford to live in Toronto itself.”
Ash snorted. “Well, I’ve been a couple of times because of the big convention. I didn’t really get to see much of the city, though. What I did see was good.” He tried not to think about being pulled into a supply closet with Remy or goofing around in the vintage shop or watching him eat wings.
“Ooh, do you think we’ll do conventions together?” Jasmine asked, her eyes lighting up. “It would be so cool if we all went to the Toronto one, and then I could show you around my ‘hood.’” She laughed.
Ash smiled. Jasmine and Michael would quickly become the benevolent rulers of any con, which suited Ash fine. He preferred the big cons, like San Diego or Seattle, because he never went alone. The Restraint cast went to either between series, and Ash hid behind Adele and Jonny every time.
Would it be too much to hope that their fantasy dramedy get the same promotion? That could be… good. Not only would Jasmine and Michael love it, but he suspected Miya would join him in geeky appreciation and Kim would lurk with him behind the extroverts.
Under the table, Ash crossed his fingers.
ETTA picked him up at the end of the day of filming, took one look at his face after he climbed in the car, and asked, “What happened?”
Ash swallowed. “Uh, so remember the time in Toronto when I went to play tourist by myself?”
Etta arched an eyebrow. “And you met an adorable out boy who you’ve been pining after ever since? I’m vaguely familiar.”
Ash warmed. Sometimes he wished Etta didn’t know him so well. “Well, he got hired as a myths-and-monsters specialist for the show. Janet wants him round set so he can learn and answer questions if needed.”
“You’re shitting me,” Etta said. She hit the brakes a wee bit too hard at the traffic light and turned to him. Relaxing back into the seat and away from the seat belt, Ash nodded. “Jesus. Is geek boy stalking you? I know I said he was cute at the time and that you should bang him, but do I need to break him?” Her eyes narrowed menacingly. Behind them, someone honked their horn. “Yeah, yeah,” Etta muttered, waving her middle finger over her shoulder and hitting the gas.
Ash cocked his head. “No. I don’t think so. It’s probably a coincidence. He’d mentioned wanting to use his master’s to work on scripts.”
“Hrm,” Etta grunted and angrily flicked on her blinker. “Well, I’m following you into work tomorrow. I hope you know that.”
“Etta….”
“No, I’m your bodyguard, which means I guard your body, which means I check up on cute boys who may be stalking you.”
“You gonna do a background check too?”
“You know, that’s not a bad—”
“I’m pretty sure studio security already took care of that,” Ash hastily cut in. He hadn’t meant to give her any ideas.
“Well, I’m still coming in tomorrow.” She waved off his objections with a casual hand. “I’ll bring my gym clothes, tell them I’m making use of their fancy actors’ gym like they said I could.”
“I appreciate your discretion,” Ash said, monotone.
“No problem.” She stopped at another intersection. “Now, am I turning left for sushi or going straight for pizza?”
“Straight,” Ash said firmly. Today deserved pizza.
“Well, if we’re breaking diet, I say we go all out. Phone in the order, and we’ll stop at the IGA for some Häagen-Dazs.” Ash didn’t argue.
He stayed in the car while she dashed in for their ice cream—sometimes he wasn’t in the mood to risk being spotted—and called for their favorite pizza.
Imogene laughed when he tried to give her their order. “The usual, right? Don’t worry, we got it saved on file. It’ll be ready in twenty minutes.”
“Thank you.” Ash made a mental note to add a wee bit extra to the tip.
After he hung up, he sat in the quiet, stared out the window, and watched the other grocery-store patrons hustle past the SUV. It was turning dark and had started to rain—unsurprisingly for April—so they were pulling hoods up and hurrying through the car park.
Ash hadn’t thought he’d ever see Remy again. When he said goodbye to him last summer, he believed it for good. That knowledge, that he’d met a nice young man but had been too afraid to even ask for a number, caused Ash several nights’ worth of deep introspection. He wasn’t sure—naw, that wisnae right. He was positive he wouldn’t be Hamish Dunbar right now if not for Remy.
Ash didn’t know how to process that it wasn’t over. He jiggled his leg.
How much time would he actually spend with Remy? Maybe they’d barely talk. Maybe Remy wouldn’t actually be on set much; maybe Janet was wrong in her estimations.
He touched his coin.
Or maybe Remy would be there every day and Ash would get to talk to him during their breaks and—
Etta opened the door and hopped in. “Done. One Mint Chip and one White Russian procured. Tell me the pizza’s waiting.”
“The pizza is waiting,” Ash said dutifully.
Two hours later they were camped on the couch, eating their ice cream and watching Doctor Who.
“So… are we gonna talk about it?” Etta asked.
Ash shoved a spoonful of mint chocolate into his mouth. He shrugged and swallowed. “Rather talk about how handsome Ten is.”
“Hmm, yes, I know he’s your favorite,” Etta said. She waved a hand. She ate some vodka ice cream and contemplated the screen where David Tennant swanned about as the tenth Doctor. “He is pretty cute, though.” She cast Ash a sideways look. “Cuter when he’s still got the Scottish accent.”
Ash wrinkled his nose. “Dinnae know about cuter, but he sounds like home.” Ash had grown up only a few miles from Tennant.
“Huh. Does he make you homesick?”
Ash shrugged, mouth full of ice cream. “Wee bit.”
“Oh.”
They sat in silence for a while, and then Etta broke it. “Wasn’t geek boy dressed up as Ten at that con?”
Ash froze. How did she remember? “How…?”
“Dude, he face-planted onto your dick. And you totally had a crush. Of course I remember.”
Ash tried to hide his burning face in his ice cream.
Etta reached over and ruffled his hair. “You’re so cute.”
Ash narrowed his eyes and sullenly ate another spoonful. “Oh, shut yer gob and eat yer booze ice cream.”
Etta laughed and did just that.
The next episode started, and Ash slumped further into his seat and tipped his head onto Etta’s shoulder.
“He’s really cute,” Ash whispered, tired.
Etta grunted. “Your love for Ten has already been established this evening.”
“Not Ten,” Ash said. Then, after a pause, he managed, “Remy.”
“Ooh, him. ‘Cute,’ eh?”
“Aye. Veray cute.”
“You gonna be okay?”
Ash thought about that seriously. “Maybe,” he mumbled.
Etta hummed softly and ran her fingers through his hair. “I think you will be. You’re strong stuff.”
Knackered, Ash hummed. “Thanks.”
“No problem. Now shush. Tony Head’s on the screen.”
Ash snorted but did as he was bid.
Chapter Three
ASH didn’t see Remy for the next two days. Buzzing, he hung on tenterhooks at work, alternating between eagerness and dreading the idea of seeing him. When Ash wasn’t focused on work and being Hamish, his mind feverishly ran through various scenarios. What would he say to Remy? What would Remy say in return?
By the end of the second day, on little sleep, Ash was shattered. On Friday morning he dozed in the car on the way to work and shuffled into makeup in a near-zomb
ie state. As he noted the time, half eight, he was exceedingly grateful to no longer have regular 3:00 a.m. wake-up calls to be put into werewolf getup. Hamish took no prep. They even let Ash keep the new beard—something about all the ginger making him look more Scottish.
On the downside, the visit to makeup was so short he couldn’t sleep in the chair.
As he made his way from costume to the set, he did his best to wake up. He was so focused on his shattered state, he failed to notice anyone else until he about stepped on them.
“Oh, sorry,” Remy said in that cute, reflexive Canadian way.
Ash stared at him—the adorable nose, the new shaggy hair—and spoke a beat too late. “It’s fine.”
“Right. Still. Uh, so, hi.” Remy awkwardly scratched the side of his nose. “Sorry.”
Ash blinked. Surely if Remy had been this cute the last time, Ash would have remembered it. “It’s, uh, good to see you,” Ash said somewhat stiffly. “Again.”
“Yeah. You too, man. I mean. Look, I hope you know that when I applied for this job, I had no idea you’d be here, and I wasn’t trying to—”
“Aye, I know.”
“—stalk you or anything—you do? Oh… good.” Remy’s shoulders dropped, and he shifted his weight side to side. “How have you been?”
“Good.” Ash nodded several times. “Fine.” After a long pause, he asked, “You?”
“Good. Great. I got my master’s degree—obviously—and moved across country for an adventure and a job. Reliable income, yay.” He smiled. “Feels good to no longer be a student.”
Ash nodded. He remembered the elation of finally being free, of having a “real” job. “Yeah.”
“Well… I guess I better let you go. You probably need to go to the set, and I should get back to the writers.” He waved an explanatory hand toward the men’s room.
“Right.”
“Okay. Um, later.” Remy gave a dafty wave and then left.
Ash stared blankly into space for several long seconds, then took a deep breath. That hadn’t been… optimal. Not exactly a great reunion, but it was done with, the first meeting. No more mystery or wondering how Remy would behave with no one else around. Looked like Remy hadn’t missed him. Of course he hadn’t. Stupid to think—
