So, a long time ago, I was in the Pinto Bar sharing pics while writing Bleary-related stuff, and this one was shared (by @satismagic nee Juno, I believe). And like a TOTAL idiot, I didn’t save it. And then months later when I wrote Fathers’ Day, I searched for it FOR DAYS, and just had to write with it as faded-memory-picspiration. But today @soproudofya gave it to me, and I’m SO GRATEFUL I NEVER WANT TO LOSE IT AGAIN.
So here it is: Bleary!verse’s Zach and Nathan circa Fathers’ Day.
Chris Pine visits ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ on January 25, 2016.
Bringing this back because it ended up being picspiration for the new Cleaving chapter I’ve been working on the last few days. It’s winter in Pittsburgh, after all.
Special thanks to @nixsducky for beta reading and giving me the PERFECT name for this story.
Thirty minutes later his mom came downstairs.
“That was a long board book,” Zach said, smiling.
“My hand may have slipped and picked up more than one.”
“Hmmm. Nonna’s prerogative.” He handed her a glass of wine.
“Indeed,” she said with a sly grin, nudging his knee so he would scoot over on the sofa. He slid to one end so she could sit beside him. “He is the sweetest of boys, Zachary. You and Chris are clearly doing an amazing job. And he’s the smartest one-and-a-half-year-old I’ve ever seen. His love for books…” She shook her head in mock disbelief.
“Chris’ influence,” Zach said with a proud chuckle.
“Not just his, but yes.” She patted his knee like she had when he was a boy and whispered conspiratorially, “All the other grandmas are going to be so jealous.”
Zach barked a laugh and downed more of his wine. It was nice. A rich Cab that that seemed to melt against his tongue and warm his soul. Or maybe that was the company.
Praise the muses!
“Let me help you,” Chris said, startling Zach with his closeness. “And do we have the recipe for the seafood lasagna? Because we need it… we definitely need it.”
Zach chuckled. “I’m pretty sure we do. I’ll have to pull it out next time I need you in an agreeable food coma. Speaking of,” he said, looking sideways at Chris as he swayed on his feet, “I’m not sure vertical is a good choice for you at the moment.”
Chris scrubbed his face and looked around the room. “What time is it?”
“Sevenish.”
“So that’s,” he counted under his breath,”three in the morning.”
“Or five in the afternoon.”
“I never had time to acclimate to Pacific Time; I just took a nap there. I should try to stay up a little longer though. Otherwise I’ll never acclimate.”
Zach tilted his head, taking in the dark smudges under Chris’ eyes and the pallor of his skin. “I don’t know. You look like you could sleep ten hours straight. This isn’t a press junket. There’s no reason you need to shift time zones all in one day.”
“Yeah, but it feels like a waste to be in the same house with you and be in different rooms.” And that was nice. Zach clung to the words and let them reassure him.
“I’ll come to bed early. Just, you know, after Nathan’s bedtime.”
Chris chuckled ruefully. “I’m so old.” There was resignation in his voice.
“You’re not,” Zach said, finally turning fully to Chris after drying his hands. He reached out to touch Chris’ hips tentatively, and was relieved when Chris moved forward and relaxed into an embrace. “But you’ve been running ragged, and you need to recharge. So recharge.”
“Okay. I’m not going to be good company anyway. I may as well. Tomorrow I have snowman-building lessons.”
“Maybe. We definitely have to wrap presents. Do you want me to come up and help you find your stuff?”
“S’okay. My toiletries and sleep pants are in my carry-on. Can I unpack the rest tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Just pile the suitcases up in a corner so I don’t trip
on them coming to bed in the dark. And leave my carry-on on top.” He
started to pull away, but Chris squeezed him with a bit more force.
Then he framed Zach’s face with both hands and kissed him. It wasn’t a
passionate kiss — it was practically chaste — but it tasted of comfort
mingled with weariness. Zach just hoped he wasn’t the cause of the
latter.
Zach sat down as his mom put a plate at his place and told them both to dig in.
“How is your movie going, dear?” Margo asked Chris, pouring wine for them all.
Chris’ smile lit up, and he finally looked like his old self. “It’s going to be great. We’ve had some technical setbacks with all the rain, but the shoot itself is going really well. My co-star, Gal, is just fantastic. I’m just there to support her and help her character shine.” Zach took a bite and tried to ignore the jealousy blooming in his chest. “She’s going to be such an amazing role model for girls. I’ve been thinking about that a lot, lately, you know? If Nathan had been a girl, whom would we hold up as cool, complex female characters that he — she — could look up to? There are more now than there used to be, but they are still rare. Rey from Star Wars is supposed to be great — Zach, we need to sort out when we can see that — and I really think Wonder Woman is going to contribute to that list. So my job is to show that Steve Trevor can be rescued without it becoming a threat to his masculinity, or something to apologize for, or some sort of joke. He’s a strong man, he supports her, but he’s mortal and has mortal failings and would not make it without her.”
It was the longest speech he’d heard Chris give on his character since he’d left for England. It was comfortably familiar — the sort of conversation that they’d had about characters throughout their friendship. But it also made Zach uncomfortably aware that they hadn’t been talking like that since Chris had left. Probably even before that, actually. Zach hadn’t been asking these very basic questions, and he felt oddly out of step.
“Gal is really fun, too,” Chris continued, souring Zach’s thoughts further. “She keeps the cast laughing.”
“That’s usually your job,” Zach said, his voice sounding strange even to his own ear.
Chris looked at him mid-swallow and gave a small, awkward shrug. “I haven’t needed to as much because she’s already charming everyone into being happy on set.”
Zach looked down at his food, suddenly not as hungry as he had been.
So cute.
Actually, this is pretty perfect for what I’m working on now. “Nathan” looks about one and a half here… Maybe I’ll write this in.
The house smelled of basil, rosemary, and oregano… aromas that Zach associated with Christmas, but Chris probably didn’t. Zach heard the customary “What dat?” as he passed through the livingroom to the stairs, and saw that Nathan was propped on his mom’s hip, peering into the dishes on the kitchen counter.
“We’re up here,” he said back to Chris, trundling up the narrow staircase. First door on the right, and…exactly how it looked when he was in high school, except for the double bed where is long twin had been. He knew it would be — he’d seen in the past that his mom hadn’t changed either of their rooms — but it was still jarring. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been staring at the collection of posters from various 80’s and 90’s musicals before he heard a quiet, “You okay?”
Zach turned to see Chris’ concerned look. “Yeah. Just… suddenly accosted by every teenage insecurity and angst I ever experienced. I feel like I might get pushed into a locker, or have to explain to Father Michael again why I’m not coming back to the church.”
Chris dropped the suitcase on the bed and wrapped an arm around Zach waist pulling him close. Zach felt warm breath against his cheek, and something loosened inside his chest.
“We could still go get a hotel, if it would make you more comfortable. I don’t want you stressed over Christmas.”
Zach dropped his own bags and wrapped his arms around Chris’ shoulders, reminding himself that he was not 17 and just discovering that he was really much more attracted to men than women, despite being taught that it was a mortal sin that would land him in Dante’s eternal fire. He wasn’t trying to hide bruises from bullying at school, and wondering if anyone would ever love him for who he was. He was a father, and was currently in the arms of a man that accepted and loved both him and his son. A man whom he loved and to whom he was engaged…whatever other uncertainty there may be. And he had friends. And a career. His life was already more full than he could have imagined the last time he feel asleep staring at his Rent poster.
“I’ll be fine,” he said, glaring briefly at the room, daring it to prove him wrong. “You’ve been living out of hotels for a month. And Santa needs a chimney to come down. Besides, my mom is so happy we’re finally staying with her. She wants to show Nathan off to all her friends, and her Nonna-time means we can have some time to ourselves, as well.”
“Staying in one place for a week or two sounds great, actually.” Chris’ voice was thick and weary, now that Nathan wasn’t in earshot. “My body has no idea what time zone it’s in right now.”
“I know,” Zach said, squeezing him tighter.
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