Chapter Text
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VIL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Vil….VIL! Vil, can you hear me??” Lenny? Lenny-yes I can hear you. What’s going on? How’s Rook? I feel so– “Agh, he’s not responding. Can we get medical over here please? NOW??” Not responding?? What do you mean I’m not responding; I’m talking to you right now! Lenny, what’s going on? “It’s ok, Ms. Fitzgerald, we can take it from here. Let’s get him on the stretcher boys. Hurry up; let’s go!” Wait… who’s that? Where are you taking me?? Lenny, what’s going on??? “Yeah yeah whatever, just take care of him! And don’t call me Ms. Fitzgerald; it makes me feel
old.”
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Lenny shook her head as she watched the ambulance speed away. How could everything have gone so wrong? Jimmy was nowhere to be found; the police were out searching for him but that slippery snake was sure to give them a run for their money. Come on, we’re getting distracted. The actress quickly made her way to her garage, shaking herself out of the trance she’d fallen into. She was about to jump in her car when she was swarmed by a mob led by the director. “Hold it right there, Len. Now, I’m gonna be honest with you in all the years we’ve worked together we’ve seen some pretty weird and fucked up shit, but this? This takes the cake. What the hell is going on with my costume designer? What happened to my lead actor?? Why am I hearing that my other lead actor was responsible for his accident??? Why are you running away; are you involved????” The actress put her hands out to try and calm the panicking man. “Carl, calm down. Take some deep breaths, ok? Alright I need y’all to listen and I need you to pay attention. I don’t have much time so I’ll explain in detail later, but right now all you need to know is Rook is sick because of something happening to Vil. Vil is also sick because of something happening to Vil but not in the same way Rook is. I am not directly involved in any of this but I do know what has to be done to fix it. Right now that’s all you really need to know, ok? Now get out of the way unless you want to know what it’s like to be roadkill.” She swiftly jumped in the car, putting it in gear. The hoard of people surrounding her moved out of the way, somehow even more confused now than before her explanation. Lenny started to pull away, but stopped and she rolled down her window. “Oh, and as for Jimmy? He’s an asshole. He practically pushed Vil off of the balcony.” Before Carl could respond, the actress kicked it into high gear as she sped off toward the main road. All he could do was watch, dumbfounded, as her car disappeared into the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ROOK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Breathe in, breathe out. *SNIP* B-breathe in, breathe out. *PULL* B-b-b…. *SNAP* *YANK* *GRAB* “Agh! We’re losing him.” “The hell we are. Johnson! Be more careful, would ya? I mean Christ on a stick, you pull any harder and you’re gonna pull a lung out!” Pull a lung out?? What’s happening to me, where am I? Hello? Why isn’t anyone answering me? “S-sorry Dr. Gonzalez. I’ll try to be more gentle.” “No, you know what? Everyone out. I’ll finish the flower control myself. If I keep letting you “try” he’ll be dead or soulless within the hour. Go check in with Dr. Becker and see how the other one’s doing. I don’t know what the hell they’re doing on that damn set but it can’t be anything good. “Other one? From the set?? Who is it? Please tell me! “Right away, Dr. G. Let us know if you need anything else.”
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“Alright… Ms. Fitzgerald? Do we have a Ms. Fitzgerald out here?” Lenny huffed as she rose from the uncomfortable waiting room chair. “Don’t call me– agh, nevermind. How are they?” She practically hissed. The woman looked down at her clipboard. “They’re both stable as of right now. Stable, but unconscious. Schoenheit took a nasty fall and that Hunt boy was practically suffocating when he came in.” The actress rolled her eyes; why was this lady telling her things she already knew? “Alright. What room are they in?” She moved toward the hallway without waiting for an answer. “Hold on, you can’t go back now! I told you, they’re currently unconscious and–” “Listen lady, I’m gonna level with you here. I’m not trying to be rude, and I’m not trying to be a Karen, but these two are in some serious trouble and I’m the only one who knows how to get ‘em out. Would you please just tell me where to find them?” The surgeon raised her eyebrows at this. “Ok, first of all, don’t call me “lady”. I understand and respect that you don’t like being called ‘Ms. Fitzgerald’, so I’d like the same respect from you.” Lenny sighed; she realized she was being a bit rude and the last thing she wanted to do was piss off one of the surgeons in charge of helping her friends. “You’re right. I’m sorry Dr….” “Gonzalez. Dr. Rosa Gonzalez.” Lenny nodded and the doctor resumed her speech. “Now, second of all: how is it that you seem to know better than all the talented, not to mention qualified , doctors and nurses in this hospital? I mean, I know you’re an actress, I’m a huge fan actually, but there’s a huuuge difference between playing a doctor and actually being one.” Lenny sighed, finally stopping to face her companion. “Ok. Ok, ok, ok. This is probably going to sound crazy to you…” The woman laughed, interrupting. “Trust me, honey. When you’re a surgeon in the ER, nothing sounds crazy anymore. Try me.” The actress gave her a questioning look, but ultimately relented. “Ok so, here’s the deal….”
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The surgeon began barking out orders as soon as she heard Lenny out. First thing’s first: they had to move the two boys into the same room. They happened upon Vil’s room first; the surgeon sent a tech to go find Rook and transport him to the same room. After “dealing” with the slight hiccup of somehow having lost the hunter (and of course “dealing with it” entailed Lenny and the surgeon taking turns yelling at people until they found him again), they were finally side by side once more. Lenny moved between the two beds, grabbing each boy’s hand. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she exhaled, she joined their hands together, softly uttering the words “ aigne a roinnt”. A soft stream of green light began to fill the room, swirling around the joined hands of the pair. As the light faded into their hands, the actress gently put them down onto one of the beds. She slowly backed away from the bed, whispering to the surgeon. “Ok. Now all they need to do is talk it out. Once that happens, they should be good as new”. A particularly nasty bruise of Vil’s caught her eye and she winced. “Or, as good and new as they can be at least”. The two women settled into some chairs and watched as the boys began to murmur in their sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TOGETHER ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
V: H-hello? Is anybody there?
R: Hello? I-I can hear you!
V: Rook? Rook! Is that you?
R: Roi de Poison! It’s you. It’s really you! Or…is it really you?
V: Oh Rook. Yes, it’s me. Really me. I promise.
R: Oh thank God. I-I’m glad.
…
…
…
R: Vil… I really do need to–
V: I’m sorry! God Rook I’m so sorry. This… this is all my fault. My injury, your sickness, all of it! I should’ve just listened to you in the first place. I never should have taken this role. I was just so so stupid! How could I have been so st–
R: I don’t think you’re stupid! Darling Vil, is that how little you think of me? That I would ever even dream of thinking you stupid? You had a dream, that’s all! We’re allowed to have dreams; dreams are wonderful things! Surely you wouldn't dare to deny yourself the luxury of living your dream.
V: Yes, a dream that almost got both of us killed! Oh, Rook. Where did I go wrong? All I wanted was to be the hero. Just once…
R: Oh, beautiful one, don’t you see? The screen isn’t the only place where you can be a hero. You’ve been my hero since the day I met you.
V: R-really?
R: Would I lie to you? You’re a hero in practically everything you do; I can see it! I see it in the way you lead our students. I know on the surface it seems like you’re harsh and uncaring, but I look closer than most people. I see how much you care, how much you truly want to improve their lives! You’re a hero in how you carry yourself, in how you talk to and treat other people. You’ve shown the world how simply playing a villain in the movies doesn’t make you one in real life. It’s truly inspiring watching you on the news; you take absolutely nothing from anyone and you do it with pride! You are my dear, dear friend, and I love you for simply being you. But when I saw that this role was taking that away I-I….
V: Oh Rook, I’m so sorry! I never should have let that part consume me. You told me I was changing. Lenny told me I was changing. But for some reason, I couldn’t force myself to stop! It’s like there was a voice inside my head telling me to change. Telling me it was me against the world and that everyone was trying to steal my dream away from me! And I-I listened. Why on earth did I listen?! I was weak. I was so completely weak and that…that thing almost consumed me, almost took over my entire life!
…
…
…
V: R-rook are you there? Are you ok???
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“SHIT! What the hell did you do, Fitzgerald?! He’s totally freaking out. We’re losing him!” The surgeon jumped from her chair and moved to try and stabilize Rook. For some inexplicable reason, the boy had broken out into the most aggressive coughing fit they had ever witnessed. Lenny quickly grabbed her arm, blocking the doctor from going any further. “No, stop! We have to let them work it out. Just trust me; at this stage wouldn’t you expect him to be coughing up flowers??” The surgeon rubbed her temple. “Yes, I suppose so.” The actress looked at her, desperately trying to get her point across. “Right, but there’s nothing there! That’s a good sign. I think it means they’re finally talking and figuring it out! I know it’s hard; this isn’t easy for me to watch either. But right now, we need to sit down and leave them alone, ok?” Dr. Gonzalez grumbled as she reluctantly returned to her seat, eying the beds with constant supervision.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TOGETHER ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
V: Rook. Rook, please answer I’m begging you!
R: I-I’m sorry, mon roi. It’s just that…that…
V: Yes? It’s ok Rook. I’m finally ready to listen.
R: Hearing you say you were losing yourself… that’s exactly what I feared! Every time I thought of my beloved friend being replaced with that…that thing inside of you I felt like I couldn’t breathe! You are my best friend and I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you, the real you, forever. In a way, I felt like I was losing a part of myself, losing a love that I-
V: I love you too! You have been the dearest friend I’ve ever had. I-I think I’d even like it to be more than that… but that’s not important. You are my best friend and I love you Rook. I’m not going anywhere. Please know that; hold on to it. I am here to stay and I am here for you.
R: Really?
V: Really.
R: Oh. Oh, I feel so strange. Almost as if…
V: Hah. I think I feel it too…
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“This has gone on far too long. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to–” “Look!” Lenny jumped up and pointed at Rook’s bed. With one final, almost gentle, cough came a tiny, single lavender flower. “The flower of peace. But that can only mean…” The surgeon trailed off as the boys began to stir. Slowly, they regained consciousness, fastening their hold on each other’s hands as if their very lives depended on it. As they opened their eyes and tried to adjust to the light, Lenny walked over and smiled. “Hello boys! Welcome back.”
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TWO MONTHS LATER
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Things were finally looking up again for the Pomfiore duo. After Vil and Rook made their speedy recoveries (thanks to the talented Dr. Gonzalez) they returned to the film set to finish what they started. Thanks to the obvious issues concerning a certain British actor and the fiasco they had only just resolved with their hero of choice, the entire cast and crew decided to try and start the filming process over again and hope for the best. As soon as he found out he’d be acting alongside not only Vil but Lenny as well, Neige decided to move some things around in his schedule to claim the role of spring. After reading the script thoroughly, Vil found that Fall, while still the secondary antagonist, was actually more of an anti-hero than a villain. He was classy, sassy, and morally dubious; it was the perfect combination. Neige and Vil combined with Lenny and Paddy made up the core four; they managed to catch up to the filming schedule and were set to pass it that day! Carl was over the moon; this dream team had managed to capture several scenes in one single take and it was doing wonders for both the schedule and his own mental wellbeing. Everything was going brilliantly, when an all-too familiar voice broke through the sound of the scene they were shooting. “This is an OUTRAGE! Do you know who I am?? I am James Darrow. A.K.A, the best actor of all time! How DARE you treat me like this??” The cast and crew gaped in complete and total shock as the long-missing criminal was dragged into the house by the police. “Well well well, lookie what we have here!” Paddy sneared, shooting a smug look at the captured actor. “Oh great, you had to drag me all the way to the madhouse. Well, get a good look, you vultures! I’m warning you now, when my solicitor gets here you’re all in for a hell of a time! Defamation of character, unlawful imprisonment, slander, you’re all getting the works! I can’t wait to see the look on your faces when–” Without a word, Lenny strutted up to the restrained man and gave him a fantastic slap across the face. “THAT’S for wasting our time throughout this entire process.” “What the fu–” *SLAP* “THAT one’s for Rook!” *SLAP* “THAT one’s for Vil!” The actress cursed under her breath as she turned to walk away. Rook and Vil glanced at each other, silently pointing out what they had to do. In one fluid motion, they stepped up to Jimmy, giving him two more slaps to the face, saying “And THAT one’s for Lenny!” The actress stopped in her tracks, pondering the statement. “Ah, fuck it.” She turned back to face Darrow, giving him one final smack to the face. “THAT’S for me too!” The film set was silent for a moment, before laughter broke out among the members. Darrow, gaping in disbelief, was led away to a squad car. Rook and Vil laughed as they turned to face one another, gazing into each other’s eyes. Suddenly yet slowly, without really knowing what he was doing, Vil leaned in closer to Rook as his counterpart did the same. Closing their eyes, they closed the gap, kissing each other softly, lovingly. It seemed it was a kiss long desired by both of them…
…
…
…
“HA! I told you, Paddy! 40 bucks, cough it up now.” As the actress laughed, the Irishman rolled his eyes, taking the money out of his pocket.
Yes. A kiss long desired by both Vil and Rook, and apparently, long expected by others.
~Fin