Work Text:
1968
“Don’t go,” Lukas warned him, but the threat was empty and meaningless. “It won’t be good.”
Mathias just smiled and accepted the challenge.
The back of the theater was empty, save for himself. He waited impatiently as moviegoers made their way through the rows of seats, carrying snacks and beverages and chattering amongst themselves. He sat alone, no candy or soda, and put his feet up on the seat in front of him, in hopes of deterring anyone from sitting near him. The last thing he needed was to be spotted in public; Lukas would really wring his neck for that.
Mathias thought himself well enough disguised. Dressed in all denim, hair flattened down, and sunglasses perched on his nose, he looked like his highschool self. He kept his face neutral and relaxed. A few people he thought gave him an incredulous look, a look that said Could that be him? No, it can’t possibly be… but he looks awfully similar… He rejoiced in his anonymity, just another face in the crowd.
Lukas’s newest film was guaranteed to be the next best thing, or so all the tabloids declared. And Mathias was willing to bet money on it, because everything that Lukas had a part in making turned out phenomenal. He believed Lukas had a natural-born talent for acting. His beauty was meant for the screen. Whenever pressed in interviews for his renowned ability or looks, he had the capability of being humble, but in private, Mathias learned, Lukas had a self-righteousness that rivaled few. He knew his place, and it was high above most others.
The film was a Western, a genre that was failing to keep Mathias’s interests each time a new one was released. He never cared much for them at all, much more familiar with Bergman when he was growing up in Solvang. He knew for a fact that Lukas was no fan of playing cowboy either, and that he’d only accept such a role if it came with a hefty paycheck and some other career advantages.
And oh, what a hefty paycheck it was. The last time he visited Lukas, his driveway had two more cars than usual, and they didn’t belong to any guests. He also noticed a few new paintings on the white walls of his villa, and, of course, the soft new fabrics he was sporting.
He was initially a little disappointed that Lukas hadn’t gotten anything for him until he presented the box with a golden chain. It was simple, but it was gorgeous. Just his style, and Lukas had left the price tag on to prove that it was worthy. Not that Mathias would ever doubt him, or even care about how expensive a necklace was. But he loved it.
The seat beneath him was beginning to get uncomfortable. He shifted his weight, the old metal frame creaking as he repositioned his legs, one folded over the other. Eventually, the lights turned down and the screen flashed to life. A few people clapped lightly, and Mathias didn’t fight the smile that settled on his lips as Lukas graced the audience with his presence in the opening shot.
Lukas’s voice was loud and clear through the speakers. He spoke in a rancher’s drawl that must have taken weeks to master. His Norwegian accent was mostly gone, masked by constant interviews and endless hours perfecting his English. It came out at times though, with a curse or a laugh.
The drawl was a little odd to get used to, but Mathias loved it all the same. He loved everything Lukas. His hair had been trimmed for the role, and yet small strands peeked out from his white cowboy hat. Mathias appreciated that the film was in color, for he could see Lukas in all his glory, although it must have cost the studio a pretty penny to produce. Lukas’s pale skin still seemed natural in the dozens of scenes under the blazing sun, and both his stoicism and audacious manner had the young ladies in the audience whispering to each other and clasping hands whenever he said or did something particularly gratifying.
They weren’t alone in their lovestruck exclamations and squeals of delight. They didn’t know it, but Mathias was right there with them, just silent. They didn’t know what he knew, which was all the little behind-the-scenes details. Of course, Mathias wasn’t present to witness the filming, nor did he get the opportunity to speak much to Lukas at all during the weeks of production. But as he watched the movie play out, he could see all the thoughts going through Lukas’s head.
He could tell which lines Lukas struggled with, mostly due to the damn accent. He could imagine the camera rolling and Lukas going to speak, getting half-way through his line and then stumbling over a word, or emphasizing the wrong syllable. He imagined the frustrated curse followed by a humble smile and the rest of the cast and crew laughing alongside him. A shake of the head and a retake or two to finally get the line right.
He could tell which scenes were done at the end of a twelve-hour shift. The showdown scene, a staple of these tiresome Westerns, was one such scene. He noticed the way that Lukas’s arm shook ever so slightly as he held out his pistol, nothing that an ordinary moviegoer would catch the first time around, but something that Mathias chalked up to being overworked. His eyes, too, blue and beautiful as always, were tired, drained, ready for the damn thing to be over with so he could crash in his bed and wake up fourteen hours later.
He lauded himself for being the only person in the theater with a personal connection to Lukas, as if anyone else even had a fair shot at acquiring the wealth and luxury that he had. He’d been lucky–one theater class in university had been all it took, and he’d been scouted as an extra, and then his career had materialized from there. Lucky as hell, that’s for sure.
Lukas had been lucky, too, although Mathias believed it would be impossible for any casting director or producer to turn down someone so gorgeous. Although he had the talent, he barely needed it, for his beauty alone made any box office millions. Upon meeting Lukas for the first time, Mathias had been admittedly jealous, as they only differed in age by a few weeks and began their careers at the same time, yet by the time Mathias got his first star role, Lukas had already had six of his own movies.
Jealousy quickly turned into infatuation, lust, and eventually love. They’d spoken briefly a handful of times before they were cast alongside each other in a crime drama in 1960, Lukas, of course, playing the lead detective and Mathias his right-hand man. It was a cordial work relationship until a late social gathering to celebrate the film’s completion. They’d both been tipsy but not drunk, and Mathias had woken up in a bed that did not belong to him, in a house that was halfway across the city from his own.
From then on, they were almost always seen side by side. What the public thought of as a simple friendship ran so much deeper. While it was a shame they could never be open about the reality of their relationship, Mathias quietly appreciated the secrecy of it, the private knowledge shared only between him and Lukas.
The film was over before he knew it, the screen fading to black and the rest of the theater standing from their chairs and stretching their limbs. He waited until he was the last one in the room before making his way to the doors, hoping still not to be spotted. Anything could happen between the theater and his car parked down the street. If he was noticed, getting home would take much longer.
Even with his sunglasses, his eyes took ages to adjust to the sunlight outside. He stood in the shade of the theater’s overhang for several moments, listening in on the conversations that passed by him. Most were young women and high schoolers giving their opinions on Lukas’s movie. He listened for any criticisms, but didn’t hear any. The film itself wasn’t great–its cliché nature and dialogue was predictable, for one–but Lukas made it worth it. Mathias would pay any amount of money to see Lukas illuminated on a screen. Although it was hardly necessary when he got to have the real thing.
He pulled a cigar out of the front pocket of his shirt and placed it between his lips as he walked to his car. He didn’t light it; he hardly smoked at all, and never in public, but he figured it would help deter any onlookers should they get too curious.
Much safer behind the wheel of the convertible, he put the cigar back into his pocket and headed home. He replayed the scenes of Lukas’s cowboy impression in his head the whole drive, thinking to himself that he could be convinced to like any genre as long as Lukas is the star…
“I told you it wouldn’t be good,” Lukas said a few days later, after Mathias offered him his opinions.
“You were in it,” Mathias replied. “So that’s good enough for me.”
Lukas said nothing. They were lounging on the patio that overlooked the small portion of beach that Lukas owned. The large pool in front of them was inviting.
“I had fun, though,” Mathias continued. “Any chance to see you is a chance I’m going to take.”
“I’m flattered,” Lukas said sarcastically. He was smiling.
“Are you going to go see the next big hit I’m in?”
Lukas turned to face him, cheeks pink from the sun. He was gorgeous.
“Maybe,” he said with a pause. “As long as it’s not a Western.”