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Loud claps echo through the room as the lights get turned off one by one, signifying the end of another successful day on set. Each filming crew then gets right to work dismantling their equipments and clearing props as they make their way to the next site on the schedule with an efficiency resembling that of an ant colony.
Vil, akin to their queen, settles into one of the chairs reserved for the talents with his helper diligently removing any trace of sweat and grime off his face. She then hands him a bottle of ice water to drink, which he receives gracefully. He could use that after a day of intense emotion, crying for hours in front of the camera under the sweltering summer heat.
His manager, a very lovely lady named Adela, approaches the young actor with a radiant smile. “Excellent job as always Vil.”
Despite the torturous schedule, he could not be any more thankful to her for securing him his opportunity. After appearing in his first film at the age of four as a mean toddler whose job was to kick baby Neige out of the sandpit, he is finally being cast as the lead role in a modern retelling of a beloved folktale.
Market demand has changed considerably in recent years. The audience's growing appreciation for non-stereotypical stories and characters has opened doors for him, resulting in a stream of challenging roles. Fans are looking forward to seeing his new transformation. The movie has been mentioned in the media as one of the most anticipated titles. Every magicam photo he takes in the filming set gets a ton of likes. It truly ushers in a new era with Vil at the center of it.
This is something that Vil has been dreaming of since the start of his career. Finally, his hard work pays off.
He’s been given some hours to rest before the next shooting schedule, and Vil chooses to spend the rest of his free time inside his private trailer for a quick break away from the crowd. He is planning to clean up and catch some quick sleep before he would be called again to do his makeup. However, as he unlocks the door to his trailer, he catches a familiar man dozing off on one of his chair.
"Leona?" Vil calls out in surprise. "Since when… how did you…?"
The man in question blinks sleepily upon hearing the voice. Stretching his body long and hard like a housecat, the dark-haired man then yawns. "What time is it?”
“4 pm. I thought we have arranged to meet on weekend?" Which is, two days from now.
Leona cocks his head while putting on his signature smirk. “Just because we have agreed to celebrate my birthday another day, doesn’t mean that I don’t get to see my boyfriend today.”
Right. Today is Leona’s birthday. Of course Vil hasn’t forgotten about that. It's just that with his busy schedule, they couldn't find the time to properly celebrate it together on this exact day. Leona is supposed to still be in the Sunset Savanna while Vil is filming far away in the Queendom of Roses. They made a phone call last night at the stroke of midnight so Vil could be the first person to congratulate him, only for it to be hastily terminated after Cheka jumped onto the bed and wrestled his uncle with a birthday song. The fact that Leona is here right now means he had traveled all the way from his homeland just to see Vil.
"Don't tell me you ditched your birthday party at home."
Leona shrugs. "I didn't. It was just a cake. They knew I had a flight to catch, so it wasn't a big deal." It’s funny how despite being the birthday boy, he was the one who went to such lengths to give Vil a surprise.
Vil searches his pantry's cabinet for a box bearing the familiar Clover Bakery's logo. Lucky for him, Trey had sent some of his products as a gift. That would do as a makeshift birthday cake. "Are you up for another treat?"
"Depends. Is that one of your low-calorie gluten-free junks?" The lion sneers.
Vil pouts. “Oh, come on now. You know Trey makes the best guilt-free desserts in town.” He turns around with a plate of cake and a single small candle on top of it. “Here you go, birthday boy. Indulge yourself. I know you’re tired of the song so let’s just enjoy the food.”
Leona grins as he gestures to Vil to come closer, which the blond happily obeys by settling himself on his boyfriend’s lap as he presents the food. The older man extinguishes the candle with a single puff and opens his mouth straight away, which earns a slightly confused gaze from the actor. “What? You’re not going to feed me?”
Vil rolls his eyes. Of course the birthday boy wants to get pampered on his special day. He cuts a small piece of the dessert and plops it into the lion’s eager mouth before taking one for himself.
“So how does it feel being old?” Vil asks teasingly.
“Babe, I’m only twenty-seven. Not even the age when Malleus finally stopped using nappies.”
The actor laughs. Despite only being two years apart, Vil loves to mention their slight age difference whenever he can. It's a playful reminder that Leona is technically the older one. “You’re practically a geezer now. I don’t know if I can handle being with someone so ancient.”
Leona leans in to playfully nip at Vil's finger in retaliation for the jab. Vil yelps in surprise and swats Leona's chest half-heartedly.
"Hey, watch it!" Vil lets out a protest, yet he cannot contain his laugh.
Trey's cake vanished in no time. "What do you think?"
“Of the cake? ...Okay, I admit it wasn’t too bad.”
“Of course," Vil says proudly as if he was the creator. Well, sort of. Trey had approached him a year ago to ask for guidance in expanding his family business to cater the growing health-conscious demographic, and the consultation inspired the tasty recipe. Vil is no Azul Ashengrotto in terms of business strategy, but he is confident in his knowledge about trends and wellness nonetheless.
It's only after he puts down the empty plate on his lap that he realizes something. “...Oh no.”
Leona furrows his brows and shoots Vil a concerned look. “What? Is something wrong?”
“I forgot to take pictures.” He replies dejectedly, but all he gets in return is an eye-roll from the lion. Vil remembered his promise to Trey that he will post about the cake and promote the business as a token of gratitude, but it seems that there is also another reason. “I haven’t posted anything about your birthday on my social medias, people might start getting weird ideas.”
Ever since they had made the decision to announce their relationship to the public, both fans and paparazzis have been monitoring them closer than ever to lookout for any juicy gossip. Rumors of them breaking up or one of them cheating are surfacing every few months for cheap drama and clickbait, yet here they are, still going strong even after two years, not counting the time they were briefly together in highschool and the break-up gap in the middle. It wasn’t a smooth journey, and Vil admits that even he is somewhat surprised that they could actually hold for so long despite not exactly being on friendly terms at the start of their meeting.
“I don’t give a fuck about them,” Leona snatches the plate from the blond and setting it aside before carrying his lover and dropping him on the sofabed. He then pushes Vil further to make room for himself within the small space. “I’ll post something in your stead, but now, sleep. You clearly need it.”
Vil tries to struggle since he hasn't washed his face from his makeup, but the older man only tightens his hold and shushes him to pipe down. Swallowing his protests, Vil sighs as he lets sleep takes over his consciousness, feeling safe and secure in the arms of the one man he loves the most, whom the world gave birth to and delivered to him on this very day.
Three hours later, his alarm rings and he wakes up. Slipping off the couch quietly so as to not rouse the sleeping lion, Vil heads to the filming site with a renewed vigor to conquer the world.
It’s only after the filming is finished that he checks his phone and scrolls through a mountain of unread notifications. Leona had tagged him in his recent Magicam photo upload; a picture of Vil that he had sneakily captured when the actor was peacefully sleeping in his embrace, complete with a short caption: "Sleeping beauty." Within a short period of time, the post has received over twenty-thousand likes.
The actor smiles to himself. He taps on the screen twice.