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The scavenger hunts had started as a joke.
They had been on a long day of filming on set during Charles’ 13th birthday, when Pierre had gotten the idea to make it more enjoyable for his friend. If they couldn’t go and have an actual party, at least Charles could have some actual fun with it.
The first one was small, just a trail of notes leading up to his birthday present hiding under some pillows in Esteban’s trailer: a bag of the finest candy 14 year old Pierre’s allowance could buy, because his parents weren’t letting him control his actual salary just yet.
As the years went by, they became more elaborate. Sometimes they spanned several days and, on one memorable occasion for Charles’ 21st, several countries.
(There would be no telling how they had ended up in Monaco that night, but the international idea was one Pierre would probably never repeat.)
This year, Pierre knows he needs it to be sort of simple. The actual present at the end will be surprising enough, so he needs the scavenger hunt part to be streamlined and smooth which means that, obviously, he’s going to need some help.
As step one, he kidnaps the Leclerc family, sans Charles, for lunch.
“I’m going to propose to him,” Pierre announces, no preamble. There is none to be had, anyways, because all of them know that if this was something Charles couldn’t know, then it was going to be big.
"I didn't think you'd be the type to ask for our blessing, Pierre," Lorenzo answers, clearly amused.
"I'm not asking for your blessing, I'm asking for your help."
Arthur snorts. "That's more like it."
"You're not surprised? You don't think it's too soon?"
Pascale rolls her eyes. "Knowing my son, he was probably the one that told you to propose."
Pierre can only smile fondly, remembering the way Charles had looked on the boat with the sunset reflected in his eyes. God, he can't wait to marry him.
"Fair. Well," Pierre continues then, "here's the plan."
In the end, they seem to be on board with it, very excited even.
Three people down, a lot more to go.
"You said you were going to make it simple," Esteban complains.
They're sitting on the floor of his living room, and they've been cutting up pictures of Charles and Pierre, and occasionally Esteban himself, for the past three hours to make a collage. Pierre hadn't actually given Esteban much of a choice about helping - more like barged into his apartment and demanded it.
"It is simple!"
"It's not, you asshole. We're old men already, we shouldn't be putting our backs through this."
Pierre narrows his eyes. "Esteban, we're 27."
"Old!"
"Shut the fuck up and keep cutting. You are doing this because you love us, stop whining."
"I love Charles, not you."
"If you keep complaining, then we're never going to finish."
Esteban's expression softens, giving up his fight. "You know, I complain, but I'm very happy for you two. I wasn't lying when I said I've been waiting for this forever."
"Did you know back then?" Pierre hesitates. "That he liked me back?"
"Of course I knew," he snorts, "but I couldn't betray his trust. You two were going to have to work it out amongst yourselves."
Despite himself, Pierre smiles. "You're a good friend, Este."
"You too, asshole."
"Can you guys lie to Charles on his birthday?" Pierre asks, being met with bewildered stares from both Carlos and Lando. They're sitting in Max's backyard - the only place Pierre could really think of to get both of them and avoid both the paparazzi and Charles.
"...Why do you want us to do that?"
"I'm planning a surprise for him. Just pretend you are taking him to the club or something."
"Oh, so you're proposing," Lando deduces with a cheeky grin. He clearly means it as a joke, but gasps when he sees Pierre's face fall.
Carlos raises an eyebrow. "Are you?"
He considers lying, but figures his face would give him away too soon. For an actor, Pierre is not particularly good at it. “I am, but how the hell did you know?”
At that, Lando loses it, leaning on Carlos to avoid falling off his seat from his laughter.
"We'll help you," Carlos settles on, looking at the younger man fondly, "I'll just have to get him under control first."
"And why, exactly, do you need us to bring you that specific bag of candy from Thailand with such urgency?" Alex asks, more than a little confused.
They're all on a Zoom call - Pierre, Alex, George and supposedly Daniel, though the only thing currently in view of his camera is one of Max's cats, dozing off peacefully on the couch. Pierre had thought this was the most practical way to recruit them, but it was still proving difficult.
"His birthday scavenger hunt. He liked them a lot when we were younger, that one time we filmed there on location," he settles on.
"Huh," George and Alex sigh in unison, just as Daniel comes back into shot.
"What did I miss?"
"Pierre is proposing," George answers. His tone is deceptively nonchalant, but there is a smile on his face.
"I didn't say that!" Pierre whines.
"You wouldn't be asking us to smuggle random candy internationally if you weren't."
Damn, is he that predictable? Twice already?
"Okay. I might be proposing," he relents.
"Oh, good, Charles will love that," Daniel says, "do you have a ring?"
"I…"
Fuck. He'd been so worried about the scavenger hunt that he's forgotten the most important thing.
"YOU DON'T?!" George squeals.
"Not… yet, but I will find one. Of course."
This leads, inevitably, to him standing at Pascale's door in Monte Carlo not even two days later.
When Pierre explains his predicament, she only smiles. "Honestly, I thought you were going to ask for this the day you told us about your plan."
"What do you mean?"
"I have Hervé's ring, darling. He… when he knew he had very little time left, he gave his ring to me and told me to give it to the first of our sons to get married, so I'm giving it to you now."
Pierre is stunned, unable to form any words.
"He liked you a lot," Pascale continues, her eyes growing misty, "I don't think he knew you were going to be the one to marry Charles, but he definitely had an inkling about it. My husband would've been very happy to give his ring to you, as am I."
"Oh Pascale, I…"
She kisses his cheek, effectively silencing him once again. "You don't have to say anything. Just take care of Charles, okay? The same way you've been doing all this time."
"I will try my best."
"Of course you will." She smiles again. "Now that you have your ring, you can carry on with your ridiculous plan. Charles is going to love it, I promise you. You two deserve each other."
With the ring in place, his plan finally takes shape.
He'll pretend to have a night shoot that day, Carlos and Lando will drag Charles to the starting location at the beach and that will trigger a city wide scavenger hunt with their family and friends stationed at specific locations to help Charles out, ending back at the beach where Pierre will be waiting for him.
Pierre even has the first note prepared, saying 'find me where we first met', which would send Charles careering off to a restaurant not far from their home.
(The studio had decided to introduce them three during a civilized fancy meal, but that had ended in a dirty tablecloth, very dirty outfits and a bond that would last them a lifetime.)
It's perfect.
However, as it's often the case in their unpredictable lives, it all goes to shit in a minute.
'The Lost Kingdom' sequel is coming out during the Christmas season, but they're being called to do reshoots in London. On Charles' birthday week.
Fred, their director, is endlessly apologetic, but there's really nothing he can do. Reshoots are reshoots, and they're usually the studio's call.
Immediately after getting the news, Pierre gets a call from Esteban.
"Are you still doing the proposal?"
"Should I? I can still make him a scavenger hunt and give him another present, leave the proposal for another time," Pierre wonders. The hurdle in his plans is unexpected, and it rattles his type A nature slightly.
Esteban gasps in horror. "Of course you should! You made me do crafts, Pierrot. You're doing it."
"Okay," Pierre chuckles, "I will."
"Good, I'll help you out. Plus, we're in Pinewood, which is a huge lot. We'll be fine."
As they speak, an idea flashes through Pierre's mind.
The first scavenger hunt he ever made for Charles was in a studio lot. This one could be just as good.
"Hey, Esteban, you know what…"
The actual morning of Charles' birthday dawns bright and sunny as they wake up in the flat they keep in London for occasions like this.
"Hi," Charles greets. His eyes aren't even fully open and his voice sounds rough, but the smile on his face is beautifully, wonderfully happy. "Good morning."
"Happy birthday, calamar." Pierre kisses him softly, to which Charles giggles and skitters away.
"Morning breath."
Pierre rolls his eyes. "It's your birthday! I want to kiss you!"
"In a minute!" Charles runs to the bathroom and leaves Pierre laying in bed, grinning.
He's about to bounce off his own skin in excitement, but he's doing his best to control it. Really.
After both he and Charles have brushed their teeth and kissed, maybe a little too much, Pierre reaches into his nightstand and holds out the first card in front of him.
"Here's the beginning of your present."
Charles looks at him, sparkling eyes and all. Pierre loves him. "I didn't know if you were going to do it this year, seeing as we're filming and all."
"How could I not? Traditions are meant to be kept, calamar." He grins and Charles kisses his cheek.
"I love you."
"I love you too, bebe. Now, open your note. I want to see your face."
Find me under your childhood dream, the first note says. Charles' character in 'The Lost Kingdom' plays the piano obsessively, which means there's almost always one on set and… when they were children, he often fantasized about playing music on the side of acting, dragging Pierre around the world with him.
That dream hasn't materialized (at least, not yet), but Pierre knows Charles will understand what he means.
The next note has been hidden under one of the piano's legs since last night, when Ilies, Pierre's favorite PA, had offered to help out with the hiding.
"Okay." Charles brings him out of his reverie. "You're on, calamar."
As soon as they get to their stage, Charles speeds towards the props department to find the piano.
He spots the note instantly, rolling his eyes at Pierre. "You have always been terrible at hiding these."
"That wasn't me! That was Ilies!" Pierre complains.
"Yeah, sure. I believe you," he answers sarcastically, unfolding the paper.
Find me where we used to spend most of our time is what the second one says. Pierre knows this one will puzzle Charles a little bit more, but he also knows a note like this is necessary.
The next clue will be hidden under a tray in the craft services table, where they definitely used to spend most of their time as children to steal snacks, but that won't be set out until midday at least. It should buy Pierre some time, because he knows that, if left to his own devices, Charles would try to finish the entire surprise in under half an hour.
"How is he doing?" Esteban asks him when they finally get a second to breathe after shooting a couple scenes.
"Good." Pierre smiles, and he knows he probably looks smitten as hell. "He found the piano note immediately, so now we're just waiting. Did you set up the collage already?"
"I did, you anxious twat. It'll be fine."
"I know. I'm just… I don't even know how I feel right now. I'm just buzzing. "
"You're proposing to the love of your life. You're excited, Pierre." Esteban tries to sound deadpan, but fondness seeps into his voice. Even through all the fights they've had, Pierre knows Esteban loves them.
"I am. Thank you, mate."
"Nothing to thank me for."
On their lunch break as he restarts his search, Charles tries a couple places - namely their own trailers -, before he actually gets to the next clue placed carefully under the croissant tray.
"Oh, you're the worst," he says, looking at Pierre who has been following him around like a puppy.
"You love me. Read the note, Charlito."
Find me in your most recent purchase.
"MY CAR?" Charles squeals, "HOW DID YOU GET INSIDE MY CAR?"
He'd recently bought a white Ferrari, only having picked it up from a dealership in the city a few days prior.
"Remember when we were children and Esteban said he wanted to learn how to do magic?" Pierre grins mischievously. "You're easier to steal from than you think, he says."
"I hate you both so much." A pause. "ESTEBAN OCON! COME HERE!" He yells as he stomps away.
After a stern talking to where they could both barely hold back their giggles, Charles does make it back to his car and finds the next card in the passenger seat.
Seeing Charles go through an absolute rollercoaster of emotions is proving very entertaining for Pierre, and his glee every time he finds a clue is no different.
Find me in my favorite place is what this one says.
If he's honest, this one is probably Pierre's second favorite card. It's another of Esteban's sleight of hand tricks, seeing as the next clue is nowhere else but actually just hidden in Charles' back pocket.
It takes him looking through more than a few places and an interruption to… well, actually do their jobs until he notices the paper in his costume's pants.
They're right in the middle of a scene, but Charles breaks character to say "you're a fucking asshole" with a huge grin on his face.
"Guys, what happened?" Fred asks from his chair.
"Nothing," Pierre fakes innocence, "we can keep going, sorry."
Charles at least has the decency to wait until the scene is done to punch him on the shoulder.
"I love you too, calamar," Pierre says as he watches him unfold the paper.
Find me where we last made love.
He blushes absolutely scarlet and Pierre thinks that there's never been anyone else more beautiful.
"You gave this note to Esteban? " he squeaks.
"He promised not to read it."
"You know for a fact that he did."
Pierre chuckles. "He might have, but don't worry, bebe. I hid the next one myself."
They get called to film again after, but by the time they're done, night has fallen and Charles finds the note, as expected, in the bathroom of Pierre's trailer.
"We should stop having sex in places like this," he says before opening the note, "my back hurt all night after."
"Really? Are we old men already, at the tender ages of 27 and 26?"
"Maybe." Charles chuckles and kisses him softly. "Though I might not be able to resist if you look as hot as you did yesterday."
"Good." Pierre kisses him again. "I never want you to hold back."
Charles rolls his eyes in response, but he's clearly blushing as he opens the card.
Find me where you want to be one day.
"Oh, calamar," he says and his voice cracks. When he looks up at Pierre, his eyes are misty.
"No, bebe, don't cry now. You have one more clue left to find and then you'll have time to cry."
He never wants to make Charles cry, but this time? This time it feels worth it.
He attempts to say something, but is interrupted by Ilies knocking on the door to call them back to the stage.
"Last call, calamar," Pierre says. "Just a couple more scenes and you can get your present."
When he finds the last clue under the director's chair, Charles' eyes grow teary again.
Pierre knows he's probably remembering the people that led him to this dream in the first place: his father, who had worked in film all his life, and Jules, his friend and brother in spirit that had been a fresh film school graduate when he passed.
"Baby." Pierre wraps his arms around him. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good." Charles wipes his eyes and tries for a smile. "We should finish this, shouldn't we?"
He opens the last note to read find me where this tradition began.
Charles looks a little confused at first, but Pierre can see how the idea pops into his head in real time. "How much did you bother Esteban for this?"
"Oh, a lot. You'll see." Pierre grins and intertwines their fingers. "Let's go, calamar."
He leads them to the back of Esteban's trailer first, where the collage is hanging, and admires Charles as he gasps and almost starts crying again.
The collage is big, almost the size of the entire back of the truck, and in its finished form it includes pictures of the two of them throughtout their lives, from teeny tiny children until now. Other people feature as well, obviously - their families and Esteban are the most recurring and there are more recent ones with their friends, but above all the relationship that prevails is the two of them.
It's a snapshot of their entire lives together, and Charles looks fascinated by it.
"It's beautiful, calamar. Did you make this?"
"Me and Esteban."
Charles smiles and hugs him tightly, burying his face in his neck. "I've already told you a million times today, but I love you so much."
"I love you too, baby. So much." Pierre gives him a kiss, chaste and sweet. "You have one more present left though, so go ahead."
"One more?"
"Inside."
Shoddily hidden between a few pillows in the trailer's couch, there's the bag of Thai candy Pierre had bribed George and Alex to bring him and his heart is beating as fast as lightning as he opens the door for his boyfriend to see.
Charles' eyes widen when he spots it. "Oh my God, how did you know I love these?"
"I remembered."
"From when we went to Thaliand as kids? That's an insane thing to remember, Pierre."
"Well, Charles, the thing is that I've always been insane about you. "
He blushes and grabs onto the bag, but freezes for a second. "Hey! You opened this!"
"No, I didn't." Pierre tries to hide his nervousness, but his voice cracks at the worst possible moment when he has to feign innocence.
"You are the worst, how could you…"
He shoves his hand in the bag, but stops when he feels the reason why Pierre had opened it before in the first place.
Charles takes out the velvet box slowly and Pierre can see how he's trembling as he does it.
"Calamar?"
"Surprise?" Pierre says with a smile, seeing how Charles tears up for the third time today already. "Happy birthday, baby. I originally had planned a different scavenger hunt for today. I had even recruited our family and friends for it, but our weird, weird lives got in the way and… that's going to keep happening, isn't it? Our lives will get in the way of our plans but I want you to know that they will never get on the way of us." He takes the box from Charles' hand and kneels, looking up to see how he's openly crying now. "A couple months ago in Daniel's yacht, you said you didn't want to wait. I don't want to wait either, calamar - I've loved you since the first day and I will love you until the last, for as long as I live." Pierre fumbles a little when opening the box, but Charles only laughs sweetly. "I love you, more than you could ever know. Will you marry me?"
Charles gasps as he takes in the ring and a few more tears escape his eyes. "Of course I'll marry you, calamar. Oh my God."
Pierre leans up to kiss him one, twice, three times - he's loved kissing Charles since the first time, but it feels even better to know that he's officially getting to do this for the rest of his life.
"I love you, I love you, I love you," Charles repeats between kissing his mouth and whispering the words into his neck.
"Cha," Pierre interrupts when one of the kisses gets too heated, "we probably shouldn't have sex in Esteban's trailer."
"Fuck, you're right." He blushes. "We should go and have engaged sex in our own trailers then."
Pierre smiles widely. "It sounds so good when you say it like that."
Charles looks at him with a matching grin. "I can't wait to marry you."
"I can't wait to marry you either, my darling fiancé."