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Mizi quietly walked over to the couple seated in the dimmed corner of the backstage dressing room. “Great work today,” she whispered, holding out a bottle of mineral water. Ivan nodded in thanks as he accepted the uncapped bottle and took a long swig of water.
Mizi hadn’t had any scenes to film that day, so she wore regular street clothes and her customary large glasses. Straightening again, she reflexively tried to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear before remembering that it was short now. She still wasn’t quite used to her short hair after having it long for so long, but it had been easier to cut it rather than rely on a wig for all the future scenes.
“Till. Till, baby, drink some water,” Ivan murmured, gently trying to cajole the young man in his arms to take a drink as well.
Till shook his head, his hair tickling Ivan’s cheek. He refused to lift his face from where it was buried in the crook of Ivan’s neck. He was curled up in Ivan’s lap, legs latched around his waist like an oversized koala.
Mizi smiled fondly and stepped away to leave them their privacy.
“Mizi,” Till croaked.
The girl moved back immediately. “I'm here,” she returned softly. When Till reached out a hand towards her, she tangled their fingers together, squeezing lightly.
Ivan watched them with his usual intense gaze but he understood now that their connection, while exceptionally close, was not something that would threaten Ivan and Till’s relationship. Mizi and Till had grown up together, and as childhood friends both aspiring to be actors, they had supported each other all the way to this day.
“Sorry,” Till said, voice slightly hoarse. “I'm a mess.”
“Don't be sorry,” Mizi chided. “It's natural to be overwhelmed by emotions, especially after you put your all into it.” She smiled wryly. “You're not the only one, unless you've forgotten how I burst into tears after that last scene with Sua, right in the studio set?” Her cheeks turned faintly pink at the memory.
Till let out a quiet snort of laughter.
That had been a whole fiasco. Mizi’s character had been in a state of shocked catatonia after her beloved’s death, which Mizi had maintained until the director ended the scene. But the moment the cameras stopped rolling, Mizi had burst into uncontrollable sobs, startling everyone. It had been a culmination of the scene’s high tension added to the real life upset that it was Sua’s last day on set, and not helped by how Mizi hadn't mustered up the courage to confess her own feelings yet. (She had also been on her period, so excuse her hormones for making everything feel extra hopeless!)
Sua had sat up from her prone position, took one look at Mizi’s blubbering face, and kissed her right there in front of everyone. They’d been together since.
“Your pitiful face was too cute,” Sua liked to tease whenever that moment was brought up again, to Mizi’s eternal embarrassment.
At any rate, emotionally-charged scenes were difficult for any actor, and no one faulted Till for being extra clingy to Ivan after filming a scene where Ivan’s character died for Till’s.
Ivan definitely wasn't complaining either. He had carried Till to the dressing room to change them out of their stained stage clothes before the fake blood could dry all tacky. He'd continued to hold Till as the stylists bustled around to take off their rain-smeared makeup. He was still coming down from his own emotional high and having Till safe and warm in his arms helped a lot with the process.
He finally managed to coax Till into finishing the few sips of water left in the bottle. When Mizi took back the empty bottle, Ivan reached up to smooth away the messy bangs covering Till’s forehead and pressed a kiss to his brow.
Till wrinkled his brow automatically at the ticklish sensation, a reflex Till thought was embarrassingly stupid but Ivan insisted was endearing. He felt Ivan’s chuckle rumble through his chest, reassuring and real.
It took Till a little longer, but he eventually felt solid enough to untangle from Ivan and stand up. Ivan let him go but his gaze still followed him. Till smiled and leaned down to press a chaste kiss to Ivan’s lips which turned into two when the dark-haired man pulled him down for another one.
If Sua was there, she would have made a cheeky comment about them being sickeningly sweet, to which Till would be obliged to flip her off, but Mizi just smiled before heading for the door. “Don’t forget, dinner at seven, ‘kay?” she called over her shoulder.
“Yeah,” Till acknowledged. “See you later– Hey!” He yelped as Ivan dragged him close again.
Mizi ignored them in favor of fishing out her phone to text Sua, shutting the door behind her.
“Ivan, I swear, if you make us late–”