Archive of Our Own ^beta

albert adjusted his tie in the car mirror, trying to ignore the nerves fluttering in his stomach. today marked the first day of filming for serendipity , the biggest project of his career so far. he took a slight inhale, before pushing the car door open. as he stepped out, he couldn't shake the feeling of anticipation mixed with a tinge of apprehension. he headed for the building, putting on his best smile.

as he made his way onto the set, he took a quick glance around, and he immediately spotted familiar faces among the crew—chimney, his ever-reliable manager, and totally awesome older brother. he owed half of this to him, honestly, he wasn’t sure where he’d be without him. then, he noticed hen—he’d only worked with her a few times, but he knew her well, she was chimney’s best friend, of course. he recognized buck; chimney’s fiancé’s brother. he flicked his gaze from buck to the person next to him, and he did his best to keep his mouth off the floor—ravi panikkar, a very talented and pretty decently well know actor.

their paths had crossed before, in fleeting moments at industry events and auditions, but today marked the beginning of a new chapter—actually working together, he assumed, at least.

his train of thought was cut short but chimney waving a hand in front of his face.

“albert?? are you in there??” he flicked his gaze to his brother with an annoyed look. “yes, yes, sorry—did you say something?” chim just rolled his eyes.

“yes, i did, but, whatever,” he huffed out a breath. “you’re already late. i even gave you the wrong time so that could be early, and you still managed to be late.” he scolded.

“you know how the traffic here is,” albert defended himself, but he didnt think it did much for him, based on chimney’s knowing look. so what if he overslept a little? he was only a few minutes late.

“first impressions are everything,” his brother reminded him, and now it was albert’s turn to roll his eyes.

“this is barely a first impression, i know almost everyone here,” he pointed out, and chimney didn’t seem to like that answer, based on the glare he shot him.

chimney just sighed, before he started walking. albert took that as a sign to follow.

“so,” chimney started as they walked, “first things first, you need to get aquatinted with your co-star,” he gestured in front of them, to ravi. albert tried to keep his excitement quiet. chim smiled—he knew as well as anyone else what being around someone like panikkar could do for albert’s career. “then,” he continued, smacking his gum, “you’re gonna go to diaz and bosko for makeup.” he gestured over to a room marked, ‘MAKE-UP ROOM B’. 

albert nodded along, looking around the set as he spoke. after a second, though, he stopped walking. chimney stopped as well, turning to face him with a raised brow.

“wait. panikkar is my co-star?”

“yes?” chimney asked, clearly confused on where he had lost albert. 

“i thought this was a romance movie. i thought my co-star was gonna be a girl?”

chimney let out a sigh, looking around the room, before back to albert. “originally, yes, but there were some last minute discussions and changes between the director and the writer.” he gestured over to a table where two people were standing, clearly deep in conversation. he recognized one of them—bobby, who he knew through chim again—and he didnt the other, some redhead girl?

“okay. right,” albert said after a moment. he didn’t have a problem with that. of course he didn’t—everyone could like whoever they wanted. the only thing he was worried about was if people would start thinking he was gay. he wasn’t, of course. he was just.. comfortable enough in his own straight-ness he could play a gay character. he nodded a little to himself. yeah, he would just keep reminding himself of that.

“is that a problem?” chimney asked him, a genuine question. he wasn’t sure how chimney felt about all of.. that. gay stuff. he knew hen had a wife—once again, he had nothing against it, really. 

it was just.. new to him. his dad had kept him decently sheltered from a lot. not that his dad was homophobic either—he thinks—it was just something they hadn’t spoken about. 

anyway—point being, he wasn’t homophobic. but he wasn’t gay either. he was normal.

“no, no.” albert shook his head. “of course not. i just didn’t know,” he said, with a shrug.

chimney nodded at that. he watched albert for a moment, with a look albert couldn’t quite read, and then he just started walking again. as he had before, albert followed. chim then looked back to his clipboard, and began reading off the rest of the list.

albert was mostly listening.

“you get all that?” chimney asked, as they neared ravi and buck. albert blinked.

“more or less,” (definitely less) he answered, with a smile.

chimney just shook his head. “doesn’t matter, you got me,” he returned the smile, along with a poke to the ribs.

albert swatted his hand away, but he was still smiling. 

“right, then.” chimney said. “first order of business—meet your co-star.” he once again gestured to ravi, but now they were standing right in front of him and buck. 

“ah, hey!” buck greeted, with a big smile. “i was wondering when you would get here,” he said to albert, and albert wasn’t quite sure how to take this. 

ravi stepped forward, a smile—a perfect smile—on his face, and held out his hand. “so, we’re gonna be co-stars, right? ravi panikkar.” he greeted, and albert’s brain suddenly wasn’t so keen on working.

he brought his hand out to shake ravi’s. “i know,” he said, immediately regretting the words as they left his mouth. “sorry—that was creepy,” he shook his head, pulling his hand away. “albert,” he said, before adding, “han—albert han.”

ravi didn’t seem at all phased by his words, and just smiled at him. “nice to meet you! i’m glad we’ll be working together.” he commented, then he turned back to buck. albert turned back to chimney, and before he had much time to process it, they were already on the move.

“that went well,” chimney announced and albert nodded, but he wasn’t quite sure it did. 

“did it? i said ‘i know’ when he introduced himself.” he scrunched his nose up, physically cringing at himself.

chim snorted and albert resisted the urge to elbow him. 

“relax, you got flustered. it happens to everyone. besides—it’s better it happened now than while we were filming, yeah?” albert doubted that it wouldn’t happen again—and it probably would happen during filming—but, he mumbled out a ‘yeah’ anyways.

chimney chewed on the top of his pencil. “we might have to rush your make-up, considering we’re behind schedule.”

albert huffed. he wasn’t that late.

“hey!” albert looked up to see hen coming towards them, a smile on her face. 

“hey,” albert greeted back, returning her smile. 

“glad to see you wanted to join us,” she joked, before pulling him in for a quick hug. he gave her an apologetic grin.

“we’re not too behind, are we?” chimney asked, and hen waved her hand nonchalantly. “no, no. it’s nothing we can’t catch up on. i don’t think panikkar has headed to make up yet, either.” chimney hummed at that, scribbling something down on his notebook. 

she turned her attention back to albert. “we’re good today, but let’s not make a habbit out of this, okay?” she raised a brow at him, pointing a finger. he nodded at her, holding his hands up in defense.

“one time thing, i swear.” 

she chuckled at that. “good,” she nodded, before patting his shoulder and offering him a reassuring smile. then, she headed off—probably to make sure everything else was going smoothly. 

hen was someone albert looked up to. she was like a sister to him.

chimney started walking again. “make-up,” he reminded him, to which albert nodded and picked up his pace. 

“who did you say was doing my make-up? diaz and bosko?”

chimney hummed again at that. “yeah. eddie diaz and lena bosko. you haven’t worked with them before—but they’re good. i know eddie, but i don’t really know lena. eddie’s good friends with her, though, so she can’t be too bad.” he offered albert another grin, to which albert did his best to return.

chimney pushed the door open, and albert was met with a brunette man, and blonde girl who looked like she was about to punch him.

chimney cleared his throat, and their heads both snapped towards them. albert gave a little wave, and the girl—lena, he assumed—stepped away from the guy—eddie, probably—and towards them. “han, i’m assuming?” albert nodded, holding out his hand. she eyed him for a quick moment, before shaking his head. “bosko,” she said; and then she gestured behind herself. “diaz,”

“eddie,” ‘diaz’ piped in, giving a slight wave, and glaring at lena.

albert did his best not to let the dismay on his face show, but he wasn’t entirely sure he trusted these two taking care of his make-up. he wasn’t sure they could get along for long enough to get it done. 

lena seemed to read his mind; as a smile broke out across her face. “don’t worry. we’re a great team, really. he’s just annoying sometimes.”

eddie made a face at her and she either didn’t see, or ignored him.

“come, sit,” now she gestured over to the chair, stepping to the side. he glanced to chimney who nodded along. albert made his way over to the chair, before sitting down. chimney chewed on the eraser of the pencil again, his eyes flicking over the paper. 

“alright,” he said, after a moment. “i’m gonna go check in with hen, are you good here?” he looked to albert now, who held a thumbs up to him. chimney grinned at him again, before turning and leaving; the door fell shut behind him. 

“so,” eddie started as soon as the door shut, “you’re set to play jonathan, yeah?” albert turned his head to look at him. 

“yeah, i am,” he nodded. eddie smiled at that.

“i can see taylor’s vision on this one. let’s get to work?”

⋆⋆⋆

“alright,” bobby clapped his hands together, quickly earning the attention of most—if not all—of the people standing around. “we’re already behind, but that’s not a problem. i’m sure we can get back on schedule before we fall too far behind.” he offered a warm smile. “let’s get everyone in position?”

ravi watched as people scrambled around them, shuffling into place. he stood beside the set, waiting for his cue. he chewed on the inside of his lip, wondering if he should have taken his script from buck; to go over one more time. 

the question was knocked out of his head when someone bumped into him.

“ah—sorry,” he apologized, on instinct, even though the person had bumped into him.

“no, that was my bad—“ the guy said. ravi turned to see the voice, and a smile crossed his face when he met albert’s gaze.

“oh, hey. was wondering where you were.” he paused, before adding, “you excited?” just to keep the conversation going.

albert hesitated, before nodding. “yeah. hey—have you ever done anything like this before?”

ravi quirked a brow. “acted?”

albert sighed. “no, i knew that—i mean, like, in this kind of movie.”

ravi just stared at him. “..a romance movie?”

another sigh, a bit more annoyed this time. “i mean, kind of? i more mean like..” he gestured between the two of them. “you know?”

ravi paused for another moment, before making a slight ‘ooh’ sound. “you mean a gay movie?”

anyone in the room could’ve seen the panic on albert’s face.

he hesitated.

“uh, yeah.”

ravi just offered him a reassuring smile. “i haven’t, no. but,” he pointed over at buck. albert turned a little so he could see him, “buck said that it feels the same.” he paused for a moment. “kissing, that is. he said it all feels the same,”

albert found that hard to believe. what about kissing someone with stubble? that couldn’t feel the same as kissing someone without stubble. not that that was a problem he was going to have to worry about—it didn’t look like ravi had any.

“i’m assuming that’s what you’re worried about?” ravi added, after a few seconds. 

albert blinked, before nodding. “oh, yeah,” he was definitely worried about more than just that, but he wasn’t going to bring it up.

instead, he changed the subject. “do you know how much filming we’re supposed to get done today?”

ravi shook his head. “nah. you might ask bobby,” 

he just nodded. bobby was in conversation with the redhead again—who albert now knew as taylor, the writer of the movie—and he wasn’t all that interested in interrupting to ask.

an awkward silence fell off over them. it was clear they were both trying to think of conversation topics.

“hey, did you know we’re gonna get to film at an ice skating rink?” albert was the first to find a topic, but he immediately regretted the one he chose. of course ravi knew they would film at an ice skating rink. he read the script. 

ravi didn’t seem to mind the question, though.

“yeah, i did—are you looking forward to it?”

albert nodded at that, a smile spreading on his face now. “yeah. i love skating, i did hockey for..” he trailed off for a moment. “four years? one year in middle school and three in highschool. i love skating,” 

ravi hummed at that. “why’d you stop?”

he shrugged. “it became less about having fun, and more about competing. i still skate regularly, though.” 

ravi nodded now, a little slowly. “i, uh, i can’t skate.” 

now, it was albert’s turn to cock a brow at the other boy. he was surprised he managed to get the gig if he didn’t know how to ice skate—not that he was complaining, by the way.

“i know,” ravi started, and albert was starting to wonder if he had a thought bubble above his head. “i probably shouldn’t have gotten the gig considering i don’t know how to skate, but bobby convinced taylor a stunt double could do that part, so..”

albert looked at him for a moment, thinking. “i could help you,”

ravi let out a slight chuckle. “you cant teach me to ice skate in two days.”

“no,” albert agreed. “but i can try,” he said with a smile and a wink. 

ravi narrowed his eyes at him, hesitating for a moment. “..alright, what are you thinking?” 

“we could meet at the ice rink tomorrow—assuming you’re free—, and get a bit of practice in. i could at least get you started. we could meet up early the next day, too, and get some more practice in before filming?”

a big part of ravi wanted to say he was fine leaving it to the stunt double.

unfortunately, another part of him very much so wanted to say yes to the cute guy with a nice smile.

“yeah, alright. i’m good for tomorrow, i think. probably the day after, too.”

he was a weak, weak man. 

he needed this anyways, right?

⋆⋆⋆

after the filming for the day, the two had exchanged numbers to plan out the rest of the details for the next day. when albert decided seven in the morning was the best time to meet, ravi had started regretting his decisions.

at seven in the morning the next day, he was completely regretting his decision. to make matters worse, albert was late, so now ravi was just standing outside the rink, freezing his ass off. he didn’t imagine the inside was any better, which is why he stayed outside. one of his least favorite things of los angeles was by far the morning winds.

he watched as a car pulled in, and out hopped albert. he had to push down the bit of annoyance that bubbled up the other boys complete lack of care for the fact he was late, but it honestly wasn’t that hard.

“hey,” albert greeted. he was dressed in a coat much lighter than ravi’s, and ravi was sure he was going to get cold.

“hey.” he said back. “you said seven,”

albert offered a sheepish grin. “i overslept,” 

ravi just sighed at that, shaking his head. “let’s just head in—i’m freezing.”

“it’s gonna be worse inside,” 

ravi chose to ignore that, and he ignored the laughter from behind him. 

they paid for their day passes, along with skates—well, ravi bought skates. albert brought his own, because, of course.

they both sat down on the bench to get their skates on; and to ravi’s dismay, they were a lot harder to get on than they look. he wasn’t quite sure why he had to lace them. 

“alright!” albert spoke as he stood up, a big grin on his face. it had been a little while since he’d been skating—he’d gotten busy with practicing for the part, learning his script, etc., there just hadn’t been time—which made this trip all the sweeter. 

not to mention, he was literally skating with a celebrity?

ravi started to stand up, wobbling a little. “okay—“ he said, holding his hands out for balance. albert stifled a giggle—not very well apparently, considering he earned a glare from ravi—but he took one of ravi’s hands in his own nonetheless. 

“alright, it’s gonna be a long day if you can’t even walk on the ground,” 

“i warned you i was bad. i’ve never been before.”

“really? your parents never took you as a kid?”

ravi furrowed his brows, and a look washed over his face. he adverted his eyes. “we didn’t really have..time.” he said after a moment. albert thought about asking more, but he was all too aware of when people didn’t want to talk about something.

“well, we’ve got time today, and we’re wasting it,” he said. “let’s get you on the ice,” he let go of ravi’s hand, and they made their way to the ice.

albert stepped on first, of course, and then he held his hand out to help ravi on. 

ravi stared down at the ice, swallowing thickly. actually being in the moment was a lot scarier than the thought, as it turns out.

“i wont let you fall,” albert promised, seemingly sensing his nerves—not that it was hard. after another moment, ravi took ahold of his hand and stepped onto the ice.

he let out a slight squeak as he slid, but albert kept ahold of him. 

they had both their hands interlocked now, and they were standing right in front of the gate. 

“i’m gonna move now, okay?” alber told him, but, it sounded more like a question than a statement. 

“yeah, right, go ahead,” he nodded. albert started skating backwards—which was kind of mind blowing to ravi, but he didn’t say that—and ravi just did his best not to fall over.

albert laughed—presumably at him—again. “okay, okay, wait. you’re gonna pull us both down,”

“sorry—“ ravi started, but albert shook his head.

“not your fault. here,” he pulled him back towards the wall. “this is how i learned,” he guided one of ravi’s hands to the wall, and kept the other in his own. “okay, now, you’re gonna use the wall to stabilize yourself when you push off, right?”

“push off??” ravi asked, his eyebrows furrowed. 

“right—so, using the tip of the skate, you’re gonna dig it into the ice, and then push off. you’re gonna wanna alternate feet, but it’s kinda hard while you’re on the wall, so just use one for now, okay?” ravi nodded along as he spoke. “now try,”

he took a sharp inhale, eyeing albert out of the corner of his eyes. 

“i won’t let you fall.” he repeated.

it did little for ravi’s nerves, he was pretty sure if he fell it would just drag them both down, but nonetheless he followed albert’s instructions to push off. he barely moved an inch, but, hey, it was something.

“hey! that wasn’t so bad.” he said, smiling to himself a little. 

“yeah, great!” albert told him, a smile plastered on his lips as well. “but, let’s try and actually get you to move.”

a few more tries and ravi could almost move by himself. albert wasn’t helping him anymore, but he wouldn’t let go of the wall. albert was practicing skating circles around him—it was kind of humbling, and ravi would’ve been upset if it wasn’t so captivating. another plus was after he got moving, he wasn’t as cold.

“alright,” albert started, and ravi looked to him. he knew exactly what he was about to say, “let’s get you off the wall now.” 

ravi blinked at him. “i just started getting used to the wall.” he huffed out, but albert paid no mind to his words. 

“can’t be on the wall for the scene,” he pointed out, and ravi was tempted to bring the stunt double back up. albert held his hand back out—quite similarly to when they had first gotten on.

he sighed, taking his hand again, and then his other hand—again, much like when they had first gotten on, but now ravi was far more balanced. 

“okay, let’s try and get you using that left foot, yeah? it’s easier off the wall.” he told him, which ravi doubted. it was hard enough with his right foot, he couldn’t imagine it would be any easier on his left.

“why can’t i just use one foot?”

albert didn’t seem to like that question, shooting him a glare. “it’s improper. also, your right leg is probably gonna be really sore.”

by now they were in the middle of the rink. albert was skating backwards and facing ravi. it was much easier to get into a rhythm than ravi had expected.

they just seemed to click into it.

“starting to push off with my left foot makes me feel like i’m going to fall,” ravi said, glancing down at his feet for a moment, before back up to albert.

“you won’t. i’ve got you,”

now, ravi raised an eyebrow at him. “not if i pull us both down,”

“i doubt that’ll happen,” albert spoke with a certain amount of confidence ravi felt like he shouldn’t have had.

ravi eyed him wearily, but he gave in anyway. 

the pushed off with his left foot, immediately tightening his grip on albert’s hands. to his credit, though, albert didn’t let him fall. 

“that was good,” he told him, as they stilled for a moment. “now you just have to alternate feet.”

“this always looks so much easier in movies.” ravi huffed out and albert laughed. 

“it’s easier when you learn younger, too,” he told him—ravi wasn’t quite sure if that was true or not.

after they skated around the rink a few more times, ravi managed to alternate between his feet a few times. he still wasn’t consistent with it, and he stuck close to the wall, but it was still progress.

“so. you said i couldn’t teach you to skate in a day,” albert said, a grin on his face, before gesturing to ravi. 

ravi rolled his eyes. “i still can’t fully skate.” he argued.

“okay, but you’re off the wall, and you’re doing it without my help. i think that’s a pretty decent amount of—“ he started, before he lost his balance and ended up with his ass on the ice.

ravi stared at him for a moment, before skating over. “oh, my god, are you okay?” he asked.

albert huffed out a breath. “yes—yes, i’m fine. maybe just a little embarrassed,” he adverted his gaze, and god he was grateful for the cold—if his cheeks weren’t already pink, they definitely would’ve been now. 

ravi stifled a laugh, holding his hand out to albert. he went to take ravi’s hand, but it backfired on both of them, and ended up with ravi right beside albert.

“ah, shit, i’m so sorry—“ albert said, but he was cut off by ravi laughing. he looked to him—by this point, ravi was laying on the ice, his hands over his face, laughing. 

“are you laughing?” albert quirked a brow.

“you said you wouldn’t let me fall,” ravi got out in between laughs. “you made me fall.” 

albert started to say something in defense of himself, but he ended up just laughing too. 

“i didn’t think i would fall—i’ve only fallen, like, four times. in my whole life,” he said, now laying beside ravi. ravi turned his head to look at him.

“i knew you were too cocky,”

albert scoffed at that, turning his head to face ravi. “excuse you?” he made a mock offended face and brought his hand to his chest.

ravi just laughed at him again.

albert smiled, his gaze flicking over ravi’s face. he had a nice smile.

albert coughed, sitting up so fast ravi nearly flinched. “we should get up,” he said. “we’re going to get our clothes wet,”

ravi raised an eyebrow at him, but he didn’t question. albert was probably right, anyways.

after a quick few minutes of struggle, albert managed to pull himself up, and then he helped ravi up. 

as they left the building, there was a much heavier atmosphere.

ravi cleared his throat. “i think i’m gonna grab some coffee. its a pretty in between time, i should be able to get something without being recognized too much. wanna join me?” 

albert paused. he wanted to say yes, really, but he couldn’t find the word.

“ah.. sorry, i need to run some lines with chimney. tomorrow, maybe?” 

he tried to ignore the disappointment on the other boy’s face.

“oh, right. no problem,” ravi offered a smile, but albert knew it wasn’t all there.

“tomorrow.” albert repeated, if not just an attempt to see the disappointment leave ravi’s face.

ravi nodded in agreement. “tomorrow,” he held a thumbs up. 

albert smiled back at him, and they parted ways. 

the whole drive back to his apartment, albert had this feeling in his gut he couldn’t get rid of. like anxiety. or like he was gonna be sick. 

he couldn’t quite pinpoint what could’ve caused that.

⋆⋆⋆

the plans for coffee the next day had fallen through, with ravi ended up to need to go over some things with buck.

they tried for the next day, but filming had been pushed up earlier that morning, and neither had been in the mood after.

both for entirely different reasons, though.

they ended up pushing the meet-up to friday.

the bell above the door jingled as albert pushed it open, stepping inside and letting it fall shut behind him. he looked around the place, taking in how empty it was, before pulling his phone out to make sure he was in the right place.

ravi had texted him the details of the cafe, and albert had never even heard of it. he could see why now. 

it was a quaint little place, heavily hidden within the city, and very empty. there were a few tables inside—one table was occupied by an old man with glasses and a laptop open—and a door that was labeled, ‘ PATIO’ with the word ‘ OPEN’ in big bold letters beneath it.

he read over ravi’s text again. ‘ meet me on the patio.’  

the girl at the front counter greeted him, and he looked up from his phone. he smiled at her, pocketing his phone, and heading for the counter.

he placed his order, and he was surprised by how quick they had it out. after getting his cup, he went out the door. there was only one table being occupied, and albert wasn’t surprised to see it was ravi.

“hi,” albert greeted as he sat down at the table.

“hey,” ravi smiled warmly at him.

he set his cup down, taking a quick look around. “i have never heard of this place before. i didnt even know it existed,”

ravi chuckled. “yeah—not many people do. that’s the special part about it. also, helpful part. less likely to be bombarded by paparazzi, you know?”

albert took a quick swig of his coffee, before looking to ravi. “no, actually, i don’t,” he laughed a little. “i don’t think im to that point yet. i’ve only been recognized in public a few times—and one of the times they thought i was someone else,”

“oh, right,” ravi laughed—a little awkwardly. “sorry, i..” he paused for a moment. “forget?” 

albert nodded along to that. “yeah, that makes sense.”

ravi hummed, taking a sip of his drink.

a comfortable silence filled the air.

at least, ravi thought it was comfortable.

“so, what made you want to be an actor?”

albert wasn’t keen on silence—at all. he wasn’t fond of being alone with his thoughts.

ravi paused for a moment. 

“don’t be weird, okay?”

albert held his hands up defensively.

he sighed after a few seconds. “i guess i just.. wanted to help? i mean, celebrities sit around on top of their money all the time. they just have all that and want to use it for the most meaningless shit. i wanted to do something to help people, you know? i’m not quite that settled—money wise—but i am getting there.”

albert just looked at him.

“how about you, though?”

“ah..” albert ran a hand through his hair. “it’s gonna seem stupid now.” 

ravi laughed a little at that, looking down at his drink. “i doubt that. come on,”

he huffed. “..i wanted to spite my dad.” ravi looked up from his coffee now, quirking a brow at him.

“when i was like, i dunno, ten? i told my dad he wanted to be an actor. he shook his head and told me it was a bad dream, and ideals like that wouldn’t get me anywhere in life. to him, it was a meaningless dream—he assumed i dropped it after that conversation. i didn’t. when i was eighteen, i was supposed to go to this fancy college. i, uh, ran away instead. here, that is. chimney helped me. a lot,” he shrugged, a slight smile on his lips, as he picked at the table.

“that’s not stupid.” ravi said, which made him look up.

“i dunno. it kinda is in comparison to yours,”

the other boy shook his head. “it wasn’t just in spite. you followed a dream,”

“it was mostly in spite,” albert commented with a chuckle.

“still,” ravi rolled his eyes. “it’s cool that you managed to achieve that dream.” he set his hand on top of albert’s.

albert let his gaze momentarily flick to their hands. he felt his cheeks get warm.

“yeah, uh, cool—it’s cool.” he looked back to ravi.

it was over just as soon as it started. ravi pulled his hand away to take a drink. “what do you think of the coffee?” he asked, and ravi was so together it almost annoyed albert. “i’ve never had any place make it like they do. its like they add magic,”

albert needed no time to collect his thoughts. of course he didn’t. he wasn’t bothered. that would’ve been weird. he wasn’t like that.

“it’s really good, actually. i can’t believe i’d never heard of this place before. it’s nice,”

ravi smiled at him. “don’t go around telling my secrets, though. i can’t imagine having this place packed all the time.”

albert chuckled. “don’t worry, your secrets safe with me,”

“our secret now,” ravi piped in, with a playful wink. his phone dinged, and he picked it up. he made a face. “right. almost forgot. sorry, but i’m gonna have to take off. i forgot i had a meeting with buck.” he offered an apologetic grin, standing up and collecting his things. albert smiled back. “no worries—another time?” ravi nodded in agreement, giving him a quick wave before heading out.

leaving albert with his thoughts.

unfortunately.

⋆⋆⋆

albert and ravi had fallen into a routine—coffee.

almost every morning before filming, the two of them stopped for coffee. almost, because albert’s bank account couldn’t handle every day.

over the past two weeks, the two had learned a lot about each other. albert was almost surprised how close they’d gotten. a few weeks ago he would’ve laughed in your face at the mention of this.

this morning, the two of them were running a bit behind, unfortunately.

“i thought you said the cafe was close to the set?” albert asked, quirking a brow at ravi.

ravi offered an apologetic grin. “it was. is. we just got turned around, is all. we’re almost there, i swear.” he told him, pausing for a moment to look around. 

albert sighed. “this is why we shouldn’t walk. i’m never walking again,” ravi just rolled his eyes at him, softly kicking his foot. albert’s ‘ow’ was blatantly ignored.

“ah,” ravi said, pointing in a direction, and hurrying off. 

“hey—“ albert hurried after him, shooting him a slight glare.

by the time they got to the set, they only ended up being about five minutes late.

they still got a warning from bobby, who didn’t seem all that serious about it, considering the fact they were gonna be behind on filming for the day now, since they obviously couldn’t start without the two.

ravi offered an apology to albert before they split, but albert couldn’t find himself to be mad at the other as he watched him walk away—to make-up, probably.

“so,” hen spoke up beside him, and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

he looked to her. “oh, jeez. give a guy a warning,”

“that was a warning,” she rolled her eyes, and then waved her hand dismissively. “looks like your tardiness is rubbing off on ravi?”

albert shook his head. “oh, no. this was completely his fault. he insisted we walk here after coffee,” he rolled his eyes, feigning annoyance.

hen just smiled at him. “you guys have been hanging out a lot?”

he hummed at that. “i mean, i guess? it’s hard to find time in our schedules, but we do get coffee before filming,” he shrugged.

“oh, yeah? it sounds like you guys are pretty close,”

albert furrowed his brows. ‘ close? ’ of course they were close. they were co-stars. they were meant to be close. it wasn’t anything weird.

he was snapped out of his thoughts by hen clearing her throat.

“you should probably get to make-up before we get any further behind,” she told him, patting him on the back, before heading away. 

he headed for make-up, but he couldn’t get hen’s words out of his head.

the day seemed to drag on, and it felt like forever before the filming was finally over—which did make some sense, they had to work a bit late to catch back up.

everyone’s attention was brought to the front of the room by bobby clapping.

“if i could just steal one more quick moment of everyone’s time. i know you’re all tired from today, but i have a quick announcement. by next week, we will have officially reached the middle point of filming, which is a pretty good milestone. for that, athena and i will be hosting a cast and crew party,” a woman stepped up beside bobby, giving a warm smile and a quick wave. “obviously it’s optional, but we would be happy to see you there,” 

he gave another smile, before sending everyone back to whatever they were doing. albert assumed he would get the information from chimney.

he was about to go look for him, but he was stopped when he ran into ravi.

“oh, hey,” ravi smiled, and albert felt a quick sense of deja vu. “i was just looking for you.” he paused for a moment. “were you headed out?”

albert was quick to shake his head. “nah, just headed to find chim. but, i’ve got a minute. what’s up?”

“are you busy after this?” ravi asked, before quickly adding. “i was just wondering if you wanted to grab dinner, or something. i know a place,” ravi seemed to know a place for everything.

before albert knew it, hen’s words were ringing in his head. 

ravi seemed to nice his silence. “it’s fine if you don’t want to. just thought i’d ask,” he shrugged, leaning back on the his heels.

“no, uh—i do want to. i just..” he paused, searching for an excuse. “i have dinner plans already. with maddie and chim.” he lied straight through his teeth.

“oh, gotcha!” ravi nodded in understanding. “well.. maybe another time.” the two just stood there for a moment, before albert spoke up.

“hey, are you going to that party?”

“oh, yeah, definitely. wouldn’t miss it. i’ll take any excuse i can to be at bobby and athena’s. especially since they’re cooking,” he grinned at him. “you?” 

albert paused for a quick second. “i dunno yet. i was just about to talk to chimney about that, actually,” he was pretty sure chimney would drag him even if he didn’t want to go. chimney also wouldn’t miss a chance to eat bobby’s food. 

“gotcha,” ravi repeated, stepping to the side. “see you later?” he offered, and albert nodded with a smile.

“yeah, see you later,”

⋆⋆⋆

“you could’ve gone without me.” albert argued with his brother, messing with his hair in the car mirror.

chimney rolled his eyes. “yeah, i know that, but i didn’t want to. besides, you love parties. why are you even complaining?”

albert huffed. “this is not the kind of party i would usually attend. this is full of co-workers ‘nd family ‘nd shit,”

“well, ‘this kind’ of party is way better for your reputation than the kind you were going to was,”

albert, in all his maturity, just stuck his tongue out at him. the conversation was over, anyways. they pulled into the grant-nash driveway, and albert was a little surprised by the lack of cars.

he got out, shutting the car door behind him. before he could even head for the door, chimney stopped him, pointing an accusatory finger. “best behavior,”

albert made a face. “i am a grown man— “ he started, but chimney cut him off.

“exactly. act like it,”

he just huffed at that—he was pretty sure arguing wouldn’t help his cause currently.

as they stepped into the house, bobby was quick to greet them.

“hey!” he spoke with a smile—as usual. “i’m glad you guys could make it,”

chimney grinned. “you know i would never miss a chance to eat your food,”

bobby laughed, slipping an arm around chimney, and leading him into the kitchen. they continued talking about something, but albert didn’t catch it.

he recognized some of the faces, of course, but everyone seemed to really know each other. even chimney—he felt kinda out of touch not knowing the people his brother seemed so close to.

he made his way down the stairs and into the main area, in an attempt to find a drink.

he noticed even taylor—the script writer—had shown. she was in a corner with a blonde albert didn’t know the name of, but he was pretty sure she was on the camera crew.

he was glad to find the table with drinks (and snacks) in the middle of the living area. he grabbed a cup and filled it, nearly bumping into someone as he turned around.

it was ravi.

because, of course, it was ravi.

“oh, albert,” he said, smiling at him. as always.

with that stupid smile.

“hey, ravi,” he greeted back. “sorry, am i in the way?” he stepped to the side.

ravi just shook his head. “nah, don’t worry. i didn’t think you were gonna come—you didn’t seem too keen on it the other day.”

albert shrugged. “chim drug me. he wanted to go, and it said it would be nice if i made an appearance.”

“oh? well, he was right. i’m glad you decided to make an appearance, ” ravi said with a chuckle, before brushing past him to fill his drink.

albert just stood there. he brought his hand up to where their shoulders had touched—he swore it felt hot. or something.

everyone mingled for a while, before bobby announced that karaoke was set up, and a poker game was started. 

not very many people joined the game—only chimney, hen, karen—hen’s wife—, buck, and athena sat at the table. bobby watched them from the kitchen, saying he didn’t want to get too wrapped up in it. albert also decided to sit it out, but he wanted to watch—he told chimney he would be good luck.

which he was. for two rounds.

out of five.

karen ended up absolutely destroying everyone.

it was impressive, actually. but after the fifth round, the game disbanded. albert got an elbow to the side from chim for being ‘bad luck’.

he defended himself by saying chimney was just bad—he was surprised he didn’t get another elbow to the side. 

it didn’t take long for people to start heading out, and pretty quickly it had dropped down to only a few people still hanging around—and most of them were outside now.

albert was grabbing a refill of his drink, and then he intended on heading outside as well.

he didn’t get that far, though. 

he finished filling his drink, and just as before, he turned around to face ravi again. he nearly jumped.

he’d done a pretty good job at not running into the other since the first instance—not that he was avoiding him, or anything.

“are you avoiding me?” ravi asked, frowning.

“what? no. i’ve just been—occupied?” it sounded more like a question than an answer, even to albert himself.

“not just tonight. you’ve turned me down everytime i’ve asked to hang out since the other day.”

“i’ve been busy?” he offered, but ravi didn’t seem to buy it.

“it’s not that big of a house. we’ve somehow only run into each other twice,” he pointed out, to which albert just shrugged.

ravi eyed him for a moment longer, before setting his cup down on the table. “well.. you don’t look busy now.” he pointed out, and albert thought about mentioning how he was about to head outside, but he didn’t. he wasn’t sure why.

“you’re right,” he said, instead.

then, ravi gestured over to the karaoke set up. “wanna sing?” 

albert laughed. he wasn’t sure if he was serious. 

ravi looked dead serious.

“oh—“ he said. “i mean, yeah, why not? i love karaoke.”

ravi smiled at him then, dragging him over to the set up. “got any songs in mind?” he asked.

albert paused for a quick second, before blurting the first song on his mind. “you know kiss from a rose?”

“oh! actually, i do,” ravi nodded, getting it set up. albert watched him.

“okay, there,” ravi said, gesturing albert over to him.

he stood next to the other boy, picking up the microphone—the microphone’s were honestly pointless, they didn’t have anywhere to be hooked up, so they were just there for show. it added to the experience, anyways.

the song started up, and ravi couldn’t help but laugh a little as they started.

albert, on the other hand, was very quick to get into character. he matched the voice—ravi was kind of impressed.

the two started singing, and as they got into it more, dancing, and bumping into each other.

as the end of the song neared, ravi hand an arm around albert’s shoulder from behind. he tilted his head to face him, their eyes meeting. the song faded out, but neither dared to move.

albert was pretty sure if he moved, ravi was just going to evaporate.

he swallowed, his gaze flicking down to ravi’s lips.

it was before he could even register anything that they were both scrambling to move, and his lip’s were on ravi’s. ravi’s hands found albert’s hips, and he found himself up against the wall—he was oh so grateful that everyone had migrated outside.

he put one hand on ravi’s cheek and let the other hand tangle in his hair. the kiss wasn’t slow or gentle by any means—it was fast, teeth clashing, and spur of the moment. 

albert couldn’t think straight—the only thing on his mind at the moment was ravi.

the way his lips felt against albert’s own, the way his hands felt on his hips, the way albert had been pushing the thought of this to the back of his mind for too long.

this. 

he pulled back, breathing heavily. he opened his eyes quickly, followed by ravi shortly after.

the moment seemed to hit him like a bus. he swallowed heavily, his gaze flicking over ravi’s face. what was he doing? kissing ravi? kissing a boy? he didn’t do that. he wasn’t like that. what was wrong with him?

a wave of silence washed over them. albert couldn’t miss the way ravi looked over his face—like he was taking him in. reading his mind. “are you okay?” he asked, before albert pushed him away. 

“okay, guess that’s a no,” ravi looked to him, his eyebrows furrowed. “albert—“ he started, but it was very clear the other boy wasn’t listening.

“i need to go,” he said, furrowing his eyebrows. “i’m sorry,” he offered quickly, shooting him one apologetic glance, before he beelined for the door. 

he could call an uber, he figured, and he’d text chimney to tell him he got one.

ravi watched him leave, standing in utter shock. it wasn’t until he’d been alone for at least a full minute that he muttered, “ what? ” 

⋆⋆⋆

albert woke up with a headache. he was ever-so-grateful to see a glass of water and ibuprofen sitting on his nightstand.

he sat up to take the ibuprofen and a drink, and then he ran a hand through his hair.

to his dismay, the memories of the night before came flooding back. a pinch of guilt settled in his gut. he tried to ignore it.

he picked up his phone, checking the time—nearly four pm—and quickly saw the texts from ravi. at least ten.

a lot saying ‘i’m sorry’, and more asking if he was okay. 

he didn’t reply.

he shut his phone back off and drug himself out of bed.

he headed out of his room, and was very surprised to his chimney sitting on his couch.

“jesus christ—“ he said, jumping a bit.

chimney didn’t seem phased at all, simply looking away from his phone to albert. “good morning, sleepyhead!” 

albert pinched the bridge of his nose. “why are you here? when did you get here?” 

chimney looked back to his phone again—checking the time, albert assumed—before back to albert. “about two hours ago. did you not think the water and ibuprofen on your nightstand was weird??” he quirked a brow.

“i thought maybe i’d done it last night.” he muttered, plopping down on the couch beside chimney. chim just laughed at him—albert tried to not take offense to that.

albert put his head in his hands, squeezing his eyes shut.

chimney leaned back against the back of the couch, crossing one leg over the other. “so,” he started. “is there something you’d like to share with the class?”

albert groaned.

“i messed up.” was all he said.

chimney just coughed. albert sighed.

“i kissed ravi last night,”

chimney didn’t seem all too phased by this information. “oh?” he asked.

“yeah.” albert nodded, sitting back up, so he could look at his brother.

“well, was he into it?” 

albert made a face at his wording. “i mean, yeah. really into it. but, i wasn’t. it was an accident. i dont like him like that. i don’t like boys like that. i’m normal.”

chimney raised an eyebrow at him again. “normal?”

albert nodded, before pausing. “yeah, i mean—it’s not that people who are boys and like boys like that aren’t normal—it’s just i’m not like that.” 

chimney sat up now.

“albert, you know liking boys wouldn’t make you any less normal, right?”

albert swallowed. “yeah. obviously. it’s just.. dad—“ he started, but chimney didn’t let that thought get anywhere. 

“no, no. this isn’t about dad. this is about you. there’s nothing wrong with you liking boys.” 

albert drug a hand over his face. “that’s easy for you to say! and i don’t. like boys,”

chimney hummed. “it is easy for me to say. i like guys,”

albert’s head snapped in his direction. “..what?”

chimney nodded, a slight smile on his face. “yeah. coulda sworn i told you. i’m bisexual,”

“no, you didn’t. have you ever..” he trailed off, making gestures with his hands.

chim chuckled at him. “yes, i’ve actually been with a guy.”

“who? do i know him? does maddie now?”

“yes, you do, and yes, maddie knows. she’s bisexual too, actually.” he paused for a moment. “and bobby. that’s who,”

albert blinked. “ bobby nash?? the director ??”

chimney just nodded. 

“and you guys are still friends?”

“yes, not all break-ups have to end bad, albert. he’s still my best friend.”

albert just mumbled out an ‘ oh’. 

“we got off topic.” chimney said. “albert, do you like ravi?” 

albert paused. he didn’t need to, honestly. he knew the answer—yes. he’d known the answer for weeks now. even if he didn’t want to.

“..yeah. yeah, i do.” he said after a moment.

chimney nodded, taking albert’s hand in his own. “then there’s nothing wrong with that. you can like boys and girls,” he smiled at him.

albert swallowed.

“i don’t.. i don’t think i like girls.” he said, and it felt like a punch to the gut to say those words.

he tried to think of a time he ever actually contested with any of his past girlfriends. now that he thought about it, maybe there was a reason things kept not working out.

chimney squeezed his hand. “there’s nothing wrong with that, either.”

albert slowly nodded. “right, yeah,” he mumbled out.

“you’re still normal.” chimney told him.

albert nodded again, and god, it felt good to hear those words.

“now,” chimney sat up, letting go of his hand. “i’m always here if you need to talk.” he told him. “and don’t feel pressured to tell anybody anything anytime soon.” he gave him another smile. “except ravi. you need to go apologize to him,”

albert scrunched his nose up—the guilt in the pit of his stomach was back.

“he was a mess when you left last night,”

“you talked to him last night? what did he—“

chimney cut him off. again. “he didn’t tell me anything, albert, other than the fact you left in a hurry and he was worried about you.”

albert murmured out another ‘right’ . 

“also, i’ve heard your phone go off all afternoon, and now i can pretty easily assume what that was about. you should text him back, at the very least.

he sighed, but nodded again. “you’re right.”

chimney smiled at him again, as he stood up. “i should probably get back to my wife and kid, but i’m only one text or call away, al. always,” he told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. albert smiled back at him.

with that, chimney headed out.

albert stayed on his couch for at least a thirty minutes. it was nice to know chimney had been in his situation before, and it helped, but it didn’t help everything. although, as much as he wanted to sit with his thoughts longer (not at all), he wanted to talk to ravi more.

he went back to his room and sat back down on his bed. as he picked up his phone and saw the several messages and calls again, he felt his stomach twist.

he sent just a quick message. 

‘hey. i’m sorry. can we meet for coffee?’

he knew it wasn’t exactly the best apology—or even really an average apology, honestly. he just hoped it would do for now.

⋆⋆⋆

albert sat down at their usual table with his drink. 

he wasn’t even sure if ravi was gonna show—he wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t—as the other boy had just read his message. nonetheless, he could at least hope.

five minutes passed.

and then another five.

and then albert was about to get up and leave, but he was stopped as another person sat in front of him.

of course, it was ravi.

“hey,” he said after a moment, looking to ravi. he wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“hey,” he said back, setting his cup on the table. “sorry i took so long. wasn’t sure if i wanted to come,” albert wouldn’t hold that against him.

“yeah, uh, i don’t blame you. look,” he started, but ravi intervened.

“i don’t want an apology, and i definitely don’t want to hear about how last night was a mistake.” he said, and he looked as if he was about to stand up. 

“no, no—that’s not what i was gonna say. at all. ” he said, pausing for a moment. “well, i was gonna apologize. but not for the kiss,” he shook his head. “i’m sorry i ran last night. that was.. stupid, and unfair of me. i didn’t even—i didn’t even consider how you might’ve felt.”

“well, neither of us were really thinking straight,”

“still. i just..” he paused. again. “i’ve never done this before.” he gestured between them. ravi cocked a brow. “..you know. be with a guy. i’ve never even..” he swallowed. “i’ve never thought of it. i guess.. i don’t know. i just thought i couldn’t. so,” he looked down at the table, fidgeting with his cup lid.

“i’m new to this. i’m not even really fully comfortable with it yet. with myself. but, uhm, i know i like you. like, really like you. and, uh, i think you like me too—based on last night—but, i also understand if you don’t want to pursue anything because of last night—“

“albert—“

“—but, i know i want to pursue something with you, if you’d be interested in that. i don’t know how ready i am, but i still want to try, you know? but, still, i don’t blame you if you don’t want—“

he didn’t really have time to process as ravi grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulling him in for a quick kiss. it was short—and a bit uncomfortable, considering the table between them—and it wasn’t long before ravi pulled back. it took some heavy self control for albert to not follow his lips.

“if that didn’t answer,” he sat back down. “yes, i want to try something with you.” he said, a smile on his face. 

albert felt his cheeks get a little warm. “yeah, uh, it did answer my question,” he chuckled awkwardly, adverting his gaze. 

“good.” ravi nodded, taking a sip of his drink.

albert smiled, looking back to him. “..so, you said you know a good place to get dinner?”

ravi grinned. “yes, yes i do.”

“well,” albert stood up, grabbing his drink. “i haven’t eaten today and this coffee is not doing the trick.”

ravi laughed and he stood up as well. “this place will definitely do the trick, trust me,” he told him, as he headed for the gate. albert followed behind him. as they left the coffee shop, he let his free hand find ravi’s, and their fingers intertwined.

he wasn’t too excited to be navigating these new feelings, but maybe it wouldn’t be too bad with ravi.

ravi squeezed his hand, smiling at him, and he smiled back.