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“Hon, you’re doing it again.”
“What?”
“The thing, look.”
Colt looked down to see his hand crushing his can of soda. The empty can. “Oh.”
Jody followed his gaze. Ryland, his twin brother whom literally everyone on set adored, had come to visit for the second day in a row. Yesterday, he brought Colt some coffee and complained about his students asking when the stuntman could visit next. He’d primarily stayed by Jody’s side and watched Colt do his stunts with worried grimaces and bits of hiding his face behind his hands when things got a bit intense.
Except, there was one moment when Ryland wasn’t near Jody or Dan, and it was when Jean-Claude got loose. Ryder’s poor assistant couldn’t keep up with the energetic dog and had accidentally let go of the leash. The dog didn’t run to Ryder, no. He ran to Colt, who gave him some head pats before realizing Jean-Claude was sniffing his hand. Jean-Claude perked up before running straight for Ryland.
“Jean-Claude, arrête!” Colt tried.
But Jean-Claude had locked in on the scent. Ryland was speaking animatedly with Dan, no doubt questioning the safety of these stunts, when the dog stopped before Ryland’s feet. His tail wagged back and forth excitedly, complete with a whine. Ryland stopped to look at the dog, any and all worry leaving his mind at the sight of the canine with an army green vest on.
“Awww, hey little guy. What’s your name?” Ryland said as he smiled, kneeling down to let Jean-Claude sniff his hand. Once the dog got a good sniff, he barked and started pressing against Ryland like a cat. “And you’ve got a little vest! You’re so cute. What’s this say…”
“Jean-Claude,” Dan provided.
“Interesting name for an interesting dog. Where’d you come running from, Jean-Claude?” Ryland asked with a slightly higher pitch as he petted the dog’s ears. Jean-Claude leaned his weight into Ryland more.
“He only knows French,” Dan said. He snapped. “Assis.”
The dog sat, panting, and Ryland’s eyes bulged.
“A dog that knows French. So cool!” he whispered, eyes alit with curiosity. “Did he grow up in France or in a French-speaking household?”
“I dunno. Not my dog.”
“Then who’s—”
“Jean-Claude, viens.”
The dog licked Ryland’s nose before running to Tom Ryder, who approached with his casual I don’t give a fuck about anything attitude. Except he seemed particularly interested in the man who was just kneeling before his dog with a broad smile—the man who looked exactly like Colt Seavers.
“Uh, aren’t you supposed to be out there, Colt?” Ryder said before gesturing to his face. “And what’s with the glasses? Since when do you wear those?”
Dan smirked like Christmas came early, clapping Ryland’s shoulder. “Tom, this is Colt’s twin brother, Ryland Grace. He’s gonna be visiting for the next couple of days to see how movie magic works.”
Tom’s brows furrowed as he raked his eyes over Ryland from head to toe. Over and over. “If you’re twins then why don’t you have the same last name?”
“Oh, we do. Colt just didn’t think Grace was a cool enough name to have when you’re blowing yourself up for a living,” Ryland chuckled nervously, wondering why Tom’s eyes were suddenly sparkling with… something he couldn’t name. “So he picked something out and stuck with it.”
“Damn, I mean… if you weren’t wearing glasses, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between you two. But I gues you are... kind of different.”
Jean-Claude whined, gently pawing at Ryland’s jeans. Tom didn’t even try to reach to reel him in. On the contrary, he grinned.
“Hey, he likes you. Would you mind watching him for this next take? My assistant has her hands full,” Tom said with a cheshire smirk.
Ryland brightened considerably. “Oh, sure, I’ll hang out with Jean-Claude. Do you wanna hang out with me, bud?”
Jean-Claude tilted his head.
“Guess I’ll have to use google translate to talk to you, but yeah, I’ll watch him.”
Tom reached down to grab Jean-Claude’s leash and offered it to Ryland. He took it, stilling when Tom’s hand lingered atop his.
“Thanks,” the actor said with a wink before walking away.
Ryland stood completely unaffected by what just happened, because how could he focus on the weird actor when such a cute dog was in front of him? A cute dog who seemed hellbent on cuddling him. Ryland ended up plopping on the ground and letting Jean-Claude sit between his legs.
Colt had been forced to watch the entire exchange from afar. He thought it was cute at first, you know. Jean-Claude wasn’t quick to like people, so he was worried when he went running towards his brother, but it quickly turned into awe as Jean-Claude practically begged for Ryland’s attention. Never had he seen the dog be so affectionate within ten seconds of meeting someone new.
And then Tom Ryder waltzed in. He didn’t even care about Jean-Claude; he just liked to show off that his dog only listens in a foreign language. Hell, Colt cared more about the dog than he did. Something icy, dangerous spiked his heart seeing the asshole actor move closer and closer to his brother, inspecting like he were an experiment to study. He glared from across the set, hoping the man would feel the intense murder in his gaze and rightfully fuck off because Ryland was off limits to assholes like him.
And the little trick with the leash? Oooh, Colt was furious. Dan had come up to him before the next take with mirth in his eyes.
“Seems like someone’s taken a liking to your little bro,” he said with a chuckle as Colt hit him.
Colt’s eyes never left Tom Ryder for the rest of the day. Each time he got ready for a take, he’d send a stupid little smile and wave to Ryland, who was too busy petting Jean-Claude to respond (ha, take that, fucker). Each break Tom got, he was all up in Ryland’s space—inspecting his glasses, remarking about his hair so he had an excuse to take a strand between his fingers—and it was driving Colt crazy. He finally had enough when they were wrapping up for the day and he saw Ryder’s arm snake around Ryland’s waist, his fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt.
Colt ran over and got in between the two, his arm flopping loosely around Ryland’s shoulders as he protectively steered him to the side and out of reach of that asshat. Shoving Ryder aside was arguably the highlight of his day. “Hey, Ry, I saw a pizza place nearby if you wanna come with me and Jody?”
Ryland startled before quickly relaxing. “Oh, uh, sure. I could eat.”
“Oh, hey, Colt. Good work out there today,” Ryder said with that stupid, obviously fake smile of his. His eyes landed on Colt’s arm, the one wrapped tightly around Ryland. “I was actually asking your brother if he’d be interested in watching Jean-Claude tonight.”
“You have an assistant to do that for you,” Colt seethed between clenched teeth.
“She’s got the night off, actually. I’m bringing him back to my place.” Ryder caught Ryland’s eye. “He stays with me mostly, though it gets a bit lonely sometimes so I know he’d love the company.”
Colt was lucky he was wearing sunglasses, because if Ryder could see his eyes right now, he’d be turned to ashes in an instant. How dare he have the audacity to invite Ryland, alone, back to his place knowing damn well Jean-Claude was with his assistant (who actually didn’t have the night off, prick)? And inviting him in front of Colt nonetheless, and with that grin that made Colt’s knuckles itch to feel skin break under them.
Colt tightened his grip on Ryland before his brother could speak. “We’ve actually got some catching up to do, so, maybe never. See ya.”
He dragged Ryland across the set to his car, fuming all the way and muttering curses under his breath.
“Uh, Colt?” Ryland said nervously.
“Yeah?”
“Are we really getting pizza?”
“Yes, we’re getting pizza. Jody can’t seem to think of anything but catching up with you and pinching your cheeks. You know, she calls you cute all the time around me but never says I’m cute? What kind of relationship do I have that my girl doesn’t call me cute?”
Ryland shrugged. “Has she ever pinched your cheeks?”
“No! She only does it with you!”
“Lemme rephrase—have you ever allowed her to do it?”
Colt paused. “Uh… shit, you’re right. I think she’ll do it to you regardless, but whatever.”
The pizza they got that night was hella greasy, but the company was all Colt wanted. Thoughts of Ryder’s abysmal behavior were way in the back of his head as the night drew to a close.
He didn’t know what to expect for the second day, but he stopped Ryland before they walked onto set.
“Ry,” he started with firm hands on his shoulders. “Listen to me—”
“Oh God, are you getting dropped from a building today?” Ryland asked as his hands reached for his hair, worry coating his features. “Don’t tell me that, don’t do that to me.”
“No, no, calm down. Look, if Tom Ryder comes up to you today at all, I want you to make up some excuse and get the fuck up out of there.”
Ryland raised a brow. “Oooookay? Why?”
Perceptive was an adjective Colt would use to describe his brother, except it didn’t apply to him at the moment. He sighed dejectedly.
“Ry, I love you, but don’t you see what he’s doing?”
“Uh, no.”
“He’s using Jean-Claude to flirt with you!”
Ryland blanched. “Oh my God, was that what was happening yesterday?”
“Yes!” Colt hissed. “And it’s pissing me the fuck off!”
“Why’s it making you mad?”
“Because you’re—why is it making me mad?” he repeated dumbly. Ryland just stared back, equally confused. “Why isn’t it making you mad? Ry, you’re my little brother. I know Ryder and trust me, he’s one of the biggest pricks to walk this set or any set for that matter. He’s fuckin’ weird, and I don’t like the way he was making googly eyes at you all day yesterday.”
Ryland sighed. “Colt, as much as I appreciate the warning, you’re being overbearing again.”
“No I’m not, I’m trying to protect you.”
“That, too. I can take care of myself,” Ryland said. Colt gazed imploringly at him, his grip on his shoulders tightening until Ryland huffed. “Fine, I’ll stick with Dan today.”
Colt patted his back, slightly relieved, though his gut screamed at him that today wasn’t going to go as planned, either. “Good. And no Jean-Claude, no matter how much he begs.”
“But he’s so cute!”
“No Jean-Claude.”
Colt thought the day would go somewhat better but he was horrifically wrong. He’d search the set to make sure Ryland was nowhere near Ryder. The asshole was thankfully stuck in his pompous trailer getting his makeup done for a few hours, so Ryland was safe until then. But as soon as Ryder strutted out of his trailer, it was like his only mission was to see Colt’s brother by any means necessary.
Colt had explicitly told Dan to keep Ryland away from him, but sometimes he thought Dan was out to get him, too. Probably for some petty shit Colt didn’t remember doing when the crew went out for drinks, because why did he look over after a take to see Dan, Ryland, and Ryder standing near the pyrotechnics crew. Of course, Ryland stood beside Dan and away from Ryder, only nodding along to the conversation and not contributing at all. Colt fumed seeing Ryder pat Ryland’s arm, his fingertips lingering for a split second too long.
And that bastard looked right at Colt when he did it. Smirking.
Which led to now, about fifteen minutes later, where he crushed his soda can. He and Jody stared as Ryder tossed his arm around Ryland’s shoulder like he belonged there and steered him around set, yapping away (probably about how rich he is or whatever the fuck). He could see Ryland’s eyes subtly searching the set for Colt only to be interrupted when Ryder directed him to something else.
“I’m gonna kill him,” Colt said simply. The can crushed more under the pressure of his hand.
“Colt, this is exactly what he wants. He’s getting under your skin,” Jody said calmly. “The one downside of your brother’s kindness is that he’s too scared to say no sometimes.”
Say no. That’s it! There was one thing Ryland couldn’t say no to.
“Whatever you’re thinking, I’d nip it in the bud. We’ve got to get through this shoot today, preferably without any accidents happening.”
Colt shrugged. “What accident? There hasn’t been an accident.”
Yet.
Jody lowered her brows. “Colt, Ryland will be fine. Ryder’s an asshole, yeah, but he’s only doing this to mess with you. I doubt any sort of… affection or attraction is real. It seems like a bit, nothing serious. Don’t do anything stupid.”
Colt grinned. “Since when do I do that?” he said, kissing her check. “Kick ass, babe.”
She sent one last warning glare at him before he stalked off to find Ryder’s assistant. Ryder wanted to mess with him? He’d fuck with him right back.
Colt waited until the night shoot when he knew Ryder would be in costume for sure.
Ryder’s character was currently going undercover for this specific scene. It covered everything below the tip of his nose, leaving only his eyes to see. His eyes which happened to be infuriatingly stuck on Ryland. Assessing. Watching. Checking him out. Eyeing his glasses with particular interest. It made Colt’s blood boil.
Colt has been working with Ryder long enough to know that he didn’t spend much time with Jean-Claude at all. He usually let his assistants handle him and the other two dogs he had for show.
Which would be Colt’s advantage, because while Jean-Claude was obviously familiar with Ryder’s face, he wasn’t used to seeing it obscured by a mask.
Colt made sure Dan had Jean-Claude’s leash, the two tucked out of sight so Ryland wouldn’t go crazy for the dog. Colt wasn’t doing any sort of stunt for this scene so he stood with Jody behind the monitor. Ryland had decided that the pyrotech crew were apparently cooler than him, so he stood by the pyro coordinator, listening intently to his explanations of how their operations worked. No doubt he could use the information against Colt for a dangerous stunt down the line. He could already hear it.
“No, Colt, you’re not doing that stunt! You’ll die a fiery death in an explosion!”
A bit exaggerated for dramatic emphasis, but it just showed how much Ryland cared. It made him feel warm, happy. The opposite of what he was feeling right now.
“Action!” Jody shouted.
He watched the monitor as Ryder snuck around, “defeating” the guards of this super locked down facility. Once he “defeated” the last man, Jody called it.
“Not bad for a guy who refuses to do his own stunts,” Jody muttered as she stood. “That was great, Tom!”
Ryder raised a hand to wave at her. As the asshole actor started to (predictably) move to talk to Ryland, Colt quickly dialed Dan. He picked up in milliseconds. Colt waited until Ryder was within arms reach of Ryland.
“Go time,” Colt said.
He heard a snicker over the line. He could see Dan chuckling to himself across the set, gesturing for one of the techs next to him to start recording. He pointed at Ryder.
“Jean-Claude, attaque!” Dan whispered.
And he let go of the leash.
Colt couldn’t hold back bursts of laughter as Jean-Claude ran at full speed towards Ryder. The dog crashed into Ryder’s gonads at full speed, teeth chomping down. Deep satisfaction curled in Colt’s chest as Ryder howled in pain, hands reaching blindly for Jean-Claude.
“Jean-Claude, stop it! It’s me! It’s Tom! Stop!” the man exclaimed desperately.
But Jean-Claude didn’t let up. He stood between Ryder and Ryland and growled as he dangled from the man’s private area. Ryder hadn’t thought to lower his mask. Jean-Claude definitely knew his face but the scene was perfectly crafted for Jean-Claude to think some random person was going to attack Ryland, and oh my God was it glorious seeing Ryder shout and scream.
Colt found Ryland, who was staring at the scene in shock. Colt made sure not to tell Ryland about Jean-Claude’s special attack just to add a bit more gas to the fire. He cackled, watching Ryland’s eyes go from get him Jean-Claude to oh my God that’s gotta hurt. He was fighting an internal battle of help him and fuck that, I love this dog, and Colt smirked.
“Colton Grace, what have you done?” Jody bit out.
“Why are you blaming me for this? Why not Ryder’s assistant for losing Jean-Claude again?” he complained.
“Because I saw you talking to Dan on the phone and I saw him with the dog. You staged this.”
“The shoot was almost done, anyway!”
“Colt, you can’t send Jean-Claude to obliterate a man’s ballsack just because he’s been hitting on your brother!”
Colt chortled, watching Jean-Claude work his magic. “Oh, yes I can.”
Jody stared at Ryder, who still hadn’t thought about saying the command in French yet, struggling to get Jean-Claude to stop. She tapped her chin. “Yeah, he deserves it. Ryland deserves some sort of compensation for the shit he’s had to endure the past two days.”
“When should we call Jean-Claude?”
Jody hummed. “Give it a few more seconds. Maybe go talk to your brother; he looks like he’s about to have an aneurysm.”
Colt kissed her cheek. “God, I love you.”
She smiled back as he wandered towards shell-shocked Ryland. He wrapped his arm around Ryland’s shoulders, which seemed to snap him back to reality.
“Colt, call him! He’s—” Ryland started, cringing as Ryder howled in pain “—he’s chewing… just call him off!”
“Nah,” Colt said. “He’ll be fine for a few more seconds.”
Ryland stared. No one stepped in to help. “Since when is Jean-Claude an attack dog?”
“Since forever. That’s his special attack. Ball central.”
“He’s attacking his owner.”
“He’s attacking a random man who looked like he was going to attack you,” Colt corrected. He smiled knowingly and gestured to his face.
Ryland shook his head, snickering. “Wow. Seriously, wow. You planned this out.”
“Eh, maybe. I’ve been waiting to see Ryder be knocked down a peg or two. This was the perfect opportunity. Maybe now he’ll think twice before talking to you again.”
“Colt,” his brother groaned.
“What? I’m just doing my job as the older brother. Besides, this only worked because Jean-Claude adores you for some reason. You seem to have that effect on people.”
Dan seemed to have taken pity on Ryder and stalked up to them. “Jean-Claude, viens ici.”
The dog immediately stopped and followed at Dan’s heel, leaving Tom Ryder curled in a fetal position, his hands covering the puncture marks on his pants. He was whimpering like a baby, rocking himself back and forth. Colt saw the crew member recording zoom in on Ryder’s body. He loved his crew so much. He bet by the next hour the video would be circulating throughout the set. The people who didn’t know about it would know very soon and it was going to be glorious.
Jean-Claude caught sight of Ryland and raced ahead of Dan to meet him, circling him before sitting before his feet with a whine and tilt of his head. Colt saw Ryland’s internal debate, the fight of the urge to pet the dog who loved him so much after meeting him less than a day ago. Colt wasn’t surprised when Ryland kneeled in front of the dog and started petting him.
“How do you say ‘good boy’ in French?” Ryland asked, glancing up at Colt and Dan.
“Bon garçon,” Dan supplied.
“Bon garçon, Jean-Claude,” Ryland said with an affectionate scratch of the dog’s ear. Jean-Claude preened under the praise, letting out a sharp, happy bark before licking Ryland’s face. “No, no kisses! You just bit his no no area, no kisses!”
Colt didn’t reach to help his brother. He doubted Ryder would fuck with him again for a while.
A couple months after what was dubbed The Betrayal (by Jean-Claude), Colt was once again working with Ryder. The man hadn’t bothered Ryland much at all after Jean-Claude attacked him, thank God, but Colt could tell he was just itching to do something to piss someone off. It was the one thing he was good at.
Colt stood still as he was strapped into the rig. Another day, another stunt, and this time it was a fall from about five stories. Ryland would not be hearing about this one or the ones he had scheduled for the rest of the day. He kept complaining that Colt was going to give him early gray hairs so he started talking more about the process of filming stunts as opposed to what stunt he filmed that day.
Ryder was surprisingly cordial with him over the last couple of months, except for today. He looked like a madman. Hair frizzy and all over the place, eyes red, probably on drugs. It wouldn't be the first time he’s come to set looking rough.
He had Jean-Claude with him. He was actually holding the dog’s leash. Holy shit, that’s a first. Maybe the attack also taught him to be a better owner instead of a constant douche. Colt braced himself for the stench of some sort of substance as Ryder walked up to him.
“Hey,” he drawled with a half-smile, “there’s my best stuntman!”
“What’s up?” Colt said with a nod. “Getting ready for today? Big day for you, from what I’ve heard.”
“Oh yeah, man, huge day.”
There was something in the way Ryder held himself, the way his eyes shimmered, that made Colt frown. The last time he’d seen Ryder like this, he’d instigated a fight at one of his parties. He lost, by the way. Completely pathetic. But it made him wonder what the man was trying to insinuate.
Ryder’s eyes met his again, a shit-eating grin on his face as Colt was slowly pulled up by the rig. “Is your pretty brother still single?”
“Motherfucker.”
Yeah, working with Ryder from now on was going to be even worse than before.