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In some ways Tom has lived many lives. Not just because he is an actor, though that is one way to look at it. He has simply been around long enough to need to live multiple lives. Likely no one would’ve ever noticed if he hadn’t gotten cocky and complacent about it. Unfortunately for the first time in a little over a century he let his career take too far off. The reddit post that called it out thought he was a time traveller. Wrong. So wrong. A little funny though. Especially when people around set started making jokes about it. It's almost too easy to deflect.
Oh that picture? That’s actually his grandfather.
Or maybe that’s all photoshop? It’s so easy to manipulate things like that these days.
The truth is that every single one of those photos is legitimate. They are all him from different decades. Someone finally looked hard enough to figure out that he has been around and looked relatively the same for an impossible amount of time. Luckily no one will ever truly take it seriously. Well almost no one. Hopefully it never crosses the desk of any hunter.
He is reassured that it’ll likely take a while for it to make it to any desks. The investigation to follow is likely to be slow. He has time. Months potentially.
Most other vampires might take this as the time to lay low or even go for a full reset. Fall off the face of the planet for a bit, fake a death maybe and come back in a couple decades with a new name and life. There’s a whole network of them that can make the process easy. Tom has other plans. He’s in the middle of filming a big movie right now. He has no intent to drop his current life. Not to mention he hasn’t done anything worth being hunted for in a very, very long time. Not since his initial change.
It doesn’t matter, because right now he is Tom Ryder. The number one action star. He’s got a good couple more years before he really needs to consider being done. Before people start noticing that his physical appearance no longer aligns with his age. Currently, Tom Ryder is 36 years old. Only a couple years older than his forever physical age of 34. He can usually play it anywhere from 27 to 40 safely. He’s pushed it before. He can only praise his skin care routine and diet, that he doesn’t actually use or follow, so many times before even that isn’t enough to convince people that a 45 year old looks to be in his early 30s. He’ll keep being Tom Ryder until he either “ages out” or a hunter comes to do more than a little sniffing around.
Ryland is a bit lost, truth be told. The filming location sprawls with trailers and equipment. Lifts and trucks everywhere. The gaps between, filled with people hurriedly walking from place to place. Some with clipboards, others chattering into walkie talkies. His brother said he could come visit, but due to the filming schedule, he’d have to find his own way here. He had been stopped by a PA who of course just mistook him for Colt and let him pass. The problem is he has no idea where he’s going or who to look for. If he could find Dan or Jody that would be helpful. He’s made no headway with anyone else who he’s tried to talk to. So many of them, too busy to stop and assist him.
Ryland walks around the corner of a trailer and runs right into someone. They don’t even budge, but he ends up stumbling and tipping backward. He braces for impact, closes his eyes, knowing he’s probably going to land right on his butt. His momentum is stopped suddenly. Instead he feels a hand grab his wrist and another come to wrap around his waist, stopping him from taking a tumble. He opens his eyes slowly.
Tom Ryder.
He ran into Tom Ryder.
This is a disaster. A mess. Super embarrassing.
“I-I uh… um…” Ryland stammers. Words evading him. His heart rapidly beating. His face feels warm. He’s blushing, he knows it. “Oh gosh. I- I’m sorry.”
Tom doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t let go either. He is holding Ryland's full weight like it's nothing.
Ryland bites his lip and flexes the hand of the wrist currently in Tom's grasp. He meets Tom's eyes fully. He’s just staring at him. Like he is mesmerised. There's something almost predatory there. Dark and dangerous. If he wasn’t already a bit pink in the cheeks before he knows now that he is embarrassingly red. The intensity of that stare makes him feel weak in the knees. His heart races with what Ryland thinks must be anxiety.
There’s absolutely no other reason why he would feel this way. Tom is just some guy. Some guy with an impeccably strong build. And a well-sculpted face. And entrancing blue eyes. Yep he’s just some guy.
The grip on his wrist tightens almost imperceptively. A shaky breath leaves Ryland in response.
A walkie crackles at Tom's hip, “Tom, we need you back on set.”
It feels like a spell is broken suddenly. The shadowed look in Tom's eyes dissipates. Ryland feels himself pulled forward, steadied on his feet.
Without a single word, Tom covers the lower half of his face with his hand, eyes widening a fraction. Ryland tilts his head at the strange reaction. Before he can even formulate a question, Tom turns on his heel and walks swiftly away.
It's not until Tom is fully out of sight, that Ryland realizes that maybe he should have followed him. He still has absolutely no idea where he is going or how to find Colt. He sighs, running a hand through his hair. He doesn't want to bother anyone, but he kind of has little choice.
He finds a nice looking brunette girl with a clipboard. She does a double-take when she sees him. Ryland waves nervously and explains the situation.
“Oh, okay. Hang on,” she grabs her walkie talkie from her hip. “Colt, I have a stray. What's your location?”
They stand there awkwardly. Ryland has no idea what to do with himself as he fiddles with the zipper on his hoodie. At least the girl is nice enough not to look annoyed at him for disrupting her day.
“Hey, this is Dan. Colt's in the middle of something on set. I can come get his brother,” of course Dan knows he planned to visit today. Colt probably told so many people about him. Hopefully nothing embarrassing.
They exchange a few more short calls. The girl leads him till they find Dan.
“Thanks, Jen. I'll take him from here,” Dan smiles as he waves Jen off. Ryland nervously raises a hand to do the same. Jen is friendly enough to return it much more enthusiastically.
They keep a friendly conversation going between the two of them. Dan is an old friend at this point. They’ve known each other since Ryland was in his last years of undergrad. When Colt was just starting to get gigs consistently. Any time Dan is on a project with Colt it feels like a blessing. Ryland knows he can count on Dan to keep Colt safe and check in when Colt fails to do so.
They arrive just in time for Ryland to see Colt looking a bit more scuffed up. He frowns at the site. Colt thinks he’s good at hiding it and putting on a tough guy act, but Ryland knows better. Dan takes his leave.
“You get lost or something?” Colt teases with a lopsided grin.
“Or something,” Ryland responds, dryly. He reaches out and prods Colt in the arm right next to a nasty looking scrape. “You get in a fight?”
Colt brushes him off, “Yeah, you should see the other guy.”
“You look pretty banged up. Did you lose?” Ryland raises a brow with a smirk.
“It was a set of stairs,” Colt admits. Ryland can’t help laughing behind his hand. “Oh like you’d do any better. How many times have you fallen up or down your apartment steps now?”
“I’ll have you know I successfully took the stairs to my apartment without tripping everyday this week,” Ryland crosses his arms defensively.
“Wow, that’s like a new record,” Colt gives him an amused look. He drapes his arm over Ryland’s shoulders with a little more weight than is necessary. Ryland tries to push him off, with a grumpy huff. Colt doesn’t budge, just leans further into him. “Come on, I'll show you around.”
As Ryland is steered away by Colt he can’t stop the feeling of eyes on him. A tingling on the back of his neck. He turns to peek over his shoulder. In the collection of people hanging about he finally lands on one recognizable figure. Ryland turns back forward, hoping that Tom didn’t catch him looking. If Colt notices the way Ryland hunches into himself a bit more, he certainly doesn’t call attention to it.
The tour is enough to get his mind off of the strange events of the morning. He forgets them almost entirely with the amount of people he’s meeting.
Tom struggles through the next scene. It ends up taking four takes to actually get it done. His mind, entirely elsewhere. The rest of the cast is murmuring amongst themselves. He can hear most of it clearly. This never happens. Tom never takes more than two takes to get a scene right. If they ever need to go again it’s usually someone else that caused it. It's something he’s become known for. They don’t know that he has several decades worth of experience to back it up. To them he’s just that good.
The problem is the face Tom keeps seeing in the back of his mind. So familiar, almost a perfect one to one to someone he knew from before. Before he became what he is now.
Colt is close in appearance. At first glance it had been too easy to see the similarities and ignore the differences. It's fair to say he had a minor obsession with Colt when he first met him before he got hired as his stunt double. There’s a few parts of Colt’s personality that fit or come close. At the same time there’s enough that doesn’t to make Tom feel avoidant. He still likes Colt. Still thinks he’s a good stunt double. He’s dependable and easygoing. The uncanny nature of him makes Tom push him away. Maybe a bit too harshly at first. The tone of their relationship all but set by that compulsion. Colt is just too rough around the edges. Too impulsive and quick to action. Too broad. Too loud. Tom can’t say if they are even friends at his point. At one time they were, but he thinks he might have pushed Colt too far away in his haste to protect himself.
Tom couldn’t even try to use his own abilities to help repair their friendship once he realized just how badly he had pushed Colt away. For some reason it wouldn’t work. He couldn’t influence Colt’s emotions no matter how he tried. He was certain Colt wasn’t a vampire or a hunter. There’s no reason he should be resistant, let alone completely immune.
The person he knew. The person he had cherished. He was softer. Kind. Thoughtful. Nervous and anxious. Less impulsive due to his tendency to overthink. Always busy with a book in his free time. He could occasionally have an outburst or push past the boundaries of his unease. Especially if he was doing it with the intent to protect another. He lacked self-preservation for himself. Often forgetting to care for himself. And unfathomably clumsy.
Tom had been on his way to his trailer when someone had walked directly into his chest. Normally he never would have reacted the way he did. Tom would’ve let gravity take its course and allowed the other person to fall. Depending on who it was he would’ve helped them back up. The second he saw that perfect, beautiful face, he couldn’t stop himself. He had ended up in such an intimate, familiar position, like a dance frozen in time, with a stranger sharing the face of a long dead companion.
Tom had felt a sudden gnawing craving stab at the back of his mind. A need to take this stranger and run. To never let him out of his sight again. Tom heard the way his heart pounded with fervor. The rush of blood. He hadn’t felt a craving this intense in decades.
Tom had to do everything he possibly could not to rip into that pulse point so close by. The odd thing is that the stranger doesn’t look scared. Confused. Startled. Embarrassed. All that but not scared. It all just fit so well. He felt hypnotized by this person staring at him with wide blue, bespectacled eyes.
The radio call was both a blessing and a curse.
He wanted to stay there forever. He couldn’t get away fast enough.
That and the three failed takes leads him to now. A fourth finally successful take has the director coming up to chat with him about what's next. Tom tries to focus. Tries to keep on task. The problem is he’s watching that perfect stranger get escorted away by Colt. Somehow that’s the moment the pieces click together. Colt had been talking for weeks about his brother coming to visit. Tom’s hearing is better than that of a human, even when he tries not to listen in on a conversation he finds it difficult not to get a few details. Ryland, Colt’s twin, was the man who had run into his chest. The man who was absolutely derailing him today.
“Tom, are you feeling alright? Do you need a break?” the director asks, placing a hand on his shoulder with a small shake.
Tom looks away from Ryland reluctantly, “No, no. Just having an off day.” He waves a hand in dismissal. “Can you go over the scene again?”
Back to the task at hand. He shelves his thoughts and tries to focus once more.
Ryland tries to stay out of the way when he comes to set with Colt the next couple days. The constant tingle of eyes on him has him feeling a bit edgy. He brings some grading and a book with him to preoccupy his time when Colt isn’t dragging him every which direction. The distraction will certainly help him feel less anxious. He is leaning on a trailer wall, chewing on the end of his pen reading over a group assignment when a shadow comes into his periphery. As interesting as 8th grade ramblings about the differences between the planet Venus and Earth are, he can't ignore the presence next to him. He looks up and glances to his right.
This isn’t what he expected. He expected… Well he doesn’t know what he expected. Certainly not this.
His eyes lock with Tom’s.
Tom, who has been seemingly avoiding him for the last two days.
Tom, who Colt insisted was a waste of his time and energy.
Tom, who Colt said to avoid at all costs.
Ryland looks away with a blush spreading across his cheeks. He can hardly just pack up and walk away. That would be rude.
“Can I… Is there something you needed?” Ryland fidgets with the pen in his hand, staring intently at the work packet in front of him. He brings the pen up to tuck behind his ear freeing up his right hand.
He chances another sideways look at Tom. Tom isn’t looking at him anymore. He takes a chance to drag his gaze down his form. Tom is attractive. That’s a given. Ryland hadn’t thought about it much till literally a couple days ago. Now he can’t get it, or rather get him out of his head. The last two nights on Colt’s couch have been a struggle. Everytime he closes his eyes all he sees is Tom. It's a crush. It’ll pass. And it certainly can’t be mutual.
“There’s something about you, Ryland,” Tom finally says.
Ryland looks away, his face heats up. Oh gosh. This is a lot. This is very forward. No no he shouldn’t assume. Maybe Tom is just being friendly. He seems like the type to be naturally flirtatious.
“When Colt said he was having his brother come to visit I wasn’t expecting someone-”
Ryland winces. No definitely wrong. What is he thinking? Tom will probably say the same things everyone says. Nerdy. Bookish. Soft. That’s if he’s being nice. He could be way more mean about it. Call Ryland pathetic or weak instead. Ryland prepares himself for impact, shoulders squaring up rigidly, hands coming to his chest. The work packet crumples slightly, all but forgotten in his hand.
“-so perfect,” the words leave Tom’s mouth. Ryland whips his head back in his direction, eyes wide with shock.
“Wh-what? You can’t mean… There’s no way.” Ryland stammers. Brain trying to catch up and recalibrate. This isn’t the normal script. That’s when his brain finally gets it. It may be off script, but maybe Tom is just playing the long game. That’s so cruel. “You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”
“No,” Tom catches his eyes once more. His tone and the finality of that single word erase any thought of it being a lie. Tom is serious. Tom is flirting with him? “Life is too short to play games like that. I mean it.”
“Okay, um,” is this really happening? They’ve known each other for less than 72 hours but here Tom is just casually confessing his feelings. Ryland hesitates to call it love. It can’t be. “I don’t…”
Ryland pauses for a moment, trying to find the words. Tom’s whole demeanor changes. His shoulders sag as he starts to right himself. He takes one step to leave before Ryland is reaching out to grab his wrist.
“I’m sorry, wait. Please,” Ryland begs. “It’s just this is a lot for me. I don’t really know how to respond. I could be reading this entirely wrong. Are you saying that… you’re interested in me?”
Tom smirks, “Oh, sweetheart. I’m more than interested in you.” Ryland freezes as Tom plucks the pen from behind Ryland’s ear. He carefully unfurls Ryland’s other hand from his wrist and pushes up his sleeve. Before Ryland can say anything he feels the pen touch his skin. Tom leans forward and blows on the ink sending a shiver up Ryland’s spine. He looks down to find a phone number written across his wrist.
His heart hammers in his chest as Tom kisses the numbers on his wrist. He catches his eyes once more. That same dark, thrillingly dangerous look to them as when they first met. Ryland feels like his knees might give out. His whole body shakes. Tom leans forward right by his ear.
“I’m obsessed with you.”