TLYS INTERLUDE: December 2007
NOTES: Hey, everyone! It's me again. Since we wrapped TLYS, I've continued a couple of non-fanfiction projects that I'm hoping to publish online within the next year. Cross your fingers for me, please!
But I find myself coming back to our boys here and there to release writer's block. Hence, I present to you the interludes: I realized that with the limitations of twenty chapters, there are a couple of moments I would have liked to write but had to tide over in the interest of keeping to the main story. I thought I'd start first with a little bit of what happened in the Christmas of 2007.
Warning, though, this won't make a lick of sense unless you've read the main story (The Less You'll See).
I've been sitting on this for quite a while, and hopefully this is the first of how many interludes. I honestly don't know what to prioritize, so please do let me know what you want to see. For your preferred interludes, please leave a comment (or two or three) or email me directly at ficamaze and I'll work on them as soon as I can.
The usual drill: I cannot stress these points enough, so I will put these at the start of every chapter:
This is primarily a Lover's Death story.
I do not own anyone (i.e., characters, etc) or anything (i.e., lines, scenes, concepts, etc) from the Now You See Me series. Absolutely no copyright infringement intended.
Some events in this story are inspired by my own experiences, and should you see yourself in the story, then let me give you a high five, but that honestly was not my intention.
December 2007:
The Wilder Christmas Reunion
The first thing Danny took away from the Wilder Christmas reunion: Jack was a crowd favorite.
He thought it was because his boyfriend looked so differently exquisite from the sea of light hair and light eyes, but he soon came to realize it was more than that. Jack simply seemed to charm the pants off everyone in the room. He laughed with obnoxious drunk uncles, delighted his chatter bug aunts with his stories of college and magic, and effortlessly chatted with his pretty second cousins, some of whom were looking at him downright lasciviously.
The second thing Danny noticed was that while Jack's introduction of him did not cause a spectacle among the relatives, it was clear that not everyone took as warmly to the news as Jack's parents and sister had. A few uncles had narrowed their eyes slightly at Danny, nodding cordially and not bothering to extend their hand to shake, some even pointedly looking away from him. Fewer haughty aunts had given him the head-to-foot, noses turned up in the air; very, very few pretty third cousins had looked at him with loathing (but he suspected it was less about their issue with Jack's apparent sexual preference than it was about Jack being taken, period).
Danny could not deny that it took a little bit of his ego every time he would encounter one such relative, but the blow was infinitely softened every time Jack would narrow his eyes at said offending relative, coldly excuse themselves, and – taking Danny's hand pointedly, something he didn't usually do on a normal day – walk away without further explanation.
The gesture gave him some comfort, reminding Danny that he expected far worse, and from Jack's immediate family, no less. Really, this was a relief compared to the nightmares he had for days before meeting his boyfriend's family – but to quote Jack, it didn't suck any less.
Once in a while, Jack would be whisked away by a random relative, but Lara would always swoop in to take care of Danny while Jack was gone – it was like they had an arrangement worked out (and he suspected they actually did). Danny noted that Lara was closely looking at his face the third time Jack deposited him with her, and her eyes narrowed at what she must have seen.
"You've met the buffoon uncles and the hag aunts from hell, have you?" she said sympathetically, handing him a cup of eggnog, which he took with thanks.
Danny shrugged. "It's no big deal. There were also the not-so-innocent third cousins."
Lara frowned. "Third cousins?"
"Oh, you know, the ones led by the unbearably gorgeous blonde who looks like a Victoria's Secret model and who seems to be willing to strip to said undergarments for Jack's viewing pleasure," he deadpanned.
She groaned. "That would be Margaret. Don't take it personally; Jack is kind of like her first and only love and some sad part of her still wishes they would fall into each other's arms."
He chuckled. "How did that start out?"
Jack's sister waved her hand dismissively. "You know the usual drill – they were the closest of cousins until Margaret decided that she would stage a wedding for them during the Christmas of 2000. Needless to say, Jack bailed on that ceremony and Margaret has been trying to stage something every year to get him to notice her, and finish off with that wedding she was denied."
Danny wished that he could laugh it off quite easily, but it was tough to do so when said cousin was in plain view from where he sat. Like most of the Wilders (and – ironically, as Lara pointed out – Danny), she had ash blonde hair and opal blue eyes. However, as he mentioned, she was unbelievably beautiful, more than most people in the room, more than perhaps even Lara. Her shiny hair fell to her shoulders in beautiful and luxurious waves, and her slim body was unfairly supple and seductive without her even trying.
He gave her a half-smile and rubbed his forearm. "Well, can't win 'em all," he said in as playful a manner as possible, trying to conceal his kneejerk reaction.
Lara squeezed his arm gently. "Hey, don't take it too hard. We liked you," she said pacifyingly.
Danny shook her head and squeezed her arm back. "I know, and thank you for that. I guess I just…" he trailed off, wondering how he could articulate his thoughts. The mighty Atlas was never usually at a loss for words, and he found it funny that one Jack Wilder could knock the world of words from his shoulders.
"You're worried about Jack," Lara supplied. "How those guys will give him a hard time?"
Danny said nothing, and Lara chuckled. "Oh, Danny. There are three things you clearly don't know yet. The first is that my brother's one hell of a fighter. He can do the impossible once he sets his mind to it, and believe me, he's set his mind on you. He wouldn't have taken you home for the holidays if he didn't. The second thing you have to remember: Jack is my baby brother, even if I look like the delicate doll between us. I would pound myself to death before I let anyone hurt him. The third is, Mama and Pops probably love us more than life itself. Trust me, in the rare instance that he won't or can't protect himself, he'll be safe with us."
"That's—that's good to know."
Lara cleared her throat, catching Danny's gaze, blue eyes drowning in blue. "So tell me, J. Daniel Atlas, that you plan to keep my brother safe, too."
Danny noted how it wasn't even a question, but it didn't scare him at all. He said, unflinchingly, "That's not even a question, Lara."
"You say that now, Danny, but things can always change. And I'm hoping it won't for you," she said warningly. "You are the first person my brother has given his heart to, Danny. It would not please anyone in his life if you broke it – well, except maybe one, but that chapter is long gone, and now that he finally has you, I doubt he will ever choose another chapter in his life, and I very much doubt there are a lot of things in the world that can make him choose to be without you." Lara fished out a wrapped bundle from her messenger bag. "Here, this is for you."
Danny took it curiously, opening it immediately. It was a simple frame that held a small photo, and he recognized the photo as a candid shot of him and Jack, obviously from Lara's perspective this afternoon in the park, before she called out to Jack. They were seated on the bench, backs turned to her, but their profile visible as they looked at each other with a smile on both their faces – a big one on Jack's, a small half-smile on Danny's. He looked at her before saying a soft, "Thank you."
"Lars, please tell me you aren't terrorizing my boyfriend," Jack's voice came from behind Danny, and the familiar and comforting warmth of Jack's arm slung around his shoulders. Danny found himself leaning into the touch automatically. "As if these vultures haven't done that enough."
"Hey, I'm protecting your boyfriend from said vultures, the least you could do is thank your big sister for doing so," Lara protested as Danny discreetly pocketed the small photo given to him. "Anyway, I see Kyle coming over, it's my turn to disappear now. Catch you two later!"
Before Danny could even acknowledge Lara, she turned and melted right into the crowd. Bemused, he looked at Jack, who was biting back a smile.
"Kyle is one of my best mates. He's not a cousin, per se, but close enough," Jack explained as a tall, wiry, brown-haired boy around their age neared them. "We've known him for as long as we can remember, but he's also been in love with Lara for about as long."
"Shame," Danny said, eyeing the boy carefully. "He doesn't seem too bad."
"Really? I've been told we're like twins," Jack shrugged nonchalantly.
Danny gazed at the boy: now that Jack mentioned it, the resemblance was there. Kyle was of the same built as Jack, with brown hair and eyes, but Danny couldn't help but notice how Kyle's hair didn't quite curl in the right places or how Kyle's eyes didn't quite shine in the way that Jack's did. He shrugged noncommittally. "He's okay. I wonder why Lara's not particularly interested."
"That would be my fault, I guess. I've been told Kyle is too much like me for her to be interested," Jack laughed. "She loves me and I love her like the world, but I don't think ending up with someone like her annoying little brother is high up on her list."
"Yeah, I feel her there," Danny said flatly, earning a punch on his arm from Jack. "Oww," he hissed.
"Hey, Kyle! Looking for something, man?" Jack said warmly as he gave the newcomer a high-five.
Kyle absent-mindedly looked around, shoulders sagging slightly when he couldn't seem to find what he was looking for. "No, I was just… I just wanted to say hey," he said lamely, looking at Danny curiously.
"Oh, right, Kyle, this is my boyfriend, Danny Atlas," Jack said. "Danny, this is Kyle Wood, one of my best mates."
Danny didn't miss the surprised look on Kyle's face, and for a second, he tensed up. But almost instantly, the look melted away sheepishly as the boy extended his hand for Danny to shake.
"Nice to meet you," Danny said politely.
"Sorry, man, I didn't mean to look surprised. Jack's one of my favorites, and I had no idea the pen pal he was gushing over was now his boyfriend," Kyle said apologetically as he firmly grasped Danny's hand and shot a hurt look at Jack. "Some best mate you are, Wilder."
"Aww, come on, man," Jack cut off, embarrassed. "It's just that everything happened so fast, and—"
Danny's lips quirked in a smile. "He was gushing about me? I'm touched," he said in a voice laced with humor.
Kyle's brown eyes twinkled wickedly, and in that moment, his resemblance to Jack became much more pronounced. "Yeah, like a little princess."
"You two are awful," Jack bemoaned.
"Serves you right for not telling me about Danny sooner," Kyle laughed, punching Jack lightly on the arm. "So, Danny, has Jack told you about his unbelievably insane magic tricks?"
Danny and Jack looked at each other, ocean and chocolate eyes twinkling identically as Jack pulled out his trusty deck of cards from his back pocket and taking one out from the pack.
"As a matter of fact…" Jack said with a smile, flicking the card to Danny, who deftly caught it and put it up his sleeve before Kyle realized what hit him. "… I did."
Kyle's eyes widened as Danny flicked the card in and out of sight in front of him. He let out a loud laugh, clapping his hands. "No way, you met your match, man!" he crowed happily.
The sleight looked at the showman with a disarming smile that never failed to make Danny's insides jump for joy. "I really did," he said quietly, causing Danny's cheeks to grow warm.
Danny felt like something was stripping him of his fears and insecurities being in the party as he and Jack moved into the tricks, the show, the performance that was second nature to them. He was unused to how easy it was to be with someone, let alone to do magic with anyone, but he couldn't imagine how he had gone all those years thinking that magic was beautiful on its own. Now that there was magic with Jack, he thought he never could find it in him to go back to a time without him.
Kyle had been their sole audience member for the first five minutes, but before they knew it, the crowd was drawn in, and soon enough, everyone in the living area was watching them with great interest and unwavering attention. Danny was pleased to see that even the relatives who had looked at him with disdain earlier in the evening were now watching him and Jack perform with curiosity – perhaps even delight – in their eyes.
Even better, he saw that Lara had resurfaced and had taken a seat next to Kyle: both initially quite into the show before them, but before long, had faced each other and seemed to find more interest in whatever the other had to say versus Danny and Jack's show.
For once, Danny didn't mind that the attention wasn't focused on him. He took pleasure in the fact that perhaps he, Jack, and magic had taken part in whatever he was seeing in front of him. He hoped he wasn't wrong.
He smiled shyly as everyone around them burst into applause after their little impromptu show, calling out for more.
As Jack called Merritt and Henley to join them for the second part of their impromptu show, and as the people around them eagerly awaited their next tricks, all animosity and pretensions forgotten as they crowded around the four, Danny wished that the magic that brought them all together would never have to end.