Danny Reyes is the property of Carlos Pedraza and Judas Kiss.

Milliways is the property of its creators - now residing on Dreamwidth - and its writers. I ask their forgiveness in playing outside of their terrain.

The information on film editing - about which I know absolutely nothing - comes from Wiki, of course. :D

Of lovers, past and present

Ivo is lying on his back on the bar in Milliways, a large white screen hanging just behind him. He's chewing on a toothpick and putting off the irascible bartender who feels it is inappropriate to lie on the counter. Or watch homemade movies for that matter.

Danny is cutting and splicing film, decidedly old school but he insists it yields a superior result. Digital editing is all good and well but no one has really learned how to use the new technology. Knowing Ivo prefers long and detailed explanations (even if he hasn't the foggiest idea of what they're talking about), Danny offers him Dmytryk's Seven Rules of Cutting:

"Rule 1: Never make a cut without a positive reason.

"Rule 2: When undecided about the exact frame to cut on, cut long rather than short.

"Rule 3: Whenever possible cut 'in movement'.

"Rule 4: The 'fresh' is preferable to the 'stale'.

"Rule 5: All scenes should begin and end with continuing action.

"Rule 6: Cut for proper values rather than proper 'matches'.

"Rule 7: Substance first—then form."

He adds his own reasons (the cut should advance the story and lead the audience to feel what he wants them to feel) and offers the opinions that most editors are just wild for the newest toys with no clear sense of what they can do.

Besides, he shrugs, it's the only thing he can do with the dated technology available to him here. ("You can bring me a new camera next time," he suggests to Ivo who laughs and promises to do just that.)

"Catch the light," Danny calls to the bartender who now commences his denunciation of Danny's lack of consideration for the patrons but in a moment the film appears on the screen behind and above Ivo.

"It gives a very weird effect," he tells Danny, "looking at it from this angle. I feel like the people are growing, like the way it looks in one of those carnival mirrors."

"Distortion mirrors," Danny says reflexively. He's busy scanning it from the proper angle but he takes Ivo's perspective into consideration and will look at it later to see if he can use any of it. Dissatisfied with something he calls for the lights back on – which elicits further vitriol – and shuts the projector off again. "So why don't you tell me what's really bothering you," he suggests to Ivo.

Ivo isn't quite sure how to say it, that he's come for advice. He hadn't planned it. He had been glaring at his wall when suddenly everything moved and here he was back in Milliways again. He's very glad for it. He's always happy to see Danny. It's just that this time what he wants to talk about –

Well. It's –

Tim. He sneaks a guilty glance at Danny who is patiently removing the long reel from a projector that looks like it's from the 50s (it is). He's quiet for another second before he takes the plunge. "I think it was a mistake to fall in love after you." That came out all wrong and if it were any other person – especially Tim – he would be apologizing six ways to Sunday. But the wonderful thing about Danny is that he never needs to apologize about anything, never has to explain himself. Danny is the only person in the world – well, apart from his sister Isabel – who accepts him for who and what he is. Moreover, Danny has the finesse of a rattlesnake though Ivo spent years training him to be diplomatic, and adores it when it is Ivo who says something utterly inappropriate.

Danny can't help but smirk. "If I remember correctly, you told me repeatedly what a mistake it was to fall in love with me."

"You were very young then," Ivo isn't about to go for any comparison between Danny and Tim. That would be very uncomfortable-making.

"And Tim is – 21? 22?"

"You were 18. There is an enormous difference between an 18-year-old and a 23-year-old," he retorts. Isn't there? He cocks his head to one side and analyzes his freshman and graduate students. They certainly are different today. Why when he was a student –

Danny won't let him finish that thought. "Some people are late bloomers," he smiles at Ivo.

Ivo scowls at him. "You were more –" 'mature' isn't the right word so he opts for something a bit crass: "You weren't as fucked up as Tim is."

"That's what you think!" Danny snorts. "I was only playing you to get my meal ticket."

"I knew what you wanted." Ivo's no fool. "I just didn't care. If supporting you was the price for getting you, I was game. Tim has absolutely no idea what he wants. If all he wanted was a sugar daddy, I'd be fine with that."

"No you wouldn't," Danny calls his bluff. "You've changed. You want him to love you. And as you say, he has no idea what he feels for you."

Ivo grinds the splintered toothpick between his teeth. "I should just walk away," he sighs. "Sunk costs." But of course that would be impossible at this point. Nothing short of death will tear him away.

"How's the therapy going?" There's a hint of laughter in Danny's voice. He has an opinion of psychiatry.

"He's just a bit more recalcitrant than you were."

"Probably lies," offers Danny from experience.

"Yes." Another sigh. The toothpick is now basically pulp.

"Well that won't get you anywhere," and Danny's laughing out loud this time. But he pauses and adds as a way of consoling the other, "He needs an incentive."

"If something comes to mind, do us a favor and don't keep it to yourself, eh?" The 'eh' is an affectation, adopted from life among Canadians. The bitterness is the product of nearly four years of smashing his head against the wall in frustration. It isn't easy to love someone who won't love you back.

"You're trying too hard," Danny says quietly, starting the projector back up.

"What?" Of course he is trying hard! He's bent over backward to make the relationship work, something he has never done before. He is the drive, the enthusiasm, the money, the rock, the – (he's mentally sputtering a whole listbut Danny's voice cuts in again).

"It's too much pressure on him. When he's not the center of attention, when you have other things going on, isn't he better?"

Ivo admits as much. "You mean need him less so he wants me more?"

"Pre-cise-ly!" A perfect rendition of Ivo's British accent.

"So what are you saying? I should go without him to Antarctica?" The idea is absolutely inconceivable. He wants Tim with him on the trip. It will be a first for both of them, something unique they share.

"Yes," says Danny simply.

"It's been my experience that when I leave him he finds someone else!" Ivo retorts. It's a sore subject.

"So don't leave him alone. Let Izzy stay with him."

"Because that went so well last time…" Dryly.

"If it's fidelity you want, quit chasing young boys." And he smiles again, but not at all unkindly.

"You were! A boy. And you weren't. Unfaithful to me." (Now he's just wallowing in it.)

"I needed you," Danny says frankly. "I couldn't take that chance." And suddenly he is very serious. "Tim needs you, too. He's testing you. That's all. He wants to make you jealous. He just hasn't figured that part of it out yet."

"WHAT?!" Total consternation.

But Danny's called for the lights to be cut again and the bartender is ranting about what is and is not in his job description.

Which leaves Ivo to watch the film from his unusual position and ponder Danny's words of wisdom.