A/N: Don't worry, more to come on Secrets. It's been such an insanely super busy couple of weeks. Also, you can blame Masikka and LouBe96 for occupying my time in the best way ever!! There's something so special in the friendships formed through common interests such as FFN, when most of our friends probably think we're oddballs for loving it so much! I was overjoyed to meet these incredible humans and have the time of my life with them, finding Scorpion references in absolutely everything and everywhere we went! They are truly such special people, and I will be riding this high for quite some time!
This is their parting gift! (since the dog ate the cupcake toppers)
Xoxo! (which means more now that I have *actually* hugged you!)
Paige took a deep breath, watching Walter's eyebrows slowly climb higher as she explained her weekend plans.
"So… I'm meeting a couple of friends I met online on Saturday." She began, trying to keep her tone casual. "And before you start, it's nothing weird. It's through this fanfiction website. We're all huge fans of The Relic Code, you know, the show I watch that's set in the history museum. The one you like to critique for inaccuracies."
Walter blinked, the same way he did when she tried to explain the concept of flavored coffee.
"Fanfiction." He repeated slowly, as if tasting the word for the first time.
"Yes hunny. A guilty pleasure of mine. Gets me away from the chaos of being Walter O'Briens's wife for a bit… just indulge in writing, reading, getting lost in the story. The show ended so abruptly, and on a cliffhanger, you know how upset I get watching the ending. So me, and other people like me, write stories. Fix what the actual show writers messed up, or get the characters you love together in new ways, or take out your regular life frustrations on them, torture them for fun."
"That's… concerning. And you get royalties for this?"
She laughed.
"No. No, no. No royalties. No pay. It's just for fun."
"And all fans of a show will read these works?"
"Oh god, no. I wish. I get a handful of readers to my stories if I'm lucky. With bigger shows with a huge fanbase, that's still on the air, you definitely get more, but not for Relic Code. It's been off the air for a few years."
"So, let me get this straight… you voluntarily write… extended hypotheticals for entertainment, despite there being no logical reason to invest in situations that aren't even real." Paige rolled her eyes, knowing he wasn't finished. She had been prepping to tell him for weeks. He tilted his head, really trying to understand. "So people take a show, which is already hypothetical, then reimagine it under new, equally hypothetical circumstances, often with wildly improbable character relationships or scenarios… all for no compensation, with only a remote chance anyone even reads it?"
"Yes, Walter." She said with a sigh, crossing her arms. "And people love it. I love it."
Walter pressed his lips together, clearly trying very hard to be supportive. But his mouth betrayed him.
"So…essentially, it's like an unpaid emotional investment in… fiction on top of fiction."
Paige gave him a flat look.
"Walter, it's a way to have fun and be creative. I love The Relic Code, and writing stories about the characters is my way to unwind. Like Sly has his weird role playing game, and you have your audio lectures."
Walter sat at the kitchen table, tapping his fingers against the wood, looking at Paige like she'd just announced she was moving to the Arctic to study penguins with no Wi-Fi. None of this made sense to him.
"But if you like it so much, wouldn't it make more sense to… do something productive with it? I could design a program for you that generates alternate episodes based on your preferences… like a randomized algorithm. That way you wouldn't have to--"
Paige held up a hand.
"Walter, it's not about efficiency. It's about connecting with people who feel the same way. And these friends? They're flying in just for this meetup, and I'm really excited to meet them. We're going to the museum together. It'll be amazing."
Walter tried to look excited for her sake but landed somewhere between confusion and begrudging acceptance.
"Okay… So, you're meeting strangers you met online, whose entire connection to you is… fiction?"
Paige huffed, amused at his unrelenting skepticism.
"They're good people, Walter. We've been talking for months. They're just friends who love the show, and the stories, as much as I do."
He shifted, clearly unconvinced.
"I don't like this. I mean, they're complete strangers, using, I presume, pseudonyms on an online forum! They could be anybody!"
"They're my friends, Walter. They're other writers. This is definitely not the dark web weirdos you meet online."
"Right. Writers… Who write something called fanfiction with… scenes… that would get one's device flagged for any number of federal watch lists. They could be dangerous, Paige." His face was getting red, and he was fidgeting, as if he was the one with a guilty pleasure here.
"They're just friends. They're writers. Writing watch list worthy scenes is sort of what we do. Can't be all fluff and rainbows all the time. I told you, torturing your characters… It's fun." Paige was trying hard not to laugh, especially watching Walter squirm.
He scoffed, but the blush was creeping up his neck.
"And you're sure they're safe? I mean, these people who… who write… intimate things. What if they are sexual predators?"
Paige grinned slyly.
"Am I a sexual predator?"
"Well, no. But yours aren't like… that."
She raised an eyebrow, her smirk widening.
"Have you… read my stories?"
He looked away, cheeks flaming.
"I… may have… read a few sentences. Accidentally. You were always typing. It was for research."
"Research?" Paige crossed her arms, laughing. "And, uh, what exactly did you read? Sorry, research?"
"Nothing important!" Walter said quickly, clearing his throat, but her face said she wasn't letting up. "Just that one scene… where the characters… um… have an 'intellectual discussion.' Very… in-depth."
Paige burst out laughing.
"Walter, that was not an intellectual discussion. That was a hot and dirty, very dirty in fact, sex scene! That's what you read?! Wow, Walter, I am learning a whole new side of you."
He choked on air, running a hand over his face.
"I thought it was… metaphorical!"
"Sure you did." She patted his shoulder, amused. "I just hope I can reap the benefits of you researching." He coughed at the suggestion, remembering just how detailed she had been in her writing.
"You have great… literary skills. I was trying to be supportive. Though, I didn't know you were writing fanfiction when I read it."
"Well, thank you." They exchanged a sweet smile before Paige clasped her hands to change the subject back on track. "So, anyway, they're flying in, one, Sara, from Australia and one from New York, Katrina. We're meeting at the history museum. You know, because the show is set in one. Sara is even bringing us matching tshirts that have the show's museum logo on them!"
Walter frowned, a new worry taking root.
"Flying across the world… for a fan meet-up? That's… extreme. I'll need to run background checks--"
"Absolutely not!" Paige cut him off, glaring. "You're not hacking their accounts. These are people, Walter. Friends. They're harmless."
Walter looked doubtful.
"But what if they're undercover agents? Or scammers trying to brainwash you with fanfiction?"
Paige laughed.
"You really think a scammer would put that much effort into writing three-hundred chapters about a fictional character's slow burn friendship to lovers will they won't they romance?"
Walter narrowed his eyes.
"Anything is possible. Wait. Three hundred chapters?" She shrugged with a smirk, and he just shook his head at the absurdity of it all. "I could… at least run a quick IP check to verify their identities--"
"No!" Paige gave him a playful shove. "I'm serious, you can come with me, but that's it. No hacking, no background checks. Just… be normal. For once. Please, for me. This is something special for me, Walter. Please don't ruin it for me."
He grumbled, reluctantly agreeing.
"Okay. For you, I will do anything. Including submerge myself into the bizarre world of fanfiction."
When they arrived at the museum, Paige's friends were easy to spot, with one waving enthusiastically with an Aussie accent, and the other holding a notebook covered in doodles of their favorite characters. Both adorned with their Relic Museum shirts, holding out a bag he presumed was a shirt for her. Paige immediately lit up in excitement, hugging them like they were old friends. She was laughing, talking about plot twists and tropes, and Walter found himself… oddly enjoying it. He'd never seen Paige this animated outside of the garage, and it was kind of amazing.
They made their way through each of the exhibits, with Paige and her friends stopping every two minutes to compare the ancient artifacts to things from their favorite show, finding references he tried and failed to understand in each thing they saw. Walter walked a few steps behind, watching her laugh and light up in a way that made him feel proud. She was in her element, talking about characters and story arcs with a passion he rarely got to see. He knew he had been wrong to question this part of her. She was truly joyous. He didn't understand the passion for something as silly as a television show that was canceled after only four seasons, that frustrated her to no end with its awful storylines toward the end, but, for now, he didn't need to understand it. He was simply going to enjoy her enjoying it.
At one point, her Aussie friend leaned over and whispered to him.
"You know, Walter, you're a bit of a legend in the fanfiction circles."
Walter blinked, caught off guard.
"A… legend?"
"Oh, yeah." She laughed. "Paige's fanfics are all inspired by you, your wild adventures, your unconventional, but sweet love story. Everyone's always saying they wish they had a 'real-life Walter.'" She winked. "You know, someone who's always a bit awkward but can't help being brilliant and… well, devoted. You remind us of James, the main character of Relic. Not hard to see why Paige loves the show so much."
He flushed, his mind whirling.
"She… tells people about me?"
"Of course." Paige's other friend chimed in. "You're the inspiration for, like, half her stories. We all wondered if you knew."
Walter made a mental note to ask Paige exactly how much 'inspiration' she'd shared with the internet about him, and made a secondary note to read all of her stories. For a moment, he considered pulling out his phone to see if he could discreetly trace the IP addresses of her friends. But then Paige caught his eye, giving him a warning look.
"Walter." She mouthed, as if reading his mind.
He sighed, slipping his phone back into his pocket.
"I wasn't going to do anything…" He muttered.
The rest of the day was… fun. To his surprise, he actually found himself enjoying Paige's excitement, her animated explanations of scenes and tropes, even the odd storylines her friends shared. It was a side of her he'd never seen before, and by the end of the day, he was smiling without even realizing it.
As they were leaving, Paige looked at him, eyes sparkling.
"See? No axe murderers. No scammers. Just people who love stories."
Walter smiled, finally relaxing.
"Maybe I'll ease up about you meeting more online friends… as long as you don't write any 'intellectual discussions' inspired by me."
Paige laughed, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. "No promises, genius."
"It was nice to see you so happy today, Paige. I will do better going forward at trying to respect your interests even if I don't understand them. This, writing fanfiction, clearly brings you joy. I'm sorry if I was rude before about it, or about your friends. They really are very interesting people."
"Well, thank you, sweetie. That's very nice of you."
"How about we go home, and we can watch your show? I'll give an honest effort into seeing it for what it is rather than the inaccuracies."
"You want to watch The Relic Code?" She said, baffled.
"Well, I assume that with fanfiction, you need to know the show in order to understand the written stories, yes?"
"Um, well, uh yes. Why?"
"So I can read all of your stories. I already created an account on your story site, and I have favorited you as an author, so I can keep up with your postings."
"Walter, that's really sweet, but you don't have to do that. I don't expect you to take on my interests."
"I know that. I do. But. You go out of your way to take some interest in my hobbies. The least I can do is celebrate your talents as a writer. I, must admit, I am anxious to leave a review."
"You know, Walt. I bet if we were characters in a show that ended badly after four seasons, there would be a whole slew of stories written about us."
"You think so?"
"Definitely. Our love story is too good to be wasted with a bad storyline. We'd live on forever in fanfiction land."
"Well, if that were the case, then there would likely be people that would bond over those stories just like you and your friend."
"I love that idea, and perhaps they'd have a fun day where they'd be able to meet finally and spend time with friends that don't judge them for this peculiar hobby. I bet they'd have the best week together. Get some IHOP, too.
"IHOP?"
"Well one of them is bound to be from another country and has likely never been to an IHOP…"
"Right. That's logical." It was not. "Wait, did you say week?!"
"Well, one day would simply not be enough."