Chapter Text
“Ah damn.” Colt’s ears perked up as he overheard one of the lighting guys. He was in between scenes right now and he had another two hours of sitting on set before they’d actually need him for the day. So he did what came naturally to him, snoop.
“What?” The other guy asked, not looking up from the lights he was tweaking
“You know that one PA?”
“There’s a lot of them on set.” The other man rolled his eyes
“The one that hardly talks to anyone, and if she does she covers her mouth with that stupid clipboard she has?”
“Oh that frigid bitch.” His friend laughed. Colt raised an eyebrow. He knew the production assistant that they were talking about. He’d never had a problem with her in the past, and honestly she was probably the nicest member to him. She’d always make sure that he had enough time in between scenes to run to the craft table when he needed some coffee.
“Yeah, her. So I got her for the stupid secret santa. Wanna trade?”
“Hell no. You think I want that bitch who sucked a cock to get her job?”
“Well I don’t want her either, and no one else in lighting fucking wants her.”
“Did you ask the prop department? Someone in there might be desperate enough…”
“I’ll take her.” Colt, who up until then had been silently listening made a couple strides across the way, “I’ll take her for the gift exchange or… whatever.”
“Okay.” The first guy looked him up and down, “Who are you anyway?”
“I’m the stunt guy.” Colt nodded
“Fine. Here. Give me your sheet.” The guy held his hand out
“What sheet?”
“The secret santa sheet.” He rolled his eyes, “Did you even sign up?’
“Yeah. It’s just… in my car.” Colt slid away for a second and pulled a sheet of paper out of a script someone left around. He copied the general format, and wrote down a bullshit name. He strided back in and handed it off to the guy, “There.”
“Thanks.” He looked over it for a second before a runner came and started screaming about how the director needed everyone in lighting over at the other lot. Colt took a look at the sheet that he had tucked in his pocket so as not to get the two confused. He frowned a little bit as he saw how little she wrote. A woman of few words, he guessed. If he was going to get her something she’d like as a thank you for all the coffee breaks on set, he’d have to continue snooping. He looked down at his watch and hurried to the set where his next scene was. She was probably setting up there.
---
Sure enough, he found her pointing directions out to other members of the crew. He could hardly hear her and he was only about 10 feet away. Maybe his eardrums were just shot to hell being next to explosions? He shook his head and walked over to her. He gave her a quick nod. Without missing a beat she quietly said,
“You’re early. You’re never on set early.”
“Yeah. But I’m on time.”
“Last time you were two minutes late.” She looks down at her phone. He sees the music banner on her screen and asked,
“What are you listening to?” He was fishing, but maybe that would give him some ideas about what to get her
“Nothing.” She looked at him, a bit confused. “I was listening to something on my commute.”
“Oh yeah?” He leaned against a cart, only for it to move out from under him. He tipped over slightly before catching his balance and giving her a thumbs up. “That could’ve been bad.”
“Don’t get injured.” She replied. That was nice of her. “Our insurance won’t cover it.”
“Ouch.” He laughed, “I mean you’re probably right.”
“Not probably. I am right.” She sighed, “I appreciate your company, but I really need to finish setting up for the scene… Mark will be mad if I don’t.”
“First name basis with the director?’
She sighed again, even more exhausted, “Listen if those… guys from VFX sent you to spy on me. I swear I’ve never done anything immoral to keep my job… I just come to set, do my job and go home.”
“No that’s not why I’m here…” He tried to explain, but how could he without giving away that he was trying to get her something? “I’ll just… sit over there.”
“Thank you.” Her shoulders loosened up as he sat quietly in the corner of the studio. Other members of the crew filtered in, then the actors paraded in. She started talking with the star about some rewrites the writers had come up with and guided them through it. He crept closer to listen in, given that it might change his performance too. She raised an eyebrow as she saw him move into her line of sight, but decided to not do anything about it until one of the actors piped up about the intrusion. Surprisingly, no one said anything and they got to work filming. The director guided both Colt and the man he was doubling for on how to perform the stunt correctly, the angle and distance the camera would be to ensure no one saw the switch between the two. Colt nodded along as if he were paying attention and his eyes darted back to the PA. She looked to be underlining the script with due diligence.
“And action!”
Colt watched the scene until it was his time to step in. It was a basic fight scene with a fall, easy enough. He landed on the mat perfectly and rested on it for a moment, waiting for his back to crack as he pushed into the plush pad. When he got up he walked back over to behind the camera, seeing her with her teeth pressed down into her lips.
“You okay?” He asked her
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You want some coffee?” He asked in a way that wasn’t really a suggestion. She nodded and he guided her outside the studio. When she knew no one was looking at her she started to sob. Something in Colt’s heart broke seeing her completely shatter that he took her into his arms and held her. She seemed a bit confused by the gesture but wrapped her arms around his and cried. After a couple heaves and a tear stained shirt, he asked, “You want to talk about it?”
“I… sorry this shoot’s been a lot. Doesn’t help that Mark is fucking asshole.”
“Yeah.” He never noticed it, but the director was kind of a raging asshole when he thought about it. “The shoot’s done for the day, right?”
“Yeah.” She sighed, trying to regain her composure
“Why don’t I take you home?’
“Okay,” she said with a little grin. It wasn’t a date, per say. Colt considered it a mission to find out more about her when no one else on set seemed to care. He just knew when he saw something in her house it would click like that.
---
At the Christmas party, Colt was eager to give her her present. He’d grown to really like her and he noticed her more on set. There was some kind of change in her that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. People talked behind her back still, but it was less about her being cold and her being ‘bossy’. Colt shrugged it all off because at the end of the day it really didn’t matter to him. His head kept turning instinctively towards the door every time someone came in, but she was nowhere to be seen. He almost decided to go home when he saw her walk in. Her hair was styled, but the curls were mostly deflated as she played with the ends at her shoulder. He waved at her and she caught his gaze, practically running over to him.
“Hi! So sorry I’m late,” she started to apologize to him, “I know I said I’d be on time…”
“It’s okay.” He smiled
“I just had to make sure my boyfriend, Nick… well he texted me that he had a flat tire…” She explained. Colt’s smile faded. He tried to pretend to be happy for her sake, but he hid the box behind his back.
“Is he okay?” He asked. It was polite, if a bit disinterested
“Yeah, he’s fine. He’s parking my car now.” She replied, looking over her shoulder
“That’s good. Glad you’re alright.”
“Thanks.” She smiled back at him. “Oh there he is.”
“I should let you go then…” He hesitated
“No, you two should meet, I think you’d really like him!” She pulled him over. “Hey hon.”
“There you are.” The other man pressed his lips onto her cheek once, then again on the other side. She hugged him tightly. It wasn’t personal, but Colt couldn’t help but see it as a reminder that she wasn’t his. From the looks of it, she’d never be his. After she pulled out of his reach, she turned to face Colt. She gestured towards her friend on set,
“Hon, this is Colt.”
“Nice to meet you.” Her boyfriend smiled back at him. He looked like he was in another world… Colt really couldn’t blame him. He held his hand out and Colt shook it loosely
“You as well,” He replied. He didn’t have much else to say to her boyfriend but he tried his best to keep a conversation going between the two of them while she went to grab a drink. She managed to find the person on the crew who she was Santa for and gave her her gift. They shared a quick hug and she came back to the two.
“I guess I should tell you, I was your Santa.” Colt rubbed at the back of his neck with his free hand
“Oh!” She smiled, “Thank you. I’m sure whatever you got me is nice. You don’t have to give it to me right now if you don’t want to.”
“Yeah, I seemed to misplace it…” He acted like he dropped it when he went to get a drink, but really he left it on the table everyone had discarded their presents on. “I was just gonna head out then. I’m all partied out.”
“Oh. Okay.” She nodded, “I get that… Let me see if I can find my present before you go though. I’ll just hold onto it.”
“Okay.” He smiled at her as she went to find his present. Sure enough, she found the little box and she brought it back with her
“I can’t wait to open it later.” She smiled as she held it between the palms of her hands
“Yeah, I hope you like it.” His words seemed to deflate as they left his lips. He turned around and left the party. He sat in his truck for a moment before riding home alone.
---
The next day that they needed him on set, production had promised it would be his last. He came in with thoughts running through his head. Would she be mad at him? Would she scream ‘how could you give me this’? He wasn’t sure how she’d react. Maybe he didn’t really know her enough to have wanted to ask her for a kiss. He walked into the studio and it felt like nothing had changed. He followed her directions, the scene was shot and it was time to go home. Before he could though, he felt a tug on his shirt sleeve from behind him.
“Hey.” She said
“Hi.” He replied
“I…”
“Listen. I’m sorry about my gift. I just thought that we were getting really close. And I was gonna ask you that night for a kiss.”
“I’m sorry.” She bit her lip, “We’d just gotten together a couple days before the party.”
“Oh.” His heart broke even more. “He seemed really nice though. I hope you’re happy.”
“I am now.” She nodded, “I… don’t think I would have been able to talk to him if we hadn’t met.”
“Oh.”
“That’s to say… I feel like I owe you something.”
“Whatever it is, let’s just call it even,” he took her hand off of him
“No I mean… Colt.”
“Yeah?”
“Maybe… maybe it could have worked out.” She said after a moment of silence lingered in between them. She leaned in and pressed her lips onto his. He pulled away from her and looked at her. He had to walk away otherwise he’d never be able to live with the feeling in his chest of tearing her away from her happy ending. He dryly laughed and said,
“Well at least we weren’t under the mistleto…” She pulled the gift box from out of her pocket and held it out for him to see. He turned his back on her and walked away. She didn’t try to chase after him. Maybe they were better off this way after all.