Work Text:
They’ve been hanging around between takes for a while now. There’s some technical problem with the sound equipment, but everyone keeps assuring them they’ll get back to work soon so they’ve been warned not to go too far.
Joss was the smart one. He’d settled in a folding chair almost immediately and pulled out a book. He’s dozing now, the book laid open over his face to block out the light. Gawin probably would’ve done the same if he’d known how long they’d be cooling their heels. Instead, he’s been pacing the set and running through lines so he doesn’t stray too far from character. They’re in the middle of a tense emotional scene after all.
But now it’s been half an hour at least and Joss is asleep and Gawin is distracted by the fact that the music Joss put on has stopped playing. He hadn’t realized how much it was helping to keep him calm until it stopped.
“Just go restart it,” one of the production assistants tells him. They point to where Joss’s phone is face-up next to the bluetooth speaker. “And drink some water.” They wag their finger at him.
Gawin takes the proffered water bottle and walks quietly over to Joss. He doesn’t want to disturb his sleep, but luckily the phone is already unlocked. Gawin should just press play on the same playlist, but he’s kind of curious to see what else Joss has in his music library. He’d been surprised by the soft classical music Joss put on earlier; normally when they share music, it’s rock-related.
He swipes through Joss’s playlists, sipping slowly on the cool water. He feels a little better for the distraction. Joss’s music collection isn’t all that different from his own, maybe a little more mainstream, but—
Gawin suddenly stops on one labeled with just one word: Beautiful.
The cover shows his own face.
There’s a strange tingle in his fingertips when Gawin clicks on the playlist. He scrolls down through the track listing and then slowly back up again. His heart is pounding as he rechecks the title and then glances over at Joss, still asleep beneath the cover of his book.
The playlist contains every track Gawin has ever recorded, even some of the more obscure ones that don’t get a lot of plays because most people don’t even realize they exist. Gawin can see from the dates added that Joss must search regularly for more — or else he follows Gawin closely enough to know when something new gets uploaded. So it’s not just some performative gesture to get familiar with Gawin before working with him. Probably.
Beautiful.
A cheer goes up from the other side of the set, and Gawin scrambles to put Joss’s phone back on the table. Joss stretches with a little groan before pulling the book off his face. By the time he sits up to see what’s going on, Gawin has already moved to intercept the grinning production assistant trotting over to tell him they’ve fixed the faulty sound equipment.
“Guess they’re ready for us again,” Gawin returns to tell Joss. He has to force himself to meet Joss’s eyes, to not look away when he offers him a hand up from his chair.
Joss rolls his neck back and forth before accepting the help.
“Good nap?” Gawin asks, arching his eyebrow in a desperate attempt to recover some equanimity.
“I won’t complain,” Joss says with a smile. He slings his arm around Gawin’s shoulders as they walk toward the cameras. “You should join me next time.”
Gawin feels the back of his neck go hot, but he nods and elbows Joss lightly in the ribs. It’s enough that Joss grunts good-naturedly and lets him go.
“Can’t have both of us sleeping on the job,” Gawin jokes.
Joss opens his mouth to reply when the director interrupts.
“Come on, love birds! Daylight’s wasting.”
The flush takes over Gawin’s whole face this time. He moves over to his mark and stands there chugging his water as an assistant adjusts his hair and clothes. Joss takes up his own place just in front of him, but he’s already chatting with the director about the next take and Gawin is given the reprieve to get his racing feelings under control.
It doesn’t really happen by the time they’re rolling, but afterwards the director says it was his best take yet. He apparently looked really shaken by Joss.
Too late, Gawin vows to himself to stay out of other people’s phones.