A Chance Encounter (Chris Hemsworth X OMC)

Filming

When they returned to the house, they quietly showered and then lay down. Chris pulled Wyatt close to him and stroked his hair. He lay awake for a while, hopeful that Wyatt would say something. He could tell that Wyatt was pretending to be asleep.

"Wyatt," Chris whispered as he kissed his shoulder. "I'm trying. I promise, I'm trying."

Unable to maintain his facade any longer, Wyatt rolled over so he could face Chris in the dark. "I am too."

Chris touched his face, stroking his cheek. "Please don't give up on me, okay?"

Wyatt didn't sleep much that night. Despite feeling so drained, his mind wouldn't permit him to rest. He frequently found himself lingering somewhere between wake and sleep, conscious of every deep breath Chris took as he slept beside him. Finally, just before dawn, he crept out of bed to find Craig awake and brewing coffee in the kitchen.

"Couldn't sleep?" The patriarch asked as he offered a mug to Wyatt.

"Just excited, I guess," Wyatt said as he accepted the coffee. It wasn't, he told himself, entirely a lie. He was excited to start filming. Even though the subject matter hit a little close to home, he felt excited to tell the story; it was one that needed telling.

"I guess Chris is still asleep," Craig said.

"Yeah, he's sleeping pretty heavy."

Craig smiled. "He usually does. I'm glad it's just the two of us right now. I wanted to ask you how you feel about last night? I know the two of you have this arrangement but I also know it can't be easy having to hide things and create distance to keep the lie alive."

I cannot talk about this anymore, Wyatt thought as he put on an easygoing and carefree face to hide his inner turmoil. "It's okay. Things have a way of working out."

"His friends are going to be here in a little while. Aaron and Zocchi always go with him when he's filming. Three Stooges, I call them," he said with a playful smile.

Wyatt found that he was actually looking forward to the diversion of Chris's friends. He knew they would have to talk more but, after last night, he felt raw and exposed and vulnerable in a way that scared him. He'd never told anyone about what had happened to him before. He felt foolish too. Foolish for pushing Chris about coming out to more people. In the light of day the temptation to look for reasons why he was wrong about it was far too great.

The rest of the house was just waking when Chris's friends arrived. When they walked in, Wyatt made himself scarce, staying near Miley and keeping himself far removed from the conversation. The show had to go on.

"There's the guy," Zocchi said, and Wyatt was briefly confused because he thought he was talking to Chris. Instead, the guy slapped Wyatt's shoulder. "Not hungover today, I see?"

"I don't get hangovers actually," Wyatt said.

"You just haven't had a night out with us yet," Zocchi said. "We'll all have to go out some night, won't we Chris?"

"Yeah, that could be fun," Chris said. He against the kitchen counter and watched Wyatt covertly, all the while wishing he could take him aside and talk to him some more. The way Wyatt seemed so distant made him worry.

And you've no one to blame but yourself, you asshole.

Chris didn't want them to go their separate ways without knowing they had repaired things. But time wasn't on his side and soon Chris and his friends had to be off.

Wyatt evoked all of his acting prowess when he said goodbye to all of them as if he and Chris were nothing. Then, because it was time for him to go as well, he told Craig, Leonie, Liam and Miley goodbye and was off.