BEYOND THE CAMERA (Alien Stage)

Ivan's army of clownfish

Ivan has been consistently working hours on end, back to back photoshoots, fan meetings, interviews, and filming took a toll on his health but he kept shouldering on.

He could see Till everyday if he worked everyday, no matter if it's just a few minutes to a few seconds. Just a glimpse of him makes him feel energized, more than his daily dose of caffeine to be alert at work.

So imagine how he felt as the group chat kept spamming him to rest for at least three days to let his body relax as it should after months of overworking himself. Sure, he hasn't seen any damage yet, externally, but he didn't need a doctor to know that he messed up his circadian rhythm.

At first he opted to ignore it, his schedule was tight but that didn't mean his company wouldn't let him have a day off. It's him that doesn't allow himself to rest, his own self was the reason for his self destruction and he was fine that way.

But with how nicely, even if through text, Till is asking…Who was he to deny him? Ivan would rather die than make Till upset just because of his horrible health habits. Although he's the one who takes care of everyone else, he somehow ends up not taking care of himself. Of course, he still gets hours of sleep but with how long his working hours are, he can see why the others are worried.

With that, Ivan agreed to rest for at least three days. Then, the conversation of what he does on his break gets brought up. Sleeping for a whole day was the most optimal but he'd end up feeling worthless and useless because of that. So he opted to visit his aquarium.

Yes.

Ivan has an aquarium. No one knew about it because Ivan has never brought it up, he never found a reason why. He also wanted Till to be one of the first of his friends to see it, maybe that's why he kept it a secret.

Another secret he kept is that he has an army of clownfish. That half of his aquarium is full of clownfish. Clownfish that were trained to form words to the liking of Ivan because he spends more time with his fish rather than his actual human friends that talk and walk. Not gulp and flop all day. Ivan continues to read for them anyway, imagining it was someone else he was reading it to.

The fish seemed to like his voice, no matter how monotonous and flat he sounded. He wishes someone else enjoys his voice too, he wishes to get those compliments of how soothing his voice sounds. How his partner could fall asleep to the sound of him.

Unfortunately he can't have that. Not yet, but he believes he won't ever. Why would someone even try to court someone who couldn't express their feelings well? They'd spend more time fixing him than being loved by him, he wanted his partner to be content and happy. Even if that meant he himself is only content.

That's ultimately why he prefers text since he can freely say whatever he wants.

Though Ivan may have gotten carried away this time, boldly asking Till to come with him to his aquarium to see the fish. He should have thought it through, has he gone insane? Mental, even? Maybe the lack of sleep is getting to him, he had just drunk something sweet so maybe the sudden change of drinks made his mind of habit flare.

Till agreed to it.

Till actually agreed to it.
No matter how absurd it sounded,Till agreed to go with Ivan to his aquarium. On a rest day.

He's gone delusional, maybe he saw it wrong. He read the text again, it still hasn't disappeared, it just stayed there.

Shit.

Was this a date? No!! WHAT?! Ivan, you're getting ahead of yourself. This isn't a date, it's just a hang out. A normal hang out between two close friends. It's normal to show friends your army of fish right? Surely…