The Other Side (A Sebastian Stan Fanfiction Story)

That Side - Leap of Faith

A/N: Okay...so I decided I'm going to be updating this in pairs, you probably have noticed by now that This Side is Charlie and That Side is Sebastian. I'm considering combining their POVs down the line, but it will all depend on how these characters lead me to where they want to go. I hope you'll be patient with me.

If you're still reading...share, comment and VOTE to keep this fella smiling >> :)

***

Sebastian immediately regretted hitting the send button, realizing what a dumb idea it was to just ask an amateur writer about her inspiration. He was an actor for crying out loud, dealing with scripts of various complexities and plot lines on a regular basis and he was asking a freaking fan fiction writer what inspired her to write a fictionalized version of himself?

He let out a huge whoosh of breath and toyed with his phone, contemplating whether to go out for drinks or dinner; he was too cooped up in his apartment and needed a different scenery right away. Scrolling through his contacts, he tapped on a duckface version of James Wolk, his on-screen brother from Political Animals, remembering he was in New York for a few days.

"Hello twin brother! Still in NYC?"

"Dumpling! Yes, I'm still very much in New York. 

So...are you finally buying me booze?"

The two former co-stars exchanged a few more lighthearted jabs and decided to meet in an out of the way bar close to James' hotel in half an hour. It didn't take long for Sebastian to get ready, he was out of the house in ten minutes.

Despite living in The Big Apple for almost a third of his life, walking around its busy streets never got old for him. Something about people rushing about nearly 24/7 calmed him and he mentally patted himself on the back for deciding to come out and meet with a friend.

James was already seated at the bar when he arrived, two drinks sitting in front of him. Sebastian smiled as he approached him. The on-screen twin brothers hugged it out and Seb took the empty barstool beside James and eyed the two bottles of Corona standing in front of them.

"Ah ah, before you assume anything, Sebastian, I made it clear over the phone you ARE paying for drinks, I'm a guest of the city," James jabbed a finger to Sebastian's chest. This made both men chuckle.

"Oh so you do plan on getting drunk tonight? Well, well, what does the lovely Jae think of this? Does she know we're meeting?" Sebastian responded as he cocked an eyebrow at the male brunette beside him.

"Um, Jae and I are kind of in a rough patch right now," James replied. He turned to face the bar display and rested his elbows on the counter.

Sebastian turned to his side to get a full view of his friend. "What the fuck, James? What the hell did you do this time?"

"Can you keep a secret, Seb?"

Sebastian nodded vigorously. James took a deep breath before he spoke in a low hush.

"Jae's been stealing from me for about a year now, and just yesterday I caught her in bed with another..." he trailed off, muttering some choice curse words softly under his breath. "...woman."

"Fuck," Seb responded as softly as James did. "That IS rough. Where is little Charlie staying?"

The two friends stayed at the bar for about an hour more until Seb decided they needed to continue their conversation in private, seeing as how James had been thoroughly affected with his marital issues. He didn't want anyone eavesdropping on such a sensitive matter and getting it leaked out in the press.

"Are you taking me back to my hotel room Sebby?" James slurred as he tried to keep in step with Sebastian, whose arms are on his shoulder.

"Nope, you're crashing in my place tonight little brother, you can't be this inebriated to spend the night alone."

It was safe to say Sebastian didn't get much sleep that night. He let James sleep in his bed, opting to lie on the couch so that his friend could at least sleep soundly. After making sure he's comfortable enough, he padded quietly to the living room and took his laptop with him.

He was greeted by several notifications from the fan fiction site; one was for a private message, and the other for an update on the story he was reading. Sebastian's hands began trembling lightly as he clicked on the red number 1 to open the message.

Not sure if it was because of the alcohol in his system, but Sebastian immediately found himself blushing as Charlie referred to him as Sexy Seabass. It was one of his favorite nicknames Anthony Mackie had coined for him, though he won't admit it out loud to give him the satisfaction. Despite hearing it from so many female fans in person, having someone call him that without seeing her facial expression seemed to excite him. Without another moment's hesitation, he typed up a response to her.

"Warning: parts of this response may be influenced by alcohol..."

Sebastian felt a little more confident sending a response this time around, again, it may be due to the alcohol or not, but he found Charlie's openness quite inviting. Her writing style scored her brownie points in his book for sure. She had a clear grasp of who her characters are, and she made sure that their intentions came across clearly and without hesitation.

And she made it pretty clear how attracted she was to him. Seven years and four Marvel films later, he still couldn't quite grasp the female fascination towards him. Some have been downright creepy but he was still able to defuse awkward situations during meet and greets. He just wished Charlie wasn't like the others.

Did I just think about meeting up with a total stranger from a stupid fan fiction site? Sebastian thought to himself. He chugged the remaining contents of the water bottle beside him and let out a muffled laugh.

He should have been feeling silly about the whole thing, but his gut kept telling him to ride it out and stay open minded and not judge. If he was really jumping on this rollercoaster, then he was strapping in tight and letting himself go.