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After being granted a 15-minute break from the director ("thank you 15"), William scurries to the back corner of the room where the cast’s belongings are stored and retrieves his laptop from his bag. He pulls up his Google Calendar only for the chaotic mess of numerous colorful squares to glower back at him with their sheer numbers and saturated hues. He had memorized his schedule, of course, even with a manager whose job was to keep him on schedule, but he had to rearrange some tasks and commitments around to accommodate the tech-week schedule for the upcoming musical he was currently at rehearsal for.
"Holy shit, Will. What IS that." James Bonde plops down on the floor next to William and looks over the latter's shoulder in utter disbelief about how one could have such a jam-packed calendar, fulfill all scheduled commitments, and still be standing.
William's immediate response is just to sigh.
"I know, I know, you've told me numerous times that I 'take on too much'..." This only elicits a raised eyebrow that silently says "ya think?" from the shorter blonde, "but I've got it all under wraps. That's what the calendar's for after all."
"I'm not worried about your time management skills, Will. I'm worried about you ."
"It'll be fine, I swear. After this is all over, I have the 2 weeks leading up to New Year's off."
"I wouldn't put it past you to end up with more blocks on your schedule, you know,” James sighs himself and takes a swig from his water bottle, using his other hand to wipe the sweat from his brow.
“Good job on the choreo, by the way. It looks incredible from the audience with the whole ensemble joining in during the final chorus.” William wasn’t involved in most of the song numbers they were running today, so he chose to sit on the director’s side of the room and watch his fellow cast members rehearse.
James laughs grimly. “Shouldn’t we have established all this at the first sitzprobe? Isn’t that the point of having a sitz at all???” The goal of today’s rehearsal was perfect all the big dance numbers and action scenes in the show, and poor James kept running his big solo number over and over again because the director had the orchestra keep trying different tempos.
William chuckles as he drags a “vocal practice” time block on his calendar a day back, “I forgot that you haven’t worked with him before. He’s notorious for having every minute detail fit his vision perfectly.”
“Well my vision thinks this is bullshit,” James comments as he leans closer to William and squints at the laptop screen.
“Dude…‘Dinner’? ‘Shower’? No wonder your calendar looks insane—you schedule out every mundane single task of your day!”
William cocks his head to the side in genuine confusion, “You…don’t?”
James bursts out laughing, clutching his stomach, “No!!!!! I only add important commitments! Of course you would add ‘sleep’ to your Google Calendar!”
William realizes that James is teasing him and becomes embarrassed. “Nothing wrong with staying organized…”
Seeing that James’ laughter is not going to stop any time soon, William just frowns. He looks over to the far corner of the room, where an actor with his hair up in a messy ponytail is having a discussion with the stage manager, seemingly about his props.
The actor turns halfway, now giving William a view of his side profile. The handsome…no. The talented actor spins one of the prop guns in his hand, strikes a simple aiming pose, and puts it down on the props table, choosing to try a smaller prop gun next.
“The first pistol doesn’t suit him. The smaller looks more agile, especially considering the energetic character he’s playing,” William comments in his head, unaware of, to an outsider, how shamelessly he seems to be ogling the raven-haired actor.
He is so entrapped in his thoughts about a certain famed stage actor that he doesn't realize James stopped laughing and is now more carefully reading through his calendar, “Wait a second…‘Date with Sherlock’?????”
William immediately feels his ears heat up and immediately shuts his laptop closed.
“Do Not. Tell. Anyone. In the cast.” His words are muffled from burying his face in his arms out of pure embarrassment.
James is laughing again, having the time of his life, and slaps the fellow blonde on the back.
“Your secret is safe with me, Will! My lips are sealed!” He zips the imaginary zipper on his lips.
“I have the dreaded feeling that I can’t count on you for that…” Will tucks his laptop away into his bag and pulls his knees close to his chest.
“I feel like we all had the inkling about you two anyway.”
“That is not encouraging in the slightest, Bonde.”
James suddenly jumps up and starts dramatically gesturing as he speaks, “Two overgrown theater kids fall in love. Oh, ‘What is this feeling? So sudden and new?’ (his hands are clutched over his heart) What will happen? ‘Maybe this time, for the first time, love won’t hurry away’? (he places the back of his hand on his forehead and fake swoons)”
William wants to curl up into a hole and die. James Bonde is not using Broadway songs to tease him about his first romantic relationship at age 24 right now. William James Moriarty is gone from this mortal plane. One of the swings can take his role. That Bill Hunting appeared quite promising.
“Woah woah. Having fun without me? Messed up,” says a new voice as it enters their vicinity, saving William from James’ soon to be dramatic rendition of “She’s In Love”.
“Hey, Sherlock. I was just bullying Will for micromanaging his own life,” Bonde’s grin shows that he’s not telling the full truth, but Sherlock chooses not to comment on it.
“Well, if I was as busy as him, I’d have trouble finding time to even use the loo.”
William too stands up to meet Sherlock at eye level and huffs at him, his exasperation now replacing his previous embarrassment, “You are as busy as I am, Sherly. Perhaps you should reference a page from my book and organize your time properly. You give poor Ms. Hudson a heart attack every time you fail to show up to your commitments on time.”
“Heh. Guilty.”
The man’s expression displays anything but guilt and William can’t help but sigh fondly (he’s praying the sigh reads as “disappointment” to James and not “fondness”.
“Well, I’ll leave you guys to it then. I need to grab another sports drink from the vending machine before we’re called to run some Act 2 stuff,” James claps them both on the back before he walks off, and William hopes that Sherlock didn’t catch the cheeky wink James throws at him right before he fully turns away.
“Hey, grab me one too while you’re at it?” Sherlock calls out to Bonde’s shrinking figure and receives a “In your dreams, Holmes!” in response.
“Sheesh, can’t even spare £3? I’d pay him back anyway…”
William smiles at the fellow actor, “I’m sure he’s just jesting. I would say the same and buy you the drink anyway.”
Sherlock leans against the wall and crosses his arms over his chest, “Well it’s different coming from you…when Bonde says it, it’s just plain mean.”
“Sherly, you’re a little too old to be playing the damsel in distress. Maybe next time, we’ll put on The Little Mermaid and cast you as Ariel.”
“Realistically, Liam, you have the range to be actually casted as Ariel.”
William looks to the ceiling and feigns to be earnestly thinking while tapping an index finger on his chin, “Hmm…I wonder who shall be my dashing prince charming then……”
He keeps “thinking” very intently as Sherlock wiggles his eyebrows at the blonde.
“Well clearly, you, Sherly, would be Sebastian.”
“??????? Se- Seb- Sebas- Sebastian???????” Sherlock sputters, sounding as hurt and offended as his acting abilities possibly could.
William laughs heartily, dropping the act, "Sherly, you don't have to be cast as my fictional Prince Charming on stage when you already sweep me off my feet everyday off-stage."
Suddenly, there seems to be steam coming out from the top of Sherlock's head and his quickly covers his face with both hands.
"AUUGGHHHHH LIAM YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THINGS LIKE THAT!!!!"
William laughs again, leaning on the wall next to Sherlock and bumping their shoulders together.
"I'm telling the truth though. The stage might be where actors like us are most radiant, but our own stories behind the curtain are just as important."
All William wants to do is pull Sherlock's hands away from his face so he can look at him properly, but that would look way too inappropriate and intimate for two "co-workers" in front of the entire cast and p-staff.
"I don't care who my 'love interest' on stage is, as long as after the set and props are stowed away, I'm standing right next to you."
Sherlock finally drops his hands to his sides and turns toward the blonde with a dopey smile, "Leave it to Liam Moriarty to spin an off handed joke into a romantic, heartfelt declaration."
"Well if James embarrassed me to hell and back, it was only appropriate I returned the favor to someone else."
"That's hardly fair. Guess I have to tell everyone about the time James nearly forgot his cue and made it a 'character choice' to run on stage last minute."
As most of the cast seems to have returned to the studio from their breaks, the director begins calling needed actors to the center stage.
Sherlock sighs and runs his hands through his bangs, “Looks like Director is gonna hold me hostage for the next hour running my fight scenes. And no sports drink from Bonde either.”
“I’ll be sure to watch and silently critique you intently then, Mr. Holmes.”
The Holmes in question scrunches his nose to make a face at William.
“Oh stop that. You’ll start looking like your brother if you wrinkle early.”
“HEY?????”
William apologises to Mycroft in his head for throwing him under the bus, but then again, the elder Holmes would appreciate any attempt at verbally thrashing the younger Holmes.
He grabs Sherlock's shoulders from behind to nudge him forward, “Come on, the sooner you get back to rehearsal, the sooner it’s over.”
Turning his head to look behind him, sparkling blue eyes meet red ones, “which means, the sooner our…‘plans’ together tomorrow?”
The faintest blush is sprinkled across William’s cheeks, which would be much brighter if he didn’t choose to once again feign ignorance.
“Plans? Together? Last I checked, my calendar is all booked for tomorrow.”
“LIAM!!!!!!”