![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
freakykatTitle: Five Ways Van and Jake Didn't Meet (And One They Did)
Author: Kat
Pairing: Van/Jake
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 2,307
Beta: Shannon, cause she is awesome.
Summary: *points to title*
Disclaimer: I don't know either Mr. Hansis or Mr. Silbermann. This is not true - to my knowledge. It is false. Fiction. Storytelling. Stop goggling yourselves.
Notes: This is for Ronnie (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sweetiejelly). You bring so much joy to the fandom that we wanted to give something back. Happy Birthday!
Five Ways Van and Jake Didn’t Meet (And One They Did)
1.
Jake takes a deep breath, readjusts the straps digging into his shoulder and pushes the door to his last class open. He hopes this goes better then the rest of his day. He hadn’t made much of an impression with his other professors.
That probably wasn’t a good thing.
He can hear his father’s voice asking him why he wanted to go to school so far from home.
Jake starts to wonder the same.
The class is almost completely full and he gives a sigh. That running like the hounds of hell were after him didn‘t really work out. He takes a seat at the front row, next to the exit just in case, and glances around.
He still doesn’t know why he chose to switch to theater. He loved music. No one changed their second year. His sister said it was the rush of acting.
He thinks that she might be on to something.
Jake is pretty sure it’s a bad idea all around, though.
He moves slightly when the seat next to his becomes occupied. He tries to fold his long limbs into himself, awkward and a little uncomfortable. He glances over to the next seat and freezes for a second. It’s enough of a pause to cause brownish-gold eyes to meet his and he feels his chest constrict a twinge.
He moves a little more and shrugs, apologizing. “Sorry. Stretch could take a lesson or two from me.”
There’s a big smile, gold twinkling and Jake blinks again. One hand sticks out and Jake takes it in his. It’s warm and dry.
“Hi. Van.”
Jake half smiles.
“Hi. Jake.”
2.
Van taps his fingers on the table top, rolling his eyes at the stage, and taking a long swig from his beer. He didn’t even know why he’d let Elena talk him into this. He was not a fan of Karaoke.
Elena gives him another grin and turns back to the stage. He listens to a horrible rendition of “We Will Rock You” and tries not to laugh at the ridiculous head banging happening.
He leans over and says loudly, “Where is the rest of our party? You promised me it wouldn’t just be us. I’m not singing with you, Elena.”
Elena takes her gaze away from the performance for just a moment and gives him a baleful look. “They’re coming. So don’t get your pants into a twist.”
Van raises an eyebrow and narrows his eyes. “I could just leave, you know that, right?”
She shakes her head and pleads with big round eyes. “Don’t leave. There’s someone I want you to meet. They‘ll be here any minute.”
And what he hates more then Karaoke is being set up.
He sighs and motions to the empty beer bottle. Elena shakes her head and Van makes for the bar. If he was going to get through the rest of the night, he needed to be good and drunk. He gets the bartender’s attention, raises his bottle and when he gets a nod, throws it in the trash behind the bar. It misses and makes a shattering noise.
Crap.
“Nice shot.”
He turns to look at the amused voice , meeting crystal blue eyes and a wide smile. It takes him a minute to recover before he leans against the edge of the bar and grins.
“Athleticism is not my forte. I’m more artistically inclined.”
“So, I should expect some grand performance onstage.”
Van snorts. “Not likely.”
Another large smile and Van feels the flush on his face but before he can answer, he sees Elena waving at him. Van wants to say something, anything that might keep them talking but someone else has the blue-eyed strangers attention so he walks back to his table.
He takes a seat while Elena makes the round of introductions. Billy waves at him and Van is relieved he at least knows someone else at the table. He tries to catch Elena’s attention. When she doesn’t make any further attempts to get him to know anyone at the table, he figures whoever she wanted him to meet hadn’t made it.
Thank god.
He nurses his beer and listens to Billy give his latest story about his band’s tour when he Elena grins in his direction. He feels someone pull out the chair next to his and closes his eyes for a second.
Damn.
He turns his head and stops short. Those same blue eyes and large smile greet him and Van grins back immediately.
“Van, this is Jake. He just joined my theater company. Jake, this is my best friend, Van.”
3.
Jake rubs at the tension at the back of his neck and flips over to the next resume. He normally enjoyed the audition process. Meeting actors, finding the right one for his characters, it was satisfying. He, however, hates when it takes so long that he starts to think no one would ever fit.
Ever.
He stares down at the next headshot and smiles at it. He recognizes the face almost immediately.
The door opens and his head snaps up.
Jesus. Fuck.
Headshots did him no justice.
He tries not to recognize that flurry in his stomach, the heat pooling at his center.
Jake remembers almost meeting him once. An audition he hadn’t been able to take and he regretted that for a long time. It would have been a hell of a character to play.
He glances down for a moment to regain his footing. Runs through the facts he already knows.
Well known in theater circles. Drama Desk Award a couple of years ago. Emmy Award for his groundbreaking role. Television series that hadn’t quite made it.
Married. Married. Married.
Jake sees the circle of silver on his finger and gives himself a mental slap.
Married to a guy Jake knew and respected.
He stands, offers his hand and refuses to acknowledge the spark that runs between them. Jake sees him stop for a fraction of a second to meet Jake’s eyes then pulls his hand away, smiling wide.
“It’s good to finally meet you, Van.”
Van's eyes sparkle and he nods in return.
“Same here, Jake.”
4.
Van’s eyes widen when he walks through the entrance and scans the huge warehouse size room. The room is divided between the two major houses with smaller areas dedicated to the smaller labels. His smile stretches wide and he makes his way to the Marvel section.
He pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket, reading the neatly printed Issue numbers. His brother had laughed at him for wanting to attend Comic Con but the one in Pittsburgh was supposed to be the best one next to San Diego.
Better if anyone asked him.
He finds a less crowded booth, scopes out the section he wants and starts working his way through the boxes under the table. Half an hour later and almost at the end of the back issues of the title, he has a small pile on the floor next to him. His brow furrows when someone kneels next to him but he doesn’t move.
His body reacts to the heat and scent - really fucking nice scent - that wraps around him. Van rolls his eyes and shakes his head. He really needs to get laid.
He hears a deep voice say suddenly. “Seriously, you think he is the best Batman? Val Kilmer?”
Van tries not to laugh because really. Come on. He had a preference for Christian Bale but even before Christian he’d have to say Michael Keaton was better than Val Kilmer.
“Michael Keaton.”
Van turns - because he wasn’t aware he was transmitting his thoughts out to the world - and when he does he takes in the profile next to him. He was probably tall when he wasn‘t kneeling, pretty eyelashes, nice hair…
Holy crap.
Very blue eyes.
And Jesus he really really needed to get laid.
For some reason that he doesn’t understand, he smiles and leans in to say. “Hey, I’d take Michael Keaton over Val Kilmer any day.”
Those eyes pin him in place and he catches the flash of a smile. He feels a warm hand on his shoulder and shivers a little inside.
“See, this guy right here has good taste.”
Van blushes, tries to pick up his loot and promptly slips, falling on his ass. He covers his face with one hand.
“Oh, man. Sorry.”
There’s a hand reaching out for him and he takes it. He doesn’t notice long, tapered fingers or the strength in them. When he thinks it’s safe to look up, he finds an amused gaze and kind smile.
“It’s okay.” He manages to say, taking hold of himself.
“Well, since I made you fall, I owe you a coffee.”
Van starts to protest but something stops him. “I’ll take you up on it.” he says instead.
“Good. My name’s Jake.”
That smile shines at him again and he doesn’t have to blink to clear his head. Not at all. He grins back and is satisfied when Jake’s eyes seem to focus on his mouth.
“Mine is Van.”
5.
He maneuvers around the crowd, running down the last flight of stairs. He hears the squeal of the brakes and tries not to topple over an elderly lady in his way. She takes her time with her change and Jake drops his head into his hand. He was raised better then to rush an older person. He hears the sound of train as it pulls away and glances at his watch.
Well, there went getting to his audition on time.
He hears cursing in the other stall line and stares at the guy next to him. Blonde hair, great profile and a sailor’s mouth. He smiles when the curses are muffled by a glove as the other man searches his pockets. Jake moves through his stall then turns back.
“Hey.”
The blonde looks up and if Jake weren’t a better actor he would have made a sharp intake of breath when he meets pretty brown eyes in a face that was - wow. Yeah. He barely makes a noise though. Those eyes are giving him an annoyed glare and Jake shakes out of his admiring to slip his hand through the grail. The blonde stares at his hand and Jake rolls his eyes, making a frustrated motion with it. When a gloved hand opens, he drops a token, gives a smile and a nod, and runs down to his platform.
His train arrives minutes later and he boards, pulling out his script to give it another look, then takes out his notebook and starts writing.
His mind keeps wondering to his encounter but he shakes them away.
When he looks up, he notices the stop is the one he needs and scrambles to get out. It’s not until the doors of the train close and it starts to move that he realizes his notebook isn’t in his hand.
“Shit! Shit!”
He watches the train pull away and lets out a loud “Sonofabitch!”
“Are you looking for this?”
He turns and meets the same warm brown eyes from earlier. He's holding Jake’s notebook in his hand, smirking at him.
Jake sighs in relief and grabs it. He grins up at the other guy. “Thank you for that.”
“Least I could do after you paid for my ride.”
He starts to walk away and Jake’s smile falters. He tries to think of something, anything to get him to talk for another few minutes.
“Wait.”
The guy turns halfway to the stairs and yells out. “You can thank me by asking me out to dinner.”
Jake laughs out loud, his heart beating a little faster. “I don’t even know your name! Or number!”
The blonde stops, mimics flipping through a book and Jake glances down at his hand. He flips the cover open and there on the first page is a name and number. Van.
He looks up and Van is waiting, head tilted.
“I’ll be calling for that. Don’t think I won’t.”
Van grins and starts walking backward. “And what’s the name I should be expecting the caller to have?”
“It’s Jake.”
“Okay, It’s Jake.”
He disappears up the stairs and Jake stands on the platform, grinning down at his notebook.
6.
Van breathed in and out.
He was nervous and that was just stupid. He wasn’t the one auditioning for anything. He already had the job. He just needed to be prepared to judge someone else.
What if they couldn’t find anyone?
He was totally rooting for Nick to get it. He was his friend. And he knew they could work together but he wasn’t the one who had the last say. What if they didn’t pick him? Their audition had been good. So far the best.
The door opened and he glanced up. The first thing he noticed was that this guy was tall. Very tall. As he came closer, Van took in the dark hair and startling blue eyes. He was definitely a looker. He had stopped to talk to Chris and Van noticed the nervous fidget of his hands.
He liked that. It meant he actually cared if he got the role.
Van watched him run the scene quickly with Chris. He was good. A little rough but everyone was at first. There was something there. Van could see what Chris might have seen to bring him back again. They finished and started walking toward him. Van looked away quickly.
When he reached Van, he held out his hand and introduced himself, eyes twinkling, smile genuine.
“Hi, Jake Silbermann."
Van took the offered shake, feeling something different at the action and smiled up.
“Hi, Van Hansis.”
End.
Author: Kat
Pairing: Van/Jake
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 2,307
Beta: Shannon, cause she is awesome.
Summary: *points to title*
Disclaimer: I don't know either Mr. Hansis or Mr. Silbermann. This is not true - to my knowledge. It is false. Fiction. Storytelling. Stop goggling yourselves.
Notes: This is for Ronnie (
sweetiejelly). You bring so much joy to the fandom that we wanted to give something back. Happy Birthday! Five Ways Van and Jake Didn’t Meet (And One They Did)
1.
Jake takes a deep breath, readjusts the straps digging into his shoulder and pushes the door to his last class open. He hopes this goes better then the rest of his day. He hadn’t made much of an impression with his other professors.
That probably wasn’t a good thing.
He can hear his father’s voice asking him why he wanted to go to school so far from home.
Jake starts to wonder the same.
The class is almost completely full and he gives a sigh. That running like the hounds of hell were after him didn‘t really work out. He takes a seat at the front row, next to the exit just in case, and glances around.
He still doesn’t know why he chose to switch to theater. He loved music. No one changed their second year. His sister said it was the rush of acting.
He thinks that she might be on to something.
Jake is pretty sure it’s a bad idea all around, though.
He moves slightly when the seat next to his becomes occupied. He tries to fold his long limbs into himself, awkward and a little uncomfortable. He glances over to the next seat and freezes for a second. It’s enough of a pause to cause brownish-gold eyes to meet his and he feels his chest constrict a twinge.
He moves a little more and shrugs, apologizing. “Sorry. Stretch could take a lesson or two from me.”
There’s a big smile, gold twinkling and Jake blinks again. One hand sticks out and Jake takes it in his. It’s warm and dry.
“Hi. Van.”
Jake half smiles.
“Hi. Jake.”
2.
Van taps his fingers on the table top, rolling his eyes at the stage, and taking a long swig from his beer. He didn’t even know why he’d let Elena talk him into this. He was not a fan of Karaoke.
Elena gives him another grin and turns back to the stage. He listens to a horrible rendition of “We Will Rock You” and tries not to laugh at the ridiculous head banging happening.
He leans over and says loudly, “Where is the rest of our party? You promised me it wouldn’t just be us. I’m not singing with you, Elena.”
Elena takes her gaze away from the performance for just a moment and gives him a baleful look. “They’re coming. So don’t get your pants into a twist.”
Van raises an eyebrow and narrows his eyes. “I could just leave, you know that, right?”
She shakes her head and pleads with big round eyes. “Don’t leave. There’s someone I want you to meet. They‘ll be here any minute.”
And what he hates more then Karaoke is being set up.
He sighs and motions to the empty beer bottle. Elena shakes her head and Van makes for the bar. If he was going to get through the rest of the night, he needed to be good and drunk. He gets the bartender’s attention, raises his bottle and when he gets a nod, throws it in the trash behind the bar. It misses and makes a shattering noise.
Crap.
“Nice shot.”
He turns to look at the amused voice , meeting crystal blue eyes and a wide smile. It takes him a minute to recover before he leans against the edge of the bar and grins.
“Athleticism is not my forte. I’m more artistically inclined.”
“So, I should expect some grand performance onstage.”
Van snorts. “Not likely.”
Another large smile and Van feels the flush on his face but before he can answer, he sees Elena waving at him. Van wants to say something, anything that might keep them talking but someone else has the blue-eyed strangers attention so he walks back to his table.
He takes a seat while Elena makes the round of introductions. Billy waves at him and Van is relieved he at least knows someone else at the table. He tries to catch Elena’s attention. When she doesn’t make any further attempts to get him to know anyone at the table, he figures whoever she wanted him to meet hadn’t made it.
Thank god.
He nurses his beer and listens to Billy give his latest story about his band’s tour when he Elena grins in his direction. He feels someone pull out the chair next to his and closes his eyes for a second.
Damn.
He turns his head and stops short. Those same blue eyes and large smile greet him and Van grins back immediately.
“Van, this is Jake. He just joined my theater company. Jake, this is my best friend, Van.”
3.
Jake rubs at the tension at the back of his neck and flips over to the next resume. He normally enjoyed the audition process. Meeting actors, finding the right one for his characters, it was satisfying. He, however, hates when it takes so long that he starts to think no one would ever fit.
Ever.
He stares down at the next headshot and smiles at it. He recognizes the face almost immediately.
The door opens and his head snaps up.
Jesus. Fuck.
Headshots did him no justice.
He tries not to recognize that flurry in his stomach, the heat pooling at his center.
Jake remembers almost meeting him once. An audition he hadn’t been able to take and he regretted that for a long time. It would have been a hell of a character to play.
He glances down for a moment to regain his footing. Runs through the facts he already knows.
Well known in theater circles. Drama Desk Award a couple of years ago. Emmy Award for his groundbreaking role. Television series that hadn’t quite made it.
Married. Married. Married.
Jake sees the circle of silver on his finger and gives himself a mental slap.
Married to a guy Jake knew and respected.
He stands, offers his hand and refuses to acknowledge the spark that runs between them. Jake sees him stop for a fraction of a second to meet Jake’s eyes then pulls his hand away, smiling wide.
“It’s good to finally meet you, Van.”
Van's eyes sparkle and he nods in return.
“Same here, Jake.”
4.
Van’s eyes widen when he walks through the entrance and scans the huge warehouse size room. The room is divided between the two major houses with smaller areas dedicated to the smaller labels. His smile stretches wide and he makes his way to the Marvel section.
He pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket, reading the neatly printed Issue numbers. His brother had laughed at him for wanting to attend Comic Con but the one in Pittsburgh was supposed to be the best one next to San Diego.
Better if anyone asked him.
He finds a less crowded booth, scopes out the section he wants and starts working his way through the boxes under the table. Half an hour later and almost at the end of the back issues of the title, he has a small pile on the floor next to him. His brow furrows when someone kneels next to him but he doesn’t move.
His body reacts to the heat and scent - really fucking nice scent - that wraps around him. Van rolls his eyes and shakes his head. He really needs to get laid.
He hears a deep voice say suddenly. “Seriously, you think he is the best Batman? Val Kilmer?”
Van tries not to laugh because really. Come on. He had a preference for Christian Bale but even before Christian he’d have to say Michael Keaton was better than Val Kilmer.
“Michael Keaton.”
Van turns - because he wasn’t aware he was transmitting his thoughts out to the world - and when he does he takes in the profile next to him. He was probably tall when he wasn‘t kneeling, pretty eyelashes, nice hair…
Holy crap.
Very blue eyes.
And Jesus he really really needed to get laid.
For some reason that he doesn’t understand, he smiles and leans in to say. “Hey, I’d take Michael Keaton over Val Kilmer any day.”
Those eyes pin him in place and he catches the flash of a smile. He feels a warm hand on his shoulder and shivers a little inside.
“See, this guy right here has good taste.”
Van blushes, tries to pick up his loot and promptly slips, falling on his ass. He covers his face with one hand.
“Oh, man. Sorry.”
There’s a hand reaching out for him and he takes it. He doesn’t notice long, tapered fingers or the strength in them. When he thinks it’s safe to look up, he finds an amused gaze and kind smile.
“It’s okay.” He manages to say, taking hold of himself.
“Well, since I made you fall, I owe you a coffee.”
Van starts to protest but something stops him. “I’ll take you up on it.” he says instead.
“Good. My name’s Jake.”
That smile shines at him again and he doesn’t have to blink to clear his head. Not at all. He grins back and is satisfied when Jake’s eyes seem to focus on his mouth.
“Mine is Van.”
5.
He maneuvers around the crowd, running down the last flight of stairs. He hears the squeal of the brakes and tries not to topple over an elderly lady in his way. She takes her time with her change and Jake drops his head into his hand. He was raised better then to rush an older person. He hears the sound of train as it pulls away and glances at his watch.
Well, there went getting to his audition on time.
He hears cursing in the other stall line and stares at the guy next to him. Blonde hair, great profile and a sailor’s mouth. He smiles when the curses are muffled by a glove as the other man searches his pockets. Jake moves through his stall then turns back.
“Hey.”
The blonde looks up and if Jake weren’t a better actor he would have made a sharp intake of breath when he meets pretty brown eyes in a face that was - wow. Yeah. He barely makes a noise though. Those eyes are giving him an annoyed glare and Jake shakes out of his admiring to slip his hand through the grail. The blonde stares at his hand and Jake rolls his eyes, making a frustrated motion with it. When a gloved hand opens, he drops a token, gives a smile and a nod, and runs down to his platform.
His train arrives minutes later and he boards, pulling out his script to give it another look, then takes out his notebook and starts writing.
His mind keeps wondering to his encounter but he shakes them away.
When he looks up, he notices the stop is the one he needs and scrambles to get out. It’s not until the doors of the train close and it starts to move that he realizes his notebook isn’t in his hand.
“Shit! Shit!”
He watches the train pull away and lets out a loud “Sonofabitch!”
“Are you looking for this?”
He turns and meets the same warm brown eyes from earlier. He's holding Jake’s notebook in his hand, smirking at him.
Jake sighs in relief and grabs it. He grins up at the other guy. “Thank you for that.”
“Least I could do after you paid for my ride.”
He starts to walk away and Jake’s smile falters. He tries to think of something, anything to get him to talk for another few minutes.
“Wait.”
The guy turns halfway to the stairs and yells out. “You can thank me by asking me out to dinner.”
Jake laughs out loud, his heart beating a little faster. “I don’t even know your name! Or number!”
The blonde stops, mimics flipping through a book and Jake glances down at his hand. He flips the cover open and there on the first page is a name and number. Van.
He looks up and Van is waiting, head tilted.
“I’ll be calling for that. Don’t think I won’t.”
Van grins and starts walking backward. “And what’s the name I should be expecting the caller to have?”
“It’s Jake.”
“Okay, It’s Jake.”
He disappears up the stairs and Jake stands on the platform, grinning down at his notebook.
6.
Van breathed in and out.
He was nervous and that was just stupid. He wasn’t the one auditioning for anything. He already had the job. He just needed to be prepared to judge someone else.
What if they couldn’t find anyone?
He was totally rooting for Nick to get it. He was his friend. And he knew they could work together but he wasn’t the one who had the last say. What if they didn’t pick him? Their audition had been good. So far the best.
The door opened and he glanced up. The first thing he noticed was that this guy was tall. Very tall. As he came closer, Van took in the dark hair and startling blue eyes. He was definitely a looker. He had stopped to talk to Chris and Van noticed the nervous fidget of his hands.
He liked that. It meant he actually cared if he got the role.
Van watched him run the scene quickly with Chris. He was good. A little rough but everyone was at first. There was something there. Van could see what Chris might have seen to bring him back again. They finished and started walking toward him. Van looked away quickly.
When he reached Van, he held out his hand and introduced himself, eyes twinkling, smile genuine.
“Hi, Jake Silbermann."
Van took the offered shake, feeling something different at the action and smiled up.
“Hi, Van Hansis.”
End.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-03-19 06:37 am (UTC)I didn't get to respond to this sooner! EEE! I'm so happy to see you, ohmygod.
You have no idea what it means that you liked this so much. You're still my favorite Jansis writer and I really miss your writing.
I do understand the falling away from fandom though. We've only got 6 months left and I really want to enjoy it so I figure I might as well hang on. (I wasn't going to a few months back, LOL)
Anyway, I'm so happy you commented and lots of hugs and love. ♥
no subject
Date: 2010-03-19 01:40 pm (UTC)Still blushing about your comments about my writing. I've started watching the show again, because as you said, we've only got 6 months left and maybe my muse will be inspired.
Again, I loved this fic, it was simply beautiful.
~Ali
no subject
Date: 2010-03-28 12:54 am (UTC)I had heard that you were watching. Luke/Reid fan, right? :)
To each their own!
Thank you so much. I did love writing Jansis very much. ♥
no subject
Date: 2010-03-28 05:51 pm (UTC)Hope to see more Jansis from you.
~Ali