Title: Sway
Characters: Centered on Alex, but BradleyxColin and Eoin are present
Warning/rating/genre: T, humor/friendship
Word Count: 702
Summary: Alex goes to work one morning…
Disclaimer: I own few things and none are actors, sadly. This is all a work of fiction.
Alex was cold and still sleepy as he arrived on set one morning. He took a cup of tea and, still shivering, went over to the makeup trailer.
“Hey,” he said to Colin, who was practicing juggling outside the trailer.
“AGH!” Colin said, as all the balls dropped to the ground.
“Couldn’t have been a circus performer, then!” said Bradley inside the trailer.
“Sorry,” said Alex.
“No, it’s not you. I keep getting distracted or something. Or maybe they’re enchanted to fall off.”
“Yes, because you’re so perfect, Colin,” said Bradley.
“Stay still,” said Anna, his makeup artist “or I shut the door.”
“Did you just learn how to do that?” asked Alex.
“Uh, yeah. I wanted to learn how to do all this, like, circus stuff when I was a kid, but then I realized I just wanted to be acting, not… like, swallowing fires or anything.”
Eoin passed by them on the way into the trailer, snickering at Colin’s words.
“I learned magic tricks,” said Alex.
“You know magic tricks? Like what?” said Eoin, turning around.
“You know, cards, predictions, the bill drop.”
“Why?” asked Bradley, laughing.
“I… I read a lot of Sherlock as a kid - well, the kid’s version. Abridged. And Conan Doyle was friends with Houdini and… There was that whole film about fairies when I was a kid, and they were both involved.”
“Fairies?” said Bradley.
“Yeah, you know, the Cottingley… But Houdini! I got a little obsessed with him.”
“Do one now,” said Eoin.
“A - a trick? Uh, um, ok!” Alex said, slightly panicking.
“No, it’s ok!” said Colin.
“No, I can do it, uh… let me look for something to use… I used to have a trunk of magic stuff. Lost it.”
“How do you lose a trunk?” asked Bradley.
“Well, ah, not lost. Ruined. Kids. I did magic shows for kids parties. Not because I wanted to! My mum just told people.”
“Your mum pimped you out,” laughed Colin.
“Yes. I had a bunny and these toddlers kind of mobbed me when I vanished it.”
They all laughed.
“It was actually scary!” he said. “They could have hurt her! They knocked over the table and the trunk and it all fell into mud.”
“I’m sorry,” said Colin.
“Yeah, mate,” said Eoin.
“I know I’d be afraid of a mob of toddlers,” said Bradley.
“Well, find something to do a trick with. Colin needs to stop playing with his balls,” said Eoin.
Colin laughed, blushing, and Alex went into the trailer.
“Can I?” he asked, picking up some paper clips.
Anna smiled, “Yeah. I want to see the magic trick.”
“Ok, I can do one,” he said, stepping out. “Um, both of you, float a paper clip on… my tea.”
“Ok,” the both said.
They both tried, “Valiantly” called out Bradley, but they kept burning their fingers.
“Sorry,” said Alex.
“Well, they’ve all fallen,” said Eoin, as the paper clips had all dropped to the bottom.
“Lost in this horrible war,” said Colin.
“It’s Mordred’s fault,” said Bradley. “He will be the fall of Camelot!”
“With his un-floating paper clips!” said Colin.
Alex laughed, and gave Colin his cup. He then grabbed a paper clip and bent it.
“Hey!” said Eoin.
“What, I’m allowed!” he laughed, holding an unbent paper clip with the bent one and dropping it into the water, where it floated.
Colin laughed, nodding.
“It’s more of a science-y trick,” said Eoin.
“Not very impressive,” Alex said, though he was happy. He had forgotten how much joy it gave him to do magic tricks, but then he realized “Oh, my tea’s ruined.”
“I’ll get you more,” said Colin.
Eoin clapped him heavily on the shoulder and went inside.
A couple of months later, Alex went into the makeup trailer one morning and there, on the couch, was a trunk, filled with tools and books for magic tricks.
“It’s not for you,” said Bradley.
“He’s joking,” said Colin. “But you can’t do magic tricks on set.”
“You have to do actual magic.”
“Like, make a tiger out of thin air or something.”
“Or it’s an insult to Merlin.”
Alex laughed, blushing and sitting down in his makeup chair, hands folded in his lap.
Author's Notes: For Tumblr's Farewell Fic Fest prompt "Magic Moments."