Work Text:
Only one question
‘And our next game is entitled...Scenes from a hat!’
Heaving himself out of his chair and following Ryan to the side of the stage as the audience cheered, Colin wondered how Aisha could still sound so perky. They’d been at this for hours now, on top of the several hours of sound checks and rehearsals before that. He thought that, once they’d completed all the pick-ups, recaps and introductions, they’d be done but there was still a half-hour of taping time left and Dan apparently decided he wanted one more game from his performers. It didn’t matter that some of them (read Colin) were almost dead on their feet.
The boss man wanted one more game, so they had to play it.
Suppressing a yawn, Colin rubbed his eyes and tried to focus on what Aisha was saying. It was warm under the studio lights and he could feel his energy levels sinking with every outward breath. It was gone ten p.m. now and being consistently funny for twelve hours straight was more than just a mental challenge these days.
He just wanted to go home, crawl into a nice cool bed and sleep for 12 hours. If Ryan happened to join him, all the better.
Colin had barely seen his partner in the past few weeks. If he wasn’t filming commercials in Canada, then Ry was doing production work in LA. Then they’d had a solid week of photoshoots and promo work for the new season of Whose Line meaning crisscrossing the country to appear on numerous chat shows and do interviews. With Ry’s flying issues, Colin and the gang made sure to take the longer distance ones so the goof-ball could stay closer to home.
On top of that, both men were planning and preparing for live tours. Colin and Brad were heading off together again, while Ryan, Greg, Jeff and Wayne would be taking Whose line on the road. Chip and Gary were scheduled to join them for a few nights here and there and Colin was sure he"d heard Drew’s name mentioned at some point, but couldn’t say for certain if he had confirmed.
In fact, about the only time Colin and Ryan had spent together of late was here on stage while filming Whose line.
Colin wasn’t ashamed to say, he’d missed him. It wasn’t the same leaving notes for each other as they passed like ships in the night, cooking dinner for two then putting half in the fridge to be reheated later. They even slept in separate beds most nights, so as not to disturb the other returning from a late-night recording, or heading out on an early flight.
He wasn’t complaining. Hell, no! It was a good life and Colin knew how fortunate he was to be able to do a job he loved with people he could genuinely call friends. It would just be nice to spend a little time with his partner as well.
At least they’d managed to arrange their tour stops a little better this time around, crossing paths multiple times, allowing him and Ryan a night or two together instead of three or four months solidly apart.
And as of next Saturday, they would be on vacation, tucked away in a remote log cabin on the shores of Lake Erie for two whole weeks, just the two of them, surrounded by acres of peaceful woods and tranquil waters. There was no cell signal up there, no internet and no cameras. There was a landline for emergencies, but Colin made sure not to give it out to anyone. This was their time, their break from the stresses and strains of normal life.
With a quiet sigh, Colin shut his eyes and let himself picture the scene. By day they could hike the trails along the side of the lake or fish from the dock out front. And by night they could snuggle under a blanket watching the stars in the clear sky, or light a fire in the grate and lay close together on the rug...
A sharp poke to his side made Colin jolt, snapping open his eyes to glare at his assailant.
‘Hey there Sleeping beauty. You need a minute?’
Ryan’s knowing grin diffused Coln’s anger and he sighed, rubbing one hand over his face to try and wake back up, uncaring if he smeared the make-up caking his skin.
He was tired.
‘Nah, I’m good.’ Colin yawned, jaw cracking as it stretched.
Dan gave him an unimpressed look from between the cameras and signalled for everyone to retake their places. Colin followed Ryan back to their seats, a witty comment dying on his lips as he noted how tense the taller man’s shoulders were.
Maybe he was just worn-out too. There wasn’t much between them age-wise, so if Colin was feeling it, it made sense Ry would be too.
Only, while they were waiting to restart the game, Colin noticed Ryan bouncing on the balls of his feet, shifting from foot to foot like an athlete getting ready to race. He had one hand in his pants pocket, fiddling with something and, although from his viewpoint Colin could see it was an innocent action, things looked different on camera, so he slapped Ryan’s arm and frowned at him until he extracted his hand.
‘Are you okay, Ry?’ Colin muttered from the corner of his mouth, eyes fixed on where Wayne was flirting with Aisha. Again.
Ryan shrugged, folding his arms across his middle, practically hugging himself.
‘Yeah? What’s up?’
The reply was too quick. Colin had known the goof-ball long enough to sense when something wasn’t right. Turning to take a closer look, to hell with Dan and his extra games, Colin took in how the studio lights picked out the beads of sweat on Ryan’s forehead, like pimples on a teenager. One of his hands was curled into a white-knuckled fist, with his chin resting upon it, the other hidden on his opposite side as he stared fixedly ahead of him. It was clear Ryan knew he was under scrutiny but refused to look back, so Colin resolved to get them both out of there as soon as they were done.
Distracted by his observations, Colin missed the first prompt of the game. Brad and Wayne stepped forward, launching into some kind of suggestive dance, Wayne"s naturally sinuous rhythm making Brad look comically awkward. No doubt it was intentional. Having done the show for so many years, Colin could almost tell how late in the day a game was played by the amount of innuendo and dick jokes that appeared.
Improv was great, a full mind and body work out. But eventually, the well ran a little dry and they all fell back on the dirty jokes and cheap laughs. There’d be a bald joke soon, or something about “big feet”.
Aisha buzzed the boys out, the audience laughing hard as they stood at the side of the stage. Taking another slip of paper out of the hat, which Colin noticed was a deeper, more orange shade than usual, (Dan likely ran out and wouldn"t spring for another pad), he caught a smirk twisting Aisha’s features before her gaze landed solidly on him and Ryan.
‘The most romantic moment you might see on TV.’
Before Colin could get his sluggish brain to think, Ryan was dragging him on stage, one clammy hand in a tight grip at his bare elbow.
Allowing himself to be manhandled by Ryan, Colin tried to anticipate where the taller man would take the scene. Would he go for the cheap laugh or the quick shock?
Smiling bemusedly and following his partner"s movements with his eyes, Colin thought Ryan looked a little tense again, but before he could really be sure, the other man was on his knees before him.
Okay, one knee.
So he was going for the proposal thing. Good. Colin could play with that. Someone had even done it for real on the show once.
Trying to decide between a swoon, or a girlish giggle, Colin smiled down at Ryan, listening and watching for his cue. An offhand rejection would elicit humoured sympathy for Ryan’s character but a blushing faint would leave him, or one of the others an opening to carry on.
Then Ryan pulled a box out of his pants pocket. A small, square, velvet box.
What the hell? How did he know what was…?
‘Colin Mochrie.’ Pale-faced, Ryan swallowed hard, green eyes boring into Colin’s own. ‘Will you marry me?’
The shaky voice was convincing, as was the trembling hand clutching at Colin’s own. He could almost believe that the goof-ball actually meant it, but Ryan was a pretty good actor, so it was probably just for the scene. Surely he wasn’t actually trying to...
Ryan flicked open the ring box with his thumb causing Colin to choke and his eyes to bulge at what was inside.
It was a ring, yes, but a gold ring. A gold ring that had once belonged to Ryan’s Grandpa Davey, the first person Ry told about his attraction to men.
That ring had been locked in the safe at home for years, ever since dear old Davey had given it to his Grandson. So why was Ryan carrying it around today of all days? It wasn’t like he used it as a good luck charm or anything.
And how did he know this suggestion would come up?
Had, had Ryan planned this? It wasn’t like they’d ever talked about getting hitched. Hell, it hadn’t even been legal all that long. But nothing else made sense right then. The suggestions were written by the audience as they came in, then collected by the crew before they filmed. Unless Ryan slipped an extra piece of paper into the hat or got one of the crew to do it, Colin couldn’t see how he would know what was coming up. Even then it relied on Aisha picking out one very specific…
The paper! Colin felt like smacking himself upside the head. That slip had been a different colour, hadn’t it? It’d be easy for Aisha to pick that slip among all the rest.
Ryan wasn’t the only one sweating now. Perspiration trickled through the hair at his temples, tickling the sides of his face as it went.
‘Is this for real?’ Colin whispered, praying the radio mic didn"t pick up his words, but the whole studio had gone silent, a couple hundred eyes all fixed on the two middle-aged men on the stage. It was unlikely no-one else heard.
Ryan took a deep breath, his eyes never leaving Colin.
‘Yup. I mean it, Colin. I love you. I wanna marry you. Wanna make you mine.’
Colin thought he was going to be sick. The blood rushed to his face so fast he felt dizzy and his whole body began to shake. He couldn’t speak, his eyes blurring over with tears as his chest went tight.
Way to go, Stiles!
It wasn’t that he was ashamed of their relationship, far from it. Colin loved Ryan beyond doubt and all their friends knew and supported them both. Sure they got a little more ‘hands-on in some of their games, but so did the rest of the gang. It wasn’t exclusively Ryan and Colin who groped or kissed.
But it’d never been explicitly confirmed or denied to the general public that they were a them.
Until now.
Fear began to creep into Ryans eyes and Colin could see panic start to take hold of the taller man. The poor guy looked ready to keel over and Colin knew he couldn"t make him wait any longer.
‘Yes! Oh my God, yes!’
The words tumbled from Colin"s mouth on a tremulous exhale, his knees turning to jello, and he pitched forward, right into Ryans strong waiting arms. As his head found that perfect spot between Ryans neck and shoulder, Colin whispered into the other man’s skin.
‘I love you, Ry.’
Face buried against Colin"s scalp, Ryan pressed a kiss to the top of his ear.
‘I love you too, Col.’
The cheers and whoops around them were deafening, applause sounding like gunfire. But Colin couldn’t care less at that moment because Ryan kissed him, a deep satisfying kiss that took his breath away.
Wayne was first to reach them, slapping them both on the back and offering his congratulations, Brad and Aisha close behind. Ryan pulled back enough to slip Davey’s ring onto Colin’s finger, the gold band a perfect fit and comfortable weight against his skin. It felt so right, as if it were meant to be there and Colin couldn’t stop the grin that threatened to strain his cheeks.
Colin just wanted to go home and go to bed. But now, sleeping would be the farthest thing from his mind...