She jogged ahead of me, carefree and laughing, paying no attention to the onlookers as she embraced the beauty of the environment we were meant to be in.
I gave her tail a light tug, which made her laugh even louder. She turned back with a playful smile, then continued walking at a calmer pace. I paused to take in my surroundings.
It was just a plain indoor set, but in my mind, it felt like the most beautiful place I had ever seen. I watched as a few remote-controlled drones flew around me. They were designed to resemble magical, floating plants and were there to give me a reference point for where to look.
Before I could get too lost in the illusion, Zoe came back and took my hand. "Come," she said, pulling me along without letting go.
In front of us, ropes hung down from the ceiling. Zoe let go of my hand and stretched out her arms, brushing her fingers against as many of them as she could.
I followed her lead a moment later and reached out to feel the ropes for myself.
She turned to me. "This is the place where prayers are heard, and sometimes answered." She lifted her braided hair and touched its tip to one of the ropes. "We call these trees Utraya Mokri, the Tree of Voices. The voices of our ancestors."
I copied her gesture, touching the end of my braid to a rope and closing my eyes.
"I can hear them," I said softly.
"They live, Jake," Zoe said, keeping her hand on mine. "Within Eywa."
We stood there in silence, letting the atmosphere settle over us, until she gently placed her hands on my chest.
"You are Omaticaya now. You may make your bow from the wood of the Hometree."
I looked into Zoe's eyes and saw a hint of vulnerability that had not been there before. She turned away and looked off into the distance.
"And you may choose a woman."
A small puppet, controlled by a crew member, floated down and landed in Zoe's palms. It was meant to be a Woodsprite, a seed of the Tree of Souls.
"Ninat is a good singer," she said in a casual tone.
I glanced at the girl who was now avoiding my gaze. "But I don't want Ninat."
Zoe smiled, then offered another name. "Beyral is a good hunter."
"She is a good hunter," I replied.
Zoe gave me a quick, betrayed look, but before she could speak, I took her hand and stepped closer, whispering, "But I have already chosen."
She kept her eyes on mine the entire time. As soon as I said the words, I noticed her breath catch, followed by a small smile.
"But this woman must also choose me," I added in the same breath.
A full-blown smile spread across Zoe's face before she turned serious again. "She already has."
I looked into her eyes as I stepped closer. She didn't pull away as I placed a hand on the back of her head and closed the distance between us. My lips met hers within seconds, and suddenly we were kissing like our lives depended on it.
Everything else disappeared. The surroundings, the crew, the set—none of it existed in that moment. My hands roamed across her back, pulling her closer. She moaned into my mouth, her arms wrapped around my neck.
"Cut!"
I froze as Zoe pulled away almost instantly at the sound of Jim Cameron's voice.
"Did you guys forget we're not making an R-rated movie?" he joked, then turned to the crew at large. "Apart from these two, I don't like what I'm seeing here. The laziness in this fold is astounding. How hard is it to keep up with the actors, huh? And for the love of God, will someone change those damn drones? They're louder than the truck I used to drive once. Use the same puppets you used for the woodsprites. Also…"
He kept barking out instructions. No one argued, almost as if they anticipated this level of perfectionism. His commands were followed without hesitation. On some level, I admired that. I had worked with many directors, including greats like Steven Spielberg, but this was the first time I saw a crew obey every word without challenge. That was because Jim didn't leave room for confusion. He was always clear and exact about what he wanted.
And the crew responded. Within moments, mistakes were corrected and we were ready to shoot again.
"Listen, you two," Jim said, walking over to me and Zoe with a firm tone. "When we pick up the scene and you touch your braids together, I want you to act like you've just initiated sex. That is the level of intimacy I want conveyed through this scene. You have to make the audience believe it."
I nodded slowly, taking that in. I had done my homework on my character, Jake Sully, and the world of Pandora. Jim's work was so extensive, it felt like he had written an entire novel about it. That gave me plenty to draw from about the character. Beside me, Zoe nodded with the same confidence and understanding.
Jim turned to leave, but I spoke up. "Hey, Jim, are you liking our chemistry and dynamics so far, or do we need to change anything?"
He looked at me for a beat before replying, "If you needed to change something, I would have told you, wouldn't I?"
That was his way of making someone feel stupid without saying it outright. I realized then that he wasn't the kind of director who handed out praise easily. If it had been someone less experienced, I might have been offended. But James Cameron had earned his authority. As long as he wasn't bullying me or Zoe, I had no reason to question him.
"That means I passed my test?" Zoe asked, half-excited.
Jim opened his mouth, probably ready with something witty, but I shook my head at him. He got the hint and turned to Zoe fully. "You did."
She squealed with delight and threw her arms around the director. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much! I can't tell you how good it feels to hear that."
Jim patted her back awkwardly. "Yeah, well, you're hugging the wrong guy. Your chemistry with Troy is what sold you for the role."
She pulled away from him and hugged me tightly. "Thank you, Troy."
"Anytime," I said, hugging her back.
Jim cut in. "Now, if we're done, we're already behind schedule, thanks to some people's lack of punctuality."
Zoe stepped away from me and said again, "It won't happen again."
Without another word, Jim walked off, leaving the two of us alone. Once the coast was clear, I said, "Whatever you do, don't ever be late again. That man won't let you live it down. Be half an hour early if you have to, but never late."
"Will do," Zoe replied seriously. "I was ready for a tongue-lashing before I came on set. Thanks for sticking up for me, by the way. The AD told me what you said to Jim."
I smiled. "It was nothing. Now let's focus on the role, or next time, even I won't be able to save you from him."
(Break)
Kathy looked over at Steve, clearly irritated.
"Can you please hurry up, dear husband? I want to surprise my son before he gets up to go have fun for his birthday."
Steve rolled his eyes as they stepped out of their private jet, Evan silently following behind. "We already planned that surprise party for this evening, didn't we? And we flew across the ocean to spend time with him. He'll see a lot of us in the coming days. No need to rush."
Kathy didn't argue, but she was more than impatient. This was the first Christmas Troy had not spent with his family. Even Evan had taken time out of his schedule to come to London, but Troy hadn't. All because he was shooting a James Cameron movie. Sure, working with Cameron was a huge opportunity, but that didn't mean he could skip family time during the holidays for work.
Kathy had been a little upset with him, but eventually calmed down enough to understand his situation. He was probably too exhausted from the long hours on set to fly across the Atlantic, only to return days later to resume shooting. So, she had come up with a perfect plan to surprise him in Los Angeles at their family home. Troy had planned to move out of that house, but that plan had been thwarted by something unexpected.
"How are the wildfires in the area where Troy was supposed to build his new house?" Kathy asked conversationally.
Steve shrugged as they reached the car waiting to pick them up. "We had just laid the foundation, and now all other houses around it have burned down. The loss wasn't too big since the plot wasn't expensive. I suggested he buy something else, maybe an old house, but he refused. Says the U.S. housing market is overpriced right now and wants to wait a few years."
"He is probably right," Evan chimed in. "I don't know how he does it, but he makes some very good guesses about the market. If people found out how he made most of his money, they'd be shocked."
That was true. People were already jealous of Troy making hundreds of millions from [Harry Potter]. If word ever got out about his stock market success, it would be too much for them to digest without some wild conspiracy theories being thrown around for the heck of it.
"Are you sure we shouldn't have called him?" Steve asked. "I get the point of a surprise visit, especially for his birthday, but he's an adult now."
"I know he's an adult," Kathy said flatly. "I wouldn't even mind if he had his girlfriend over. I like Scarlett much better than his last one. She came off as quite a genuine girl at the Golden Globes two years ago." Then she turned to her second son. "What about you, Evan? You haven't brought home any girl since Nadia."
Evan let out a nervous chuckle. "I just haven't found the right one, I guess." Then he quickly changed the subject. "I called Troy, by the way. To wish him a happy birthday. A few times, but he didn't pick up. So even if we wanted to inform him, we couldn't."
The way he shifted the conversation made Kathy feel like he was hiding something, but she didn't press. Both of her sons were grown now, capable of making their own choices. It had taken her a long time and a lot of therapy to finally accept that truth. It still hurt sometimes, thinking about it, but Steve had always been there to help her through the loneliness she felt after Troy moved out.
"What do you think will happen at the Oscars this year?" Evan asked, steering the conversation. "Troy will probably get another nomination as a producer for [Juno]. Think he could win?"
"I didn't like that film too much," Steve replied. "It was good, and it's definitely doing well at the box office, but it quietly pushes the idea that abortion is wrong. I'm more excited for the Golden Globes. Troy's been nominated for [The Night Of] and [Superbad]. Now that is a really good film."
"Of course you'd like filth like [Superbad] over a good family film like [Juno]," Kathy teased.
"Your son made that filth," Steve replied plainly.
Kathy cracked a smile. "That doesn't make it less obscene."
The rest of the drive from the airport to their family home passed in similar banter between the three of them, filled with talk about the industry they all worked in.
As soon as the car pulled up in front of the house, Kathy got out first. She stretched to shake off the stiffness from the long flight and then announced, "Come on, let's go surprise Troy."
Steve still looked a little skeptical, but he nodded before Kathy could drag him toward his room.
Evan quietly stayed a few steps behind them.
But before they could reach Troy's room, or even knock, they all froze.
"Ungh!" A loud feminine moan rang out from Troy's room. The worst part was that the door had been left wide open, so the voice wasn't even muffled. From where Kathy stood, she could see two pairs of very naked legs on the bed, clearly engaged in something she had no desire to witness.
"Yes! Just like that! Don't you dare stop now, birthday boy! Give it to me!"
Steve reacted before anyone else. He quickly grabbed Kathy's arm and muttered under his breath, "I told you we should have called. Happy now?"
Kathy didn't respond. She simply pressed a hand to her forehead, mortified. What could she even say at this point? Her grand surprise had turned into a disaster.
She was about to quietly walk back downstairs and start considering a hotel for their stay when she glanced up again. In that moment, her eyes locked with the girl her son was with at the moment.
Scarlett Johansson screamed and shoved Troy off her, then grabbed a pillow to hide behind. "I saw someone there!"
Evan took charge of the moment and called out, "It's me, Troy. Along with Steve and Kathy. We'll wait downstairs for you."
Without another word, all three of them turned around and walked down to the sitting room, none of them daring to make eye contact. This was easily one of the most embarrassing moments of Kathy's life, and she had been through a fair number of them.
Five minutes later, Troy came downstairs in a black silk robe, his face flushed bright red.
"I'm so sorry, Mum, Dad," he said quickly. "I had no idea you were coming."
"Steve and Kathy wanted to surprise your horny ass," Evan said with a smirk. "I still tried to give you a heads-up. I called a few times and even sent a text, but the call went to voicemail, and you never replied."
Troy scratched the back of his neck. "I must have accidentally put my phone on silent."
Kathy looked at him with a pointed expression and said in a firm tone, "Please tell me you're using protection. I don't want some gold-digger robbing you of your hard-earned wealth because you couldn't control yourself."
"Mum," Troy whispered, glancing around to make sure Scarlett wasn't within earshot. "Don't call her that. And yes, of course I'm using protection. I'm not stupid."
Kathy narrowed her eyes at him, as if assessing the truth of his words, then smiled. "I can't stay mad at you for too long. Especially today." She got up and gave her son a big hug. "Happy birthday, my baby boy."
"Thanks, Mum." Troy hugged her back tightly.
Steve stood as well and followed her lead, giving Troy a quick hug before saying, "Why don't you go upstairs, get dressed properly, and introduce us to your friend before she heads back to her place?"
Troy didn't move right away. He stood silently, indecision flickering in his eyes, as if weighing his next words carefully.
Kathy recognized that look in his eyes. Troy had worn that same expression since he was a child, whenever he was about to lie or bend the truth. Some things never change.
She replayed Steve's words in her head, and suddenly, it all made sense.
"She's living here with you, isn't she?" Kathy asked, already sure of the answer.
"I wouldn't say that," Troy replied slowly. "Scarlett had a break-in at her place, as you know, so she's a little scared to be there alone. I just offered for her to stay here for the holidays so she didn't have to deal with it by herself."
Kathy gave her son a long, exasperated look, but before she could respond, the sharp chime of the doorbell echoed through the house.
Troy, eager to escape the conversation, jumped to his feet and walked quickly to the door.
But the moment he opened the door, the sight of the people standing outside made everyone's heart skip a beat.
"Troy Armitage," said the man in the center, speaking loud enough for everyone in the living room to hear. "We're with the FBI."
________________________
AN: Visit my personal website to read ahead, or check out my second Hollywood story set in the 80s.
Link: www(dot)fablefic(dot)com