AN: C'mon guys, lacking powerstones.
--
The rooftop of the Wilson Estate was quiet beneath the evening sky, with only the distant sounds of the gardens drifting upward through the cool air. Angelina leaned against the railing and looked across the enormous property, where pathways curved between trees, fountains, and softly lit sections of the grounds.
For once, she wasn't thinking about another role, another review, or another headline.
She had finally done it.
Best Actress.
The words still felt unreal after everything that had happened before Titan entered her life. There had been a time when her career seemed trapped beneath failure, bad choices, and projects that only made the next opportunity harder to reach. Hollywood had been patient when she was rising and merciless once she started falling.
Then Alex had appeared and offered his hand when most people had already decided she wasn't worth the risk.
One role became another opportunity. One conversation became trust. Trust became something deeper, and somewhere along the way, working beside him turned into loving him.
Angelina lowered her gaze toward the garden as emotion tightened gently inside her chest.
Footsteps approached from behind.
Alex reached her without speaking and wrapped both arms around her waist, pulling her carefully against him. He kissed the side of her neck before resting his chin near her shoulder.
Angelina closed her eyes and placed her hands over his.
For several seconds, neither of them needed to say anything.
Then she turned slowly inside his arms and looked at him, her eyes already shining before she managed a small smile.
"Thank you," Angelina whispered as she wrapped both arms around him and held him tightly.
Alex smiled and hugged her back without trying to turn the moment into something larger than it needed to become.
Angelina rested her face against his shoulder while the lights of the estate stretched quietly beneath them.
She had survived the fall, found her way back, and finally reached the dream she once feared had disappeared forever.
For that night, standing in Alex's arms was enough.
--
Two days after the Academy Awards, Alex and Rachel stood inside the Hall of Fame corridor at Titan's New York headquarters, facing the enormous timeline that documented every major milestone the studio had accumulated since its beginning. Fresh gold lettering had been added across one section of the wall, joining the previous victories from Spider-Man, The Hobbit, The Blind Side, and the projects that had already turned Titan's awards history into something almost absurd.
This year had belonged to Maleficent and Supergirl.
Maleficent had entered the ceremony with eleven Academy Award nominations, becoming Titan's strongest prestige contender of the season. The film had been nominated for Best Picture, Best Director for Guillermo del Toro, Best Actress for Angelina Jolie, Best Original Screenplay for Alex Wilson, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup, Best Visual Effects, Best Original Score, and Best Sound Mixing.
By the end of the night, six of those nominations had become victories.
Maleficent won Best Picture, giving Titan another top Academy Award while Guillermo del Toro took Best Director for bringing Alex's dark fantasy screenplay to life. Angelina Jolie won Best Actress, completing one of the strongest years of her career after carrying the film through its quieter emotional scenes and enormous fantasy sequences.
The production also claimed Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design, with both departments receiving some of the loudest internal celebrations at Titan after months of development work finally received Academy recognition.
The sixth victory belonged to Alex.
He won Best Original Screenplay for Maleficent, preserving the strange record that had begun following him through Hollywood. Alex Wilson still hadn't lost a single Academy Award category after receiving a nomination.
Supergirl had experienced a very different evening.
Alex's screenplay for the film had also received a Best Original Screenplay nomination, although Maleficent ultimately took the category. Because both nominations belonged to Alex, the result didn't technically damage his personal Academy record, since one of his own scripts had defeated the other.
Supergirl received ten nominations overall, including Best Actress for Alexis Castle, Best Original Screenplay for Alex, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score.
Alexis didn't win Best Actress, although receiving an Academy nomination for her first feature film had immediately transformed her from an unknown young performer into one of Hollywood's most closely watched new stars.
Supergirl still left the ceremony with four Oscars.
The film won Best Visual Effects for its destruction of Krypton and large-scale superhero sequences, Best Film Editing for balancing Kara's origin with the larger DC story, Best Sound Editing for its battles and Kryptonian environments, and Best Original Score for the musical identity that had carried Kara from Krypton to Earth.
Together, Maleficent and Supergirl had earned twenty-one nominations and ten Academy Awards.
Rachel's eyes moved slowly across the newly engraved names while Alex studied the growing Titan timeline beside her. Another section of the wall had been filled, and the company's awards history had somehow become even harder for the rest of Hollywood to ignore.
...
[Castle's penthouse] [Evening]
Two nights after the Academy Awards, Richard Castle's loft looked less like a home and more like somebody had combined a family celebration with an extremely expensive after-party.
Gold and white balloons floated near the ceiling, photographs from Supergirl covered one wall, and a large banner stretched above the living room windows congratulating Alexis on becoming an Academy Award nominee with her very first film. Castle had resisted the urge to order an actual Oscar-shaped ice sculpture only because Beckett had threatened to leave it outside if he did.
That hadn't stopped him from ordering a cake nearly three feet wide.
Alexis stood near the windows wearing jeans and a simple blouse, holding the same glass of sparkling cider she'd been carrying for almost twenty minutes without actually drinking from it. Every few minutes, somebody congratulated her again, hugged her, mentioned the Oscars, or reminded her that millions of people had watched her walk the red carpet alongside actors she'd previously only seen in movies.
Only a few years earlier, she'd been worrying about school assignments, college applications, and whether her father would embarrass her in front of her friends.
Now she'd played Supergirl in one of the biggest movies in the world, attended the Academy Awards, walked the red carpet beside some of Hollywood's most famous actors, and heard her name announced among the nominees for Best Actress.
She hadn't won.
Somehow, that barely mattered.
Getting nominated for her first movie already felt so completely ridiculous that Alexis still occasionally wondered whether somebody would wake her up and tell her she'd imagined the entire thing.
Castle had absolutely no intention of allowing her to process the achievement quietly.
He moved through the loft carrying champagne for the adults and sparkling cider for Alexis and her friends while repeatedly reminding anyone who would listen that his daughter was now an Oscar-nominated actress.
[A few minutes later...]
Castle appeared beside her carrying two small plates of cake. "I've decided you're legally required to eat something before your grandmother starts telling people Hollywood has starved you."
Alexis accepted one plate and gave him a tired smile. "Dad, I ate dinner."
"You moved vegetables around your plate while staring into space. As a father and bestselling mystery novelist, I'm trained to recognize suspicious behavior."
"You write fictional murders."
"Exactly. Years of investigative experience."
Kate walked past them carrying her own drink and gave Alexis an understanding smile. "Your dad has spent the last two days telling strangers his daughter was nominated for an Oscar, so I wouldn't expect normal behavior anytime soon."
Castle looked offended. "I told people who needed to know."
"You told the doorman."
"He seemed interested."
"You told the delivery guy."
"He was definitely interested."
Alexis laughed despite herself, and some of the pressure inside her chest finally loosened.
Across the room, Martha had established herself near the center of the party wearing a dramatic red outfit that made it impossible to forget she had once lived for stages, spotlights, and applause.
"My granddaughter entered Hollywood and immediately received an Academy Award nomination," Martha announced to a small group of guests. "Obviously, theatrical brilliance is hereditary."
Kate glanced toward Castle. "There it is."
Castle nodded solemnly. "I was wondering how long she'd last before claiming genetic responsibility."
Martha heard him anyway. "Darling, if you'd inherited more of my theatrical instincts, perhaps your book signings would have better lighting. But who knows? Maybe next year, you'll be running for Emmys for Nikki Heat."
Before Castle could reply, the front door opened again.
Meredith stepped inside carrying flowers, a gift bag, and enough excitement to make Alexis smile before her mother had even crossed the room.
"There's my Oscar-nominated baby!"
"Mom."
Meredith wrapped Alexis in a tight hug anyway.
Alexis closed her eyes and hugged her back, suddenly feeling much younger than she had beneath the lights of the Academy Awards.
Meredith pulled away and held both of Alexis's hands. "I watched the announcement three times because I thought I'd imagined your name the first time. Then I called your father, and he was completely useless because he was already crying."
Castle immediately objected from behind them. "There was no crying."
Kate lifted an eyebrow.
Castle sighed. "There was dignified moisture."
Alexis laughed again while Meredith kissed her forehead.
"I'm so proud of you," Meredith said more quietly. "This was your first movie. Your first real movie, Alexis. You stood beside women who've been doing this longer than you've been alive."
That thought made the overwhelmed feeling return.
Alexis looked down briefly. "That's actually the terrifying part."
Meredith's expression softened. "What is?"
Alexis hesitated before answering. "Everyone keeps talking like I've made it now. Reporters want to know what I'm doing next. Agents are calling. Directors are sending things. People I've never met suddenly know my name. I went from worrying about whether I could carry Supergirl to people asking what my next five movies are going to be."
Kate moved closer and rested a hand against Alexis's shoulder. "Then don't decide your next five movies."
Alexis looked toward her.
"Decide the next thing you actually want to do," Kate continued. "Everybody else can survive without having your entire life mapped out by next Tuesday."
Castle nodded, his humor disappearing for once. "You don't owe Hollywood a career plan because you got nominated. You're allowed to enjoy this before somebody turns it into a business strategy."
Alexis gave him a small smile. "That was surprisingly mature."
"I'm capable of tremendous wisdom under controlled conditions."
Martha raised her glass from across the room. "He gets that from me."
The door opened again before anybody could answer.
Alex entered with Rachel beside him, having come directly from Titan headquarters after Castle's repeated insistence that the celebration wouldn't be complete without the man responsible for putting Alexis inside a cape.
Castle immediately pointed toward him. "You made it."
"You called seventeen times."
"I wanted certainty."
Rachel glanced at Kate. "He also called my office twice."
Kate nodded knowingly. "That sounds normal."
Alex crossed toward Alexis and smiled. "How's Hollywood's newest Academy nominee handling fame?"
Alexis gave him a look. "Badly."
"Good."
She blinked. "Good?"
"It means you still understand this is strange," Alex replied. "I'd be more concerned if you were already walking around demanding people address you as an Oscar nominee."
Castle raised his hand. "Can I demand people call me father of an Oscar nominee?"
"No," Alexis, Kate, Meredith, and Martha answered almost simultaneously.
The room broke into laughter.
Later, more people arrived, including several of Alexis's school friends who seemed far less interested in industry politics than in seeing the dress she'd worn to the ceremony, asking what Angelina Jolie was like in person, and demanding to know whether Henry Cavill was actually as handsome up close.
That finally made the evening feel normal again.
Alexis sat cross-legged on the couch surrounded by friends while somebody passed around photographs from the ceremony. One friend nearly screamed when she found a picture of Alexis standing between Angelina and Halle, while another demanded every detail about the after-party.
For the first time since the nominations had been announced, Alexis wasn't thinking about career expectations, critics, contracts, or what came next.
She was simply a teenager surrounded by family and friends who were impossibly proud of her.
From across the room, Castle watched his daughter laughing until tears formed in her eyes.
Kate slipped her hand into his.
"You're doing the proud-dad stare again."
Castle smiled without looking away from Alexis. "I'm allowed tonight."
Kate rested her head lightly against his shoulder. "Yeah. Tonight, you definitely are."
Later, Alexis found herself looking at one of the photographs from the ceremony again. It showed her sitting among the nominees moments before Best Actress had been announced, nervous enough that she could still remember how hard her heart had been pounding.
She'd been disappointed when another name was called.
She could admit that now.
At first, the nomination itself had felt impossible enough. She'd told herself that simply being there was more than she could've dreamed of after one film, and everyone around her had repeated the same thing.
They were right.
But sitting inside that theater had changed something.
Alexis looked around the loft at her family, her friends, and the people celebrating what she'd already accomplished, then returned her attention to the photograph.
She didn't want that night to be the highest point of her career.
She wanted to go back.
Someday, she wanted to hear her own name called.
The thought no longer frightened her the way it might have months earlier. Instead, something warm and determined began growing beneath the uncertainty.
A small fire had started.
The nomination had shown Alexis how far she could go.
Now she wanted to find out whether she could go far enough to win.
--
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