imaginariumofpedropascal

[imaginariumofpedropascal]

[imaginariumofpedropascal]

Hey eyes went a little wide at his offer. "Oh, that's very kind of you," she murmured. "Especially since you don't know me."

She looked down at the map, following his finger to the X. "I'm no expert, but this would be a lot of effort for an arts and crafts project," she mused. "I mean, it certainly feels old. But, again, I'm no expert."

She was quiet for a few moments as she considered his question.

"I... Don't know." She laughed a little. "It seems fantastical to think of pirate gold or anything of that nature. I almost hope it's historical documents, but those would be ruined unless whatever vessel they're in is well sealed." Her expression fell a little, and she drew her lip between her teeth.

"Truthfully, I don't know that there will be anything to find at all. There's probably nothing. But it's fun to think about, right?"

He watched her face closely as she went through the different treasure options, entertaining the possibility of each of them. Her face really was wonderfully expressive.

The Thief found himself momentarily forgetting the map, instead wondering just what other expressions he could coax from her. A sharp burn at the base of his skull reminded him of his priorities and his smile faltered just a little before regaining his composure.

"It is," he agreed. "It's hard to deal in antiques and not get swept off by your imagination. So many secrets out there, just waiting to be discovered."

He picked up his drink and swallowed down the rest of the drink. Perhaps not his most dignified display this evening but he was suddenly eager to get out of here.

"Before the alcohol makes my mind too fuzzy to be useful, is there somewhere we could go?" He gave a moment's pause to watch her reaction before he elaborated. "To have a closer look at the map, I mean."

[imaginariumofpedropascal]

PEDRO PASCAL as DIETER BRAVO The Bubble (2022) dir. Judd Apatow

+ bonus 👀

[imaginariumofpedropascal]

I want to send something but I don't know to who and I'm incredibly nervous! 🤣🎵

Nervous? Because of us? I promise there's no need for that.

And if you're having trouble deciding who you want to see, I'm happy to discuss options in DMs or asks. I'm sure we can find a good fit for you.

[imaginariumofpedropascal]

Her eyes lit up. ‘I’d love to see your den, darling,’ she said softly. She was touched he wanted to show her such a personal part of his home. She wondered what it would be like; partly an homage to his idol, Nicolas Cage, but with something uniquely… Javi about it.

She had involuntarily held a breath as his fingers had twitched when she showed her old scar… she hoped he would reach out and touch it, but he hadn’t. Was he nervous? Was he trying not to be too eager? Had she misread everything? She tried not to think about the last one being the truth.

Hopping down from her stool, she balanced herself by resting her hands on his shoulders, and her breath caught in her throat as Javi stood in front of her. She’d forgotten how much taller he was when she was barefoot, and her mind started racing to thoughts of burying her head in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her…

She blinked slowly to school her thoughts, and slid her palm into his, entwining their fingers. ‘Lead the way, Javi,’ she smiled.

- 💙

Her reply was more enthusiastic than he'd expected and he watched her eyes twinkle with excitement.

"Yeah?" he breathed with relief. Javi wasn't ashamed of the collection of Nic Cage memorabilia that he kept in his den. But he was very protective of it, and that meant he tended to keep the visitors to a select few that he trusted.

And Javi trusted the woman in front of him, even if he didn't always trust himself not to make a fool out of himself in front of her.

They slid of their stools at the same time, bringing them almost chest to chest in the tight space between the stools.

She looked up at him, her hands on his shoulders to steady herself. If this had been a movie and Javi had been the male lead, this is where he would have said something witty about the situation before sliding his arm around her waist. He could see it clearly. It might even become a shot they would use for the poster.

But Javi isn't Sailor Ripley and even though the woman Javi had in front of him was just as beautiful, she wasn't his Lula. So Javi just gave her a gentle smile and stepped to the side to give her more space.

He'd barely taken the step before he felt her grab his hand in hers. Soft and warm. The second time he held it as he guided them both through the party, this time back to the house.

It was quieter inside, the music muffled by the thick glass of the windows. He heard some of the staff talking from the kitchen but steered her in the other direction towards the basement.

He was forced to let go of her hand once they reached the door to the downstairs den. The small scanner next to the door required his fingerprint to unlock the door.

It beeped softly as the light on the scanner turned green and Javi gestured for her to follow him down the stairs.

[imaginariumofpedropascal]

Hi, will Dieter come out to play at some point too?

Absolutely, if people want to interact with him!

I could see him meeting up with someone from the hotel staff, his PA, fellow actor, or maybe personal trainer. Or something else entirely. The sky's the limit!

[imaginariumofpedropascal]

Pedro Pascal as DIETER BRAVO in The Bubble (2022)

[imaginariumofpedropascal]

She giggled as he showed his scar. ‘You’d better not, Javier, you gave me the fright of my life!’

She could tell he hadn’t quite known what to say when she invited him to London. She hoped that was because he couldn’t get an enthusiastic yes out. He had said he wanted to go to London, so that was something positive at least.

She was a little disappointed when he pulled his hand away, but she knew she had come on a little strong. Hopefully he was getting the message.

She grinned mischievously, lifting up the skirt of her dress, dragging it to above her knee. ‘Then again, I did deserve it for terrifying you the night I got this one.’

She shuffled forward on the stool as gracefully as she could, making sure her knees were either side of one of his.

‘I can’t wait to see what adventures we get up to in London.’

- 💙

"I'm sorry," he told her, a couple of decades too late, but he meant it. The fear in her eyes before she'd known the extent of his injuries, had pained him more than the broken wrist that night. "If it's any consolation, my rollerblading days are behind me now. And my bodyguard is very fond of the word No. According to him, his job includes protecting me from myself as well and I..."

Javi's voice trailed off as she lifted the hem of her shirt above her knee. It took him a couple of seconds before he realized what she was doing.

The scar had faded slightly since he last saw it but it was still clearly visible despite the dim light. Javi's fingers twitched, wanting to reach out to touch it, touch her, to see if her skin felt as soft as it looked. But he stopped himself and curled his fingers into a loose fist resting on his own thigh instead.

She scooted closer, and his heartbeat sped up again, acutely aware of their proximity. The champagne he'd drunk made him more relaxed, but also aided the inappropriately fond thoughts about her.

"Me neither," he replied, feeling equal parts excitement and apprehension. The way she spoke to him sounded like flirting but Javi didn't trust his own judgment. Not when it came to her. And not when he wasn't entirely unbiased on the subject.

"Would...would you like to see my den?" he asked, retreating to safer territory.

[imaginariumofpedropascal]

She smiled when he didn't immediately dismiss her. That was new. And nice. And something she apparently needed every so often.

"I mean, I think it's a treasure map." She chuckled, shrugging. "But I haven't shown it to anyone else yet or had anyone check the authenticity of it. There's a good chance it's a fake or a prank or something."

She smoothed the edges of the paper carefully, fingers once again drifting to the X. "It's kinda fun to think about though, isn't it?" She looked at him again with a smile, her joy clear. Even if nothing came of this map, she was clearly pleased all the same.

The Thief lifted his gaze from the map to her face, his smile still lingering on his lips. She was excited about the map even without knowing whether or not it was real and The Thief found himself drawn in by her innocent enthusiasm. The Devil was excited too, but for entirely different reasons.

"If you want, I could have a look at it. I am somewhat of an expert at old things and antiques."

He reached out to carefully tap his finger against the X, next to her fingers.

"I can't tell you if there will actually be a treasure buried here but I can tell you if the map is old enough that it's a possibility, or if this is someone's arts and crafts project." Not entirely true. The Thief already knew there would be something in the spot marked by the X. The Devil wouldn't have given two shits about this map otherwise.

The Thief sat up a little straighter and picked up his glass of wine again.

"What sort of treasure would you hope to find?"

[imaginariumofpedropascal]

Javi glanced over at the other man again, wondering if by traveling through William meant that he was here for the LARP event. Javi had no idea how long those could last. He desperately wanted to ask more about them, but William had made it very clear that he was not going to break character and Javi would try and respect that by letting him remain in character. Method acting had always fascinated him.

William’s next comment made him smile - unintentionally proving the other man’s point even further.

“I’m grumpy sometimes too,” Javi said with a shrug. “But you are right that I’m not from here. I flew in from Mallorca last night. Might do a bit of sightseeing before I go back. I’ve never been to this country before.”

Javi turned away from the other man to once again take in his surroudings. Not much had changed since he last looked around, but he did think the dirt road they were walking on had gotten slightly wider. 

“Do you have any recommendations of things to see? I know you said you’re not from here but maybe you know something?”

"What would Benjamin Franklin Gates do? What would Benjamin Franklin Gates do?"

Javi repeated the mantra to himself in a hushed voice, earning himself concerned stares from the people who passed him, as he made his way down the many flights of stone stairs towards the entrance hall.

In his arms, he was cradling a polished wooden case containing his latest purchase; a dagger. A very old antique dagger. It had cost Javi a fortune but it had been worth it. The dagger would make an awesome addition to his collection back home.

His fingers itched to open the case right here and now. He knew he should wait. Be patient. But waiting and being patient had never really been Javi's strong suit.

"What would Benjamin Franklin Gates do?" He repeated yet again. By the time he was halfway down the next set of stairs, he had convinced himself that Ben would also want to check, would want to know just what it felt like to hold so much history in his hand, just for a second.

As he moved, he carefully worked the clasp of the case and pushed open the lid. There it was. Javi could practically hear Trevor Rabin's movie score playing in the background and Turteltaub whispering "action!" just before Javi reached out and wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the dagger.

In the next moment, a lot of things happened at once. Javi felt the ground disappear from under his feet and it felt like he was soaring through time and space itself. There was a loud rushing sound in his head and in the next blink of an eye, everything exploded into black.

When he next opened his eyes, it was to the sight of a clear blue sky and the dew from wet grass seeping into his orange shirt.

"What the fuck?"

William had been having a nice calm day. He was traveling between towns at the moment, a slow but quiet process. At least he didn’t have to worry about food - he was a more than adequate hunter.

He did pause when he heard someone ahead of him. The accent reminded him of Pero, possibly. But Pero was not with him.

Moving cautiously, he drew an arrow and knocked it to his bow, moving forward to investigate the noise. A man was laying in the grass in front of him, wearing… Very odd clothing. William frowned at him, wary. This did not bode well. Regardless, he moved closer, keeping tension on his bow for now.

[imaginariumofpedropascal]

Javi visibly relaxed when William mirrored his statement, only William actually sounded sure of what he was saying. Javi let out a slow breath that he hadn’t been aware he was holding. They were still heading towards town. Javi still had a guide to get him there. And as soon as he was back in civilization, Javi would arrange to have enough money transfered to William that the man could buy a hundred authentic suits of armor, or whatever else his heart desired.

His heart hadn’t quite calmed down - and Javi’s mind unhelpfully supplied that there were still plenty of unexplainable things going on - but William was staying and Javi decided to anchor his sanity to this stranger for the duration of their walk back. 

Javi stood up and accepted the coins that William held out for him. He gave the other man a tentative smile.  

“Or at least a way to get in touch with someone who does,” he said.

They started walking again, with Javi watching their surroundings and William in equal measures. 

“Are you from around here?” he asked after a couple of minutes.

"What would Benjamin Franklin Gates do? What would Benjamin Franklin Gates do?"

Javi repeated the mantra to himself in a hushed voice, earning himself concerned stares from the people who passed him, as he made his way down the many flights of stone stairs towards the entrance hall.

In his arms, he was cradling a polished wooden case containing his latest purchase; a dagger. A very old antique dagger. It had cost Javi a fortune but it had been worth it. The dagger would make an awesome addition to his collection back home.

His fingers itched to open the case right here and now. He knew he should wait. Be patient. But waiting and being patient had never really been Javi's strong suit.

"What would Benjamin Franklin Gates do?" He repeated yet again. By the time he was halfway down the next set of stairs, he had convinced himself that Ben would also want to check, would want to know just what it felt like to hold so much history in his hand, just for a second.

As he moved, he carefully worked the clasp of the case and pushed open the lid. There it was. Javi could practically hear Trevor Rabin's movie score playing in the background and Turteltaub whispering "action!" just before Javi reached out and wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the dagger.

In the next moment, a lot of things happened at once. Javi felt the ground disappear from under his feet and it felt like he was soaring through time and space itself. There was a loud rushing sound in his head and in the next blink of an eye, everything exploded into black.

When he next opened his eyes, it was to the sight of a clear blue sky and the dew from wet grass seeping into his orange shirt.

"What the fuck?"

William had been having a nice calm day. He was traveling between towns at the moment, a slow but quiet process. At least he didn’t have to worry about food - he was a more than adequate hunter.

He did pause when he heard someone ahead of him. The accent reminded him of Pero, possibly. But Pero was not with him.

Moving cautiously, he drew an arrow and knocked it to his bow, moving forward to investigate the noise. A man was laying in the grass in front of him, wearing… Very odd clothing. William frowned at him, wary. This did not bode well. Regardless, he moved closer, keeping tension on his bow for now.

[imaginariumofpedropascal]

PEDRO PASCAL as Marcus Moreno WE CAN BE HEROES (2020) dir. Robert Rodriguez

[imaginariumofpedropascal]

Javi crouched next to William to help gather up the old coins from the ground. 

William seemed confused - possibly even more so than Javi. He seemed bewildered by the comment about his costume, which Javi chalked up to being some sort of acting thing. He felt more sure by the minute that this really was a kind of LARPing scenario. Would he have preferred if William had broken character to help him? Yes. But he always tried to be mindful of people’s crafts, and this was clearly important to William.

“Sorry,” he mumbled as he put the coins in his bag, “I mean your armor. It looks good.”

It didn’t seem to put William at ease, however. He still watched Javi and the frown he’d worn behind the bow was back again. 

“What is going on?” William asked. Javi felt the lock on the worry corner of his mind rattle. It was much easier to keep calm when William wasn’t also acting like there was something strange going on. 

With an anxious feeling growing in his gut, Javi looked around. There weren’t any kinds of woods like this close to the museum. Where was he? And why couldn’t he remember how he’d gotten here?

Javi felt his breathing turn shallow again. He wanted to call his assistant. Or Simon. Wanted someone familiar to tell him what was going on. 

But there were no familiar faces around. Just William, asking him what was going on.

“You’re taking me back to town,” he said in what sounded more like a hopeful plea than a sure answer. Javi didn’t know William but right now he was the only one keeping Javi from being completely alone and lost in the forest. If he decided to leave Javi and take off, Javi wasn’t sure what he would do.

"What would Benjamin Franklin Gates do? What would Benjamin Franklin Gates do?"

Javi repeated the mantra to himself in a hushed voice, earning himself concerned stares from the people who passed him, as he made his way down the many flights of stone stairs towards the entrance hall.

In his arms, he was cradling a polished wooden case containing his latest purchase; a dagger. A very old antique dagger. It had cost Javi a fortune but it had been worth it. The dagger would make an awesome addition to his collection back home.

His fingers itched to open the case right here and now. He knew he should wait. Be patient. But waiting and being patient had never really been Javi's strong suit.

"What would Benjamin Franklin Gates do?" He repeated yet again. By the time he was halfway down the next set of stairs, he had convinced himself that Ben would also want to check, would want to know just what it felt like to hold so much history in his hand, just for a second.

As he moved, he carefully worked the clasp of the case and pushed open the lid. There it was. Javi could practically hear Trevor Rabin's movie score playing in the background and Turteltaub whispering "action!" just before Javi reached out and wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the dagger.

In the next moment, a lot of things happened at once. Javi felt the ground disappear from under his feet and it felt like he was soaring through time and space itself. There was a loud rushing sound in his head and in the next blink of an eye, everything exploded into black.

When he next opened his eyes, it was to the sight of a clear blue sky and the dew from wet grass seeping into his orange shirt.

"What the fuck?"

William had been having a nice calm day. He was traveling between towns at the moment, a slow but quiet process. At least he didn’t have to worry about food - he was a more than adequate hunter.

He did pause when he heard someone ahead of him. The accent reminded him of Pero, possibly. But Pero was not with him.

Moving cautiously, he drew an arrow and knocked it to his bow, moving forward to investigate the noise. A man was laying in the grass in front of him, wearing… Very odd clothing. William frowned at him, wary. This did not bode well. Regardless, he moved closer, keeping tension on his bow for now.

[imaginariumofpedropascal]

She bit her lip, looking at him. Sure, he was a stranger, but she rather wanted to share this with somebody.

Pulling her purse fully into her lap, she opened it and pulled out a carefully-folded paper.

"Okay, this is not going to be as exciting as you think it will be," she admitted. "But I'm excited about this. It's a historical find, if nothing else."

She unfolded the paper carefully, still holding it more or less in her lap. "See that?" She pointed to a squiggly line bisecting the page. "I think that's the coast, and those are islands." She pointed to the small blobs on one side of the page.

"Which makes this side the continent, right? And..." She pointed to an X somewhere on the continent. "X marks the spot, right?"

The Thief watched with eager eyes as she placed her purse on the bartop and pulled out a sheet of paper.

"Let me be the judge of that, beautiful," he protested kindly when she immediately tried to downplay the excitement for whatever she was about to show. The devilish presence in the back of his mind was uncharacteristically quiet - waiting, just like The Thief.

It was only when she unfolded the paper in front of them, that the creature roared back to life.

The Thief had had centuries to get used to the burning pain that always accompanied the Devil's excitement - like flames licking his spine and gathering at the base of his skull - and beyond a slight twitch of his shoulders he managed to keep any displays of pain hidden.

Instead, he forced a smile with such practiced ease that he probably wouldn't even have been able to tell the difference from a genuine one himself.

"It's a treasure map?" he asked, despite the fact that both he and the Devil already knew exactly that was what it was.

[imaginariumofpedropascal]

She smiled in agreement as he mentioned it had been so long since they last saw each other.

‘I’ve been good, thank you Javi. Keeping busy until I can next see you, at least,’ she grinned at him.

She went to take a sip of champagne and then thought better of it; raising her glass in a toast she said ‘To reuniting!’ and clinked her glass against his.

‘And I have something really fun to keep you busy, if you wanted,’ she said as she sipped her champagne. ‘Next month, my favourite cinema in London is showing an anniversary screening of The Rock.’

Her breathing got a little quicker as she leant forward, putting her glass on the bar and leaning forward, wrapping both her hands around his free one and squeezing gently. She swallowed and decided to shoot her shot. At least she’d know where she stood.

‘Would you like to come with me to see it, Javi? We could make a long weekend of it?’ she asked.

She steadied her breathing and not her lip slightly as she nervously awaited her reply.

- 💙

Javi slowly sipped his champagne, the tingling from the bubbles on his tongue amplified throughout his whole body by her confession that she thought about him even when he was out of sight. Or maybe that was just polite small talk? They were friends, sure, but every time they got to see each other felt like little isolated bubbles of time, cut off from their respective everyday lives. Like disappearing into a movie and the life of someone else. At least for Javi. She didn't know what he did for a living, and it felt like a treat he wasn't sure he'd earned to have her looking at him like he was just her old friend Javi from school, and not the drug kingpin Gutierrez.

He gently clinked his glass against her in the toast and silently wished for more reunions in the future.

And some wishes came true faster than others...

"The Rock? Are you serious? It's one of my favorite movies!" The excited smile on his face morphed into an expression of tense frustration that he'd seen on the big screen in his movie den so many times before. "I love pressure, I eat it for breakfast," he quoted the movie's protagonist Stanley Goodspeed - biochemist, turned action hero.

He was shaken from his act when soft hands took hold of his, and Stanley's expression relaxed back into Javi's own when she leaned forward to recapture his attention. He looked down at their hands with a quick glance before returning it to her face.

"I..." he began, still a little distracted by how soft her hands felt. "I've always wanted to go to London," he eventually managed to get out. She was sitting so close and Javi was sure that if she kept watching him like that, his body would somehow betray him and reveal the unrealistic crush he was harboring.

So, before he could make a fool out of himself and ruin a perfectly good friendship, he smiled and pulled his hand back with the pretense of needing more champagne. He refilled their glasses.

"It will be fun to take a trip together again! And this time I promise not to break my wrist." With a sheepish smile, Javi held up his hand where the white scar peeked out from under the cuff of his shirt.

[imaginariumofpedropascal]

PEDRO PASCAL as JAVI GUTIERREZ in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) trailer

[imaginariumofpedropascal]

She grinned at his little confession. The drinks here were indeed not the best, but they were fine.

When he didn't immediately lean back, she blinked at him but didn't protest. Okay, sure, he was a bit in her space, but not too much. And oddly enough she didn't really mind. So far he had proven to be fun and funny and nice enough. So she would extend him this bit of trust.

"Oh, I'm normally quite boring. I usually stay home. Cook. Read. Play video games. Watch TV." She shrugged. "I am one of the most boring people I know, mostly."

Her smile turned just a little sly then. "But I do occasionally find interesting ways to pass the time."

Okay, yes, she was being a bit of a tease there, but really, she had to get her amusement where she could. And she would happily elaborate if he asked.

Testing the water proved to be mostly successful. She did definitely take note when he lingered just a tad closer than a person normally would, but she didn't appear entirely put off or uncomfortable by it. So he'd earned himself some level of trust, it seemed.

Her answer to his question made him frown slightly, however, and he leaned back again to watch her, with his head tilted to the side.

"I hate to call someone I just met a liar... but I've met my fair share of boring people, and you're not it..."

He shook his head a little

"No..." he said slowly, almost as if to himself, "Not boring."

He was proven correct when her self-deprecating demeanor suddenly shifted into a sly smile. The Thief was suddenly intrigued.

"And what interesting ways are those?" he asked, taking a sip of his wine.