Chapter Text
“Rio! Agatha! Over here!”
“Smile for us, Rio!”
“We love your look today, Agatha. Who styled you?”
“You two are such a power duo!”
“You look lovely together!”
“You look constipated.”
It’s whispered right against Agatha’s ear, Rio’s lips a breadth away from actually touching her skin, and Agatha has to use all her acting skills to fight the urge to jerk away from the almost too-intimate gesture from her co-star.
What Agatha can’t fight, however, is the goosebumps that erupt on her arms at the hot air that hits her sensitive ear. She can already imagine how Jen will have her head tomorrow because of the way her smile dims just a tiny bit at the realization of how much Rio affects her.
And also at the realization that the way Rio leaned into her would be splashed on the front pages tomorrow morning.
This better be worth it, Jen.
“I’m smiling just the way you are, sweetheart,” Agatha whispers right back at Rio, never once removing her eyes away from the hundreds of camera lenses directed at them as they pose on the red carpet.
Agatha’s done this a couple of hundred times but she’s never felt such exhaustion seep into her bones the way it does now.
She has an idea why that is.
The reason, whose arm is wrapped loosely around Agatha’s waist, further pulls her in as shutters are clicked much faster and the lights become almost too blinding.
Agatha’s head is starting to throb, and she can’t wait for this whole event to be over.
“Just get it over with. You’ll be fine.”
She’s not fine.
“You agreed to this, Agatha,” Rio says, her smile almost too dazzling for the cameras, and even though it’s not directed at her, Agatha can’t help the passing thought that Rio is well… attractive. Gorgeous. A woman who deserves to be worshipped in all possible ways.
What?
Now even her subconscious is being weird.
God, why did she even agree to this?
“No.”
“Agatha—”
“I said no.”
“You didn’t even hear the rest of what I have to say.”
Agatha stares Jen down as her manager gestures at the two other people in the room with them.
Two other people—that, as of the moment, are Agatha’s most hated people on earth.
Agatha hates a lot of people, something she can’t help considering her line of work, but those two? They currently rank higher on her long list.
“I don’t have to,” Agatha retorts. “I’m not interested in your bullshit marketing strategy. I am an established actress in this industry, Jen. I wouldn’t stoop so low as to participate in dating stunts to boost my name or my movie.”
Like, seriously. The Agatha Harkness has been in the movie industry for more than two decades now. Her name alone already garners enough attention and audience. Her long list of filmography and her shelves full of awards and recognitions speak of her talent and skill in the field.
So, for Jen to suggest such a thing?
Preposterous.
“It’s just for a few months.” It’s Alice, and Agatha moves her eyes from Jen to Alice.
Yet the other manager doesn’t even flinch at the ice and venom in Agatha’s look. She’s been in the industry long enough to not be fazed by murderous looks from actors and artists. Especially ones from Agatha.
“It’s just for a few months?” Agatha echoes, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “Then why don’t you do it?”
Alice looks at her as if she’s grown another head. Actually, Alice has been looking at her like that ever since they first met so Agatha should really be used to it by now.
Alice’s next words are slow as if she were talking to a five-year-old. “I’m not the actress here, Agatha. You are.”
“And as the actress, I’m saying no.” Agatha looks at the three other people in the room with as much contempt as she can muster before adding, “I’m already in an actual relationship.”
Agatha can’t even imagine the talk she’ll have with her husband if she actually agrees to this. And with her and Ralph being on a slippery slope right now, this might just be what will push them off the edge and towards the end.
Agatha didn’t keep her marriage a secret—something that is just her own, not the public’s—for two years just for it to end because of a dating stunt with a co-star.
“The public doesn’t even know you’re with Ralph,” Jen argues, voice level despite the conversation going on for more than ten minutes now. “You just need to get papped in a couple of public outings and formal events, and that’s it.”
“Do you have any idea of what kind of damage that would do to my actual relationship? I already had sex with Rio on screen, and now you want me to make out with her in public for the cameras?”
“I see no difference,” Alice says, and Agatha swears Alice really is starting to grate on her nerves today.
“Well, I do!” insists Agatha, getting frustrated with the line of conversation. She’s a 48-year-old woman, for fuck’s sake. She’s been in this industry for more than half her life. And now she’s being asked to ‘fake date’ a younger—much, much younger—co-actress?
Agatha is an established name in this goddamn industry! How many times does she need to remind them of that? She doesn’t need a PR stunt.
“Yeah?” It’s a challenge. “Then name them. You already had sex on-screen with Rio—”
“It was simulated.”
“—what’s a few kisses and handholding gonna do to your actual relationship?”
Well, if Alice puts it that way, there really isn’t much difference.
It’s just another day of acting.
But Agatha is stubborn, and she doesn’t want to do it, so she’s standing by her word.
And seriously, she’s dreading the talk she’ll need to have with Ralph if she actually agrees to Jen and Alice’s ridiculous idea.
“I don’t care. We did have simulated sex on-cam, but that’s different because it was—”
“It’s the perception.”
They all stop to look at Rio.
Ever since the talk turned from a negotiation to an argument, Rio never once spoke a word, letting Alice do her job as her manager.
And yet, now here she is—coming to Agatha’s aid. Or not, depending on what she’ll say next.
“What Agatha is trying to say is there is a different perception,” explains Rio. “On screen, they know we’re acting. The sex—as numerous as they were—were all just an act. Simulated, as she said. But being out in public with no ‘script’ is different since it’s supposedly ‘real.’”
Agatha simply blinks at Rio who won’t even look at her and is instead solely focused on Alice. She kinda thinks Rio may not be on board with this idea as Agatha first assumed.
Even though both of them have been in the industry for years, Agatha and Rio never once got the chance to work together. That is until Lilia personally contacted them both and invited them to star as lovers in her directorial debut film.
Considering Lilia was practically Agatha’s mentor and closest friend in the industry, Agatha couldn’t decline even if she wanted to (she didn’t).
She can’t say the same thing for Rio who, as far as she knows, has never even worked or interacted with Lilia.
But for Lilia to offer such a role to Rio means that Lilia saw talent in her, a spark.
And Agatha trusts Lilia’s judgment (most of the time, anyway).
Agatha has even witnessed Rio’s acting and professionalism on set, surprisingly amazed at how easily Rio took on the role of a heartbroken, yearning lover.
While they did exchange a couple of words with each other during their shoots, Agatha mostly kept to herself—as she wont to do when internalizing—so she never had the chance to really talk to Rio.
Despite their lack of interaction, Rio has always been professional. Even—no, especially, during intimate scenes.
Agatha can still remember how Rio talked to her before they filmed their sex scenes together. And how she always, always asked for Agatha’s consent before any action, just before the cameras started rolling.
“If you feel uncomfortable any time during the scenes, tap my back twice, and I’ll ask for a break.”
Agatha never tapped out, of course—she’s a professional actress with more than 20 years of acting experience under her belt, and sex scenes are just sex scenes—but she appreciates Rio’s consideration, nevertheless.
So, for her to now speak up to side with Agatha is something she… welcomes.
Shaking herself out of staring too intently at Rio, Agatha exclaims, “See? Rio gets it.”
Alice sighs, obviously exasperated, before she turns to her talent. “Whose side are you on?” she asks Rio.
“No one’s,” Rio says, looking bored as she examines her nails and doesn’t even bother to look up at Alice. There’s no bite, sarcasm, or any trace of humor in her voice. She just sounds like she’s talking about some mundane thing. Like she’s not in a room of people wanting to make them ‘fake date’ each other. Agatha doesn’t know if she should be impressed or amused. Rio is a damn good actress. “I’m just here because you asked me to be.”
Alice shakes her head before looking at Jen and Agatha again. “Three months tops, Agatha.”
“It’s good publicity for your movie,” adds Jen, still calm, and Agatha wonders why she still is. Usually, if their negotiations drag on for too long, she starts arguing with Agatha like they’re friends instead of manager and talent.
“Imagine the headlines, ‘On-screen chemistry to real-life relationship.’ People gobble that shit up like it’s drugs,” Jen continues as if she hasn’t been receiving Agatha’s death glare for a couple of minutes now. “It’s not going to hurt your image to be seen with Rio, either. You’ve been out of the dating scene since you married Ralph, and it’s high time we give people something to talk about aside from your foray into the world of indie.”
That’s what Jen kept saying since earlier. And Agatha doesn’t disagree because they will be the talk of the town for at least a month or two. That will surely boost their reputation and movie even more.
And what’s a better way to do that than by being photographed with a co-star while doing… something suggestive?
Not that Agatha needs it. Again, she’s an established name in this goddamn industry already. What is the need for such childish stunts?
Agatha sure as hell knows that Rio doesn’t need it either.
Despite only being in the industry for nine years, Rio has already established herself as a brilliant actress.
And, Rio being a lesbian has pretty much given her a solid fanbase.
Agatha would know.
“And if we ‘break up’?” Agatha asks, still on the fence about the whole thing. It’s one thing to tell Ralph that he’ll most likely come across a clip of Agatha’s intimate scenes with Rio online. It’s another to explain why Agatha and Rio’s very publicized, very not scripted kiss is splashed on their morning paper. “What then? What would be your brilliant plan?”
“You’ll both be painted as professionals who didn’t let past relationships get in the way of new projects.”
Good point. But still… “I don’t want to.”
Jen sighs, and it’s as if that’s her last straw as she begins, “I didn’t want to do this because I promised I’d talk to you about any decisions involving marketing strategies, and we’ve worked together for years. But—”
Oh, shit. Agatha already dreads what’s coming next.
“—publicity stunts like this are stipulated in your contract.”
Ah, fuck.
“We’ll be doing a trial run next week,” Jen announces as soon as Alice and Rio leave them alone on their own.
Just when Agatha thinks that it’s over, Jen decides to say such ridiculous things.
“Why the fuck do we need a trial run?” Agatha demands. She can’t, for the life of her, understand the need for a so-called ‘trial run.’ “This isn’t a product launch, Jen.”
Jen waves her concerns away, “For you to see how good you and Rio would look together as a ‘real-life couple.’ Plus,” she adds, “paparazzi will be there. It’s the perfect opportunity to test out your real-life chemistry.”
Agatha really hates Jennifer sometimes. She always has something to say to counter Agatha’s snide remarks. Although, she supposes working with each other for years made them attuned to each other.
Too attuned, Agatha thinks.
“If it doesn’t work, then we won’t push any further.”
Knowing Jen—someone who never ever backs down from anything—that is unlikely. And Agatha lets her incredulity be known when she asks, “Oh, really?”
Jen only rolls her eyes at Agatha’s obvious disbelief. “Yes, really.” Then, she sighs as if everything about this is against her will.
It’s not, Agatha knows that. She also knows Jen is just doing her job. And part of that job is making decisions that will boost Agatha’s name no matter what.
“Agatha, this is the best I can do,” Jen says as if pleading for her to understand the situation. Agatha does—she’s just petulant; it’s in her nature. “This is stipulated in your contract, but I still respect your decision and autonomy.”
Agatha nods, finally relenting and stopping the glare she has been sending Jen’s way since earlier. “And does Rio know about this ‘trial run’ you speak of?”
“She already agreed.”
Well, that makes Agatha like Rio a tad less.
Whatever. It can’t be that bad.
Rio is… well, she’s not bad to look at.
And based on the few conversations they’ve had, she’s also not unfunny.
Maybe it’ll make the upcoming awards show next week a bit less boring.
God knows Agatha needs something—someone—to save her from boredom during such events.
Maybe that someone is Rio.
God, as a matter of fact, did give her Rio.
Almost the entirety of the show is filled with Rio’s hushed running commentary on the presenters, awardees, and even the cameramen. From ‘that suit is hideous, if I were him, I would’ve stabbed my designer then thrown them to a ravine’ to ‘the movie isn’t that bad when I first saw it on Netflix’, Rio has made a normally boring show lighter. Fun.
Agatha has suppressed her amused smile and chuckle at every comment Rio made, deeming it inappropriate to laugh when someone is crying on stage accepting their award.
Despite all Rio’s commentary, though, old habits die hard. One of which is Agatha discreetly keeping a countdown to decide the most socially acceptable time to make her exit.
“Five minutes left,” Agatha murmurs loud enough for only Rio to hear.
Rio looks over at Agatha with a smirk, amused and eyes bright even in the dim lighting of the place. “Keeping a countdown now, aren’t we?”
Agatha rolls her eyes, but she keeps her smile intact just in case there’s a camera somewhere pointed at them. Better for them to think she’s fondly rolling her eyes at something silly Rio said than explain why she’s being a snob to her own ‘girlfriend.’
Not that the public is already aware of Agatha and Rio’s setup, but Agatha doesn’t want to deal with Jen’s possible ire and lecture about her being a ‘snob’ to a co-star. Again.
“I’m tired.” It’s not totally an excuse. Agatha is tired, but she doesn’t want to talk about the other reason why she is.
“I’ve already told Alice to have the car ready like ten minutes ago.” Rio still has an amused smirk on her face as she says it but it somehow makes Agatha blink twice at her.
Which Rio doesn’t miss.
“What are you looking at me that for?” she asks with a tilt of her head to the side, puzzled at Agatha’s confusion. “Is my makeup smudged?”
Agatha shakes her head to shake herself out of the weird stupor she was just in. For a second there, Rio looked way too attractive. “No, no. You look amazing.”
It’s Rio’s turn to blink as a soft blush appears on her cheeks—one that even the dim lights can’t hide from Agatha. “Oh,” Rio murmurs, a small smile forming on her lips, “Thanks. You really are a charmer.”
This time, Agatha’s smile is genuine, and she even manages to chuckle at the way Rio says it—as if Rio never really believed that Agatha was charismatic, even after working with her for the past few months.
Honestly, if Agatha isn’t in a relationship or in the limelight with a reputation to maintain, there would be absolutely nothing stopping her from leaning forward and pressing her lips to Rio’s.
But she is, so she simply shakes her head at the absolutely ridiculous stray thought and directs Rio to focus on the awards show in front of them.
For the rest of their stay at the show, Agatha holds on to the image of Rio’s amused smile and blush in her mind.
The guilt of imagining another woman’s smile—a co-actress and fake girlfriend at that—doesn’t come to Agatha until she opens the door to her apartment and sees Ralph lounging on the couch with Señor Scratchy.
Right. Their apartment.
What the fuck is wrong with her?
“Hey,” greets Ralph as he continues petting a drowsy Scratchy in his arms.
“Hey yourself,” Agatha says to Ralph as she reaches out a hand to the wall for balance as she removes her stilettos.
God, her feet are so sore. She’s been attending events and award shows for almost two decades now but she still hates going to them.
She hates the fake smiles and laughter. She detests having to make small talk with people who want nothing to do with her. She dislikes the plasticity of it all.
The only silver lining of the night was Rio.
Rio and her amusing, albeit distracting running commentary.
Rio and her ever-present smirk.
Rio and her warm, brown eyes.
Rio and the gentleness with which she holds Agatha even if it’s only in front of the cameras.
Rio, Rio, Rio.
Fucking hell.
“Have you eaten?” Ralph’s voice is a welcome distraction and Agatha uses it to focus on her husband.
Husband, Agatha. You’ve got a husband. The one that won’t even bother to stand up to greet you. The one who won’t even spare you a glance, but a husband, nonetheless.
With her heels finally removed, Agatha stretches her arms upwards as she walks over to join Ralph on the couch. “I had dinner at the event. You?”
Ralph doesn’t even look up from the TV, too focused on the football game. He doesn’t even bother to sit up a little to let Agatha join him, instead simply opting to stay lying down across the furniture. “Ate with Jimmy after work.”
Knowing she’s not going to get anything else from him, Agatha simply mutters, “Okay. I’m just gonna shower and sleep. You coming?”
It’s less of an invitation and more like a bump. A reminder to Ralph that Agatha does exist, even if he doesn’t seem to care one bit.
“Gotta finish this,” Ralph replies, no emotion in his voice. He doesn’t even look up from the screen.
It’s enough for Agatha to walk away without another thought or look at her husband.
If she can even call him that now.
Agatha can still vividly remember the day she and Ralph stopped acting like a couple in love.
“I don’t want a baby, Ralph.”
Agatha, for the life of her, can’t remember how she and Ralph even got married without first talking about children.
Agatha never wanted one. Growing up with an emotionally distant and abusive mother, she knew better than to bring a child into this world and scar them the way she’s been scarred.
That, on top of her busy work schedule and active lifestyle, won’t make her a good mother.
She is aware of her limitations, loathe though she must admit, so she has long established that boundary for herself. It is a line she won’t ever cross for anyone.
So, it’s one of the first things she says to people she dates. “I don’t want to have kids.”
It’s her non-negotiable. And for some, it’s a deal-breaker. And Agatha respects that. If they want children, then it’s either they settle with someone willing to have one with them or be with Agatha but childless.
And Agatha thought that Ralph understood that. She thought they had agreed. Oh, was she wrong.
“I thought you’d change your mind after we got married.”
His audacity had surprised Agatha, and she couldn’t reconcile that version of Ralph—callous, withdrawn, selfish—from the man—fun, carefree, loving—she married in Vegas.
Since then, her marriage has slowly crumbled, and Agatha can’t even find it in herself to care anymore.
Sure, she put up a lot of fight against Jen when they brought up the idea of fake dating Rio, but it’s all for show. Agatha, after all, is still in denial that the one thing she had to herself alone for the past two years is now breaking down in front of her very eyes.
The thing she chose for herself. The one thing she thought she could keep sacred, safe, and away from prying eyes and runny mouths.
But after the conversation she had with Ralph earlier—if it can even be called a conversation at all—Agatha knows there’s no saving them.
So, once she’s out of the shower, the first thing she does is get her phone. And without letting herself question her decision, she dials Jen’s number.
Jen picks up on the second ring, and Agatha immediately says, “I’ll do it.”
Rightfully confused, Jen asks, “What?”
“I’ll date Rio. I’ll pretend I’m in love with her.” The last one isn’t part of their initial negotiation, but Jen doesn’t comment on it.
Agatha is met with silence. Then, she can practically hear Jen squeal in victory. “Great, I’ll inform Alice.”