A/n: Well, I don't know what possessed me to write these. I guess it's just my nature. I have no clue how many there'll be, but this was written on Thanksgiving into Black Friday. I guess all I can say is just... enjoy the first of the Midnight Vignettes!

It May Take Years

It had been years. She knew that better than anyone.

It had been years since they had last seen each other. Since they had last acted opposite each other. They had only done so about two or three times, all in her first year of college.

That had been ten years ago.

Now, the twenty-eight year old actress stared at the man in front of her. Amy Granger had just walked into the initial read-through for the Broadway revival of Jekyll and Hyde. Sitting down at the far end of the table was a young man with whom she had first attended community college. They had long since lost touch, but she still remembered being enamored with him all those years ago. His name was Eric Madison.

She smiled at him politely, certain that he wouldn’t remember her. After all, it wasn’t her that would be etched into his memory from all those years ago. It would be one of those gorgeous, skinny blondes from their dance class. Kim and Nancy, she thought their names were. Not to mention, he had known her back when she had actually been known as Amy Granger. When she first hit Broadway, she had taken the stage name Caroline Grant. He couldn’t possibly know her now. Taking a seat near the middle of the table, she flipped through her script and looked through the lines she was already so familiar with.

Eric had glanced up when he heard the door open. It wasn’t very often that he was on time for anything, but this was his first starring role in a Broadway show. He wanted to both meet his co-stars and make a good impression. He was surprised at the person that came through the door.

Standing there before him was a familiar face that he couldn’t entirely place. He knew it had to have been years since they had seen each other, but didn’t remember seeing such a familiar name on the list of actors he had heard. He didn’t know if it was the sweetly rounded face or the way her smile flitted across her features, but there was something that made her seem familiar.

As she took her seat and began pouring over her script, the wrinkle of concentration on her otherwise smooth forehead conjured another memory. The memory of a young woman trying to recall answers on a test and, at another time, the blocking she had to relay to an absent cast member. The woman in that memory differed in slight ways. She had a slightly fuller form, much shorter, blonde hair, and glasses that framed- or rather blocked- her eyes. It had been ten years ago that those memories had taken place, but it slowly began to dawn on him who this actress was.

Just as the realization began to hit him, the director called order to the read-through that had, to Eric, suddenly filled the room with people.

As the read-through went on, they both began to see little things that proved who they were to each other. Eric watched Amy as she listened carefully to the other actors and the director, and delivered her lines in a manner that belied her youthful appearance; showing capability and understanding.. In turn, Amy listened to the timbre of Eric’s voice and watched the smile that occasionally came over his face when he thought no one was looking.

In their combined scenes, it became obvious to the director that these two had worked together, though they didn’t have any of the same credits. Though young, this Caroline Grant showed true understanding of the character of Lucy. As a counter, Eric Madison had a fresher look on Jekyll and a darker version of Hyde than any he himself had ever seen. It was hard to believe that they were both so young.

The read-through continued, with the director taking down notes to offer up later and to observe the changes as they took place later at the blocking rehearsals. Mentally, Amy made her own notes for herself and berated herself when the perfectionist in her wasn’t satisfied.

When the read-through ended that evening, Amy put her script in her bag before slowly standing up and starting to put on her coat. Before she knew what was happening, she felt someone help her with her coat and heard a low voice whisper in her ear.

“Hello Amy,” came a soft, deep voice. It made her jump slightly, but she knew it had to be Eric. He was the only one in the room who knew her birth name. Figuring she’d play a game with him, she turned and gave him a look.

“What makes you think that’s my name?” She inquired with her best ‘don’t-mess-with-me’ voice. Eric was a little surprised, but continued on.

“You just look very much like someone I knew years ago.”

“Well, you remind me of someone I used to know. But I’ll give you a little quiz, something that only he and I would really remember.” She replied. It surprised Amy how coy she could be when she tried.

“Shoot.” Eric was ready. He wasn’t entirely sure, but he had a feeling he would know the answer.

“I went to college with a guy that you remind me of. The first show we worked on had a scene where the same thing went wrong on both the first and last nights of the show. You have to tell me: A) what was the show; B) what was the scene; and C) what went wrong.” Amy mentally laughed. If Eric was how she remembered him, he would definitely remember this.

“Let’s see… I do happen to remember this, in fact. The show was Once Upon A Mattress. The scene was the ball, when the ensemble performed the “Spanish Panic”. In fact, I was your partner for that dance. What happened was that a piece of your costume, the skirt to your dress, almost fell down because we stepped on it going up a step and it came undone. You went on to try and fix it both times during the mini-scene between that and “Song of Love”. You played Lady Lucille and I was knight two.” Eric smiled and put his hands on her shoulders, remembering the youthful Amy dancing about with him and doing her best to keep her skirt up, all without letting the audience notice her slight distress at the matter. Amy smiled back, remembering the comment he used to sign her program and the memories such a mention evoked. His blue eyes were still the same piercing color as they had always been, she recalled.

Still smiling, he picked up the black newsboy cap she had left on the table and lightly placed it on top of her now chestnut brown locks. Her bluish-green eyes sparkled with mirth, as he offered her his arm and they left the room together.

One Month Later

After all the work they put into it, opening night of the show was a success. Amy’s rendition of “A New Life” was effective in pulling at the audience’s heartstrings. Eric was alternately horrifying and saddening as the leading role. Curtain calls led to standing ovations that energized the pair to dramatic levels.

As they left the stage, Amy stumbled slightly and Eric caught her in a protective embrace. At first, he chuckled lightly. It reminded him of the years before when she was constantly having trouble with the dance steps they were given and just barely got them about a week before the show went on.

Then, he swallowed slightly as he took in the fact that this was the first time he had truly held her close when she was in one of her costumes. Normally, she would get changed as quickly as possible. The costumes weren’t exactly the sort she was very comfortable with, as he had come to learn, but she dealt with them on stage. They had taken to spending much of their time together, even outside of rehearsals. In fact, you might as well have said they were dating. Of course, they would both fervently deny it, but the attraction between them on stage wasn’t entirely a character.

Amy noticed the sudden change in his demeanor, then realized the combination of their proximity to each other and the stark difference in clothing from what she usually wore was possibly the reason. She knew she must look a mess. Her death scene tonight had made her a bit more disheveled than usual, and she was likely all sweaty and gross. Still, she noticed, he looked just as dashing as ever in his suit costume from the wedding scene. If anything, the masculine beauty of his features was merely amplified by the costuming he received.

Slowly, without even realizing they were doing it, the two of them simultaneously searched each other’s eyes and, upon receiving the permission they sought, leaned inward to a sweet yet passionate kiss. It wasn’t anything truly big, or show stopping. It was just a kiss that had been built up to for a month, and had waited ten years to even think of really happening. It was the sort that only lasted a few seconds, yet seemed to last an eternity.

Pulling back from each other just as slowly, Amy laid her head on his chest and sighed contentedly.

“You don’t know how long I’ve really wanted to do that.” She whispered softly, suddenly not so self-conscious of her appearance with his cheek resting against her disheveled chestnut curls.

“Hmm… I don’t know. Ten years, maybe?” He joked gently. He knew the answer, and had a feeling that this was one answer he’d always known.

“Exactly.” Amy closed her eyes and savored the feeling of how perfectly they molded with each other. And, with the rest of the cast and crew looking on in approval, they silently agreed on something:

This was right.