hiii! i was wondering if i could request Finn Bennett w actress! reader that is also in HOTD (as like daemon’s only daughter w rhea). & they are both doing press for The Backrooms together (like she took the pic of FINN w the “i am appealing” shirt, etc). But they have history together cause she was in true detective (where she played like a grad student intern for tsalal). But during filming for that she was in a relationship w another actor like paul mescal or something & then Finn got w Anna (& the fans are like “are they soft launching a relationship or something”… but no one can tell cause they might just be friends/ co stars, etc).
pairing: Finn Bennett x actress!reader
summary: Finn and you are promoting The Backrooms together, while trying to figure out what to call the thing between you two.
a/n: Anna and Paul: WE LOVE YOU, we promise!!! I couldn't fin the pic of Finn wearing the 'I am appealing' shirt ):
I think this is the best request I have ever received. I just love this so so so muchhhh. Thank u for requesting this. Sorry for not fully writing out the request but this seemed to be good as well (let me know if u want another version).
You sat on a chair in the waiting room of the interview room, that your manager had arranged for you and Finn that noon. He sat right next to you, going over some questions the interviewer might ask you two.
„What is the purpose of the question 'Your fans think The Backrooms is a two-hour film about unresolved sexual tension; do you guys approve?'?“ Finn asked and looked at you.
„What the fuck, have they even read the description of the movie?“ you asked back, frowning at how absurd the question sounded in comparison to the actual plot of the movie. „Let's just hope the interviewer isn't some jerk who just asks questions abou-“
„Two minutes, guys,“ some guy from the managing team told you, and then disappeared again.
„Alright, let's do this, baby,“
Ever since the filming of True Detective: Night Country, he began calling you baby, for some reason.
The interviewer was already sat on the brightly lit couch, in front of a big crowd of cheering people, as you two entered the room. You waved at the audience and the cameras before sitting down next to Finn and saying hello to the man on the other sofa.
„It's so nice to have you here tonight.“
„It's a pleasure to be here, Patric.“ You answered while politely smiling at him.
„We're great and really excited for this evening with you and all the watching people.“ Finn answered, wearing a smile himself.
„So, we have some true icons sitting here with us tonight, Aerion Targaryen from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and the Daellra Targaryen from House of the Dragon. Both of them are talented actors and will soon appear in a movie called The Backrooms. And our first question for the two of you tonight will be, how long do you guys actually know each other?“
Finn let out a small chuckle, and then looked at you with a soft smile. „Oh we go way back; we met at the set of True Detective: Night Country and have been in contact ever since.“
„Oh, that's lovely, such a long friendship between the two of you, and now you were finally able to play at each other's side again. Can you guys tell us what the movie will be like in, let's say, three words?“
„Mhm, strange, yellow, and brightness,“
„Yeah, I would have said yellow too,“ Finn thought a bit longer and then continued. „And panic, and I would actually say claustrophobic,“
„Were you claustrophobic during filming?“ You asked Finn, who gave a little, short nod and then laughed as if he was too embarrassed to actually give you a real answer.
„Okay, well that sounds interesting. You both say "yellow"; why is that?“
„Have you seen the trailer, Patric?“ You looked back at the interviewer.
„Oh yeah, I'm a bit scatterbrained today,“ Patric laughed. „So, the two of you told us earlier that you met at the set of True Detective. I heard that you two, well, at least you, Finn, met your girlfriend there. Are you still together with her?“
Your eyes found the ground within some seconds. You didn't know why, but you just couldn't look at either of the men at that question.
„Uhm, yes, I met Anna Lambe there; she's a really talented actress, but no, we broke up a while ago. I guess it just didn't work out anymore.“
Finn's finger slightly brushed yours while lying on the sofa, the moment he finished the sentence.
„And you were in a relationship with Paul Mescal, weren't you?“
The question brought you back to a specific moment some years ago. To the apartment you had shared with Paul at that time, shortly before your breakup.
Paul had finished his meal long before you and was playing something on his phone, when you leaned over his shoulder to get a look at his screen to see what kind of music he was playing.
„What the hell is your problem?“ Paul snapped, turning the screen away from you.
You stood up straight again and looked at him, slightly hurt at how harshly he had told you that.
„Sorry, I just wanted to see what the name of the song is,“
„You could've just asked,“
„Yeah, but like Finn and Anna, we broke up a while ago,“
„You okay?“ Finn whispered.
You simply nodded, not wanting to get into this any further.
„Oh, that's sad to hear; you two looked so cute together,“ Patric told you and then went on to talk to the camera.
The rest of the interview was just boring, and you zoned out multiple times while Patric asked questions that had been answered in other interviews before already. After Finn and you had returned to the back of the studio, you removed your makeup and were finally done for the evening.
„That man is so boring,“ Finn groaned while walking out, and you agreed. „Asking the same questions over and over again,“ he rolled his eyes as he held the door open for you.
„Thanks, and yes, he is such a dickhead.“ You pulled up the zipper of your jacket before beginning to walk with him.
„Do you wanna have some drinks at my hotel room?“ he asked after a while of walking through the city.
No sooner said than done, you two entered Finn's hotel and got to his room. While he searched his dresser for some comfortable clothes he could give you, you scrolled on your phone when you suddenly stumbled across a picture of him, you had taken some weeks ago, shortly before the end of filming Backrooms.
„Hey, do you remember this post of mine?“ You laughed and showed him your phone with the picture. It was the picture where he wore the I-Am-Appealing shirt.
„Oh my god, you did post it? That explained the explosion of my inbox on Insta a few weeks ago,“
The weird comments about his oh-so-sexy biceps from fans suddenly made sense to him, and he couldn't help but laugh about it.
„Yeah, it's like with this one post where a bunch of clips of us together were edited together at the set of True Detective where everybody thought we were together,“ you remembered him.
„Yes, I thought about that too,“ Finn grinned.
A little pause where neither of you spoke up created a comfortable silence in the half-lit room. You continued to scroll through the comments of the post and stopped at some to read them.
You looked up shortly, although you knew that no one other than Finn could have asked the question. He looked at you, waiting for you to read some of the comments to him, while he returned to search the dresser.
„Uhm, here's a good one: 'Please, let me touch these muscles before I die, so I can go in peace'.“
You showed him your phone as proof.
„Oh shit, they did write that,“ Finn looked at the screen in front of his eyes. „You see, I told you it was a bad idea posting that,“
„Well, I think it was a great idea; look, here's another one: 'The tension between them is just magical'.“ You read and then put the oversized hoodie of his over your head that he had thrown at you, so you wouldn't be in your formal clothes the whole time.
„Tension? That's so dramatic,“
Another comment popped up:
‘You can literally see him fall in love with her over the years.’
Your thumb stopped moving, and he looked up, wondering why you got so quiet all of the sudden.
„What?“ he asked carefully.
You turned the phone slightly toward him without speaking. He stepped closer to read the comment.
„People online are insane,“ you tried joking weakly.
Finn stayed quiet for a moment.
Then:
„That one’s not entirely wrong.“
Your breath caught a little.
He said it so casually it almost sounded accidental, but the look in his eyes completely ruined any possibility of pretending he didn’t mean it.
He leaned against the edge of the dresser beside you now, the palms of his hands on the edge of the wooden material and his head turned towards the ground.
„You know there were moments during True Detective where I genuinely thought I was losing my mind a little?“ he admitted with a small laugh. „Because every time we were together, in a scene or just during breaks, it felt like there was... something.“
You stared at him in silence.
„And I kept trying to ignore it because of Paul and because I was with Anna and because the timing was just-“ he shook his head slightly. „Bad.“
„I thought I imagined all of that,“ you confessed quietly and remembered the hand-brushing, reaching for the same cup at the coffee table back then, or how he had given you his jacket after Paul had refused to give you his.
Finn looked at you like that answer hurt him a little.
„Baby,“ he said softly, almost disbelieving, „everyone noticed it.“
„Did they?“ you whispered.
Finn squatted down, in front of the bed, leaving his drink unattended on top of the dresser, and laid his hands on your knees.
„Anna asked me once if I were in love with you,“
You looked at him, away from your hands in your lap.
He nodded and rubbed the back of his neck, kind of nervous.
„You know what was the hardest thing? Watching you nearly break under the pressure that Paul was giving you at the end of the relationship and not being able to say anything against it,“ the actor admitted.„Were you in love with me, Finn?“
He exhaled sharply before deciding what he would answer you. Then after a short pause, he answered:
„Yes, I think so, and I still am. I think I am tired of pretending there is nothing between us, or that there never was something between us in the past, because that is just not the truth. Ever since we met, there was this unspoken tension, just like that comment had said.“
He still kneeled in front of you with his warm hands on your upper legs, not intending to pull them away any time soon.
You realised that this comment about the tension actually couldn't be closer to the truth and suddenly remembered all the little moments back in Iceland where you had shot True Detective. The moment when you fell asleep on his shoulder, when you accidentally slapped him during one scene and he just laughed it off and pulled you into a hug, or that one time when you two somehow locked yourselves into the supply room.
„You felt the same, didn't you?“
You couldn't answer him, but the look in your eyes was enough to understand. Finn's eyes moved between your eyes and your mouth, slowly getting closer to your face.
„Tell me to stop,“ he whispered.
You couldn't bring yourself to say it, even if you had wanted to, which you didn't. You wanted all of this. The tension in the room, the butterflies in your stomach, and his lips on your own. Your hands wandered like automatic to the back of his head, feeling the little stubbles of his short hair.
And then, just before he could reach you, his phone buzzed on the dresser, next to his long-forgotten drink.
Finn let out a deep grunt and stood up. „You have got to be kidding me?“ he muttered under his breath and reached for the device before leaning against the dresser again. „It's my manager,“
„Maybe it just shouldn't be-“
„Don't say that,“ he said quickly. „Yeah?“ he sighed after choosing to accept the call. „No, we already finished the interview.“ A pause. „Tomorrow morning? You’re joking.“
You watched him while he listened, still sitting on the edge of the bed wearing his hoodie, your fingers tingling from where they’d touched him moments ago.
Finn glanced over at you halfway through the call.
„Yeah, alright,“ he finally muttered before hanging up. „Goodnight.“
The room fell quiet again after he tossed the phone back onto the dresser.
„Early press tomorrow?“ you asked.
„Unfortunately.“ Finn ran his hands over his face and exhaled, still leaning against the dresser with his lower back. It seemed like he thought about what to do next and then quickly made a desicion.
You were pushed back into the soft blankets on the bed, and before you could even process what Finn was doing, he had his lips pressed against yours, with his body over yours. When he pulled away for air, the two of you smiled at each other.
„I can't believe my manager just interrupted the best decision of my life,“ Finn whispered, and then kissed you again.
