SF Chapter 194: Conan Again III
Before everyone could leave for their dressing rooms, Conan fished for more stories - he knew this interview would explode when it aired later that day.
"Dani, any more marriage stories?" he joked.
Dani turned his head toward him. "Unfortunately, just one more. When I was eleven."
He then glanced at Natalie. "It took me a year to recover from that rejection!" he blatantly lied.
"Was she an actress too?" Natalie asked, amused.
"They were, and they still are," Dani nodded.
He wouldn't reveal what the twins had told him about leaving their acting careers behind and focusing on college and their company.
"They? As in plural?" Conan pointed out before Natalie could.
"Yes." Dani replied like it was a normal question. "And I had learned my lesson with Natalie. They were the same age as me - I was absolutely sure, since it was their birthday."
He concluded, "And two proposals mathematically gave me better odds than one, right?"
"Oh, you're talking about the Olsen twins," Phil chuckled. "That was a funny-"
"Phil!" Claire snapped.
"Sorry," he apologized. "It's not good to crash someone else's birthday-"
"Phil!!"
"Don't worry, sis," Dani dismissed. "They told that story when we took some pictures for Vanity Fair magazine."
"So a bunch of girls already know about it. Sooner or later, it's probably going to show up somewhere..."
"Wait, wait, wait," Conan quickly chimed in. "You crashed their party and proposed to them?! The Olsen twins?!"
"If you want the story, just convince the twins to come here," Dani commented. Then he smirked. "Are you jealous, Ms. Portman?"
Natalie, who was once again staring at him in astonishment, rolled her eyes.
They all headed to their dressing rooms, with Conan probably already going to talk to the producers about arranging what looked like it could become another huge episode.
-------‐-----------‐-----------‐-----------‐-----------‐---------
Dani was with Phil and Claire in the dressing room, getting ready to leave, when a knock was heard at the door.
After the person identified herself - not that she really needed to - the security guard opened the door and Natalie walked into the room.
"Hello there!" Dani waved.
"General Kenobi, years ago you served my father," Natalie replied with a completely different personality, quoting Leia's line.
Phil's jaw dropped. He muttered near his brother-in-law, "Marry her, Dani. She's perfect!"
"Phil!" Claire immediately admonished him.
Dani made a face. "I tried, she rejected me! Oh wait, that's wrong. She's already my waifu!"
Natalie ignored him and asked, "Can we talk, Dani?"
Like a good bro, Phil immediately started pulling his wife away. "Let's give these two some space."
But before leaving, Claire remarked, "Be careful with him. Don't let all the charming attitude fool you."
Dani gasped. "Sis, whose sister are you anyway?"
The married couple left.
Natalie stepped closer to him.
"Whoa, don't tell me you already fell for me?" he asked theatrically, but she didn't even blink at the line.
They stared at each other for a moment.
"I love your brown eyes, they're beautiful. Mine are just... blue."
She still showed no reaction.
"Really? Nothing? Not even a small smile?" he asked.
"With all the shenanigans you pulled today, I'm probably already anesthetized to you," she commented.
"Fair. So, what do you want to talk about?"
"I remember the last sentence you said before we took that picture." She repeated it back to him. "'When I ask you out when I'm older, you'll definitely say yes!'"
"I thought you would use it during the interview," Natalie admitted, looking intrigued.
He made a gesture with three fingers. "It was a great line for a ten-year-old boy, but I thought it could create a certain discomfort for you. It's not funny if both of us aren't enjoying it," Dani said sincerely.
"The second reason is that I could've been rejected for a second time. On television!"
Natalie let out a small laugh and shook her head. "And the third?"
"That's the most important reason. I'm in a different kind of relationship with a girl. Maybe more than one," he stated nonchalantly. "I wouldn't ask you out without revealing it."
Natalie widened her eyes, then looked at him like he was scum. "Right, the playboy reputation wasn't only for show," she said sarcastically.
"But I'm curious. You made an incredible first impression. Or second, if we count tiny little you."
"Why would you sabotage your chances with me right after making such a strong impression?" she asked.
"I'm an honest playboy! I don't cheat! I make everything clear to everyone involved," Dani declared. "Prudence even helped me with the music. It was her idea in the first place."
"I feel like I'm a little numb right now, with all the surprises..." she muttered. "And what if I had a boyfriend?"
"Well, I had someone look into it, and nobody found anything," he revealed. "I wouldn't even be here if they'd found anything public about you being in a relationship. I don't flirt with someone who has a partner!"
"But it might happen when I don't know it," he corrected himself. "Besides, I would stop, or at least tone it down, if I saw you weren't comfortable - despite you not having a partner."
"Also, we can ask them to cut out most of the parts you don't like," he finished. "As a last resort, we could stop this episode from going on air."
She looked surprised for what felt like the hundredth time. "You know you made it big tonight, right? This interview could boost your career massively."
"Eh." He shrugged.
"And what if I had a boyfriend and still acted the way I did today?" she elaborated with another hypothesis. "And still wanted it to air, since it would also boost my fame."
"Eh," Dani repeated with the same gesture. "At most, I'd ask for your PR team's contact. Because you would've been selling your image really well."
"Besides, I really didn't know who you were back then. I just chose the prettiest chick there." He smirked.
Natalie tried to hold back a laugh, but failed.
"You know what your problem is?" she narrowed her eyes.
Daniel gestured for her to continue. "One at a time, please."
"You think being charming lets you get away with saying ridiculous things," Natalie remarked.
He was about to joke around again, but ended up speaking more seriously. "That was ten-year-old Dani. Now I also have fame, money, status, and the power to make even more money."
She was stunned by his answer, and they remained silent for a moment.
Natalie kept looking at him until she was startled by his sudden outburst.
"Natalie, look what you've done!" he exclaimed, making an anguished face.
"Our interview went so well that I completely forgot to do an ad for my family's business!" He put on an expression of regret. "Oh, my free ads!!"
Natalie stared at him in disbelief for a moment before finally bursting into laughter.
[Natalie Portman commentary]
"Dani is a playboy, almost obscenely confident, and very unpredictable," Natalie remarked.
"But he's much more self-aware and honest than his superficial reputation suggests. Annoyingly so, he's also genuinely funny and charming."
"He's… very interesting," she conceded. "And I get the feeling there's a lot more to him. So I'll try to keep in touch with Dani."
But Natalie added one more thing, putting her hand to her face. "That song really got stuck in my head..."
[Commentary ends]
----------
If you enjoy it, please leave a Review and Power Stones
You can also support me on patreon and read up to 25 chapters ahead, plus 32 chapters of Modern Family: Francis Jacob Pritchett
[email protected]/Japa_Madri