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monkeyflower.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fellowshippers2003-02-18 03:56 am
monkeyflower.livejournal.com) wrote in fellowshippers2003-02-18 03:56 am
The Experiment
Title: The Experiment
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Billy slowly falls.
Pairing: Billy/Elijah/Dom
Feedback: Yes, please.
Warning: Real Person Slash. If you have a squick, please don’t read.
Billy stared at the kid nestled in his lap and sighed, ruffling the russet hair between his fingertips.
That was the thing about Elijah. He really could sleep just about anywhere at anytime if he needed a few winks. And today, that meant on Billy’s couch in the trailer after filming.
Billy found it absolutely fascinating. He’s never been able to catch up on sleep like that. To be able to relax so easily, to drop off and rest when your body called for it. Even as a child, it was something he’d never done, unless he was sick or upset.
Billy wondered if he was born to be a light sleeper, destined only to sleep at a designated time of night.
Elijah made a soft mewling sound and snuggled closer. Billy’s hand moved down the back of Elijah’s head to his neck, feeling the soft skin under his fingertips. Moving his hand back and forth, Billy watched the colors in the trailer go from gold to pink to purple.
He would have turned on the light, but moving would have woken Elijah up. And Billy was actually in the middle of an experiment of sorts.
He wanted to see how long it would take for Elijah to wake up on his own. Every other time that Elijah has nodded off like this, someone had interrupted his slumber. So Billy listened to the sounds of the crew outside his trailer and only moved his hand along Elijah’s neck and shoulders as the trailer got darker and darker.
By the time the kid moved, it was nearly twilight, and Billy could barely make out any of the shapes of the furniture in the trailer at all. He felt rather than saw Elijah moving against his chest, shifting in his lap and looking around.
“Billy?” he whispered, stretching against him.
“Yeah, mate?”
“What time is it?”
“I don’t know. Late I suppose.”
Billy felt Elijah shift on his lap again, legs settling on either side of his thighs, and the pressing of Elijah’s chest against his nose just before a clicking sound. The room light up in a glow of pale yellow halogen light and a haze of dark purple directly in his line of sight for a moment.
And then the kid settled directly in his lap, eyes puffed from sleep. He looked at ease with his position on Billy’s lap, maybe a bit too much so. Billy watched as he looked at his watch. “Oh, it’s seven. How long was I asleep?”
Billy wrinkled his eyebrows in thought. “Let’s see. Peter let us off for the day around three, and you arrived here at about five or so… I’d say an hour, hour and a half.”
Elijah nodded, still a bit dazed. “I’m sorry I fell asleep, man. I must have been tired.”
“It’s alright. Besides, we have all day tomorrow to go shopping if you still want to.” Billy stared at a loose thread in Elijah’s t-shirt to keep from looking into his friend’s blue eyes. He didn’t want to appear to be staring at them.
“Billy, we should get going if we want to meet up with Dom for dinner, shouldn’t we?”
Billy nodded, eyes drifting down to Elijah’s thighs as if the pattern of wear on the jeans were a classic novel and he couldn’t wait to see the end. “Yes, we should. But I can’t move with you on me, now can I?”
When Elijah got up, he suddenly felt cold.
-----------------------------------------
Elijah lit up his cigarette and took a long drag with a satisfied expression before leaning back in the chair. The scent of tobacco mixed with cloves began to drift in the air, drowning out the smell of mutton from dinner.
Billy watched the cigarette in Elijah’s mouth light up red at the very tip. The kid took a hold of the cigarette between two fingers and said, “Hey Dom, where were you after the shoot, by the way?”
“I had some calls to make at home, you know.” Dom took a sip of his wine. “So what did you guys get up to while I was gone?”
Billy stabbed at his cake for a moment before looking up. “We were going to go shopping, but Sleeping Beauty over here decided to take a nap. I got drafted as his recliner and was stuck.”
“I was tired.” Another drag, followed by smoke blown directly in Billy’s direction. “You know I never get a full day off.”
“Yeah, I know. Tomorrow’s a rarity. Elijah said he’d go shopping with me.”
“Wanna come along with us, Dom?”
Billy wondered why his stomach knotted up. He looked up at Dom, waiting for an answer.
Dom shrugged. “Can’t go. But I’ll meet you two for lunch afterwards.”
Elijah gave Dom one of those pouts that he reserves for when he wants his way and Billy wondered how long it would take before Dom relented. “Sure. We can meet you wherever you want…”
Billy mentally counted off the seconds, and got to five or six before he heard it. “I’ll go. I’m sure I can make other arrangements…”
Elijah squealed and nearly jumped over the table to hug Dom. Billy stabbed at his cake, took one more bite, and then stared out the window as Elijah settled on Dom’s lap to kiss his cheek. As Billy turned his head, Dom steadied Elijah with one hand on the small of his back, the other on his knee.
He wondered why part of him didn’t want to see the look they might have exchanged.
“Billy?” Dom said. He sounded a bit confused.
Billy continued to stare out the window. “Yeah, Dom?”
“You okay there, mate? You seem a bit down…”
Billy turned his head. Elijah was back in his seat as if the hug never took place, but he was blushing… Billy sighed and stood up. “I’m fine. Just tired. I think I’ll call it a night.”
“You sure about that, Billy?” Elijah said. He also sounded confused, but worried as well. Billy didn’t want to think about the possible reasons why.
“Yeah. Long shopping day tomorrow, remember?” Billy took his jacket off the chair and plopped some bills on the table. “The old guy needs his sleep,” he mused with a half hearted grin.
Elijah reached over and took his hand, his thumb rubbing against the back of Billy’s palm, sending jolts through him. “We’ll pick you up first thing. Promise.”
Billy vaguely thought he heard Dom’s voice over the other diners ask, “What’s with him?” as he turned his back to leave…
-------------------------------------------
“AAAHHHH!!!” Billy screamed, his eyes wide. He had the urge to cover his face, but was desperately trying not to.
If he was to get out of this shoot in one piece, he’d have to keep his wits about him. He knew this, and knew it well. Even with this knowledge, however, there was still the fact that chaos (albeit directed) was erupting around him while a large horse was rising his hooves above his head.
It was the hooves that threatened to break him into pieces. Blinking, he rolled over to the left as Peter directed and prayed the horse would cooperate. When the horse did, he let out a sigh of relief and got to his hobbit feet on cue.
“CUT! All right Billy, that’s really good but if you can take it from the top, I’d like to get one more shot of this…”
Billy winced visibly, but Peter seemed to be paying no attention to his expression. Dom noticed from across the set, however, and cleared his throat.
“Peter, we need a break. Give us five minutes?”
Billy saw Peter nod and hugged himself, silently thanking Dom before turning his back and looking up. He wanted this night shoot to be over and done with already… Taking a deep breath he began to count the stars twinkling above his head. One, two, three, four, five…
A hand squeezed his shoulder and he turned his head. It was Dom.
“Hey, mate. You all right?”
“Yeah… I’m just a bit paranoid about the horse. I know I’ll be okay…”
The hand slid down his arm and settled on his hip from behind. Dom put his head on his shoulder and hugged, making his whole body from chest to hips to knees come in contact with Billy.
That was the thing with Dom. Everything about Dom from day one, from the way he started jokes that were so easy for Billy to finish, to the way he smiled crookedly, to the way he smelled when he was this close, represented comfort. When it counted he could be the sweetest person around, who usually knew what one needed and gave it freely without being asked.
At the moment, Billy needed a hug from a friend and a reassuring word in his ear.
“Hey, we love you, ya know? Peter and the crew wouldn’t let anything happen to you. And if they did, I’d kill them.”
Billy chuckled and patted Dom’s hand. “Thanks, mate. I appreciate it.”
“Sure… Look, I’m going to get a drink. Do you want anything before Peter calls you back?”
Billy shook his head. He just wanted the shoot over with. Dom’s arms slipped away and a minute later, Peter called him back to redo the shot.
The horse was just as terrifying the second time around.
-------------------------------------------
The first time they napped on Billy’s couch together, napping was all Elijah did while Billy watched. The second time they napped on the couch together, it was Billy who was too exhausted to keep his eyes open and Elijah seemed to be on watch when he awoke.
The Fangorn shoot was much more nerve wracking on Billy than he expected. And late the night before was the shot with a horse hovering over him. While the horse was trained not to trample anyone, Billy’s still felt as though he was going to die under its hooves. Peter didn’t need to give him any direction when it came time to scream, that was for sure.
Billy trudged through the remainder of the shoot after that, and did the best job he could, but his concentration was affected. Oddly, it was only Dom who noticed and suggested he go to his trailer to get some rest after the shoot.
When he finally got to his trailer, it was all Billy could do to take his shirt off and lay down, face the back of the couch, and close his eyes before falling asleep.
He woke up to the warmth of someone solid against his back, arms around his shoulders, and the steady sound of soft breathing in his ear. Billy turned his head slightly and caught chestnut hair and smooth, pale ivory skin.
“Elijah?”
“Yeah Billy?”
“What? I mean, I didn’t hear…”
Billy felt the arms tighten, and one hand spread its fingers across his midsection. “Dom said you had a rough shoot, and I wanted to check in on you, but you were asleep…”
Asleep? He must have been more affected than he thought.
“Yeah… A horse hovering above my face is not the last thing I’d like to see in this world.” Billy mumbled, turning his face back to the fabric on the back of the sofa.
The hand began to move slowly, rubbing in gentle circles across his bare skin. It was a soothing sensation, although not as soothing as if it had been Dom holding him like this, and Billy found himself leaning back against Elijah on the couch.
“I wonder… I wonder if I’ll have a reaction like that to the Cirith Ungol scene,” he heard Elijah whisper. Then he felt his breath against his ear again. It was slightly warm in the chill.
Billy couldn’t suppress the shiver that resulted from it, and bit his lip. “You might. I think it depends on how much you want to put yourself into the mindset for the role. And you seem to me like the sort of lad who would do that.”
Elijah’s chin rested on Billy’s shoulder slightly. The hand kept moving in a slow circle. “I can’t see how else one could do a scene right without feeling the emotions needed for it…”
The hand stopped moving, Elijah’s thumb tracing the area around the belly button. Billy felt a pair of lips, soft and slightly wet, press against his cheek. “That’s good. That’s the way they should be done, I think.”
“So you really thought the horse was going to trample you?”
Billy covered Elijah’s hand with his own, threading their fingers together. He nodded slowly. “I did. Pippin certainly would have. He would have screamed too.”
Soft wet lips pressed against the side of Billy’s neck, lingering a moment longer than they should have this time. The hand at his belly button traveled upwards to his sternum. Billy kept his fingers entwined and followed its path.
It felt a tad surreal, having Elijah holding him on the couch like this.
“I don’t know what to say, Billy.”
“Don’t say anything. I just need some quiet and rest. I’d… I’d like it if you’d stay, though.” Billy swallowed and turned onto his back, keeping Elijah’s hand where it was.
Blue eyes expressed only concern, and pale pink lips curved into a soft smile. Elijah shifted a little, running his fingertips through Billy’s hair. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Turning enough so that they faced each other, Billy let his eyes drift close and his free hand rest against Elijah’s chest. A strong heart beat could be felt through the material of Elijah’s shirt. “Good…”
“Billy?” Elijah bumped his nose against Billy’s jaw line.
“Hmm?”
“When I have to film the Cirith Ungol scene… could you come by? I saw you were off that day on the last schedule, but I’d like you to be there. Please?”
Billy felt drained, but he nodded all the same. “Of course.”
The kid said nothing in reply. Instead he used only soft, gentle caresses over bare skin and the occasional kiss on Billy’s forehead, nose, and chin to lull him back to sleep.
---------------------------------------------
Billy stared down from his perch on top of ‘Treebeard’ before his gaze traveled back up to Dom. Dom was leaning back against one of the branches, one leg curled up against his chest, and the other dangling like a chain over the side.
Billy noticed that Dom had really nice, well muscled legs. Kind of the way the rest of him was nice if one took the time to look. If they weren’t such good mates, such close mates, he might have asked him out. But he had a feeling that Dom wasn’t the sort of lad who would date his best mate. At least, not right away.
Billy’s eyes settled on the fur covered hobbit prosthetic that made up ‘Merry’s left foot” and noticed some of the fur had rubbed off. The make-up staff was going to have to touch up his foot before shooting resumed. “And then he kissed my face until I fell asleep. Not my mouth or anything like that, but every other part of my face. I’m not sure what to think, Dommie. It’s not the first time he’s done it in the past couple of weeks. Think it’s an American thing?”
Dom let his foot swing a bit, smiling when Billy’s eyes followed along. It was one of their inside jokes. Dom would move an arm or a leg like a pendulum, and Billy would follow the limb as it moved the way a cat would, complete with head movements. If Billy were closer, he’d start swatting with his hand at the offending limb until Dom giggled. If Dom didn’t giggle, he’d then tackle him to the ground and tickle that spot just under his ribs that only Billy knew would leave Dom giggling. “I think he fancies you, you dumb Scot. You’re fucking lucky.”
“Fancies me?” Billy really wasn’t sure what to make of that one. He wasn’t too young or anything, he just saw Elijah as the kid in the group. “He’s as affectionate with you as he is with me you know. He’s sat in your lap and kissed you at dinner, for one thing.”
Dom’s expression was unreadable. “Maybe so mate, but he’s never fallen asleep in my arms, or happened to have been there when I’ve woken up from a nap just to see if I’m okay. I wish someone would do that with me.”
Billy smiled. “You want to join us for our naps you’re more than welcome to any time, Sblommie. I think with Elijah’s help I can handle you.”
“Handle me? The entire Fellowship couldn’t handle me.” Dom chuckled and stared straight ahead. It was a little hard to tell in the lighting, but Billy thought he might have seen a blush. He wondered if it would be inappropriate to tell Dom he was most attractive when he was blushing. Knowing Dom, he’d probably think it was one of their jokes. “Think they’d leave us here for the night? I really don’t want to have to take a piss on the puppet.”
“Not likely. Maintenance would have to give us scraps from the garbage in the morning, for one thing.”
“That’s fucking disgusting, Billy.”
“You were the one who said we’d be stuck for the night and you’d have to pee on poor old Treebeard. Besides, we gotta get our food from somewhere.”
“I’d rather live on air and your love, mate.”
“Hopeless romantic.”
Dom stared straight ahead. Billy looked at his face and wondered what napping with both him and Elijah would be like. He closed his eyes and pictured it: snoozing against Dom’s back while Elijah cradled them both against his chest.
It was a nice mental image, really. His stomach fluttered when he realized it was something he wouldn’t mind experiencing. Like that would ever happen. Billy shook his head to clear it. “Seriously Dom, what do you think I should do?”
Dom licked his lower lip the way he did when he was deep in thought or really excited. It was one of the few habits that leaked through to his performance of Merry that Peter let slide. “Way I see it love, you’ve got two choices. You can either leave it alone and let Elijah make the first move, or you can talk to him. It all depends on whether or not you fancy him and how you want to deal with it. Personally, I think he’ll do something sooner or later.”
Billy mulled the idea over as he rested his head against the stump. Did he fancy Elijah? He cared about him, even loved him… but he wondered if he fancied him the way Dom meant at all.
----------------------------------------------
“Am I still dreaming? But the other dreams were horrible…” Elijah whispered. He looked up at Sean and touched his cheek with a shaky hand.
Billy stood on the sidelines, a spectator to the scene being filmed before him, his eyes brimming with tears. There was Elijah, made up to look bruised and injured, naked on the stone floor of the Cirith Ungol set, being cradled like a child in Sean’s arms as they did their lines.
Sean managed to sound hoarse, as if he’d been crying all day. “I’d given up hope, almost. I couldn’t find you.”
“Now you have Sam, dear Sam.” Elijah closed his eyes and Sean rocked him back and forth, his hands stroking what will, on film at least, be pale, dirty, and bruised skin.
His performance couldn’t have been any more perfect. Billy let a tear slide down his cheek without batting it away. He was too busy trembling from what he saw.
And if the silence on the set was any indication, so was the rest of the crew on set at the moment. Billy looked at Peter for a moment and noticed that even he was crying.
Peter cleared his throat. “Cut. Let’s take a twenty minute break and try that again, shall we?”
As if snapping from a spell, Elijah sat up and patted Sean on the shoulder with a smile. When he spoke the accent was American again. “Dude, where’s my robe? It’s fucking freezing in here.”
Sean stood up and grabbed the robe from a chair, hitting Elijah in the head with it. “Here. Now put that on already.”
“Why, jealous of my girlish figure?”
Shaking his head, Sean turned to Billy with a grin. “What?”
“That was good. Really good,” was all Billy could think of saying. He sniffled and wiped his eyes.
“Yeah. He makes everything easy. Like a dream.” Sean turned and looked at Elijah with a grin. “I’m calling Christine. Oh, you’ve got a visitor.”
“Tell Christine I miss her and the baby,” Elijah called back. He stood up and slipped on the robe, looking at Billy.
Billy tried not to stare at Elijah’s body, but he couldn’t help it. He turned red and turned to look at one of the cameras.
“Billy… you can look if you want. Everyone else on set had to.”
Billy met Elijah’s eyes. He seemed unembarrassed by the situation. It unnerved Billy. “That’s not it, mate. You’re performance…”
The kid smiled. “Come on, I’ve got a cup of tea in my dressing room with your name on it.”
Billy followed Elijah out of the studio and down to the dressing room. One of the crew had left a pot of fresh tea on the table and several mugs waiting. Elijah grabbed a couple of mugs and started pouring, passing the first one to Billy.
“The performance depressed you, didn’t it?” Elijah said, leaning against the table. “I had a feeling it was a bit over the top. I’ll tone it down on the next take.”
Billy sipped his tea and stared at his glass. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. That performance was flawless. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Really, Billy?”
Billy nodded and took another sip, not looking up. “You have no idea how talented you really are do you?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Billy saw the kid’s hand putting an untouched mug of tea back on the table. He felt the heat from Elijah’s body as he approached, and as it entered his field of vision, he saw a small, nail bitten hand curl around his own mug for a moment before he let that hand take it away from him. The mug was replaced in his line of sight with a small, slim body covered in a terry cloth robe that was just beginning to fall open. Billy stared at a darkened nipple that was exposed to his view.
He nearly gasped when his mind wondered what it would be like to have that robe disappear again.
“Thanks, Billy,” Elijah whispered, and blunt fingers tilted Billy’s face up to look at a pair of eyes the color of the sky. Their faces were close together and he was smiling.
Elijah leaned forward and pressed his lips to Billy’s. It wasn’t more than the contact of skin on skin, but Billy shuddered against it. And Elijah held his lips in place longer than necessary.
When he pulled back, Elijah blushed. “Billy? We should be getting back to set, shouldn’t we?”
“Yes, we should.”
Elijah nodded. “Can I see you tomorrow after the shoot? I think we’re both going to have the day after that off again.”
Billy nodded, his stomach in knots. “Okay, mate.”
--------------------------------------------
The first time they napped together on the couch, it was Elijah that did all the napping while Billy watched. The second time they napped together, it was Billy who was exhausted and Elijah kept watch over him like a guardian angel. This time there was little napping at all.
Billy wondered absently the first time Elijah kissed him on the lips when he stopped thinking of his friend as the kid. It couldn’t have been the kiss itself; it wasn’t more than a touch of lips against his own, held in place as if Elijah were asking for permission to do so. Or permission to go forward with something Billy thought he was only beginning to understand.
No, it was the intensity of Elijah’s performance during the tower scene that made Billy think of him as a man. Billy had the day off and Dom was sick with a cold, so he went to the set to watch the shooting. Even now, days later, the performance he saw left him reeling. If it wasn’t Oscar worthy, then the people at the Academy deserved to be shot.
And when Billy told him how good he thought he was, Elijah kissed him for the first time.
It was the performance that made him kiss Elijah back when he showed up at his trailer today, after another shoot to rest. The kiss itself was tentative, almost desperate in the way both their mouths opened and their tongues explored for he first time, but Billy wouldn’t have changed it one bit. Billy didn’t think someone so young was capable of kissing like that. He certainly wasn’t at that age.
Pulling back, Elijah only said one thing to him. “You’re eyes are so green. I wish mine were like that.”
Billy grinned. “Surely, you must be joking, mate. Yours are so lovely, it fucking hurts.”
Elijah put one hand on his chest and pushed him gently inside with a shake of his head. Reaching behind, he pushed the door closed and Billy heard the lock click. It was a satisfying sound.
Elijah smiled expectantly, leaning against the doorframe. Billy leaned his left hand next to Elijah’s head, who didn’t so much as flinch. He merely waited for Billy to make the next move.
With a shaking hand, Billy cupped Elijah’s chin and kissed him slowly, giving permission. His right hand trailed down Elijah’s arm to grasp his hand and pull him over to the couch. Elijah followed, breaking the grasp to pull his T-shirt over his head.
The shirt landed on the coffee table. Billy’s back was turned as he faced the couch, and he heard a buckle loosen, and a zipper being pulled. He wondered as he pulled his own shirt over his head if, like any other first time, this one would turn out to be awkward and frenzied.
Elijah put his arms around Billy’s waist slowly, hands touching to undo the button and zipper of his jeans. Billy stepped out of them the second they hit the floor. Two thumbs hooked into the waist of his boxers, and slid them down to follow the jeans on the floor.
Billy turned around.
Elijah was smiling again as he leaned over to kiss Billy, pushing on his shoulders with his hands, guiding the way down to the couch and lowering himself between Billy’s knees. Soft kisses and hands began to roam over Billy, so gently that he relaxed completely. Billy began roaming over ivory skin with his own hands, looking into Elijah’s eyes as he did so.
Billy’s touch was intended more as encouragement than anything else, and Elijah’s hands moved lower. His lips made contact with Billy’s nipple as his hand slid passed the belly button, playing with the treasure trail of hair he found just below it.
“Oh, fuck…” Billy breathed, winding his fingers through dark hair. He looked up at the ceiling of his trailer. Without thinking he began to count the holes in the ceiling… one, two, three…
Fingers wrapped around his shaft and squeezed, eliciting a groan. And then those fingers began to set up a slow rhythm. Elijah’s head moved lower, lips and tongue dancing a pattern across his stomach and navel. One he reached Billy’s navel, Elijah lifted his head to stare at Billy, waiting.
Again, it felt like he was asking for permission. Billy ran his finger over the edge of Elijah’s ear with a smile.
Billy nodded once, and Elijah lowered his head, taking him in. Billy shuddered against the moist sensation and the warmth of Elijah’s tongue, and fisted his hands in the cushions to keep from bucking against him. It felt… it was wonderful. Exactly the next step they should be taking. Billy had the urge to close his eyes or look up at the ceiling and let go, just feel and be in the moment, but he couldn’t do that. Not the first time. It would squander the experience.
Billy looked down and watched Elijah, watched his knuckles go white as his own hands gripped the cushions. He noticed they were both shaking, even as Elijah’s head bobbed…
It was too much, and he came quickly. Elijah went still, one hand on Billy’s hip to hold him steady.
When Billy got his breath back he whispered, “Oh shit, I’m sorry mate.”
Elijah leaned up on his knees, resting his chin on Billy’s chest and looking up at him with blue eyes that seem too innocent for his face. “Don’t be. I’m not.”
“Oh. Well, that’s good, isn’t it?”
Elijah let out a high pitched giggle. “Lay down, asshole. This position is hard on the knees. Besides, we’ve got plenty of time.”
Billy laid back with a grin as Elijah joined him on the couch, and curled one leg over his hip to keep them close.
Usually Elijah was the tactile one. This time it was Billy’s hands that explored creamy white skin, traced over muscles, and ran a circle around a navel. It all made Billy smile. In his experience, the afterglow was always awkward.
This time was different.
Elijah’s cheeks flushed as he nuzzled Billy’s chin and jaw. And when Billy cupped his balls with one hand and began to pump with the other, he smiled as Elijah’s eyes grew wide.
--------------------------------------------
They spent the whole afternoon that day alternating between lazy, slow lovemaking and snoozing in between. As the sky darkened and Elijah began to doze for the last time that day, Billy held him close and watched the room turn colors again, this time from peach to pink to red.
As the room took on a plum hue, Billy felt blunt fingers threading through the hair on his chest and smiled. He kissed Elijah awake and smiled.
“Hey.”
“Hey, Billy. Can we talk for a minute?”
Billy frowned. He was hoping this wouldn’t be the only time. “Okay, mate.”
Elijah licked his lower lip and stared at Billy for a moment. “I want to ask something, and if the answer is no, that’s okay. But I want to ask.”
Billy nodded, trying not to flinch. “Go on.”
“I wanted to know if we could ask Dom to… you know. Next time we spend an afternoon like this.” Elijah shrugged, turning red. “If you don’t want to, it’s okay, you know.”
“That was… unexpected,” Billy said, blinking.
“I know. But I thought I should ask now and get it out in the air.”
Billy thought about the other day, when he imagined being on the couch with the both of them and how the idea surprisingly didn’t bother him. Something clicked inside, and it all felt right.
And that was the problem for Billy. He wanted to include Dom, his best mate, but assumed there’d never be an opportunity to ask. But why did Elijah want this? “Why include Dom? You know that would change things.”
Elijah chewed on his thumb nail. “It’s just that… I want to share what we have with him. This isn’t like anything else I could have but with the two of you, you know? You’re my closest mates… no, it’s more than that. But if you don’t want to, that’s okay. I get it.”
Billy moved Elijah’s hand away from his mouth. Such an odd mix of child and man, naivety and experience, innocence and maturity in one person.
“It can’t be exactly the same thing for you and him as it is be for you and me. We’re all different, so we’ll see it differently, each one of us. But I know what you mean… Give me a night to think about it, please?”
Elijah nodded without a word and got up to take a shower. As he walked away, Billy smiled. Something in the way he carried himself told him they both knew what the answer was going to be.
----------------------------------------
Dom opened his apartment door in his boxers and a black t-shirt. Taking a long look back and forth between Elijah and Billy, Dom crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway.
“Hey mates. What brings you around?”
Billy took a deep breath and glanced at Elijah. He looked as nervous as Billy felt. “We um, wanted to talk to you. Can we come inside?”
Dom glanced over at Elijah and crinkled his brow for a moment, then stepped aside to let them in. “I’ll go make some tea. Don’t mind the mess in the living room, but the couch is clean.”
Elijah walked over to the couch and, after taking off his shoes, sat down with his knees against his chest. Billy sat down next to him and took his hand.
“You sure about this, Bill?” he whispered. His body language denoted an almost childlike innocence. Billy couldn’t help but smile.
“Yes. If you want, I can go ask him for the both of us.”
Elijah took a deep breath. “It’s my idea.”
“I’ll be sure to tell him that for you. But I was thinking, it might be better for him if he didn’t have to tell us both no. If I lose my nerve, I’ll bring him out here, okay?” Billy stood and took off his jacket. He handed it to Elijah. “Hold that for a minute?”
Clanging noises could be heard from the kitchen down the hall as Billy walked towards the doorway. When he rounded the corner and stuck his head in the door, he saw Dom busy filling a teakettle and placing it on a burner. Dom’s hands were shaking a bit.
“Hey shit head,” Billy said with a grin.
“You two look good together.” Dom said, not looking directly at Billy. “I take it things went well then?”
Billy nodded. “They did. That’s what we came to talk about.”
“Oh?” Dom rummaged around in the cabinets for some biscuits, his back turned. “If you’ve come for my blessing, you two have it.”
Billy could feel Dom smirking at him. “That’s not it, exactly…”
Dom pulled out the biscuits and set them on a plate. He looked at Billy. “I thought you said things went well, mate. Something wrong?”
“Well, Elijah and I were talking about how and why we feel the way we do…”
Dom started pouring the water into a pot, nodding. His expression was unreadable.
“… and it got us wondering. How you feel about us, I mean.”
Dom set the kettle back on the stove with a shrug. “I love you both. You know that,” he said simply, as if it was a law of nature, immutable.
Billy reached out and put his hand on Dom’s shoulder. “Let me get that for you.”
“No, I’ve got it.”
“Dom…”
Dom looked up, tray in hand. “Yes, Billy?”
“We… we love you too. I mean, the way we feel about each other. It’s the same way we feel for you.”
Dom smiled and looked as if he was about to make one of his jokes, but he visibly gulped and put the tray down instead. He crossed his arms and gazed out the window.
“Dom? Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“I was about to make a suggestion we start a sex commune in Thailand, except…” Dom met Billy’s eyes for a second. “You’re not joking about this.”
“No, I’m not.” Billy gathered the tray, but waited. Dom went back to gazing out the window.
“I don’t know. I mean, I want to, but I don’t know. Can I ask you something?”
“Of course you can.”
“Was this how you felt when you when we were talking the other day about what to do with Elijah, mate?”
“More or less.” Billy nodded. “Our friendship won’t change no matter what you decide, Dom.”
“Well, that’s bullshit. Of course it will. The question alone will change it.”
Billy frowned. Dom was right, and he knew it. Perhaps this was a bad idea to ask. “If you want us to leave so you could think about it…”
“Don’t be silly. Besides I can’t drink this much tea by myself. We’re not really Hobbits, remember? Speaking of which, could you do me a favor in return for the tea?”
“Anything.”
“Anything? I like the sound of that… but what I really want is a foot rub.”
Billy laughed out loud, and the tray shook slightly. “You want me to touch your stinky feet. You’re taking advantage of my feelings again.”
“Might as well. Besides, the prosthetics are killing me.”
“Fine. Let’s have our tea.”
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Elijah finished his tea last, putting the mug on the table as he took the last biscuit. He never took his eyes off Dom, and Dom did his best not to notice.
Billy could feel the tension seep into every pore as they took their tea in relative silence. The rattling of the mug against the saucer as Dom’s long fingers grasped his mug with a slightly shaky hand as he sipped his tea was the only real sound.
Elijah started to bite his nails. “So, now what?”
Dom looked back and forth from his perch on the arm of the sofa and shrugged. Reaching over he took Elijah’s hand away from his mouth and held it loosely. Billy saw Elijah visibly relax at the touch. A small amount of tension lifted away like a layer.
“Let’s just relax right now. I need to think for a little while. Besides, Billy promised me a foot rub, didn’t you Billy?”
Billy shook his head as Dom turned sideways on the couch to put his legs and feet in Billy’s lap. Lifting his hips a little, he moved backwards and settled in Elijah’s lap so that he could stretch out his legs fully. Billy pulled off Dom’s socks and looked at his feet.
Dom’s feet, without the prosthetics, were actually quite small and shapely. Not shapely in the sense that they were feminine, Billy mused, but they were simply nice looking feet. Kept clean with the nails painted a dark blue, Billy wondered why he felt the need for a foot rub at all. But he took the left one in his hands and pressed his thumb into the arch experimentally all the same. “That too hard?”
“You could press a little harder. I’m not made of glass.” Dom’s arm draped around Elijah’s shoulder. Billy imagined another layer of tension being peeled away as his thumb moved upwards towards the ball of Dom’s foot, then back down again. “Mmm… better,” he heard Dom whisper.
Elijah giggled and out of the corner of his eye, Billy saw him lean over a little and say, “Ironic that I should be the recliner this time, don’t you think?”
“I think turnabout is fair… oh God, Bill. You should consider massage a second career.”
Billy smiled and put pressure on the heel in a slow up and down motion. Dom’s head came to rest against Elijah’s shoulder with a contented sound and more tension peeled away. His fingers glided up the skin and he took the big toe between the thumb and forefinger, rubbing gently. Billy turned his head and looked at both Dom and Elijah.
Elijah’s nose is buried in Dom’s hair in much the same way one would bury their face in a rose, and his arms were snaked around his trunk. Dom had his eyes closed, nearly oblivious to the way Elijah was sniffing his hair.
Rubbing the little toe a bit, Billy dropped it and picked up the other foot. He started work on the arch the same way he did with the other foot.
By the time he got to rubbing on the heel, Dom and Elijah were kissing. Dom slid the back of his free foot against Billy’s belly, and Billy felt his stomach jump from the contact.
Breaking the kiss, Dom said, “Slowly… I don’t want to lose you two…”
Elijah’s arms tightened around Dom. “As slow as you need us to be, right Billy?”
“Right.”
Dom closed his eyes and dropped his head back on Elijah’s shoulder. “Good. You guys can stay and take the spare bed room.”
Billy supposed he got his answer and smiled.
The End?
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Billy slowly falls.
Pairing: Billy/Elijah/Dom
Feedback: Yes, please.
Warning: Real Person Slash. If you have a squick, please don’t read.
Billy stared at the kid nestled in his lap and sighed, ruffling the russet hair between his fingertips.
That was the thing about Elijah. He really could sleep just about anywhere at anytime if he needed a few winks. And today, that meant on Billy’s couch in the trailer after filming.
Billy found it absolutely fascinating. He’s never been able to catch up on sleep like that. To be able to relax so easily, to drop off and rest when your body called for it. Even as a child, it was something he’d never done, unless he was sick or upset.
Billy wondered if he was born to be a light sleeper, destined only to sleep at a designated time of night.
Elijah made a soft mewling sound and snuggled closer. Billy’s hand moved down the back of Elijah’s head to his neck, feeling the soft skin under his fingertips. Moving his hand back and forth, Billy watched the colors in the trailer go from gold to pink to purple.
He would have turned on the light, but moving would have woken Elijah up. And Billy was actually in the middle of an experiment of sorts.
He wanted to see how long it would take for Elijah to wake up on his own. Every other time that Elijah has nodded off like this, someone had interrupted his slumber. So Billy listened to the sounds of the crew outside his trailer and only moved his hand along Elijah’s neck and shoulders as the trailer got darker and darker.
By the time the kid moved, it was nearly twilight, and Billy could barely make out any of the shapes of the furniture in the trailer at all. He felt rather than saw Elijah moving against his chest, shifting in his lap and looking around.
“Billy?” he whispered, stretching against him.
“Yeah, mate?”
“What time is it?”
“I don’t know. Late I suppose.”
Billy felt Elijah shift on his lap again, legs settling on either side of his thighs, and the pressing of Elijah’s chest against his nose just before a clicking sound. The room light up in a glow of pale yellow halogen light and a haze of dark purple directly in his line of sight for a moment.
And then the kid settled directly in his lap, eyes puffed from sleep. He looked at ease with his position on Billy’s lap, maybe a bit too much so. Billy watched as he looked at his watch. “Oh, it’s seven. How long was I asleep?”
Billy wrinkled his eyebrows in thought. “Let’s see. Peter let us off for the day around three, and you arrived here at about five or so… I’d say an hour, hour and a half.”
Elijah nodded, still a bit dazed. “I’m sorry I fell asleep, man. I must have been tired.”
“It’s alright. Besides, we have all day tomorrow to go shopping if you still want to.” Billy stared at a loose thread in Elijah’s t-shirt to keep from looking into his friend’s blue eyes. He didn’t want to appear to be staring at them.
“Billy, we should get going if we want to meet up with Dom for dinner, shouldn’t we?”
Billy nodded, eyes drifting down to Elijah’s thighs as if the pattern of wear on the jeans were a classic novel and he couldn’t wait to see the end. “Yes, we should. But I can’t move with you on me, now can I?”
When Elijah got up, he suddenly felt cold.
-----------------------------------------
Elijah lit up his cigarette and took a long drag with a satisfied expression before leaning back in the chair. The scent of tobacco mixed with cloves began to drift in the air, drowning out the smell of mutton from dinner.
Billy watched the cigarette in Elijah’s mouth light up red at the very tip. The kid took a hold of the cigarette between two fingers and said, “Hey Dom, where were you after the shoot, by the way?”
“I had some calls to make at home, you know.” Dom took a sip of his wine. “So what did you guys get up to while I was gone?”
Billy stabbed at his cake for a moment before looking up. “We were going to go shopping, but Sleeping Beauty over here decided to take a nap. I got drafted as his recliner and was stuck.”
“I was tired.” Another drag, followed by smoke blown directly in Billy’s direction. “You know I never get a full day off.”
“Yeah, I know. Tomorrow’s a rarity. Elijah said he’d go shopping with me.”
“Wanna come along with us, Dom?”
Billy wondered why his stomach knotted up. He looked up at Dom, waiting for an answer.
Dom shrugged. “Can’t go. But I’ll meet you two for lunch afterwards.”
Elijah gave Dom one of those pouts that he reserves for when he wants his way and Billy wondered how long it would take before Dom relented. “Sure. We can meet you wherever you want…”
Billy mentally counted off the seconds, and got to five or six before he heard it. “I’ll go. I’m sure I can make other arrangements…”
Elijah squealed and nearly jumped over the table to hug Dom. Billy stabbed at his cake, took one more bite, and then stared out the window as Elijah settled on Dom’s lap to kiss his cheek. As Billy turned his head, Dom steadied Elijah with one hand on the small of his back, the other on his knee.
He wondered why part of him didn’t want to see the look they might have exchanged.
“Billy?” Dom said. He sounded a bit confused.
Billy continued to stare out the window. “Yeah, Dom?”
“You okay there, mate? You seem a bit down…”
Billy turned his head. Elijah was back in his seat as if the hug never took place, but he was blushing… Billy sighed and stood up. “I’m fine. Just tired. I think I’ll call it a night.”
“You sure about that, Billy?” Elijah said. He also sounded confused, but worried as well. Billy didn’t want to think about the possible reasons why.
“Yeah. Long shopping day tomorrow, remember?” Billy took his jacket off the chair and plopped some bills on the table. “The old guy needs his sleep,” he mused with a half hearted grin.
Elijah reached over and took his hand, his thumb rubbing against the back of Billy’s palm, sending jolts through him. “We’ll pick you up first thing. Promise.”
Billy vaguely thought he heard Dom’s voice over the other diners ask, “What’s with him?” as he turned his back to leave…
-------------------------------------------
“AAAHHHH!!!” Billy screamed, his eyes wide. He had the urge to cover his face, but was desperately trying not to.
If he was to get out of this shoot in one piece, he’d have to keep his wits about him. He knew this, and knew it well. Even with this knowledge, however, there was still the fact that chaos (albeit directed) was erupting around him while a large horse was rising his hooves above his head.
It was the hooves that threatened to break him into pieces. Blinking, he rolled over to the left as Peter directed and prayed the horse would cooperate. When the horse did, he let out a sigh of relief and got to his hobbit feet on cue.
“CUT! All right Billy, that’s really good but if you can take it from the top, I’d like to get one more shot of this…”
Billy winced visibly, but Peter seemed to be paying no attention to his expression. Dom noticed from across the set, however, and cleared his throat.
“Peter, we need a break. Give us five minutes?”
Billy saw Peter nod and hugged himself, silently thanking Dom before turning his back and looking up. He wanted this night shoot to be over and done with already… Taking a deep breath he began to count the stars twinkling above his head. One, two, three, four, five…
A hand squeezed his shoulder and he turned his head. It was Dom.
“Hey, mate. You all right?”
“Yeah… I’m just a bit paranoid about the horse. I know I’ll be okay…”
The hand slid down his arm and settled on his hip from behind. Dom put his head on his shoulder and hugged, making his whole body from chest to hips to knees come in contact with Billy.
That was the thing with Dom. Everything about Dom from day one, from the way he started jokes that were so easy for Billy to finish, to the way he smiled crookedly, to the way he smelled when he was this close, represented comfort. When it counted he could be the sweetest person around, who usually knew what one needed and gave it freely without being asked.
At the moment, Billy needed a hug from a friend and a reassuring word in his ear.
“Hey, we love you, ya know? Peter and the crew wouldn’t let anything happen to you. And if they did, I’d kill them.”
Billy chuckled and patted Dom’s hand. “Thanks, mate. I appreciate it.”
“Sure… Look, I’m going to get a drink. Do you want anything before Peter calls you back?”
Billy shook his head. He just wanted the shoot over with. Dom’s arms slipped away and a minute later, Peter called him back to redo the shot.
The horse was just as terrifying the second time around.
-------------------------------------------
The first time they napped on Billy’s couch together, napping was all Elijah did while Billy watched. The second time they napped on the couch together, it was Billy who was too exhausted to keep his eyes open and Elijah seemed to be on watch when he awoke.
The Fangorn shoot was much more nerve wracking on Billy than he expected. And late the night before was the shot with a horse hovering over him. While the horse was trained not to trample anyone, Billy’s still felt as though he was going to die under its hooves. Peter didn’t need to give him any direction when it came time to scream, that was for sure.
Billy trudged through the remainder of the shoot after that, and did the best job he could, but his concentration was affected. Oddly, it was only Dom who noticed and suggested he go to his trailer to get some rest after the shoot.
When he finally got to his trailer, it was all Billy could do to take his shirt off and lay down, face the back of the couch, and close his eyes before falling asleep.
He woke up to the warmth of someone solid against his back, arms around his shoulders, and the steady sound of soft breathing in his ear. Billy turned his head slightly and caught chestnut hair and smooth, pale ivory skin.
“Elijah?”
“Yeah Billy?”
“What? I mean, I didn’t hear…”
Billy felt the arms tighten, and one hand spread its fingers across his midsection. “Dom said you had a rough shoot, and I wanted to check in on you, but you were asleep…”
Asleep? He must have been more affected than he thought.
“Yeah… A horse hovering above my face is not the last thing I’d like to see in this world.” Billy mumbled, turning his face back to the fabric on the back of the sofa.
The hand began to move slowly, rubbing in gentle circles across his bare skin. It was a soothing sensation, although not as soothing as if it had been Dom holding him like this, and Billy found himself leaning back against Elijah on the couch.
“I wonder… I wonder if I’ll have a reaction like that to the Cirith Ungol scene,” he heard Elijah whisper. Then he felt his breath against his ear again. It was slightly warm in the chill.
Billy couldn’t suppress the shiver that resulted from it, and bit his lip. “You might. I think it depends on how much you want to put yourself into the mindset for the role. And you seem to me like the sort of lad who would do that.”
Elijah’s chin rested on Billy’s shoulder slightly. The hand kept moving in a slow circle. “I can’t see how else one could do a scene right without feeling the emotions needed for it…”
The hand stopped moving, Elijah’s thumb tracing the area around the belly button. Billy felt a pair of lips, soft and slightly wet, press against his cheek. “That’s good. That’s the way they should be done, I think.”
“So you really thought the horse was going to trample you?”
Billy covered Elijah’s hand with his own, threading their fingers together. He nodded slowly. “I did. Pippin certainly would have. He would have screamed too.”
Soft wet lips pressed against the side of Billy’s neck, lingering a moment longer than they should have this time. The hand at his belly button traveled upwards to his sternum. Billy kept his fingers entwined and followed its path.
It felt a tad surreal, having Elijah holding him on the couch like this.
“I don’t know what to say, Billy.”
“Don’t say anything. I just need some quiet and rest. I’d… I’d like it if you’d stay, though.” Billy swallowed and turned onto his back, keeping Elijah’s hand where it was.
Blue eyes expressed only concern, and pale pink lips curved into a soft smile. Elijah shifted a little, running his fingertips through Billy’s hair. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Turning enough so that they faced each other, Billy let his eyes drift close and his free hand rest against Elijah’s chest. A strong heart beat could be felt through the material of Elijah’s shirt. “Good…”
“Billy?” Elijah bumped his nose against Billy’s jaw line.
“Hmm?”
“When I have to film the Cirith Ungol scene… could you come by? I saw you were off that day on the last schedule, but I’d like you to be there. Please?”
Billy felt drained, but he nodded all the same. “Of course.”
The kid said nothing in reply. Instead he used only soft, gentle caresses over bare skin and the occasional kiss on Billy’s forehead, nose, and chin to lull him back to sleep.
---------------------------------------------
Billy stared down from his perch on top of ‘Treebeard’ before his gaze traveled back up to Dom. Dom was leaning back against one of the branches, one leg curled up against his chest, and the other dangling like a chain over the side.
Billy noticed that Dom had really nice, well muscled legs. Kind of the way the rest of him was nice if one took the time to look. If they weren’t such good mates, such close mates, he might have asked him out. But he had a feeling that Dom wasn’t the sort of lad who would date his best mate. At least, not right away.
Billy’s eyes settled on the fur covered hobbit prosthetic that made up ‘Merry’s left foot” and noticed some of the fur had rubbed off. The make-up staff was going to have to touch up his foot before shooting resumed. “And then he kissed my face until I fell asleep. Not my mouth or anything like that, but every other part of my face. I’m not sure what to think, Dommie. It’s not the first time he’s done it in the past couple of weeks. Think it’s an American thing?”
Dom let his foot swing a bit, smiling when Billy’s eyes followed along. It was one of their inside jokes. Dom would move an arm or a leg like a pendulum, and Billy would follow the limb as it moved the way a cat would, complete with head movements. If Billy were closer, he’d start swatting with his hand at the offending limb until Dom giggled. If Dom didn’t giggle, he’d then tackle him to the ground and tickle that spot just under his ribs that only Billy knew would leave Dom giggling. “I think he fancies you, you dumb Scot. You’re fucking lucky.”
“Fancies me?” Billy really wasn’t sure what to make of that one. He wasn’t too young or anything, he just saw Elijah as the kid in the group. “He’s as affectionate with you as he is with me you know. He’s sat in your lap and kissed you at dinner, for one thing.”
Dom’s expression was unreadable. “Maybe so mate, but he’s never fallen asleep in my arms, or happened to have been there when I’ve woken up from a nap just to see if I’m okay. I wish someone would do that with me.”
Billy smiled. “You want to join us for our naps you’re more than welcome to any time, Sblommie. I think with Elijah’s help I can handle you.”
“Handle me? The entire Fellowship couldn’t handle me.” Dom chuckled and stared straight ahead. It was a little hard to tell in the lighting, but Billy thought he might have seen a blush. He wondered if it would be inappropriate to tell Dom he was most attractive when he was blushing. Knowing Dom, he’d probably think it was one of their jokes. “Think they’d leave us here for the night? I really don’t want to have to take a piss on the puppet.”
“Not likely. Maintenance would have to give us scraps from the garbage in the morning, for one thing.”
“That’s fucking disgusting, Billy.”
“You were the one who said we’d be stuck for the night and you’d have to pee on poor old Treebeard. Besides, we gotta get our food from somewhere.”
“I’d rather live on air and your love, mate.”
“Hopeless romantic.”
Dom stared straight ahead. Billy looked at his face and wondered what napping with both him and Elijah would be like. He closed his eyes and pictured it: snoozing against Dom’s back while Elijah cradled them both against his chest.
It was a nice mental image, really. His stomach fluttered when he realized it was something he wouldn’t mind experiencing. Like that would ever happen. Billy shook his head to clear it. “Seriously Dom, what do you think I should do?”
Dom licked his lower lip the way he did when he was deep in thought or really excited. It was one of the few habits that leaked through to his performance of Merry that Peter let slide. “Way I see it love, you’ve got two choices. You can either leave it alone and let Elijah make the first move, or you can talk to him. It all depends on whether or not you fancy him and how you want to deal with it. Personally, I think he’ll do something sooner or later.”
Billy mulled the idea over as he rested his head against the stump. Did he fancy Elijah? He cared about him, even loved him… but he wondered if he fancied him the way Dom meant at all.
----------------------------------------------
“Am I still dreaming? But the other dreams were horrible…” Elijah whispered. He looked up at Sean and touched his cheek with a shaky hand.
Billy stood on the sidelines, a spectator to the scene being filmed before him, his eyes brimming with tears. There was Elijah, made up to look bruised and injured, naked on the stone floor of the Cirith Ungol set, being cradled like a child in Sean’s arms as they did their lines.
Sean managed to sound hoarse, as if he’d been crying all day. “I’d given up hope, almost. I couldn’t find you.”
“Now you have Sam, dear Sam.” Elijah closed his eyes and Sean rocked him back and forth, his hands stroking what will, on film at least, be pale, dirty, and bruised skin.
His performance couldn’t have been any more perfect. Billy let a tear slide down his cheek without batting it away. He was too busy trembling from what he saw.
And if the silence on the set was any indication, so was the rest of the crew on set at the moment. Billy looked at Peter for a moment and noticed that even he was crying.
Peter cleared his throat. “Cut. Let’s take a twenty minute break and try that again, shall we?”
As if snapping from a spell, Elijah sat up and patted Sean on the shoulder with a smile. When he spoke the accent was American again. “Dude, where’s my robe? It’s fucking freezing in here.”
Sean stood up and grabbed the robe from a chair, hitting Elijah in the head with it. “Here. Now put that on already.”
“Why, jealous of my girlish figure?”
Shaking his head, Sean turned to Billy with a grin. “What?”
“That was good. Really good,” was all Billy could think of saying. He sniffled and wiped his eyes.
“Yeah. He makes everything easy. Like a dream.” Sean turned and looked at Elijah with a grin. “I’m calling Christine. Oh, you’ve got a visitor.”
“Tell Christine I miss her and the baby,” Elijah called back. He stood up and slipped on the robe, looking at Billy.
Billy tried not to stare at Elijah’s body, but he couldn’t help it. He turned red and turned to look at one of the cameras.
“Billy… you can look if you want. Everyone else on set had to.”
Billy met Elijah’s eyes. He seemed unembarrassed by the situation. It unnerved Billy. “That’s not it, mate. You’re performance…”
The kid smiled. “Come on, I’ve got a cup of tea in my dressing room with your name on it.”
Billy followed Elijah out of the studio and down to the dressing room. One of the crew had left a pot of fresh tea on the table and several mugs waiting. Elijah grabbed a couple of mugs and started pouring, passing the first one to Billy.
“The performance depressed you, didn’t it?” Elijah said, leaning against the table. “I had a feeling it was a bit over the top. I’ll tone it down on the next take.”
Billy sipped his tea and stared at his glass. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. That performance was flawless. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Really, Billy?”
Billy nodded and took another sip, not looking up. “You have no idea how talented you really are do you?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Billy saw the kid’s hand putting an untouched mug of tea back on the table. He felt the heat from Elijah’s body as he approached, and as it entered his field of vision, he saw a small, nail bitten hand curl around his own mug for a moment before he let that hand take it away from him. The mug was replaced in his line of sight with a small, slim body covered in a terry cloth robe that was just beginning to fall open. Billy stared at a darkened nipple that was exposed to his view.
He nearly gasped when his mind wondered what it would be like to have that robe disappear again.
“Thanks, Billy,” Elijah whispered, and blunt fingers tilted Billy’s face up to look at a pair of eyes the color of the sky. Their faces were close together and he was smiling.
Elijah leaned forward and pressed his lips to Billy’s. It wasn’t more than the contact of skin on skin, but Billy shuddered against it. And Elijah held his lips in place longer than necessary.
When he pulled back, Elijah blushed. “Billy? We should be getting back to set, shouldn’t we?”
“Yes, we should.”
Elijah nodded. “Can I see you tomorrow after the shoot? I think we’re both going to have the day after that off again.”
Billy nodded, his stomach in knots. “Okay, mate.”
--------------------------------------------
The first time they napped together on the couch, it was Elijah that did all the napping while Billy watched. The second time they napped together, it was Billy who was exhausted and Elijah kept watch over him like a guardian angel. This time there was little napping at all.
Billy wondered absently the first time Elijah kissed him on the lips when he stopped thinking of his friend as the kid. It couldn’t have been the kiss itself; it wasn’t more than a touch of lips against his own, held in place as if Elijah were asking for permission to do so. Or permission to go forward with something Billy thought he was only beginning to understand.
No, it was the intensity of Elijah’s performance during the tower scene that made Billy think of him as a man. Billy had the day off and Dom was sick with a cold, so he went to the set to watch the shooting. Even now, days later, the performance he saw left him reeling. If it wasn’t Oscar worthy, then the people at the Academy deserved to be shot.
And when Billy told him how good he thought he was, Elijah kissed him for the first time.
It was the performance that made him kiss Elijah back when he showed up at his trailer today, after another shoot to rest. The kiss itself was tentative, almost desperate in the way both their mouths opened and their tongues explored for he first time, but Billy wouldn’t have changed it one bit. Billy didn’t think someone so young was capable of kissing like that. He certainly wasn’t at that age.
Pulling back, Elijah only said one thing to him. “You’re eyes are so green. I wish mine were like that.”
Billy grinned. “Surely, you must be joking, mate. Yours are so lovely, it fucking hurts.”
Elijah put one hand on his chest and pushed him gently inside with a shake of his head. Reaching behind, he pushed the door closed and Billy heard the lock click. It was a satisfying sound.
Elijah smiled expectantly, leaning against the doorframe. Billy leaned his left hand next to Elijah’s head, who didn’t so much as flinch. He merely waited for Billy to make the next move.
With a shaking hand, Billy cupped Elijah’s chin and kissed him slowly, giving permission. His right hand trailed down Elijah’s arm to grasp his hand and pull him over to the couch. Elijah followed, breaking the grasp to pull his T-shirt over his head.
The shirt landed on the coffee table. Billy’s back was turned as he faced the couch, and he heard a buckle loosen, and a zipper being pulled. He wondered as he pulled his own shirt over his head if, like any other first time, this one would turn out to be awkward and frenzied.
Elijah put his arms around Billy’s waist slowly, hands touching to undo the button and zipper of his jeans. Billy stepped out of them the second they hit the floor. Two thumbs hooked into the waist of his boxers, and slid them down to follow the jeans on the floor.
Billy turned around.
Elijah was smiling again as he leaned over to kiss Billy, pushing on his shoulders with his hands, guiding the way down to the couch and lowering himself between Billy’s knees. Soft kisses and hands began to roam over Billy, so gently that he relaxed completely. Billy began roaming over ivory skin with his own hands, looking into Elijah’s eyes as he did so.
Billy’s touch was intended more as encouragement than anything else, and Elijah’s hands moved lower. His lips made contact with Billy’s nipple as his hand slid passed the belly button, playing with the treasure trail of hair he found just below it.
“Oh, fuck…” Billy breathed, winding his fingers through dark hair. He looked up at the ceiling of his trailer. Without thinking he began to count the holes in the ceiling… one, two, three…
Fingers wrapped around his shaft and squeezed, eliciting a groan. And then those fingers began to set up a slow rhythm. Elijah’s head moved lower, lips and tongue dancing a pattern across his stomach and navel. One he reached Billy’s navel, Elijah lifted his head to stare at Billy, waiting.
Again, it felt like he was asking for permission. Billy ran his finger over the edge of Elijah’s ear with a smile.
Billy nodded once, and Elijah lowered his head, taking him in. Billy shuddered against the moist sensation and the warmth of Elijah’s tongue, and fisted his hands in the cushions to keep from bucking against him. It felt… it was wonderful. Exactly the next step they should be taking. Billy had the urge to close his eyes or look up at the ceiling and let go, just feel and be in the moment, but he couldn’t do that. Not the first time. It would squander the experience.
Billy looked down and watched Elijah, watched his knuckles go white as his own hands gripped the cushions. He noticed they were both shaking, even as Elijah’s head bobbed…
It was too much, and he came quickly. Elijah went still, one hand on Billy’s hip to hold him steady.
When Billy got his breath back he whispered, “Oh shit, I’m sorry mate.”
Elijah leaned up on his knees, resting his chin on Billy’s chest and looking up at him with blue eyes that seem too innocent for his face. “Don’t be. I’m not.”
“Oh. Well, that’s good, isn’t it?”
Elijah let out a high pitched giggle. “Lay down, asshole. This position is hard on the knees. Besides, we’ve got plenty of time.”
Billy laid back with a grin as Elijah joined him on the couch, and curled one leg over his hip to keep them close.
Usually Elijah was the tactile one. This time it was Billy’s hands that explored creamy white skin, traced over muscles, and ran a circle around a navel. It all made Billy smile. In his experience, the afterglow was always awkward.
This time was different.
Elijah’s cheeks flushed as he nuzzled Billy’s chin and jaw. And when Billy cupped his balls with one hand and began to pump with the other, he smiled as Elijah’s eyes grew wide.
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They spent the whole afternoon that day alternating between lazy, slow lovemaking and snoozing in between. As the sky darkened and Elijah began to doze for the last time that day, Billy held him close and watched the room turn colors again, this time from peach to pink to red.
As the room took on a plum hue, Billy felt blunt fingers threading through the hair on his chest and smiled. He kissed Elijah awake and smiled.
“Hey.”
“Hey, Billy. Can we talk for a minute?”
Billy frowned. He was hoping this wouldn’t be the only time. “Okay, mate.”
Elijah licked his lower lip and stared at Billy for a moment. “I want to ask something, and if the answer is no, that’s okay. But I want to ask.”
Billy nodded, trying not to flinch. “Go on.”
“I wanted to know if we could ask Dom to… you know. Next time we spend an afternoon like this.” Elijah shrugged, turning red. “If you don’t want to, it’s okay, you know.”
“That was… unexpected,” Billy said, blinking.
“I know. But I thought I should ask now and get it out in the air.”
Billy thought about the other day, when he imagined being on the couch with the both of them and how the idea surprisingly didn’t bother him. Something clicked inside, and it all felt right.
And that was the problem for Billy. He wanted to include Dom, his best mate, but assumed there’d never be an opportunity to ask. But why did Elijah want this? “Why include Dom? You know that would change things.”
Elijah chewed on his thumb nail. “It’s just that… I want to share what we have with him. This isn’t like anything else I could have but with the two of you, you know? You’re my closest mates… no, it’s more than that. But if you don’t want to, that’s okay. I get it.”
Billy moved Elijah’s hand away from his mouth. Such an odd mix of child and man, naivety and experience, innocence and maturity in one person.
“It can’t be exactly the same thing for you and him as it is be for you and me. We’re all different, so we’ll see it differently, each one of us. But I know what you mean… Give me a night to think about it, please?”
Elijah nodded without a word and got up to take a shower. As he walked away, Billy smiled. Something in the way he carried himself told him they both knew what the answer was going to be.
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Dom opened his apartment door in his boxers and a black t-shirt. Taking a long look back and forth between Elijah and Billy, Dom crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway.
“Hey mates. What brings you around?”
Billy took a deep breath and glanced at Elijah. He looked as nervous as Billy felt. “We um, wanted to talk to you. Can we come inside?”
Dom glanced over at Elijah and crinkled his brow for a moment, then stepped aside to let them in. “I’ll go make some tea. Don’t mind the mess in the living room, but the couch is clean.”
Elijah walked over to the couch and, after taking off his shoes, sat down with his knees against his chest. Billy sat down next to him and took his hand.
“You sure about this, Bill?” he whispered. His body language denoted an almost childlike innocence. Billy couldn’t help but smile.
“Yes. If you want, I can go ask him for the both of us.”
Elijah took a deep breath. “It’s my idea.”
“I’ll be sure to tell him that for you. But I was thinking, it might be better for him if he didn’t have to tell us both no. If I lose my nerve, I’ll bring him out here, okay?” Billy stood and took off his jacket. He handed it to Elijah. “Hold that for a minute?”
Clanging noises could be heard from the kitchen down the hall as Billy walked towards the doorway. When he rounded the corner and stuck his head in the door, he saw Dom busy filling a teakettle and placing it on a burner. Dom’s hands were shaking a bit.
“Hey shit head,” Billy said with a grin.
“You two look good together.” Dom said, not looking directly at Billy. “I take it things went well then?”
Billy nodded. “They did. That’s what we came to talk about.”
“Oh?” Dom rummaged around in the cabinets for some biscuits, his back turned. “If you’ve come for my blessing, you two have it.”
Billy could feel Dom smirking at him. “That’s not it, exactly…”
Dom pulled out the biscuits and set them on a plate. He looked at Billy. “I thought you said things went well, mate. Something wrong?”
“Well, Elijah and I were talking about how and why we feel the way we do…”
Dom started pouring the water into a pot, nodding. His expression was unreadable.
“… and it got us wondering. How you feel about us, I mean.”
Dom set the kettle back on the stove with a shrug. “I love you both. You know that,” he said simply, as if it was a law of nature, immutable.
Billy reached out and put his hand on Dom’s shoulder. “Let me get that for you.”
“No, I’ve got it.”
“Dom…”
Dom looked up, tray in hand. “Yes, Billy?”
“We… we love you too. I mean, the way we feel about each other. It’s the same way we feel for you.”
Dom smiled and looked as if he was about to make one of his jokes, but he visibly gulped and put the tray down instead. He crossed his arms and gazed out the window.
“Dom? Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“I was about to make a suggestion we start a sex commune in Thailand, except…” Dom met Billy’s eyes for a second. “You’re not joking about this.”
“No, I’m not.” Billy gathered the tray, but waited. Dom went back to gazing out the window.
“I don’t know. I mean, I want to, but I don’t know. Can I ask you something?”
“Of course you can.”
“Was this how you felt when you when we were talking the other day about what to do with Elijah, mate?”
“More or less.” Billy nodded. “Our friendship won’t change no matter what you decide, Dom.”
“Well, that’s bullshit. Of course it will. The question alone will change it.”
Billy frowned. Dom was right, and he knew it. Perhaps this was a bad idea to ask. “If you want us to leave so you could think about it…”
“Don’t be silly. Besides I can’t drink this much tea by myself. We’re not really Hobbits, remember? Speaking of which, could you do me a favor in return for the tea?”
“Anything.”
“Anything? I like the sound of that… but what I really want is a foot rub.”
Billy laughed out loud, and the tray shook slightly. “You want me to touch your stinky feet. You’re taking advantage of my feelings again.”
“Might as well. Besides, the prosthetics are killing me.”
“Fine. Let’s have our tea.”
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Elijah finished his tea last, putting the mug on the table as he took the last biscuit. He never took his eyes off Dom, and Dom did his best not to notice.
Billy could feel the tension seep into every pore as they took their tea in relative silence. The rattling of the mug against the saucer as Dom’s long fingers grasped his mug with a slightly shaky hand as he sipped his tea was the only real sound.
Elijah started to bite his nails. “So, now what?”
Dom looked back and forth from his perch on the arm of the sofa and shrugged. Reaching over he took Elijah’s hand away from his mouth and held it loosely. Billy saw Elijah visibly relax at the touch. A small amount of tension lifted away like a layer.
“Let’s just relax right now. I need to think for a little while. Besides, Billy promised me a foot rub, didn’t you Billy?”
Billy shook his head as Dom turned sideways on the couch to put his legs and feet in Billy’s lap. Lifting his hips a little, he moved backwards and settled in Elijah’s lap so that he could stretch out his legs fully. Billy pulled off Dom’s socks and looked at his feet.
Dom’s feet, without the prosthetics, were actually quite small and shapely. Not shapely in the sense that they were feminine, Billy mused, but they were simply nice looking feet. Kept clean with the nails painted a dark blue, Billy wondered why he felt the need for a foot rub at all. But he took the left one in his hands and pressed his thumb into the arch experimentally all the same. “That too hard?”
“You could press a little harder. I’m not made of glass.” Dom’s arm draped around Elijah’s shoulder. Billy imagined another layer of tension being peeled away as his thumb moved upwards towards the ball of Dom’s foot, then back down again. “Mmm… better,” he heard Dom whisper.
Elijah giggled and out of the corner of his eye, Billy saw him lean over a little and say, “Ironic that I should be the recliner this time, don’t you think?”
“I think turnabout is fair… oh God, Bill. You should consider massage a second career.”
Billy smiled and put pressure on the heel in a slow up and down motion. Dom’s head came to rest against Elijah’s shoulder with a contented sound and more tension peeled away. His fingers glided up the skin and he took the big toe between the thumb and forefinger, rubbing gently. Billy turned his head and looked at both Dom and Elijah.
Elijah’s nose is buried in Dom’s hair in much the same way one would bury their face in a rose, and his arms were snaked around his trunk. Dom had his eyes closed, nearly oblivious to the way Elijah was sniffing his hair.
Rubbing the little toe a bit, Billy dropped it and picked up the other foot. He started work on the arch the same way he did with the other foot.
By the time he got to rubbing on the heel, Dom and Elijah were kissing. Dom slid the back of his free foot against Billy’s belly, and Billy felt his stomach jump from the contact.
Breaking the kiss, Dom said, “Slowly… I don’t want to lose you two…”
Elijah’s arms tightened around Dom. “As slow as you need us to be, right Billy?”
“Right.”
Dom closed his eyes and dropped his head back on Elijah’s shoulder. “Good. You guys can stay and take the spare bed room.”
Billy supposed he got his answer and smiled.
The End?
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Oh so good!
This seemed very different (good different!) to lots of other fics. I think because you treaded the friends/more-than-friends line so very very well - it was extremely believable. No immediate declaration of Love (lurve?), just more-of-the-same love. Bits I specially liked:
It felt a tad surreal, having Elijah holding him on the couch like this.
“I don’t know what to say, Billy.”
Yeah. Cos you wouldn't (know what to say) would you. Even if you were Elijah.
“You were the one who said we’d be stuck for the night and you’d have to pee on poor old Treebeard. Besides, we gotta get our food from somewhere.”
“I’d rather live on air and your love, mate.”
“Hopeless romantic."
That cracked me up, but it was so sweet, as well. And given Billy's state of mind, probably somewhat quite true, too.
“Hey shit head,” Billy said with a grin.
“You two look good together.” Dom said, not looking directly at Billy. “I take it things went well then?”
Oh, not looking. Poor Dom. He doesn't know what to do.
Breaking the kiss, Dom said, “Slowly… I don’t want to lose you two…”
And that was just perfect, for all it's multiple meanings.
And also: Billy POV, and Elijah loving Billy's eyes, and the gah! image of Dom at the door in a black t-shirt and boxers.
Yay! Loved it!
And puhleeze let that not be the end... I mean, it doesn't have to be smut (although that would be... nice) but I just want to know more!
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Thanks!
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Thanks.
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No seriously...can I?
I don't hand out compliments on writing lightly or often, but this blew me away.
*sighs happily*
I suppose that's not really constructive feedback, but I'm still absorbing the story.
~Squee
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Elijah’s cheeks flushed as he nuzzled Billy’s chin and jaw. And when Billy cupped his balls with one hand and began to pump with the other, he smiled as Elijah’s eyes grew wide.
That made my day. I had to stop and recoup after that!
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"Perfection" is the Epilogue to this piece. It was intended as the final scene, but when everything was said and done, it didn't fit the overall mood of the fic, so...
As for more... we'll see.