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fellowshippers2004-11-16 05:06 pm
andrealyn) wrote in fellowshippers2004-11-16 05:06 pm
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Title: The Signs of the Zodiac 5/12
Pairing: Bean/Orlando, Dom/Billy
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Not mine, never happened.
Summary: Orlando's life goes through quite a bit in the course of twelve months.
Notes: So, thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
captnobvious and beizy for hand-holding in the early days and to shaenie who completely ripped the first draft of this apart. Many thanks. Couldn't have done it without you. Previous parts can be found here.
GEMINI
June 7th
In his head, Orlando mentally tabulated how many times he'd phoned this number over the past few days. Each ring gave him pains as to the cost of the long distance phone bill racking up, and he had to remind himself that the reason for the phone call was past worthy. He gave up after about seven rings without an answering machine picking up, and the lack of an answer fuelled his determination to keep calling until he got an answer.
“Dom’s not there?” Sean asked from the foyer, where he was placing notes into his wallet. Orlando replaced the phone in its’ receiver and sighed. “Or, he could be there and just not answering.”
“Yeah,” Orlando commented with a distracted edge. He bit at his inner lip and chewed a little while, considering whether he had time to try again.
Sean broke into a sympathetic smile. “It’s too bad they won’t be here to celebrate with us the Dom and Billy way.”
“Yeah,” Orlando repeated as his gaze turned to things far outside the spectrum of his sight. Orlando hoped that Sean wouldn’t notice the odd pattern to the answers. Orlando idly tapped his fingers as his eyes began to blur things in his immediate focus. “Nothing happened with you three, right?” Orlando remembered to ask from beyond the buzz of white noise droning.
“Nothing happened,” Sean swore. “They did say that some things had to be different because of my condition, but it’s really nothing like you think.”
“I know.” Orlando smiled with care. “Why don’t you wait outside? I’m just going to try Dom one more time.” Sean nodded, touching one hand briefly to Orlando’s arm before entering the pitch-black night. Orlando redialled and felt relief course through him when the phone was picked up.
“…tell him to bugger off,” Dom’s voice was faint as he brought the phone closer to mouth. “Hello?”
“It’s me. Listen, you won’t leave the U.S. until after Liv’s birthday, right?” Orlando dove head first into his rehearsed speech, the words spilling out quickly and robotically. He tried to swallow deeply, but instead, choked on a bit of saliva and coughed. Dom must have been thinking that he was an idiot. During the moment of silence, Orlando felt his muscles tense while he waited for a response.
“What’s going on?” Dom finally, sounding concerned. Orlando cast one eye out to a cheerful Sean, who was visible through the windows, and decided against speaking about it on the phone.
“I have to talk to you about something. In person. It’s not right to do this on the telephone,” Orlando explained hesitantly.
“Right. See you here then?” Dom asked, and there was an echo of confusion in his words.
“See you there,” Orlando confirmed before hanging up. He hesitated before going to join Sean outside, taking leisurely deep breaths and even steps. ‘Do not panic, there is no need to panic,’ his logical brain told him.
‘Yet,’ the paranoid half fired back, putting an additional rush in Orlando’s step, making his journey to join Sean outside substantially shorter. The cool breeze of the night renewed his belief in all things sane and was quick to reassure him that no matter what he had to deal with, he had time. Sean smiled, from when Orlando locked their door until they buckled up their seatbelts in the car.
For some reason, Sean’s caring gaze made Orlando’s back come to life with a million, twitching, chillingly active bugs. From the driveway of their flat to their destination, Orlando only said a grand total of three words, spoken in such a hushed tone that the circulation of the air around them could have swallowed them up.
“I love you.”
And Sean remained silent, whether from worry, discomfort, or confusion, Orlando never did find out.
Directions to John’s house – merely a place to hold a birthday event for Karl while he did promotions in the UK – proved to be so well constructed that it was extremely simple to find. It made the silent passage easier to bear for both Orlando and Sean. With gift in hand, doorbells were rung and warm greetings were extended after John opened the door to them.
After John greeted them with a deep, rich “Hello!” they managed to find their way inside, and were immediately amongst friends. Sean made sure the gift was deposited to the right place, and made his way back to Orlando’s side.
“Wine?” Karl – positively afire with giddy energy – offered immediately, appearing at their elbows with two sparkling crystal glasses and a matching wine beaker. He held them so delicately and carefully that they didn’t make a sound as he wielded them, speaking of his experience with the crystal. “It’s Montepulciano. I was told by the giver that it’s Italian!”
“You can’t go wrong with Italian wine,” Sean laughed as he accepted a glass and extended a second to Orlando. “Want some, love?”
Orlando waved it away with his hand. “No, I’ve been having some troubles,” he explained. “Stomach,” he continued when he earned five or so curious stares. ‘Nervous,’ he thought to himself. Mentally, he checked his clock as to how long it was until he could speak with Dom. Then he broke his mental clock for making the time seem so long – even though it was.
“I’m glad to hear such good things from our youngest American friend,” John was saying when Orlando tuned back into the conversation. “I kept saying, ‘Young man, a hobby would suit you well.’”
“Is zodiac matchmaking really what you had in mind?” Sean asked dubiously.
“He learned from the master,” John shrugged helplessly. Just as the air began to swallow the last bits of John’s sentence – barely out of his mouth – a head of tufted white hair appeared.
“I was summoned,” Ian stated matter-of-factly.
“We were speaking of Elijah’s talented matchmaking,” Orlando informed him.
“Talent?” Ian harrumphed. “The child is lucky! William and Dominic were waiting to happen and every other match has fallen apart by this point.”
“A little practice is all he needs then.” Orlando managed a thin smile. Ian didn’t respond and seemed to be fixating his gaze on Orlando. One of Ian’s hands found its way onto Orlando’s shoulder, and he gave the young actor a kind smile.
“Come on now, help an old man to get some fresh air,” Ian cheerily encouraged and gently pulled Orlando away from the busy chatter of the group and onto the quiet, terraced balcony. Orlando went with Ian willingly and gave a small wave to the party before they made their way outside. “You’re troubled,” Ian accused once they were alone and in the quiet.
For a moment, Orlando played around with the idea of telling Ian everything. He immediately squashed that notion; he knew how quickly gossip traveled when Ian was part of the process.
“Is this in regards to Sean’s birthday?” Ian inquired. “Jealousy, perhaps?”
“No, nothing like that,” Orlando responded truthfully. “That’s over. It’s long in the past.”
“Good. I would only accuse you of being foolish if you still felt envious,” Ian remarked with a pleased set to his face. Quietly, Ian returned to the room, passed by Sean on his way out to join Orlando.
“It’s nice out here,” Sean commented. “Stifling in there, and it seems that parties without Billy and Dom become rather dull rather quickly.”
“You noticed, did you?” Orlando smiled for a second and then it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. Sean wrapped an arm around Orlando’s waist and pulled him a little closer. They rested in the comfortable position for long moments before Sean spoke.
“Nothing happened,” Sean reassured him quietly, kissing Orlando on the temple. A breeze lifted their hair into a slow dance, twirling with every puff of the breeze.
“I know,” Orlando countered gently after a moment, and the words actually had a genuine ring of truth to them. He took it upon himself to guide their bodies back into the party. The cake was entering the dimmed room, afire with candles, and looking ever so delicious – most likely a cooking endeavour on John’s part. As they continued to move inside the room, every step had Orlando feeling that Anxiety was walking on the other side of him, its arm wrapped around him tighter than Sean’s ever could be.
“Blow them out!” Ian encouraged Karl when the cake was set down in front of the birthday boy.
“Make a wish,” John added jovially. Karl blew out all the candles, and darkness filled the room. Laughter rang out at the utter blackness and many teasing voices filled the air.
In the dark, Orlando could nearly imagine his problems and his worries were drifting away into nothingness. He could actually see them floating away and to his utter delight, they stayed away for that night.
tbc
Pairing: Bean/Orlando, Dom/Billy
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Not mine, never happened.
Summary: Orlando's life goes through quite a bit in the course of twelve months.
Notes: So, thanks to
captnobvious and beizy for hand-holding in the early days and to shaenie who completely ripped the first draft of this apart. Many thanks. Couldn't have done it without you. Previous parts can be found here.June 7th
In his head, Orlando mentally tabulated how many times he'd phoned this number over the past few days. Each ring gave him pains as to the cost of the long distance phone bill racking up, and he had to remind himself that the reason for the phone call was past worthy. He gave up after about seven rings without an answering machine picking up, and the lack of an answer fuelled his determination to keep calling until he got an answer.
“Dom’s not there?” Sean asked from the foyer, where he was placing notes into his wallet. Orlando replaced the phone in its’ receiver and sighed. “Or, he could be there and just not answering.”
“Yeah,” Orlando commented with a distracted edge. He bit at his inner lip and chewed a little while, considering whether he had time to try again.
Sean broke into a sympathetic smile. “It’s too bad they won’t be here to celebrate with us the Dom and Billy way.”
“Yeah,” Orlando repeated as his gaze turned to things far outside the spectrum of his sight. Orlando hoped that Sean wouldn’t notice the odd pattern to the answers. Orlando idly tapped his fingers as his eyes began to blur things in his immediate focus. “Nothing happened with you three, right?” Orlando remembered to ask from beyond the buzz of white noise droning.
“Nothing happened,” Sean swore. “They did say that some things had to be different because of my condition, but it’s really nothing like you think.”
“I know.” Orlando smiled with care. “Why don’t you wait outside? I’m just going to try Dom one more time.” Sean nodded, touching one hand briefly to Orlando’s arm before entering the pitch-black night. Orlando redialled and felt relief course through him when the phone was picked up.
“…tell him to bugger off,” Dom’s voice was faint as he brought the phone closer to mouth. “Hello?”
“It’s me. Listen, you won’t leave the U.S. until after Liv’s birthday, right?” Orlando dove head first into his rehearsed speech, the words spilling out quickly and robotically. He tried to swallow deeply, but instead, choked on a bit of saliva and coughed. Dom must have been thinking that he was an idiot. During the moment of silence, Orlando felt his muscles tense while he waited for a response.
“What’s going on?” Dom finally, sounding concerned. Orlando cast one eye out to a cheerful Sean, who was visible through the windows, and decided against speaking about it on the phone.
“I have to talk to you about something. In person. It’s not right to do this on the telephone,” Orlando explained hesitantly.
“Right. See you here then?” Dom asked, and there was an echo of confusion in his words.
“See you there,” Orlando confirmed before hanging up. He hesitated before going to join Sean outside, taking leisurely deep breaths and even steps. ‘Do not panic, there is no need to panic,’ his logical brain told him.
‘Yet,’ the paranoid half fired back, putting an additional rush in Orlando’s step, making his journey to join Sean outside substantially shorter. The cool breeze of the night renewed his belief in all things sane and was quick to reassure him that no matter what he had to deal with, he had time. Sean smiled, from when Orlando locked their door until they buckled up their seatbelts in the car.
For some reason, Sean’s caring gaze made Orlando’s back come to life with a million, twitching, chillingly active bugs. From the driveway of their flat to their destination, Orlando only said a grand total of three words, spoken in such a hushed tone that the circulation of the air around them could have swallowed them up.
“I love you.”
And Sean remained silent, whether from worry, discomfort, or confusion, Orlando never did find out.
Directions to John’s house – merely a place to hold a birthday event for Karl while he did promotions in the UK – proved to be so well constructed that it was extremely simple to find. It made the silent passage easier to bear for both Orlando and Sean. With gift in hand, doorbells were rung and warm greetings were extended after John opened the door to them.
After John greeted them with a deep, rich “Hello!” they managed to find their way inside, and were immediately amongst friends. Sean made sure the gift was deposited to the right place, and made his way back to Orlando’s side.
“Wine?” Karl – positively afire with giddy energy – offered immediately, appearing at their elbows with two sparkling crystal glasses and a matching wine beaker. He held them so delicately and carefully that they didn’t make a sound as he wielded them, speaking of his experience with the crystal. “It’s Montepulciano. I was told by the giver that it’s Italian!”
“You can’t go wrong with Italian wine,” Sean laughed as he accepted a glass and extended a second to Orlando. “Want some, love?”
Orlando waved it away with his hand. “No, I’ve been having some troubles,” he explained. “Stomach,” he continued when he earned five or so curious stares. ‘Nervous,’ he thought to himself. Mentally, he checked his clock as to how long it was until he could speak with Dom. Then he broke his mental clock for making the time seem so long – even though it was.
“I’m glad to hear such good things from our youngest American friend,” John was saying when Orlando tuned back into the conversation. “I kept saying, ‘Young man, a hobby would suit you well.’”
“Is zodiac matchmaking really what you had in mind?” Sean asked dubiously.
“He learned from the master,” John shrugged helplessly. Just as the air began to swallow the last bits of John’s sentence – barely out of his mouth – a head of tufted white hair appeared.
“I was summoned,” Ian stated matter-of-factly.
“We were speaking of Elijah’s talented matchmaking,” Orlando informed him.
“Talent?” Ian harrumphed. “The child is lucky! William and Dominic were waiting to happen and every other match has fallen apart by this point.”
“A little practice is all he needs then.” Orlando managed a thin smile. Ian didn’t respond and seemed to be fixating his gaze on Orlando. One of Ian’s hands found its way onto Orlando’s shoulder, and he gave the young actor a kind smile.
“Come on now, help an old man to get some fresh air,” Ian cheerily encouraged and gently pulled Orlando away from the busy chatter of the group and onto the quiet, terraced balcony. Orlando went with Ian willingly and gave a small wave to the party before they made their way outside. “You’re troubled,” Ian accused once they were alone and in the quiet.
For a moment, Orlando played around with the idea of telling Ian everything. He immediately squashed that notion; he knew how quickly gossip traveled when Ian was part of the process.
“Is this in regards to Sean’s birthday?” Ian inquired. “Jealousy, perhaps?”
“No, nothing like that,” Orlando responded truthfully. “That’s over. It’s long in the past.”
“Good. I would only accuse you of being foolish if you still felt envious,” Ian remarked with a pleased set to his face. Quietly, Ian returned to the room, passed by Sean on his way out to join Orlando.
“It’s nice out here,” Sean commented. “Stifling in there, and it seems that parties without Billy and Dom become rather dull rather quickly.”
“You noticed, did you?” Orlando smiled for a second and then it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. Sean wrapped an arm around Orlando’s waist and pulled him a little closer. They rested in the comfortable position for long moments before Sean spoke.
“Nothing happened,” Sean reassured him quietly, kissing Orlando on the temple. A breeze lifted their hair into a slow dance, twirling with every puff of the breeze.
“I know,” Orlando countered gently after a moment, and the words actually had a genuine ring of truth to them. He took it upon himself to guide their bodies back into the party. The cake was entering the dimmed room, afire with candles, and looking ever so delicious – most likely a cooking endeavour on John’s part. As they continued to move inside the room, every step had Orlando feeling that Anxiety was walking on the other side of him, its arm wrapped around him tighter than Sean’s ever could be.
“Blow them out!” Ian encouraged Karl when the cake was set down in front of the birthday boy.
“Make a wish,” John added jovially. Karl blew out all the candles, and darkness filled the room. Laughter rang out at the utter blackness and many teasing voices filled the air.
In the dark, Orlando could nearly imagine his problems and his worries were drifting away into nothingness. He could actually see them floating away and to his utter delight, they stayed away for that night.
tbc