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mysteriousaliwz.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fellowshippers2005-02-08 12:14 am
mysteriousaliwz.livejournal.com) wrote in fellowshippers2005-02-08 12:14 am
Treasure 1/1
Title: Treasure
Pairing : EW/??
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Lies, damn lies, statistics and LOTRiPS. And I'm not even getting paid for it *pouts*.
Author notes: My first solo effort at slash (meep!). Turned out a lot fluffier than the other stuff I'm writing atm, but there you go. It just ended up that way.
This was originally for the Love Letters challenge (for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
green_queen) many moons ago, but I never did get around to posting it all, as there were some bits I was going to rewrite. I thought I'd bung it up onto ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
wip_amnesty, but due to a lovely review by sophrosyne31 (she liked it! *squeals in gratification*) and a bit of persuasion by owl_at_the_moon (for which read: 'she ordered me to post it', lol), I've been emboldened to bung it up here at fellow_shippers.
Feedback will be welcomed and luffed on.
Many thanks to the delightfulhoneymufins, without whose helpful suggestions this fic would have been much the poorer.And many of whose even more helpful suggestions I never got around to implementing ...
And finally, my smut twinowl_at_the_moon, who is responsible for inspiring me to write LOTRiPS. But don't hold that against her ;)
'Lighe' it had said on the envelope.
A small white envelope, taped to the front of his cd carrier case. Elijah had absent-mindedly ripped it off (with no more than a niggling curiosity stirred by the unusual form of address) and torn it open.
And had been brought up short.
He sat back in the chair re-reading the note for the umpteenth time as Julia scrubbed off the last rubbery strand of glue from his left foot and reached for the towel. The rest of the hobbits were long gone by now, having finished their scenes a good hour before Elijah, and the trailer was unusually quiet, the only sound the splashing of water in the basin at his feet.
"And you've no clue who could have left it?"
Julia cast her eyes heavenward, and replied "No Elijah, I have NO idea. Like I said, it was already there when I turned up. What's in it that's so fascinating anyway?"
"S'nothing" he muttered, returning to the note. But he was intrigued.
"Lighe,
Welcome to your own personal treasure hunt!
Follow the clues and you'll find something I think you want.
Hope you'll like it.
And no, I'm not some kind of stalker, you stupid prat! You'll find out who it is as you go along.
First clue: Look in your cd case."
His cd case lay open on his lap. Elijah held the note against the yellow post-it note stuck to his Travis cd and compared the handwriting. Yup, both the same. The same untidy scrawl read:
"Second clue: Go to where this was bought.
Look under P."
He mulled over what to do. Who had sent it? What kind of treasure hunt? And what was it that this person thought he'd like? It didn't read like some kind of nutcase had written it. Most likely someone he knew. But who?
Elijah suddenly grinned. He'd come to a decision - he'd go for it. What the hell, it might be fun!
Julia glanced up at his face as she finishing drying off his feet, then looked down again to hide an amused smile. 'Look out Wellington,' she thought, 'Hobbits on the loose!' She knew from past experience that the expression on Elijah's face foretold mischief afoot. 'I wonder what it'll be this time?'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elijah wandered along the aisle of cds, checking the dark-blue plastic index cards.
This was the first music store he'd visited in Wellington. He'd come here with the other hobbits to stock up on some cds to while away the hours spent in 'Feet'. When he'd realised just how damned long it was going to take to get those 'things' attached every morning, he'd been dreading the prospect. But somehow the company made it bearable. Those guys were such a laugh: sometimes he got a good scolding for not keeping still enough for the prosthetics to be attached 'cos he was laughing so much. Sometimes they were all tired, so there was just a companionable silence, but that was cool too. A friendly silence. But mostly they had music. And a lot of it had been bought here.
They were all there, riffling through the stacks of cds, exclaiming over unexpected finds and obscure albums, casting out suggestions and comments.
"Oh, 'Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares, Vol. 3' - have you guys ever heard this stuff? It's seriously weird, I'm telling ye - makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, so it does" said Billy. "Ah've never heard voices like them."
"What Beatles stuff do you have Elijah?" asked Dom.
"None."
"None?" Dom's face was a mask of appalled horror. "Man, we have to do something about that." He set to, busily rummaging in the Beatles section. "You'd maybe better start off with the 'Number 1's Collection' just for an overview, 'The White Album' maybe, 'Sergeant Pepper' ...
Elijah smiled to himself. Dom seemed intent on expanding his musical horizons.
Sean was peering over Elijah's shoulder. "Bjork - she's that one from Iceland, isn't she?"
"Yeah, she's good. I was just checking to see if there was any more stuff of hers. I can lend you some if you like, Sean?"
"Thanks, that'd be cool" Sean replied warmly, and clapped Elijah on the back, a matey sort of gesture.
"Travis! Scottish - must be good," pronounced Billy firmly.
Dom snorted. "Well so were the Bay City Rollers, mate. Doesn't mean anything. Although in this case I have to agree - Travis are good.You have to listen to this one 'Lij." Dom picked up the cd case and chucked it over to Elijah.
"Guys!" protested Elijah, laughing, as he caught it. "I can't buy all of them! I have a huge pile here already."
Sean took it from Elijah's hand and inspected it, turning the case over to read the track-listing on the back. "I've heard this one - I like it."
One of his favourite albums, it had turned out to be. Well, one he listened to a lot anyway.
He was hanging around at the exit, waiting for the others, when a cd was thrust under his nose, encased in the little plastic carrier bag amblazoned with the store's logo. Surprised, he looked up at his benefactor, who nodded encouragingly.
"S'for you Elijah - I think you'll enjoy it" he said.
"Thanks Sean - that's real nice of you."
A kind gesture. It had made Elijah feel very welcome. He'd rarely felt at home with people so quickly as he did with these guys. Well, maybe not all of them made him feel relaxed - Dom's energy and enthusiasm made him feel ... hyper? Nope, that wasn't the word. It was a buzz though - kind of like a high. But he'd taken to them all straight away. Billy was just as funny. Orli was up for anything. Sean now - Sean was different from Dom. Sort of like an older brother. Very 'Sam' - looking after him sometimes. Which was nice. Sean and he were getting real close. Maybe it was Sean who'd set up the treasure hunt?
Elijah still wasn't sure what the objective of it all was.
Sean.
Hmmm ...
New Order ... 'O' ... Oasis ... Ocean Colour Scene ... ah here we are, 'P'.
Tucked in front of the 'P' divider was another envelope, identical to the first. 'Lighe' again.
Inside, the note read
"Third clue: P is for Porn.
Where do you get your Porn and Chocolate?"
Elijah cracked up with laughter. 'Oh God ...'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He sidled into the video rental store, trying to look inconspicuous, but blushed furiously when he heard a sudden burst of giggles and a muffled exclamation of "It's him!" from the duo of assistants behind the counter. The sound of stifled laughter mingled with 'shush'ing sounds followed him as he scurried along the racks of videos, unsure what he was supposed to be looking for - although he had a fair idea it might involve a white envelope with 'Lighe' on it.
Those assistants seemed to be highly amused. You'd think they'd have forgotten about it by now, after all it had been at least a week.
And he hadn't been that drunk.
Well ...
That wasn't entirely accurate.
To be honest, he had been very, very drunk indeed. As had his fellow hobbits. And Orli.
He hung on to the edge of the counter, as the one steady point in the whole room - the floor seemed to have decided that it had had enough of the landlubber's life and was going to sea, as it was doing a very good impression of the deck of a boat traversing some very choppy waters.
'Don't think about the sea. Might get seasick. Got to have something else. Keep my mind off it.
Aha!'
"Porn and chocolate" he announced decisively. "I demand porn and chocolate!"
"And what Elijah demands, Elijah shall get!" pronounced Dom, who leaned across the counter and asked in a confiding tone of voice "D'you have any confec ... conf ... confectionery?"
The young woman employee dimpled prettily and slid a bar of chocolate towards him. The young actors were obviously providing more entertainment value than the average drunken customer at this time of night.
"An' the porn" slurred Elijah. "Don' forget the porn."
"Hell, yeah!" exclaimed Orli. "Hobbits need porn to keep 'em happy - they get too frustrated otherwise." He stage-whispered into the appreciative assistant's ear "It's those big hairy feet - puts off the girls, y'see."
"You don't have to be pretty to be sexy, Elf-boy" retorted Dom. "We hobbits have our moments." He glanced round at Elijah.
"Sure do!" said Sean.
"Oh aye, hobbits can be sexy too" chimed in Billy."Don't you think so, miss?"
Billy slung his arm around Elijah's shoulder. "Jist ignore pretty-boy over there for a minute - see this hobbit here " he said, framing Elijah's face with his hand. "See those big baby-blue eyes? Irresistible, eh? And that mouth. And that cute wee gap between his teeth - smile for the lady there 'Lij, aye, that's it. Don't you think Elijah here is sexy?"
That 'big blue eyes' thing again. Elijah had never really seen the appeal of the blue eyes thing. He'd always thought that grey was a lot more subtle. More depth.
Billy pulled Elijah in closer and planted a big smacker of a kiss on his cheek.
The assistant giggled helplessly. As did the rest of the fellowship present when Billy stuck his tongue in Elijah's ear.
Billy.
Was it Billy?
Billy was kind of cute. Great sense of humour - that was essential. Billy and Dom both kept him in stitches, that was one of the main reasons he enjoyed their company so much. Lovely green eyes. And a great accent - he just loved all the british accents. When he first met Dom he found himself missing out on the sense of entire conversations with him because he'd been so taken by the way the words had sounded. The scottish one was real nice - the vowel sounds all so different, almost tangible. He imagined Billy's mouth framing the words. Very shapely lips they were, very defined.
What would it be like to kiss them?
In the third aisle Elijah's attention was attracted by a red ribbon wrapped around a bundle of items wedged into the middle of one of the video racks.
On closer inspection the bundle turned out to consist of a porn movie and a bar of chocolate. And that ubiquitous white envelope.
More squeaks of hilarity from the staff. He was going to kill whoever had dreamt this up, really he was. Beetroot-red, he ripped open the envelope:
"Fourth clue:
Last night - we got close.
If you want to get closer, go there and pick up some beers.
One of us might need some dutch courage."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He entered the liquor store, or as Dom and Billy insisted on calling it, 'the off-licence'. The place was a maze of high shelves, giving a sense of enclosure, intimacy almost. They'd all been here last night, picking up a nightcap before heading home for an early night.
Elijah was on edge tonight. Restless. He didn't feel like his usual beer - maybe wine for a change. It seemed more suitable for the mood he was in. A sort of morose frustration.
He studied the labels intently, looking for some sort of indication that a particular wine would be to his taste. That one looked promising. He reached for it - and jumped as his knuckles brushed against a hand reaching for the neighbouring bottle.
Startled, he looked into a pair of familiar grey-blue eyes. With heightened awareness, time seemed to stand still as he noted every long eyelash, all the individual hairs in that smooth curve of eyebrow.
Delicious proximity. Elijah was sure he could hear his heart thumping wildly.
He was abruptly brought back to earth as he felt a pair of slim, muscular arms wrap themselves around his chest and a tall, lithe body press against his back.
"See anything you fancy 'Lij?" purred Orli's voice, his lips feathering the merest of touches against Elijah's earlobe. A shiver cascaded down Elijah's spine.
Orli? God the guy was beautiful, no denying that. Such vitality, such contagious enthusiasm for life. Half the cast and crew lusted after him (and not just the female half). Would Orli really be interested in him?
He finally detected the clue: a six-pack of beers, tied up with a red ribbon, incongruous on the wine shelves; it was half-hidden among the serried rows of Shiraz bottles.
The receipt for the beer fell out of the envelope.
This time Elijah's fingers were trembling as he unfolded the note.
"Fifth clue:
You're precious to me Lighe.
Look for your precious."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
His hand reached out towards the ring: hanging on its heavy chain suspended from a hook in the prop cupboard, it gleamed dully in the shadows. But his fingers closed around not the ring, but a door key. A door key tied to the chain with a red ribbon which had been threaded through the corner of another of those (by now familiar) white envelopes with 'Lighe' inscribed on it.
His mind was racing, a maelstrom of speculation and uncertainty.
The precious. Andy? But he hadn't been there at all those other places in the treasure trail. Dom? He wasn't going to talk himself into thinking Dom would be interested - wishful thinking, don't go there. Billy? The Travis cd was scottish - maybe that was a hint. Sean cared for a him a lot. Orli was very tactile with him - but then, he tended to hug anyone at the drop of a hat.
He took a deep breath and eased the paper out of the envelope.
Lighe,
I’ve got something for you babe. Kind of a present. If you want it, come and claim it.
You know where.
Dom
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fingers clumsy, he fumbled with the door-key, awkwardly balancing the six-pack, video and chocolate against his chest, and let himself in.
"Dom?" he called. He dumped his burden on the hall table and looked around.
He could hear the quiet strains of chill-out music coming from the lounge. Nervously he headed for it, his thoughts and emotions churning in turmoil. What if he'd misunderstood? What if it was all just a bit of fun? Just another game, something to amuse themselves with.
What if he'd been reading stuff into those notes that wasn't meant to be there?
Dom was sitting with his feet up on the sofa, distractedly chewing at his fingernails. Elijah was surprised and somewhat reassured to see that Dom looked every bit as nervous as he himself was feeling.
He cleared his throat. Dom's gaze flew to meet Elijah's. He rose to his feet and stretched an arm out towards Elijah.
Elijah stared at the leather cuff on Dom's wrist. Wrapped around it was a red ribbon to which was attached a gift tag. Elijah gazed, transfixed, at the contrast of the black leather and scarlet ribbon against the pale, near-translucent flesh of the inner wrist with its blue tracery of veins and reached out (it seemed as if he were moving in slow motion) to turn over the little rectangle of gold cardboard.
Lighe,
Happy Valentine's Day
Love,
Dom
"I, uh, thought about waiting for you in bed ... undressed. But then I thought, 'What if he doesn't want to, you know, take it any further? How embarrassing would that be?' and I sort of ... bottled out ..." Dom trailed off. Uncertain, he waited, an expression of mute appeal in his eyes.
Elijah took a step closer.
"You want us to be together?" he breathed, as he interlaced his fingers with Dom's .
A nod.
Slowly, hesitantly, they leaned in for a gentle, breathless kiss. Lips warm and soft met, tasting the long-desired soon-to-be lover, the leisurely slide of heated mouth against mouth in counterpoint to the racing pulse. Finally, the kiss ended and each drew back.
Elijah smiled and spoke. "Ok. On one condition."
Dom looked a little taken aback, but nodded.
"If you're going to be my boyfriend ..."
Elijah grinned at the word. It felt good to say it.
" ... you're going to have to learn to spell my name right!"
Pairing : EW/??
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Lies, damn lies, statistics and LOTRiPS. And I'm not even getting paid for it *pouts*.
Author notes: My first solo effort at slash (meep!). Turned out a lot fluffier than the other stuff I'm writing atm, but there you go. It just ended up that way.
This was originally for the Love Letters challenge (for
green_queen) many moons ago, but I never did get around to posting it all, as there were some bits I was going to rewrite. I thought I'd bung it up onto wip_amnesty, but due to a lovely review by sophrosyne31 (she liked it! *squeals in gratification*) and a bit of persuasion by owl_at_the_moon (for which read: 'she ordered me to post it', lol), I've been emboldened to bung it up here at fellow_shippers.Feedback will be welcomed and luffed on.
Many thanks to the delightful
honeymufins, without whose helpful suggestions this fic would have been much the poorer.And many of whose even more helpful suggestions I never got around to implementing ...And finally, my smut twin
owl_at_the_moon, who is responsible for inspiring me to write LOTRiPS. But don't hold that against her ;)'Lighe' it had said on the envelope.
A small white envelope, taped to the front of his cd carrier case. Elijah had absent-mindedly ripped it off (with no more than a niggling curiosity stirred by the unusual form of address) and torn it open.
And had been brought up short.
He sat back in the chair re-reading the note for the umpteenth time as Julia scrubbed off the last rubbery strand of glue from his left foot and reached for the towel. The rest of the hobbits were long gone by now, having finished their scenes a good hour before Elijah, and the trailer was unusually quiet, the only sound the splashing of water in the basin at his feet.
"And you've no clue who could have left it?"
Julia cast her eyes heavenward, and replied "No Elijah, I have NO idea. Like I said, it was already there when I turned up. What's in it that's so fascinating anyway?"
"S'nothing" he muttered, returning to the note. But he was intrigued.
"Lighe,
Welcome to your own personal treasure hunt!
Follow the clues and you'll find something I think you want.
Hope you'll like it.
And no, I'm not some kind of stalker, you stupid prat! You'll find out who it is as you go along.
First clue: Look in your cd case."
His cd case lay open on his lap. Elijah held the note against the yellow post-it note stuck to his Travis cd and compared the handwriting. Yup, both the same. The same untidy scrawl read:
"Second clue: Go to where this was bought.
Look under P."
He mulled over what to do. Who had sent it? What kind of treasure hunt? And what was it that this person thought he'd like? It didn't read like some kind of nutcase had written it. Most likely someone he knew. But who?
Elijah suddenly grinned. He'd come to a decision - he'd go for it. What the hell, it might be fun!
Julia glanced up at his face as she finishing drying off his feet, then looked down again to hide an amused smile. 'Look out Wellington,' she thought, 'Hobbits on the loose!' She knew from past experience that the expression on Elijah's face foretold mischief afoot. 'I wonder what it'll be this time?'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elijah wandered along the aisle of cds, checking the dark-blue plastic index cards.
This was the first music store he'd visited in Wellington. He'd come here with the other hobbits to stock up on some cds to while away the hours spent in 'Feet'. When he'd realised just how damned long it was going to take to get those 'things' attached every morning, he'd been dreading the prospect. But somehow the company made it bearable. Those guys were such a laugh: sometimes he got a good scolding for not keeping still enough for the prosthetics to be attached 'cos he was laughing so much. Sometimes they were all tired, so there was just a companionable silence, but that was cool too. A friendly silence. But mostly they had music. And a lot of it had been bought here.
They were all there, riffling through the stacks of cds, exclaiming over unexpected finds and obscure albums, casting out suggestions and comments.
"Oh, 'Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares, Vol. 3' - have you guys ever heard this stuff? It's seriously weird, I'm telling ye - makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, so it does" said Billy. "Ah've never heard voices like them."
"What Beatles stuff do you have Elijah?" asked Dom.
"None."
"None?" Dom's face was a mask of appalled horror. "Man, we have to do something about that." He set to, busily rummaging in the Beatles section. "You'd maybe better start off with the 'Number 1's Collection' just for an overview, 'The White Album' maybe, 'Sergeant Pepper' ...
Elijah smiled to himself. Dom seemed intent on expanding his musical horizons.
Sean was peering over Elijah's shoulder. "Bjork - she's that one from Iceland, isn't she?"
"Yeah, she's good. I was just checking to see if there was any more stuff of hers. I can lend you some if you like, Sean?"
"Thanks, that'd be cool" Sean replied warmly, and clapped Elijah on the back, a matey sort of gesture.
"Travis! Scottish - must be good," pronounced Billy firmly.
Dom snorted. "Well so were the Bay City Rollers, mate. Doesn't mean anything. Although in this case I have to agree - Travis are good.You have to listen to this one 'Lij." Dom picked up the cd case and chucked it over to Elijah.
"Guys!" protested Elijah, laughing, as he caught it. "I can't buy all of them! I have a huge pile here already."
Sean took it from Elijah's hand and inspected it, turning the case over to read the track-listing on the back. "I've heard this one - I like it."
One of his favourite albums, it had turned out to be. Well, one he listened to a lot anyway.
He was hanging around at the exit, waiting for the others, when a cd was thrust under his nose, encased in the little plastic carrier bag amblazoned with the store's logo. Surprised, he looked up at his benefactor, who nodded encouragingly.
"S'for you Elijah - I think you'll enjoy it" he said.
"Thanks Sean - that's real nice of you."
A kind gesture. It had made Elijah feel very welcome. He'd rarely felt at home with people so quickly as he did with these guys. Well, maybe not all of them made him feel relaxed - Dom's energy and enthusiasm made him feel ... hyper? Nope, that wasn't the word. It was a buzz though - kind of like a high. But he'd taken to them all straight away. Billy was just as funny. Orli was up for anything. Sean now - Sean was different from Dom. Sort of like an older brother. Very 'Sam' - looking after him sometimes. Which was nice. Sean and he were getting real close. Maybe it was Sean who'd set up the treasure hunt?
Elijah still wasn't sure what the objective of it all was.
Sean.
Hmmm ...
New Order ... 'O' ... Oasis ... Ocean Colour Scene ... ah here we are, 'P'.
Tucked in front of the 'P' divider was another envelope, identical to the first. 'Lighe' again.
Inside, the note read
"Third clue: P is for Porn.
Where do you get your Porn and Chocolate?"
Elijah cracked up with laughter. 'Oh God ...'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He sidled into the video rental store, trying to look inconspicuous, but blushed furiously when he heard a sudden burst of giggles and a muffled exclamation of "It's him!" from the duo of assistants behind the counter. The sound of stifled laughter mingled with 'shush'ing sounds followed him as he scurried along the racks of videos, unsure what he was supposed to be looking for - although he had a fair idea it might involve a white envelope with 'Lighe' on it.
Those assistants seemed to be highly amused. You'd think they'd have forgotten about it by now, after all it had been at least a week.
And he hadn't been that drunk.
Well ...
That wasn't entirely accurate.
To be honest, he had been very, very drunk indeed. As had his fellow hobbits. And Orli.
He hung on to the edge of the counter, as the one steady point in the whole room - the floor seemed to have decided that it had had enough of the landlubber's life and was going to sea, as it was doing a very good impression of the deck of a boat traversing some very choppy waters.
'Don't think about the sea. Might get seasick. Got to have something else. Keep my mind off it.
Aha!'
"Porn and chocolate" he announced decisively. "I demand porn and chocolate!"
"And what Elijah demands, Elijah shall get!" pronounced Dom, who leaned across the counter and asked in a confiding tone of voice "D'you have any confec ... conf ... confectionery?"
The young woman employee dimpled prettily and slid a bar of chocolate towards him. The young actors were obviously providing more entertainment value than the average drunken customer at this time of night.
"An' the porn" slurred Elijah. "Don' forget the porn."
"Hell, yeah!" exclaimed Orli. "Hobbits need porn to keep 'em happy - they get too frustrated otherwise." He stage-whispered into the appreciative assistant's ear "It's those big hairy feet - puts off the girls, y'see."
"You don't have to be pretty to be sexy, Elf-boy" retorted Dom. "We hobbits have our moments." He glanced round at Elijah.
"Sure do!" said Sean.
"Oh aye, hobbits can be sexy too" chimed in Billy."Don't you think so, miss?"
Billy slung his arm around Elijah's shoulder. "Jist ignore pretty-boy over there for a minute - see this hobbit here " he said, framing Elijah's face with his hand. "See those big baby-blue eyes? Irresistible, eh? And that mouth. And that cute wee gap between his teeth - smile for the lady there 'Lij, aye, that's it. Don't you think Elijah here is sexy?"
That 'big blue eyes' thing again. Elijah had never really seen the appeal of the blue eyes thing. He'd always thought that grey was a lot more subtle. More depth.
Billy pulled Elijah in closer and planted a big smacker of a kiss on his cheek.
The assistant giggled helplessly. As did the rest of the fellowship present when Billy stuck his tongue in Elijah's ear.
Billy.
Was it Billy?
Billy was kind of cute. Great sense of humour - that was essential. Billy and Dom both kept him in stitches, that was one of the main reasons he enjoyed their company so much. Lovely green eyes. And a great accent - he just loved all the british accents. When he first met Dom he found himself missing out on the sense of entire conversations with him because he'd been so taken by the way the words had sounded. The scottish one was real nice - the vowel sounds all so different, almost tangible. He imagined Billy's mouth framing the words. Very shapely lips they were, very defined.
What would it be like to kiss them?
In the third aisle Elijah's attention was attracted by a red ribbon wrapped around a bundle of items wedged into the middle of one of the video racks.
On closer inspection the bundle turned out to consist of a porn movie and a bar of chocolate. And that ubiquitous white envelope.
More squeaks of hilarity from the staff. He was going to kill whoever had dreamt this up, really he was. Beetroot-red, he ripped open the envelope:
"Fourth clue:
Last night - we got close.
If you want to get closer, go there and pick up some beers.
One of us might need some dutch courage."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He entered the liquor store, or as Dom and Billy insisted on calling it, 'the off-licence'. The place was a maze of high shelves, giving a sense of enclosure, intimacy almost. They'd all been here last night, picking up a nightcap before heading home for an early night.
Elijah was on edge tonight. Restless. He didn't feel like his usual beer - maybe wine for a change. It seemed more suitable for the mood he was in. A sort of morose frustration.
He studied the labels intently, looking for some sort of indication that a particular wine would be to his taste. That one looked promising. He reached for it - and jumped as his knuckles brushed against a hand reaching for the neighbouring bottle.
Startled, he looked into a pair of familiar grey-blue eyes. With heightened awareness, time seemed to stand still as he noted every long eyelash, all the individual hairs in that smooth curve of eyebrow.
Delicious proximity. Elijah was sure he could hear his heart thumping wildly.
He was abruptly brought back to earth as he felt a pair of slim, muscular arms wrap themselves around his chest and a tall, lithe body press against his back.
"See anything you fancy 'Lij?" purred Orli's voice, his lips feathering the merest of touches against Elijah's earlobe. A shiver cascaded down Elijah's spine.
Orli? God the guy was beautiful, no denying that. Such vitality, such contagious enthusiasm for life. Half the cast and crew lusted after him (and not just the female half). Would Orli really be interested in him?
He finally detected the clue: a six-pack of beers, tied up with a red ribbon, incongruous on the wine shelves; it was half-hidden among the serried rows of Shiraz bottles.
The receipt for the beer fell out of the envelope.
This time Elijah's fingers were trembling as he unfolded the note.
"Fifth clue:
You're precious to me Lighe.
Look for your precious."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
His hand reached out towards the ring: hanging on its heavy chain suspended from a hook in the prop cupboard, it gleamed dully in the shadows. But his fingers closed around not the ring, but a door key. A door key tied to the chain with a red ribbon which had been threaded through the corner of another of those (by now familiar) white envelopes with 'Lighe' inscribed on it.
His mind was racing, a maelstrom of speculation and uncertainty.
The precious. Andy? But he hadn't been there at all those other places in the treasure trail. Dom? He wasn't going to talk himself into thinking Dom would be interested - wishful thinking, don't go there. Billy? The Travis cd was scottish - maybe that was a hint. Sean cared for a him a lot. Orli was very tactile with him - but then, he tended to hug anyone at the drop of a hat.
He took a deep breath and eased the paper out of the envelope.
Lighe,
I’ve got something for you babe. Kind of a present. If you want it, come and claim it.
You know where.
Dom
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fingers clumsy, he fumbled with the door-key, awkwardly balancing the six-pack, video and chocolate against his chest, and let himself in.
"Dom?" he called. He dumped his burden on the hall table and looked around.
He could hear the quiet strains of chill-out music coming from the lounge. Nervously he headed for it, his thoughts and emotions churning in turmoil. What if he'd misunderstood? What if it was all just a bit of fun? Just another game, something to amuse themselves with.
What if he'd been reading stuff into those notes that wasn't meant to be there?
Dom was sitting with his feet up on the sofa, distractedly chewing at his fingernails. Elijah was surprised and somewhat reassured to see that Dom looked every bit as nervous as he himself was feeling.
He cleared his throat. Dom's gaze flew to meet Elijah's. He rose to his feet and stretched an arm out towards Elijah.
Elijah stared at the leather cuff on Dom's wrist. Wrapped around it was a red ribbon to which was attached a gift tag. Elijah gazed, transfixed, at the contrast of the black leather and scarlet ribbon against the pale, near-translucent flesh of the inner wrist with its blue tracery of veins and reached out (it seemed as if he were moving in slow motion) to turn over the little rectangle of gold cardboard.
Lighe,
Happy Valentine's Day
Love,
Dom
"I, uh, thought about waiting for you in bed ... undressed. But then I thought, 'What if he doesn't want to, you know, take it any further? How embarrassing would that be?' and I sort of ... bottled out ..." Dom trailed off. Uncertain, he waited, an expression of mute appeal in his eyes.
Elijah took a step closer.
"You want us to be together?" he breathed, as he interlaced his fingers with Dom's .
A nod.
Slowly, hesitantly, they leaned in for a gentle, breathless kiss. Lips warm and soft met, tasting the long-desired soon-to-be lover, the leisurely slide of heated mouth against mouth in counterpoint to the racing pulse. Finally, the kiss ended and each drew back.
Elijah smiled and spoke. "Ok. On one condition."
Dom looked a little taken aback, but nodded.
"If you're going to be my boyfriend ..."
Elijah grinned at the word. It felt good to say it.
" ... you're going to have to learn to spell my name right!"
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*skips off around LJ, leaving a trail of clues behind her*
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Thanks for posting. <3
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Thanks for commenting :)
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*scoops mush up carefully and squishes you back into shape*
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Sweet and funny and really really good!
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Lol, Freudian slip there - Billy shoving his way in (and quite rightly, bless him! - I'm still a monaboyd girl at heart.)
:)
Ooh, more Wodehouse pr0n! *scurries off to read*
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I'll have to see if I can squeeze another few minutes into my schedule to do some writing. Quite how, I'm not sure - it's impossible for me to spend less time on housework, considering I don't actually do any ...:)