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fellowshippers2005-03-07 10:39 am
ex-salwood.livejournal.com) wrote in fellowshippers2005-03-07 10:39 am
The Wedding 4/?
Title: The Wedding 4/?
Author: Salogel42
Pairing: dom/lij
Rating: 15
Warning: Some swearing
Summary: This is a flashback covering how Dom and Lij came to settle in New Zealand.
Archive: All chapters of The Wedding can be found here
Author’s note: This is the sequel to World Trip. There are characters from World Trip in this story and also flashbacks to certains events. World Trip can be found here
Disclaimer: Absolutely not true!
The Wedding
Chapter 4 – The Proposal
Elijah thanked Fran as he closed the car door. He looked at his watch, it was mid-day. Another hospital appointment over, and another step closer to full health. He decided that he would go for a long walk that afternoon. He was enjoying his walks, they were becoming easier, but he had to be careful not to overdo it. He still had to use a cane to take some of the weight off his injured leg, but he was getting there…
“For you…” Fran handed Elijah a brown envelope as she picked up her mail. “Looks official.”
Elijah felt his heart race as he looked at the small print at the top left hand corner of the envelope. New Zealand Immigration.
“Holy fuck, are they here?” Elijah’s eyes grew wide as he aimed the question at Fran.
Her reply was a gentle laugh. “Why don’t you open it and see, Elijah?”
“Yeah… yeah, of course…” Elijah rested his cane against a chair and took a seat. He carefully opened the envelope and extracted its contents. He let out a whoop of joy as his eyes scanned the paperwork.
Fran smiled as she carried on unpacking her shopping.
“I have to call Dom.” Elijah was quickly on his feet again. “This is fucking great…” He waved the sheets of paper at Fran and grinned broadly as he made his way outside to the guesthouse which had become a temporary home for himself and Dominic.
Dominic answered on the third ring.
“Hi, Lij. Everything ok?”
“Dom, they’re here. The visas have arrived!”
“That’s great, baby!” Dominic smiled - he could hear the excitement in Elijah’s voice. “We’ll celebrate when I get home.”
“Will Pete let you leave early?”
“Can’t see it… this editing thing just eats up the hours.”
“Oh, right then… that’s ok…” Dominic heard the disappointment in Elijah’s voice.
“Will you be going for a walk, baby?” he asked, quickly changing the subject. “Make sure you wrap up warm if you do.”
Elijah nodded into the phone, and couldn’t help smile at Dominic’s concern.
“Guess what else happened today, Dom?”
“The hospital?”
“Yeah…”
“And…?”
“Eighty-eight percent! My capacity has gone up to eighty-eight percent.”
“That’s fucking fantastic, Lij! Fucking fantastic…”
Elijah grinned into the phone.
“It’ll be a double celebration then, won’t it?” Dominic paused for a second. “Listen, Lij. Gotta go… Pete’s waving frantically at me. You take care, baby. I love you… see you soon.”
“Love you too, Dom. Bye.”
Dominic clicked his phone off. Peter looked up from his editing screen and waited to be filled in.
“We got the visas, Pete.” Dominic grinned as he re-took his seat. “Looks like we’re here to stay… and it’s all thanks to you.”
Peter nodded and smiled. “That’s great, Dom! I bet Elijah’s ecstatic.”
“He is…” Dominic grinned as he sat down, feeling all the stress he had been coping with melt away. Stress that Elijah had been unaware of. Saying they would stay in New Zealand had been one thing, making it into a reality, however, had been another.
Dominic knew he would do everything it took to make Elijah happy again… everything. He had been so relieved to see his old Elijah beginning to emerge. The old Elijah who never let anything bother him, and who always saw the good in everyone. The old Elijah who loved exploring the world around him, the old Elijah he fell in love with.
The Elijah who was shut up in their apartment back in LA, was one he hoped to never see again, so if staying in New Zealand was the answer, then that was what they would bloody well do… somehow… someway…
It wasn’t going to be easy… you can’t just stay in a new country, and the first thing he had to do, what they both had to do, was find work.
Fuck…
Dominic could remember it well… Elijah would fall asleep in his arms content in the knowledge that he would never be going back to LA. For some reason he needed to be free of that place… it was like New Zealand was the new start he wanted… that he needed, and Dominic wasn’t going to let him down.
He had finished his latest role for Peter, and now had no job. It kept him awake at night… trying to figure out what to do, and he needed to figure it out by himself, he didn’t want Elijah worrying and taking a step back into that cocoon he had so recently emerged from.
What happened was totally unexpected, and so gratefully received.
*
They had been having dinner with Peter and Fran, one of those rare occasions when Peter was home to share his evening meal. Several days had passed since Elijah had declared his desire to stay in New Zealand, and Dominic knew they were in some sort of limbo.
Elijah had obviously been speaking to Fran about it… he was so excited about the prospect of staying, that Dominic had not voiced his fears and doubts about it at all.
“So, Dominic… Elijah tells me that you are planning to settle here, in Hamilton.” Fran said it so matter-of-factly, and Dominic felt his heart sink.
“Well…” Dominic looked at Elijah who was smiling at Fran. “Well… we’ve talked about it…”
“Sounds good…” Peter agreed. “Where were you thinking?”
“Well, actually… you see…”
“I like Cambridge…” Elijah piped in.
“That’s a nice area, Elijah…” Fran agreed.
“Lij…?” Dominic frowned at Elijah.
“There’s plenty of property on the market at the moment.” Peter said. “Winter is a good time to buy.”
“But… we haven’t yet…” Dominic began protesting.
“I’ve been looking in the local paper,” Elijah admitted. “There are some nice houses there, for rent.”
“For Christ’s sake… Lij… we haven’t got a bloody job yet!” Dominic looked from Elijah, to Peter to Fran.
Everyone fell silent.
Elijah’s eyes fell to his half eaten food. He looked forlorn.
Peter glanced at Fran, and then looked at the two lads sitting opposite him. He put down his cutlery and clasped his hands together, resting his elbows on the table.
Dominic kept his eyes downcast… he felt like kicking himself.
“You know…” Peter began speaking quietly. “I was just talking to Fran the other day about taking on some new staff. Permanent staff.”
Fran looked at Peter blankly.
“People I can rely on…” Peter continued. “People I can trust. There would be a lot of “on the job” training involved… but it would be interesting, and as far as bosses go… I think I’m a pretty fair one.”
Dominic raised his head and looked at Peter. Elijah looked at Dominic and then across the table at Fran.
Fran smiled at him as she realised where Peter was going with this.
“Not sure of the title… Production Assistants? Something like that…” Peter grinned. So what do you say, boys? How would you like to work for me?”
Deafening silence…and the answer to everything.
Dominic had to swallow hard before he could reply. “I… I don’t know what to say, Pete…”
“Yes, sounds good to me.” Peter chuckled. “You’re both going to need a job if you want to stay.” Peter looked at Elijah who was sitting there with his mouth open as if in total shock.
“I can help with your visas too, I know someone in Immigration. It usually takes months to sort these things.” Peter winked at Elijah… “Leave it with me.”
“My God, Peter… thank you!” Elijah got to his feet and went around the table to hug Peter. “I hadn’t even thought about the job thing. I figured we would sort that out after we settled, you know?”
Peter smiled as he returned Elijah’s hug. He looked over at Dominic who was wearing a look of total relief. Elijah might not have been thinking about it, but it was obvious that Dominic had.
“You’re welcome…” Peter smiled at both of them. “As from tomorrow morning you are both employed, and… as from tomorrow afternoon your visa applications will be sitting on my mate’s desk in Immigration!
*
“Maybe we’ll get Elijah to join us, then?” Peter broke into Dominic’s thoughts momentarily forgetting the computer screen in front of him. Dominic had been working for him for four weeks now, and Elijah? Well… on paper, Elijah was employed.
“Maybe,” Dominic nodded. “When he’s a little stronger… he’s getting there, Pete.”
“When he started showing up on set with you, Dom… I thought… well… you know?”
Peter looked at Dominic as he spoke to him. He could see that the burdens Dominic had been shouldering for so long were now lessening. But it was obvious that Elijah still had some way to go.
“He’ll get there, Pete… I know he will…”
“Yeah… he will…” Peter smiled reassuringly as he stood up. He indicated that Dominic take the editor’s chair. “Now… let’s see what you’ve learnt so far.”
***
Elijah sat on the bed while he watched Dominic pack his bag. They were both very quiet.
Then Dominic stopped and sat down next to Elijah. “I don’t know, Lij. It’s going to be weird going back to LA without you. Maybe there’s some other way we can do this…”
“I’ll be ok…” Elijah stared at his hands. “It’s only a couple of weeks, right? And… and I’ll be busy.”
“It’s a lot for you to take on, Elijah. Maybe I was wrong, maybe you’re not ready to do stuff on your own just yet … I was thinking…”
Elijah turned to Dominic and placed a finger over his mouth, stopping Dominic from saying any more. “I’ll be fine,” he said, not knowing if that was the truth or not. “But I’m going to fucking miss you so much, Dom.”
“Me too, baby….” Dominic took Elijah’s hand. “I won’t lie about this, Lij. I don’t want to go… I don’t want to leave you behind. I fucking hate not being with you.”
Elijah went quiet again.
They both sat there, holding hands. They hadn’t spent one night apart since Elijah had left hospital seven months ago. This was going to be hard… hard on them both, but it had to be done.
*
“We need to go back to LA to organise shipment of our stuff, Lij.” Dominic had told Elijah two days after receiving their visas. “And hand over our apartment.”
They were lying in bed; it was a beautiful clear Sunday morning. Elijah slipped on his glasses and looked at Dominic blankly.
“It’s got to be done, Lij.” Dominic turned on to his side to look at Elijah. “No two ways about it, and the quicker the better, not like it will be quick or anything. There’s bound to be tons of fucking paperwork.”
“I don’t want to go back, Dom.” Elijah looked up at the ceiling. “I can’t go back…”
“I know, baby…” Dominic’s fingers played with Elijah’s hair, the long strands felt like silk. “I know…”
Dominic drew Elijah into an embrace. “I can go on my own… no problem.”
“Dom…?” Elijah pulled back so that he could see Dominic clearly.
“We need an address, Lij. We need a home. Why don’t you see to that while I go to LA?”
“You want me to find us somewhere to live?” Elijah sat up quickly, the sheets falling away from his body. “By myself?”
Dominic couldn’t help smiling. “Why not, Lij? You’ve already been checking out the properties in the paper, you know what we both like. Somewhere quiet, not too big, average size garden.”
Elijah blinked hard… “Ummm… I don’t know… I’ll need a car, and I’m not sure I’m clear for driving yet, Dom.”
“You’re ready to drive, Lij, believe me… you’re getting stronger and stronger by the day… I can see it…” Dominic sat up pulling the bedding clear away from Elijah’s naked body. He ran his fingers over Elijah’s injured thigh, feeling the raised scars covering healing muscle. “… and I can feel it…”
Elijah looked at Dominic, still unsure.
“You can do this, baby… you can do this for us…” Dominic moved a little closer to Elijah and gently pushed him down on the bed.
“You think so…?”
“I know so…” Dominic lowered his body onto Elijah’s, and then they lost themselves in a morning of lovemaking.
***
The middle of July… Los Angeles… summer.
It was baking hot, and Dominic was stripped down to his shorts. The apartment was in disarray, half packed boxes everywhere; stuff lying around… it was utter chaos!
Dominic popped the cap on an ice-cold bottle of beer and took a very large swig. He still had a list a mile long of things to do. He had been in LA a week and he felt like he was getting nowhere! Transferring a life from one country to another, permanently, was not simple by any means.
He had spent the previous week, when his head wasn’t inside a packing box, closing bank accounts, transferring investments, cancelling medical insurances… the list was endless. He had a pile of paperwork that needed Elijah’s signature, so even when they were finished here, in theory, they weren’t!
Elijah had always been the one to take care of things when they lived here, accounts, and savings, the rent - everything. He had been so methodical, which in hindsight, was a godsend, because even though there was so much of it, the paperwork was relatively easy to trawl through.
The most straightforward thing had been the handover of their apartment. Just three months notice was all that was required and a signature, and Debbie said she would take care of the finalities where that was concerned. One easy thing to strike off the list… with about three million more to go!
The hardest thing of all had been seeing Debbie again. She had taken the news well. Elijah had kept her informed about their visa applications, and she had hoped to see him in LA for some sort of final farewell. She was disappointed that he hadn’t accompanied Dominic, but fully understood why. Elijah’s happiness was paramount in all this… and she would see him again soon. She loved visiting New Zealand.
Debbie had offered to help Dominic pack some of their belongings when he first arrived, but Dominic had declined… and now as he wandered from room to room he wished he hadn’t. There was so much stuff! Where the fuck did it all come from?
He stood in the study doorway as he took another mouthful of beer. He hadn’t even begun in here yet, other than to unplug the computer and all its attachments. He placed his beer down and sat in the swivel chair and spun himself around … and when he stopped he looked at the wall opposite him. He eyes fell on Elijah’s sword - ‘Sting’. It had been so proudly mounted there when they first moved in.
Dominic remembered that he wanted to put all their Lord of the Rings items in the living room. Display them for everyone to see… show them off to the world.
But Elijah was having none of it. “That’s so fucking cheesy, Dom,” he said his face screwed up in protest.
“Cheesy?” Dominic remembered laughing at Elijah’s statement. “You don’t want folk seeing your sword? It could warn us of any approaching Orcs?”
“Fuck off, Monaghan…” Elijah laughed but he had been quite adamant. “Don’t want it in there, Dom… No…. Visitors would want to hold the sword and everything. It’s private… and I don’t want that. We’ll put it in the study, with all the other things…”
So that’s what they did, along with photographs taken during filming. There were a few framed ones on the wall of themselves in several states of hobbit dress. What a time that was… those heady days of filming… but all that seemed so long ago now. So much had happened since then.
Dominic walked over to the sword and lifted it off its mounting. He carefully wiped the thick dust off the blade using his fingertips, and then held Sting, perfectly weighted in his hand.
Frodo…my Elijah… the bravest of all hobbits.
Dominic smiled at that thought… and knew it couldn’t be any truer. What Elijah had battled through last year went beyond bravery… it went beyond everything. How he had survived had been incomprehensible. It had been a true miracle…
“You’re my miracle, Lijah.” Dominic spoke out loud as he replaced the sword. “My wonderful miracle.”
The phone rang, bringing Dominic’s thoughts back to the present and he went to the living room to answer it. All the other phones in the place had been disconnected and in a few days time the phone company would terminate the line, too.
Dominic listened to the voice on the other end of the phone, and his shoulders sagged as he mumbled his acknowledgement to the unseen caller. The company who were shipping all their belongings overseas had to delay it by a week.
“Fuck!” Dominic hung up the phone. “Fuck, fuck, fuck…” He looked at his watch… he needed to call Elijah… hear his voice… God he missed him and now this was all going to drag on so much longer than he had originally anticipated.
Dominic pulled out the mobile from his back pocket and selected Elijah’s number. It was weird to know that Elijah was actually living in tomorrow’s time zone, and to Elijah, when he answered on the other side of the world, he would be speaking to him in the past!
“That could fuck your bloody mind!” Dominic spoke to himself as he waited for Elijah to answer his call.
“Hi, Dom!”
“Hi, baby…” Dominic smiled. “How’s it going? Found us anywhere to live yet?”
Silence….
“No…. not yet, Dom.” Elijah’s voice went quiet.
“That’s ok, Lij. No worries.”
Dominic knew it was going to be difficult for Elijah, and wished now that he hadn’t suggested it. It has been a foolish idea. Physically Elijah was growing stronger, but mentally… he didn’t know. Elijah was fine, like his old self when they did things together… but on his own…
“Dom…?”
“Tell you what…. we’ll look together when I get back, ok?” Dominic tried to sound reassuring. “We can use Pete’s address for the shipment company. It’s not going to be a problem, Lij...”
“But I am going to do it, Dom. Really… I am… I have a list here. Several houses… It’s just… it’s just… …” Elijah fell quiet again. “I miss you….”
Dominic barely heard the words, and felt his throat tighten. “I miss you too, baby…and… and, Lij?” Dominic didn’t know how to say this…. “I’m going to be away a little longer…”
“You are?”
Dominic could hear the pain in Elijah’s voice. “I’m sorry, baby… yeah…about a week longer…”
“That’s ok…”
Silence again…
“I’m going to give the company another ring, Lij. Ok? Try and hurry things up… but… you know…”
“Yeah…”
“You going to be ok?”
Silence
“Lij?”
“Yeah… I’m ok, Dom… I have to go now.”
Dominic could hear the thickness in Elijah’s voice.
“Love you, Lijah… you hang in there, baby… I’ll be home real soon.”
“Love you too, Dom…”
Then the phone went dead.
Dominic turned it off and stared out the window. Love you so fucking much…
***
Elijah nervously accepted the car keys, and looked at the sales assistant who was beaming at him. The smiling man offered Elijah his hand, and after transferring his cane, Elijah shook it. Then he was left alone.
It was just himself and his new car.
Elijah took a big breath before opening the door and taking a seat behind the wheel. He placed his cane and the sheets of properties he hoped to view beside him, and only then did he slowly exhale.
“My fucking God….
Fuck…
… Wow…”
His voice sounded alien and loud in the confined space. “Fucking wow…” He stared at the windscreen. “Fucking… fucking… wow…”
He began to smile… “Holy, fucking fuck!” He tilted the rear view mirror so that he could look at himself. “Holy fuck… … I fucking did it!”
His reflection grinned back at him. He let out a loud whoop as he slapped the steering wheel!
“I fucking did it… Dom, wish you could see me now!”
All the mental torture he had put himself through over the past two weeks began melting away, leaving him feeling a lot more positive, and in some sort of control.
Control…
Elijah knew he didn’t want to let Dominic down, and that he wanted to do this… he fucking needed to do this. He knew that if he was going to move on, and get anywhere with his life, he had to start doing things on his own again. He had to get out into the world, and do things by himself; he needed to retake control of his life.
Fuck! Nothing used to scare him, nothing! And trying to understand why such feelings had surfaced and taken over his life had been difficult. It all seemed to stem from losing control.
All his life he had known where he was going, and what he wanted… nothing was difficult…nothing got in his way, and if it did, he just went around it. He’d always had direction… Control… He’d always had control.
But when he walked into the sea ten months ago how could he ever have known that his life was about to change forever? He had been at the mercy of something he had no control over, and just that in itself was a terrifying thought.
And when his body began failing him afterwards, when he began spiralling down that long dark tunnel into nothing… his life was no longer his own. He only survived because of machines and the dedication of a team of doctors and nursing staff.
Living through something like that was traumatic and inevitably, life changing… but Elijah knew he didn’t want his life changed… he didn’t want it to be any different than it was before… But he had withdrawn into himself, hiding from the world outside, and by doing so he thought he had regained control again.
How could he have been so wrong?
Dominic had been supportive of him all the way, especially during his darkest days. It must have destroyed Dominic to see the way he had become. God, he owed Dominic everything!
“Ok… right… right….” Nervousness crept back into Elijah’s voice as it dawned on him what he now had to do.
He picked up the sheets of paper and sorted through them, and then opened a map of the local area. He had already marked out where each property was, and had some sort of route planned. So all he needed to do now was drive.
Drive… the last time he had driven was ten months ago, when he drove their mobile home to Townsville... the home of that beach…
He blinked to rid himself of the memory, and then placed the key in the ignition. The engine roared into life.
“Ok…” he said to himself again. He could feel his heart racing… “Let’s do this… let’s do this… I can do this…” He slipped the gear into drive, and slowly pulled out of the garage forecourt.
***
Dominic watched the container truck drive away before closing the apartment door. He looked at his watch. Debbie would be picking him up very soon, and then tomorrow evening he would be on the plane home.
Home… to his Elijah.
The past three weeks had been hectic, and he had been so fucking lonely. At the end of each day, as exhausted as he was, he would remain awake for a long time, wishing that Elijah was lying next to him. He couldn’t wait to be back in his own bed with Elijah wrapped in his arms, his body pressing warmly against his.
Not long now, baby… he thought…
He wandered around the apartment for the very last time. Some of the furniture had remained, they would buy brand new in their new home, but it was amazing how empty the place looked. His footsteps echoed as he moved from room to room. They had spent many years together in this place, he would miss it.
But they were moving into new territory now. A new beginning… he would ask Pete for a couple more days off work, so that he could buy a car and take Elijah house hunting. The sooner they had their own place, the better. And once settled, maybe Elijah would gather his courage and begin working again. Dominic knew that Peter’s offer would always be there for Elijah, however long it may take.
He made his last call from their old home. Elijah took a while to answer.
“Hi, Dom… sorry… was busy…”
“It’s done, Lij. Everything’s gone… except for me of course!” Dominic was standing by the bedroom window looking out at the familiar scene. A scene he would never see again.
“God I can’t fucking wait to see you again, Lij… tomorrow’s flight can’t come quick enough! I’ve missed you so much…”
“Me too…”
“You keeping alright?” Dominic ran his fingers down the windowpane. “I fucking worry about you… Christ, Lij… I wish New Zealand wasn’t so fucking far away!”
“I’m fine, Dom… I’ve been keeping busy, you know… plenty of walking… helping Fran with the children… it helps pass the time…”
“Just a couple more day, Lij…not long…”
“I know…”
“Love you, baby…” Dominic saw Debbie’s car turn into their street. “Your mum’s here. I’ll speak to you later… Love you… love you, Lij…”
“Love you too, Dom…”
Dominic ended the call, picked up his travel bag and made his way out of the apartment. He took one last look behind him before he closed the door and locked it for the last time.
*
Fran handed Elijah a cup of coffee… she had a half smile on her face, having overheard Elijah on the phone to Dominic.
“You haven’t told him yet, have you, Elijah?”
Elijah accepted the drink and sat down opposite her at the table. “You mean about the house?”
Fran nodded.
“No…no, I haven’t…” Elijah grinned before taking a tentative sip of the hot liquid. “I want to surprise him… do you think he’ll be surprised?”
Fran nodded as she smiled again.
“I’m never any good at this sort of surprise thing, Fran… apart from last year when I planned my ceremony, but I had months to do that. Essentially, I’m pretty useless at it; I’m too practical I guess. Dom’s always been the one for surprises. Last year he took me on the Orient Express for my birthday. I mean how does he think of these things? I would never have thought of that. He’s so fucking special, you know?”
“I know, Elijah…”
“And he has been so worried about me…and he’s taken care of me… and he’s given up his life in LA, for me.” Elijah stared at the steam rising from his cup. “These three weeks away from me will have been torture for him, Fran…” he looked up. “I can guarantee that. I know Dom better than he does… and he deserves the best of everything… and I haven’t been there for him these past few months, not in the way I should have been …”
“Elijah…” Fran reached out and touched Elijah’s hand. “You have been very sick, and everything takes time, and Dom knows this. You’ve come a long way… and since you have been with us I have seen a change in you. You are finding your way again Elijah … and I think you should be very proud of yourself.”
Elijah smiled gently… “It has been hard, Fran…” he admitted. “You know, I didn’t want to come here… I was fucking shit scared of coming here. But it ended up being the best thing, didn’t it? And I think Dominic knew that. He knew I wasn’t going to get any better in LA, and he was right.”
“He loves you so much, Elijah.”
“I know…” Elijah nodded. “I know… and I don’t want to let him down.”
“I don’t think you have ever let him down, Elijah… and do you know what? He’s going to be so bowled over when you tell him about your new home.”
Elijah grinned… “He is, isn’t he? He’s not going to believe it. I can barely believe it, myself… and I found the place!”
Fran rested back in her chair. “Yes you did, and it’s going to be a wonderful home. When do you exactly plan on telling him?”
“I’m taking him straight there, from the airport… I can’t wait to see the look on his face. It’s going to be fucking awesome…”
Fran laughed, and Elijah laughed along with her…
***
Dominic felt dead on his feet, and his travel bag weighed a ton, but when he saw Elijah waiting for him, standing back a little from everyone else, leaning on his cane and looking like a fucking million dollars, his exhaustion quickly drained away.
He picked up his step, pushed past the other equally exhausted passengers, and within seconds he was in the arms of the man he loved. The airport arrivals lounge dissolved into nothing as their mouths met and their eyes closed.
“Oh, God… Lijah…” Dominic finally pulled back and pushed Elijah’s hair away from his face. Elijah was smiling at him; his eyes were huge and bright.
“God, you look so fucking fantastic…” He kissed him again… and then placed his mouth by his ear and whispered. “I can’t wait to get you home… I’ve fucking missed you so much…”
Elijah giggled quietly… “I’ve missed you, too…” And then they kissed again, oblivious to the passengers passing either side of them.
When they made their way out of the terminal, Dominic held Elijah’s hand, so warm in his own. The bright sunlight made him blink… he had lost all track of time… he had left LA in the dark, and it was now late afternoon, but two days later.
He turned towards the taxi rank, but Elijah tugged his hand. “No, Dom. This way.”
Dominic frowned, and then figured that Peter or Fran must be waiting in their car in the pick-up area, but Elijah led Dominic past that area and into the car park.
“Lij?” Dominic looked at Elijah when they came to a halt.
“Here…” Elijah grinned as he placed his hand on the bonnet of a car.
Dominic was confused; weariness was once again catching up on him.
“This is ours, Dom. This is our car. I bought it.”
“You bought it…?”
Elijah could see that it still hadn’t registered with Dominic. He dangled the car keys in front of his face.
“I bought it, yes…”
“You never fucking did!” Dominic face broke out in the biggest grin.
Elijah laughed… “I did… it’s ours…see…” Elijah unlocked the vehicle.
“Christ! You fucking did! Fucking hell, Lij, why didn’t you say anything? This is fantastic… this is fucking brilliant!” Dominic went around the car to Elijah and took him in his arms. “You are so fucking brilliant…”
Elijah smiled as he held Dominic closely.
“I know how difficult that must have been for you, baby…” Dominic spoke quietly “I do… It couldn’t have been easy…”
Elijah nodded but was still smiling when he pulled back from Dominic’s embrace.
“So you like it, then?” he asked. “I wanted to surprise you…”
“Hmmm…” Dominic looked at the gleaming white car. “I dunno though… I’m not too sure about the colour…”
“You’re not?” Elijah’s smile faltered.
“Come here, you…” Dominic laughed as he pulled Elijah to him again. “Of course I fucking like it… you’re the fucking best… do you know that…I fucking love you…” Dominic put his hand behind Elijah’s head and kissed him, deeply…
When they finished, with mouth tingling, Elijah unlocked the boot so that Dominic could dump his bag.
“Want me to drive, Lij?” Dominic asked.
“Got it covered…” Elijah winked.
“That’s great, baby…” Dominic climbed into the passenger seat, and as soon as he made himself comfortable he couldn’t help letting out a long yawn.
Elijah smiled at him as he started the engine. Now for part two of his surprise.
Dominic sleepily looked out the window at the countryside, it was summer in LA, but the middle of winter here… it had been too hot to sleep in the apartment, not that he could sleep much anyway, but tonight he would be cuddled up to Elijah’s beautiful warm body… he couldn’t fucking wait.
As the journey continued it slowly dawned on Dominic that they should be home by now, he looked at Elijah who was concentrating diligently on his driving.
“Where are we going, Lij?”
“Somewhere…” Elijah kept his eyes on the road.
Dominic sat up and stretched… “I just want to get you home, baby… and into our bed…” He gave Elijah’s thigh a gentle squeeze…. “Know what I mean?”
“Nearly there…” Elijah glanced at Dominic and smiled wickedly at him.
Dominic frowned… “You’re up to something, Lij? That’s a definite ‘you’re up to something’ look.”
Elijah laughed. “Just wait and see…”
“What is it…?” Dominic couldn’t help laughing too, as he squeezed Elijah’s thigh again.
Elijah pulled the car into the kerb and parked. “We’re here…”
“We are?” Dominic looked outside and then back at Elijah. “What?”
“There…” Elijah pointed to the house through the window.
Dominic’s eyes followed Elijah’s finger.
“That’s our new home, Dom.”
Dominic’s gaze snapped back to Elijah, and his mouth fell open.
Elijah grinned at him, tears filled his eyes. “I got us a place, Dom…. I found us our home.”
Dominic was actually lost for words… he tried to speak but nothing came out. So instead he took Elijah’s face in his hands, wiped a stray tear away with his thumb, and then kissed him gently. When he finally pulled back he couldn’t help looking at Elijah with wonderment.
“Here…” Elijah dropped the keys into Dominic’s hand, and they got out the car.
They walked up the long driveway in silence… Dominic took in all the surroundings - it was just perfect.
“Go on, then…” Elijah stood by the front door, both hands on his cane as he waited for Dominic to put the key in the lock.
“I… I can’t believe you did this…” Dominic finally found his voice. “I really can’t believe you did this, Lijah…”
“I know…” Elijah giggled. “I can’t believe it either…”
Dominic looked at his lover… standing opposite him, with eyes shining; the setting sun brought a glow to his pale features… but there was a glow from the inside, too. Dominic could see it. He had seen it at the airport, and felt it in the way Elijah responded to his touch, and in the way he talked. This was his Elijah of old… this was his Elijah before he walked into the sea on that fateful day in September last year. And he wanted to hang on to this Elijah so badly, and never let him go.
“Are we going in…?” Elijah broke into his thoughts. “Shall I lead the way…?”
“Of course, baby…” Dominic unlocked the door and pushed it open, and then he followed Elijah inside.
“So what do you think? We can move in when we’re ready.” Elijah asked before Dominic had seen anything other than the hallway.
“I think it’s wonderful, Elijah.” Dominic caught Elijah’s hand. “And I think you’re wonderful…”
They stopped where they were.
“You did this all by yourself, Lij… all of it… the car… the house…”
“Our car… and our house…” Elijah smiled as he corrected Dominic. “And…and… Well… Actually, Dom, there is one other thing I haven’t told you about… …”
“There is…?”
Elijah nodded as he led Dominic into the living room. It was a large room, with French windows over looking a neat garden; shafts of golden light zigzagged across the uncarpeted floor as the sun slowly sank towards the horizon
Dominic didn’t look at the view though… his eyes were on Elijah who had let go his hand and turned to face him.
“I don’t know if I’ve done the right thing… I don’t really know much about me at the moment, Dom… but I want to reach out and take back my life … be who I used to be… I don’t want to be scared anymore…” Elijah looked down at the floor nervously and whispered. “I’m not going to be scared anymore…”
He looked up and his eyes met Dominic’s “I just want to be me again…”
Dominic swallowed hard.
Elijah turned and walked to the window, his cane tapping on the floor as he did so.
“ I bought a shop, Dom…” he said not turning around, his eyes fixed on a tree at the end of the garden. “I want to sell music… there’s a small room attached to the shop… I’m going to turn it into a studio… give new bands a chance…”
Dominic took a small pace forward.
“I don’t know how successful it will be…” Elijah turned from the view; the light was failing fast. He looked at Dominic. “But it’s something I’ve always wanted to do… I don’t think I can return to the film business…music has always been a big part of my life… I really want to give this a go…”
Elijah stood there, silhouetted in the light from the window, waiting for some sort of response from Dominic… he could feel himself trembling from the enormity of what he had just proclaimed… no more the scared Elijah…not anymore!
As he stood opposite Elijah, in the empty room, Dominic knew that he had never felt as much love for Elijah as he did at that very moment… which seemed impossible. But he did, and it felt like a wave coursing through him.
He couldn’t move as he looked at Elijah standing in front of him. In theory Elijah shouldn’t even be there. This could have ended so differently, so tragically… and not a day went by that Dominic didn’t thinks of those odds and how Elijah had climbed them, and battled them, and now… in this room, in their brand new home… defeated them.
Dominic had always known what hope felt like, his Elijah was the epitome of that word, and it had been all he had to hang onto when things were grave - but now… now as Elijah stood there in the dying light… waiting for him to say something, Dominic knew what hope looked like, too.
Elijah… his lover, his soul mate, his reason for living, his reason for never giving up on himself when he had, at times, thought all hope was gone… this man whom he had first known as a boy, this person who had given so much of himself, and had taken back so little… this man standing in front of him… who just a few short months ago had almost lost his life, and then the will to live it. This man who had gone through hell, to be here today, this minute, this very second… this man without whom he couldn’t imagine living… this man… Elijah… his life…
There was only one thing he could say…
Dominic covered the distance between them in two strides… Elijah looked at him as he took his hand in his.
“Marry me, my Lijah…” Dominic’s voice was soft. “Marry me, and make me happier than I already am.”
“…Dom…?” Elijah’s voice was barely audible as he looked into Dominic’s eyes.
Dominic smiled as he nodded, tears filling his eyes. “I want you to marry me, Lij… I love you so much, and I want you to marry me…”
“My, God… Dom…” Elijah flung his arms around Dominic’s neck, dropping his cane; it clattered noisily across the wooden floorboards.
“Marry me… marry me… …” Dominic laughed as he swung Elijah around and around the empty room. “Marry me…”
Then the laughing stopped as Dominic became more serious.
“I should do this properly, shouldn’t I?” he said as he led Elijah over to the window where there was just enough light to see his face.
Elijah looked at him expectantly, his whole face smiling. Dominic ran his fingers through Elijah’s hair before sweeping it off his shoulders. He then smiled at him as his fingers gently caressed the side of his face.
“You’re everything I’ve ever wanted, Elijah. You know that… and now… Now, I want you to make my life complete…”
Elijah held his breath.
“Will you marry me, Lijah? Will you spend the rest of your life with me? Will you be with me forever?”
“Oh, God… yes…” Elijah voiced cracked as he replied. Tears filled his eyes… “Yes, Dom… yes…”
Then Dominic pulled Elijah to him, and their mouths met, and as they kissed they slowly sank to the floor.
tbc
Author: Salogel42
Pairing: dom/lij
Rating: 15
Warning: Some swearing
Summary: This is a flashback covering how Dom and Lij came to settle in New Zealand.
Archive: All chapters of The Wedding can be found here
Author’s note: This is the sequel to World Trip. There are characters from World Trip in this story and also flashbacks to certains events. World Trip can be found here
Disclaimer: Absolutely not true!
The Wedding
Chapter 4 – The Proposal
Elijah thanked Fran as he closed the car door. He looked at his watch, it was mid-day. Another hospital appointment over, and another step closer to full health. He decided that he would go for a long walk that afternoon. He was enjoying his walks, they were becoming easier, but he had to be careful not to overdo it. He still had to use a cane to take some of the weight off his injured leg, but he was getting there…
“For you…” Fran handed Elijah a brown envelope as she picked up her mail. “Looks official.”
Elijah felt his heart race as he looked at the small print at the top left hand corner of the envelope. New Zealand Immigration.
“Holy fuck, are they here?” Elijah’s eyes grew wide as he aimed the question at Fran.
Her reply was a gentle laugh. “Why don’t you open it and see, Elijah?”
“Yeah… yeah, of course…” Elijah rested his cane against a chair and took a seat. He carefully opened the envelope and extracted its contents. He let out a whoop of joy as his eyes scanned the paperwork.
Fran smiled as she carried on unpacking her shopping.
“I have to call Dom.” Elijah was quickly on his feet again. “This is fucking great…” He waved the sheets of paper at Fran and grinned broadly as he made his way outside to the guesthouse which had become a temporary home for himself and Dominic.
Dominic answered on the third ring.
“Hi, Lij. Everything ok?”
“Dom, they’re here. The visas have arrived!”
“That’s great, baby!” Dominic smiled - he could hear the excitement in Elijah’s voice. “We’ll celebrate when I get home.”
“Will Pete let you leave early?”
“Can’t see it… this editing thing just eats up the hours.”
“Oh, right then… that’s ok…” Dominic heard the disappointment in Elijah’s voice.
“Will you be going for a walk, baby?” he asked, quickly changing the subject. “Make sure you wrap up warm if you do.”
Elijah nodded into the phone, and couldn’t help smile at Dominic’s concern.
“Guess what else happened today, Dom?”
“The hospital?”
“Yeah…”
“And…?”
“Eighty-eight percent! My capacity has gone up to eighty-eight percent.”
“That’s fucking fantastic, Lij! Fucking fantastic…”
Elijah grinned into the phone.
“It’ll be a double celebration then, won’t it?” Dominic paused for a second. “Listen, Lij. Gotta go… Pete’s waving frantically at me. You take care, baby. I love you… see you soon.”
“Love you too, Dom. Bye.”
Dominic clicked his phone off. Peter looked up from his editing screen and waited to be filled in.
“We got the visas, Pete.” Dominic grinned as he re-took his seat. “Looks like we’re here to stay… and it’s all thanks to you.”
Peter nodded and smiled. “That’s great, Dom! I bet Elijah’s ecstatic.”
“He is…” Dominic grinned as he sat down, feeling all the stress he had been coping with melt away. Stress that Elijah had been unaware of. Saying they would stay in New Zealand had been one thing, making it into a reality, however, had been another.
Dominic knew he would do everything it took to make Elijah happy again… everything. He had been so relieved to see his old Elijah beginning to emerge. The old Elijah who never let anything bother him, and who always saw the good in everyone. The old Elijah who loved exploring the world around him, the old Elijah he fell in love with.
The Elijah who was shut up in their apartment back in LA, was one he hoped to never see again, so if staying in New Zealand was the answer, then that was what they would bloody well do… somehow… someway…
It wasn’t going to be easy… you can’t just stay in a new country, and the first thing he had to do, what they both had to do, was find work.
Fuck…
Dominic could remember it well… Elijah would fall asleep in his arms content in the knowledge that he would never be going back to LA. For some reason he needed to be free of that place… it was like New Zealand was the new start he wanted… that he needed, and Dominic wasn’t going to let him down.
He had finished his latest role for Peter, and now had no job. It kept him awake at night… trying to figure out what to do, and he needed to figure it out by himself, he didn’t want Elijah worrying and taking a step back into that cocoon he had so recently emerged from.
What happened was totally unexpected, and so gratefully received.
*
They had been having dinner with Peter and Fran, one of those rare occasions when Peter was home to share his evening meal. Several days had passed since Elijah had declared his desire to stay in New Zealand, and Dominic knew they were in some sort of limbo.
Elijah had obviously been speaking to Fran about it… he was so excited about the prospect of staying, that Dominic had not voiced his fears and doubts about it at all.
“So, Dominic… Elijah tells me that you are planning to settle here, in Hamilton.” Fran said it so matter-of-factly, and Dominic felt his heart sink.
“Well…” Dominic looked at Elijah who was smiling at Fran. “Well… we’ve talked about it…”
“Sounds good…” Peter agreed. “Where were you thinking?”
“Well, actually… you see…”
“I like Cambridge…” Elijah piped in.
“That’s a nice area, Elijah…” Fran agreed.
“Lij…?” Dominic frowned at Elijah.
“There’s plenty of property on the market at the moment.” Peter said. “Winter is a good time to buy.”
“But… we haven’t yet…” Dominic began protesting.
“I’ve been looking in the local paper,” Elijah admitted. “There are some nice houses there, for rent.”
“For Christ’s sake… Lij… we haven’t got a bloody job yet!” Dominic looked from Elijah, to Peter to Fran.
Everyone fell silent.
Elijah’s eyes fell to his half eaten food. He looked forlorn.
Peter glanced at Fran, and then looked at the two lads sitting opposite him. He put down his cutlery and clasped his hands together, resting his elbows on the table.
Dominic kept his eyes downcast… he felt like kicking himself.
“You know…” Peter began speaking quietly. “I was just talking to Fran the other day about taking on some new staff. Permanent staff.”
Fran looked at Peter blankly.
“People I can rely on…” Peter continued. “People I can trust. There would be a lot of “on the job” training involved… but it would be interesting, and as far as bosses go… I think I’m a pretty fair one.”
Dominic raised his head and looked at Peter. Elijah looked at Dominic and then across the table at Fran.
Fran smiled at him as she realised where Peter was going with this.
“Not sure of the title… Production Assistants? Something like that…” Peter grinned. So what do you say, boys? How would you like to work for me?”
Deafening silence…and the answer to everything.
Dominic had to swallow hard before he could reply. “I… I don’t know what to say, Pete…”
“Yes, sounds good to me.” Peter chuckled. “You’re both going to need a job if you want to stay.” Peter looked at Elijah who was sitting there with his mouth open as if in total shock.
“I can help with your visas too, I know someone in Immigration. It usually takes months to sort these things.” Peter winked at Elijah… “Leave it with me.”
“My God, Peter… thank you!” Elijah got to his feet and went around the table to hug Peter. “I hadn’t even thought about the job thing. I figured we would sort that out after we settled, you know?”
Peter smiled as he returned Elijah’s hug. He looked over at Dominic who was wearing a look of total relief. Elijah might not have been thinking about it, but it was obvious that Dominic had.
“You’re welcome…” Peter smiled at both of them. “As from tomorrow morning you are both employed, and… as from tomorrow afternoon your visa applications will be sitting on my mate’s desk in Immigration!
*
“Maybe we’ll get Elijah to join us, then?” Peter broke into Dominic’s thoughts momentarily forgetting the computer screen in front of him. Dominic had been working for him for four weeks now, and Elijah? Well… on paper, Elijah was employed.
“Maybe,” Dominic nodded. “When he’s a little stronger… he’s getting there, Pete.”
“When he started showing up on set with you, Dom… I thought… well… you know?”
Peter looked at Dominic as he spoke to him. He could see that the burdens Dominic had been shouldering for so long were now lessening. But it was obvious that Elijah still had some way to go.
“He’ll get there, Pete… I know he will…”
“Yeah… he will…” Peter smiled reassuringly as he stood up. He indicated that Dominic take the editor’s chair. “Now… let’s see what you’ve learnt so far.”
***
Elijah sat on the bed while he watched Dominic pack his bag. They were both very quiet.
Then Dominic stopped and sat down next to Elijah. “I don’t know, Lij. It’s going to be weird going back to LA without you. Maybe there’s some other way we can do this…”
“I’ll be ok…” Elijah stared at his hands. “It’s only a couple of weeks, right? And… and I’ll be busy.”
“It’s a lot for you to take on, Elijah. Maybe I was wrong, maybe you’re not ready to do stuff on your own just yet … I was thinking…”
Elijah turned to Dominic and placed a finger over his mouth, stopping Dominic from saying any more. “I’ll be fine,” he said, not knowing if that was the truth or not. “But I’m going to fucking miss you so much, Dom.”
“Me too, baby….” Dominic took Elijah’s hand. “I won’t lie about this, Lij. I don’t want to go… I don’t want to leave you behind. I fucking hate not being with you.”
Elijah went quiet again.
They both sat there, holding hands. They hadn’t spent one night apart since Elijah had left hospital seven months ago. This was going to be hard… hard on them both, but it had to be done.
*
“We need to go back to LA to organise shipment of our stuff, Lij.” Dominic had told Elijah two days after receiving their visas. “And hand over our apartment.”
They were lying in bed; it was a beautiful clear Sunday morning. Elijah slipped on his glasses and looked at Dominic blankly.
“It’s got to be done, Lij.” Dominic turned on to his side to look at Elijah. “No two ways about it, and the quicker the better, not like it will be quick or anything. There’s bound to be tons of fucking paperwork.”
“I don’t want to go back, Dom.” Elijah looked up at the ceiling. “I can’t go back…”
“I know, baby…” Dominic’s fingers played with Elijah’s hair, the long strands felt like silk. “I know…”
Dominic drew Elijah into an embrace. “I can go on my own… no problem.”
“Dom…?” Elijah pulled back so that he could see Dominic clearly.
“We need an address, Lij. We need a home. Why don’t you see to that while I go to LA?”
“You want me to find us somewhere to live?” Elijah sat up quickly, the sheets falling away from his body. “By myself?”
Dominic couldn’t help smiling. “Why not, Lij? You’ve already been checking out the properties in the paper, you know what we both like. Somewhere quiet, not too big, average size garden.”
Elijah blinked hard… “Ummm… I don’t know… I’ll need a car, and I’m not sure I’m clear for driving yet, Dom.”
“You’re ready to drive, Lij, believe me… you’re getting stronger and stronger by the day… I can see it…” Dominic sat up pulling the bedding clear away from Elijah’s naked body. He ran his fingers over Elijah’s injured thigh, feeling the raised scars covering healing muscle. “… and I can feel it…”
Elijah looked at Dominic, still unsure.
“You can do this, baby… you can do this for us…” Dominic moved a little closer to Elijah and gently pushed him down on the bed.
“You think so…?”
“I know so…” Dominic lowered his body onto Elijah’s, and then they lost themselves in a morning of lovemaking.
***
The middle of July… Los Angeles… summer.
It was baking hot, and Dominic was stripped down to his shorts. The apartment was in disarray, half packed boxes everywhere; stuff lying around… it was utter chaos!
Dominic popped the cap on an ice-cold bottle of beer and took a very large swig. He still had a list a mile long of things to do. He had been in LA a week and he felt like he was getting nowhere! Transferring a life from one country to another, permanently, was not simple by any means.
He had spent the previous week, when his head wasn’t inside a packing box, closing bank accounts, transferring investments, cancelling medical insurances… the list was endless. He had a pile of paperwork that needed Elijah’s signature, so even when they were finished here, in theory, they weren’t!
Elijah had always been the one to take care of things when they lived here, accounts, and savings, the rent - everything. He had been so methodical, which in hindsight, was a godsend, because even though there was so much of it, the paperwork was relatively easy to trawl through.
The most straightforward thing had been the handover of their apartment. Just three months notice was all that was required and a signature, and Debbie said she would take care of the finalities where that was concerned. One easy thing to strike off the list… with about three million more to go!
The hardest thing of all had been seeing Debbie again. She had taken the news well. Elijah had kept her informed about their visa applications, and she had hoped to see him in LA for some sort of final farewell. She was disappointed that he hadn’t accompanied Dominic, but fully understood why. Elijah’s happiness was paramount in all this… and she would see him again soon. She loved visiting New Zealand.
Debbie had offered to help Dominic pack some of their belongings when he first arrived, but Dominic had declined… and now as he wandered from room to room he wished he hadn’t. There was so much stuff! Where the fuck did it all come from?
He stood in the study doorway as he took another mouthful of beer. He hadn’t even begun in here yet, other than to unplug the computer and all its attachments. He placed his beer down and sat in the swivel chair and spun himself around … and when he stopped he looked at the wall opposite him. He eyes fell on Elijah’s sword - ‘Sting’. It had been so proudly mounted there when they first moved in.
Dominic remembered that he wanted to put all their Lord of the Rings items in the living room. Display them for everyone to see… show them off to the world.
But Elijah was having none of it. “That’s so fucking cheesy, Dom,” he said his face screwed up in protest.
“Cheesy?” Dominic remembered laughing at Elijah’s statement. “You don’t want folk seeing your sword? It could warn us of any approaching Orcs?”
“Fuck off, Monaghan…” Elijah laughed but he had been quite adamant. “Don’t want it in there, Dom… No…. Visitors would want to hold the sword and everything. It’s private… and I don’t want that. We’ll put it in the study, with all the other things…”
So that’s what they did, along with photographs taken during filming. There were a few framed ones on the wall of themselves in several states of hobbit dress. What a time that was… those heady days of filming… but all that seemed so long ago now. So much had happened since then.
Dominic walked over to the sword and lifted it off its mounting. He carefully wiped the thick dust off the blade using his fingertips, and then held Sting, perfectly weighted in his hand.
Frodo…my Elijah… the bravest of all hobbits.
Dominic smiled at that thought… and knew it couldn’t be any truer. What Elijah had battled through last year went beyond bravery… it went beyond everything. How he had survived had been incomprehensible. It had been a true miracle…
“You’re my miracle, Lijah.” Dominic spoke out loud as he replaced the sword. “My wonderful miracle.”
The phone rang, bringing Dominic’s thoughts back to the present and he went to the living room to answer it. All the other phones in the place had been disconnected and in a few days time the phone company would terminate the line, too.
Dominic listened to the voice on the other end of the phone, and his shoulders sagged as he mumbled his acknowledgement to the unseen caller. The company who were shipping all their belongings overseas had to delay it by a week.
“Fuck!” Dominic hung up the phone. “Fuck, fuck, fuck…” He looked at his watch… he needed to call Elijah… hear his voice… God he missed him and now this was all going to drag on so much longer than he had originally anticipated.
Dominic pulled out the mobile from his back pocket and selected Elijah’s number. It was weird to know that Elijah was actually living in tomorrow’s time zone, and to Elijah, when he answered on the other side of the world, he would be speaking to him in the past!
“That could fuck your bloody mind!” Dominic spoke to himself as he waited for Elijah to answer his call.
“Hi, Dom!”
“Hi, baby…” Dominic smiled. “How’s it going? Found us anywhere to live yet?”
Silence….
“No…. not yet, Dom.” Elijah’s voice went quiet.
“That’s ok, Lij. No worries.”
Dominic knew it was going to be difficult for Elijah, and wished now that he hadn’t suggested it. It has been a foolish idea. Physically Elijah was growing stronger, but mentally… he didn’t know. Elijah was fine, like his old self when they did things together… but on his own…
“Dom…?”
“Tell you what…. we’ll look together when I get back, ok?” Dominic tried to sound reassuring. “We can use Pete’s address for the shipment company. It’s not going to be a problem, Lij...”
“But I am going to do it, Dom. Really… I am… I have a list here. Several houses… It’s just… it’s just… …” Elijah fell quiet again. “I miss you….”
Dominic barely heard the words, and felt his throat tighten. “I miss you too, baby…and… and, Lij?” Dominic didn’t know how to say this…. “I’m going to be away a little longer…”
“You are?”
Dominic could hear the pain in Elijah’s voice. “I’m sorry, baby… yeah…about a week longer…”
“That’s ok…”
Silence again…
“I’m going to give the company another ring, Lij. Ok? Try and hurry things up… but… you know…”
“Yeah…”
“You going to be ok?”
Silence
“Lij?”
“Yeah… I’m ok, Dom… I have to go now.”
Dominic could hear the thickness in Elijah’s voice.
“Love you, Lijah… you hang in there, baby… I’ll be home real soon.”
“Love you too, Dom…”
Then the phone went dead.
Dominic turned it off and stared out the window. Love you so fucking much…
***
Elijah nervously accepted the car keys, and looked at the sales assistant who was beaming at him. The smiling man offered Elijah his hand, and after transferring his cane, Elijah shook it. Then he was left alone.
It was just himself and his new car.
Elijah took a big breath before opening the door and taking a seat behind the wheel. He placed his cane and the sheets of properties he hoped to view beside him, and only then did he slowly exhale.
“My fucking God….
Fuck…
… Wow…”
His voice sounded alien and loud in the confined space. “Fucking wow…” He stared at the windscreen. “Fucking… fucking… wow…”
He began to smile… “Holy, fucking fuck!” He tilted the rear view mirror so that he could look at himself. “Holy fuck… … I fucking did it!”
His reflection grinned back at him. He let out a loud whoop as he slapped the steering wheel!
“I fucking did it… Dom, wish you could see me now!”
All the mental torture he had put himself through over the past two weeks began melting away, leaving him feeling a lot more positive, and in some sort of control.
Control…
Elijah knew he didn’t want to let Dominic down, and that he wanted to do this… he fucking needed to do this. He knew that if he was going to move on, and get anywhere with his life, he had to start doing things on his own again. He had to get out into the world, and do things by himself; he needed to retake control of his life.
Fuck! Nothing used to scare him, nothing! And trying to understand why such feelings had surfaced and taken over his life had been difficult. It all seemed to stem from losing control.
All his life he had known where he was going, and what he wanted… nothing was difficult…nothing got in his way, and if it did, he just went around it. He’d always had direction… Control… He’d always had control.
But when he walked into the sea ten months ago how could he ever have known that his life was about to change forever? He had been at the mercy of something he had no control over, and just that in itself was a terrifying thought.
And when his body began failing him afterwards, when he began spiralling down that long dark tunnel into nothing… his life was no longer his own. He only survived because of machines and the dedication of a team of doctors and nursing staff.
Living through something like that was traumatic and inevitably, life changing… but Elijah knew he didn’t want his life changed… he didn’t want it to be any different than it was before… But he had withdrawn into himself, hiding from the world outside, and by doing so he thought he had regained control again.
How could he have been so wrong?
Dominic had been supportive of him all the way, especially during his darkest days. It must have destroyed Dominic to see the way he had become. God, he owed Dominic everything!
“Ok… right… right….” Nervousness crept back into Elijah’s voice as it dawned on him what he now had to do.
He picked up the sheets of paper and sorted through them, and then opened a map of the local area. He had already marked out where each property was, and had some sort of route planned. So all he needed to do now was drive.
Drive… the last time he had driven was ten months ago, when he drove their mobile home to Townsville... the home of that beach…
He blinked to rid himself of the memory, and then placed the key in the ignition. The engine roared into life.
“Ok…” he said to himself again. He could feel his heart racing… “Let’s do this… let’s do this… I can do this…” He slipped the gear into drive, and slowly pulled out of the garage forecourt.
***
Dominic watched the container truck drive away before closing the apartment door. He looked at his watch. Debbie would be picking him up very soon, and then tomorrow evening he would be on the plane home.
Home… to his Elijah.
The past three weeks had been hectic, and he had been so fucking lonely. At the end of each day, as exhausted as he was, he would remain awake for a long time, wishing that Elijah was lying next to him. He couldn’t wait to be back in his own bed with Elijah wrapped in his arms, his body pressing warmly against his.
Not long now, baby… he thought…
He wandered around the apartment for the very last time. Some of the furniture had remained, they would buy brand new in their new home, but it was amazing how empty the place looked. His footsteps echoed as he moved from room to room. They had spent many years together in this place, he would miss it.
But they were moving into new territory now. A new beginning… he would ask Pete for a couple more days off work, so that he could buy a car and take Elijah house hunting. The sooner they had their own place, the better. And once settled, maybe Elijah would gather his courage and begin working again. Dominic knew that Peter’s offer would always be there for Elijah, however long it may take.
He made his last call from their old home. Elijah took a while to answer.
“Hi, Dom… sorry… was busy…”
“It’s done, Lij. Everything’s gone… except for me of course!” Dominic was standing by the bedroom window looking out at the familiar scene. A scene he would never see again.
“God I can’t fucking wait to see you again, Lij… tomorrow’s flight can’t come quick enough! I’ve missed you so much…”
“Me too…”
“You keeping alright?” Dominic ran his fingers down the windowpane. “I fucking worry about you… Christ, Lij… I wish New Zealand wasn’t so fucking far away!”
“I’m fine, Dom… I’ve been keeping busy, you know… plenty of walking… helping Fran with the children… it helps pass the time…”
“Just a couple more day, Lij…not long…”
“I know…”
“Love you, baby…” Dominic saw Debbie’s car turn into their street. “Your mum’s here. I’ll speak to you later… Love you… love you, Lij…”
“Love you too, Dom…”
Dominic ended the call, picked up his travel bag and made his way out of the apartment. He took one last look behind him before he closed the door and locked it for the last time.
*
Fran handed Elijah a cup of coffee… she had a half smile on her face, having overheard Elijah on the phone to Dominic.
“You haven’t told him yet, have you, Elijah?”
Elijah accepted the drink and sat down opposite her at the table. “You mean about the house?”
Fran nodded.
“No…no, I haven’t…” Elijah grinned before taking a tentative sip of the hot liquid. “I want to surprise him… do you think he’ll be surprised?”
Fran nodded as she smiled again.
“I’m never any good at this sort of surprise thing, Fran… apart from last year when I planned my ceremony, but I had months to do that. Essentially, I’m pretty useless at it; I’m too practical I guess. Dom’s always been the one for surprises. Last year he took me on the Orient Express for my birthday. I mean how does he think of these things? I would never have thought of that. He’s so fucking special, you know?”
“I know, Elijah…”
“And he has been so worried about me…and he’s taken care of me… and he’s given up his life in LA, for me.” Elijah stared at the steam rising from his cup. “These three weeks away from me will have been torture for him, Fran…” he looked up. “I can guarantee that. I know Dom better than he does… and he deserves the best of everything… and I haven’t been there for him these past few months, not in the way I should have been …”
“Elijah…” Fran reached out and touched Elijah’s hand. “You have been very sick, and everything takes time, and Dom knows this. You’ve come a long way… and since you have been with us I have seen a change in you. You are finding your way again Elijah … and I think you should be very proud of yourself.”
Elijah smiled gently… “It has been hard, Fran…” he admitted. “You know, I didn’t want to come here… I was fucking shit scared of coming here. But it ended up being the best thing, didn’t it? And I think Dominic knew that. He knew I wasn’t going to get any better in LA, and he was right.”
“He loves you so much, Elijah.”
“I know…” Elijah nodded. “I know… and I don’t want to let him down.”
“I don’t think you have ever let him down, Elijah… and do you know what? He’s going to be so bowled over when you tell him about your new home.”
Elijah grinned… “He is, isn’t he? He’s not going to believe it. I can barely believe it, myself… and I found the place!”
Fran rested back in her chair. “Yes you did, and it’s going to be a wonderful home. When do you exactly plan on telling him?”
“I’m taking him straight there, from the airport… I can’t wait to see the look on his face. It’s going to be fucking awesome…”
Fran laughed, and Elijah laughed along with her…
***
Dominic felt dead on his feet, and his travel bag weighed a ton, but when he saw Elijah waiting for him, standing back a little from everyone else, leaning on his cane and looking like a fucking million dollars, his exhaustion quickly drained away.
He picked up his step, pushed past the other equally exhausted passengers, and within seconds he was in the arms of the man he loved. The airport arrivals lounge dissolved into nothing as their mouths met and their eyes closed.
“Oh, God… Lijah…” Dominic finally pulled back and pushed Elijah’s hair away from his face. Elijah was smiling at him; his eyes were huge and bright.
“God, you look so fucking fantastic…” He kissed him again… and then placed his mouth by his ear and whispered. “I can’t wait to get you home… I’ve fucking missed you so much…”
Elijah giggled quietly… “I’ve missed you, too…” And then they kissed again, oblivious to the passengers passing either side of them.
When they made their way out of the terminal, Dominic held Elijah’s hand, so warm in his own. The bright sunlight made him blink… he had lost all track of time… he had left LA in the dark, and it was now late afternoon, but two days later.
He turned towards the taxi rank, but Elijah tugged his hand. “No, Dom. This way.”
Dominic frowned, and then figured that Peter or Fran must be waiting in their car in the pick-up area, but Elijah led Dominic past that area and into the car park.
“Lij?” Dominic looked at Elijah when they came to a halt.
“Here…” Elijah grinned as he placed his hand on the bonnet of a car.
Dominic was confused; weariness was once again catching up on him.
“This is ours, Dom. This is our car. I bought it.”
“You bought it…?”
Elijah could see that it still hadn’t registered with Dominic. He dangled the car keys in front of his face.
“I bought it, yes…”
“You never fucking did!” Dominic face broke out in the biggest grin.
Elijah laughed… “I did… it’s ours…see…” Elijah unlocked the vehicle.
“Christ! You fucking did! Fucking hell, Lij, why didn’t you say anything? This is fantastic… this is fucking brilliant!” Dominic went around the car to Elijah and took him in his arms. “You are so fucking brilliant…”
Elijah smiled as he held Dominic closely.
“I know how difficult that must have been for you, baby…” Dominic spoke quietly “I do… It couldn’t have been easy…”
Elijah nodded but was still smiling when he pulled back from Dominic’s embrace.
“So you like it, then?” he asked. “I wanted to surprise you…”
“Hmmm…” Dominic looked at the gleaming white car. “I dunno though… I’m not too sure about the colour…”
“You’re not?” Elijah’s smile faltered.
“Come here, you…” Dominic laughed as he pulled Elijah to him again. “Of course I fucking like it… you’re the fucking best… do you know that…I fucking love you…” Dominic put his hand behind Elijah’s head and kissed him, deeply…
When they finished, with mouth tingling, Elijah unlocked the boot so that Dominic could dump his bag.
“Want me to drive, Lij?” Dominic asked.
“Got it covered…” Elijah winked.
“That’s great, baby…” Dominic climbed into the passenger seat, and as soon as he made himself comfortable he couldn’t help letting out a long yawn.
Elijah smiled at him as he started the engine. Now for part two of his surprise.
Dominic sleepily looked out the window at the countryside, it was summer in LA, but the middle of winter here… it had been too hot to sleep in the apartment, not that he could sleep much anyway, but tonight he would be cuddled up to Elijah’s beautiful warm body… he couldn’t fucking wait.
As the journey continued it slowly dawned on Dominic that they should be home by now, he looked at Elijah who was concentrating diligently on his driving.
“Where are we going, Lij?”
“Somewhere…” Elijah kept his eyes on the road.
Dominic sat up and stretched… “I just want to get you home, baby… and into our bed…” He gave Elijah’s thigh a gentle squeeze…. “Know what I mean?”
“Nearly there…” Elijah glanced at Dominic and smiled wickedly at him.
Dominic frowned… “You’re up to something, Lij? That’s a definite ‘you’re up to something’ look.”
Elijah laughed. “Just wait and see…”
“What is it…?” Dominic couldn’t help laughing too, as he squeezed Elijah’s thigh again.
Elijah pulled the car into the kerb and parked. “We’re here…”
“We are?” Dominic looked outside and then back at Elijah. “What?”
“There…” Elijah pointed to the house through the window.
Dominic’s eyes followed Elijah’s finger.
“That’s our new home, Dom.”
Dominic’s gaze snapped back to Elijah, and his mouth fell open.
Elijah grinned at him, tears filled his eyes. “I got us a place, Dom…. I found us our home.”
Dominic was actually lost for words… he tried to speak but nothing came out. So instead he took Elijah’s face in his hands, wiped a stray tear away with his thumb, and then kissed him gently. When he finally pulled back he couldn’t help looking at Elijah with wonderment.
“Here…” Elijah dropped the keys into Dominic’s hand, and they got out the car.
They walked up the long driveway in silence… Dominic took in all the surroundings - it was just perfect.
“Go on, then…” Elijah stood by the front door, both hands on his cane as he waited for Dominic to put the key in the lock.
“I… I can’t believe you did this…” Dominic finally found his voice. “I really can’t believe you did this, Lijah…”
“I know…” Elijah giggled. “I can’t believe it either…”
Dominic looked at his lover… standing opposite him, with eyes shining; the setting sun brought a glow to his pale features… but there was a glow from the inside, too. Dominic could see it. He had seen it at the airport, and felt it in the way Elijah responded to his touch, and in the way he talked. This was his Elijah of old… this was his Elijah before he walked into the sea on that fateful day in September last year. And he wanted to hang on to this Elijah so badly, and never let him go.
“Are we going in…?” Elijah broke into his thoughts. “Shall I lead the way…?”
“Of course, baby…” Dominic unlocked the door and pushed it open, and then he followed Elijah inside.
“So what do you think? We can move in when we’re ready.” Elijah asked before Dominic had seen anything other than the hallway.
“I think it’s wonderful, Elijah.” Dominic caught Elijah’s hand. “And I think you’re wonderful…”
They stopped where they were.
“You did this all by yourself, Lij… all of it… the car… the house…”
“Our car… and our house…” Elijah smiled as he corrected Dominic. “And…and… Well… Actually, Dom, there is one other thing I haven’t told you about… …”
“There is…?”
Elijah nodded as he led Dominic into the living room. It was a large room, with French windows over looking a neat garden; shafts of golden light zigzagged across the uncarpeted floor as the sun slowly sank towards the horizon
Dominic didn’t look at the view though… his eyes were on Elijah who had let go his hand and turned to face him.
“I don’t know if I’ve done the right thing… I don’t really know much about me at the moment, Dom… but I want to reach out and take back my life … be who I used to be… I don’t want to be scared anymore…” Elijah looked down at the floor nervously and whispered. “I’m not going to be scared anymore…”
He looked up and his eyes met Dominic’s “I just want to be me again…”
Dominic swallowed hard.
Elijah turned and walked to the window, his cane tapping on the floor as he did so.
“ I bought a shop, Dom…” he said not turning around, his eyes fixed on a tree at the end of the garden. “I want to sell music… there’s a small room attached to the shop… I’m going to turn it into a studio… give new bands a chance…”
Dominic took a small pace forward.
“I don’t know how successful it will be…” Elijah turned from the view; the light was failing fast. He looked at Dominic. “But it’s something I’ve always wanted to do… I don’t think I can return to the film business…music has always been a big part of my life… I really want to give this a go…”
Elijah stood there, silhouetted in the light from the window, waiting for some sort of response from Dominic… he could feel himself trembling from the enormity of what he had just proclaimed… no more the scared Elijah…not anymore!
As he stood opposite Elijah, in the empty room, Dominic knew that he had never felt as much love for Elijah as he did at that very moment… which seemed impossible. But he did, and it felt like a wave coursing through him.
He couldn’t move as he looked at Elijah standing in front of him. In theory Elijah shouldn’t even be there. This could have ended so differently, so tragically… and not a day went by that Dominic didn’t thinks of those odds and how Elijah had climbed them, and battled them, and now… in this room, in their brand new home… defeated them.
Dominic had always known what hope felt like, his Elijah was the epitome of that word, and it had been all he had to hang onto when things were grave - but now… now as Elijah stood there in the dying light… waiting for him to say something, Dominic knew what hope looked like, too.
Elijah… his lover, his soul mate, his reason for living, his reason for never giving up on himself when he had, at times, thought all hope was gone… this man whom he had first known as a boy, this person who had given so much of himself, and had taken back so little… this man standing in front of him… who just a few short months ago had almost lost his life, and then the will to live it. This man who had gone through hell, to be here today, this minute, this very second… this man without whom he couldn’t imagine living… this man… Elijah… his life…
There was only one thing he could say…
Dominic covered the distance between them in two strides… Elijah looked at him as he took his hand in his.
“Marry me, my Lijah…” Dominic’s voice was soft. “Marry me, and make me happier than I already am.”
“…Dom…?” Elijah’s voice was barely audible as he looked into Dominic’s eyes.
Dominic smiled as he nodded, tears filling his eyes. “I want you to marry me, Lij… I love you so much, and I want you to marry me…”
“My, God… Dom…” Elijah flung his arms around Dominic’s neck, dropping his cane; it clattered noisily across the wooden floorboards.
“Marry me… marry me… …” Dominic laughed as he swung Elijah around and around the empty room. “Marry me…”
Then the laughing stopped as Dominic became more serious.
“I should do this properly, shouldn’t I?” he said as he led Elijah over to the window where there was just enough light to see his face.
Elijah looked at him expectantly, his whole face smiling. Dominic ran his fingers through Elijah’s hair before sweeping it off his shoulders. He then smiled at him as his fingers gently caressed the side of his face.
“You’re everything I’ve ever wanted, Elijah. You know that… and now… Now, I want you to make my life complete…”
Elijah held his breath.
“Will you marry me, Lijah? Will you spend the rest of your life with me? Will you be with me forever?”
“Oh, God… yes…” Elijah voiced cracked as he replied. Tears filled his eyes… “Yes, Dom… yes…”
Then Dominic pulled Elijah to him, and their mouths met, and as they kissed they slowly sank to the floor.
tbc
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Oh Sal.
Oh Sal, that was fucking perfect! No one but no one write Domlijah like you do and no one ever will IMHO!
I have just cried over this - again!
Speak soon - things is a bit shite right now...
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i know things are bad for you! *hugs*
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That chapter was just *thud*!
You write them so well that I can almost see them, they're just out of my sighline....
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Sal Rules!! Yay - thanks so much for that tonic!
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I'm going to have to explain to my 2 male office colleagues why I'm crying and there's no way I can tell them the truth...
It's absolutely beautiful and you capture these guys so well, it's like a film playing in front of my eyes when I'm reading. I'm just afraid this beautiful story is coming to an end (World Trip and The Wedding).
Please tell me you have more inspiration????
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I do intend to write more Dom/Lij (there is an AU I have in mind)
Also, I am very sure that I will write more WT Dom/Lij... perhaps covering their first wedding anniversary!?!? :)
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