The Wedding 7/9

[ex-salwood.livejournal.com]

Title: The Wedding 7/9
Author: Salogel42
Pairing: dom/lij
Rating: NC 17
Warning: Swearing and some graphic sex
Summary: Dom and Lij spend a week in Rome.
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 7 – Rome

First Day

Dominic opened his eyes and yawned … weak sunlight filtered into their large room. He sat up and looked at his watch, it had just turned four o’clock in the afternoon. Their first day in Rome would soon be over, and they had spent it sleeping.

Dominic couldn’t help yawning again as he glanced at his sleeping lover. It had been a long twenty-four hour flight, and despite napping on the plane they had been completely exhausted by the time they arrived at the hotel. Once shown their room, they wanted nothing more than to take a hot shower and crawl underneath the crisp white sheets of the huge double bed and sleep. Both of them went out like lights once their heads hit the soft downy pillows.

“Lijah…” Dominic whispered, as he gently shook Elijah’s shoulder. “You going to wake up, baby?”

Elijah muttered softly and turned over.

Dominic smiled as he slipped out from under the covers. He selected clean clothes from his suitcase, and dressed quickly. Then he picked up the hotel information leather binder and walked across the room to the large floor to ceiling window, and peeked outside.

Rome, Italy… two weeks of heaven with Elijah.

Dominic’s attention quickly returned to Elijah as he heard him stir.

“What time is it?” Elijah asked as he sat up in the bed. His hair tumbled about his shoulders as he reached for his glasses and slipped them on.

Dominic placed the folder down and perched on the edge of the bed. “Time to get up, Lij, or we won’t sleep tonight. And time to eat… and time to see something of Rome... but first…” Dominic grinned as he began crawling across the bed to Elijah. “First I think it’s time for a long honeymoon snog.”

Elijah giggled as he lay down again. “A snog? I was kind of hoping for more than a snog.”

“Don’t fucking tempt me, Lij.” Dominic bent his head to capture Elijah’s warm mouth.

“Ah… but I think I can…” Elijah pulled the bedcovers away from his body, revealing just how tempting he knew he could be.

“Fucking hell…” Dominic looked appreciatively at Elijah’s naked body. “Well, I guess Rome is just going to have to wait a little while longer.”

Dominic began unbuttoning his jeans.

*

Daytime in Rome in mid November was not cold; in fact it could get quite warm if the weather conditions were right. But the evenings could be decidedly chilly and as Dominic and Elijah stepped outside their hotel the cool brisk evening air hit them.

“So where are we going, then?” Dominic shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked at Elijah.

“Just a general stroll,” Elijah quickly glanced at his map. There was so much to see in Rome, and they had so little time to see it. “Sort of towards the Piazza di Spagna?”

Dominic blinked as he looked at Elijah…“Well as long as there is food at the end of it, I’m in.”

Elijah smiled as he slipped the folded map into his back pocket, then they both set off through the dimly lit narrow cobbled streets.

“This is great,” Dominic couldn’t help grinning. “A bit like old times.”

“Yeah, it is.” Elijah agreed.

Dominic continued smiling as he slipped his arm through Elijah’s and they continued to navigate their way through the long narrow streets. The incandescent streetlights threw an ethereal glow over everything, and Elijah could feel himself falling in love with the city, even though they hadn’t seen anything of it yet.

The Piazza di Spagna. Home of the Spanish Steps, an impressive sight whatever time of the day. As Dominic and Elijah approached the old, but well lit fountain at the bottom of the steps, Dominic dug in his pocket for a coin and then dropped it into the cold water. He could never pass a fountain without doing so; in his mind it just invited bad luck to not toss in a coin and make a wish, and he’d experienced enough bad luck to last him a lifetime.

Elijah laughed. This was one of Dominic’s many foibles that greatly amused him.

“Go on, then, Dom. Tell me, what did you wish for?”

“Ah…” Dominic put an arm around Elijah’s shoulder and looked him directly in the eye. “If I tell you, I will have to eat you.”

Elijah laughed again.

“In fact I may have to fucking eat you, if we don’t have dinner soon. I’m starved, Lij. Can’t we find somewhere to eat?”

“Sure… take your pick.” Elijah waved his arm in an arc. “There are loads of places to choose from.”

“Anywhere… just lead the fucking way… and be quick… your arse is beginning to look incredibly tasty.”

*

Contentedly full of wine and pasta, Dominic and Elijah shrugged on their jackets and emerged from the buzzing restaurant. It was nice to return to the fresh air and relative quiet of outside again. The restaurant they had chosen had been good, and the food superb, but it was obviously a very popular place. In future they would try and find somewhere a little quieter.

Dominic looked at his watch, and then at Elijah and then at the 137 steps that Elijah obviously wanted to climb.

“Come on then…” he said.

Elijah grinned and took Dominic’s hand, and slowly they climbed the steps to the church at the top. It was quite a long climb, and they stopped a couple of times to look back at the view. The square below them was relatively empty, with it being out of season, and quite late in the evening, but there were still a few people milling around.

When they reached the top, Elijah sat down on the top step to catch his breath. Dominic looked down at him and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

“Ok, baby?”

“Yeah… I just need a minute.”

Dominic nodded as he removed his camera from his jacket pocket, and began taking photos. The view was fucking magnificent.

Rome at night.

Elijah finally stood up beside him, and slipped his hand into Dominic’s

“This is something else, isn’t it, Dom?” Elijah took at the scene below him. “Fucking something else.”

“No, baby…” Dominic put his camera away, and turned Elijah’s face towards his. “You’re something else, Lijah… This place… it is fantastic… yes. But nothing compares… nothing can ever compare to you.”


Second Day

Dominic stretched his legs under the dining table in the breakfast room. Most of the guests staying at the hotel had already dined, so it was quiet. The sun shone through the tall windows. It was a glorious start to the morning, which was just as well, as Elijah had a full day planned.

He wanted to see ancient Rome, but there was so much to see, where did you start?

*

“We have to see the Colosseum,” he had said as they lay in each other’s arms the evening before. “And the Forum, and the Pantheon…”

“And the Vatican,” Dominic piped in.

“That’s not ancient, Dom…”

“What?” Dominic looked at Elijah in surprise. “You mean we’re not going to see the Vatican and that square where the Pope hangs out? You can’t come to Rome and not see that, Lij.”

“Well, if you really want to…”

“And I want to see that statue of you…” Dominic smiled as he turned onto his side and began running his fingers along Elijah’s warm torso.

“Me?”

“Yeah… I’ve seen the likeness. Bloody uncanny!”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Elijah couldn’t help grinning.

“That statue… Christ! What’s it called? Made by David something or other. No… no that’s the name of the statue. Can’t remember who made it… but one of the turtles had his name.”

Elijah laughed out loud. “You’re fucking nuts, Dom.”

“Yeah, but you love me anyway!”

“It’s Michelangelo…”

“Who is…?” Dominic had replaced his fingers with his mouth, and was gently lapping Elijah’s skin.

“The artist who sculpted the statue…and it’s in Florence.”

“Hmmm…yeah… very interesting… but has it got a tattoo?”

“What?” Elijah giggled as Dominic’s tongue travelled over a very sensitive area.

“The statue?”

Elijah laughed out loud again, as Dominic pulled the covers over them both, and then buried his tongue in Elijah’s mouth.

*

Dominic looked across the room at Elijah who was helping himself to a second serving of the breakfast buffet. He smiled to himself. It was so good to see Elijah looking relaxed, and eating well. They had a long day ahead of them, and he planned keeping a close eye on him. They would have to pace themselves; he didn’t want Elijah ending up exhausted at the end of the each day. This was their honeymoon after all, and they needed their energy for other things.

“More coffee, Dom?” Elijah called across the room.

“Yeah… thanks…” Dominic nodded as he picked up Elijah’s notebook and flicked through the pages.

Plane times, hotel reservation numbers, notes about this, notes about that. A rough diary written for the next few days, with St Peter’s Square scribbled in on the last day.

Aww…bless you, Lij…

And doodles, loads of doodles… and signatures? Dominic stared at a page full of Elijah’s signatures. It was like he had been practising, only it didn’t say Elijah Wood, it said Elijah Monaghan.

“Here ya go.”

Dominic flicked the notebook closed as Elijah placed the tray on the table.

“We probably won’t have to eat until tonight, now.” Elijah retook his seat. “So we can fit in a whole day.”

“Cool,” Dominic nodded. “Cool.”

They decided to walk. Their hotel which was located in the Prati area of Rome was quite some distance away from the Colosseum, but Elijah wanted to see all that he could of this ancient city, and what better way to do that, than on foot? Dominic was little less inclined to think this way, Elijah may be able to walk now, seemingly without any problem, but that was at home, and in the relative quiet of their neighbourhood. But he didn’t want to make a fuss… he would see… they could always catch a taxi to return to the hotel. Elijah would come first before any fucking ancient ruin.

Rome was busy, and they needed to be incredibly alert when crossing the roads. The Italians drove on the right hand side, but at times it seemed like that rule did not apply, and with the paths being narrow and full of bustling pedestrians, it was hard not to get pushed and shoved aside every now and then.

With his map firmly in his grip, Elijah managed to navigate their way slowly across the city, stopping constantly to look at old ruins, some still being excavated, and nearly always below street level. It was like Rome was covered in layers and layers of history, and the more you removed the layers, the further back in time you went.

Elijah found it all absolutely fascinating, and Dominic just basked in the glow of Elijah’s enthusiasm. He took as many photographs as he could, but there were so many ancient foundations, columns still standing, obelisks just lying scattered here and there, that he knew they would never be able to identify any of them at a later date.

But these small areas and insights into ancient Rome were nothing compared to what they were about to see. The Colosseum, a structure almost two thousand years old, it was a sight that literally took their breaths away. It was huge. Much bigger than any postcard or picture in a book led you to believe. It was one of those sights that had to be seen to be believed.

Elijah tried to think of something he could compare it to, but nothing came to mind. He wasn’t even sure if the pyramids were as impressive as this. This was fucking awesome.

Dominic looked at Elijah and smiled. The look on Elijah’s face was priceless. This man, his lover, had seen so much of the world already, but he never failed to be taken in by the splendour and beauty of any new surroundings. It was something that Dominic had always loved about Elijah… his sense of being and doing.

“Come on, then.” Dominic took Elijah’s hand as they crossed the cobbled street to Colosseum. Once there they soon mingled in with the other tourists.

They booked a tour, and had to wait a couple of hours for it to begin, so they spent that time wandering around the outside of the ancient ruin. Elijah had his nose buried deep in the guidebook and kept on reading out facts and figures to Dominic, which were all very interesting, but only registered for about ten seconds in his memory before they were lost forever.

“… isn’t it, Dom?”

“Eh… what?” Dominic had been looking at an extremely fat feral cat, waddling its way through one of the arches. “Jesus fuck puss, what have you been eating?”

“Dom!”

“Jesus Christ, Lij! Just look at the size of this moggy.”

“Moggy?” Elijah walked over to Dominic. “Dom, it’s a cat!”

“Yeah… and a fucking fat one, too! Look at it!”

“Jeez, you have all this history around you, and you’re looking at a cat?”

“Yeah, but it’s a fat cat.”

“Dom!” Elijah didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Are you being fucking serious?”

Dominic crouched down by the animal… and then his attention was drawn to another cat. “Fuck, there’s another one!”

Elijah laughed out loud. “You’re fucking insane, Monaghan. Now come here.” Elijah grabbed Dominic’s hand and dragged him away from the overfed feline inhabitants of the monument.

“Now put your hand here.” Elijah placed Dominic’s hand on the ancient stonework. “Can you feel it? There’s two thousand years of history within these walls, Dom. Imagine what they’ve seen… hundreds of thousands of people have passed through these arches… and many of them to their deaths… two thousand years of stuff like that. I think that’s pretty awesome, don’t you? And way more awesome than any overweight cat.”

Dominic nodded and smiled as he turned his hand so that his fingers interlaced with Elijah’s.

“Sorry, baby,” he said. “It’s just that I’ve never seen…”

“Two thousand years, Dom…” Elijah raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah… yeah… I know…” Dominic looked at his watch. “Come on… the tour’s going to start soon.”

Elijah grinned and nodded, and as they walked away, Dominic couldn’t help glancing over his shoulder to look one more time at the waddling cats of Rome.

*

Elijah was busy jotting down as much as he could remember from the tour while Dominic ordered coffee at a small but extremely busy café.

The history of the Colosseum was extensive and varied; there had been so much to take in. Dominic had been photographing it like mad, and they both knew that one visit wasn’t going to be enough, but they doubted they would have time to return. So Elijah suggested that they stay - hang around until the sun went down. He wanted to see the ruin lit up at night; it was so fucking impressive, that he felt loth to leave.

“That’s a couple of hours yet, Lij.” Dominic had looked at his watch after thanking the tour guide as they walked away from the monument.

“It’s not long.”

“You sure you don’t want to go back to the hotel? It’s been a long day? And we’ve still got jet lag hanging over us.”

“No, I’ve seen pictures of this place at night.”

“We can come back, Lij. Take a taxi, you know…from the hotel… and besides won’t we be coming back this way, you know to see other stuff?”

Elijah had looked at him, his eyes enormous, and Dominic caved in like he always did. “Ok! We’ll hang about. No problem, but lets go find a café, Lij. I need to sit down.” And if I’m tired… how the fuck are you feeling?

Rome in November was out of season, but in reality that didn’t mean the tourists stopped coming, there just weren’t so many of them. But the majority of them seemed to be in the same café as them right now. Maybe they were all waiting for the sun to set over the Colosseum, too.

Dominic squeezed into his seat opposite Elijah after placing their drinks on the table. He had also purchased some triangle shaped sandwiches, which didn’t look particularly fresh, but they devoured them anyway. The noise level in the café was pretty high, and Dominic doubted he could stick it for long. Too many people in too small a place. But Elijah looked happy, a little weary around the eyes maybe, but extremely happy.

Dominic knew that he would relax again once he got Elijah back to the hotel, they’d take nice long warm bath together, and he would give Elijah a massage, he was going to need it with all the walking he had done that day, and maybe they would order room service. A nice quiet evening in sounded just the thing. A nice quiet evening in with Elijah, which would end inevitably with limbs entwined, and mouths locked…

“… and if it doesn’t rain, that would work, don’t you think, Dom?”

God, here he was, bloody day dreaming about Elijah again, and not listening to a fucking word he was saying.

“Dom?”

“Umm, yeah… sounds great, Lij.”

“Hmmm…” Elijah’s brow creased slightly at Dominic’s response. He turned his guidebook around and plonked it in front of Dominic. “Here, if it’s not raining.”

“Yeah, cool.” Dominic looked at pictures of columns and arches, and rubble. No not rubble… Elijah would fucking kill him if he referred to it as rubble. “Looks great.”

“Julius Caesar’s grave is there. How fucking cool is that?”

“Very cool.”

“Visitors lay flowers on it.”

“Do they? You’re not going to want to do that are you, Lij?” Dominic looked worried.

“Get fucking real, Dom.”

“Yeah, well… I know what you’re like.”

“It’s like a city within a city…”

“And if it rains…. what then?”

“Oh, I’ve a back up plan.”

“I bet you have!”

*

Too much in one day… far too much in one day. Dominic let his hands slide over Elijah’s body, massaging his tired and aching muscles. Elijah’s hair was still wet from bathing, and rivulets of water ran in-between his shoulder blades, mingling in with the lotion Dominic was using to ease all his tension away.

A half empty bottle of wine and half eaten food was abandoned on a tray on the floor. Both of them had been really too tired to eat, but they knew they had to eat something to keep their strength up.

Murmurs of gratitude came sleepily from Elijah’s mouth, and by the time Dominic had finished his lover was fast asleep. Dominic smiled as he wiped his hands on a towel.

“Come on, baby,” he said, as he lifted Elijah slightly and pulled the sheets out from underneath him. Then he lay down beside Elijah, covered them both with the bedclothes, and pulled him gently into his arms.

“Night, Lij,” he whispered as he moved Elijah’s hair out of the way and kissed him on the neck. “Love you.”

Then Dominic switched off the bedside lamp, and fell immediately asleep.


Fourth Day

The rain had stopped but it was cloudy and cool. Dominic wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. They spent all day yesterday following Elijah’s rainy back-up plan traipsing around museum after museum, looking at one Roman artefact after another. Elijah, of course found it all fascinating, and he did as well to a certain degree, but this was their honeymoon for Christ’s sake, and by yesterday afternoon one mosaic looked like another, and that went for the vases and the busts, and fuck knows what else they stood staring at for hours on end.

And now this morning Elijah was eager to visit the Roman Forum. He’d asked the hotel receptionist to book a tour, and it was all systems go, and he wanted to walk there again as well. It was like he was trying to prove to himself that he could do all this tourist stuff just as well as anyone else. Except Dominic knew better… the tell tale signs were beginning to set in. The slight limp appearing by mid afternoon, the amount of times that Elijah wanted to sit down for a breather. Today they would do this Roman city thing, tomorrow they would rest and do honeymoon stuff, he would insist on it.

“Ready?” Elijah beamed at Dominic as he emerged from the bathroom, and picked up his jacket.

“Yup… ready and raring to go… bring on the Roman Empire.”

*

By the time they reached the Forum the weather had worsened and it began to drizzle. Dominic hoped that Elijah was going to call it off, but of course he didn’t. This was Elijah Wood he was married to, full of grit and determination, and when his mind was set, he rarely ever changed it.

They joined a fairly large group of tourists, just as barmy as them for being out in this weather, looking at piles of rubble. No ruins, Dominic corrected himself. So they tagged along, and Elijah asked question after question, and Dominic tried to look interested. He was interested, he knew that… but not in as interested a way as Elijah was, and that had always been the case with everything.

The only thing that really meant anything to Dominic, the thing which held the utmost interest for him, was Elijah himself. That man was his whole world, his past, his present and now ultimately his future. What else was there really when you had all that?

The past was interesting, yes… the future was exciting, that was true, but the present was the best. The here and now, with Elijah by his side. Nothing could beat that, not ever. No ancient civilisation’s marvels could match the feel of Elijah’s hand in his. No grand renaissance architecture, with all its domes and arches and columns could match the way his heart soared every time Elijah’s mouth gave way under his own.

Elijah tugged Dominic’s hand as he tried to keep up with the guide, who spoke excellent English.

“The Roman Forum was not simply the core of an ancient city; for many it was the centre of the universe. From the birth of the empire under Augustus in 31BC, and for nearly 500 years thereafter, Rome ruled most of what we call the civilised world.

From Scotland to the Sahara, from Gibraltar to the Euphrates, the Roman Empire was in control. Moreover, Rome was the handmaiden of our alphabet, a bellwether of urban organization and its legal institutions, and the creator of startling new horizons in architecture.”

The guide droned on and on, with that bored monotone voice which obviously meant… “I’ve said this all before, a million times… yawn… when is it time to go home?”

But Elijah was as enraptured as ever. Dominic spied a stray cat in the distance, and desperately tried to ignore it as the group finally approached the pinnacle of the tour – Julius Caesar’s grave.

“It’s just a pile of earth!” Dominic said the words before he could stop himself.

Elijah jabbed him in the ribs as they looked over the decaying wall with the other tourists.

“I dunno, I thought there would be like a tomb or something.” Dominic whispered. “Not just a pile of dirt.”

“Have some respect,” someone muttered from within the group, and then that person proceeded to lay flowers on the grave.

Dominic raised his eyebrows as he looked at Elijah, who was trying hard not to laugh.

“Come here, Lij.” Dominic dragged Elijah away from the sombre group. “Have we finished now? Can’t we just go back to the hotel and fuck?”

“Dom!” Elijah laughed. “It’s not finished yet… it’s a two part tour…”

“You’re fucking kidding me?”

Elijah shook his head, and Dominic groaned. Then he pulled Elijah behind a crumbling stone wall, so that they were out of sight of everyone. He clamped his mouth over Elijah’s, and pushed his tongue into that hot yielding mouth he loved so much.

They only pulled apart when they heard voices.

“Going to fuck you into the mattress, Lij… when this tour is over,” Dominic whispered into Elijah’s ear as they rejoined the group.

Elijah just smiled as he held Dominic’s hand.


Fifth Day

“Lijah, I don’t want to see it…”

“You told me you did…”

“Baby, we need a day off… you need a day off… You know this is our honeymoon, and we’ve barely spent anytime here in the hotel, apart from sleeping. We’re so fucking knackered by the time we get back here each evening, and then you have us up and out at the crack of fucking dawn the next morning. Let’s stay here, and explore each other… yeah? Can’t Rome wait until tomorrow?”

The morning had started a little strained, which wasn’t surprising because they were both tired, despite a full night of sleep. But at least Dominic got his way, if only slightly. They were sitting in a taxi, in the honking rush hour traffic, on their way to St Peter’s Square.

“Dom, we only have two days left, and I’ve booked tours for today.” Elijah had stood his ground, totally ignoring Dominic’s plea. “We can have an easy day, tomorrow… I promise. This is your day, Dom. You wanted to see the Vatican.”

“Oh, Elijah…” Dominic’s voice held a hint of resignation. He took hold of Elijah’s hands. “Every day is my day, when I’m with you… we don’t have to go anywhere special… you know that… I just love being with you, whatever we do.”

“I know…” Elijah looked down at the floor.

“Hey…” Dominic tilted Elijah’s chin up so that he could look at him. “Let’s go see this square, then… this home of popes. But we’re not walking.”

“But it’s not far,” Elijah began to protest.

“No walking…”

“But…” Dominic swallowed Elijah’s protest in a long ‘I love you, even though you won’t listen to me…. kiss?’.

It would have been quicker if they had walked, but it was something else they could put down to experience… the manic Roman drivers… at times the journey was quite hair raising.

The first thing they did when arriving at St Peter’s Square was to just stand there in absolute jaw dropping awe at the scene in front of them.

It was full of people, of course, but the majesty of it was quite breathtaking. At once they knew one day was not going to be enough to take in everything that was on offer in St Peter’s Square. And Elijah had long since come to the conclusion that one month in Rome would never be long enough to see everything, let alone one week.

“So where do we start?” Dominic asked Elijah. “How do we start?”

“Here…” Elijah opened his small rucksack, and pulled out an envelope. “ I booked a full tour. And we finish up there.” Elijah pointed up to the magnificent dome on the roof of St Peter’s. “Apparently you get the best view of Rome up there.”

“Hope they got a fucking lift…” Dominic mumbled.

“They have,” Elijah grinned. “Right…” he looked at his map, turned it around, identified the start of the tour, and then led Dominic to it.

*

Overwhelming… there was no other word for it. They had spent the good part of the day walking through countless corridors, and rooms, all so incredibly ornately decorated. Oil paintings were hanging on nearly every wall; statues adorned every nook and cranny.

Marble was the way of life; gold leaf soon became the norm. The riches contained within the buildings of the Vatican museums were of a magnitude that probably exceeded all others. The Sistine Chapel was what really did it for Dominic. His blasé attitude to most things suddenly went out of the window when he looked up at the chapel ceiling. In fact, it moved him to tears. No photography was allowed, so he spent a long time looking up at Michelangelo’s masterpiece, which had taken the artist four years to paint. Dominic wanted to savour every moment of the splendour above him. And Elijah was in just as much awe… they stood hand in hand for a very long time, just looking up.

The tour ended, as Elijah had said, on the roof of St Peter’s, and the view was something to die for. Down in the square Elijah could see a bride and groom standing by one of the fountains posing for photographs. He looked at his own wedding ring, and touched it, and smiled to himself. He had been married to Dominic for almost a week now, and he couldn’t be happier.

“Fantastic, isn’t it, Dom?” Elijah looked at Dominic who came to stand by his side. “What a view… and look down there.” Elijah pointed to the bride and groom, and together they watched the groom spin his bride around as the photographer did his job.

“That was us a week ago… married but with different names.”

“What?” Dominic looked at Elijah.

“Well, that couple down there… the bride would have taken her husband’s name, wouldn’t she? We didn’t think of that, did we?”

“Think of what?”

“The name thing.”

“What name thing?”

“One of us taking the other’s name.”

Dominic snorted. “Lij… get real! That’s a man-woman thing.”

“But why? Why does it have to be?”

Dominic looked at Elijah, and could see he was serious. “Well it just is, Lij. It’s not the done thing, is it? For men to share names, I mean. Our names are our own… to be passed down to future generations. You know, that sort of thing.”

Elijah swallowed hard at Dominic’s flippant remark before answering. “Well, you asked me to marry you, Dom, so in theory I should have your name.”

“Oh, Lijah baby…” Dominic put his arm around Elijah as he remembered Elijah’s notebook with its scrawled signatures, using his surname. “It just doesn’t happen.”

Elijah nodded but didn’t reply, and returned his attention to the view below.


Sixth Day

When Dominic awoke, it was late in the morning. He stretched languidly in the bed, before rolling onto his side and gathering Elijah into his arms.

Now this was more like it… staying in bed… no rushing off anywhere… with Elijah all warm and pliable against his body. Yeah, this was definitely more like it.

Elijah opened his eyes and turned to face Dominic.

“Good morning, beautiful…” Dominic smiled as he brushed Elijah’s hair away from his forehead.

“Hi…”

“I think I’ve got the best that Rome has on offer today…” Dominic grinned.

Elijah let out a silent giggle.

“A whole day exploring my lover’s body. Best fucking tour yet!” Dominic winked at Lijah. “Now where shall I begin?”

“Umm… well…there’s just one thing… one place…”

“Don’t even go there, Lij!”

“It’s just that I promised Mal something...”

“Nope, you said it was a day of rest…”

“Well it is, really… it’s only a short trip… and I did make a promise…” Elijah quickly kissed Dominic on the mouth before he could reply. “But we can leave it until this afternoon…” he said “There’s no big rush… no rush at all…”

“Well that’s a fucking relief to hear…” Dominic got onto his knees, pulling the covers away from them both. “Because I kinda have my own itinerary right now, which means you’re not getting out of this bed for at least two hours…”

“What about breakfast?” Elijah chortled.

“Got everything I want to eat right here…” Dominic parted Elijah’s thighs and positioned himself in between them. “Right here…”


*

The Aventine Hill, one of the Seven Hills of Rome, a peaceful walk, and a promise about to be fulfilled. Dominic and Elijah walked amongst the orange trees in the Giardino degli Aranci (Garden of Orange Trees). It was peaceful and tranquil, and the place where Mal had spent many days after the death of his lover.

“One day I will return there,” Mal had told Elijah.

“Can you tell me where it is? I’d like to see it.” Elijah had asked him.

“It became my place of solitude. Of contemplation, of trying to understand and come to terms… You can see the whole of Rome from the top of the hill, Elijah. It’s a breathtaking view, a view to share with someone, but I saw by myself.”

“I can see it with Dom, Mal.… Share it with him. I can share it with him, for you.”

It was beautiful. In the cool afternoon breeze, the horizon was clear, and Dominic and Elijah stood side-by-side, arms around each other looking at the panoramic view of Rome.

“Magnificent…” Elijah whispered… his thoughts were with Mal who had stood in this exact place on his own, forty years ago. On his own with no-one to share the experience … and on his own afterwards, forever.

“I’m glad we came, Lij.” Dominic removed the camera from his jacket pocket and clicked the shutter. “This one is for Mal.”

Elijah nodded, and then they stood quietly for a little while longer, before finally returning to the hotel.

*

“I can’t believe our time here is nearly over.” Elijah looked out the window as Dominic spoke into the phone. He was ordering room service.

Dominic was determined that their quiet day in, even though they did go out for a couple of hours that afternoon, was going to turn into a quiet evening in, too. He ordered nothing but bread and wine; it was a dish that they had both come to love. Bread dipped in olive oil and salt, with red wine to wash it down. Nothing like it!

Dominic asked that it be delivered to their room in an hour. They wanted to finish packing first. Their flight to Florence was quite early the next morning.

When he finished the call, Dominic joined Elijah by the window. Rome by night was just as beautiful as Rome by day. The Eternal City as it was also known, and Dominic could appreciate why it had been given that name. The history of the city was unfathomable, and here it stood, side by side with the modern world.

“It definitely is a unique place, Elijah.” Dominic said as he rested his chin on Elijah’s shoulder.

“I know…” Elijah slowly turned to Dominic. “I’ve loved being here, Dom. Being here with you.” He slid his arms around Dominic’s neck and then pressed his forehead against Dominic’s forehead. “I didn’t think I would ever want to travel again after what happened to me last year. The world became a very scary place for a while, you know?” Elijah paused, deep in thought, and then he turned back to the window. “But look what I would have missed if we hadn’t come… all of this…”

Dominic nodded but didn’t say anything.

“I’m so glad you’re with me, Dommie.” Elijah voice was quiet as his hand sought Dominic’s. “I love you so much.”

*

“Ummm…let me think… First kiss?” Dominic grinned at Elijah.

They were both sitting barefoot, on the floor, with backs propped up against the bed. Room service had delivered an hour ago and platefuls of half eaten food were laid out in front of them, an empty bottle of wine had just been pushed aside as Dominic opened another. He poured Elijah a fresh glass… they were playing the ‘first time game’.

“Well, it was with you.” Elijah happily admitted.

“Not with a guy, with a girl.” Dominic laughed. “I’ve seen how you kiss girls, Lij. You’re onscreen kisses are pretty crap, did you know that? Thank fuck you don’t kiss me like that.”

Elijah snorted.

“So who was it, then?” Dominic took a sip of his wine.

“I don’t know.”

“Lij…!” Dominic raised an eyebrow.

“Ok… my mother.”

“Your mother?!”

“Well, you asked, and she probably was the first female I did kiss… or was it my grandmother?”

Dominic laughed and shook his head.

“Ok…. what about you, then?” Elijah asked.

“Hmmm… tricky. And no, I’m not going to skip off lightly with the mother thing like you did, Elijah Wood.”

Elijah grinned.

“Let me think. Hmmm… someone called Petunia, as I recall.”

Elijah almost spat out the mouthful of wine he had just taken. “Petunia?”

“Yeah… can’t remember much about it… I was about twelve… she grabbed my crotch too… fucking hideous experience.” Dominic shook his head. “Never went near a female again after that.”

Elijah looked at Dominic, mouth agape. “That’s for real?” he asked.

“Yeah, nasty experience, nasty…she had a mouth like rat’s arse… actually, come to think of it, it smelt like one, too.”

Elijah’s eyes grew wider… he wasn’t sure whether or not to laugh. “A rat’s arse?”

“Terrible, terrible…” Dominic had a hard job trying to keep his face straight.

“Gross!” Elijah drank some more wine.

“Extremely!” Dominic picked up a piece of bread and dipped it in the olive oil, and then very lightly the salt before taking a big bite. “Your turn,” he said to Elijah with his mouth full.

“Ok…” Elijah tried to think of another question, they had asked each other several already. “What was your first car?”

“God, Lij. That’s so boring.”

“No it’s not.”

“Ask me something personal. Like when was my first wank!” Dominic grinned.

Elijah rolled his eyes. “Ok, then. When was your first wank?”

“On the first evening, of the first day that I met you.”

“Fuck off, that is so not true!”

“And why not?” Dominic tried to look serious. “Never had to wank before…”

“You fucking liar!”

“You mean you wanked, before you met me?”

“You what?”

“You dirty little bugger!”

Elijah laughed.

“No, seriously, Lij.” Dominic turned a little towards Elijah, as he picked up the wine bottle. “You sent me mad, with desire. I had to find release somehow.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Really?”

Elijah nodded, and Dominic smiled. He re-filled their glasses.

“Ok…ok.” Dominic looked at Elijah. “I’ve got another one… when did you take your first fag?”

“Umm….” Elijah looked thoughtful. “Well, that would have to be you again, I guess.”

“Hahahahahaha…!” Dominic was highly amused. “Very clever, Lij.”

Elijah grinned.

“And yeah, I can remember it well.” Dominic looked all wistful and nostalgic.

“What?” Elijah took another sip; he was beginning to feel a little light headed.

“Making love to you for the first time. It was a bit like your onscreen girlie kisses. Kinda surreal…”

Elijah giggled…

“But very nice, though.” Dominic winked at Elijah. “Extremely nice… fucking mind blowingly nice… fucking awesome in fact. Slipping into you like that… for the very first time…”

Elijah shifted on the floor, heat pooling in his groin.

“I was so hard for you, Elijah… so fucking hard.” Dominic turned to Elijah and knelt in front of him. “But you were so funny…”

“Funny?” Elijah looked a little perplexed, his hardening groin suddenly slowed.

“Yeah, funny but in the cutest way …”

“Cute…!” Elijah couldn’t help giggling but in a puzzled sort of way. “I don’t remember being cute… since when was I fucking cute?”

“Since you were a nineteen year old virgin…” Dominic smiled wickedly at Elijah. “I can remember it, like it was only yesterday…”

Elijah looked at Dominic expectantly as he sipped a little more wine. “It was the day of the tub race, wasn’t it?”

Dominic nodded. “Yeah, it had been a long day, but a fucking fun day. Thought you were going to drown when your bath tub sank, Lij. You had me fucking worried for a while there, watching you flail about in the water.”

“I didn’t flail! I’m quite a good swimmer, you know! It was the fact that I couldn’t see fuck all that didn’t help my situation …”

Dominic laughed. “Well I couldn’t keep my eyes off you, your wet shorts clung to everything!”

“Dominic!” Elijah giggled again.

“Well, what was a man to do? This was our first day off in weeks, with a night in a hotel… I knew what I was going to do, Lij. And you knew, too, didn’t you?”

“I did,” Elijah admitted.

“And it was fucking beautiful… once I talked you through it.”

Elijah put his wine glass down… and took another bite of bread. “Hmmm…you know the details are kinda hazy to me, Dom,” he said. “Perhaps you could remind me what happened that night… or even better still… Show me.”

Dominic looked at Elijah for second or two, taking in his bright eyes, his slightly flushed cheeks from drinking the wine, and his lips - those perfect lips that were glistening with oil from the bread.

Dominic took one more sip from his glass before placing in down and standing up. He offered his hand to Elijah who took it. He pulled him up onto his feet.

“Well… let me see. As I recall,” Dominic began, “we had separate rooms, but you came back to mine. Once the door was closed, we kissed… long… and hard… something like this…”

Dominic cupped Elijah’s chin, and tasting oil, and salt and wine their mouths met and their tongues entwined. The kiss went on for several seconds.

“And, then…” Dominic continued, quite reluctant to stop the kiss. “I undressed you… sort of like this.”

Dominic’s fingers made quick work of Elijah’s shirt buttons, and once his shirt was off, he helped Elijah remove his ever present t-shirt. Then he shrugged out of his own upper garment.

Elijah brushed the hair out of his eyes as he waited for Dominic to continue.

“Then you actually touched me, Lij… right here…” Dominic took Elijah’s hand and placed it over his groin, pressing it onto the firm bulge behind the fabric. “And then I reciprocated.”

Dominic cupped Elijah’s groin and kneaded gently, enjoying the hardness he felt beneath his touch.

“Then we both removed our jeans… and stood opposite each other…”

Elijah followed Dominic’s lead and quickly removed his jeans and boxers. They stood opposite each other, totally naked.

“And I admired your body… God, what it does to me, Lij… you have no idea. And then I remember dropping to my knees and doing this.”

Dominic’s mouth enveloped Elijah’s cock in one swoop, making Elijah gasp and take a small step backwards. Dominic closed his eyes as he sucked on his lover.

Elijah silently groaned as Dominic’s lips tugged at his cock. He lowered his hand to hold it firmly inside Dominic’s mouth, and it felt fucking exquisite. But eventually Dominic stopped and stood up. He pushed Elijah gently backwards towards the bed, kissing him as he did so.

“I recall we ended up on the bed… with you on your back, and me between your legs.” Dominic winked as he parted Elijah’s thighs. “And then I remember continuing what I had already started.”

Elijah braced himself for Dominic’s mouth again… and let out a soft moan when Dominic’s tongue licked him… encircling his shaft from base to tip.

Dominic worked on Elijah for a while letting his tongue occasionally dip into the slit so that he could taste the musky droplets which were beginning to form there.

Then he sat back on his heels, and Elijah looked at him, his eyes wide.

“I don’t think you had said anything up till this point… until I did this…” Dominic dipped his head again, pushing Elijah thighs even wider apart. He licked the loose sac beneath Elijah’s rigid cock, cupped it and then lifted it slightly to one side. Then his tongue darted downwards.

“ ‘You can’t do that, Dom!’ you said in a very high girly voice!” Dominic looked up and grinned at Elijah as he remembered Elijah’s shocked face when he had first felt Dominic’s tongue enter that unexplored region, all those years ago.

“ ‘Oh, but I can…’ I told you… and I did… and you told me it was totally fucking weird, because well… it was your arse, and my mouth was over it.”

Elijah couldn’t help laughing at this statement…

“But I had you squirming, Lijah. I had to hold you still otherwise you would have scooted off the bed.”

“Make me squirm now, Dommie…” Elijah’s voice was low. He pulled up his knees, and waited, and when Dominic’s tongue began lapping and probing, moistening his entrance, Elijah did indeed squirm… but he always did when Dominic did this to him, because each time he did it, it always felt like the first, and there never was a feeling quite like it.

Dominic felt like he could stay forever in this position, licking and sucking Elijah so fucking intimately… but he brought himself upright again. He looked down at Elijah whose eyes were closed, his mouth slightly parted, and his long hair spread over the bedcovers.

“God, you’re fucking beautiful as ever, my Lijah…” Dominic murmured as he let his hands run over Elijah’s thighs, his fingers barely registering any scarring. Elijah opened his eyes again and looked up at Dominic.

“Fucking beautiful.” Dominic couldn’t help lowering himself onto Elijah so that he could kiss him again. “Fucking beautiful…”

Their mouths met, and their kiss went deep, and for a while they couldn’t think of anything except their kiss and their cocks touching, as they involuntarily ground their erections against each other.

“My… God… Lij…” Dominic finally sat up. His lips were tingling from the intensity of their kiss. “Now I’ve completely forgotten where I was… See you do that to me all the fucking time…. I always find it hard to concentrate on anything but you when you’re with me… and when you are underneath me… ah fuck… well I turn into a lost cause…”

Elijah couldn’t help smiling. “You were making love to me…” he said “For the very first time… and apparently…according to you… somewhere along the way, I was cute…” Elijah reached up his hand and smoothed the side of Dominic’s face.

Dominic took it and kissed it. “Only cute, Lij, because you were so innocent.”

“So remind me…”

Dominic smiled… and resumed his position between Elijah’s legs. “Bend your legs baby, and hug them like you did before.”

Elijah complied.

“When I knew I was going to make love to you, I wanted to do it this way, so that I could watch you. I had wanted to make love to you for so long, Lij… the wait was a killer… but so fucking worth it in the end…”

Dominic reached for the lube on the bedside cabinet and untwisted the lid. “You watched me do this. You watched me coat my fingers… I could see you were eager and waiting… but you had a little crease of worry on your brow. I pushed my finger in, just like this, and you seemed ok. The worried crease increased a little though, but you were fine with it. But you did tell me again that it felt weird.”

Elijah giggled.

“Then I did this…lots of this…” Dominic moved his finger around inside Elijah before pushing in another. “Christ, do you know you’re as fucking hot and tight now as you were back then, baby?”

Elijah didn’t reply, he just continued watching Dominic, enjoying every single second of Dominic’s recollection.

Dominic decided to add a little more lube, and then he re-inserted his fingers. “I kept asking you if you were ok… and you just kept on nodding… but that crease was still there. I was worried that I was going to hurt you, baby, with it being your first time, so I worked a long time on you… until I saw that crease melt away.”

Elijah smiled.

Dominic then removed his fingers and began lubing his cock, running his fingers up and down its length, coating it entirely. “You had no idea how long I had waited for this moment, Lij. To be inside you…. but you know, for a moment I hesitated. What if you fucking hated it? And then you said…

“‘Fuck me, Dommie…’”

Elijah grinned at the memory, and hugged his knees a little closer. Dominic shuffled into position, and then lowered himself.

“I had to do it slowly… I mean really slowly… just like this.” Dominic nudged his cock at Elijah’s entrance “And by God, but it nearly fucking killed me, because at first it felt like you weren’t going to open up for me, and I kept on pressing, and that frown of yours came back, and then suddenly - I was fucking in… inside you!”

Dominic held his cock and pushed it firmly inside Elijah, groaning inwardly as he did so, as always the grip on him was intense. He held his breath for a moment before continuing.

“…and… and we just looked at each other, like we are doing now… and I remember asking if it hurt, and if you were ok? … And then… and then…” Dominic couldn’t help chuckling. “Oh my God, how I love you so much my Lijah... and then… and then you told me you needed a crap.”

Elijah laughed.

“I remember telling you that you didn’t, it only felt that way cause I was inside you… anyway I pushed in a little more… as gently as I possibly could… but you kept insisting you needed the toilet. Oh my, Lij. That was the cutest thing ever …” Dominic couldn’t help smiling at that memory.

Elijah grinned… God, how he had changed since then… no longer the naïve and innocent teenager.

“Ah, but I bet I didn’t do this, though, Dom. Did I?” Elijah suddenly swung his legs up so that his knees hung over Dominic’s shoulders.

That action made Dominic’s cock slide deeper inside Elijah. “Fuck, Lij! No... no you didn’t… Jesus!” Dominic had to take a few deep breaths in order to regain some form of control.

“No… I…umm… I entered you nice and slowly … and Oh, God! Fuck that feels so fantastic, Lij.”

Elijah wriggled on the bed, taking Dominic in a little bit more.

“And I… huh…” Dominic was losing track. “I… huh… umm… well…”

Elijah wriggled again.

“Jesus, baby, don’t do that… I can’t concentrate…when you do that!”

Elijah decided to be good, but he was grinning.

“You… ah… you took me all in, as I recall… shit but it’s getting hard to recall. But you did… take in all of me …fucking amazing for your first time.”

“All… of… you…” Elijah repeated slowly, his voice no more than a whisper.

… Dominic suddenly went silent, and stared at Elijah. He had been suddenly hit by one of those ‘how the fuck did I become the luckiest man in the world, and end up with you’ moments'.

“Dom? …Dommie…?” Elijah voice bought Dominic back.

“God, I love you so fucking much, Elijah.” Dominic’s voice trembled.

“Make love to me, Dommie…” Elijah could see that the fun moment had now passed. “Make love to me… now.”

“God, yes…yes…” Dominic wrapped his arms around Elijah’s thighs, and kissed them both as he held them tightly against his body. He withdrew his cock and then pushed it back inside Elijah’s body… deep… as deep in as he could go.

Elijah groaned as his eyes rolled back. He reached for his own cock and held it as Dominic made love to him.

Dominic gradually began building up a rhythm, keeping his own eyes open wanting to watch his lover, never wanting to miss a thing. He had never seen that frown return since he first made love to Elijah… and he had to admit that every time he made love to Elijah it was as good as the first time… No… It was better than the last time. Fuck… he didn’t know what it was. But what he did know was - there was nothing like it… making love to Elijah… being joined to him like he was now… deep inside his body… Jesus, nothing could surpass that. He could travel the whole fucking world, and nothing would ever surpass that.

“Going to come, Dommie…” Elijah whispered, and Dominic watched Elijah reach his climax…

… always so fucking beautiful…

“…me too, baby…” Dominic felt his wave of release rise and take over and he rode it… and as always his heart soared.

*

Their last night in Rome, and only one week left of their honeymoon. Dominic was facing Elijah who was fast asleep.

Sleep was eluding Dominic at the moment, but he didn’t mind. He could spend his waking time just watching Elijah… there was enough light filtering through the curtains for him to pick out his sleeping features.

Elijah’s left hand was on his pillow; light glinted off his wedding ring and also his bracelet. Dominic looked at both pieces of jewellery, both given to Elijah by him. He touched them before covering Elijah’s hand with his own.

“Love you, baby,” he whispered, and continued to observe Elijah’s sleeping face. “Love you so much.”

tbc