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fellowshippers2003-08-13 02:25 am
thepsychicclam.livejournal.com) wrote in fellowshippers2003-08-13 02:25 am
fic: in faith
Title: In Faith
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
thepsychicclam
Rating: R
Paiting: Dom/Lij, implied Lij/Orlando
Disclaimer: Never happened
A/N: Written for the Iconography challenge. My quote "In faith, in compassion, and in love" from the Smashing Pumpkins song "Cupid de Locke".
Archive: My site, http://garden.expecto-patronum.net
Elijah stared longingly across the club and watched Orlando on the dance floor. Sulking into his beer, he totally ignored everything that was going on around him. Dom said Elijah’s name four times before tapping him on the shoulder, making Elijah tear his eyes from their focal point.
“What?” Elijah asked irritated. Dom glanced at Billy who just shrugged and tried to decided if what he was going to say what that important.
“Nothing.” Elijah lost no time staring back out onto the dance floor. Dom followed his gaze and watched Orlando sliding around for a few moments. The boy had a complete fluid grace, the kind that no one else could even begin to compare to, thus making everyone around him look awkward and out of place. The girl he was dancing with, though extremely beautiful, was nothing compared to him. She might as well have sat down and let Orlando dance alone.
“Ever going to tell him?” Dom asked. Elijah didn’t look at him as he shook his head. “Then why don’t you move on?”
“Why don’t you go to hell?” Elijah spat, instantly regretting it. “I’m sorry, Dom. I’m an asshole.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I don’t know. I just can’t let go, but I know I’ll never have the balls to tell him. He’s a fucking bastard.” Elijah slammed his head on the table, causing beer to spill out of the few beer mugs sitting on the table. “Ow…”
“Elijah, banging your head into the table won’t help,” Billy said, hiding his grin. Dom was glad Elijah’s face was buried in the wood because he knew Elijah would be angry that his two best friends were trying their hardest not to laugh at him.
“I need to get laid, guys,” Elijah whined, voice muffled by the table. Dom and Billy looked at each other then down to Elijah.
“We can’t exactly help you there,” Dom said, patting Elijah on the back. Elijah turned his head to the side, causing his cheek and lips to form a sort of duck shape. Dom was afraid he was going to start drooling on the table at any minute. “If you’d get your ass out of this chair and out into the club, you may meet someone to get you laid.”
“I don’t want to get laid by just anyone,” Elijah started.
“You want to get laid by Orlando,” Dom finished. Elijah nodded, dragging his beer mug slowly over to his head. “You really look pathetic.”
“Feel pathetic.”
“Come on. Out of the booth! Now!” Dom stood up, grabbing Elijah’s arm and pulling him up after him. Elijah tried to protest, but Dom gave him a stern look that shut him up and left him pouting. “Now, go dance before Billy and I have to kill you.”
Elijah wandered slowly out into the crowd, and within seconds he was dancing with some guy. Dom slumped back into his seat, propping his head up in his hands and staring at Billy.
“When are you going to tell him?” Billy asked. Dom glared at him.
“Don’t start.” Billy chuckled softly and patted Dom’s arm. Dom turned his gaze toward the dance floor, first watching Orlando and secretly hating him, then turning his gaze to Elijah, who even though pressed against someone else, had his eyes glued on Orlando. Dom sighed and ordered another beer.
-
Dom was sitting in the make-up trailer, waiting on the make-up artist to return from lunch so he could get a few touchups. His ear was starting to peel off and his face was running slightly. Beating an indeterminate rhythm on the counter in front of him, he tried not to get annoyed at having to wait. Hearing the door open, he gladly turned around just to be presented with Orlando.
“What are you doing here?” Dom asked a little too curtly. Orlando raised an eyebrow as he sat down beside Dom.
“My wig’s falling off,” Orlando said, lifting up part of his blonde hair. Dom nodded.
“Make up people aren’t here. Aren’t they supposed to be here when we need them? I mean, what else do they do but this? This is what they’re paid for!”
“Whoa, Dom. You’re sounding a bit like one of those bitchy actors who think everyone should jump when they say to,” Orlando said, laughing.
“Fuck you,” Dom said.
“Ouch. Somebody’s in a way. I’m gonna keep quiet.” Orlando folded his hands in his lap and stared at his reflection in the mirror. Dom watched him stare at his reflection, never blinking or moving. It finally got on Dom’s nerves.
“Okay. Please stop staring at yourself. I’m sorry.” Orlando flicked his eyes over to Dom in the mirror. Dom rolled his eyes, but smiled. “Okay, you prat, I get the point.”
Orlando got up and paced around the trailer, finally picking up a discarded magazine. Bringing it back to the chair, he propped his feet up on the counter and started flipping.
“Hey, Orlando?”
“Hm?”
“I was wondering… Well, do you… I mean. Shit. What do you think of Elijah?” Dom said, flustered. Orlando gave him a strange look.
“He’s fine. Why?”
“No. That’s not what I mean. Like, what do you think of Elijah?”
“In what way?”
“In a not so platonic way.”
“Oh.” Orlando’s mouth hung open for a few seconds before he spoke. “I like Elijah a lot, but not like that. Why?”
“No reason.” Dom nervously looked around the room, fidgeting with his hands in his lap.
“Dom. Does he feel not so platonic about me?” Dom looked anywhere but Orlando’s face. “Dom…”
“Yes. But don’t tell him I told you.” Dom turned to look at Orlando, pleading with his eyes. Orlando nodded.
“I promise I won’t tell Elijah.”
-
“You did what?” Billy yelled, causing a few extras to stare at him.
“Keep it down, Billy. I was just trying to help.”
“Elijah didn’t want to tell Orlando.”
“But someone needed to find out if Orlando had similar feelings for Elijah, or we were going to get stuck babysitting him while he stared and drooled over Orlando.”
“This wasn’t a ploy – “
“No, Billy,” Dom said, looking at him pointedly. “I really was trying to help Elijah out. I love him and want him to be happy, whether that be with me or Orlando.” Dom fell back onto the grass, covering his face with his hands. “He’s going to kill me.”
“Aye. But you were just trying to help. And Orlando said he wouldn’t tell Elijah, right? Elijah’ll never have to know.” Billy sat down on the grass beside Dom as Dom draped his arm across his forehead, shielding his eyes from the sun.
“True. You’re right. Elijah will never have to know, and maybe we can convince him to move on to someone else.” Dom moved his arm over his eyes, taking the time to rest for a few moments before their next shot. Billy looked around, saw Elijah talking to Sean. Elijah’s head quickly turned toward where they were sitting, face molded into a mask of horror.
Billy knew that night was going to be interesting.
-
Elijah stood at Dom’s door, beating on it furiously. Sean put a hand on his wrist and pulled it away before he seriously hurt himself. Elijah just turned and glared at him.
Dom opened the door, surprised to see them there.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. Elijah wasted no time in pushing the door open and slamming Dom against the wall.
“You motherfucker!” he seethed, eyes so wide Dom thought they seemed to cover half his face. Elijah was so close that Dom could feel the fury radiating from his body. He tried not to get turned on by it because an angry Elijah Wood was definitely not something he wanted to piss off even further. Little he may be, but Elijah was one mean fucker.
“I – “
“Don’t even fucking start.” Elijah let go of Dom and stomped into the living room, where Billy was trying very hard to remain unnoticed. So far, so good. Sean sat down beside Billy, deciding sitting on the sidelines and refereeing the shouting match was the best idea. “So, Dom. How did Orlando find out I was in love with him? Huh?”
“I never told him you were in love with him.”
“You might as fucking well have!” Elijah yelled, flinging his hands around madly. Dom instinctively took a step backwards.
“What did Orlando say to you?” Dom asked in a small voice.
“Oh nothing,” Elijah said, stilling his hands. His entire body trembled, causing him to almost vibrate in place. Dom thought it would be a terrible time to laugh, so he bit his lip in attempt to stop himself. “I didn’t find out from Orlando. Oh no.” Elijah started pacing around the room, thrashing his arms around again. “I found out from Sean,” Elijah said, pointing to Sean who really wished to remain invisible at that moment, “who found out from Liv who found out from Viggo who found out from Orlando. Now the whole goddamn cast knows I have a fucking thing for Orlando!” Elijah shouted, stepping closer to Dom. Dom retreated back until he was pressed against the wall. Sean and Billy both stood up, ready to intervene at any time.
“Elijah, I was trying to help. Someone had to – “ Dom started explaining, but Elijah stepped closer, cutting him off.
“And that someone should have been you?” Elijah growled into Dom’s face. “What gave you the fucking right? I trusted you, goddammit. I fucking trusted you!” Elijah’s voice shook with emotion, and it appeared he was trying to keep his cool. “I trusted you,” he said quietly, shoulders slumping a bit.
“Elijah,” Dom said, reaching out and touching his shoulder. He instantly realized that was the wrong move when Elijah’s eyes went wide with rage and he reached back, balling his fist. Before Dom knew it, that fist connected with his jaw, making him see stars as his head flew to the side, pain shooting through his face immediately. Somewhere far away he heard voices shouting Elijah’s name, but all he could concentrate on was Elijah and Elijah’s fist. Elijah really hit him.
Hand to his face, he looked at Elijah through dazed eyes, who was being pushed back and yelled at by Sean. Elijah was still glaring at him, pain and disappointment mixed with fury playing all over his features. He realized Billy was standing beside him, speaking something in his ear. Still holding onto his jaw, Dom turned his head and looked at Billy.
“He hit me,” Dom muttered. Billy grabbed Dom by the shoulders and led him into the kitchen where he sat down on a stool, still staring off into space. Billy brought a towel with ice over to him and snapped his fingers.
“Dom, come on mate. Snap out of it.” Billy pulled Dom’s hand away from his face and placed the towel in it. Dom pressed the towel against his swollen skin, wincing slightly. “Elijah’s got some right hook.”
“No shit,” Dom said. He dropped his head as he heard the door slam. “Great.”
“He’ll get over it. He’s just pissed.”
“That’s the understatement of the century.”
“Your sense of humor’s back. You’ll be fine,” Billy said, smirking as he went to the refrigerator and pulled out two beers. “Here mate.”
“I completely blew it with Elijah, didn’t I?” Dom looked up at Billy desperately. Billy was at a loss for what to say. He’d never seen Elijah so livid, but Elijah wasn’t the type of person to hold a grudge. Hitting Dom and a few well spoken swear words to Sean would be enough to extinguish his anger. But Billy was afraid Dom had blown any romantic chance he had with Elijah.
“I take it by your silence that is a yes,” Dom said, sighing. Billy patted him on the back soothingly.
“You never know. Give it time,” Billy said, hoping Dom would believe his lie.
-
Elijah avoided everyone the next day. He couldn’t take the stares anymore. Those looks that said, “Aww, look at poor Elijah. He’s had his heart broken.”
He wanted to go up to all of them individually and tell them to go fuck themselves, but he refrained from it because hitting Dom was bad enough. Telling the whole cast to fuck off might be taking to too far.
When Dom showed up at Feet that morning, Elijah dutifully avoided his eyes. After about an hour of awkward silence and forced conversation, Elijah glanced up from his magazine and looked at Dom. His mouth dropped open at what he saw. A large, dark purple bruise covered Dom’s left jaw. Immediately he knew he fucked up, because make up was going to have a time covering that puppy up.
Later on the set, Elijah stood stony faced as Peter basically murdered him in front of everyone. It was all Elijah’s fault that his Merry now had on five extra coats of make up to cover a bruise he had given him. Why was he hitting Dom anyway? This was a movie set, not a high school where you go around fighting with people. Elijah took it all with a grain of salt, nodding and trying not to show everyone around him how much of a baby he was by crying like he wanted to. Nope, he took it like a man and cried about it later.
The rest of the day was spent avoiding everyone he possibly could off camera. He even avoided Sean, who didn’t give him any pity, but Elijah still didn’t feel like dealing with him. He felt bad enough as it was.
Orlando now knew the truth. For months Elijah secretly lusted after him without him ever knowing. One day spent with Dom and Orlando knew everything. To make matters worse, Orlando didn’t feel the same way about him, which caused Elijah to seriously doubt himself. Orlando was beautiful, everyone knew it. And Orlando didn’t want Elijah. He stared at himself in the mirror for hours trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Figure out why Orlando didn’t want him. He decided it was the different sized eyes, his small upper lip, his stubby fingers, his hairless chest, and the mole on his left hip. All of these reasons, along with fifteen thousand other ones, why Orlando didn’t want him.
Then there was Dom. Dom, his best friend in the entire world, who had gone and blabbed everything to Orlando. Deep down Elijah knew Dom was just trying to help and meant absolutely no harm, but Elijah was still too stung to care. He put his faith and confidence into Dom, and Dom had broken it.
Then there was the whole issue of hitting him. When Elijah thought about it, he cringed. He hit Dom. He had never hit anyone in his entire life. Yes, he yelled a lot, swore a lot, and was mean, but he had never actually hit another human being. Why he chose his best friend to practice this on he still hadn’t figured out. He hated himself for hitting Dom, for giving him that ugly bruise, for causing him pain. He tried to ignore the feeling stirring deep inside when he thought about it, but it was still there, simmering and making him hate himself.
Walking out of his trailer at the end of the day, he instantly pulled out a cigarette and bumped straight into Viggo.
“Fucking A!” Elijah shouted, taking the unlit cigarette from his lips. “Sorry Viggo.” Elijah walked away, pulling out a lighter and inhaling greedily. Closing his eyes, he savored the feel of the first hit, feeling it calm his nerves a bit.
“Elijah,” Viggo said quietly from behind, causing Elijah to start.
“Fuck Viggo!” Elijah said, turning around. He took another drag off his cigarette and wrapped his free arm around his other one.
“You okay?” he asked, watching him intently.
“Yes. I’m fine!” Elijah threw the cigarette to the ground, stomping on it as he lit another.
“I heard about Orlando and – “
“I know Viggo. I’m fine. Seriously.”
“What about Dom – “
“I was pissed.”
“If you need to – “
“I don’t need anything. But thanks, Viggo. Now, I’d really like to go to fucking bed. It’s been one hell of a long day. Good night.”
“If you need anything,” Viggo called as Elijah retreated. He waved his hand as he walked away, cursing Viggo under his breath. He didn’t want to fucking talk; he didn’t need anything except a really large glass of whiskey and coke and an endless supply of cigarettes.
-
Elijah was curled up on his couch, glass in one hand and cigarette in the other. The full bottle of whiskey he had bought on his way home was sitting on the table in front of him half empty. His eyes were blurry and he was pretty sure he was watching a cooking show with a rather short oriental man making pasta, which he found extremely funny since pasta was an Italian dish.
He was lonely. And sad. And depressed. And extremely drunk. Through hazy eyes he thought he could make out the clock that read 1:25. Not too late. It was still early enough to call Dom.
He staggered off the couch, running into the end table and breaking a lamp, stubbing his toe on a stack of books lying in the floor, and knocking over a pile of CDs. Finally reaching the kitchen counter, he grabbed his cell phone and hit the speed dial for Dom.
The phone rang for eternity. The annoying sound repeated over and over, lulling Elijah into a kind of trance. When Dom answered, he jumped.
“’lo?” Dom said, voice heavy with sleep.
“I broke a lamp,” Elijah slurred into the phone. He slid to the floor and lay on his side, cradling the phone to his ear and staring at an ant crawling across the linoleum.
“In the bloody ‘ell? Elijah, why did you call me at fucking 3:30 to tell me that?”
“It’s not 3:30,” Elijah argued. “It’s 1:30.”
“No, it’s not. Can I go back to sleep now? We have feet in a couple hours. You are going to make it, aren’t you? Peter might kill you if you don’t.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry. For hitting you. I’m so sorry. You’re my best friend, I should have never – “
“Elijah. It’s okay. I’m not mad. I could never be mad at you.”
“Not even when I knock the shit out of you?” he asked hopefully.
“Nope. Not ever then. I deserved it.”
“No you didn’t,” Elijah said, shaking his head back and forth. The room started spinning around him and he started to feel sick. “Dom, I don’t think the room is supposed to be spinning, is it?”
“How much did you drink?”
“Um, I don’t know,” Elijah said, trying to peer into his living room. “I bought the bottle on the way home. And I think last time I looked, half the bottle was still there.”
“Bloody hell, Lij. Listen, go to sleep. Right now.”
“Okay, Dom. You know best.”
“Night Lij.”
“Night Dom.” Elijah barely closed the phone before he was out cold.
-
Elijah blinked and stared around confusedly. Why was he on the kitchen floor? And more importantly, why was Sean standing over him and staring?
“Get up, sleepyhead,” Sean said, helping Elijah to his feet. He swayed uncertainly on them, crashing into Sean. “We got to get you sober and ready for Feet.”
“How did you know – “
“Dom,” Sean interrupted. “He called me after he got off the phone with you, knowing you’d never be up in time. And here I am. You owe me an hour's sleep by the way,” Sean said, leading Elijah into the bathroom. He ran a shower for him and closed the door, but left a small crack and poked his head through. “If you’re not out in ten minutes, I’m coming to see about you. So, if you don’t want me to see your naked ass, you better hurry up.”
“It won’t be the first time, asshole,” Elijah said, pulling off his shirt and throwing it at Sean. “Now leave before you see me in all my naked glory.”
“Leaving,” Sean said, walking towards the kitchen. While Elijah showered, Sean fixed a large pot of strong coffee. Elijah stumbled into the kitchen a few minutes later and Sean handed him a large mug. “That was quick.”
“I was scared you were going to come and spy on me in the shower,” Elijah said sarcastically.
“You’re funny at 4:30. Now let’s go.”
-
Elijah was having a horrible day. His head felt like a tractor trailer parked on top of it, and his stomach kept threatening to remove its contents. Acting angsty wasn’t a difficult task for him at all.
While waiting for a slight set change, Elijah walked over to Dom, who was sitting against a tree throwing acorns at random.
“Mind if I sit down?” Elijah asked as he stood beside him. Dom shook his head and Elijah plopped down.
“You look like shit.”
“I feel like shit. Sorry about that call last night,” Elijah said, picking at the grass nervously.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m surprised you even remember.”
“I barely do.” They sat in silence for a few moments while Dom chunked acorns across the walkway and Elijah pulled up grass. “What are you doing tonight?”
“Oh you know. Watch the telly, drink some beer, be completely worthless.”
“Want to come over and do something? Like watch a movie or something?” Elijah asked, looking at Dom unsure.
“I don’t know, Lij. It’s important that I watch my telly every night or she gets really upset with me,” Dom said, laughing. Elijah shoved him playfully.
“Cunt.”
“Sure, I’ll pop by. Is this supposed to make up for clocking me?” Dom asked, smirking.
“Something like that.”
-
Elijah had just finished talking to Peter about some shots he wanted to do later when Orlando jogged up.
“Hey Lij.”
“Hey Orlando,” Elijah said, feeling his face flush. He knew he had to be turning about five shades of pink. “What’s up?”
“I was wondering if you wanted to do something tonight. Like grab a bite to eat or a movie.”
“You want to go grab something to eat?” Elijah asked, stopping in his tracks. He tried to keep his mouth from falling open.
“Yeah. Is that okay with you?” Orlando asked, studying Elijah carefully.
“No! That’s great!” he answered a little too enthusiastically, causing Orlando to smile.
“All right. I’ll be over in a little while.”
“Great,” Elijah said as he watched Orlando jog across the set.
-
Elijah threw his keys down, got a Coke out of the refrigerator, and headed for the bathroom when the doorbell rang. He answered it, surprised at who he saw.
“Orlando! I didn’t expect you so early.”
“Is it a bad time?” Orlando asked, looking around Elijah’s house behind him.
“Oh no!” he said, moving to the side to let Orlando in. “I was just about to take a shower, that’s all.”
“Well, let’s go.”
-
Dom knocked on Elijah’s door again.
“Stupid cunt,” he muttered, trying the doorknob. It wasn’t locked, so he pushed it open and walked in. “Elijah!” he called, but didn’t hear anything. Walking towards the back of the house, he heard the sound of water running. As he crept closer, he could have sworn he heard moans. The bathroom door was open, so he peeked in, instantly wishing he hadn’t.
Elijah’s arms were extended in front of him bracing the wall, head down. Orlando was pressed up behind him, arms wrapped around Elijah’s waist, one hand running up and down his chest and the other gripping Elijah’s cock. Dom went unnoticed as he stood rooted to the spot, watching Orlando’s hand slide up and down Elijah’s hard cock. He tried to look away, but he couldn’t. It excited him and he could feel his own cock starting to respond, but it also killed him. Elijah was in the shower with Orlando. He had done this. He had told Orlando about Elijah and now Elijah had what he wanted.
Orlando bit down on Elijah’s shoulder, causing Elijah to arch back into him and scream out. Dom turned around and bolted out of the house as fast as he could.
-
The next day, Dom walked into Feet trying hard not to be ill. He hadn’t slept much the night before because every time he closed his eyes images of Orlando and Elijah in the shower floated into his head, and he refused to jack off to those images no matter how hard his cock got. By 2:00 he pulled out the porn tape and jacked off to some other two guys fucking.
Elijah was already seated, looking a lot less happy than Dom expected him to be. Dom dutifully ignored him and sat down the chair, propping his feet up on the stool.
“Oh shit, Dom! I’m so sorry about last night!” Elijah said. Dom looked at him, hiding his grimace as his mind was flooded with images of that sweet, tired face scrunched up and moaning.
“It’s all right. I came round and knocked a few times, but you obviously weren’t home, so I headed back to my place and fell asleep rather early,” Dom lied. Elijah nodded his head, and Dom could tell he was trying really hard not to reveal anything.
“Yeah, I got home kind of late, and when I called you, no one answered.”
“Must have missed each other or something,” Dom said, knowing damn well Elijah didn’t try to call him. Elijah went back to his magazine and Dom tried to not fall asleep in the chair.
-
Dom found Orlando a little ways off set practicing his archery. He walked up and leaned against a tree, watching him. As soon as he ran out of arrows, Orlando trotted over to where Dom stood.
“What’s up, man?” Orlando asked, wiping his brow with the back of his hand.
“What are you playing at?” Dom blurted out. Orlando looked at him with a quizzical expression.
“What are you on about, mate?”
“Elijah.”
“What do you mean?”
“Two days ago you didn’t like Elijah. Now what?” Dom asked, trying hard to keep his temper in check.
“Nothing. We had dinner, that’s it. Elijah’s a nice kid. I felt bad for him.”
“Felt bad for him?” Dom yelled, surprising Orlando. “Elijah really likes you and you take pity on him?”
“Dom, it wasn’t my best decision, but I didn’t know what to do. I know what’s it’s like to be rejected.”
“Sure you do,” Dom said quietly. “Stay away from him, okay? He doesn’t need to be fucked with.”
Dom clenched his fists as he stalked away, trying his best to remain calm. As soon as he was a safe distance away, he took all his frustrations out on a tree. He felt sorry for the tree later.
-
Dom sat in his apartment, watching old reruns of “The Love Boat”. He hated all these people, getting on this boat and falling in love. He wanted to watch the boat hit an iceberg and sink like the Titanic. Now that would be quality entertainment.
Someone knocked at his door, but he ignored it. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. He wanted to stay slumped on the couch and fantasize about all those people drowning in the ocean. But whoever was at the door wouldn’t stop beating on it. Slamming down his beer bottle, he stomped to the door and pulled it open. Elijah was standing on the other side, hair slightly damp and sticking out because it had started raining lightly.
“What do you want?” Dom asked, not moving. Elijah looked up at him, sighing.
“To talk to you.”
“Why don’t you go talk to Sean? Or Orlando? I’m sure Orlando would love to talk to you,” Dom spat. Elijah took a step closer to him.
“Please, Dom?”
“Fuck. Fine.” Dom jerked the door further open and allowed Elijah to come in. Shutting the door a little too forcefully, Dom walked back over to the couch and picked up his beer. Elijah went into the kitchen to get himself one, then settled down beside Dom.
“The Love Boat?” he asked, giggling nervously.
“I’m waiting for the episode where everyone drowns.”
“Ah. That was a good one.” Dom looked at him sharply. “I’m just joking.”
“What are you doing here, Elijah?”
“I don’t know. I just. I’m so fucking confused.” Elijah put the bottle down and propped his head in his hands. Dom muted the television and turned toward Elijah.
“About what, Lij?” Dom asked wearily. He didn’t feel like listening to that right then, especially if he had to listen to Elijah whine about Orlando.
“Orlando.” Fuck. “We went to dinner,” Elijah said through his hands. He stared at the carpet and avoided Dom’s eyes. “I was with Orlando last night when you were supposed to come over. I’m so sorry.” Elijah remained staring at the floor as he continued. “It was great, being with Orlando. He was great company, a fucking amazing kisser, and just wonderful. But when he left, I couldn’t help but feel unfulfilled.”
“Unfulfilled?” Dom asked.
“Yeah. Like the real Orlando was something different than what I built him up to in my head to be, and the real thing wasn’t good enough.”
“Fuck, Lij, if Orlando isn’t good enough for you, who is?” Elijah turned his head and looked at Dom.
“I don’t know. That’s what I’m confused about. I just know that Orlando isn’t what I wanted.”
“Well, what does Orlando think about this?” Dom asked. Elijah shrugged.
“I don’t think Orlando really liked me in the first place. He felt sorry for me, and I was so desperate to be with him that I didn’t care. I’m such a fucking idiot,” Elijah said, running his hands through his hair nervously. He picked up his beer and leaned back against the couch.
“Sucks, mate,” was all Dom could say. Elijah looked at him and smiled wryly.
They sat staring at each other for a long while, neither moving. Eventually Dom moved toward Elijah, who sat staring with wide eyes. Inches from Elijah’s mouth, Dom stopped and watched Elijah closely. His brain was yelling at him to go ahead and kiss Elijah, it was his chance. His common sense told him it was all wrong, that Elijah had punched him in the jaw two nights ago and the wound was still fresh. Elijah’s eyes shifted down to Dom’s parted lips and he unconsciously licked his lips, convincing Dom to close the space between them.
The pressure of Elijah’s mouth against Dom’s caused his jaw to immediately begin aching, but he didn’t care. It may be the only time he’d have to kiss Elijah, and somehow in the back of his mind it seemed right for Elijah’s kiss to be causing his jaw pain.
Dom wrapped his fingers around Elijah’s neck, pulling him closer. His erratic heartbeat felt like it was going to consume him, and he couldn’t quiet the voice in the back of his head chanting “he’s kissing back, he’s kissing back.”
Elijah timidly slid his tongue along Dom’s bottom lip, causing Dom to moan inside his mouth. Confident, Elijah pushed his tongue in further into Dom’s mouth, and Dom pushed Elijah’s head even closer to his own, so close it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began.
Dom pulled away suddenly, shaking his head.
“This,” he said, pointing between the two of them, “isn’t right. No, no, no.” Dom stood up, pacing back and forth in front of the couch. Elijah watched him from the couch, face flush and lips puffy. Dom tried to not look at him because when he did it was all he could concentrate on. “You have to leave. We can’t do this.”
“Why?” Elijah asked.
“Because we can’t. Please, just leave, Elijah. I should have never kissed you.” Dom grabbed Elijah’s arm and pulled him off the couch, dragging him towards the door.
“Dom! Stop! I kissed you back!”
“You didn’t mean it! Now go!” Dom opened the door and stood there, waiting for Elijah to leave, but he didn’t budge from the front stoop.
“Dom, don’t do this!”
“Good night, Elijah.” Dom shut the door, leaving Elijah there.
-
“You did what?” Billy yelled into the phone. “You kicked him out? After kissing him? You’re fucking crazy!”
“No, I’m not. I couldn’t do it. He was confused about Orlando and everything else.”
“But you fucking love him!” Billy argued.
“I know, Billy. It’s why I had to do it.”
“You’re a fucking moron. Completely nutters. And stupid. And – “
“I get the bloody point, Billy!” Dom shouted into the phone. “What was I supposed to do?”
“Tell him you fucking loved him, that’s what. It was your chance, you wanker. And you fucking blew it.”
“Fuck me!”
“Hell no. You had your chance with Elijah.”
“Go to hell, Billy! Fucking go to hell and burn.”
“Don’t take this out on me. Listen, get some sleep and in a couple of days, talk to Elijah.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going now. You’re getting on my nerves.”
“Fuck you, Billy.”
“Good night to you, too.”
-
Dom was glad it was their two days off. He didn’t think he could have faced Elijah right then. On his first day off, he sat around eating and watching television, pouting constantly. On the second day, he decided Billy was right. He blew his chance with Elijah and needed to talk to him. That was all there was to it.
He stood outside Elijah’s door for ten minutes before finally knocking. It opened a second later.
“I wondered how long you were going to stand there before you knocked,” Elijah said, moving back to let Dom in. Dom stood by the door awkwardly, regretting his decision to come over. “Want some coffee?”
“Please,” Dom said, following Elijah into the kitchen. Elijah pulled a mug out of the cabinet and poured it. “Thanks.”
“What do you want?” Elijah asked, leaning against the counter. Dom stared into the murky depths of his mug. He couldn’t convince his vocal chords to work. Every time he opened his mouth, nothing came out. “Well?”
“Um,” Dom started, not sure of what to say. Elijah stared at him from across the kitchen. Dom set the mug down on the counter beside him and quickly closed the distance between him and Elijah, grabbing Elijah’s face in both hands and kissing him. Elijah’s mug got caught between the two of them and splashed hot coffee on Dom’s stomach. “Shit!”
Dom jumped back, glancing down at the coffee stain on his shirt. Elijah put his mug down behind him and attacked Dom’s mouth, pushing him back against another counter. Dom felt the drawer handle digging into his butt and shifted to the side slightly, Elijah following desperately. Dom pulled away and Elijah attacked his neck.
“I love you,” he breathed. Elijah kissed his way up Dom’s face, stopping for a moment to stare into Dom’s eyes.
“I know.” Elijah recaptured Dom’s mouth and touched the bruise on his face gingerly. “I’m getting there,” he whispered against Dom’s lips. Dom pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around him securely.
~Fin
Author:
thepsychicclamRating: R
Paiting: Dom/Lij, implied Lij/Orlando
Disclaimer: Never happened
A/N: Written for the Iconography challenge. My quote "In faith, in compassion, and in love" from the Smashing Pumpkins song "Cupid de Locke".
Archive: My site, http://garden.expecto-patronum.net
Elijah stared longingly across the club and watched Orlando on the dance floor. Sulking into his beer, he totally ignored everything that was going on around him. Dom said Elijah’s name four times before tapping him on the shoulder, making Elijah tear his eyes from their focal point.
“What?” Elijah asked irritated. Dom glanced at Billy who just shrugged and tried to decided if what he was going to say what that important.
“Nothing.” Elijah lost no time staring back out onto the dance floor. Dom followed his gaze and watched Orlando sliding around for a few moments. The boy had a complete fluid grace, the kind that no one else could even begin to compare to, thus making everyone around him look awkward and out of place. The girl he was dancing with, though extremely beautiful, was nothing compared to him. She might as well have sat down and let Orlando dance alone.
“Ever going to tell him?” Dom asked. Elijah didn’t look at him as he shook his head. “Then why don’t you move on?”
“Why don’t you go to hell?” Elijah spat, instantly regretting it. “I’m sorry, Dom. I’m an asshole.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I don’t know. I just can’t let go, but I know I’ll never have the balls to tell him. He’s a fucking bastard.” Elijah slammed his head on the table, causing beer to spill out of the few beer mugs sitting on the table. “Ow…”
“Elijah, banging your head into the table won’t help,” Billy said, hiding his grin. Dom was glad Elijah’s face was buried in the wood because he knew Elijah would be angry that his two best friends were trying their hardest not to laugh at him.
“I need to get laid, guys,” Elijah whined, voice muffled by the table. Dom and Billy looked at each other then down to Elijah.
“We can’t exactly help you there,” Dom said, patting Elijah on the back. Elijah turned his head to the side, causing his cheek and lips to form a sort of duck shape. Dom was afraid he was going to start drooling on the table at any minute. “If you’d get your ass out of this chair and out into the club, you may meet someone to get you laid.”
“I don’t want to get laid by just anyone,” Elijah started.
“You want to get laid by Orlando,” Dom finished. Elijah nodded, dragging his beer mug slowly over to his head. “You really look pathetic.”
“Feel pathetic.”
“Come on. Out of the booth! Now!” Dom stood up, grabbing Elijah’s arm and pulling him up after him. Elijah tried to protest, but Dom gave him a stern look that shut him up and left him pouting. “Now, go dance before Billy and I have to kill you.”
Elijah wandered slowly out into the crowd, and within seconds he was dancing with some guy. Dom slumped back into his seat, propping his head up in his hands and staring at Billy.
“When are you going to tell him?” Billy asked. Dom glared at him.
“Don’t start.” Billy chuckled softly and patted Dom’s arm. Dom turned his gaze toward the dance floor, first watching Orlando and secretly hating him, then turning his gaze to Elijah, who even though pressed against someone else, had his eyes glued on Orlando. Dom sighed and ordered another beer.
-
Dom was sitting in the make-up trailer, waiting on the make-up artist to return from lunch so he could get a few touchups. His ear was starting to peel off and his face was running slightly. Beating an indeterminate rhythm on the counter in front of him, he tried not to get annoyed at having to wait. Hearing the door open, he gladly turned around just to be presented with Orlando.
“What are you doing here?” Dom asked a little too curtly. Orlando raised an eyebrow as he sat down beside Dom.
“My wig’s falling off,” Orlando said, lifting up part of his blonde hair. Dom nodded.
“Make up people aren’t here. Aren’t they supposed to be here when we need them? I mean, what else do they do but this? This is what they’re paid for!”
“Whoa, Dom. You’re sounding a bit like one of those bitchy actors who think everyone should jump when they say to,” Orlando said, laughing.
“Fuck you,” Dom said.
“Ouch. Somebody’s in a way. I’m gonna keep quiet.” Orlando folded his hands in his lap and stared at his reflection in the mirror. Dom watched him stare at his reflection, never blinking or moving. It finally got on Dom’s nerves.
“Okay. Please stop staring at yourself. I’m sorry.” Orlando flicked his eyes over to Dom in the mirror. Dom rolled his eyes, but smiled. “Okay, you prat, I get the point.”
Orlando got up and paced around the trailer, finally picking up a discarded magazine. Bringing it back to the chair, he propped his feet up on the counter and started flipping.
“Hey, Orlando?”
“Hm?”
“I was wondering… Well, do you… I mean. Shit. What do you think of Elijah?” Dom said, flustered. Orlando gave him a strange look.
“He’s fine. Why?”
“No. That’s not what I mean. Like, what do you think of Elijah?”
“In what way?”
“In a not so platonic way.”
“Oh.” Orlando’s mouth hung open for a few seconds before he spoke. “I like Elijah a lot, but not like that. Why?”
“No reason.” Dom nervously looked around the room, fidgeting with his hands in his lap.
“Dom. Does he feel not so platonic about me?” Dom looked anywhere but Orlando’s face. “Dom…”
“Yes. But don’t tell him I told you.” Dom turned to look at Orlando, pleading with his eyes. Orlando nodded.
“I promise I won’t tell Elijah.”
-
“You did what?” Billy yelled, causing a few extras to stare at him.
“Keep it down, Billy. I was just trying to help.”
“Elijah didn’t want to tell Orlando.”
“But someone needed to find out if Orlando had similar feelings for Elijah, or we were going to get stuck babysitting him while he stared and drooled over Orlando.”
“This wasn’t a ploy – “
“No, Billy,” Dom said, looking at him pointedly. “I really was trying to help Elijah out. I love him and want him to be happy, whether that be with me or Orlando.” Dom fell back onto the grass, covering his face with his hands. “He’s going to kill me.”
“Aye. But you were just trying to help. And Orlando said he wouldn’t tell Elijah, right? Elijah’ll never have to know.” Billy sat down on the grass beside Dom as Dom draped his arm across his forehead, shielding his eyes from the sun.
“True. You’re right. Elijah will never have to know, and maybe we can convince him to move on to someone else.” Dom moved his arm over his eyes, taking the time to rest for a few moments before their next shot. Billy looked around, saw Elijah talking to Sean. Elijah’s head quickly turned toward where they were sitting, face molded into a mask of horror.
Billy knew that night was going to be interesting.
-
Elijah stood at Dom’s door, beating on it furiously. Sean put a hand on his wrist and pulled it away before he seriously hurt himself. Elijah just turned and glared at him.
Dom opened the door, surprised to see them there.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. Elijah wasted no time in pushing the door open and slamming Dom against the wall.
“You motherfucker!” he seethed, eyes so wide Dom thought they seemed to cover half his face. Elijah was so close that Dom could feel the fury radiating from his body. He tried not to get turned on by it because an angry Elijah Wood was definitely not something he wanted to piss off even further. Little he may be, but Elijah was one mean fucker.
“I – “
“Don’t even fucking start.” Elijah let go of Dom and stomped into the living room, where Billy was trying very hard to remain unnoticed. So far, so good. Sean sat down beside Billy, deciding sitting on the sidelines and refereeing the shouting match was the best idea. “So, Dom. How did Orlando find out I was in love with him? Huh?”
“I never told him you were in love with him.”
“You might as fucking well have!” Elijah yelled, flinging his hands around madly. Dom instinctively took a step backwards.
“What did Orlando say to you?” Dom asked in a small voice.
“Oh nothing,” Elijah said, stilling his hands. His entire body trembled, causing him to almost vibrate in place. Dom thought it would be a terrible time to laugh, so he bit his lip in attempt to stop himself. “I didn’t find out from Orlando. Oh no.” Elijah started pacing around the room, thrashing his arms around again. “I found out from Sean,” Elijah said, pointing to Sean who really wished to remain invisible at that moment, “who found out from Liv who found out from Viggo who found out from Orlando. Now the whole goddamn cast knows I have a fucking thing for Orlando!” Elijah shouted, stepping closer to Dom. Dom retreated back until he was pressed against the wall. Sean and Billy both stood up, ready to intervene at any time.
“Elijah, I was trying to help. Someone had to – “ Dom started explaining, but Elijah stepped closer, cutting him off.
“And that someone should have been you?” Elijah growled into Dom’s face. “What gave you the fucking right? I trusted you, goddammit. I fucking trusted you!” Elijah’s voice shook with emotion, and it appeared he was trying to keep his cool. “I trusted you,” he said quietly, shoulders slumping a bit.
“Elijah,” Dom said, reaching out and touching his shoulder. He instantly realized that was the wrong move when Elijah’s eyes went wide with rage and he reached back, balling his fist. Before Dom knew it, that fist connected with his jaw, making him see stars as his head flew to the side, pain shooting through his face immediately. Somewhere far away he heard voices shouting Elijah’s name, but all he could concentrate on was Elijah and Elijah’s fist. Elijah really hit him.
Hand to his face, he looked at Elijah through dazed eyes, who was being pushed back and yelled at by Sean. Elijah was still glaring at him, pain and disappointment mixed with fury playing all over his features. He realized Billy was standing beside him, speaking something in his ear. Still holding onto his jaw, Dom turned his head and looked at Billy.
“He hit me,” Dom muttered. Billy grabbed Dom by the shoulders and led him into the kitchen where he sat down on a stool, still staring off into space. Billy brought a towel with ice over to him and snapped his fingers.
“Dom, come on mate. Snap out of it.” Billy pulled Dom’s hand away from his face and placed the towel in it. Dom pressed the towel against his swollen skin, wincing slightly. “Elijah’s got some right hook.”
“No shit,” Dom said. He dropped his head as he heard the door slam. “Great.”
“He’ll get over it. He’s just pissed.”
“That’s the understatement of the century.”
“Your sense of humor’s back. You’ll be fine,” Billy said, smirking as he went to the refrigerator and pulled out two beers. “Here mate.”
“I completely blew it with Elijah, didn’t I?” Dom looked up at Billy desperately. Billy was at a loss for what to say. He’d never seen Elijah so livid, but Elijah wasn’t the type of person to hold a grudge. Hitting Dom and a few well spoken swear words to Sean would be enough to extinguish his anger. But Billy was afraid Dom had blown any romantic chance he had with Elijah.
“I take it by your silence that is a yes,” Dom said, sighing. Billy patted him on the back soothingly.
“You never know. Give it time,” Billy said, hoping Dom would believe his lie.
-
Elijah avoided everyone the next day. He couldn’t take the stares anymore. Those looks that said, “Aww, look at poor Elijah. He’s had his heart broken.”
He wanted to go up to all of them individually and tell them to go fuck themselves, but he refrained from it because hitting Dom was bad enough. Telling the whole cast to fuck off might be taking to too far.
When Dom showed up at Feet that morning, Elijah dutifully avoided his eyes. After about an hour of awkward silence and forced conversation, Elijah glanced up from his magazine and looked at Dom. His mouth dropped open at what he saw. A large, dark purple bruise covered Dom’s left jaw. Immediately he knew he fucked up, because make up was going to have a time covering that puppy up.
Later on the set, Elijah stood stony faced as Peter basically murdered him in front of everyone. It was all Elijah’s fault that his Merry now had on five extra coats of make up to cover a bruise he had given him. Why was he hitting Dom anyway? This was a movie set, not a high school where you go around fighting with people. Elijah took it all with a grain of salt, nodding and trying not to show everyone around him how much of a baby he was by crying like he wanted to. Nope, he took it like a man and cried about it later.
The rest of the day was spent avoiding everyone he possibly could off camera. He even avoided Sean, who didn’t give him any pity, but Elijah still didn’t feel like dealing with him. He felt bad enough as it was.
Orlando now knew the truth. For months Elijah secretly lusted after him without him ever knowing. One day spent with Dom and Orlando knew everything. To make matters worse, Orlando didn’t feel the same way about him, which caused Elijah to seriously doubt himself. Orlando was beautiful, everyone knew it. And Orlando didn’t want Elijah. He stared at himself in the mirror for hours trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Figure out why Orlando didn’t want him. He decided it was the different sized eyes, his small upper lip, his stubby fingers, his hairless chest, and the mole on his left hip. All of these reasons, along with fifteen thousand other ones, why Orlando didn’t want him.
Then there was Dom. Dom, his best friend in the entire world, who had gone and blabbed everything to Orlando. Deep down Elijah knew Dom was just trying to help and meant absolutely no harm, but Elijah was still too stung to care. He put his faith and confidence into Dom, and Dom had broken it.
Then there was the whole issue of hitting him. When Elijah thought about it, he cringed. He hit Dom. He had never hit anyone in his entire life. Yes, he yelled a lot, swore a lot, and was mean, but he had never actually hit another human being. Why he chose his best friend to practice this on he still hadn’t figured out. He hated himself for hitting Dom, for giving him that ugly bruise, for causing him pain. He tried to ignore the feeling stirring deep inside when he thought about it, but it was still there, simmering and making him hate himself.
Walking out of his trailer at the end of the day, he instantly pulled out a cigarette and bumped straight into Viggo.
“Fucking A!” Elijah shouted, taking the unlit cigarette from his lips. “Sorry Viggo.” Elijah walked away, pulling out a lighter and inhaling greedily. Closing his eyes, he savored the feel of the first hit, feeling it calm his nerves a bit.
“Elijah,” Viggo said quietly from behind, causing Elijah to start.
“Fuck Viggo!” Elijah said, turning around. He took another drag off his cigarette and wrapped his free arm around his other one.
“You okay?” he asked, watching him intently.
“Yes. I’m fine!” Elijah threw the cigarette to the ground, stomping on it as he lit another.
“I heard about Orlando and – “
“I know Viggo. I’m fine. Seriously.”
“What about Dom – “
“I was pissed.”
“If you need to – “
“I don’t need anything. But thanks, Viggo. Now, I’d really like to go to fucking bed. It’s been one hell of a long day. Good night.”
“If you need anything,” Viggo called as Elijah retreated. He waved his hand as he walked away, cursing Viggo under his breath. He didn’t want to fucking talk; he didn’t need anything except a really large glass of whiskey and coke and an endless supply of cigarettes.
-
Elijah was curled up on his couch, glass in one hand and cigarette in the other. The full bottle of whiskey he had bought on his way home was sitting on the table in front of him half empty. His eyes were blurry and he was pretty sure he was watching a cooking show with a rather short oriental man making pasta, which he found extremely funny since pasta was an Italian dish.
He was lonely. And sad. And depressed. And extremely drunk. Through hazy eyes he thought he could make out the clock that read 1:25. Not too late. It was still early enough to call Dom.
He staggered off the couch, running into the end table and breaking a lamp, stubbing his toe on a stack of books lying in the floor, and knocking over a pile of CDs. Finally reaching the kitchen counter, he grabbed his cell phone and hit the speed dial for Dom.
The phone rang for eternity. The annoying sound repeated over and over, lulling Elijah into a kind of trance. When Dom answered, he jumped.
“’lo?” Dom said, voice heavy with sleep.
“I broke a lamp,” Elijah slurred into the phone. He slid to the floor and lay on his side, cradling the phone to his ear and staring at an ant crawling across the linoleum.
“In the bloody ‘ell? Elijah, why did you call me at fucking 3:30 to tell me that?”
“It’s not 3:30,” Elijah argued. “It’s 1:30.”
“No, it’s not. Can I go back to sleep now? We have feet in a couple hours. You are going to make it, aren’t you? Peter might kill you if you don’t.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry. For hitting you. I’m so sorry. You’re my best friend, I should have never – “
“Elijah. It’s okay. I’m not mad. I could never be mad at you.”
“Not even when I knock the shit out of you?” he asked hopefully.
“Nope. Not ever then. I deserved it.”
“No you didn’t,” Elijah said, shaking his head back and forth. The room started spinning around him and he started to feel sick. “Dom, I don’t think the room is supposed to be spinning, is it?”
“How much did you drink?”
“Um, I don’t know,” Elijah said, trying to peer into his living room. “I bought the bottle on the way home. And I think last time I looked, half the bottle was still there.”
“Bloody hell, Lij. Listen, go to sleep. Right now.”
“Okay, Dom. You know best.”
“Night Lij.”
“Night Dom.” Elijah barely closed the phone before he was out cold.
-
Elijah blinked and stared around confusedly. Why was he on the kitchen floor? And more importantly, why was Sean standing over him and staring?
“Get up, sleepyhead,” Sean said, helping Elijah to his feet. He swayed uncertainly on them, crashing into Sean. “We got to get you sober and ready for Feet.”
“How did you know – “
“Dom,” Sean interrupted. “He called me after he got off the phone with you, knowing you’d never be up in time. And here I am. You owe me an hour's sleep by the way,” Sean said, leading Elijah into the bathroom. He ran a shower for him and closed the door, but left a small crack and poked his head through. “If you’re not out in ten minutes, I’m coming to see about you. So, if you don’t want me to see your naked ass, you better hurry up.”
“It won’t be the first time, asshole,” Elijah said, pulling off his shirt and throwing it at Sean. “Now leave before you see me in all my naked glory.”
“Leaving,” Sean said, walking towards the kitchen. While Elijah showered, Sean fixed a large pot of strong coffee. Elijah stumbled into the kitchen a few minutes later and Sean handed him a large mug. “That was quick.”
“I was scared you were going to come and spy on me in the shower,” Elijah said sarcastically.
“You’re funny at 4:30. Now let’s go.”
-
Elijah was having a horrible day. His head felt like a tractor trailer parked on top of it, and his stomach kept threatening to remove its contents. Acting angsty wasn’t a difficult task for him at all.
While waiting for a slight set change, Elijah walked over to Dom, who was sitting against a tree throwing acorns at random.
“Mind if I sit down?” Elijah asked as he stood beside him. Dom shook his head and Elijah plopped down.
“You look like shit.”
“I feel like shit. Sorry about that call last night,” Elijah said, picking at the grass nervously.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m surprised you even remember.”
“I barely do.” They sat in silence for a few moments while Dom chunked acorns across the walkway and Elijah pulled up grass. “What are you doing tonight?”
“Oh you know. Watch the telly, drink some beer, be completely worthless.”
“Want to come over and do something? Like watch a movie or something?” Elijah asked, looking at Dom unsure.
“I don’t know, Lij. It’s important that I watch my telly every night or she gets really upset with me,” Dom said, laughing. Elijah shoved him playfully.
“Cunt.”
“Sure, I’ll pop by. Is this supposed to make up for clocking me?” Dom asked, smirking.
“Something like that.”
-
Elijah had just finished talking to Peter about some shots he wanted to do later when Orlando jogged up.
“Hey Lij.”
“Hey Orlando,” Elijah said, feeling his face flush. He knew he had to be turning about five shades of pink. “What’s up?”
“I was wondering if you wanted to do something tonight. Like grab a bite to eat or a movie.”
“You want to go grab something to eat?” Elijah asked, stopping in his tracks. He tried to keep his mouth from falling open.
“Yeah. Is that okay with you?” Orlando asked, studying Elijah carefully.
“No! That’s great!” he answered a little too enthusiastically, causing Orlando to smile.
“All right. I’ll be over in a little while.”
“Great,” Elijah said as he watched Orlando jog across the set.
-
Elijah threw his keys down, got a Coke out of the refrigerator, and headed for the bathroom when the doorbell rang. He answered it, surprised at who he saw.
“Orlando! I didn’t expect you so early.”
“Is it a bad time?” Orlando asked, looking around Elijah’s house behind him.
“Oh no!” he said, moving to the side to let Orlando in. “I was just about to take a shower, that’s all.”
“Well, let’s go.”
-
Dom knocked on Elijah’s door again.
“Stupid cunt,” he muttered, trying the doorknob. It wasn’t locked, so he pushed it open and walked in. “Elijah!” he called, but didn’t hear anything. Walking towards the back of the house, he heard the sound of water running. As he crept closer, he could have sworn he heard moans. The bathroom door was open, so he peeked in, instantly wishing he hadn’t.
Elijah’s arms were extended in front of him bracing the wall, head down. Orlando was pressed up behind him, arms wrapped around Elijah’s waist, one hand running up and down his chest and the other gripping Elijah’s cock. Dom went unnoticed as he stood rooted to the spot, watching Orlando’s hand slide up and down Elijah’s hard cock. He tried to look away, but he couldn’t. It excited him and he could feel his own cock starting to respond, but it also killed him. Elijah was in the shower with Orlando. He had done this. He had told Orlando about Elijah and now Elijah had what he wanted.
Orlando bit down on Elijah’s shoulder, causing Elijah to arch back into him and scream out. Dom turned around and bolted out of the house as fast as he could.
-
The next day, Dom walked into Feet trying hard not to be ill. He hadn’t slept much the night before because every time he closed his eyes images of Orlando and Elijah in the shower floated into his head, and he refused to jack off to those images no matter how hard his cock got. By 2:00 he pulled out the porn tape and jacked off to some other two guys fucking.
Elijah was already seated, looking a lot less happy than Dom expected him to be. Dom dutifully ignored him and sat down the chair, propping his feet up on the stool.
“Oh shit, Dom! I’m so sorry about last night!” Elijah said. Dom looked at him, hiding his grimace as his mind was flooded with images of that sweet, tired face scrunched up and moaning.
“It’s all right. I came round and knocked a few times, but you obviously weren’t home, so I headed back to my place and fell asleep rather early,” Dom lied. Elijah nodded his head, and Dom could tell he was trying really hard not to reveal anything.
“Yeah, I got home kind of late, and when I called you, no one answered.”
“Must have missed each other or something,” Dom said, knowing damn well Elijah didn’t try to call him. Elijah went back to his magazine and Dom tried to not fall asleep in the chair.
-
Dom found Orlando a little ways off set practicing his archery. He walked up and leaned against a tree, watching him. As soon as he ran out of arrows, Orlando trotted over to where Dom stood.
“What’s up, man?” Orlando asked, wiping his brow with the back of his hand.
“What are you playing at?” Dom blurted out. Orlando looked at him with a quizzical expression.
“What are you on about, mate?”
“Elijah.”
“What do you mean?”
“Two days ago you didn’t like Elijah. Now what?” Dom asked, trying hard to keep his temper in check.
“Nothing. We had dinner, that’s it. Elijah’s a nice kid. I felt bad for him.”
“Felt bad for him?” Dom yelled, surprising Orlando. “Elijah really likes you and you take pity on him?”
“Dom, it wasn’t my best decision, but I didn’t know what to do. I know what’s it’s like to be rejected.”
“Sure you do,” Dom said quietly. “Stay away from him, okay? He doesn’t need to be fucked with.”
Dom clenched his fists as he stalked away, trying his best to remain calm. As soon as he was a safe distance away, he took all his frustrations out on a tree. He felt sorry for the tree later.
-
Dom sat in his apartment, watching old reruns of “The Love Boat”. He hated all these people, getting on this boat and falling in love. He wanted to watch the boat hit an iceberg and sink like the Titanic. Now that would be quality entertainment.
Someone knocked at his door, but he ignored it. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. He wanted to stay slumped on the couch and fantasize about all those people drowning in the ocean. But whoever was at the door wouldn’t stop beating on it. Slamming down his beer bottle, he stomped to the door and pulled it open. Elijah was standing on the other side, hair slightly damp and sticking out because it had started raining lightly.
“What do you want?” Dom asked, not moving. Elijah looked up at him, sighing.
“To talk to you.”
“Why don’t you go talk to Sean? Or Orlando? I’m sure Orlando would love to talk to you,” Dom spat. Elijah took a step closer to him.
“Please, Dom?”
“Fuck. Fine.” Dom jerked the door further open and allowed Elijah to come in. Shutting the door a little too forcefully, Dom walked back over to the couch and picked up his beer. Elijah went into the kitchen to get himself one, then settled down beside Dom.
“The Love Boat?” he asked, giggling nervously.
“I’m waiting for the episode where everyone drowns.”
“Ah. That was a good one.” Dom looked at him sharply. “I’m just joking.”
“What are you doing here, Elijah?”
“I don’t know. I just. I’m so fucking confused.” Elijah put the bottle down and propped his head in his hands. Dom muted the television and turned toward Elijah.
“About what, Lij?” Dom asked wearily. He didn’t feel like listening to that right then, especially if he had to listen to Elijah whine about Orlando.
“Orlando.” Fuck. “We went to dinner,” Elijah said through his hands. He stared at the carpet and avoided Dom’s eyes. “I was with Orlando last night when you were supposed to come over. I’m so sorry.” Elijah remained staring at the floor as he continued. “It was great, being with Orlando. He was great company, a fucking amazing kisser, and just wonderful. But when he left, I couldn’t help but feel unfulfilled.”
“Unfulfilled?” Dom asked.
“Yeah. Like the real Orlando was something different than what I built him up to in my head to be, and the real thing wasn’t good enough.”
“Fuck, Lij, if Orlando isn’t good enough for you, who is?” Elijah turned his head and looked at Dom.
“I don’t know. That’s what I’m confused about. I just know that Orlando isn’t what I wanted.”
“Well, what does Orlando think about this?” Dom asked. Elijah shrugged.
“I don’t think Orlando really liked me in the first place. He felt sorry for me, and I was so desperate to be with him that I didn’t care. I’m such a fucking idiot,” Elijah said, running his hands through his hair nervously. He picked up his beer and leaned back against the couch.
“Sucks, mate,” was all Dom could say. Elijah looked at him and smiled wryly.
They sat staring at each other for a long while, neither moving. Eventually Dom moved toward Elijah, who sat staring with wide eyes. Inches from Elijah’s mouth, Dom stopped and watched Elijah closely. His brain was yelling at him to go ahead and kiss Elijah, it was his chance. His common sense told him it was all wrong, that Elijah had punched him in the jaw two nights ago and the wound was still fresh. Elijah’s eyes shifted down to Dom’s parted lips and he unconsciously licked his lips, convincing Dom to close the space between them.
The pressure of Elijah’s mouth against Dom’s caused his jaw to immediately begin aching, but he didn’t care. It may be the only time he’d have to kiss Elijah, and somehow in the back of his mind it seemed right for Elijah’s kiss to be causing his jaw pain.
Dom wrapped his fingers around Elijah’s neck, pulling him closer. His erratic heartbeat felt like it was going to consume him, and he couldn’t quiet the voice in the back of his head chanting “he’s kissing back, he’s kissing back.”
Elijah timidly slid his tongue along Dom’s bottom lip, causing Dom to moan inside his mouth. Confident, Elijah pushed his tongue in further into Dom’s mouth, and Dom pushed Elijah’s head even closer to his own, so close it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began.
Dom pulled away suddenly, shaking his head.
“This,” he said, pointing between the two of them, “isn’t right. No, no, no.” Dom stood up, pacing back and forth in front of the couch. Elijah watched him from the couch, face flush and lips puffy. Dom tried to not look at him because when he did it was all he could concentrate on. “You have to leave. We can’t do this.”
“Why?” Elijah asked.
“Because we can’t. Please, just leave, Elijah. I should have never kissed you.” Dom grabbed Elijah’s arm and pulled him off the couch, dragging him towards the door.
“Dom! Stop! I kissed you back!”
“You didn’t mean it! Now go!” Dom opened the door and stood there, waiting for Elijah to leave, but he didn’t budge from the front stoop.
“Dom, don’t do this!”
“Good night, Elijah.” Dom shut the door, leaving Elijah there.
-
“You did what?” Billy yelled into the phone. “You kicked him out? After kissing him? You’re fucking crazy!”
“No, I’m not. I couldn’t do it. He was confused about Orlando and everything else.”
“But you fucking love him!” Billy argued.
“I know, Billy. It’s why I had to do it.”
“You’re a fucking moron. Completely nutters. And stupid. And – “
“I get the bloody point, Billy!” Dom shouted into the phone. “What was I supposed to do?”
“Tell him you fucking loved him, that’s what. It was your chance, you wanker. And you fucking blew it.”
“Fuck me!”
“Hell no. You had your chance with Elijah.”
“Go to hell, Billy! Fucking go to hell and burn.”
“Don’t take this out on me. Listen, get some sleep and in a couple of days, talk to Elijah.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going now. You’re getting on my nerves.”
“Fuck you, Billy.”
“Good night to you, too.”
-
Dom was glad it was their two days off. He didn’t think he could have faced Elijah right then. On his first day off, he sat around eating and watching television, pouting constantly. On the second day, he decided Billy was right. He blew his chance with Elijah and needed to talk to him. That was all there was to it.
He stood outside Elijah’s door for ten minutes before finally knocking. It opened a second later.
“I wondered how long you were going to stand there before you knocked,” Elijah said, moving back to let Dom in. Dom stood by the door awkwardly, regretting his decision to come over. “Want some coffee?”
“Please,” Dom said, following Elijah into the kitchen. Elijah pulled a mug out of the cabinet and poured it. “Thanks.”
“What do you want?” Elijah asked, leaning against the counter. Dom stared into the murky depths of his mug. He couldn’t convince his vocal chords to work. Every time he opened his mouth, nothing came out. “Well?”
“Um,” Dom started, not sure of what to say. Elijah stared at him from across the kitchen. Dom set the mug down on the counter beside him and quickly closed the distance between him and Elijah, grabbing Elijah’s face in both hands and kissing him. Elijah’s mug got caught between the two of them and splashed hot coffee on Dom’s stomach. “Shit!”
Dom jumped back, glancing down at the coffee stain on his shirt. Elijah put his mug down behind him and attacked Dom’s mouth, pushing him back against another counter. Dom felt the drawer handle digging into his butt and shifted to the side slightly, Elijah following desperately. Dom pulled away and Elijah attacked his neck.
“I love you,” he breathed. Elijah kissed his way up Dom’s face, stopping for a moment to stare into Dom’s eyes.
“I know.” Elijah recaptured Dom’s mouth and touched the bruise on his face gingerly. “I’m getting there,” he whispered against Dom’s lips. Dom pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around him securely.
~Fin