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[finduilas-clln.livejournal.com]

Title: Practice makes perfect
Author: finduilas_clln
Pairing: Domlijah
Archive: My own. Anywhere else, ask first!
Notes: Huge thanks to salogel42 and olivia_ramirez for, well... everything.


Practice Makes Perfect

The cool spring breeze washed over Elijah as he stood on the open field, next to the woods, bow and arrow stretched in his hands. It wasn’t cold, they were wearing T-shirts. One eye closed, the other narrowed as he focused on the aim and the point of his arrow.

“Don’t think, just let go,” the voice behind him said.

It was hard not to think when somebody told you not to think. He opened his fingers and the arrow flew towards the aim… but missed.

“You were thinking,” Orlando said accusingly.

Elijah turned around and said: “Of course I was. I don’t know how you can not?”

Orlando shook his head and said: “Of course you’re gonna think. But what you’re doing is ‘I can’t miss. I can’t miss’ If you think like that you’re guaranteed to miss.”

“Alright then, next time I just won’t bother,” Elijah sighed annoyed.

Orli laughed and explained: “Then you’re gonna miss too. What you gotta do is think about the things you can control. Once the arrow has left your bow, it’s over. You can’t do a single thing about it. But you can control your stance, your balance, your release, the way you hold your bow.”

Elijah chuckled, knowing exactly where those words came from as they watched the movie with Viggo only a couple of days ago. And they’d been teasing the older man with the accent ever since.

“You just gotta feel the bow,” Orli added.

“Easier said than done,” the younger man answered as he charged his bow again.

“You’re tense,” Orli observed, “Relax your muscles.”

Elijah sighed. ‘This is never gonna work,’ he thought.

It was the third day that Orlando was teaching his friend archery. Orlando had learned it to play Legolas and Elijah thought it was a cool thing to do. Orli said it was a good way to blow off some steam. So far Elijah hadn’t noticed any of that. But he did like spending quality time with Orli.

‘It’s odd, the way he’s completely calm when he’s doing archery,’ Elijah thought, ‘While otherwise he’s always hyperactive. Maybe it’s because archery is a part of Legolas. And as Legolas, Orlando’s totally controlled, and calm.’

The rest of the cast all thought the two young men wouldn’t last a day. They thought Lij would quit, or Orli would learn that teaching was harder than learning. But so far they amazed the rest by keeping it up. Elijah may have looked like a kid, when he committed to something he followed through, even if it didn’t go as easily as planned.

Viggo came to watch the practice a couple of times, taking pictures.

“Did you hear what happened this morning?” Viggo asked the two young men.

“No. What?” Orli asked, adjusting his arm-protectors.

“This guy from sound was acting weird,” Viggo said, “Yelling at Dominic and Billy for no apparent reason. It was bizarre.”

“When?” Elijah asked.

“During a small break this morning,” Viggo answered, “Peter was there, telling him to cool it. He calmed down again. Don’t know what his problem was.”

“Which one was it?” Orli asked.

“The new guy, with the goatee,” Viggo answered.

“If he keeps it up, he won’t be working here too long,” Orlando joked.

Elijah smiled and charged his bow.

Two days later Elijah still hadn’t made an awful lot of progress.

“Okay, I got an idea,” Orlando said.

In one fluid motion he took an arrow, charged his bow and shot… right smack in the middle of the target.

‘Bastard,’ Lij thought, ‘How does he do that?’

The Brit turned towards Elijah and said: “We’re turning this into a game.”

Elijah knew by the grin on Orli’s face that he was up to something.

“Every time the aim gets hit, the one who fired gets to ask a question at the other,” Orlando smiled.

“No fair,” Elijah grunted, “Then I’ll never get to ask you anything.”

“Sure you will, it’ll be a motivation,” Orli grinned, “And the rule is, you have to answer, no matter what the question is.”

“Fine,” Elijah smiled, “Second rule: Whatever’s being said during archery stays between us.”

“Of course,” Orli agreed and put out his hand. Lij took it and they shook on it.

“You start,” Orlando said, “Don’t think. Shoot the arrow before you have the time to think.”

Elijah did as he was said but missed again. He tried to control the urge to toss his bow to the ground ‘cause he knew Orli’d be pretty pissed for it.

Before Elijah realized it an arrow had left the Elf’s bow and… damn. He was first up for questions. He took an arrow in his hands and fondled the little feathers at the end with his fingers. He did that a lot. So much even that Peter had Legolas do it in the movie at some point.

“When you came here, first day when we met,” Orlando said, “When you went to bed that night, what did you think of me?”

Elijah smiled. All right. Fairly easy one to answer.

“I liked you,” Elijah answered, “I was wondering how someone as hyperactive as you was gonna play someone like Legolas though.”

Orli grinned one of his cocky yet affectionate smiles.

“But that turned out okay,” Lij went on, then asked, “That enough?”

“Not even close, Hobbit,” Orli said with a wicked smile.

“Alright,” the young man said and went on, “I thought you were funny. You had me laughing from the beginning. But…”

“But?”

“I thought you were gonna get it on with every girl that fell for your charms. Didn’t matter how you got off, as long as you got off. I thought you were gonna fall for the fame and the herds of fans and you know, act all ‘I’m the new hot thing’. I mean, that’s how you came across.”

“Isn’t that nice…” Orli smiled.

“But…!” Elijah stressed, “I was wrong about that. You’re not gonna be that way.”

“No?” Orlando frowned.

“No,” the Hobbit answered firm, “You’re too nice. You’re not gonna fall into the Hollywood-trap.”

“Isn’t it usually the nice guys who fall for it?” Orli mused.

“Well, you’re not that nice,” Elijah quipped.

Orlando smiled and nodded towards Lij’s bow.

“Your turn.”

A sigh was his answer.

“Wait,” the Elf said as he came to stand behind the other man and placed his hands on Lij’s arms.

He pressed his body against the smaller man’s back and put his hands over Lij’s hands as they both stretched the bow. Elijah felt Orli’s chin on his shoulder.

“When you’re being attacked by a pack of Uruk-Hai, you don’t have time to think,” he said.
“But how can you not think?”

“I can’t explain it,” came the answer, “You just catch on after a while. Just know… the arrow is meant for the aim.”

Elijah chuckled, “Are you gonna start with the ‘tree falling in the woods but nobody there to hear’-crap?” he joked.

“Are you questioning my methods?” Orli acted hurt.

Lijah merely chuckled again.

“Good, let go!” Orli said quickly and squeezed the Hobbit’s hand a little. The latter shot and…

“Yes!” he exclaimed.

Nowhere near the center but on the aim nevertheless. He smiled like a little kid, bouncing around triumphant. The image was priceless. No matter how professional an actor he was, in his heart—and his looks—Elijah was still a little kid. When you saw him with the Hobbits, or goofing around with Orlando… it was kind of endearing to see. Even Billy, over thirty, turned into a teenager under the influence of Elijah.

“Good job, Lij,” Orlando smiled, “Ask a question.”

“What’s the real deal between you and Atti?” the American asked smug.

Orlando grinned and answered truthfully, “Nowhere near as exciting as you think.”

Sort of disappointed Elijah told him about the rumors. But Orlando denied everything, telling Elijah how he loved Atti, and drumming up some fun anecdotes but it all came down to the fact that it was just a friendship, nothing more.

“Really?” Elijah asked frowning but kept up his big smile, “I honestly thought there was more.”

Orlando shrugged and shook his head apologetic. Then he caught Elijah examining his bow, studying every inch of it.

“When I‘m done with you, you’re gonna be a real pro,” Orlando smiled.

“Then maybe Frodo doesn’t always have to rely on the humans or the elf to come and save him,” Elijah winked.

Orlando gave him an ear to ear grin.

“Although…” Elijah said, “Seems like the hobbits do need some help sometimes. You know Bean had to break up the sound guy and Dom this morning?”

“I heard something about it,” Orlando answered, “Was there a fight?”

“The guy nearly hit Dom, though Dom might’ve been evoking it, I’m not sure.” Elijah said.

“Still…” Orlando shrugged, “That’s no reason to hit a person.”

“I know,” Elijah shook his head, then motioned for Orlando to shoot.

The Elf took a new arrow and hit the aim. There was something he was dying to know and now seemed to be the perfect time.

“What’s the real deal between you and Sblomie?” he asked.

Elijah was quiet and a weird smile crept up his face as he watched his friend.

“It stays between us but you have to be honest,” Orli reminded him.

Elijah shifted from one foot to the other, avoiding eye-contact quite obviously and suddenly the big actor had disappeared and before Orlando stood a boy unable to hide his emotions.

“Me and Dom…” he hesitated and Orli was a little surprised that he went on after a while, “I think I’m in love.”

Orlando smiled and the big talk began. The talk about Dominic and Elijah. Orli sat down on the grass, knowing this could take a while. He wasn’t at all surprised. He’d noticed the looks and smiles between the two of them. He’d noticed how Elijah lit up whenever Sblomie was around. And how Dominic went all-soft for those big blue eyes. ‘You’d have to be blind not to see the attraction grow between these two,’ Orli thought.

“And Dom?” Orli asked.

“I think he likes me too,” Elijah answered, suppressing a smile.

“You think?” the Elf frowned.

“Well, you know…” Lij answered shy, “We never actually did anything.”

That did surprise Orlando a little. It was so obvious to him that he was sure they would’ve done something.

“So what are you waiting for?” Orli asked, leaning back on his hands.

Elijah was still standing, pacing around, his feet deliberately shuffling through the grass. The bow was still clenched in his hands.

“When I’m around him…” he started, “I feel so good and at the same time I have no idea what to do.”

Finally Elijah sat down, carefully placing the bow next to him. He rubbed his eyes and sighed.

“Sometimes we get so close,” Elijah opened up to Orlando completely, “When we’re at his apartment in the middle of the night, watching TV…” he stared out in front of him, taking in the sight of the open field, bathing in sunlight. “Sitting on the couch with my head in his lap and his hand on my hair… slowly stroking, caressing. We’re so close to crossing that line.”

“So why don’t you?” Orlando asked carefully, and genuinely intrigued.

Elijah looked at Orlando and smiled sadly.

“What if he doesn’t want it? What if he pushes me away? I’m so scared of that, Orli. And then we can never go back. We can never go to being just friends.”

“But you’re not ‘just friends’ now either,” Orlando said, “Your entire attitude towards each other screams ‘boyfriends’ except for the part that you’re not kissing. Dominic’s in love with you just as much as you’re in love with him. Anybody can see that. The thing is that one of you just needs to find the courage to make the first move.”

Orlando and Elijah talked for hours, forgetting all thoughts of archery. Elijah was so glad he could talk about it, that he could empty his heart to someone he cared about, someone he could trust. And Orlando was definitely someone like that.

The Elf might be a bouncy, hyperactive, ever cheerful creature but he knew exactly when he needed to be the quiet, supportive shoulder to cry on. Not that Elijah had actually cried but he had shown all his emotions to Orlando. And Orlando gave him his best advice, assuring Lij that Dom felt the same way, and encouraging him to make a move.

After a week or so Elijah still hadn’t made a move, but he did have the skills of archery down. He was getting really good at it, occasionally even beating Orli.

“Come on, Hobbit. Show us what you got!” Orlando said enthusiastically.

Elijah’s shot measured Orli’s in precision. It was right on target.

That night, after going out with the Hobbits ‘n Orli, Dom and Elijah found themselves back at Dom’s place, watching a movie. Elijah’s back was resting against Dom’s chest, safe and secure but not yet crossing the line. Elijah loved the feeling of Dom’s chest slowly going up and down, the sound of his breathing softly in his ears. As the movie grew sadder, Elijah’s hand tightened around Dom’s. Silent tears rolled down Dom’s face. He tried to hide it but when he couldn’t cover up a sob, Elijah turned to face him.

“Oh Dommie…”

Dominic tried to laugh it off and said: “Oh God, I’m such a sap.”

He sniffed and forced himself to smile. Elijah brought his hands up and carefully brushed away Dominic’s tears with his thumbs.

“I like saps…” he whispered, smiling warmly.

Through the tears Dom saw the beautiful young man in front of him, his fingers now stroking the Brit’s cheeks. And then Elijah leaned in and kissed him. And Dominic didn’t pull away. He brought his hands up to cup Lij’s face and Elijah knew that Orlando was right… they were never just friends.

The next day Dom and Elijah were both late on set. And Orlando knew by a single glance at Elijah’s face that one of them had made the move.

“So tell me, E-dog,” Orli smiled at archery-practice that evening, “How does he kiss?”
Elijah merely smiled and charged his bow.

“What? You’re not gonna give me anything?” Orlando said indignant.

The shorter man fired and said, pleased with his shot, “Isn’t that what this game is for?”

“You can be such a child,” Orlando laughed, but played along.

“Funny, Bill said the same thing to me this morning,” Elijah grinned.

Orlando just shook his head and muttered, “Now why doesn’t that surprise me? Were you guys playing that silly game again?”

“Tig is not a silly game!” Elijah defended, “It’s highly entertaining if you’re bored out of your mind between shoots.”

“Been there, done that. When me and Viggo had scenes together, he kept trying to philosophize with me. I was just like… ‘Jeez, Viggo. Do you have to do that now?’”

A giggly laugh escaped Elijah’s lips. “I bet ya Tig doesn’t sound so bad anymore huh?”

“Oh yeah, sounds like a real hoot.” Orlando’s voice dripped of irony.

“It was,” Elijah smiled, “Until that damn soundguy started interfering again.”

“Yeah?” Orlando frowned, “What’s that guy’s problem?”

“He was being pissy at Dom again. We were all running around, you know. Guess it got on his nerves. No idea why. I mean, he was just waiting around for the next scene like everybody else.”Lij answered, “I heard he auditioned for the part of Merry.”

“No?” Orlando frowned.

Elijah nodded. “Didn’t get the role obviously. I mean, I’m not even sure he’s an actor. Sound guys aren’t usually actors. Even so… like it’s Dom’s fault Pete didn’t hire him?”

“I do hope you defended your boyfriend,” Orlando joked.

Elijah chuckled and Orli added a little more serious, “I’m telling you. He’s gonna get fired one of these days.”

Orlando shot right on target. He smiled at Elijah and said, “First question: How does he kiss?”

A couple of days later Orlando knew the basics of Dom and Elijah’s relationship. The rest of the cast had their suspicions but they hadn’t ‘officially’ come out yet.
Billy had been teasing Dominic, trying to pry details out of his friend but without a lot of success.

“Are you gonna keep filling our fifteen minute breaks with questions about Lij and me?” Dom laughed, carefully scratching the line where his prosthetics touched his ankle.

“I will until you start giving me some real answers,” Billy smiled, picking up a piece of apple and throwing it at Dom.

Dom pretended to be outraged and countered the attack with a peach, lying on the table.

“Look, he’s mad again,” Billy whispered, nodding his head at the sound guy standing a few feet away from them. Then he took advantage of the diversion to throw the peach back at Dom. Dom shouted out, ducking his head just in time to avoid the piece of fruit.

“You cunt!” Billy shouted laughing at Dom, whose ducking maneuver caused the peach to hit the sound guy. Dom shot into a giggle fit, not meaning any harm but pissing the guy off.

The next few minutes were a blur. Everything happened way too fast for the Hobbits to fully comprehend it. One minute they were laughing their heads off, the next the sound guy totally freaked out.

‘A gun,’ Dom thought, ‘a fucking gun.’

That was all he could think about when he stood face to face with the barrel of the gun.
Billy’s hands trembled. He could hear sounds. Screams and shocked gasps but he couldn’t string it all together. How did they end up here? How did throwing pieces of fruit lead to an angry fucked up psycho with a gun in his hand? A gun pointed at them. At Billy and Dom.

Dom tried to reason. Tried to say something to calm him down, to explain it was just a joke. But there’s no reasoning with a guy who turns all homicidal over a joke. Dom wanted to take a step forward, or in front of Billy. The guy shouted something but it didn’t make sense. None of it made sense.

Dom felt like he couldn’t breath. His heart raced as the guy kept shouting, waving the gun at him, and Dom realized… He was gonna do it. The freakin’ psycho was actually gonna do it. This was gonna be it.

But then… it wasn’t.

So fast.

It all went so fast.

Out of nowhere, Billy jumped forward. The guy gasped, gun falling from his hand as Billy ducked for his waist, pushing him down. ‘Stupid,’ Dom thought. It’s a stupid idea. Because it’s fucking dangerous. You don’t jump at a guy with a gun. And then, even faster… Or at the same time. Dom wasn’t sure. Dom wasn’t thinking straight. The zip and whoosh of an arrow as it passed over Billy’s head.

And suddenly everything around him moved. People were running, shouting, making signs. People pushing the sound guy—still screaming, still raving mad—down. And then Billy got up, trembling. Finally realizing what he had done. And how dangerous it was.

But Dom was still standing. Motionless. Staring at the arrow currently stuck, chest-height, in the tree. The tree where the sound guy stood. An arrow. At chest-height.
And finally Dom turned around… staring at Elijah.

Elijah, who was standing a little further away. Behind Dom and Billy. Elijah… with an empty bow in his hands.

And as Dominic turned around, he finally realized what had happened.

Trembling hands let the bow fall to the ground as wide, terrified eyes stared at what he had just done. At what he could’ve done. At what he had meant to do.

This was no joke. This was no drill. This wasn’t laughing at practice and playing games with Orlando. He wasn’t aiming at a lifeless target. He aimed at a man.

A man.

The words repeated itself in Elijah’s ears. But no matter how many times they repeated themselves, the meaning didn’t change. Dom and Billy were in danger. And he aimed at the man putting them there. Without thinking twice. Without considering the consequences.

Elijah’s entire body was shaking. Mouth hanging open. Eyes unfocused. The sound of a police car advancing shook Dom out of his daze. But Elijah kept on staring. Staring at the arrow in the tree. He stared so long his vision got blurry. He stared so long he thought his heart had stopped beating.

Suddenly the cops were there, asking a million different questions. Saying how “this could’ve ended badly.” But as Dom stared at Elijah’s face, he knew. In a way it did end badly. He knew what Elijah would’ve done to save him.

And from that day on everything changed. And Elijah never looked like a kid again.