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fellowshippers2007-04-09 04:51 pm
fictionbylouby.livejournal.com) wrote in fellowshippers2007-04-09 04:51 pm
Entry tags:
Fic: Silent Partners (4/?)
Title: Silent Partners (4/?)
Author: Louby![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fictionbylouby
Pairing: V/O, Orlando/Christian Bale
Rating: NC-17
Summary: The causes and consequences of infidelity.
Warnings: A.U, mentions of het, (non con & violence in later chapters).
Disclaimer: I have no affiliations with any of the actors, only the plot is mine.
AN: Beta read by my amazing twin sister Pippi.
AN 2: Thanks toimogen_lily for this gorgeous banner
Previous Chapters
Orlando juggled with his keys and the bag of Chinese takeaway as he made his way into the stunning apartment he shared with his husband. Throughout the journey home he had been on edge, and Viggo had noticed. The mere fact that Christian had left work at a reasonable hour and not in the dead of night had unnerved Orlando and his husband’s possible intentions laid greatly on his mind.
When he entered the apartment his husband was nowhere to be seen, Christian’s laptop lying open on the coffee table the only indication that his husband had returned home.
“Chris?” Orlando shouted as he put down the food and went in search of his husband. His eyes widened as he entered the dining room to find Christian putting the finishing touches to a candlelit dinner, albeit minus the food, but then again Orlando had take care of that.
“What’s all this?” Orli gasped in amazement. The last time Christian had done something like this was…..he couldn’t remember. This was the sort of thing Orlando used to do before getting involved with Viggo, in a fruitless attempt to lure his husband away from the office. This invariably ended in the younger man throwing away wasted food and crying himself to sleep.
“What does it look like idiot?” Christian ribbed gently, not seeing Orlando’s grimace; even when his husband was teasing him good naturedly the way Viggo did all the time, it always came across with a level of underlying malice. If Viggo called him an idiot, he’d take it as a term of endearment, but not with Christian.
“I’ll bring the food” Orlando said quietly.
“Well that would help” Christian called as Orlando left the dining room.
After Christian expressed his disapproval for Orlando’s choice of restaurant, the pair settled into their meal. The conversation was sparse, and the subject matter trivial. An onlooker would never have guessed that they had been married for almost three years; they were acting like strangers.
Christian polished off his plate in no time, but Orlando had completely lost his appetite, pushing his food around his plate in an attempt to look like he was enjoying it. It was testament to how distanced they had become that when his husband had came home from work early, Orlando’s immediate assumption was that something was wrong. He wished Chris would just let him know what was going on so that the shouting could start, anything was better than not knowing.
“So what’s all this about Chris?” Orlando wished his voice hadn’t sound so accusatory.
“Do I need a reason to do something nice for my husband?” Christian asked, and Orli had to bite his tongue to stop him from informing Christian that he doesn’t do it very often, but then he felt bad. Fair enough it wasn’t much, after all all Christian had done was put out a few plates and lit a candle; he’d relied on Orlando to pick up the food. Orli remembered a time when Christian picking him up from uni to take him for a picnic in Saint. James’ park was a regular occurrence, Christian’s latest half arsed efforts just went to show how much their marriage had changed, but at least he’d tried.
“Besides, my late meeting was cancelled so there wasn’t much point sticking around in the office.” There it was; the real reason for Christian’s apparent generosity, to think that Orlando had thought even for a second that his husband would ever leave the office early out of the goodness of his heart.
“But I did still want to spend time with you darling” Christian added quickly as he saw Orlando’s face fall. “I know we don’t spend as much time together as you’d like.” Orlando spotted straight away that his husband had said “you’d like” and not “we’d like.”
“It will get better Orli” Christian said as he left the table and walked around behind Orlando’s chair. Orlando didn’t know if Christian had felt him jump as soon as his husband’s hands touched his tense shoulders, if he had he hadn’t shown it. “I’m just so busy at work right now, we’re on the verge of signing a major contract but once that is signed things will quieten down, you’ll see.”
But Orlando didn’t believe him; he’d heard it a thousand times. He suspected the row they’d had at his mother’s had prompted Christian to try and make amends, but his husband would never admit that. He didn’t know how to apologise, no one ever expected him to, and by doing so he would be admitting he had been wrong, and Christian was never wrong.
Christian twisted Orlando’s head round and leaned down to kiss him, which Orlando accepted, despite the pain in his scalp as his husband pulled his hair too hard. Unlike Viggo’s kisses, Christian’s were hard and demanding; the kind that left your mouth sore afterwards, and not in a good way.
“I’d better clean up” Orlando said breathlessly as he pulled away, eager not to encourage Christian to take it further. He could see the irritated look in the Welshman’s eyes as he pulled away and just wanted to make himself scarce.
“Miranda can do it tomorrow morning” Christian replied, leaving little room for argument.
“Miranda has enough cleaning to do as it is; my back hurts just thinking about cleaning this place from top to bottom” Orlando responded as he stacked up the pots and started carrying them into the kitchen. “And we can’t just leave leftover food out, we’ll get mice.”
“You’re the perfect little housewife aren’t you Orli” Christian scoffed in frustration, following his husband out of the dining room, but not bothering to take any of the rubbish with him, what’s the point in having a maid if you tidy up yourself?
Christian seated himself on the couch and once again turned his attention to his laptop while his young husband worked on making the dining room presentable again, but Orli didn’t mind, anything to take the attention away from him. Because Christian was engrossed in work, Orlando thought he’d be able to sit on the couch without his husband paying him much attention, but he was wrong. Almost as soon as he sat down, Christian turned off the computer and moved closer to Orli. Orlando felt himself tense again; he had no other excuse for wanting to keep his distance.
He started to panic when Christian bent down and started to kiss his neck, not only because he was terrified of having to sleep with him, but also because if Viggo had left even the tiniest mark on him, Christian would spoke it immediately. When Christian pulled back and frowned, Orli’s heart was practically coming out of his chest.
“Have you been in the shower?” Christian asked suspiciously.
“No!” Orli answered a little too quickly. “Why?”
“Your hair’s a bit damp, it wasn’t raining was it?” Christian scrutinized Orlando carefully; his young husband had seemed on edge ever since he arrived home.
Orlando was almost shaking now, he had to think fast but was terrified to speak, the thought of Christian confronting him was making him sick with fear. If Christian asked him outright about Viggo, Orlando knew he wouldn’t be able to lie.
“I-I-I was in the gym” he stuttered, hoping his answer was somewhat plausible. “When you said have you been in the shower I thought you meant here, I was in the shower at the gym at uni.”
“So where’s your gym stuff?” Christian asked, still acting as if he didn’t believe his husband. Orli tried to remind himself that Christian was always like this, which was true. He always wanted to know where Orlando had been and where he was going, but at that minute, with Orlando’s panic increasing by the second, the young man was already thinking the worst.
“It’s in my locker” he answered after only a second but what felt like a lifetime. “I didn’t drive to work this morning so I didn’t want to carry my sweaty gym gear on the tube.”
“Oh right” Christian answered, seemingly satisfied with the Englishman’s reply, but a little confused by his increasingly erratic behaviour.
“Wait a minute” he started again. “Why on earth would you get takeaway from Yan Yan’s if you were at Guildhall? It’s completely out of your way whereas Happy Valley is only two streets away and is much nicer.”
“I don’t know, I just like it!” Orlando answered worriedly. He just wanted the questions to stop, he felt like his was being interrogated and didn’t know how much longer he could keep lying before he cracked. That thought alone didn’t nothing but panic him even further.
“You really need to learn about decent cuisine Darling” Christian whispered as he pulled Orlando back against him. “Have I taught you nothing?”
Orlando breathed an audible sigh of relief when the Spanish inquisition finally stopped, only to begin to panic further when he felt Christian start to unbutton his jeans. There was no way Orlando could let Christian fuck him, he was still too sore from his exertions with Viggo. Plus his back ached, and he was still so open from when Viggo had been inside him, he could feel it. As soon as his husband saw how easily he could enter him, he would know straight away what he had been doing that afternoon. Suddenly Orlando felt short of breath; his heart was beating so fast that it hurt and every time Christian moved to get further on top of him he felt more claustrophobic; like he was being crushed and Christian was driving the air from his body. Finally he felt his adrenaline kick in and he suddenly pushed with all his might against the muscled form on top of him, surprising himself with the amount of force he had managed to exert.
“What on earth are you doing Orlando?” Christian shouted as he was almost pushed off the couch.
“I need….a drink” Orlando managed to gasp, terrified when he struggled to regain composure. He staggered towards to kitchen, not concerned when he knocked over an expensive lamp as he tried to steady himself. He finally reached the kitchen and ran himself a glass of water, not caring when the tap sprayed water everywhere. The water did nothing to calm him down; in fact he could feel his breathing becoming worse by the second.
“What’s the matter?” Christian asked voice full of concern.
Orli all but screamed when he saw Christian at the door, blocking his escape. A small part of his mind knew that Christian was worried, but the majority, the panicked part of his mind, simply saw him as his tormentor, whom he needed to escape.
Orlando quickly tried to get through the door and dodge Christian as he tried to grab him, but he wasn’t fast enough, especially not in his state, so when Chris pulled him into a tight embrace all he could do was struggle weakly.
“Shhhh” Christian soothed as best he could, but it was hopeless. “This is silly, calm down darling.” He was terrible at this sort of thing and he’d never seen Orlando like this before. He had no idea what had caused it or how to fix it.
“Let me go” Orli stuttered unsteadily. “Please.”
Christian finally relented, knowing that he was doing no good. As soon as he was free from his husband’s hold Orli ran as fast as he could towards one of the bathrooms; the only room in the apartment that had a lock. As soon as the lock was in place Orlando sank to the floor, the last bit of control slipping from the young man. Both his hands went to his head, finding his hair soaking wet with sweat. His started running his fingers through his hair, a technique that he had been taught by his doctor when he was a teenager to calm himself down when he had a panic attack. He knew at that point that he was having a panic attack but he hadn’t had one in so long that he couldn’t remember how to deal with them. Running his fingers through his hair usually soothed him, but not now. The fact that it wasn’t helping him just made him worse; he couldn’t catch his breath and the room was starting to spin from lack of oxygen.
“Orli?!” Christian shouted, banging on the door. “Open the door Orli, let me help you.” Christian didn’t know how he could help, but he needed to see that his husband was alright.
Orli slammed his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to imagine Viggo was there with him and not Christian shouting and banging on the door. He couldn’t really focus on what Christian was saying to him, until he heard and saw the door shake; Christian was trying to break down the door. Orli managed to drag himself to the other side of the spacious bathroom, his oxygen starved mind thinking that he could hide from Christian, it never registered that the door was made of solid oak and there was no way one man, even the size of Christian, could break it down with his bare hands. Then suddenly it went quiet, and Orli at last had time to think. Had Christian got tired and given up? The thought comforted Orlando until he realised that he was locked in on his own with no one to help him. And so his attack continued. He was now so mentally and physically exhausted that he all but collapsed on the cold floor, tears streaming down his face as he shut his eyes and imagined he was safe in Viggo’s arms.
**************************
Christian pulled on the first pair of shoes that he found, for once in his life not caring if they matched his suit, before racing out the door and down the stairs, there wasn’t time to wait for the lift. Christian reached the lobby in record time before running down the street towards the smaller, more modest apartments. This was where Jake Gyllenhaal lived with 5 other students. Jake was a 4th year medical student at Kings College London plus he was Orlando’s best friend, so there really wasn’t anyone else within 3 minutes of their apartment who could handle the situation any better.
Jake woke suddenly from his position at his desk, his head buried in a textbook on haematology. The house was quiet, suggesting that he was home alone; the only sound was the traffic outside and someone ringing the buzzer furiously. Still rubbing his eyes to try and wake himself up, his made his way to the intercom.
“Yeah?” he asked blearily as he picked up the receiver. A second later he had dropped the phone and was out the door where he met a very stressed looking Christian.
“What did you do?” Jake asked harshly as the pair made their way back to the apartment. It was no secret that Jake and Christian didn’t get on but this was neither the time nor the place to dwell on it.
“What makes you think I did anything?” Christian snapped back, he was used to Jake making his feelings about him known; he was renowned for speaking his mind regardless of the consequences.
“Orli doesn’t just have panic attacks for no reason, you must have done something to him”
“Orli doesn’t have panic attacks period” Christian retorted as the pair barged into the apartment lobby, not bothering to wait for the doorman.
“Jesus you don’t know your own husband at all, do you?” Jake asked angrily asked they ran to catch the lift. “He used to have them all the time after his Dad left, and then when he broke his back.”
“Well it’s not my fault if he never told me” Christian muttered, trying to keep some form of dignity in front of the other residents in the lift. “He’s probably embarrassed and doesn’t want anyone to know”
“Well he told me” Jake replied, keeping his eyes forward with a small look of triumph on this face.
Christian considered this but didn’t have time to reply as the finally reached the top floor. “He’s locked himself in the bathroom” he told the medical student.
“You should have called an ambulance” Jake said almost to himself, shaking his head as they ran across the apartment. “I don’t know what I’m doing.” He examined the sturdy door carefully, there was no way they were going be able to break it down.
“I need a screwdriver” he stated simply, calling to Orli reassuringly through to door, trying to keep his cool when he got no reply other than wheezing and quiet sobs.
“What do you need a screwdriver for?” Christian asked in confusion.
“Well I’m not going to operate with it!” Jake yelled back in annoyance. “I need to unscrew the door handle; it’s one of those with the lock on right?” Christian nodded. “So when I unscrew the doorknob, I unscrew the lock! For God’s sake Bale move your ass, surely not even you can so high and mighty that you don’t keep a basic toolkit.”
Luckily for Christian he wasn’t, and ran quickly to retrieve said item from under the sink; he knew better than to waste time and face Jake’s wrath. Once Jake had the screwdriver he managed to relieve the door of its handle with minimal effort, and get inside to gently pull Orli out of the bathroom, more than slightly alarmed when he saw his friend’s grey skin and blue tinged lips. His heart rate was dangerously fast, and his breathing was erratic, but he’d all but lost his energy to fight and so he allowed Christian to carry him quickly over to the couch.
“Take off his t-shirt and rub his back” Jake told Christian, willing himself to remember what he had learnt about panic attacks, but then again learning about something in theory was very different to having to administer treatment to your best friend. Christian did as was instructed, feeling Orlando begin to struggle as his hands first touched bare skin, but he was too weak for his efforts to do any good.
“It’s okay Orli, you’re safe. Nothing’s going to happen to you” Jake reassured the terrified young man. “I just need you to take slow, deep breaths for me”
“I….can’t” Orli croaked between wheezes.
“Yes you can Orli” Jake answered in a calm voice. “In….and out. You can do that.” Jake brought Orli’s trembling hand up to his chest so he could feel Jake’s heartbeat beneath his palm. “Breath with me Orli”
Much to Jake and Christian’s relief, after a few minutes Orli’s breathing seemed to calm down a little; he wasn’t quite over it, but at least he was getting oxygen and wasn’t shaking anymore.
“Lie down” Jake whispered softly after seeing Orli was too exhausted to support himself. Orli managed to ease himself down to lie on the couch, still panting but looking a lot healthier than he had 10 minutes ago. Jake knelt down on the floor next to him, keeping Orli’s hand on his chest and rubbing his back periodically, constantly uttering calm words of reassurance.
“Can you make him some herbal tea?” Jake asked Christian. “Camomile is best, calms the nerves.”
Christian nodded, heading to the kitchen to make the drink. After a few clatters and curses he poked his head round the door. “I don’t think we have any, Camomile or not.”
Jake rolled his eyes in exasperation, making sure he didn’t raise his voice and startle the calming Orlando. “It’s Orli! Of course you’ve got herbal tea! Keep looking”
By the time Christian had finally found and made the tea, Orli was almost back to normal, curled up on the couch while Jake soothingly stroked his hair. As Christian passed him the cup Orli managed to pull himself into a sitting position, giving his husband a small smile as he accepted the hot cup and shakily brought it to his lips.
“What on earth happened Orli?” Christian asked eagerly as soon as he’d handed over the beverage.
“Not now Christian” Jake chipped in before the Welshman set Orli off again. “Now’s not the time, he’s exhausted.”
Christian didn’t know what else to do, he’d been useless before Orlando’s panic attack, during it and now his young husband was recovering and he was still helpless. He stood back and watched the young American comfort Orlando in a way he had never been able to, not even when they first got married. The whole situation left him feeling so uncomfortable; he couldn’t handle emotions – well, emotions other than the likes of anger and jealousy. He knew his strengths; he was diligent, ruthless, and aggressive and had a head for business that Richard Branson would be proud of, all in all the perfect candidate to take over his father’s empire. But when it came to marriage, he had come to realise that those skills are all but useless. He knew what he lacked; compassion, patience, affection and the ability to fix the wrongs he had done. He loved Orli, he loved him so much, but he could feel him slipping away, and instead of trying to win his husband back, he was doing the only thing he knew how to do – bully him into submission. He could see he was slowly destroying the younger man but part of him rejoiced in that; if he was broken then nobody else would want him.
“I just remembered” Christian said suddenly, willing to try anything to remove himself from the situation. “A report was being faxed through from New York, I need to go and pick it up.” He wondered if the two younger men believed him, from the looks on their faces he didn’t think so.
“It’s fine, I’ll stay with him” Jake said with barely disguised disdain.
“No Jake” Orli spoke for the first time since the incident began. “You’re too busy, you’ve got shifts at the hospital at the crack of dawn and your exams are just round the corner.”
“Fuck off Orli” Jake retorted good naturedly “Are you sure you didn’t bang your head when you were locked in there? I’m hardly going to leave you; you need someone to take care of you tonight.” Orli seemed to accept this, nodding his head and smiling. He was glad Jake wanted to stay. “And anyway, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on work knowing the state I’d left you in” he continued, looking pointedly at Christian. “There are more important things to life than work.”
Christian took that as his cue to leave; not quite believing the way Jake was talking to him. If someone spoke to him like that at work he would have sacked them on the spot. Orlando knew better than to speak to him like that, but then again Jake and Orli were worlds apart in terms of their demeanours. “I might end up staying late, I’ll get more work done on the report if I deal with it in the office” he called over his shoulder as he picked up his keys and briefcase, but neither of the young men heard him, neither were even listening.
“It’s alright he’s gone” Jake said as he heard Christian slam the door. He turned to Orli. “You gonna tell me what happened?”
Orli sighed; he wished he could just fall asleep and forget the whole startling incident. “Not yet Jake, I haven’t got my head round it yet, I haven’t had an attack in so long, I forgot how frightening it is.” He brought his hands into his hair, working his fingers through the damp curls. This time it did help. “Shit I need a shower” he said in disgust. “I’m saturated.”
He got up to walk to the bathroom, shocked at how unsteady he still was on his feet. As if to emphasise his point, his legs suddenly gave way beneath him, luckily Jake was on hand to catch him.
“Or maybe a bath” Jake chuckled as Orlando regained his balance, allowing his best friend to lead him to the bathroom.
“You sure you don’t mind staying?” Orli asked as he sat down on the closed toilet seat, watching as Jake starting running the bath.
“I told you I didn’t, stop asking” Jake replied, reminding himself that he should probably tone down his sharp tongue considering the fragile state Orli was in. He looked over at Orli, he didn’t seem to mind. “I don’t have much choice anyway” he continued. “I’ve locked myself out.” He smiled when Orlando burst out laughing. “But I couldn’t let Chris know that, now he feels guilty.”
“You’re evil” Orlando laughed, shaking his head. When Jake indicated that the bath was run, Orlando got up, waiting for Jake to leave.
“I’m not undressing in front of you!” Orlando exclaimed.
“Come on, I’m a medical student and a gay man”” Jake snorted at his best friend’s modesty. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”
“That’s what I’m worried about! I never know what you’re thinking or what you’re gonna say next-you make me nervous!”
“Orli” Jake said seriously. “You can barely stand, I’m not going to leave you alone in a bath of water, you could drown.”
“Fine” Orli sighed in defeat. “But turn around while I get in, in fact go and get me my tabs.”
“What did your last slave did of?” Jake shouted over his shoulder as he fetched Orli’s cigarettes and lighter from his coat pocket before returning to the bathroom where Orli had climbed into the bath, relaxing as the hot water soothed his tired muscles.
“I’d better screw that doorknob back on” Jake said absentmindedly as he passed the items to Orli. “I can’t imagine Christian is very handy around the home.”
“Christian doesn’t like me smoking in the house” Orlando said as he took a long drag on the cigarette.
“Fuck Christian” Jake retorted. “He should have stayed here with you, especially since he was the one that got you in that state to begin with.”
“He told you that?”
“No, but what else could have caused it?” Jake replied as he worked at reattaching the doorknob, looking up every now and then to make sure Orli was okay. “Viggo sure as hell wouldn’t have got you worked up like that.” Orlando smiled at the mention of his lover’s name, not even bothering to defend Christian this time. It wasn’t entirely Christian’s fault, but he was less than useless when he needed his help, and then he’d ran at the first opportunity. No, he wouldn’t defend him.
“So are you going to tell me what happened or not?” Jake called as he returned the screwdriver to the kitchen.
“Can we wait until I’m not naked and up to my chest in bubbles” Orlando called back, throwing the cigarette end into the toilet bowl. He heard Jake muter something under his breath in protest, but didn’t answer.
Jake was just pouring Orlando another cup of Camomile tea, and making a cup of normal tea for himself, when Orlando padded through to the kitchen in sleep pants and a baggy t-shirt, looking absolutely shattered.
“How are you feeling?” Jake asked as both a student doctor and a friend.
“Better” Orlando smiled as he sat down on the couch, pulling the throw that his mother made around his shoulders.
“Tell me what happened” Jake pleaded as he brought the drinks over.
Orlando exhaled heavily. He didn’t really want to rehash to whole event but he could see that his friend was worried and dismissing it would make him think he had something to hide. “Chris text me…while I was with Viggo, telling me to come home early” Orli started, his eyes focusing on the hot liquid in his favourite Chelsea mug. “My nerves started as soon as I read the text, when was the last time he came home from work this early in the evening? Your guess is as good as mine!” Jake nodded in agreement. “Turns out he just wanted to have dinner with me, that’s what he said anyway. But I couldn’t relax. Then suddenly he was all over me, physically and mentally. I’d only been with Viggo a few hours ago and feeling someone else’s hands on me felt so wrong, I couldn’t stand it. Then there were the questions. He kept firing them at me like a machine gun. Why was my hair wet? Where was my stuff? Why did I go to that restaurant? It was all so overwhelming and before I knew it I was having a panic attack, I tried to calm myself down but he kept following me and I just wanted to escape.”
“And that’s how you ended up in the bathroom?” Jake pressed gently.
Orlando nodded, looking up at Jake. “I know it was stupid, locking myself where no one could help me. But I felt like I was suffocating.”
“The day that you walk away from this place for good can’t come enough.” Jake said, shaking his head. “How long is it until ‘the day’?”
Orlando smiled, it wasn’t long at all. “3 weeks, 3 days.”
“Good” Jake said sternly as he switched on the T.V. “You can’t go on like this much longer.”
The pair spent the next few hours flicking through the numerous channels, stopping every so often when something took their fancy. Neither were surprised that Christian hadn’t returned, it was nothing new.
“Come on, bed” Jake instructed just before 11pm when he saw Orlando was having trouble keeping his eyes open.
“Kay” Orli said sleepily as Jake switched off the T.V and lights. Jake looked out the window, his apartment was still in darkness, meaning his flatmates were still at the pub. He had wanted to stay with Orli anyway, but he was still locked out so now he had an excuse.
“Will you stay with me?” Orlando asked quietly when he saw Jake heading into one of the guest rooms.
Jake stopped for a second. “Won’t Chris mind?” He didn’t want to cause anymore trouble for Orlando.
“I don’t care” Orlando retorted. “But no, he won’t mind. In fact he’ll probably be relieved, means he won’t have to confront what happened, not right away at least.”
Jake rolled his eyes as he toed of his shoes and pulled of his jeans. If that evening’s events were anything to go by he was going to have to keep an eye on his friend over the next few weeks. That should be easy in theory, they lived on the same road and less than 5 minutes walk from one another. Once Orli moved in with Viggo, he’d have to take a backseat in Orli’s welfare. While he was excited as Orli was about him moving in with his lover, the more selfish side of him was dreading the time when he closest friend would no longer be on his doorstep. When Jake first moved to London he was just beginning his medical degree, having realised his desire to work for the NHS, where your right to medical care was not determined by your bank balance, but was a basic human right. He’d been struggling into the student flat alone when Orli had run from across the street to help him with his boxes. The pair had been firm friends ever since, both relating to leaving their family and being alone in such a daunting city for the first time. Jake had initially hoped that he and Orli would become an item, before realising the other boy’s feelings for Christian. Jake knew that part of his issue with Christian was that he had taken Orli from him, but until the Welshman starting mistreating Orli his feelings had been more a mild annoyance to the full blown contempt he felt now. If he were honest he’d admit that his overwhelming need to protect Orlando came about the first time he had seen Orli and Christian together. Even though they weren’t a couple at that point, he could see the hold the older man had over him. When they starting dating he thought he’d been proved wrong, and he was glad he had. But then when the real Christian reared his ugly head he found himself constantly regretting his decision not to warn Orlando of his concerns.
“I said do you want a spare toothbrush” Jake jumped suddenly as Orlando’s voice brought him back to reality.
“Yeah sure” he smiled as he took the toothbrush from Orli’s hand and headed to the en suite. By the time he returned Orli had climbed into the enormous bed and had turned off the light.
“Oh my God” Jake groaned in satisfaction as he climbed in bed beside Orlando. “This has got to be the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in.”
“Chris spent a small fortune having it designed” Orli explained. “That side’s different to my side. Apparently to help with my back problems, but both sides feel the same to me.”
“You’ve just got too accustomed to having the best that money can buy.” Jake teased gently.
Orli was silent for several moments; Jake thought he had fallen asleep before he finally spoke again.
“You really think that? That I’ve gotten too used to the money?”
“Of course not Orli, I’m just kidding you”
“Because that’s what people think. But it can’t be true can it? If it were all about the money then I’d never leave him.” Orlando argued, desperate for his best friend to know he wasn’t just another gold digger. “I’ll be left with nothing and I don’t even care because I’ll have Viggo and money can’t buy that!”
“Well you won’t be left with nothing” Jake reasoned. “There’s the pre-nup”
“I won’t get anything from the pre-nup” Orlando replied quietly.
“Sure you will. You get a million pounds – you’ll be set for life”
“Jake, the pre-nup had an infidelity clause” Orli explained gently. “If we divorced because I cheated on him, I get nothing.”
Jake was gob smacked. “But I saw you sign it, how could I not know that? Why would you sign it?”
“It was between me and Chris, and I had no issue signing it. At the time I was convinced I’d never love anyone like I loved him, and like I said, I don’t want his money.”
“I still think it’s underhanded” Jake huffed indignantly.
Orlando laughed at his friend, like Christian, Jake hated to lose. But at least he was humorous in his defeat. “Good night Jake.”
**********************
Viggo checked his watch anxiously for the tenth time in a matter of minutes, it was almost 10 o’clock and there was still no sign of Orli at work; he was never late for work, especially not this late. Where the Hell was he? There was the chance that he was ill, but he had been fine when Viggo had left him the previous afternoon, and surely he would have called him to stop Viggo from worrying. So why had he heard nothing from the younger man since he left him in front of his apartment the day before? He didn’t have the answers, but he was determined to get to the bottom of it; only he couldn’t get in touch with his lover, because his phone was turned off. He knew Orli wouldn’t just not turn up for no reason, he would know that Viggo would worry; it had to have something to do with Christian.
Taking a deep breath, Viggo picked up the office phone and dialled Orli’s home number. The pair never phoned each other’s houses, it was too risky. But if Christian had found out about their affair…Viggo didn’t want to think about his reaction, and that made it an emergency. The phone rang several times and there was no reply, if Viggo couldn’t get through to his lover, he didn’t know what he would do.
Finally after what seemed like hours of the same ringing tone, he heard the phone click at the other end.
“Hello?” He heard Orli answer sleepily on the other end.
“Baby?” Viggo asked urgently.
“Vig?” Orli replied in confusion, rubbing his eyes and stretching as he did. “What’s the matter?”
“You’re not at work and I’ve heard nothing from you.” Viggo couldn’t put into words how happy and relieved he was to hear Orlando’s voice.
“What do you mean? It’s only…” Orli looked blearily at the clock. “Shit! Jake wake up, it’s 10 in the morning!”
“You’re in bed with Jake?” Viggo asked in an amused voice.
“It’s a long story, I don’t want to go into it over the phone” Orli replied angrily. “Shit Viggo I’m so sorry. I don’t even need to ask how worried you were if you felt the need to phone the home line. Fucking Chris! He must have turned off my phone last night so my alarm hasn’t woke me up.”
“It’s okay angel, you’re safe. That’s the main thing.” Viggo knew Orlando going AWOL would be down to Christian, but at least his lover wasn’t hurt in any way.
“It’s not okay, if Christian had any consideration he’d have at least called in sick for me.”
“It’s done now Orli” Viggo sighed. “Look, I’ve got that meeting with the head of theatre this afternoon and by the time you get here it’ll be near enough lunch so you might as well have the day off.”
“Thanks Vig, I think I need it. But like I said, I’ll explain some other time.”
“You make sure you do baby, I want to know what’s going on. But you sound fine and Jake’s with you so I’m satisfied for the time being.”
“See you soon Viggo. I love you.” Orlando said, smiling as he did so.
“Love you too Orli.”
Orlando smiled as he hung up the phone, turning round to see Jake with a goofy grin on his face.
“You’re so lovesick Orli” he teased, batting his eyelids for emphasis.
“I’m sick something!” Orlando retorted. “I’m so cross with him Jake! Viggo’s been going spare! In fact I’m going to phone him now.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea Orli?” Jake asked warningly. “You’re angry and I don’t want you to say something you regret. But Orlando was already dialling, and all Jake could do was throw his hands up in defeat.
“Bale Haulage West London Office”
“Liv, it’s Orli. I need to speak to Christian”.
“Sorry Orli, Mr. Bale gave my strict instructions that he is not to be disturbed.” Liv replied apologetically.
“Either you put him on or I’m coming down there in person.” Orlando hated speaking to people that way, especially Liv whom he got on with really well; he was just so very annoyed. Liv obviously wasn’t used to Orli’s tone of voice as he heard her gasp, but transfer him through to Christian’s office none the less.
“What is it Orlando?” Christian asked sharply as he picked up the phone.
“What do you think? I was supposed to be at work 2 hours ago and you turned off my bloody alarm!” Orlando almost screamed down the phone.
“I know, I thought you could have done with the sleep. But obviously you’re being your normal ungrateful self!”
“You could have at least phoned work so they knew what was going on”
“Oh what does it matter Orlando?” Christian asked in irritation. “It’s not like it’s real work is it? What’s the worst that could happen if you’re not there?”
“I love my job” Orlando said seriously. “And Viggo was worried about me.”
“Why would Viggo be worried?”
“He’s my friend!” Orlando snapped, emphasising the word ‘friend.’ He wouldn’t let Christian intimidate him with questions, not this time. He was too angry.
“Viggo’s your boss” Christian said spitefully. “I very much doubt he was worried”
“So you’re not worried if your employees don’t turn up for work, and you’ve heard nothing from them hours later?” Orlando asked incredulously.
“I’d be worried that there was work that wasn’t being done!” Christian laughed.
“Oh get real Christian” Orlando spat back before slamming the phone back onto the receiver.
********************
Orlando and Jake spent the rest of the day lounging around and taking in the cream of daytime T.V. They were half way through a repeat of The Jeremy Kyle Show when the intercom buzzed.
“It’s Viggo” Jake said in confusion as he turned away from the intercom and opened the front door.
“What? Seriously” Orlando asked in disbelief as he got up from the couch. His questions were answered as his lover popped his head round the door seconds later, suddenly finding himself with an armful of Orli.
“What are you doing here?” Orlando asked in astonishment, wrapping his legs around Viggo’s waist and allowing his lover to carry him over to the couch.
“I wanted to see you” Viggo said simply, sitting on the couch still with Orlando on top of him. “And I knew Christian would be at work. At least I hope he is since you’re on my knee.”
Jake made himself busy to give the pair of them a few minutes alone. He went over to the door and slipped the chain on; he didn’t expect Christian to make an appearance for at least another four hours but they could never be too careful. That way at least if Christian did arrive unexpectedly Orlando and Viggo could disentangle themselves from each other before one of them took the chain off. He was just heading to the bathroom when he overheard Viggo asking Orli what had happened the previous night with Christian.
“He had a panic attack Viggo, that’s all.” He answered before the Brit could open his mouth. “But he’s fine now.”
Viggo looked at Orlando dubiously. “You sure?”
“Positive” Orli answered with a quick kiss to Viggo’s lips, indicating that he didn’t want to go into detail.
“Shit.” Viggo said suddenly as he lifted Orli up and pulled something from his back pocket. “I almost forgot to tell you about this.”
Orlando took the opened envelope from Viggo. “I need to go to Edinburgh for a few days for a conference. I’ve just been to that meeting and they want you to go with me, said it would be valuable experience.”
Orlando’s eyes widened. “You mean…”
“Yup. Two nights in a hotel in a city where nobody knows us. Sounds like heaven. That is if you want to come.”
“Of course I do you bloody idiot” Orli laughed ecstatically as he hugged Viggo.
“That’s settled then” Viggo laughed back. “We need to be in Edinburgh by Monday afternoon, but I reckon we should leave Sunday evening to beat the traffic. I know it’s a long drive but it’s more private than getting the train and we’ll need a car once we get there anyway. We’ll obviously need to book two rooms, but hopefully we’ll only be using one of them if you know what I mean.”
“Ewww you guys” Jake said in mock disgust. “I don’t need to hear this, just reminds me of the fact that I’m not getting any!”
“You said you slept with Sean at the hospital just the other week!” Orli exclaimed.
“What? My Sean?!” Viggo asked in disbelief.
“You knew that Vig” Orli replied. “Sean told you”
“No, Sean told me he slept with who the hospital staff refer to as the crazy yank!”
“Erm…hello?!” said Jake somewhat indignantly, waving at Viggo.
“Oh” Viggo said, embarrassed. “But Sean’s your supervisor! That’s so wrong.” He looked up at Orli and Jake; both looked back at him pointedly.
“O.K you win” Viggo admitted in defeat. “Pot calling kettle black. You hot young things, what’s a guy to do?!”
Orlando laughed loudly as he snuggled further into Viggo’s embrace. He was already counting the hours until they were needed in Edinburgh; it was going to be heaven. He knew Christian would have something to say on the matter, but he didn’t care one bit; wild horses couldn’t keep him away.
TBC
Author: Louby
fictionbyloubyPairing: V/O, Orlando/Christian Bale
Rating: NC-17
Summary: The causes and consequences of infidelity.
Warnings: A.U, mentions of het, (non con & violence in later chapters).
Disclaimer: I have no affiliations with any of the actors, only the plot is mine.
AN: Beta read by my amazing twin sister Pippi.
AN 2: Thanks to
imogen_lily for this gorgeous bannerPrevious Chapters
Orlando juggled with his keys and the bag of Chinese takeaway as he made his way into the stunning apartment he shared with his husband. Throughout the journey home he had been on edge, and Viggo had noticed. The mere fact that Christian had left work at a reasonable hour and not in the dead of night had unnerved Orlando and his husband’s possible intentions laid greatly on his mind.
When he entered the apartment his husband was nowhere to be seen, Christian’s laptop lying open on the coffee table the only indication that his husband had returned home.
“Chris?” Orlando shouted as he put down the food and went in search of his husband. His eyes widened as he entered the dining room to find Christian putting the finishing touches to a candlelit dinner, albeit minus the food, but then again Orlando had take care of that.
“What’s all this?” Orli gasped in amazement. The last time Christian had done something like this was…..he couldn’t remember. This was the sort of thing Orlando used to do before getting involved with Viggo, in a fruitless attempt to lure his husband away from the office. This invariably ended in the younger man throwing away wasted food and crying himself to sleep.
“What does it look like idiot?” Christian ribbed gently, not seeing Orlando’s grimace; even when his husband was teasing him good naturedly the way Viggo did all the time, it always came across with a level of underlying malice. If Viggo called him an idiot, he’d take it as a term of endearment, but not with Christian.
“I’ll bring the food” Orlando said quietly.
“Well that would help” Christian called as Orlando left the dining room.
After Christian expressed his disapproval for Orlando’s choice of restaurant, the pair settled into their meal. The conversation was sparse, and the subject matter trivial. An onlooker would never have guessed that they had been married for almost three years; they were acting like strangers.
Christian polished off his plate in no time, but Orlando had completely lost his appetite, pushing his food around his plate in an attempt to look like he was enjoying it. It was testament to how distanced they had become that when his husband had came home from work early, Orlando’s immediate assumption was that something was wrong. He wished Chris would just let him know what was going on so that the shouting could start, anything was better than not knowing.
“So what’s all this about Chris?” Orlando wished his voice hadn’t sound so accusatory.
“Do I need a reason to do something nice for my husband?” Christian asked, and Orli had to bite his tongue to stop him from informing Christian that he doesn’t do it very often, but then he felt bad. Fair enough it wasn’t much, after all all Christian had done was put out a few plates and lit a candle; he’d relied on Orlando to pick up the food. Orli remembered a time when Christian picking him up from uni to take him for a picnic in Saint. James’ park was a regular occurrence, Christian’s latest half arsed efforts just went to show how much their marriage had changed, but at least he’d tried.
“Besides, my late meeting was cancelled so there wasn’t much point sticking around in the office.” There it was; the real reason for Christian’s apparent generosity, to think that Orlando had thought even for a second that his husband would ever leave the office early out of the goodness of his heart.
“But I did still want to spend time with you darling” Christian added quickly as he saw Orlando’s face fall. “I know we don’t spend as much time together as you’d like.” Orlando spotted straight away that his husband had said “you’d like” and not “we’d like.”
“It will get better Orli” Christian said as he left the table and walked around behind Orlando’s chair. Orlando didn’t know if Christian had felt him jump as soon as his husband’s hands touched his tense shoulders, if he had he hadn’t shown it. “I’m just so busy at work right now, we’re on the verge of signing a major contract but once that is signed things will quieten down, you’ll see.”
But Orlando didn’t believe him; he’d heard it a thousand times. He suspected the row they’d had at his mother’s had prompted Christian to try and make amends, but his husband would never admit that. He didn’t know how to apologise, no one ever expected him to, and by doing so he would be admitting he had been wrong, and Christian was never wrong.
Christian twisted Orlando’s head round and leaned down to kiss him, which Orlando accepted, despite the pain in his scalp as his husband pulled his hair too hard. Unlike Viggo’s kisses, Christian’s were hard and demanding; the kind that left your mouth sore afterwards, and not in a good way.
“I’d better clean up” Orlando said breathlessly as he pulled away, eager not to encourage Christian to take it further. He could see the irritated look in the Welshman’s eyes as he pulled away and just wanted to make himself scarce.
“Miranda can do it tomorrow morning” Christian replied, leaving little room for argument.
“Miranda has enough cleaning to do as it is; my back hurts just thinking about cleaning this place from top to bottom” Orlando responded as he stacked up the pots and started carrying them into the kitchen. “And we can’t just leave leftover food out, we’ll get mice.”
“You’re the perfect little housewife aren’t you Orli” Christian scoffed in frustration, following his husband out of the dining room, but not bothering to take any of the rubbish with him, what’s the point in having a maid if you tidy up yourself?
Christian seated himself on the couch and once again turned his attention to his laptop while his young husband worked on making the dining room presentable again, but Orli didn’t mind, anything to take the attention away from him. Because Christian was engrossed in work, Orlando thought he’d be able to sit on the couch without his husband paying him much attention, but he was wrong. Almost as soon as he sat down, Christian turned off the computer and moved closer to Orli. Orlando felt himself tense again; he had no other excuse for wanting to keep his distance.
He started to panic when Christian bent down and started to kiss his neck, not only because he was terrified of having to sleep with him, but also because if Viggo had left even the tiniest mark on him, Christian would spoke it immediately. When Christian pulled back and frowned, Orli’s heart was practically coming out of his chest.
“Have you been in the shower?” Christian asked suspiciously.
“No!” Orli answered a little too quickly. “Why?”
“Your hair’s a bit damp, it wasn’t raining was it?” Christian scrutinized Orlando carefully; his young husband had seemed on edge ever since he arrived home.
Orlando was almost shaking now, he had to think fast but was terrified to speak, the thought of Christian confronting him was making him sick with fear. If Christian asked him outright about Viggo, Orlando knew he wouldn’t be able to lie.
“I-I-I was in the gym” he stuttered, hoping his answer was somewhat plausible. “When you said have you been in the shower I thought you meant here, I was in the shower at the gym at uni.”
“So where’s your gym stuff?” Christian asked, still acting as if he didn’t believe his husband. Orli tried to remind himself that Christian was always like this, which was true. He always wanted to know where Orlando had been and where he was going, but at that minute, with Orlando’s panic increasing by the second, the young man was already thinking the worst.
“It’s in my locker” he answered after only a second but what felt like a lifetime. “I didn’t drive to work this morning so I didn’t want to carry my sweaty gym gear on the tube.”
“Oh right” Christian answered, seemingly satisfied with the Englishman’s reply, but a little confused by his increasingly erratic behaviour.
“Wait a minute” he started again. “Why on earth would you get takeaway from Yan Yan’s if you were at Guildhall? It’s completely out of your way whereas Happy Valley is only two streets away and is much nicer.”
“I don’t know, I just like it!” Orlando answered worriedly. He just wanted the questions to stop, he felt like his was being interrogated and didn’t know how much longer he could keep lying before he cracked. That thought alone didn’t nothing but panic him even further.
“You really need to learn about decent cuisine Darling” Christian whispered as he pulled Orlando back against him. “Have I taught you nothing?”
Orlando breathed an audible sigh of relief when the Spanish inquisition finally stopped, only to begin to panic further when he felt Christian start to unbutton his jeans. There was no way Orlando could let Christian fuck him, he was still too sore from his exertions with Viggo. Plus his back ached, and he was still so open from when Viggo had been inside him, he could feel it. As soon as his husband saw how easily he could enter him, he would know straight away what he had been doing that afternoon. Suddenly Orlando felt short of breath; his heart was beating so fast that it hurt and every time Christian moved to get further on top of him he felt more claustrophobic; like he was being crushed and Christian was driving the air from his body. Finally he felt his adrenaline kick in and he suddenly pushed with all his might against the muscled form on top of him, surprising himself with the amount of force he had managed to exert.
“What on earth are you doing Orlando?” Christian shouted as he was almost pushed off the couch.
“I need….a drink” Orlando managed to gasp, terrified when he struggled to regain composure. He staggered towards to kitchen, not concerned when he knocked over an expensive lamp as he tried to steady himself. He finally reached the kitchen and ran himself a glass of water, not caring when the tap sprayed water everywhere. The water did nothing to calm him down; in fact he could feel his breathing becoming worse by the second.
“What’s the matter?” Christian asked voice full of concern.
Orli all but screamed when he saw Christian at the door, blocking his escape. A small part of his mind knew that Christian was worried, but the majority, the panicked part of his mind, simply saw him as his tormentor, whom he needed to escape.
Orlando quickly tried to get through the door and dodge Christian as he tried to grab him, but he wasn’t fast enough, especially not in his state, so when Chris pulled him into a tight embrace all he could do was struggle weakly.
“Shhhh” Christian soothed as best he could, but it was hopeless. “This is silly, calm down darling.” He was terrible at this sort of thing and he’d never seen Orlando like this before. He had no idea what had caused it or how to fix it.
“Let me go” Orli stuttered unsteadily. “Please.”
Christian finally relented, knowing that he was doing no good. As soon as he was free from his husband’s hold Orli ran as fast as he could towards one of the bathrooms; the only room in the apartment that had a lock. As soon as the lock was in place Orlando sank to the floor, the last bit of control slipping from the young man. Both his hands went to his head, finding his hair soaking wet with sweat. His started running his fingers through his hair, a technique that he had been taught by his doctor when he was a teenager to calm himself down when he had a panic attack. He knew at that point that he was having a panic attack but he hadn’t had one in so long that he couldn’t remember how to deal with them. Running his fingers through his hair usually soothed him, but not now. The fact that it wasn’t helping him just made him worse; he couldn’t catch his breath and the room was starting to spin from lack of oxygen.
“Orli?!” Christian shouted, banging on the door. “Open the door Orli, let me help you.” Christian didn’t know how he could help, but he needed to see that his husband was alright.
Orli slammed his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to imagine Viggo was there with him and not Christian shouting and banging on the door. He couldn’t really focus on what Christian was saying to him, until he heard and saw the door shake; Christian was trying to break down the door. Orli managed to drag himself to the other side of the spacious bathroom, his oxygen starved mind thinking that he could hide from Christian, it never registered that the door was made of solid oak and there was no way one man, even the size of Christian, could break it down with his bare hands. Then suddenly it went quiet, and Orli at last had time to think. Had Christian got tired and given up? The thought comforted Orlando until he realised that he was locked in on his own with no one to help him. And so his attack continued. He was now so mentally and physically exhausted that he all but collapsed on the cold floor, tears streaming down his face as he shut his eyes and imagined he was safe in Viggo’s arms.
Christian pulled on the first pair of shoes that he found, for once in his life not caring if they matched his suit, before racing out the door and down the stairs, there wasn’t time to wait for the lift. Christian reached the lobby in record time before running down the street towards the smaller, more modest apartments. This was where Jake Gyllenhaal lived with 5 other students. Jake was a 4th year medical student at Kings College London plus he was Orlando’s best friend, so there really wasn’t anyone else within 3 minutes of their apartment who could handle the situation any better.
Jake woke suddenly from his position at his desk, his head buried in a textbook on haematology. The house was quiet, suggesting that he was home alone; the only sound was the traffic outside and someone ringing the buzzer furiously. Still rubbing his eyes to try and wake himself up, his made his way to the intercom.
“Yeah?” he asked blearily as he picked up the receiver. A second later he had dropped the phone and was out the door where he met a very stressed looking Christian.
“What did you do?” Jake asked harshly as the pair made their way back to the apartment. It was no secret that Jake and Christian didn’t get on but this was neither the time nor the place to dwell on it.
“What makes you think I did anything?” Christian snapped back, he was used to Jake making his feelings about him known; he was renowned for speaking his mind regardless of the consequences.
“Orli doesn’t just have panic attacks for no reason, you must have done something to him”
“Orli doesn’t have panic attacks period” Christian retorted as the pair barged into the apartment lobby, not bothering to wait for the doorman.
“Jesus you don’t know your own husband at all, do you?” Jake asked angrily asked they ran to catch the lift. “He used to have them all the time after his Dad left, and then when he broke his back.”
“Well it’s not my fault if he never told me” Christian muttered, trying to keep some form of dignity in front of the other residents in the lift. “He’s probably embarrassed and doesn’t want anyone to know”
“Well he told me” Jake replied, keeping his eyes forward with a small look of triumph on this face.
Christian considered this but didn’t have time to reply as the finally reached the top floor. “He’s locked himself in the bathroom” he told the medical student.
“You should have called an ambulance” Jake said almost to himself, shaking his head as they ran across the apartment. “I don’t know what I’m doing.” He examined the sturdy door carefully, there was no way they were going be able to break it down.
“I need a screwdriver” he stated simply, calling to Orli reassuringly through to door, trying to keep his cool when he got no reply other than wheezing and quiet sobs.
“What do you need a screwdriver for?” Christian asked in confusion.
“Well I’m not going to operate with it!” Jake yelled back in annoyance. “I need to unscrew the door handle; it’s one of those with the lock on right?” Christian nodded. “So when I unscrew the doorknob, I unscrew the lock! For God’s sake Bale move your ass, surely not even you can so high and mighty that you don’t keep a basic toolkit.”
Luckily for Christian he wasn’t, and ran quickly to retrieve said item from under the sink; he knew better than to waste time and face Jake’s wrath. Once Jake had the screwdriver he managed to relieve the door of its handle with minimal effort, and get inside to gently pull Orli out of the bathroom, more than slightly alarmed when he saw his friend’s grey skin and blue tinged lips. His heart rate was dangerously fast, and his breathing was erratic, but he’d all but lost his energy to fight and so he allowed Christian to carry him quickly over to the couch.
“Take off his t-shirt and rub his back” Jake told Christian, willing himself to remember what he had learnt about panic attacks, but then again learning about something in theory was very different to having to administer treatment to your best friend. Christian did as was instructed, feeling Orlando begin to struggle as his hands first touched bare skin, but he was too weak for his efforts to do any good.
“It’s okay Orli, you’re safe. Nothing’s going to happen to you” Jake reassured the terrified young man. “I just need you to take slow, deep breaths for me”
“I….can’t” Orli croaked between wheezes.
“Yes you can Orli” Jake answered in a calm voice. “In….and out. You can do that.” Jake brought Orli’s trembling hand up to his chest so he could feel Jake’s heartbeat beneath his palm. “Breath with me Orli”
Much to Jake and Christian’s relief, after a few minutes Orli’s breathing seemed to calm down a little; he wasn’t quite over it, but at least he was getting oxygen and wasn’t shaking anymore.
“Lie down” Jake whispered softly after seeing Orli was too exhausted to support himself. Orli managed to ease himself down to lie on the couch, still panting but looking a lot healthier than he had 10 minutes ago. Jake knelt down on the floor next to him, keeping Orli’s hand on his chest and rubbing his back periodically, constantly uttering calm words of reassurance.
“Can you make him some herbal tea?” Jake asked Christian. “Camomile is best, calms the nerves.”
Christian nodded, heading to the kitchen to make the drink. After a few clatters and curses he poked his head round the door. “I don’t think we have any, Camomile or not.”
Jake rolled his eyes in exasperation, making sure he didn’t raise his voice and startle the calming Orlando. “It’s Orli! Of course you’ve got herbal tea! Keep looking”
By the time Christian had finally found and made the tea, Orli was almost back to normal, curled up on the couch while Jake soothingly stroked his hair. As Christian passed him the cup Orli managed to pull himself into a sitting position, giving his husband a small smile as he accepted the hot cup and shakily brought it to his lips.
“What on earth happened Orli?” Christian asked eagerly as soon as he’d handed over the beverage.
“Not now Christian” Jake chipped in before the Welshman set Orli off again. “Now’s not the time, he’s exhausted.”
Christian didn’t know what else to do, he’d been useless before Orlando’s panic attack, during it and now his young husband was recovering and he was still helpless. He stood back and watched the young American comfort Orlando in a way he had never been able to, not even when they first got married. The whole situation left him feeling so uncomfortable; he couldn’t handle emotions – well, emotions other than the likes of anger and jealousy. He knew his strengths; he was diligent, ruthless, and aggressive and had a head for business that Richard Branson would be proud of, all in all the perfect candidate to take over his father’s empire. But when it came to marriage, he had come to realise that those skills are all but useless. He knew what he lacked; compassion, patience, affection and the ability to fix the wrongs he had done. He loved Orli, he loved him so much, but he could feel him slipping away, and instead of trying to win his husband back, he was doing the only thing he knew how to do – bully him into submission. He could see he was slowly destroying the younger man but part of him rejoiced in that; if he was broken then nobody else would want him.
“I just remembered” Christian said suddenly, willing to try anything to remove himself from the situation. “A report was being faxed through from New York, I need to go and pick it up.” He wondered if the two younger men believed him, from the looks on their faces he didn’t think so.
“It’s fine, I’ll stay with him” Jake said with barely disguised disdain.
“No Jake” Orli spoke for the first time since the incident began. “You’re too busy, you’ve got shifts at the hospital at the crack of dawn and your exams are just round the corner.”
“Fuck off Orli” Jake retorted good naturedly “Are you sure you didn’t bang your head when you were locked in there? I’m hardly going to leave you; you need someone to take care of you tonight.” Orli seemed to accept this, nodding his head and smiling. He was glad Jake wanted to stay. “And anyway, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on work knowing the state I’d left you in” he continued, looking pointedly at Christian. “There are more important things to life than work.”
Christian took that as his cue to leave; not quite believing the way Jake was talking to him. If someone spoke to him like that at work he would have sacked them on the spot. Orlando knew better than to speak to him like that, but then again Jake and Orli were worlds apart in terms of their demeanours. “I might end up staying late, I’ll get more work done on the report if I deal with it in the office” he called over his shoulder as he picked up his keys and briefcase, but neither of the young men heard him, neither were even listening.
“It’s alright he’s gone” Jake said as he heard Christian slam the door. He turned to Orli. “You gonna tell me what happened?”
Orli sighed; he wished he could just fall asleep and forget the whole startling incident. “Not yet Jake, I haven’t got my head round it yet, I haven’t had an attack in so long, I forgot how frightening it is.” He brought his hands into his hair, working his fingers through the damp curls. This time it did help. “Shit I need a shower” he said in disgust. “I’m saturated.”
He got up to walk to the bathroom, shocked at how unsteady he still was on his feet. As if to emphasise his point, his legs suddenly gave way beneath him, luckily Jake was on hand to catch him.
“Or maybe a bath” Jake chuckled as Orlando regained his balance, allowing his best friend to lead him to the bathroom.
“You sure you don’t mind staying?” Orli asked as he sat down on the closed toilet seat, watching as Jake starting running the bath.
“I told you I didn’t, stop asking” Jake replied, reminding himself that he should probably tone down his sharp tongue considering the fragile state Orli was in. He looked over at Orli, he didn’t seem to mind. “I don’t have much choice anyway” he continued. “I’ve locked myself out.” He smiled when Orlando burst out laughing. “But I couldn’t let Chris know that, now he feels guilty.”
“You’re evil” Orlando laughed, shaking his head. When Jake indicated that the bath was run, Orlando got up, waiting for Jake to leave.
“I’m not undressing in front of you!” Orlando exclaimed.
“Come on, I’m a medical student and a gay man”” Jake snorted at his best friend’s modesty. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”
“That’s what I’m worried about! I never know what you’re thinking or what you’re gonna say next-you make me nervous!”
“Orli” Jake said seriously. “You can barely stand, I’m not going to leave you alone in a bath of water, you could drown.”
“Fine” Orli sighed in defeat. “But turn around while I get in, in fact go and get me my tabs.”
“What did your last slave did of?” Jake shouted over his shoulder as he fetched Orli’s cigarettes and lighter from his coat pocket before returning to the bathroom where Orli had climbed into the bath, relaxing as the hot water soothed his tired muscles.
“I’d better screw that doorknob back on” Jake said absentmindedly as he passed the items to Orli. “I can’t imagine Christian is very handy around the home.”
“Christian doesn’t like me smoking in the house” Orlando said as he took a long drag on the cigarette.
“Fuck Christian” Jake retorted. “He should have stayed here with you, especially since he was the one that got you in that state to begin with.”
“He told you that?”
“No, but what else could have caused it?” Jake replied as he worked at reattaching the doorknob, looking up every now and then to make sure Orli was okay. “Viggo sure as hell wouldn’t have got you worked up like that.” Orlando smiled at the mention of his lover’s name, not even bothering to defend Christian this time. It wasn’t entirely Christian’s fault, but he was less than useless when he needed his help, and then he’d ran at the first opportunity. No, he wouldn’t defend him.
“So are you going to tell me what happened or not?” Jake called as he returned the screwdriver to the kitchen.
“Can we wait until I’m not naked and up to my chest in bubbles” Orlando called back, throwing the cigarette end into the toilet bowl. He heard Jake muter something under his breath in protest, but didn’t answer.
Jake was just pouring Orlando another cup of Camomile tea, and making a cup of normal tea for himself, when Orlando padded through to the kitchen in sleep pants and a baggy t-shirt, looking absolutely shattered.
“How are you feeling?” Jake asked as both a student doctor and a friend.
“Better” Orlando smiled as he sat down on the couch, pulling the throw that his mother made around his shoulders.
“Tell me what happened” Jake pleaded as he brought the drinks over.
Orlando exhaled heavily. He didn’t really want to rehash to whole event but he could see that his friend was worried and dismissing it would make him think he had something to hide. “Chris text me…while I was with Viggo, telling me to come home early” Orli started, his eyes focusing on the hot liquid in his favourite Chelsea mug. “My nerves started as soon as I read the text, when was the last time he came home from work this early in the evening? Your guess is as good as mine!” Jake nodded in agreement. “Turns out he just wanted to have dinner with me, that’s what he said anyway. But I couldn’t relax. Then suddenly he was all over me, physically and mentally. I’d only been with Viggo a few hours ago and feeling someone else’s hands on me felt so wrong, I couldn’t stand it. Then there were the questions. He kept firing them at me like a machine gun. Why was my hair wet? Where was my stuff? Why did I go to that restaurant? It was all so overwhelming and before I knew it I was having a panic attack, I tried to calm myself down but he kept following me and I just wanted to escape.”
“And that’s how you ended up in the bathroom?” Jake pressed gently.
Orlando nodded, looking up at Jake. “I know it was stupid, locking myself where no one could help me. But I felt like I was suffocating.”
“The day that you walk away from this place for good can’t come enough.” Jake said, shaking his head. “How long is it until ‘the day’?”
Orlando smiled, it wasn’t long at all. “3 weeks, 3 days.”
“Good” Jake said sternly as he switched on the T.V. “You can’t go on like this much longer.”
The pair spent the next few hours flicking through the numerous channels, stopping every so often when something took their fancy. Neither were surprised that Christian hadn’t returned, it was nothing new.
“Come on, bed” Jake instructed just before 11pm when he saw Orlando was having trouble keeping his eyes open.
“Kay” Orli said sleepily as Jake switched off the T.V and lights. Jake looked out the window, his apartment was still in darkness, meaning his flatmates were still at the pub. He had wanted to stay with Orli anyway, but he was still locked out so now he had an excuse.
“Will you stay with me?” Orlando asked quietly when he saw Jake heading into one of the guest rooms.
Jake stopped for a second. “Won’t Chris mind?” He didn’t want to cause anymore trouble for Orlando.
“I don’t care” Orlando retorted. “But no, he won’t mind. In fact he’ll probably be relieved, means he won’t have to confront what happened, not right away at least.”
Jake rolled his eyes as he toed of his shoes and pulled of his jeans. If that evening’s events were anything to go by he was going to have to keep an eye on his friend over the next few weeks. That should be easy in theory, they lived on the same road and less than 5 minutes walk from one another. Once Orli moved in with Viggo, he’d have to take a backseat in Orli’s welfare. While he was excited as Orli was about him moving in with his lover, the more selfish side of him was dreading the time when he closest friend would no longer be on his doorstep. When Jake first moved to London he was just beginning his medical degree, having realised his desire to work for the NHS, where your right to medical care was not determined by your bank balance, but was a basic human right. He’d been struggling into the student flat alone when Orli had run from across the street to help him with his boxes. The pair had been firm friends ever since, both relating to leaving their family and being alone in such a daunting city for the first time. Jake had initially hoped that he and Orli would become an item, before realising the other boy’s feelings for Christian. Jake knew that part of his issue with Christian was that he had taken Orli from him, but until the Welshman starting mistreating Orli his feelings had been more a mild annoyance to the full blown contempt he felt now. If he were honest he’d admit that his overwhelming need to protect Orlando came about the first time he had seen Orli and Christian together. Even though they weren’t a couple at that point, he could see the hold the older man had over him. When they starting dating he thought he’d been proved wrong, and he was glad he had. But then when the real Christian reared his ugly head he found himself constantly regretting his decision not to warn Orlando of his concerns.
“I said do you want a spare toothbrush” Jake jumped suddenly as Orlando’s voice brought him back to reality.
“Yeah sure” he smiled as he took the toothbrush from Orli’s hand and headed to the en suite. By the time he returned Orli had climbed into the enormous bed and had turned off the light.
“Oh my God” Jake groaned in satisfaction as he climbed in bed beside Orlando. “This has got to be the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in.”
“Chris spent a small fortune having it designed” Orli explained. “That side’s different to my side. Apparently to help with my back problems, but both sides feel the same to me.”
“You’ve just got too accustomed to having the best that money can buy.” Jake teased gently.
Orli was silent for several moments; Jake thought he had fallen asleep before he finally spoke again.
“You really think that? That I’ve gotten too used to the money?”
“Of course not Orli, I’m just kidding you”
“Because that’s what people think. But it can’t be true can it? If it were all about the money then I’d never leave him.” Orlando argued, desperate for his best friend to know he wasn’t just another gold digger. “I’ll be left with nothing and I don’t even care because I’ll have Viggo and money can’t buy that!”
“Well you won’t be left with nothing” Jake reasoned. “There’s the pre-nup”
“I won’t get anything from the pre-nup” Orlando replied quietly.
“Sure you will. You get a million pounds – you’ll be set for life”
“Jake, the pre-nup had an infidelity clause” Orli explained gently. “If we divorced because I cheated on him, I get nothing.”
Jake was gob smacked. “But I saw you sign it, how could I not know that? Why would you sign it?”
“It was between me and Chris, and I had no issue signing it. At the time I was convinced I’d never love anyone like I loved him, and like I said, I don’t want his money.”
“I still think it’s underhanded” Jake huffed indignantly.
Orlando laughed at his friend, like Christian, Jake hated to lose. But at least he was humorous in his defeat. “Good night Jake.”
Viggo checked his watch anxiously for the tenth time in a matter of minutes, it was almost 10 o’clock and there was still no sign of Orli at work; he was never late for work, especially not this late. Where the Hell was he? There was the chance that he was ill, but he had been fine when Viggo had left him the previous afternoon, and surely he would have called him to stop Viggo from worrying. So why had he heard nothing from the younger man since he left him in front of his apartment the day before? He didn’t have the answers, but he was determined to get to the bottom of it; only he couldn’t get in touch with his lover, because his phone was turned off. He knew Orli wouldn’t just not turn up for no reason, he would know that Viggo would worry; it had to have something to do with Christian.
Taking a deep breath, Viggo picked up the office phone and dialled Orli’s home number. The pair never phoned each other’s houses, it was too risky. But if Christian had found out about their affair…Viggo didn’t want to think about his reaction, and that made it an emergency. The phone rang several times and there was no reply, if Viggo couldn’t get through to his lover, he didn’t know what he would do.
Finally after what seemed like hours of the same ringing tone, he heard the phone click at the other end.
“Hello?” He heard Orli answer sleepily on the other end.
“Baby?” Viggo asked urgently.
“Vig?” Orli replied in confusion, rubbing his eyes and stretching as he did. “What’s the matter?”
“You’re not at work and I’ve heard nothing from you.” Viggo couldn’t put into words how happy and relieved he was to hear Orlando’s voice.
“What do you mean? It’s only…” Orli looked blearily at the clock. “Shit! Jake wake up, it’s 10 in the morning!”
“You’re in bed with Jake?” Viggo asked in an amused voice.
“It’s a long story, I don’t want to go into it over the phone” Orli replied angrily. “Shit Viggo I’m so sorry. I don’t even need to ask how worried you were if you felt the need to phone the home line. Fucking Chris! He must have turned off my phone last night so my alarm hasn’t woke me up.”
“It’s okay angel, you’re safe. That’s the main thing.” Viggo knew Orlando going AWOL would be down to Christian, but at least his lover wasn’t hurt in any way.
“It’s not okay, if Christian had any consideration he’d have at least called in sick for me.”
“It’s done now Orli” Viggo sighed. “Look, I’ve got that meeting with the head of theatre this afternoon and by the time you get here it’ll be near enough lunch so you might as well have the day off.”
“Thanks Vig, I think I need it. But like I said, I’ll explain some other time.”
“You make sure you do baby, I want to know what’s going on. But you sound fine and Jake’s with you so I’m satisfied for the time being.”
“See you soon Viggo. I love you.” Orlando said, smiling as he did so.
“Love you too Orli.”
Orlando smiled as he hung up the phone, turning round to see Jake with a goofy grin on his face.
“You’re so lovesick Orli” he teased, batting his eyelids for emphasis.
“I’m sick something!” Orlando retorted. “I’m so cross with him Jake! Viggo’s been going spare! In fact I’m going to phone him now.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea Orli?” Jake asked warningly. “You’re angry and I don’t want you to say something you regret. But Orlando was already dialling, and all Jake could do was throw his hands up in defeat.
“Bale Haulage West London Office”
“Liv, it’s Orli. I need to speak to Christian”.
“Sorry Orli, Mr. Bale gave my strict instructions that he is not to be disturbed.” Liv replied apologetically.
“Either you put him on or I’m coming down there in person.” Orlando hated speaking to people that way, especially Liv whom he got on with really well; he was just so very annoyed. Liv obviously wasn’t used to Orli’s tone of voice as he heard her gasp, but transfer him through to Christian’s office none the less.
“What is it Orlando?” Christian asked sharply as he picked up the phone.
“What do you think? I was supposed to be at work 2 hours ago and you turned off my bloody alarm!” Orlando almost screamed down the phone.
“I know, I thought you could have done with the sleep. But obviously you’re being your normal ungrateful self!”
“You could have at least phoned work so they knew what was going on”
“Oh what does it matter Orlando?” Christian asked in irritation. “It’s not like it’s real work is it? What’s the worst that could happen if you’re not there?”
“I love my job” Orlando said seriously. “And Viggo was worried about me.”
“Why would Viggo be worried?”
“He’s my friend!” Orlando snapped, emphasising the word ‘friend.’ He wouldn’t let Christian intimidate him with questions, not this time. He was too angry.
“Viggo’s your boss” Christian said spitefully. “I very much doubt he was worried”
“So you’re not worried if your employees don’t turn up for work, and you’ve heard nothing from them hours later?” Orlando asked incredulously.
“I’d be worried that there was work that wasn’t being done!” Christian laughed.
“Oh get real Christian” Orlando spat back before slamming the phone back onto the receiver.
Orlando and Jake spent the rest of the day lounging around and taking in the cream of daytime T.V. They were half way through a repeat of The Jeremy Kyle Show when the intercom buzzed.
“It’s Viggo” Jake said in confusion as he turned away from the intercom and opened the front door.
“What? Seriously” Orlando asked in disbelief as he got up from the couch. His questions were answered as his lover popped his head round the door seconds later, suddenly finding himself with an armful of Orli.
“What are you doing here?” Orlando asked in astonishment, wrapping his legs around Viggo’s waist and allowing his lover to carry him over to the couch.
“I wanted to see you” Viggo said simply, sitting on the couch still with Orlando on top of him. “And I knew Christian would be at work. At least I hope he is since you’re on my knee.”
Jake made himself busy to give the pair of them a few minutes alone. He went over to the door and slipped the chain on; he didn’t expect Christian to make an appearance for at least another four hours but they could never be too careful. That way at least if Christian did arrive unexpectedly Orlando and Viggo could disentangle themselves from each other before one of them took the chain off. He was just heading to the bathroom when he overheard Viggo asking Orli what had happened the previous night with Christian.
“He had a panic attack Viggo, that’s all.” He answered before the Brit could open his mouth. “But he’s fine now.”
Viggo looked at Orlando dubiously. “You sure?”
“Positive” Orli answered with a quick kiss to Viggo’s lips, indicating that he didn’t want to go into detail.
“Shit.” Viggo said suddenly as he lifted Orli up and pulled something from his back pocket. “I almost forgot to tell you about this.”
Orlando took the opened envelope from Viggo. “I need to go to Edinburgh for a few days for a conference. I’ve just been to that meeting and they want you to go with me, said it would be valuable experience.”
Orlando’s eyes widened. “You mean…”
“Yup. Two nights in a hotel in a city where nobody knows us. Sounds like heaven. That is if you want to come.”
“Of course I do you bloody idiot” Orli laughed ecstatically as he hugged Viggo.
“That’s settled then” Viggo laughed back. “We need to be in Edinburgh by Monday afternoon, but I reckon we should leave Sunday evening to beat the traffic. I know it’s a long drive but it’s more private than getting the train and we’ll need a car once we get there anyway. We’ll obviously need to book two rooms, but hopefully we’ll only be using one of them if you know what I mean.”
“Ewww you guys” Jake said in mock disgust. “I don’t need to hear this, just reminds me of the fact that I’m not getting any!”
“You said you slept with Sean at the hospital just the other week!” Orli exclaimed.
“What? My Sean?!” Viggo asked in disbelief.
“You knew that Vig” Orli replied. “Sean told you”
“No, Sean told me he slept with who the hospital staff refer to as the crazy yank!”
“Erm…hello?!” said Jake somewhat indignantly, waving at Viggo.
“Oh” Viggo said, embarrassed. “But Sean’s your supervisor! That’s so wrong.” He looked up at Orli and Jake; both looked back at him pointedly.
“O.K you win” Viggo admitted in defeat. “Pot calling kettle black. You hot young things, what’s a guy to do?!”
Orlando laughed loudly as he snuggled further into Viggo’s embrace. He was already counting the hours until they were needed in Edinburgh; it was going to be heaven. He knew Christian would have something to say on the matter, but he didn’t care one bit; wild horses couldn’t keep him away.
TBC