Epico - 12/?

[vylentcrymz]

Epico - A Sorta Fairytale: Chapter Twelve

Authors: CJ [vylentcrymz], Emilie [emilierevan], Jen [savvy_elf] and Stacy [seemedsobright].

Rating: NC-17

Pairings: Dominic Monaghan/Emilie de Ravin, Ian Somerhalder/Maggie Grace, Orlando Bloom/Evangeline Lilly

Summary: Love. Friendship. Growth. Sex. Change. Drama. But mostly just sex. Sure, we have a plot… somewhere around here (now where did I put that thing?), but when broken down into its simplest form, Epico = SEX!

Disclaimer: We don't own these people. They're real, sure, but none of these events have or ever will transpire. No offense is meant and we're making no profit from this. Title taken from the song A Sorta Fairytale by Tori Amos.

Authors’ Notes: We the writer’s would like to thank ALL the readers for…well, reading, of course. And commenting, and making icons and graphics and for epico_squee in general. We love writing this story and we love that you love reading it. *BIG hugs*

Please remember: Feedback is to us as sex is to Magsian, Domilie, and Orlilly. As in, very important, and something that needs to be done 24/7.

Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

---

Morning light poured across the room through the curtains and Emilie curled up further into Dom, shielding her eyes from the harsh rays. Dom’s only response was to tighten his hold on her, burying his face in her hair and mumbling about singing celery.

Emilie smiled slightly and realized that she was now awake from their nap, though definitely not refreshed considering it had only been an hour since they’d gotten into bed to sleep.

“Good morning,” she whispered, kissing his chin.

“Mmm.” He nuzzled her forehead. “Morning.”

Her fingers played with the sheets that barely covered them, alternating from the cool fabric to Dom’s warm skin. “I like waking up next to you.”

“We should…” he yawned into her hair. “…make a habit of it.”

“The waking up together part, not the alcohol bit,” Emilie added sheepishly and when Dom made a small noise of disagreement, she poked him in the chest. “Things could’ve easily gone the other way last night.”

“But they didn’t,” he sighed. “And I don’t know about you but I’ve never woken up happier.”

Emilie smiled despite herself, kissing the corner of his lips. “Oh really?”

“Well, there was that one Christmas morning where I got all the presents I asked for,” he mumbled. “But I was six and hadn’t met you yet, so it doesn’t count.”

“You as a six year old?” Emilie laughed softly, imagining it. “Young, naïve, cute as a button, completely innocent.”

“Who says I was ever innocent?”

“You probably weren’t,” Emilie agreed with a nod, hand trailing down between them to tease his hip. “Not that I’m complaining about your lack of innocence.”

She looked up and was greeted by the sight of one of Dom’s eyes as he sleepily watched her. “S’not time for the next round is it, luv?”

“Oh, has your stamina run out already?” she grinned and pressed her lips to the tip of his nose when he gave her a hurt look.

“Of course not!” Dom declared indignantly. “I think last night proved my stamina pretty well. It’s just all that vigorous activity has left me a bit sore in certain places.”

Emilie quirked a playful eyebrow. “I could probably ease some of that pain. A massage, maybe? I’m very good with my hands.”

“I know you are. That was confirmed in Ian’s room. Pray to God he never finds that out.” He chuckled and rubbed her back gently. “And I’d love to have it reaffirmed, of course. But right now I’m ravenously hungry. How about you?”

Emilie’s tongue darted out to lick her lips as she tried to imagine what kind of food Dom had stored in his kitchen. “Being with you all night has left me a tad hungry, I admit.”

Dom leaned in to give her a long, luxurious kiss, lips lingering over hers for a moment before he threw the sheets off of them. His eyes widened comically as he took in the sight, “Oh my, I believe I have a naked, beautiful woman in my bed!”

Feigning surprise, Emilie coquettishly crossed her legs. “My clothes must’ve fallen off in my sleep.”

“Of course, what else would explain why you’re in my bed, naked and beautiful and looking completely satisfied?” Dom enjoyed the sound of her laughter, joining in when she playfully pushed him, sending his body rolling off the bed.

Emilie crawled to the edge and peered over, looking at him through the mess of blonde hair that draped over her eyes. She didn’t even bother to hide her amusement, “That was graceful.”

“I’ll show you graceful,” he playfully growled, grabbing her wrist and pulling her down onto the floor with him.

After ten minutes of fooling around and groping, they finally broke apart long enough for Dom to grab the nearest set of jeans and Emilie to slip into one of his shirts. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Dom was relentlessly attempting to tickle her but she half-heartedly swatted his hands away.

“There’ll be more of that later, after…” Emilie stopped when she and Dom rounded the corner.

Ian sat opposite of them at the island in the middle of the kitchen with a wry smile and an amused glint in his eyes. “Bagel?”

Emilie was at a loss of words, pressing her legs together and trying to make Dom’s shirt cover more of herself. “I….um….we-”

The smile on his face never faltering, Ian lifted his coffee mug as if to toast them. “Happy New Year.”

A faint blush spread across Emilie’s cheeks and she ducked her head, leaving Dom to grin like an idiot at Ian. “A very Happy New Year to you too, mate. Have a good night?”

“Yeah, we came in pretty late. Sounded like you started the year off with a bang,” Ian teased, not even bothering to hide his grin.

“Several actually,” Dom replied with a cheeky smile, becoming serious when he noticed the glare from Emilie. “I mean, we watched some fireworks.”

“Obviously you were talking about fireworks,” came Maggie’s voice as she entered the kitchen. She kissed the top of Ian’s head and ruffled his hair as she set about making her coffee, ignoring her boyfriend’s scowl while he tried to flatten the mess she’d made. “I mean, everyone watches fireworks in the bathroom.”

Ian, meanwhile, was shaking his head disgustedly. "I'll never be able to step into that bathroom without feeling dirty. How can I take showers in the room you...?” He stopped short and made a face. "Goddamn. "

"We'll scrub it," Emilie promised. "Don't worry; we'll scrub it down so it's cleaner than ever."

"We will?" Dom looked at her, stepping out of the way just in time to avoid getting elbowed in the gut. "Oh. Right. We will. Sorry about that, mate. We just... um, it was... uh. Yeah. I won't fill in any details..."

"Please don't," Ian said quickly. "We heard enough last night." Maggie took her coffee cup to the table and sat on Ian's lap, his arms automatically encircling her waist.

"Just tell us you stayed out of Ian's room," Maggie laughed. "No amount of scrubbing could make up for that."

Dom and Emilie glanced at each other again, eyes widening. Forcing out a natural-sounding laugh, Dom said, "No worries, mate, your room is off-limits. That'd just be... wrong, after all." Dom shot Emilie a swift, secretive grin. “So, Emilie. Bagel?”

---

"So you guys come here all the time, eh?" Orlando asked, glancing over the menu while waiting for Evi's response.

Lanikai Juice Bar had undoubtedly become the Lost cast's place-to-be, whether it was for a quick breakfast before work or a delicious destresser in the evening.

Evi nodded. "We kind of worship Denise and Pablo," she replied, looking over at the counter to where the husband and wife co-owners were, smiling at them and giving a small wave. "They know exactly what we all need before or after work. And everything's really yummy and healthy and at a good price, too."

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were their spokesperson, love," he said with a laugh. "With those freckles, your amazing smile, and that sales pitch? Customers'd be pouring into this place."

"Thanks," she rolled her eyes, jokingly irritated yet blushing from his compliments. She glanced at her watch, tapping the table with her fingertips. "They should be here by now," Evi muttered. "But I'm honestly not surprised..."

"That's the car," Orlando pointed out the window to an SUV that was rolling in off of the street. "You can see all four of 'em there. Ian's driving." Glancing at his own watch, Orlando shook his head, grinning. "They're technically still on time, Evangeline. I've come to learn that not everyone drives like you, y'know."

“Well they should,” Evi muttered teasingly, watching Ian pull into a parking space. “Hmmm, I bet that was an interesting car ride.”

“Why’s that?” Orlando asked.

“All that sexual tension contained in one vehicle? I’m surprised it made it here in one piece.” They looked at each other, laughing, as the foursome walked into the juice bar. Ian was swatting away Maggie’s hand while she tried to ruffle his hair. Dom and Emilie, half a step behind them, were holding hands and talking to each other in low whispers, breaking into giggles as they neared the table.

“Good afternoon, snuggle bears,” Dom said, pulling out a chair for Emilie and ignoring the weird looks Evi and Orlando were giving them.

“Happy New Year,” Maggie said. “Have you ordered yet?”

“Uh… no…” Evi shook her head, still looking curiously at Dom and Emilie. If she didn’t know any better, they looked downright coupley, right down to the smiles they exchanged and the blushes that colored their cheeks when their hands touched.

“How are you guys?” Orlando asked as a conversation starter.

Dom and Emilie both opened their mouths to reply but were quickly cut off by Ian and Maggie.

“Exhausted…”

“Haven’t slept a wink…”

“Hung over, too.” Maggie winced and rubbed her temples.

“But what else is new?” Ian shrugged.

“Why are you so tired?” Evi asked. “Unless… the answer isn’t a TMI, is it?”

Ian and Maggie exchanged wicked grins. “Well…” Maggie started. “It’s not a TMI about us…” They giggled.

“We’ve apologized about that,” Emilie muttered.

“Not our fault you didn’t invest in some good ear plugs,” Dom added. Evi’s eyebrows shot up a fraction. Orlando’s nearly disappeared into his hairline.

“What’s going on?” Evi finally interjected.

“I feel like I’m being kept out of the cool kids’ club,” Orlando laughed. “You’re acting like you’ve got some big secret.”

Maggie and Ian laughed again while Dom and Emilie turned red.

“We were going to tell you today,” Emilie said, looking at Evi and Orlando. “In our own way. Ian and Maggie are the ones insisting on being immature.”

“I resent that,” Maggie said.

“I don’t,” Ian laughed. “Dom and Emilie totally-”

“Ian, c’mon,” Dom interrupted, frowning. He put his hand on top of Emilie’s; Evi and Orlando exchanged a look, shrugging.

“Fine, fine.” Ian waved Dom on. “Go ahead, spill the big secret.”

“Thank you.” Dom cleared his throat and took a deep breath, squeezing Emilie’s hand and grinning at her. He opened his mouth, ready to tell Evi and Orlando everything…

“Dom and Emilie slept together.” Ian clapped a hand over his mouth and tried to look apologetic. “Oops.”

“All night long,” Maggie added.

“In more than one room,” Ian said.

“And they were so fucking loud!”

“Oh my god, you guys!” Emilie put her hands over her face, shaking her head. “Jesus Christ, we were going to tell them!”

Maggie laughed and reached out to pat her friend’s shoulder, jerking her hand back when Emilie slapped at her. “It’s called karma.”

“At least this wasn’t in front of the entire cast.” Ian coughed pointedly in Dom’s direction.

"So..." Evi cleared her throat and glanced at Orlando for a moment, like he'd have the right words written across his forehead. Trying to be serious about the situation was like trying not to gag when someone let a big one rip, though, and her lips curled up into a smile. "You two had....sex?"

"I think the preferred term is, 'we made love', young Evi, and..." Dom scratched the back of his neck, thinking about it. He simply shrugged after a moment, an ear-splitting smile appearing on his face. "Oh hell, we totally had sex."

Emilie elbowed him, "Dom!"

"What, Em?" he rubbed his stomach. "Maggie and Ian pretty much described the whole night to them already. No point in denying it."

Emilie glared at him. "Well, if you think the whole night could be described in two or three sentences then your opinion of what happened is obviously different than mine."

"Well, what would you have me do then, we're in a bloody restaurant. You want me to go on an hour-long spiel about every inch of your body?" Dom asked, still smiling.

Ian cleared his throat. "Um, I'm sure none of us want to be put into that awkward of a situation."

"Why would it be awkward?" Emilie asked, eyes narrowed.

"Well..." Ian looked to Orlando, Evi, even Maggie for support, trying to think of a way to say it without insulting Emilie.

Maggie gave him a look, brow furrowed and lips a thin line on her face, that clearly said: Well? Answer the question.

Not really knowing what else to do, Ian cleared his throat and said, words on top of each other he was speaking so fast:

"I'm not supposed to think of other women like that. All the females in the world are flat chested and undesirable." He looked to Maggie with big, puppy dog wide eyes. "Do I get my treat now?"

Maggie shook her head; I can't believe you just did that. She ran her hands through his hair, tricking him into thinking he was cute, before pulling. Hard. "When Ian was little, he wanted to be Piglet for Halloween. And when he didn't get his way? He cried. Like a baby."

Evi, who'd been sipping a little of her glass of water, snorted. She put the cup down and wiped at her nose, still laughing. "Oh god, water just went through my nose but that was totally worth it."

Ian covered his face with his hands, shaking his head. "I should've seen that coming."

Maggie nodded. "Yeah, you should've.”

“Can we backtrack for a second?” Orlando requested. “As interesting as Ian’s childhood stories are, my mind’s still reeling from this revelation.” He gestured at Dom and Emilie.

Dom beamed. “Yes, let’s talk about us. I like this subject.”

Emilie snorted. “I think they already got the picture.”

“But a week ago you guys were…” Evi searched for a term and was at a loss for words. “I mean, Emilie always seemed on the verge of killing you. How did that translate into all night… y’know?”

“Shagging session?” Dom supplied, earning himself a punch in the arm from Emilie. “It’s actually a long story that starts with Emilie almost killing me and ends with us… y’know. Use your imagination to fill in the blanks.”

Orlando’s face scrunched up and he shook his head. “Don’t be offended if I don’t spend too much time trying to fill in any of those blanks. I think it’s better off remaining a mystery.”

“Are you sure?” Dom asked. “I wouldn’t mind telling you all about last night. Aren’t you interested in knowing exactly how many times I made Emilie-”

So many hands reached out to slap Dom he wasn’t even quite sure who they belonged to. Laughing, he covered his head with his hands until they withdrew.

Maggie gave a casual shrug, "Actually, I wanted to hear what he had to say." Everybody gave her a look and she laughed, jumping to her defense. "Oh come on, like he'd actually give the right number. It's Dom! He'd say something along the line of a hundred. Or if he decides to be modest, twenty. I just wanted to see how badly he'd embellish."

Dom pressed his hand to his heart and gave her an admonished look, "It honestly hurts my feelings that you'd think I'd tell you anything other than the truth, Maggie. It hurts. Really, really--"

“Hurts, yeah, we get it." Ian rolled his eyes.

"Wow, such good company." Dom's voice dripped with sarcasm as he let out a long, dramatic sigh, turning to Emilie and giving her leg a squeeze. "I'm so glad we left the confines of my bedroom to come converse with these lovely folks, I must say. Fine choice, Em."

“This wasn’t my idea,” Emilie retorted. “It was Maggie who insisted we leave the house. Probably just so she and Ian could embarrass us.”

“And because we feel like we can’t leave you alone in the house anymore,” Ian added. “God knows what we’d find when we got back.”

Emilie made a face at Ian but decided not to respond to his comment. Instead she looked at Orlando. “Time for a subject change, I think. Everyone’s heard more than they need to about Dom and I. You’re leaving soon, aren’t you, Orlando?”

“What, already?” Maggie asked.

“Unfortunately, yeah.” Orlando nodded. “Duty calls. I’m starting a new movie soon, have to leave in a couple days.”

“It seems like you just got here,” Maggie protested. “You and Evi haven’t even-” She shut up after receiving a look from Evi and cleared her throat. “I mean, you and Evi have barely had a chance to get to know each other.”

“Thank you, Maggie, why don’t you rub it in some more?” The teasing grin Evi gave Maggie took the bite off her words, but it was still very clear that Evi was unhappy about seeing Orlando leave. He put his hand on top of hers, squeezing gently, and they shared a smile.

“Are we going to order anything today, or are we just going to eat each other?” Ian asked, glancing at the menu above the serving counter.

“Why don’t you boys go order for us?” Maggie suggested. “Give us a couple minutes of girl time.”

"Girl time?" Dom's eyebrows rose along with the rest of his body as him, Ian and Orlando obediently got up and went over to order. "If I come back and you lot still have your clothes on, I'm going to be a disappointed man."

"Pervert," Emilie poked his stomach as he rounded the back of her chair, smiling to herself when he leaned in and pressed a kiss to just behind her ear. She watched him leave, lip snagged between her teeth and nose scrunched up slightly. Her eyes were bright and wide, like she was watching her favorite movie on the telly. It was no surprise that both Evi and Maggie were giving her the funniest looks when she finally tore her eyes off of Dom, but she still narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"I didn't want to say it around Dom because if that man's ego gets any bigger we're all going to suffer from it but..." Evi looked over her shoulder to make sure the threesome were out of earshot, dropping her voice to a playful whisper. She poked Emilie in the arm as she said, "I don't think I've ever seen you this happy."

"Even when you guys were bickering," Maggie joined in, shaking her head. "And it's not that annoying banter you guys would do where the sexual tension was totally there but neither of you were smart enough to see it either. It's that cute, couple-y kind. It's making me a little sick." Emilie gave her a look and she explained, "But the good kind of sick, like I had too much candy."

Shaking her head, Emilie tried to fight the color rising in her cheeks, asking indignantly, "Did I hear the word stupid in all of that?"

"Water under the bridge." Evi brushed it off like it was nothing.

Maggie nodded, "Yeah, of course, now you two are....together. I mean, you're finally done with the whole 'will you or won't you?' phase--"

"Which was getting tiresome," Evi chirped.

"--and now you can, you know, be with him." Maggie made a few unnecessary gestures with her hands to emphasize the word 'with' before continuing. “We’ve been worried about you lately, you know.” Evi nodded in agreement. “It’s so good to see you moving on from Josh.”

“Yeah,” Emilie breathed, looking down at her hands. “Josh called me last night, you know. That’s kind of what started everything for me and Dom, oddly enough.”

“What did he want?” Evi asked.

“He wanted to get back together,” Emilie admitted. “But I… well, I refused, obviously. I told him we were through for good. That’s what I needed, I think. It was like I was finally free from Josh and I could give in to Dom.”

Something in the back of Emilie’s mind nagged at her annoyingly. Her eyes fixed on her left ring finger and an imperceptible sigh escaped her. Maybe she hadn’t been entirely truthful, to herself or anyone else. She wasn’t entirely free from Josh, not yet.

Because back at her house, buried underneath a bunch of random, useless junk, was that black box that always seemed to be hanging over her head.

Evi and Maggie, who obviously had the attention spans of gnats, had already found a new topic to interest them, and they didn’t seem to notice if Emilie only smiled and nodded every once in awhile. Her thoughts were occupied by that damn ring now, and she couldn’t ignore it.

The ring was a reminder of Josh and of the future she’d almost had. She didn’t want to completely forget about Josh -he’d always be part of her past, she couldn’t erase that- but she didn’t need to keep that ring around, always making her remember how she’d broken Josh’s heart. If she wanted to continue with Dom, which she really, really did, she needed to cut all physical ties with Josh and start fresh.

The real question was what to do with it. She wasn’t just going to take it to some pawn shop or toss it in the trashcan; she needed to do something that was symbolic for herself, something that really and truly closed the door on her relationship with Josh.

Outside the juice bar’s front window a Fed Ex truck was driving by. Emilie’s eyes followed its path until she couldn’t see it anymore, and idea taking shape in her mind. A way to get rid of the ring, prove to herself that it was over, and show Josh that she meant it all at once.

The ring needed to go back to its original owner. Maybe Josh had even kept the receipt, he could get his money back and the ring would really and truly be gone.

Emilie’s thoughts were interrupted when Dom leaned over her, kissing her forehead and setting a large smoothie in front of her. “Got your favorite.”

Her mind immediately drifted back to the ring. The ring that was in the drawer at home, miles away from where she was, unintentionally ignoring the drink Dom had just placed placed in front of her. He didn't notice at first, sitting beside her and slurping away at his drink, content with where he was and the company he was sharing. That is, until he noticed the dazed look about her and the fact that she was acting like he hadn't just put her favorite smoothie within reach of her.

"Em? Luv?" he nudged her.

She shook her head and looked at him, confused. "What is it?"

His mouth tilted downwards as his hand lingered over her arm, realizing something wasn't exactly right. He didn't quite know what it was, but it was something and it was nagging at him as much as the ring was to her. "You alright?"

Emilie was frozen for a moment, calculating the distance between the juice bar and her house and how long it'd take her to get there before shaking out of it and pinching her nose. "Yeah, I'm uh...." she sighed. "I've just got something that I..."

He put his drink down. "What?"

She put her hand on his knee and gave him what she hoped was a reassuring squeeze before standing up, "I'm sorry but..." She wasn't going to be able to just sit there and enjoy the rest of the day and she knew it. This had to be done soon. "I have to go do something, I'm sorry."

"Em?" His eyes still read confused but she was too busy grabbing her purse and looking for the exit like there was a fire. "Where--"

Emilie leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his lips before leaving, apologizing again to everybody at the table as she went.

Dom watched her go, mouth falling open as he tried and failed to say several things. It was a few moments, quiet awkward moments save for the other patrons enjoying their meals before he turned around to face the others. His entire body sunk into the chair and he sourly returned to his drink.

---

It was an odd paradox, really; a lingering guilt over keeping it so long-it didn’t belong to her, anymore, why did she still have it?-and surprise at the fact that it was so easy to walk into her room and take it out of the drawer and put it into the Express Mail box she was going to take to the A.S.A.P. Then again, after a second or two, she turned the box over so that the ring-safe in its black case-fell into the palm of her waiting hand.

The sound of cardboard dropping to the floor and her deliberately slow, patient breathing was all that filled the room as she stood, the back of her legs against the bed for support, and looked down.

She opened the case with ease, fingernails slipping into the creases she’d come to memorize over the past few weeks like a habit and her lip snagged between her teeth briefly as the silver caught some of the sunlight. The ring had a magical power, she believed. If she wasn’t looking directly at it before, she certainly was now; eyes drawn to it like a magnet.

Yesterday. That’s what it seemed like. Yesterday she was walking with Josh with the warm ocean water lapping around her ankles and the melted orange sunset tinting the sky above her. Yesterday she got engaged to a man who wanted nothing more than for her to be happy.

And today? Today she was sending the ring back? Emilie knew she was being irrational but her thoughts were running over each other, quick and frantic, unable to be snatched and kept at bay long enough for her to make sense of why she was freaking out, why now?

There was a part of herself that hated this. In reality she knew yesterday hadn’t been the day she got engaged, that yesterday she was at a New Years party with her friend Dom and she’d received a call from Josh. A call where she finally, leaving no room for discussion-or even giving him a moment to respond, simply hanging up on him-ended them, ended a two year relationship that she put her heart into.

But was that what she really wanted? To be completely and utterly okay with it? To not care for a single second about Josh and what his reaction will be when he gets the ring?

Oh god, Emilie covered her face with her hand for a moment. The image of a distraught Josh getting a package with her name on it and it turning out to be the ring…she really knew how to break his heart, didn’t she?

This is stupid, she chided after a moment of pitiful groaning against her hand. You’re happy, Emilie. You were just out with your friends, out with Dom, and it was fun and great and embarrassing all at once.

Like agreeing with a separate personality, Emilie knew the nagging thoughts in her head were right. She didn’t need to tell herself she was happy, she didn’t have to think for a moment about it-the warm tingly feeling seated deep in her stomach every time she thought of Dom was enough; it was the personification of happy, really.

When the moment passed, she let out a soft sigh and closed the case, kneeling down and grabbing the Express Mail box and gently placing it inside. She ripped the plastic cover off the sticky and closed it up; making sure it was sealed tight.

Closure. That’s what she felt when she grabbed the Sharpie off her bedside table and wrote Josh Janowicz in the designated area. His address-her old home-followed and then she wrote her information.

With each letter and number written she felt more and more confident about her decision; the kind of assurance she was desperately lacking just moments ago. It was a comforting feeling, like a little angel on her shoulder giving her words of encouragement, reminding her that she was moving on and by sending the ring back? She’d be giving Josh the opportunity to finally move on and be happy, too.

And that thought alone was enough to get rid of any lingering guilt, even a bit of her hangover too, from last night.

---

When Emilie sighed, it felt like she was letting out a million feelings and an extra thousand words in the span of a single breath. She was left dizzy, removing her jacket and dragging her feet into her bedroom. Her first concern was to take a shower; feeling as if she’d traveled to Tunisia and back on a dirty camel instead of simply going to the post office.

Belt, shirt and socks were strewn behind her in a careless path to the bathroom and her pants were unbuttoned by the time she turned on the faucet with her toes. Groaning softly when she unhooked her bra and kicked her pants off, she reached into the shower to check the water temperature. Not too hot, not too cold. The pressure was just right too. A weak smile teased her lips; this was exactly what she needed.

A part of her wondered about calling Dom; to apologize for how she acted earlier, to tell him that she’d just gotten home after sending back Josh’s ring…god, even just to hear his voice.

But again, the ache in her body was enough of a reminder that at the moment, she needed to relax. No more guilt over Josh, no more running errands, no more reading scripts; just her and the comfort of warm, pressured water.

She stepped into the shower and welcomed the spray against her stomach, eyes sliding shut and head rolling back against her shoulders. Her hand automatically closed the door behind her and she stepped under the showerhead, hair soaked immediately.

Reaching for the shampoo bottle like a habit, she let the water trickle down her back as she gazed at the tiles on the wall.

“Emilie?” a voice called out. As startled as Emilie was by the sudden intrusion, she relaxed just as quickly when she recognized who the voice belonged to.

“Mind if I join you?” The door slid open and he poked his hand in, wiggling his fingers playfully. “I’ll bring these.”

She covered her mouth, laughing. “Sure, come in.”

Suddenly the word relax had no meaning; the muscles in her stomach tightened in anticipation. A moment before she wanted to be alone, wanted nothing more than silence save for the sound of rushing water, but now all she could ever think to want was Dom; every single inch of him. Preferably naked. Hell, if Adam and Eve could pull it off, so could they. And they wouldn’t need Eden or the damn apple, either; they’d be too busy with each other to need anything more than a surface to be against or on top of…

Dom stepped inside and her thoughts pretty much ran into a brick wall. He’d wasted no time in getting all of his clothes off, not that she disapproved.

He closed the door behind him. “Maggie told me you were up here so I thought I’d come up. S’that alright?”

“Um…yeah, of course,” Emilie put the shampoo bottle back on the shelf and stood, only slightly awkward. She laughed after a moment, “Sorry, I’m just not used to-”

“The fact that it’s me?” Dom asked; voice so quiet it was nearly drowned out by the shower spray. His tone wasn’t accusatory, and Emilie relaxed a little when she felt his hand touch her hip; she leaned into his touch.

“It’s not you, I swear,” she assured him, hooded eyes trailing down the length of his body and her mouth dropping open briefly in a silent gasp. “It just seems like it’s taken us so long to-”

“Yeah,” he nodded, a hint of a smile teasing the corner of his lips. “Twenty-four hours ago, the thought of shower-time with you was just a fantasy.”

Emilie’s eyebrows shot up, “Oh it was; was it?”

Dom’s smile stretched from ear to ear for a moment as he nodded vigorously. “Definitely! I’m sure you’d love to know that I’ve had several-”

“Oh god!” she slapped his arm. “Dom! I don’t think I need to know about all the nasty dreams you had about me before!”

“You don’t?” Dom asked her, eyes narrowed; he was daring her. “They’re all quite good; I’m sure we’d have fun reenacting them.”

“You’re infuriating,” Emilie feigned frustration to explain for the shakiness in her voice.

He poked her stomach. “Well, then. It’s a good thing I have such a raw, sexual magnetism to make up for it, isn’t it?”

“Of course,” she grabbed his finger before he could poke her again; quick as a cat. “You’re such a manly man, Dominic; I don’t know how I’ve lived my life without twenty-four access to your….manliness.”

Dom made a face, “Witty.”

“Well, excuse me for not having a quick wit every single moment of the day like you, Master Dom,” she scoffed. “I’m just tired, is all.”

“Is that what the deal was, then?” he asked, curious.

Emilie’s brow furrowed, even if she had a hint as to what he was talking about. “What do you mean?”

“You were off a little after lunch,” he explained. “Maybe I’m just paranoid; things seemed…well, they seemed bloody fantastic this morning when we woke up.”

“It was, it…” Emilie pressed a sweet kiss to his lips. “It still is, Dom. I promise.”

Dom seemed pleased with the answer, even if his eyes betrayed the fact that he was still worrying more than he should. He let his thumb drift over her bottom lip reverently, eyes locked with hers. “Leave it to me to go bollocks over a beautiful woman.”

A moment of silence followed before he opened his big mouth again. “Are you sure you’re-?”

“I’m fine,” Emilie told Dom without blinking, kissing each one of his fingers, then the inside of his palm, then his wrist. When she let his hand go, her mouth immediately moved to kiss below each of his eyes.

He leaned in, following her when she pulled away just an inch or two. It didn’t take long for his head to drift, leaving a trail of butterfly kisses along her cheek until he had his face buried in her neck. The whiskers of his beard tickled her and she loved it.

“I mean it, you know,” she whispered, eyes sliding shut at the comfort of being this close to him with no barriers whatsoever. God, it really had taken them so long to get to this point. But it was worth it. No games, no unresolved tension, just them. Just them together. That was all that mattered at this point.

Dom kissed her neck lovingly, hands tracing delicate circles along the small of her back. “S’good to hear. I was worried.”

“Mmm,” her fingers ran through his damp hair, humming against his temple as his lips continued to suck on her pulse point. “Didn’t mean to worry you.”

Dom nodded faintly, “I know.”

“I just had to do something that I’ve been meaning to do for a while,” she kissed the edge of his ear, body melting into his. The way her hands stroked his arms was assurance enough that she meant everything she was saying. “If it helps, you were the reason I finally did it.”

His hands lifted up to either side of her face when he pulled away, fingers trailing along every inch of skin they could find the entire way up. “Helps a little bit, yeah.”

“Good,” Emilie licked her lips, dragging her nail across his nipple and basking in the way his eyes darkened. “You should be grateful.”

“You have no idea how much I am, Emilie.”

“I think I do,” she whispered against his mouth, lips ghosting over his. “But maybe you should show me.”

Dom didn’t even pretend to think about it. For him, at this point-standing in the shower with nothing but steam and water between his body and Emilie’s-there was no use in pretense. He slipped his leg between hers and pushed her against the cool tile, lips meeting hers in a bruising kiss.

Emilie’s mouth fell open to his prodding tongue and she moaned into his mouth, hands gripping onto his shoulders and back arching so that her stomach was flush against his.

“So we’re really going to do this?” Dom asked against her mouth, thumbs pressing into her hips.

“What?” Emilie was breathless when he lifted her up, her legs wrapping around his like she’d done it a thousand times before. “Have sex? Yeah, Dom, I think we can handle it.”

“No,” he pulled away just far enough so that their noses bumped and their eyes were locked. “I mean…we’re going to see this thing through? You and I-we’re going to be…us? This isn’t just some amazing dream that I’m going to wake up from any minute?”

“Dom…” Emilie brought both of her hands to either side of his face and licked her lips. “I’m not dumb enough to let a good thing go. Whatever this is or whatever it’ll become, I…I think it’s a good thing-a great thing. So, yeah, we’re going to try this out.”

He pressed his forehead to hers and dropped his voice to a scratchy whisper, “Do or do not, there is no try.”

Emilie squeezed his cheeks together and laughed, “Leave it to you to quote a little green midget even when you have a naked woman in your arms.”

“You know you love it,” Dom snapped his teeth at her and congratulated himself when she laughed. “Quoting Star Wars is like dirty talk to you, admit it; I’ll start going on about Dagobah and X-Wing specs and you’ll be begging for more!”

“It’s a step up from gypsy moths, I admit.” She rocked her hips against him and delighted in his moan. “One thing I did notice about you was that even during sex you never shut up.”

Dom tried relearn how to speak when she rubbed her entrance against his cock, stuttering out a weak: “Y-you complaining?”

“No,” she kissed him, snagging his lip between her teeth briefly. “There’ll be no complaining from me.”

“Good, because if you were then I’d have to spank you,” he joked, voice still shaky as he pressed her a little more against the cool tile and dropped his down between them to position himself between her legs. “Unless you want to be spanked anyways. You may act the part of a sweet, little Aussie, but I’m pretty sure I’ve yet to unleash your kinky side.”

“Mmm, whips and leather all the way,” she joked, a moan building at the back of her throat when his hand moved to her breast and rolled her nipple between his knuckles. “I’ve got an…oh! Got an S&M chamber hidden underneath the-fuck!-house.”

“Should I be scared?” he pressed into her without preamble and watched as her eyes rolled back, a guttural moan escaping her lips.

“V-very!” Her hips rolled against his, meeting his thrusts as her nails dragged down his neck to dig into his shoulders.

Dom hissed and fell forward, face buried in her throat, forehead bumping against her chin briefly as the water continued to spray against his arm. “Emilie?”

“Mmmm, yes?”

“I’m glad we both got drunk last night and you slapped me repeatedly,” he breathed against her throat. “Very, very glad.”

“Dom?” he pulled back to meet her heavy-lidded eyes and waited patiently. She traced his bottom lip with her thumb and smiled; sweet, simple, perfect. “So am I.”

---

This is really it, Orlando thought with a grimness along the lines of a soldier being sent off to war-he never denied being a tad melodramatic at times-as he looked out the window, saying goodbye to the familiar Hawaiian hilltops and trees that he’d become so used to on his trip.

It wasn’t that he was never going to come back-he’d swim to Hawaii if he had too-but he could hardly escape the sadness. Not to mention the surprise. He’d been taken aback the previous morning when he received a call from his agent reminding him he’d have to get to the set of Elizabethtown soon before all hell broke loose.

Time on the island, with Dom and Emilie and the cast of Lost and the time he spent, thankfully alone through most of it, with Evangeline…what an amazing smokescreen it all was. The outside world didn’t exist, all that mattered was fun and relaxation and Evangeline.

This was the first time, he believed, that he was actually dreading the start of a new project. But he couldn’t avoid it, he knew he had to leave sometime. The hardest part was just accepting the fact that the ‘sometime’ was now.

Orlando didn’t realize he’d been tapping his fingers against the center console until Evi put her hand on top of his, stopping him. Grinning sheepishly, he tore his eyes away from the window and looked at her.

“Sorry,” he apologized.

She smiled, glancing away from the road for a split second. “It’s okay.” She started to take her hand away but he turned his over and held hers, keeping it where it was. Still looking at the road, her smile widened and she let her hand rest in his.

“Thanks for the ride,” he said. “Sorry you had to wake up so early.”

“I don’t mind,” she assured him. “Hawaiian sunrises are definitely worth seeing. Besides, I wouldn’t want to miss my chance to say goodbye to you.”

“Yeah,” Orlando sighed. He’d known this was coming for weeks, but hearing Evi say it out loud just made it worse. His vacation was truly over, and in a few hours he’d be leaving behind the beaches of Hawaii and heading toward the tumbleweeds of Kentucky.

“Looking forward to going back to work?” Evi asked. She changed lanes suddenly and Orlando checked his seatbelt for the fifteenth time, making sure it was as snug as possible. Someone behind them honked and Evi muttered a curse word.

He smirked; somehow her suicidal driving had become an endearment, whenever he wasn’t scared for his life. “Yeah, I guess,” he said in answer to her question. “Working with Cameron Crowe’ll be a great experience. I’m excited about Elizabethtown.”

“Who else is in it again?” Evi asked. “The Spiderman girl, right?”

“Kirsten Dunst.” Orlando nodded. The tip of his pointer finger was lightly tracing the lines on her palm. On an impulse he lifted her hand to his lips for a soft kiss, and then put it down like nothing had happened. “She’ll be fun to work with, I’m sure.”

Evi was quiet for a moment. Orlando looked at her, frowning when he noticed the odd expression she bore. Seemingly choosing her words carefully, she finally commented, “Kirsten Dunst is pretty cute.”

Orlando’s frown deepened for a moment before smoothing out when he broke into a laugh. “Are you… you’re jealous!”

Evi looked at him, adopting an expression of surprise. “What? No! I’m not jealous.”

“You are!” Orlando seemed highly amused by this and was pointedly ignoring the glares Evi kept throwing him.

“It’s not jealousy. It’s… it’s… mild concern,” Evi corrected him.

“Evangeline.” Orlando forced himself to be serious, choking back laughter while he squeezed her hand. They were paused at a red light. “Evangeline, look at me for a sec.”

She looked at him, caught and held by his eyes until a fresh round of honking started and she had to jam her foot down on the gas.

“There’s nothing to be concerned about.” Orlando squeezed her hand, then let go so he could run his hand through her hair. “I’d never look at Kirsten like that. Not when I already have you. Besides, she’s dating Jake Gyllenhaal, or so I’ve heard. We’re both taken.”

“Is that so?” Evi looked at him again, giving him a small smile. “You’re taken, Mr. Bloom?”

Orlando’s cheeks turned pink he smiled sheepishly. “I guess I am… if you’ll have me.”

Evi laughed. “I don’t think anyone’s said that since about the 1800s.”

“What can I say? I’m an old-fashioned type of guy.” Orlando shrugged one shoulder. “How ‘bout it then, Evangeline? Will you be my sweetheart?”

“Oh Orlando, you’re so romantic,” Evi sighed. They’d finally reached the airport parking garage, now it was just a matter of finding a spot. Evi nearly ran over an elderly couple and their grandchild in her haste to take an unoccupied spot. Once the car was in park, she turned in her seat to look at Orlando. “How could I refuse such a sincere offer?”

“You want me to rent a plane and write it in the sky?” he asked.

“It’d be a nice touch,” Evi teased. She tugged on Orlando’s shirt collar until he leaned close enough for her to kiss him softly. “I guess we’re going steady now, huh?”

“Wish I had a letterman jacket to give you.” They both laughed before getting out of the car, Evi popping the trunk so Orlando could get his suitcases out. He gave Evi a strange look when she pulled up the hood of her jacket, making sure her hair was tucked underneath, and kept her sunglasses on even though they were inside the parking structure. “Are you hiding your other life as a secret agent from me?”

“Yes. Our conversation is being recorded right now.” Evi shrugged, shoving her hands in the jacket’s pockets. “And avoiding the paparazzi. You might want to do the same.”

“Ah, right.” Orlando nodded and dug in one of his bags until he found a hat. “All set.”

They made their way to the airport’s main building, Orlando’s hand finding hers again and locking their fingers together. The line at check-in was short, and Evi got a pass that allowed her to wait with him at the gate until his flight took off. Despite Evi’s disregard for all driving laws, especially the speed limit, they didn’t have much time to spare before his flight was scheduled for takeoff.

“I guess this is the end of the line, then.” Orlando put his carry-on down and glanced around at the other passengers who were waiting to start boarding. No one seemed to recognize them; not yet, anyway. His gaze settled on Evi, trying to penetrate her sunglasses to see her eyes beneath. Taking both of her hands in his, he lifted them to brush kisses along her knuckles until she laughed and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in close.

“I’m going to miss you so much,” she murmured.

His hands rubbed up and down her back, keeping her as close to him as possible without actually absorbing her. “I wish you could come with me.”

“I’m small; you could probably hide me in a suitcase.” Evi smiled against his shoulder, hugging him tightly. “Or you could stay.”

“Maybe I will.” He turned his head and kissed the top of her head. “They’ll halt production for me until I feel like showing up.”

“You’re a superstar; you have the right to demand that.” Evi pressed her face in the crook of his neck, sighing softly. They were both quiet for a few minutes, content to stay in this embrace all day if they could.

“All first class passengers may now begin boarding. Flight 6083 to Los Angeles, California, with continuing service to Louisville, Kentucky…”

Orlando pulled back slightly, looking sadly at Evi. “That’s my cue.”

She nodded. “Have a good flight, yeah?”

“I’ll call you when I land,” he promised. He traced the curve of her cheek with a light touch, leaning their foreheads together. “You take care of yourself, you little mobster.”

“Same to you,” she said, laughing softly. “How much longer do you think we can stall?”

“I’m a superstar. They wait for me.” Orlando grinned. Deciding he was tired of looking at his own reflection in the lenses of her shades, he took off his glasses before removing hers, setting both pairs down on a nearby chair before pulling her into his arms again. “Much better,” he murmured, rubbing his nose against hers a few times before he kissed her softly.

“We’re getting stared at,” she breathed when he pulled back slightly.

“Don’t give a fuck,” he muttered, watching her eyes flutter shut when his teeth nipped lightly at her lower lip. She buried a hand in his hair and pulled him in for a deep kiss, neither of them breaking away until they had to gasp for air.

“You have a plane to catch.” Reluctantly, Evi kissed his cheek and stepped back, out of the circle of his arms. “I’ll see you… soon, I hope.”

“As soon as I can manage it.” Orlando found his ticket and picked up his carry-on, giving Evi a one-armed hug and kissing her forehead. “Thank you, Evangeline.”

She blinked rapidly and hoped he attributed the shimmering in her eyes to the harsh fluorescent lighting. He took a few steps away, walking backwards and waving at her with his ticket. He almost tripped over a child’s rolling suitcase and glared teasingly at her when she laughed.

Orlando shook his head at how pathetic he must look. I guess I’m still a bumbling fool even after I’ve gone on a date with her. He continued to curse himself in his head despite the fact that he could clearly see the warmth in her eyes as she watched him; if she did think him a dork, at least he knew she liked it.

It took every ounce of strength and willpower he had to finally tear his gaze off of her and turn to face the woman holding her hand out for his ticket. She scanned it and the computer in front of her beeped approvingly; she handed the ticket back with a big, fake smile and told him to have a good flight.

Even if knew looking back to Evi as he walked down the path to the airplane would make it all the more difficult to look away, he still turned his head and met her eyes in the distance over his shoulder. She looked a little lost, like she didn’t know what to do with herself now that he was leaving. But Orlando knew she’d get back on her feet. She was Evangeline, no way was she going to let anything keep her from going on about her life.

Him on the other hand. He was going to have an interesting time in Kentucky acting opposite Kirsten Dunst and trying not to accidentally say Evangeline instead of Claire during a scene.

Of course, with his luck, the fact that he’d be trying not to pretty much ensured that it’d happen at least a dozen times.

Orlando blew a kiss to Evi; she pretended to catch it and put it in her pocket. They both grinned and Orlando knew they must be thinking the same thing. One last lame joke for the road.

She lifted her hand to wave, and as soon as he started to return the gesture another passenger bumped into him, hardly slowing down to mumble, “Sorry.” Orlando sighed and shrugged at Evi, waving briefly before he turned around and continued on his way to the plane.

It killed him that he didn’t know when he’d be able to see her again. He really envied the other two couples, who got to see each other every single day while he and Evi would have to rely on brief phone conversations at odd hours for who-knows-how-long.

Only the confidence that the anticipation and the waiting would be worth it -he’d make sure it was worth it for both of them at the first opportunity he got to see her again- kept him from turning around and running right back to her, refusing to leave Hawaii until they dragged him away kicking and screaming.

---

The car ride from the airport to set was uncomfortably quiet for Evi, despite the blaring radio. She was feeling unashamedly sorry for herself, already dreading how difficult it would be to see Maggie and Ian and Dom and Emilie together while her boyfriend was miles and miles away, when she parked and got out of her car.

She let her head rest against the back of the seat for a moment, taking in a deep breath and letting it out, ignoring the fact that it was shaky. Alright, here we go. She wasn't going to let Orlando's leaving hold her down, she was too stubborn to drag her feet and knuckles across the sand like a fucking monkey, all depressed and un-fun all day.

She was going to do her job and she was going to do it to the best of her ability. And if Dom and Emilie or Maggie and Ian started to be couple-y around her, then she was just going to have to kill them.

The car door was open and she planted her feet on the ground firmly, as if she'd been on a boat all day and needed a second to get her land-legs back. Taking off her sunglasses, tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth, the door closing behind her, she squinted across the beach for something to distract herself with. She was early--which wasn't unusual for her; better to be early than late, putting off production--and her first scene of the day wouldn't start for another 2 hours. Her eyes widened involuntarily when she realized just how early she was. Wow, okay, something really distracting then.

Walking over to her trailer to drop some stuff off--sunglasses, her purse, stuff she didn't need to carry around--and to get into her 'Kate' outfit, Evi took notice to a glum-looking Foxy exiting his own trailer and she slowed. "Hey, Matt."

---

Evi had never seen Foxy like this. The only times she'd witness him crying were during scenes when it was required of his character, and even then she knew it wasn't him. But now... now he was like a shadow of his former self.

Marguerite had finally stood up, packed her things, taken the kids, and left the house to stay at her mother's for a while. The new development had left him distraught as he tried to sift through the pieces his life had become, and as soon as he'd found Evi on set and told her what had happened she wasted no time in suggesting they go somewhere to talk.

The somewhere to talk ended up being a small cafe about a mile away from the sets. Lunch had been eaten, sparingly on Foxy's part which had worried her, and now he appeared to be on the brink of a total breakdown.

"It's over."

"Matt..." Evi reached over and rested her hand against his shoulder, her palm lightly squeezing all the reassuring words he needed into his body. "You just have to keep believing it'll be okay.

With a choked sob, Foxy brought a hand up to his face. "I thought that... in the beginning. It was just a few marital issues, who hasn't overcome them before? We still loved each other. It was going to be okay."

He broke off for a moment and Evi watched him sadly, her heart wrenching unexpectedly as his use of past tense. Loved. Foxy was such a good man. He didn't deserve to be so horribly betrayed by someone who had once carried his trust, his heart. For one single moment her mind locked onto a tabloid image of Orlando and Kate but it vanished as fast as it had arrived. Would Foxy suffer the pain that Orlando had?

Of course she knew that Marguerite had never cheated on him, and god forbid it ever came up that she did because Evi couldn't bear to think of how much more damage could be inflicted on the man beside her, but she'd packed up and left without a single hesitation. His love for her, his desperation to save their marriage, it had all been thrown back in his face by her departure.

Foxy's hand resting on hers tugged her from her thoughts and the instant she saw his reddened eyes, the bags lying underneath that told the truth about his sleeping habits recently, all thoughts ceased and made way for comforting words and things that could help him.

"What happens next?"

"The papers," he replied softly, running his free hand across his head. "Legal and tabloid, because we know how much the viewing public love their gossip. Kinda makes you long for the good old days of having ten people who knew your name and less who knew your face, huh?"

Evi gave him a small smile. "I very much doubt only ten people knew your name."

"It's true, they didn't. They knew me by my ass though," he joked, a shaky laugh breaking from beyond the sadness.

"There's the man I know and love!" She laughed and leaned back in her seat. "Seriously, though, you can't let this take over you. I'm not saying you should throw yourself into your work, I just think you should wait and if the worst happens you're free to panic."

"You're a good man, Charlie Brown."

"Excuse me? Do I look like a Charlie?"

They shared a smile, a real, genuine smile, and Evi mentally added one to the victory box. Every smile he showed, every laugh that passed his lips, it was just that one step closer to being able to accept what had happened and become a better man for it.

"Really, I can't thank you enough for being here. You're such a kind and patient person, Evi, and I..." He trailed off and she frowned momentarily at the thought of more tears because of her. She leaned forward but he waved her away and smiled. "Sorry, I'm just so fuckin' emotional. This whole thing is just suffocating me constantly."

"Hey, remember what I said," she reminded him gently.

"I know, I know. To not let this get on top of me." He sighed wearily but managed a smile in her direction and she ticked off another victory.

"And you know I'm always here if you need to talk. You have my number; you can call whenever you want." She shot him a stern look. "Don't wuss out because you think I'm busy, because I'm not putting you on hold for anything."

"Even at 3am when you've got a 5am shoot?"

"Yes, even then. I can't promise that I'll be completely awake though so don't be pissed off if your only advice is to buy me coffee."

Foxy's phone chose that moment to go off, the sound of The Boss infiltrating the area and causing Evi to laugh. He stuck his tongue out at her and dug his cell out, flipping it open and bringing it up to his ear.

She drowned out most of the conversation, she didn't want to invade his privacy anymore than he'd let her, and after a few minutes the call was over and he was looking at her regretfully. "Was it work?"

"They're calling me in for some script changes. Right now I just want to be in bed wallowing but... well, JJ would kick my ass."

"The ass you're so well known for?"

Foxy nodded a little and pocketed his cell. "Yeah, the one and only. God, Evi, I just..."

Nodding knowingly, Evi leaned over and pressed her lips to his cheek in an affectionate kiss. "Go to work, do whatever needs to be done, go home and watch sad movies while eating ice cream. You have more than earned your right to wallow."

Something caught the corner of her eye as they headed back to his car to return to set. She didn't pay anymore than a sparing moment of attention to whatever it was though. If she had, of course, she would've noticed the short, dark-haired man with a flash camera and an unusually wide smile.

TBC…