Daytrip 1/1
Title: Daytrip
Author: Saga Chriztine “sagaluthien” Pettersson
Fandom: Real people: Orlando Bloom
Claim: RP: Orlando Bloom
Pairing: OB, OFC, OMC
Prompt:
Word Count: 4705
Rating:PG-13
Warning: AU, disabled
Betad: Kelly
Table for all enties: Table at my story journal
General information and disclaimer: http://sagas-stories.livejournal.com/30121.html
Author’s note: In this universe Orlando has more siblings, Orlando is the youngest one.
Summary: Clark hadn’t first been prepared that he could not spend the Saturday alone with his girlfriend Lisa. They would have Lisa’s brother with them.
"Lisa, please tell me why we have to bring your brother with us?" Clark asked his girlfriend, after she had told him they wouldn't be going alone.
"I've all ready told you, he won't be a problem. I use to take him on a daytrip then and then. He needs to." Lisa began to explain.
"But he is… apathetic." Clark interrupted.
"No he isn't. Orlando is autistic. He might need little more supervision. If you just want to get to know him, he is a nice guy. I love him and if you want to be with me you have to accept that I spend time with him. He is a part of my life and I would never, ever abandon him." Lisa raised her voice, scared that even Clark would do as many as her previous boyfriends done: leave her because they didn't want to learn to know Orlando and saw him as a trying appendage.
"Come here, Lisa," Clark opened his arms for her. "Of course I will get to know him. It's just that every time I've meet him, he has never shown that he sees me. He just sits there."
Lisa gave a sigh of relief that Clark didn't seem want to run away. She let him embrace her. "It takes time for him to open up for new people. He sees the house as his safe place. He hates when new people are there because they can move things and he need to have it the same way, as much as possible."
"But your room isn't the most organized room and the common room isn't that perfect either." Clark started to question Lisa, if Orlando would be with them the next day he needed to learn more.
"My room, as Samantha's and Ethan's is off limits for him. It has taken time for Orlando to learn that in the common room is allowed to be changed. There are six people in the family and we can't keep it the same everywhere. He still get’s his fits, but that has been better through the years." Lisa gladly told Clark about her brother.
She had waited to explain most of it to see if they could get any sort of relationship first. They had mostly spent their time in school, at the Doomfreeze or home at Clarks. If she had brought Clark home they mainly had been in her room. Now after they been really together for two months she had decided it was time to let Clark to meet Orlando.
"What sort of fits?" he asked.
"It can be different, depending when it is and how he is feeling. Sometimes Orlando get motionless for hours, sometimes he can just start cry or even scream. Those were worse when he was younger."
"If that is like that at home, how does he take it when you take him out? There are plenty of people and things always move around." asked Clark.
"Quite well actually. You will see. Though you have to remember that you have to be in sight for him, as long we are that everything works almost normal. When he can see us, he has something familiar and that’s good. He's not totally mental or dumb. He can manage a lot." Lisa smiled. It warmed her that Clark seemed to want to learn and know Orlando.
"Okay, thanks for explaining some about Orlando and you will probably have to help me more." Clark said and kissed her.
******
Lisa brought Orlando's jacket to him. He sat on his bed fidgeting with his t-shirt hem. He had done that all morning.
"Orlando!" At Lisa's voice, he looked up at her. His eyes shined up for a second. Letting go of his t-shirt, he took his jacket. After putting it on, he took hold of her hand and followed her. The times she took him with her often meant that they would go to the stable and he could meet the horses. Though he knew this time they would not do it. He had been told that they wouldn't the only two and that they would do something else.
Tugging on her arm, "Horses, please."
She turned to face him. "No Orlando, not today. Clark will come with us. I've told you that." Seeing her brother's disappointment she added, "We shall go to the park. You knew the one with the pond and carousels. You can feed the birds like you used too."
He nodded. He followed her down and out. Before the door had closed behind them, he let go of her hand and went back inside.
"Damn it!" Lisa swore. "Orlando come back, Clark is already waiting for us." She turned and followed him. She sighed thinking it would probably be one of the harder days.
Looking into Orlando's room, she was surprised to not see him there. It was where he usually went back to.
"Orlando, where did you go? We haven't time for any games." She called for him.
Walking down the stairs, she kept looking for him. Looking into the common room, she still couldn’t see Orlando.
"Orlando! Come forward."
Turning around when she heard footsteps, she saw him emerge from the kitchen.
"What where you doing there?" she asked him.
Orlando held up a bag. Lisa reached for it and Orlando let it go. She looked into it seeing that he had collected some bread.
"How stupid of me to not think of taking some bread with me so you could feed the birds." She said and rumbled his hair.
Orlando smiled. Taking her hand again and bouncing after her, they again started out from the house.
******
Clark stood waiting for them beside his car. Lisa had forewarned him that it maybe would take some time before they could go. He had seen them the first time and when they disappeared inside, he had lit a cigarette to calm his nerves. He didn't know how to act or react around Orlando. Lisa had been quite vague about her brother and first the day before explained things more detailed.
The few times he had been with Lisa at her home they spent most of the time in her room or in the common room when he hadn't been there. He had meet Orlando, but never had any real contact with him. He hadn't been interested either, since he was there for Lisa. He wanted more with her and that meant also to learn to know her family.
When they reached him, he opened the back door before he said hello. Orlando kept behind Lisa. She pushed him forward so he came in front of Clark. Big brown eyes, partly hidden under big lashes were meeting his, though this time they didn't show any apathetic.
"Hello… Ca..Clark." Orlando's low voice said, with some uncertainly.
The next moment, he was sitting in the back seat. Clark just watched back and forth. Lisa broke the spell, closing the door for Orlando and then opened the one to the passenger seat. Clark took hold of her and kissed her.
"That went faster than I thought." Clark said when he let go of her.
"Orlando loves animals and carousels, so knowing we will go to the park helped."
Not letting Orlando wait too long, both got into the car and Clark started driving.
Lisa turned, "Orlando, put on your seatbelt." When he done it, she turned back to watch the road.
At short intervals, Clark watched Orlando in the rear-view mirror. It was nervous to have Lisa's brother in the car when he didn't know how he would act. Orlando sat perfectly still, staring down at his hands. Not caring that things happened around him.
"Clark, you know that you can talk with me even when Orlando is with us." She broke the silence.
He looked over at her and let his lips curl into a smile. Before he said anything he gave another glance to Orlando. "Is it always like that? Quick changes with him?"
"What do you mean?" Lisa drew her eyebrows together.
"From looking not conscious to do things."
"Not at all the time." Lisa turned to her brother again. "Orlando, can't you tell Clark what birds there are around the pond?"
Orlando looked up. "There are doves that are white, grey, spotted. Some are brown. Most of them are city doves. There is also the larger species, pigeon. They chatter higher. Hopefully both pairs of swans will be there. One is actually from Australia since it is black. It has only been there for four years and you wouldn't meet it in the wild here. The other pair are mute swans. When they have found their partner, they stay together for life. They have a red beak with a black wen at the beak base. There are several ducks, mallards and eiders. The mallards are also called swim ducks and search for their food at the surface and then stand vertical in the water. The eiders go as dive ducks. You can also see some magpies. They are black and white."
He was about to take a breath to continue when Clark interrupted him, "That is a lot. Which one do you like best?"
Orlando halted in his telling. A few minutes went by before he said, "I like the swans best." Then he went back to stare at his hands.
Lisa smiled. She knew how it could be if you didn't interrupt him, Orlando could tell you the whole history. If you interrupted him too much, he might start telling all from the beginning again or he became silent.
Clark seemed to have a hard time knowing what to say as well and it became silent in the car for a good time.
"Are we there yet?" came from the back seat.
"Soon, Orlando." Lisa replied.
"Shall we go to the pond first?" Orlando asked.
"Yes, Orlando, you knew that we do that when we go there." Turned to Clark she add, "If we don't, he just don't stop asking us go there."
"Why that?" Clark asked to no one particular.
"Likes feeding the birds." Orlando said. "Likes feeding the birds. Likes feeding the birds."
"That’s good. We know now, Orlando." Lisa tried to stop him before he repeated it more.
"Likes feeding the birds." Orlando said one more time.
The rest of the way was silent, since Clark still couldn't come up with anything to say. So far he was taken aback that Orlando actually could talk a lot, though it was like you had to ask him directly.
******
When they parked, Lisa helped her brother out and took hold of his hand. He could be a little too eager at times when he had only one thing in his head. If she hadn't had a hold of him, he would have run to the pond.
"Shall I bring the football?" Clark asked before he would lock the car.
"Do so. I don't know if it will be used. It is awhile since we where here and I would guess Orlando will take his time with both the birds and carousels." Lisa said and looked at her brother.
"Birds, birds." Orlando repeated and tried to draw Lisa with him.
"Orlando, calm down. We are on the way." She said and kept her stance.
"Birds now!"
They started walking, Orlando was almost two steps ahead, dragging his sister. When they had the pond in sight, Lisa let go of Orlando's hand. She held out the bag with bread for him. He snapped it and run half the way before he stopped. He turned around, seeing they were after him. Then he continue, but in a more acceptable pace.
"I thought he would run all the way, according to his behaviour." Clark remarked.
"No, he wouldn't. Sure he can be eager, though he knew if he had come in a full speed he would have scared most of the birds and they would have flew away. That would devastate him." Lisa clarified.
"Is his behaviour normal for everyone that has autism?" he wondered.
"There are different types of autism. Everyone is different. That’s why I can't tell you how Orlando would react. He behave differently from a situation he has been in hundreds of times just because what he did before or what mood he is in. In general, he will do the same thing again and again."
When Lisa and Clark had almost caught up with him, they stayed a distance away and watched Orlando.
Orlando had gone to the edge of the pond. He had squat down, started to give some bread to the bravest birds. The white swan pair slowly swam towards him. He had crumbled some of the bread that he throws around him. When the swan was closer, he held out bigger pieces for them.
Clark seeing the swan were on their way to take the bread from Orlando's hand he took Lisa's arm. "Shouldn't you warn him? Aren't the swans unreliable and could nip him?" He said to her.
"They know him and they used with people so what I knew they haven't done anything." Lisa said and when she seen it went well she looked around. "What do you say we go over to that oak tree and sit down?"
Clark turning around looking where Lisa pointing. "Sure, but will we be too far from him?"
"That's alright, he will move in a moment to the grass and we won't be able to get him away for at least an hour. We can sit talk and snuggle some." A devious smile crept on Lisa's face.
Clark nodded and they went over there. Even if Lisa was calm, he could not relax or worry about her brother. He had never felt at ease with any animals, much because he had no experience with them, since he was allergic.
Orlando moved away from the edge as Lisa said he would. He had sat down in the grass, sitting so he both could see them and see out over the pond. He turned the bag inside-out to get the last crumbs out. Then nothing happened from Orlando's side.
When it seemed to not change, Clark started to relax and could give Lisa attention. They kissed, hugged and necked. After good half and hour, Clark looked towards Orlando, expecting that he would have moved. Orlando still sat there, looking like he was talking to the birds that were around him. He had to blink a few times as he actually saw that one dove was sitting on his shoulder.
Lisa giggled beside him. "Do you understand why it isn't a problem to have him with us?"
"Does that happen all the time?" Clark asked her, pointing towards her brother.
"Orlando loves animals and they seem to love him. That dove I would suspect sees him as her mate." Lisa put her hands to Clarks face and turned it so she could continue to kiss him. "If there hadn't been more people here, I would let you make love to me."
"It's… great… as… it… is." Clark said between the kisses.
How good as it was, Clark started to get little restless after they been at the oak tree well over an hour. He rose and stretched. Orlando was still sitting in the same position since he sat down on the grass.
"Hmm, I think I need take a pee and a smoke. Shall you join me?" he asked but was prepared for Lisa's no. "I'll come back soon." Clark walked away to where he had seen the toilet was located.
Lisa went to her brother. Orlando looked up when all birds flew. He showed that he was pleased. After that she asked him to come with her and he didn't put up any problem. When Clark returned they were kicking the football back and forth. He joined and they kept doing it for some time, though it was Orlando that seemed too tired first.
"Isa, I want to go to the carousels." Orlando told her.
"Okay, come then. Let's walk." She said.
Orlando took the lead. Clark picked up the ball and followed together with Lisa. As earlier Orlando burst into a run, but stopped up before he was too long away from them. He kept repeating it the whole way. Even if he reached the target, he didn't jumped up on any. There were a few children there with their mothers.
Lisa looked at her brother, seeing his concentrated facial expression understanding they might get a problem. She quickly stands in front of him blocking his view. Whispering, she asked if he needed to go somewhere before he took a round on the carousels. She hoped he wanted as then it might be so that the others had tired.
Orlando took a sidestep, showing in his eyes he wanted to get up. Lisa followed, asked him again. Orlando took the side step the other way again.
"Orlando!" Lisa waited until she had his foucs, "I think we shall go to the bathroom first."
"Okay." He said, defeated.
Lisa took him into the ladies room. It was the easiest to know he did what he should. She couldn't trust it would have worked with Clark. Lisa was disturbed by some mothers and Orlando almost succeeded to get out before he washed his hands.
Even if not all the children had tired of going around in the carousels when they where back it was less. There were two one for smaller and one for bigger children. Most children were on the small one. On the bigger sat a girl that seemed to be around twelve.
"Excuse me." Lisa approached her. "Is it all right if Orlando can go around with you?"
The girl stopped up to push it around, looking at them. She let her eyes travel up and down on him. "That's alright, if he's good to get it into a spin."
At once Orlando was forward and started to get the carousel in a spin, then jumping up.
Lisa backed away, turned to sit down on a bench.
"Isa, you too." Orlando shouted.
"No, you have a friend now. Play with her." She replied, knowing her time would come.
Sitting down with Clark, she took his arm to rest behind her as they watched them on the carousel.
"Seeing Orlando today is so much different than I have seen him before." Clark mumbled. "To be here is almost like to have a little brother in the early school age that you play around with."
"I knew. It can be fun a lot, but there are times that are hard too. Today is a good day. Though you always worry if there would happen something." Lisa sounded like she expected the later might come anytime.
Lisa never took her eyes off her brother. He kept the carousel spinning a lot. Seeing that the girl really liked it helped, but Lisa didn't know how long she would keep up.
"How can you continue watch them? I get dizzy of it." Come Clark with a moment later.
"You got used to it. I don't know how many hours I've have had to spin Orlando or he spin me. He could do it for hours."
After another ten minutes, the girl seemed to start to get enough. At the same time as Lisa was on her way up, she heard Clark’s stomach growl. Looking at the watch, she saw it was time for lunch. Walking to the carousel she tried to get Orlando to stop, but as she suspected he didn't want to. There came a woman, which Lisa thought was the girl's mother.
"Orlando, stop at least meanwhile I'll talk to you." Lisa demanded.
He stopped. The girl taking the chance and went down and walked to Orlando.
"Thank you, but I need to go now. It was nice to play with you." She said.
Orlando looked confused.
"What do you say, Orlando?" Lisa reminded him.
"It was nice to play with you, too." He repeated. Turned to Lisa, "I want to go more."
"Orlando, it is time to eat. We can get back later."
"No, now." He pouted.
"No, Orlando. It's time for lunch." Lisa holding her breath and just as she thought he didn't listen to her. Try to think fast, she turned to Clark. "Do you think you can go and buy us something to eat? So I can stay here with Orlando a little longer?"
"No problem. I can go to McDonalds." He offered.
"That’s good, buy two big Mac combos to us, with coke." Turning back to her brother she said. "You should be happy Clark is with us today. We can go for a little longer time."
It was full speed on the carousel all the time it took for Clark to buy them lunch. This time it was Lisa that had to make it a spin. She loved to see her brother smiling and enjoy the ride so she did it without complaining. There were all too rare moments he seemed to live up. There were times she do wished he was as any other seventeen year old guy. One she didn't need to look after like a child. With his uncommunicativeness, apathy and difficulty to learn things he would probably never get mentally older than he was now. Not if the doctors were right.
Seeing Clark coming back, she stopped the carousel. Lisa was ready to take the argument and begging for continuing. To Lisa's relief, Orlando was satisfied and didn't oppose when she told him that they had to stop for eating.
Instead of sitting at the picnic tables, they went out on the grass. It didn't take long before the food was eaten. Clark noticed of how Orlando divided the hamburger and ate everything then the bread. When he finished the food ,Orlando stretched and lay down to rest his head in Lisa's knee.
"Orlando, are you tired?" Lisa asked him.
He looked up at her, "Just a little. Can we pass the pond again?" he said and couldn't hide a yawn.
"I saw you saved the bread. We have to pass it as we go to the car, so yes you can give it to the birds."
Satisfied with her reply, Orlando appeared to relax.
"Does he always pick the burgers apart?" Clark asked Lisa.
"Yeah, he doesn’t eat bread. Especially not after he learned the birds like it." Lisa replied. She sat stroking his head, trying to get his curls in some order.
"Why not buy him a salad instead?" wondered Clark.
"No. You saw him at the pond. It would take away some of his joy."
They let the food digest; Lisa and Clark talking meanwhile Orlando seemed to lie resting. When there came more people to the park, Lisa decided that it was time for them to start heading home. She slowly started shaking Orlando and repeating his name to get him up on his feet. Clark had rose when she began, picked up their trash, went and throw it out. When he came back, he held out his hand to help Orlando up, but was ignored. Lisa only gave Clark an apologetic look.
Lisa gave Orlando his saved bread and they walked to the pond. With more people in the park there were less birds, but enough to get rid of the bread.
Clark watched how the people they meet looked at them and special Orlando. If he wouldn't knew that Orlando was autistic, he might had looked a few times extra on him but he actually didn't seem to much different from any guy. It was his behaviour that stood out, that others clearly reacted on. He seemed to have a habit to draw at his jacket hem. Orlando didn't smile or greeted anyone they met. After Clark studied him, he had noticed that Orlando kept watch on them under his half open eyes, like he was afraid to loose them.
Since Lisa had explained how Orlando's disability was, he had a new understanding for her and thought she was admirably to have such patience and kindness to not only her brother. To have spent the day with the siblings he had come to feel privileged.
Reaching the parking lot and his car, Clark open up the back door for Orlando and expected he would get in like he had done before. The seconds went. Orlando stood still. Clark turned to Lisa for a clarification why he didn't get in. She stood watching something. So deciding to work it out himself, he went forward to Orlando.
"Please, can't you get into the car?"
Orlando didn't seem to looking at anything or like he had heard Clark. Clark reached out to take hold of Orlando and get him into the car. He had barley get a hold of Orlando's arm when he in the next moment was pushed backwards. For not fall Clark instinctive reached out to get support from Orlando. He nudged his hand, but wasn't caught and fell on his behind. Orlando became still and started crying.
At Orlando's cry, Lisa broke out from her watching and run over to her brother, took hold of him. She got up a napkin, starting to dry Orlando's tears. Turning to Clark as he returned his feet she asked, "What happened?"
"I was trying to get him into the car. When I took hold of him, he pushed me and I lost my balance. Then he just started crying." Clark explained. "Why did he do that? I just wanted to help."
Lisa embraced her brother, whispering in hushed tones in his ear. Trying to get him to calm down. After a moment, he became quiet and she took a step back.
"Orlando, look at me." She had to repeat it twice before he was looking at her. "It's all right now. See Clark? He is fine. No harm done."
Over her shoulder, Orlando looked at Clark, who still waited for a reply to his question.
"Orlando, sit down in the car. We will go home now." She continued and was obeyed. When he was seating in the car she turned around to Clark. "I'm sorry, I should have told you that Orlando doesn't like to be touched by people he doesn't know or trust. I hope he didn't hurt you, Orlando doesn't know his strength."
"I'm not hurt, perhaps only my pride." Clark said smiling. "Why did he start crying?"
"He probably knew that you didn't want to hurt him and got scared of his own action. Then seeing you sit down, he just lost it." Lisa looked back to her brother, which had calmed down and gone back to his constant fidgeting of his jackets hem.
"Orlando, put on the seatbelt." Lisa said and then closed the door around him. She went over to her seat.
Clark drove them home. It was almost totally silent during the drive. A mumble from the back seat was heard and after Clark really tried to hear, he could catch two words were constantly repeated; 'I'm sorry'.
He parked where he had earlier and got out to follow the siblings to the door.
"Orlando, I'm sorry for what happen before. It's nice to meet you." Clark said to Lisa's brother.
Next he had Orlando around his neck, but was released as quick and Orlando went in through the door. Clark just stood there gaping like a fish. Lisa could barley keep her laugh in.
"I think Orlando likes you." She finally said.
"Why do you think that?" Clark could say when he collected himself from the surprise.
"Orlando hugged you. It was his way to thank you and tell you that you are forgiven." Lisa said and threw her arms around her boyfriend.
"I'm not sure I will be able to learn his quick actions. This day was, to say the least, very educational. I've had a good time." Clark said and kissed his girlfriend.
When they parted, Lisa asked, "Then you could think of doing it again?"
"Yes… I actually would love to."
******
***The End***