THE WAY WE ARE (ch 32)
AUTHOR: Tessa111
PAIRING: Orlando/Michael (OMC - I know, I know, try it out!)
RATING: NC 17
WARNING: Specific chapter warnings will be given when needed.
DISCLAIMER: This is all fiction. It is not based on facts, it never happened no matter how hard I pretend. I don’t know any of the persons in real life and no disrespect is meant.
SUMMARY (story): While in London to shoot a movie, Orlando meets Michael who stirs new feelings in him. Soon he is forced to re-evaluate who he is, what he wants, how far he is willing to go and how much he’s prepared to risk.… And a lot of other stuff; thrown in for entertainment!
SUMMARY (chapter): Orlando’s day starts off pretty badly.
FEEDBACK: Makes me happy.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: I know absolutely nothing about Disney contracts. I have done no research. It is 100% made up and no disrespect is meant to the organisation. For the record, I love Disney movies; I mean they have pirates, lion kings and singing fish. What’s not to like?
BETA: The lovely, lovely
idlesloth
roomfor2 made me the banner of sexy contemplative Orlando.
All previous chapters are here: http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=tessa111&keyword=%2A&filter=all
Chapter 32
Michael quickly dried himself and pulled on a pair of shorts and jeans before leaving Orlando and the steamy bathroom to open the door for the waiter bringing their breakfast. When the meal had been expertly arranged on the dining table, he saw the waiter out again and sat down. He poured a cup of coffee, bit into a piece of toast and was contently reading the paper when Orlando appeared, fully dressed and ready to start a new working day. Michael watched him throw his phone and various documents into his bag.
“Want to know about the day ahead?” Michael asked, having reached the star-sign section of the paper.
“Pardon?” Orlando looked up, uncertain what Michael was talking about.
“Capricorn,” Michael merely stated and began reading, “Today is a day of reflection and dilemmas. A decision requi….”
“No!” Orlando stopped him in a yell. “That’s yesterday’s paper.”
“What?” Michael looked at him, confused.
“Oh man, that means bad luck,” Orlando complained but that statement didn’t lessen Michael’s confusion.
“What?”
“You’re not supposed to read the old ones,” Orlando explained matter-of-factly.
Raising an eyebrow in amusement, Michael stared at him. “Do you actually believe in this crap?”
“No…” Orlando shrugged, he wasn’t particularly superstitious, “but there’s no need to tempt fate,” he argued none the less, causing Michael to laugh good-heartedly at his indecisiveness.
“I’m sure that rule was invented by an insecure astrologist so you can’t look backwards and prove them wrong,” Michael argued. “Anyway, it isn’t yesterday’s, I just got it from the waiter,” he explained, but still he checked the date again to make sure he wasn’t jinxing Orlando’s day.
“Oh, okay then,” Orlando sat down on Michael’s lap and circled his arms around his neck. “Then do tell me how my day will be.”
“Hello!”
Orlando jumped off Michael’s lap, startled by Robin’s voice only a split second before she appeared from the small entrance hall. “Have you heard of knocking?” he asked angrily, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.
“Sorry. Door was open,” she stated simply. “Am I disturbing anything?”
“No, just reading the pap…” Orlando shook his head and took a deep breath to get over the shock. “No, you weren’t,” he said again.
“Alright then,” Robin placed her bag on a chair and started pulling out papers. “So, do you have any plans for today?” she asked Michael. The question sounded friendly enough but Orlando could tell she was fighting to keep snappiness from her voice.
“Yeah, I do. Actually I should get going soon,” Michael informed, looking at a clock on the wall and not bothering to tell her what his plans entailed.
“Right, so you’re not coming on set today?” Robin concluded from that information.
Michael just shrugged.
“He might visit tomorrow though,” Orlando interrupted, even though they hadn’t discussed that at all. He wasn’t sure how much Michael was able to read between the lines but to Orlando it was clear that Robin didn’t want Michael on set and he tried to somehow convey to them both that he didn’t necessarily agree.
“Okay,” Robin stated, not attempting to discuss the issue further. “Well, maybe we can quickly run through these papers while Michael gets dressed?” she suggested, looking at Orlando as she spoke. “I’m leaving for London in an hour, so….” She looked at her watch, then back at Orlando, indicating they didn’t have much time.
“Yeah, sure,” Orlando willingly agreed, relieved they were returning to ‘business as usual’. The reminder that Robin was heading to London and would soon leave them alone almost caused a smile, and the nervous knot in his stomach began to untangle itself as he looked at Michael to confirm his agreement to her easy suggestion.
Michael took a sip of coffee and reached for the newspaper again, making no move to get up despite Robin now also staring at him. He raised an eyebrow at Orlando, “Maybe you could go downstairs and discuss it while I finish off here,” he suggested instead.
Orlando looked at him, confused and very aware that Robin was observing their interaction closely. What was Michael playing at? Was he being kicked out of his own suite? Didn’t Michael have to get going after all?
“That’s okay, you can just...” Orlando automatically nodded towards the bedroom and then his blood froze. The clothes were in the wrong room. Michael lived in the wrong bedroom and couldn’t get dressed and leave while Robin was in the suite. His body began to shiver in some strange adrenalin shock and his mouth went dry as he recognized that the same realization might also have clicked for Robin after his unsubtle head-nod. He had to come up with something, make her leave the suite, but his mind drew a blank as he first stared at Michael helplessly then looked at Robin, sure that panic was showing in his eyes.
“Yeah… maybe we should go and do this over breakfast or something,” he suggested shakily, meaning they could go to the downstairs restaurant as he momentarily forgot about the full breakfast available right in front of them.
“Look,” Robin snorted, ignoring his senseless breakfast idea as she left her papers on the table, “I’m going down to settle my bill; I’ll be back in ten, okay?”
“Okay,” a nod showed his agreement as the word came out almost soundless.
“Does she always just barge in?” Michael asked once Robin had left them alone again.
“Because you didn’t lock the door. You have to pull the handle up,” Orlando said accusingly, needing someone to blame for the situation he found himself in.
“You told me to leave it open,” Michael retorted, referring to Orlando’s instructions the previous night.
“Not when I am INSIDE the room!” Orlando yelled.
“Well maybe you should write down those door-locking rules if they’re that important to you!” Michael replied angrily as he got up and headed for the bedroom.
Orlando followed him and watched him throw on a shirt before raising his concerns.
“What if she noticed? What am I supposed to tell her?” he asked, his voice still angry because if he changed it he would sound too scared.
“I don’t know,” Michael sat down on the bed to pull on his socks and boots. “Tell her there were bed-bugs or that I move rooms in my sleep.”
“That’s very funny,” Orlando replied in a tone that was anything but amused.
“I don’t care what you tell her,” Michael looked at him briefly before returning his attention to his shoe laces, “these are your issues so don’t blame me for them.”
“I am not blaming you!” Orlando responded as Michael stood up, grabbed his jacket and pulled it on as he passed Orlando in the doorway.
“Then stop yelling.”
“I’m not,” Orlando followed Michael through the living room. “I’m just saying…” He wasn’t sure what he was saying or how to say it; didn’t know how to convey the fear that had grabbed hold of him. He knew it wasn’t Michael’s fault they had to hide, couldn’t leave the door open or act normally in their own room whenever someone from Orlando’s entourage happened to come by. He looked at Michael, bewildered, suddenly feeling very alone if he didn’t even have his support.
Picking up his keys and phone, Michael started to head for the door but noticing Orlando’s miserable look, changed his mind and stopped. “I’m sure you can just feed her some line if she asks,” he stated in an effort to calm Orlando’s nerves.
“Yeah, I guess,” Orlando agreed quietly though he wasn’t convinced about that option. His breakfast line hadn’t gone so well.
Michael walked up to him and ran a hand through Orlando’s hair. “She might not even have noticed. Don’t worry about it okay?” He placed a small kiss on Orlando’s forehead and on impulse Orlando leaned against him, wishing to prolong the brief comforting touch. “I’ll see you later,” Michael patted his arm reassuringly.
Orlando just nodded and watched him turn away, watched him leave while fighting the urge to cling to him. He wished Michael would stay; wished he would hold him tight but Robin would be back soon and Orlando had to handle these things on his own.
He sat down at the table, considered having a piece of toast but gave up on the idea, instead occupying his mind by reading some of the papers Robin had left on the table. He tried, unsuccessfully, to control his nervousness, and before long he was almost looking forward to her coming back just so the suspense would be over.
When she returned minutes later Robin didn’t say anything to acknowledge the earlier tension or the fact that Michael was no longer around. They just went through the paperwork as usual and slowly Orlando allowed himself to feel somewhat relieved, though he couldn’t help the feeling that their interaction was almost too professional; as if they were ignoring the obvious, and he got the impression that Robin was waiting in vain for him to raise the topic. He signed a few cheques and soon Robin stood up and started gathering her things again.
“There’ll be a local journalist coming on set for a short interview today.”
“Okay.”
“You just need to sit with him for five minutes or something, give him a few quotes to use,” she instructed and Orlando nodded his agreement. “Also, Aileen is trying to get a hold of you; apparently your phone was off last night.”
“Yeah, it was,” Orlando confirmed. He’d turned it off when they returned from Belle’s party, wanting some uninterrupted time with Michael. People called him at all hours, often forgetting about time zones so, occasionally, he turned his phone off at night to get some peace. He pretty much always got told off for it.
“Well, you should call her.”
“I will.”
“Okay,” she looked at him as if considering something else entirely, they locked eyes for a second, then she sighed and looked away.
Orlando started playing with the breadbasket as she began pacing the room. A tense silence was palpable and he felt the nervous knot return to his stomach.
“Look,” Robin finally spoke, “I have nothing against Michael but his sexual preferences are well known and him being here really doesn’t look good.” She stared at Orlando who averted his eyes. He had expected her to raise that concern again and was planning to repeat his argument that everyone else was allowed to visit him, but he didn’t get the chance.
“If anything is going on between you I think you should tell me now,” she leaned against the wall and looked at him expectantly.
His throat tightened in shock. He hadn’t expected her to be that direct and didn’t know how to counter that. “Why is it such an issue?” he asked vaguely and started breaking some bread into tiny pieces, “he’s just a friend who…”
“Like hell he is!” Robin interrupted angrily and pushed open the door next to her, revealing a very empty and unused spare guest room.
Orlando cringed and his hands started to tremble; he felt guilty for having just lied to her so blatantly, and embarrassed because of what she now knew about him. He was glad Michael wasn’t here to see him; see him so incapable of standing up for his decisions, for how he lived his life and for their relationship. He hated feeling compelled to lie, hide, and deny his actions but he was also ashamed to admit to them, he realized when he shrunk under Robin’s stare.
“It’s not your business,” he argued lamely without looking at her.
“Maybe not; but it will be when the story leaks.” She sighed and sat down opposite him at the table, looking at him thoughtfully. Orlando just kept breaking bread into even smaller bits, unable to meet her eyes and not finding anything worthwhile to say; he didn’t have any excuses or acceptable explanations.
“Orlando, I suggest you end this now.” He shook his head, not able to consider that option. “Or at the very least be as discreet as possible,” she continued after seeing his silent objection, “and that doesn’t include bringing him on set.” When he didn’t respond, Robin continued in a sterner voice, “We have to tell Aileen.”
“No!” he objected and finally looked up at her, panic rushing through him at the very thought of his management and agents finding out. His entire career would be in danger. “Don’t tell her. This is my private business; she doesn’t need to know,” he tried to appear confident in that statement and stared at her sternly, hoping that would make her agree, as his words were unconvincing even to himself.
“Orlando,” she took a deep breath and looked at him seriously, “we have to tell her. You’re up for a major part in a Disney movie for crying out loud.”
“I didn’t get that,” he countered logically. They had been in negotiations on that movie for months but it had fallen through a few weeks back.
“Yes, you did get it,” she gave him a faint smile. “That’s what she wants to tell you. They want to recast.”
“What?” Orlando stared at her blindly, trying to consider what that meant.
It was a huge production about Atlantis and included five months of filming, primarily in LA. It was a very lucrative deal and one they had fought hard to secure. Simultaneously, however, he had been offered another British movie, to which he had loosely agreed as a fall-back plan. On a personal level he secretly preferred the smaller movie and had started looking forward to it after Atlantis had been taken off the table. He had been almost relieved when someone else had been given the part in LA, thus allowing him to stay in London - but now the opportunity was there again and he would have to choose. Torn between his feelings and at a loss at what to say, he looked at his publicist almost helplessly.
“Orlando, we’re talking millions of dollars if you sign this deal,” she addressed him sternly.
“You have a responsibility to the studio, to Aileen; she is representing a client that frankly right now is a potential pitfall. Don’t you think she has the right to know the situation? If this comes out, it will have consequences for more people than just yourself.”
“I know,” he agreed meekly, finding no way of countering her argument.
“I don’t understand why you’re jeopardizing everything you’ve worked for,” Robin sighed and looked at him as if she expected some explanation. When it didn’t come she cocked her head and looked at him questioningly, “Are you gay Orlando?”
“No,” he denied shakily. Having a one-off sexual fling with a guy was one thing, actually being gay was something else entirely; that wasn’t even an option and the suspicion wasn’t one she wanted confirmed.
“Then what?” she asked irritably, clearly failing to see why they had the current problem.
Orlando shrugged, “I just like being with him…it’s…” Taking a deep breath, he decided to meet her eyes, “it’s no big deal okay? I’ll handle it and I’ll tell Aileen if it’s necessary.”
He nearly choked on his own words; he was a complete coward, lying just to buy some time. His feelings for Michael were a big deal and he had absolutely no idea how to handle the situation by himself but he most certainly did not want his management involved.
“Okay,” Robin sighed audibly. “Informing her isn’t up to me anyway; if you tell me not to, I won’t. But I think you need to consider how much this affair is worth to you.” She looked at her watch and stood up to leave, “this is a Disney production; you know the morality clauses. You can’t sign that contract consciously knowing you’re going to break it.”
“I know,” he breathed a small sigh of relief that Robin agreed to keep quiet. The contract was another matter entirely.
When Robin reached the door, she turned to face him. “Look, it would be good if you were seen out soon.”
“What do you mean?” Orlando watched his finger drawing invisible circles on the white tablecloth; he didn’t think he really wanted to know.
“You haven’t dated in a while. Maybe you should take a walk with Belle today.”
He swallowed hard, biting back a sarcastic remark. He hated these games but felt in no position to object to Robin’s requests at the moment.
“To the park or something?” he asked quietly.
“Yeah, there’s one just down the road, right?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. He’d been there a few times with Sidi already.
“Around 7,” Aileen suggested and Orlando agreed with another small nod. “Okay, I’ll arrange something. I’ll see you in London.”
Orlando didn’t look up when he heard the door closing; his finger kept drawing lines on the table till he noticed Michael’s empty cup. He picked it up and ran his index finger around the edge before half-filling it with coffee and taking a sip. It felt strangely comforting to know Michael drank from the same cup just an hour ago. Finding some strength in the white china and in the ordinary smell of coffee, he eventually found his phone, took a deep breath and called Aileen.
“Hi, it’s Orlando. I just spoke to Robin and she told me to call you regarding Atlantis.” He was amazed to find his voice was once again under his control and he actually sounded normal.
“Hi, Sweetie. Yes, it’s good news; they want to recast you in the second lead. They’ve accepted pretty much all the original conditions we set.”
“That’s great,” he stated but feared he didn’t sound quite as enthusiastic as was expected. “So, you’re happy with this deal?” he asked, though from her tone of voice it was obvious that she was.
“Yeah, I am,” she confirmed. “It’s a good contract and it’s a good movie for you. You’ll get some strong exposure with this.”
Orlando took a sip of coffee, letting his lips linger on the cup’s edge for a second before asking,
“So do we need to go there now, to discuss it or something?”
“No, I said we couldn’t pull you out of filming at the moment, they’ll wait till you’re done shooting here; then you’ll fly over and we’ll sort out the details. They do need a firm answer by the end of the month though.”
“So I have until the end of the month?” Relief ran through him, as he realized he still had over a week to consider the situation.
“Yeah, but we might as well move on it now,” Aileen stated and he could tell she was taken slightly aback by his statement.
“Hmmm, I guess…”
“Is there some sort of problem?” She sounded worried now.
“No.” He shook his head before repeating, “no,” but the second attempt still didn’t sound convincing.
“This is the exact part we wanted,” she reminded him, “we specifically asked for you to be considered.”
“I know, I know. Just…” he stared at the last drops of coffee; it had small dark bits of coffee-beans floating in it. “I’m happy about it yeah? But I guess there’s no need to rush, so… We can discuss the details later right? I have to go, I’ll call you later,” he suddenly found himself announcing.
“Alright! Well, I’ll speak to you then,” she concluded and Orlando couldn’t determine whether she was surprised or annoyed but he hung up all the same.
He placed his head in his hands and stared into the discoloured coffee, stared at the many bread crumbs, the papers left in front of him.
This movie was a multi-million dollar production; a big opportunity, he reminded himself. It was likely to give him good connections and more work in the future, it was even a fairly interesting character.
It meant a lot of money for everyone.
It also meant that in less than a month he would be leaving the country for large parts of five months. He would have to leave Michael.
Robin’s words rang in his ears “You have to consider how much this affair is worth to you.”
How much was it worth? What was the price of Michael’s touch, his kiss, sleeping next to him at night? How could Orlando make this decision and how could he ever justify choosing his fall-back movie; not leaving for LA when he couldn’t even explain to anyone the reason he wouldn’t go?
He massaged his temples gently, hoping to clear the fog in his mind. This deal really couldn’t be risked over his personal feelings. But he needed more time. Time to understand what was happening inside him, decide what he wanted, and more time to be with Michael. He needed to not leave right now and he needed to not deal with Aileen, not deal with Robin and to not feel scared anymore. He looked at the watch and stood up abruptly; he was needed on set.