(no subject)
Title: Light My Way
Pairing: Orlando Bloom and Craig Parker
Rating: NC-17 overall
Summary: Um… there’s a lighthouse in it. Obviously. And two gorgeous men. Need I say more?
Disclaimer: We don’t know the real Craig and Orlando. We are only borrowing their lovely images for our story.
Chapter Twelve
Looking at the lounge wall, Craig really isn't sure. He's chosen the picture for the colours that blended nicely with the rest in the room, something to break up the blank expanse of wall, but now he's not certain he likes the abstract pattern.
"It's just a damn picture," he mutters to himself. Obviously if he has enough time to worry about small things like this then he doesn't have enough to do. Well, that's almost true. Gone are the endless lists and scraps of paper. The flat is now equipped with everything it needs from frying pans and a mug tree to the throw pillows on the sofa and the neutral toned rugs scattered around. It's looking more like somewhere to live than just a stopover at least, but as he surveys his handiwork, Craig can't help but think there's still something missing. It still looks more like a show home than somewhere someone actually resides.
Despite all the hunted bargains for decor carefully placed where needed, there are no real personal touches. No pictures on the mantle above the fireplace, no half read magazines abandoned on the coffee table or piles of CD's left by the tiny player he's found to fit into in an alcove. But then Craig just doesn't have any of that stuff. Everything he'd had he'd left behind when he'd moved out of the apartment shared with Simon. There is nothing to show he's ever had a life before this moment. He's starting over again from scratch, just like always.
Just to avoid plumping the sofa cushions again, Craig returns to his neat and orderly bedroom. He's taken the single room leaving Orli the double. After all, Orli will probably need the extra space for his school stuff, not that Craig is sure just how much study there would be involved on a cookery course, but he supposes there will be some. He'd eventually found and completed Orli's list anyway, nothing too demanding on there being it was just stuff he would need in the first few days he wouldn't want to have to shop for.
Checking his watch, Craig figures he probably should get something for lunch but he doesn't really feel that hungry. Instead he wonders whether Orli is on his way yet, his arrival due the following day after a journey Craig has already taken through the night to reach here. In another three days, Craig will be starting a temporary position in a local office, something else that's making him nervous. He's really not sure how well he'll settle back to that kind of work but he needs a job. At least he'll have the weekend to spend with Orli before then.
Restless, Craig returns to the kitchen and concentrates on making himself a sandwich that he doesn't really want and takes it through to the lounge to eat in front of the portable TV that he ends up not really watching.
~*~*~
Orli walks out of the train station and sets his bags down so that he can unfold the paper where he's written the address for the new flat. After he reads it again, he picks up his bags and moves to the queue for a taxi. Waiting his turn, Orli realizes the nervous butterflies in his stomach have turned into something much larger. Birds, maybe. Seagull-sized birds. He remembers the day that the gulls at the lighthouse stole Craig's sandwich and smiles.
He opens the door to the taxi and shoves his bags inside before getting in. He recites the address to the driver, releasing a shaky breath of excitement as he sits back in the seat when the car pulls away from the curb. Orli looks out the window at the scenery passing by and wonders if the driver can hear the loud pounding of his heart that seems thunderous in his own ears. It's only been a few weeks. A few long and anticipation-filled weeks and Orli is more than anxious to be reunited with his roommate.
The car stops moving and Orli looks at the driver.
"We're here?" he asks almost breathlessly, his nervous smile widening as he takes out the money to pay for his cab ride. A moment later he's standing at the door to his new flat. He takes a deep breath and knocks on the door.
In the kitchen Craig looks up from his breakfast and then glances at the clock. Sliding off his stool at the breakfast bar he wipes the residue of melted butter off his fingers and hurries to the door, throwing it open. "Hey. Welcome home," he smiles.
"Hey!" exclaims Orli, smiling brightly as he tries to step through the front door while still holding his two bags and getting stuck in the process. Dropping his luggage, he steps inside to tacklehug and kiss Craig. "Hey," he says again, his voice softer but the smile still firmly on his face.
Returning the hug, Craig asks, "Good journey?" before moving to retrieve Orli's bags from the doorway. "I'm just having breakfast if you want some," he adds, leaving the bags in the hallway for now and leading the way back to the kitchen.
"Yeah, fine," nods Orli. "I could use a cup of a coffee," he tells him, finally tearing his gaze away from Craig's face to notice his new surroundings. "Oh wow... the place looks great!" he says as he takes in all the details that Craig has worked so hard on while he's been here.
"It's getting there," Craig smiles as he puts the kettle on to boil and gets another cup ready. "We can take a tour while this is boiling. It will only take a few seconds," he chuckles. "This would be the kitchen, and I guess this would be the dining area if it had a table..." he indicates the still relatively empty space nearby. "And the lounge," he continues turning towards the rest of the open area.
"The cupboard," he opens a door in the hallway with a flourish to reveal a vacuum cleaner, iron and ironing board. "Exciting huh? And this is your room." Opening the door to the larger bedroom Craig steps inside. "I haven't done much in here, thought you'd want to arrange things yourself. Everything's here though," he nods towards the boxes of things Orli had sent on in advance.
Orli scans the large room with its tidily made bed and his boxes piled neatly in the corner. "So there's two bedrooms..." he asks instead of asking the question that is really on his mind.
"Yeah." Leaving the room, Craig takes Orli to his own bedroom, slightly smaller but adequate nonetheless. "I got more shelves if you want some in your room," he advises, his own things now neatly put away on the DIY he's been doing.
"It looks good," Orli says with an encouraging smile despite his disappointment with the sleeping arrangements. "You've been working hard... you got so much done."
"It's coming along," Craig agrees as they return to the kitchen and the coffee. "And now you're here we can finish up the rest together," he smiles, handing Orli a coffee. "Like getting a proper coffee maker cos I know you hate this instant stuff."
"You're right. First thing on the shopping list is the coffee maker," Orli chuckles as he takes the cup from Craig. "I still can't believe how much you've done in a just a few weeks though. The flat's even nicer than it seemed in the ad."
"It was in pretty good shape when I got here, I just added a few things. Still not really used to being here though. I feel like a visitor in someone else’s home, you know?" Craig shrugs slightly with a rueful smile as if his thoughts are rather weird.
"I suppose it takes some getting used to. It's a lot of changes. What we're doing. A lot of new things all at once." Orli takes a sip of the coffee and tries not to pull a face when the bitter aftertaste clings to his tongue.
"Yeah, I guess. Thank god you got here though. I think I was in serious danger of developing a split personality having only myself to talk to," chuckles Craig. "It's that bad?" he asks, indicating the coffee and Orli's attempt to hide his distaste.
"It's okay. I'm just a little spoiled," Orli shrugs, happy to hear that Craig is glad about his arrival. "I kinda felt that way, too. The two new guys weren't big talkers. They were nice enough... but I really missed you." He buries his nose in the coffee mug again after his confession.
"Must have been a bit crowded with three of you," Craig murmurs. "I guess you didn't break out the cards for a game then while they were there?" he asks, raising a questioning eyebrow.
"Uh... no." Orli shakes his head and gives a rueful smile. "We did pass the time silently over a jigsaw puzzle one night. Nothing too steamy though, a picture of Essex."
"I'm glad you missed me though, would have been a bit awkward sharing a place if you'd figured actually I was annoying or something," Craig says teasingly. “It sounds like loads of fun." Craig nods, his expression indicating he thinks anything but. "The excitement must have been a killer!"
"Not so much," laughs Orli. "They did like my cooking though."
"I bet. Still, this kitchen will appreciate someone who actually knows how to use it. So far my main bonding has been with the microwave. The oven and I definitely do not see eye to eye." Craig scowls at the offending appliance. "Too many knobs to twiddle or something. I don't know."
Orli laughs louder at Craig's disdain for the oven, letting out a very loud, very undignified snort in the process. "Hopefully I'll be able to make friends with it," he says.
"Good luck with that," Craig mumbles, finishing up his own coffee. "So what do you want to do? You must be pretty tired after the trip and you probably want to get some of your things sorted. If you want to rest up a while, that's cool. We can go out into town later or tomorrow so you can get your bearings."
"I'm not tired. I dozed on the train..." Orli looks around the flat. "Guess I could unpack some," he says less than enthusiastically. "I would like to go into town. Maybe go by the school and see where it is?"
"Sure, if you want to. I haven't been out that way so I'm not entirely sure on the location myself. Still trying to find my way around the centre, but there's some decent shops around."
"Good. I'd like to shop for some new clothes. Just a few things to start school with, you know? Make a good impression and all that."
"Well you still have a couple of weeks," Craig smiles at Orli's enthusiasm. "But we can go and have a look round. I need to get a couple of things as well. And we can look out a coffee maker while we're at it."
"Yes! A coffee maker. Definitely." Orli eyes the cooling coffee in his mug and smiles.
"Okay then. I'm ready when you are." Leaving his breakfast plate and mug in the sink, Craig heads towards his bedroom to collect his jacket and wallet.
~*~*~
Orli waits for Craig to unlock the door to the flat then follows him in and deposits his shopping bags in the lounge, bags that are filled with groceries, clothes and their brand new coffee maker.
He'd enjoyed the shopping trip with Craig and his tour of the city as well as a stop at the culinary school where he'll be starting in a couple of weeks. The tour has filled with him with a sense of hopeful anticipation about what his and Craig's future might be in this new town. Orli had a good time just being with Craig, as well, laughing and talking and pointing out different things to each other. He still loves Craig's sense of humour and finds that they laugh and joke easily with each other even when Orli forces him to look at numerous coffee makers before finally deciding on "the one".
"It didn't seem like this much when I was shopping for it," he says, his tone slightly apologetic when he realizes how much he's purchased on their outing this afternoon.
"It's okay," Craig replies, struggling with handfuls of bags and a box as he kicks the front door closed behind them. "I knew there'd be stuff you'd need for school and whatever." So yeah, stuff for school covered some of it, the rest... well. He could only put it down to a kind of giddy delirium Orli must be feeling now he's free of the confines of the lighthouse and has shops at his disposal.
Stepping over a landslide of bags to put the box holding the coffee maker on the counter, he surveys the afternoon’s haul pensively. He knows Orli has the money at his disposal. In fact he knows there is a not inconsiderable sum in his flat mate’s bank account given the years of work in isolated places, but even so. Craig also knows Orli will need that money down the line, not just to get him through school, but beyond. "A splurge now and again isn't a bad thing. Just not too regularly, eh?" he concedes, smiling as he ruffles Orli's hair where he's crouched down rooting through one of the bags. It's not his place to dictate how his friend spends his money but Craig is only too aware of all the temptations out there ready to part Orli from his hard earned cash.
"Yeah, I did go a bit overboard. But it's a celebration of sorts." Orli smiles as he continues to sift through the bags. "I can't believe all the things you can buy at the grocery store. Do you think it's because of the cooking school? That maybe they have more things because they'd be in demand?"
"Could be. I hadn't really thought about it before," Craig muses. "There are a couple of other specialty shops I noticed as well. I'm sure they serve the community at large as well as the school." Alarmed at the way the kitchen is starting to resemble a sale bin at a clothes store as Orli reviews his purchases, Craig picks his way through the bags again. "Do you want some help taking this through to your room?" he asks tactfully.
"Oh yeah... sure," replies Orli as he looks around the kitchen. "Sorry about the mess..." he says as he starts putting some things back into their bags to carry them to his room.
"It's fine. It's not wet towels at any rate," Craig smiles as he scoops up a load of carriers and heads to Orli's room with them and then stays to help get everything hung up in the built in closet.
"I want to make a good impression. Look like I'm smart and ready to learn and not some dumb hick from the sticks." Orli looks at the closet full of new clothes, a worried expression on his face. "This is like a second chance, yeah? And those don't happen too often. I just want to make the best of it."
"You'll be absolutely fine," Craig murmurs, standing behind Orli and placing his hands on his shoulders. "You're all the same, starting out learning something new. No one is any better or worse than anyone else. And once you're all covered in flour and god knows what, d'you think anyone will care what you're wearing?" he chuckles. "That's what these are for, right?" he indicates the chef's whites Orli had to get.
"Yeah," Orli chuckles, "We'll all be wearing those in class but I want to look good getting there, too," he says with a proud lift to his chin.
"You will," Craig assures, giving Orli a squeeze. "Now how about you and I go look good in the kitchen and hustle up some dinner cos I am about famished," he suggests hopefully.
"Can I make it for us?" asks Orli. "I bought this great cookbook for Greek food and I can't wait to try it out..." He heads back toward the kitchen and the remaining sacks of things that will need to be put away as well.
"Like I'm going to argue?" Craig smiles as he follows behind and then takes a seat on one of the stools at the breakfast bar to keep chatting as Orli works on their dinner.
Orli quickly prepares a small dish of feta cheese with olives and spices then sets it in front of Craig with some bread. "Here's something to nibble on while I work on the rest. It's meze. A Greek appetizer."
"Yes, I'm definitely going to like this chef school thing," Craig grins before popping an olive in his mouth. "I got a job by the way, starting Monday. It's only temporary but the place seems okay. Might come to something more permanent I guess eventually," he chatters on, making up for the weeks with no one else to talk to.
"Oh Craig, that's great!" Orli stops his preparations long enough to round the bar and give Craig a congratulatory hug. "Here you've been listening to me prattle on all day about school and things and you have good news yourself."
"Oh, well it's not that interesting. Just admin stuff like I did before," protests Craig although he feels somewhat happy Orli is pleased with the news. "It's flexible working so that will be nice. I can start at eight and finish at four every day if I want."
"I think it's super!" Orli is excited to hear that they will have similar hours for work and school, too. It's just more time to spend with Craig.
When they are done with dinner, Craig helps with the cleaning up although it's assisted greatly by the dishwasher in the flat allowing them to retire to the lounge. "That was a pretty damn good dinner," Craig sighs happily.
"Yeah? Thanks," Orli says before he plops himself down on the couch, his legs stretched out in front of him. "It's good to relax in my new flat after cooking in my new kitchen," he says happily, adding a sigh of contentment for good measure.
"And no round rooms," Craig adds with a playful smirk. "I kinda miss the lighthouse in some ways. It was an experience."
"I don't," says Orli. "Maybe later. But not right now," he laughs.
"Yeah well, it was all new to me. I wasn't an old hand like you," Craig replies, poking Orli in the ribs. "But we'll have fun here too I'm sure."
"We will!" Orli agrees, giggling as he pushes Craig's hands away from his ribs. "I'm going to be a great chef and you're going to get fat from eating all the delicious meals that I'll make," he teases as he reaches over to pat Craig's belly.
"That's fine. You'll be a famous chef earning loads of money and I'll be too fat to move off the couch and go to work but you'll still have to feed me great meals. I'm not seeing much wrong with this plan..." laughs Craig.
"Uh oh, I better rethink this a bit," smiles Orli, his hand slipping beneath Craig's shirt and rubbing across his warm skin.
"Of course, you'd be rich, famous and popular and I'd be fat and lonely..." Craig muses, his hand covering Orli's on his stomach idly as he thinks about that. "Mm, a definite rethink needed," he agrees.
Orli stares at Craig's profile, suddenly filled with the intensity of being here and close again with the man he loves. "You'll never be lonely," Orli says softly. He pulls his hand back and gives a stilted chuckle. "You have me after all," he says jokingly, trying to cover for his momentary lapse of emotion.
"Yep. Mine. And I will love him and hug him and pet him and squeeze him and I will pet him and I will take him home and call him George," Craig says in a squeaky voice, wrapping his arms around Orli and squeezing him playfully while nibbling on his shoulder.
Orli giggles happily, winding his arms around Craig's neck. "But I don't look like a George," he protests with a soft laugh.
"Shh. It doesn't work without the George," Craig says in stage whisper and with a smile. "Not that you look much like an abominable snowman either, but we can pretend," he nods sagely. "Although I'm not wearing rabbit ears..."
"Is this like some of that role play stuff you were telling me about?" asks Orli as he affects the most innocent of questioning looks that he can manage while struggling to keep a straight face.
Pondering that for a minute Craig shakes his head. "Somehow I think role play should be more... sexy... than Looney tunes. Did you get a cute, frilly apron with your chef’s outfit?" he asks then with a lopsided smile.
"A frilly apron? What for?" laughs Orli.
"Cos that would be sexy," replies Craig, wiggling his eyebrows. "Or maybe I'm just a pervert," he shrugs.
"A plain apron wouldn't do it for you? It has to be frilly..."
"Mm, what are you wearing under it?"
"Uh..." Orli's brow wrinkles in thought then the light bulb goes on above his head. "Oh! Just the apron. Right?"
Laughing softly, Craig runs a hand through Orli's hair. "That'd probably do it. Even without the frills." Studying the brown eyes for a moment, Craig gives a small, uncertain smile. "Although perhaps we should be concentrating on the serious aspects of your course rather than being frivolous about it."
"It's okay..." Orli pauses, his eyes dropping to Craig's smile. "We're just having a bit of fun," he murmurs.
But when does it cross the line of just having fun and become something else? Craig asks silently, licking his lips subconsciously when Orli's gaze in on them. "The college looked cool though, didn't it?" he asks, grasping for something to say to dissipate the sudden tension.
"Mmhmm," Orli nods. He can feel Craig pulling back, not physically, but there's a distance there all the same. "Craig?" he whispers as his eyes lift from Craig's mouth to his eyes. "Did you miss me?" he asks softly.
Pausing at the question, Craig looks askance as he tries to think of something suitable to say in response but nothing seems right. Finally, he looks back to Orli and lets out a soft, almost defeated sounding sigh. "Yeah, I did," he reveals quietly.
The tone of resignation in Craig's voice doesn't escape Orli's notice, but he's not unhappy with the answer. "I missed you, too. Missed being with you. Like this."
Craig's lips tilt into a small smile, but his eyes keep the serious expression in them. "Maybe that's because you've got used to having just me around?" he suggests gently. "A lot of things will change for you soon. Maybe your perceptions will, too."
It's not because you haven't been around. It's because I love you. Orli hopes the changes that Craig is talking about aren't going to take him away from him.
"Maybe..." Orli murmurs, closing the small distance between them as he presses his lips against Craig's for a hungry kiss.
Despite his misgivings and good intentions, Craig is only human and can't help the way he automatically responds to the kiss and Orli's close proximity. It's been several weeks without anyone to talk to let alone a close contact he remembers all too well. His arms tighten around Orli as he is drawn into the kiss that is steadily intensifying.
Orli moans into their kiss, his fingers sliding through Craig's hair as he holds him close. Slanting his mouth, he kisses along Craig's jaw line and neck then nibbles at his ear lobe as he whispers, "I want you."
Closing his eyes, Craig wonders how the hell he is meant to be strong and resist when Orli is saying such things in a blatantly seductive manner. "Looks like you already have me…" he murmurs unsteadily.
TBC
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