Affirmation Chapter Twelve
Title: Affirmation (Chapter Twelve)
Author: Vanessa
Pairing: OB/VM
Rating: NC-17
Summary: When a tragic situation leaves Orlando broken and isolated will Viggo’s love and belief in him be strong enough to bring him back?
Feedback: Always appreciated
Warnings: Violence, Angst, and Character Death (Original Characters only).
Disclaimer: This is not true. I don’t know them, and I'm not making any claims about them in real life. It never happened.
Archive: Please don't.
Betas: The wonderful tamsu2002 & foxrafer
Author’s Notes: This is set in mid 2003. I obviously played with actual filming schedules. There's a lot of angst in this, but there will eventually be a happy ending, I promise.
~*~
Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six, Chapter Seven, Chapter Eight, Chapter Nine, Chapter Ten, Chapter Eleven
Banner by araestel.
Orlando sat up, rubbing his eyes, and tried to figure out what had woken him. Everything was still in the room and as far as he could tell without getting up, the house was dark and quiet. Viggo was asleep on the other side of the bed, one arm tucked under the covers, the other hanging off the side of the bed towards the pile of notebooks on the floor.
A glance at the clock confirmed that it was too early for Viggo to be asleep, but that was the only thing that Orlando could discern that was out of the ordinary; that alone would not account for the suddenness with which Orlando had awoken. He had heard something, he was sure of it, but now the house was quiet. Perhaps it had just been his imagination.
He lay down and closed his eyes and hoped that sleep would find him again quickly. It was a little early for him to be in bed as well, but there was no point in getting up now for though his headache had vanished, Viggo was asleep and their friends had obviously left. It made sense to take advantage of the opportunity to rest while it existed.
He was floating in that place between sleep and wakefulness when he heard the noise again. He snapped fully awake and focused on it, determined to figure out what it was and where it was coming from before it woke Viggo and they had an argument about him skipping the latter part of the evening.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."
It was Viggo, only Viggo was lying still and silent in the bed, as far from Orlando as possible. That meant...but no, he wouldn't listen. He couldn't. If he listened he'd have to act and if he acted...he didn't even want to think about where that might lead. It would change everything, he knew that, though he wasn't certain anymore that it would be for the worse.
Orlando lay back down and squeezed his eyes shut, determined to ignore the voice and any other noises that he heard. They wouldn't awaken his Viggo. There was nothing to worry about there. They might keep Orlando awake, but Viggo would remain completely oblivious to both the voices and Orlando's torment.
"I love you.”
No. He hadn't heard that. It was wishful thinking or a figment of his imagination. Most likely, it was, a manifestation of his desperate desire to hear Viggo say those words again.
"I need you." Viggo's voice hitched with a sob. "Please, Orlando."
No, no, no. He wouldn't go there, he couldn't go there. If he did there would be no turning back. If he was wrong and that wasn't where he wanted to be, he would be stuck. The risk was so great, but...
"I’m sorry, so sorry."
Orlando kept listening, but Viggo's words could hardly be heard through the sobbing. His voice was muffled by something and soon all Orlando could make out were desperate noises that couldn't be distinguished from one another.
He opened his eyes, looked at his Viggo, the real Viggo, and felt his heart rip further. There was nothing for him here - no love, no comfort, no friendship or companionship - and he was desperately needed there. He couldn't resist any longer.
"I love you," he whispered and gently kissed Viggo's lips then lay back down. He concentrated on the sounds and searched out the shadowy figure of that other Viggo. The sounds became clearer and louder, the shadowy figure more defined until suddenly he saw things in color and felt weight on his chest and then...
...things snapped into focus and that other place was gone except in his memories. There were no voices or shadowy figures, just the overwhelmingly real figure of Viggo clinging to him and sobbing.
Slowly, albeit cautiously, Orlando lifted the arm that wasn't pinned beneath Viggo and touched Viggo's shoulder. Nothing happened. He was trembling as he tried again, poking harder this time. Again, there was no response.
No, this couldn't be right. Viggo wouldn't do this... there had to be some mistake. He had to be doing something wrong. He couldn't be ignored here the way he had been ignored... there. It wasn't possible.
He took a deep breath and poked harder, trying hard to control the trembling of his hand and the tremor in his voice. His throat was scratchy and he wasn't even sure that the word he said was audible, but he moved his mouth in the familiar pattern and licked cracked lips as he waited, hoping for a response.
Viggo froze, his words and sobbing ceasing in an unexpected instant. It was something at least, though not quite what Orlando had expected, so he tried again, poking harder and taking care to clearly enunciate Viggo's name.
Long seconds passed in stillness and silence and then Viggo looked up and Orlando completely forgot everything he'd wanted to say. "V-Viggo?"
Time stopped for a moment and then he was being smothered with kisses and crushed so tightly it felt as though his ribs would crack. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," Viggo whispered between kisses, pulling back just enough to say the words as he pressed his lips hungrily against Orlando's lips, cheeks, and forehead.
It was too much, too soon. Orlando tried to pull away and make himself as small as possible, but he was held tightly and trapped between Viggo and the bed. All he could do was twist his legs some, duck his chin a little, and hope Viggo would notice.
Viggo did, immediately pulling back, looking puzzled, concerned, and a little afraid. "Please don't."
"Don't what?" What wasn't he supposed to do? Orlando squirmed and shifted until Viggo sat up, leaving him free to curl on his side and pull a pillow to his chest.
"Don't pull back into yourself." Viggo stroked his thumb along the edge of Orlando's jaw and Orlando leaned into the touch, seeking the warmth and contact that had been so lacking recently.
He caught Viggo's hand as it was pulled away and laced their fingers together. "I, um..." He wasn't sure what Viggo meant, wasn't sure he could promise that. It seemed his reality and Viggo's had been different. Orlando wasn't certain what had happened or why things suddenly seemed so different or what was real. "I don't know what you mean."
Viggo's hopeful expression crumbled. Orlando pushed the pillow aside and flung himself into Viggo's arms, holding tightly and whispering that he was sorry and that he would try. "I just, you know, don't understand what happened."
"We'll figure it out together, all right?"
Orlando nodded into Viggo's shirt, clinging tightly.
~*~
Elijah climbed the stairs slowly, chewing on his bottom lip and wondering how he would get Orlando out of bed without waking Viggo. For all he knew it was a moot point - Viggo could be awake and just not have come downstairs because he wasn't willing to leave or wake Orlando. If Viggo were still asleep, Elijah wanted to get Orlando out of bed first. He'd never persuade Viggo to let him care for Orlando otherwise.
He paused at the top of the stairs, listening for some clue to the situation, and then shook his head in disbelief. The noises he was hearing had to be coming from the kitchen. The bedroom would be silent, even if both Viggo and Orlando were awake. There weren't any conversations to be had when one party didn't respond at all, and what he'd heard was conversation, not monologue.
Still the voices, as faint as they were, didn't quite sound like they belonged to Sean, Dominic, or Billy. Perhaps Viggo was awake and had turned on the television. There was only one way to find out.
Elijah slipped down the hall, carefully avoiding the creaky spot just to the left of the guest room, and knocked softly on Viggo's door. The noise was definitely coming from inside. "Viggo?"
He heard shuffling and some words that he couldn't quite make out and then, "Yes?"
"Um, dinner's almost ready. Are you, um, coming down?" This wasn't how Elijah had imagined the situation going, and his brain was a little slow in catching up.
There was more muted noise from inside the room. Elijah leaned as close to the door as he dared, listening hard, but he still couldn't tell what was being said or even determine for certain if the noise was made by Viggo or the television.
Elijah leaned back, shuffled his feet and twisted his fingers in the hem of his shirt. "Viggo?" It really wasn't a complex question. There was no reason for Viggo to take so long to answer.
"Just a moment please, Elijah."
The noise from inside the room was louder but still indiscernible, and Elijah's hand was on the doorknob and turning it before he was consciously aware of the decision to move. The door swung easily on well oiled hinges. Elijah took a step forward and stopped dead in his tracks. "Holy fuck."
Orlando was sitting against the headboard, his knees drawn up to his chest. One hand was gripping Viggo's and it was immediately obvious that the noises Elijah had heard had been a whispered discussion between the two of them.
"I'm sorry." Elijah grimaced as two heads swiveled to look at him. "I thought..." He licked his lips and tried again. "You were taking so long to answer and I kept hearing noises and..." He shrugged. "I just wanted to make sure everything was okay."
"There's nothing we need assistance with." Viggo's smile was strained and his eyes kept flickering towards Orlando. "Thank you, though."
That wasn't precisely the answer Elijah had expected, but he could tell it would have to do for the moment. "So, um, are you coming down for dinner, then?" He took another step into the room. He'd give his friends the time that they needed alone, but wasn't willing to leave just yet. He couldn't quite believe his eyes.
"I don't know." Orlando whispered, shrugging his shoulders and looking down at the bed.
"We can eat up here if you want."
"Or we could leave." Elijah walked over, feeling like an intruder but wanting to voice the option. He didn't want to leave and he doubted that Sean, Dominic, or Billy would either, but if it was what Orlando wanted, he would. They all would. "We don't have to stay."
Orlando pulled his knees tighter to his chest. "I know, I just..." He shook his head and buried his face in his knees. "I don't know what I want to do."
Viggo twisted this way and that and finally slid a finger under the bit of Orlando's forehead that was still exposed. "Look at me, please?" He smiled encouragingly as dark eyes peeked out over bony knees. "Thank you." He brushed a stray curl back into Orlando's hair. "We could go downstairs and say hello. If you don't want to stay, you don't have to."
"Who's here?"
"Dominic, Billy, and Bean." Viggo's eyes flickered over. "And Elijah."
"I, um...yeah, okay."
The look that passed between them was intensely private and it was with regret that Elijah cleared his throat and brought attention back to him. "Uh, what do you want me to tell the others?" Orlando and Viggo obviously still needed time before they came downstairs.
"Just that we'll be down."
"What about, um, this?" Elijah waved his hand at Orlando. "What should I say?"
"Nothing. I'll - We'll - tell them."
Elijah's grin spread. This would be fun, though difficult to pull off. "Gotcha." He headed for the door, practically vibrating with excitement.
"And Elijah?"
Elijah stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Viggo. "Yeah?"
"Call Peter and Ian too, please? Invite them over for dinner, if you would."
"Yeah, sure."
~*~
The delicious smells wafting up the stairs were accompanied by the sounds of stainless steel knocking against ceramic and mingled conversation that rose in volume as the front door hinges squeaked. The voices blended together, but occasionally an individual one rose above the rest or a name could be discerned among the garbled chatter. Everyone was downstairs.
Orlando pushed the bedroom door closed and leaned against it, his arms clutched to his stomach. The brief surge of hunger that had accompanied the smells turned to nausea and the idea of eating even one bite sent his hand flying to his mouth to keep the rising bile inside.
He couldn't go downstairs.
Viggo laid a hand on the small of Orlando's back. "Are you all right?"
It was a loaded question on many different levels, but the answer, at the moment, was the same for each. "No."
"What can I do?"
It was a sweet sentiment and one Orlando had longed to hear for months, but at the moment there wasn't anything that would help. Viggo had already briefly summarized the last ten weeks from his perspective. Now Orlando had to assimilate the knowledge, make sense of everything and try to rebuild relationships. Viggo couldn't do that for him. The people waiting downstairs were just one step.
He shook his head and swallowed the acid burning in his throat. "Nothing."
"All right." Viggo found Orlando's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Are you ready?"
Far from it, but Orlando had already promised Viggo and Elijah he would go downstairs; there were people waiting who had driven across town to see him, despite the fact that they didn't know it yet. He forced a smile and shifted his grip on Viggo's hand so their fingers were laced. "I guess so, yeah."
Viggo stopped halfway down the stairs. "Wait here for a minute, okay?"
No, not okay; not at all. If Viggo left him alone, even for a minute, Orlando would likely bolt for the bedroom and hide. "Why?"
"I want to surprise them." The glint in Viggo's eyes was positively evil, but it faded to something far different as he stroked his thumb across Orlando's lips. "If you really don't want to..."
"I'll...I'll be all right." It would only be a minute and Viggo would be waiting for him and everyone down there was his friend. He could handle it, really.
Maybe.
Viggo replaced his thumb with his lips. Orlando stopped thinking about the people waiting downstairs and what they would say and how they'd react and really anything other than the way Viggo's fingers were tangling in his hair and how soft Viggo's lips felt against his. He opened his mouth, inviting Viggo in, and sighed in bliss as he once again tasted the warm, spicy flavor that was Viggo.
Orlando moaned softly and pressed his body closer, his desperate need to touch and feel and hold almost sending them tumbling down the stairs. He had missed this almost more than anything else.
If Viggo promised to keep kissing him like that, Orlando would wait as long as Viggo wanted and talk to whomever Viggo pointed out to him.
Viggo pulled away slowly. "You'll know when to come down."
~*~
"Is my kitchen still intact?"
"It's no worse off than Peter's hotel room."
That was not very encouraging, but Viggo just shook his head and took it as the jest he was certain Sean had intended it to be. "Just remember I don't have a professional cleaning service on retainer like the hotel."
"Course you do, mate. May I introduce you to the cleaning firm of Boyd and Monaghan?"
"Oy! No fair!" Dominic dropped the game controller without even bothering to pause it and whirled on Sean. "I cooked most of dinner. If anyone should clean up, it would be you."
Billy reached over and hit the appropriate button just in time to prevent Dominic's character from dying. "Yeah. You've made us do all the work today."
"Right. It was so hard for you to play video games all day while you stayed here with..." Sean paused and looked, then caught Viggo's eyes. "Where is Orlando?"
Viggo glanced back towards the stairs, waiting, watching, and listening. There was nothing, not even the creak of the stairs as Orlando shifted while he waited. "Orlando is, um-"
The stairs creaked and then Orlando was standing at the bottom of them, his arms clenched tightly to his torso and his bottom lip caught between his teeth. "Right...here." Orlando licked his lips and took a small step forward. "I'm, um, right...right here."
Viggo managed to take two steps towards Orlando as everyone sat in stunned silence, but he didn't get any closer. As one, Billy and Dominic rose from the couch and ran full tilt to Orlando, almost knocking him off his feet with the force of their impact. The others followed at a slightly more sedate pace, and Viggo smiled as he watched.
Not a second later, it was Dominic's tone more than his name being called out that got Viggo's attention. He pushed his way through, not giving his friends a chance to move out of his way, to where Orlando was laying half in Dominic's lap, a boneless, unconscious mass.
Chapter Thirteen
Author: Vanessa
Pairing: OB/VM
Rating: NC-17
Summary: When a tragic situation leaves Orlando broken and isolated will Viggo’s love and belief in him be strong enough to bring him back?
Feedback: Always appreciated
Warnings: Violence, Angst, and Character Death (Original Characters only).
Disclaimer: This is not true. I don’t know them, and I'm not making any claims about them in real life. It never happened.
Archive: Please don't.
Betas: The wonderful tamsu2002 & foxrafer
Author’s Notes: This is set in mid 2003. I obviously played with actual filming schedules. There's a lot of angst in this, but there will eventually be a happy ending, I promise.
~*~
Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six, Chapter Seven, Chapter Eight, Chapter Nine, Chapter Ten, Chapter Eleven
Banner by araestel.
Orlando sat up, rubbing his eyes, and tried to figure out what had woken him. Everything was still in the room and as far as he could tell without getting up, the house was dark and quiet. Viggo was asleep on the other side of the bed, one arm tucked under the covers, the other hanging off the side of the bed towards the pile of notebooks on the floor.
A glance at the clock confirmed that it was too early for Viggo to be asleep, but that was the only thing that Orlando could discern that was out of the ordinary; that alone would not account for the suddenness with which Orlando had awoken. He had heard something, he was sure of it, but now the house was quiet. Perhaps it had just been his imagination.
He lay down and closed his eyes and hoped that sleep would find him again quickly. It was a little early for him to be in bed as well, but there was no point in getting up now for though his headache had vanished, Viggo was asleep and their friends had obviously left. It made sense to take advantage of the opportunity to rest while it existed.
He was floating in that place between sleep and wakefulness when he heard the noise again. He snapped fully awake and focused on it, determined to figure out what it was and where it was coming from before it woke Viggo and they had an argument about him skipping the latter part of the evening.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."
It was Viggo, only Viggo was lying still and silent in the bed, as far from Orlando as possible. That meant...but no, he wouldn't listen. He couldn't. If he listened he'd have to act and if he acted...he didn't even want to think about where that might lead. It would change everything, he knew that, though he wasn't certain anymore that it would be for the worse.
Orlando lay back down and squeezed his eyes shut, determined to ignore the voice and any other noises that he heard. They wouldn't awaken his Viggo. There was nothing to worry about there. They might keep Orlando awake, but Viggo would remain completely oblivious to both the voices and Orlando's torment.
"I love you.”
No. He hadn't heard that. It was wishful thinking or a figment of his imagination. Most likely, it was, a manifestation of his desperate desire to hear Viggo say those words again.
"I need you." Viggo's voice hitched with a sob. "Please, Orlando."
No, no, no. He wouldn't go there, he couldn't go there. If he did there would be no turning back. If he was wrong and that wasn't where he wanted to be, he would be stuck. The risk was so great, but...
"I’m sorry, so sorry."
Orlando kept listening, but Viggo's words could hardly be heard through the sobbing. His voice was muffled by something and soon all Orlando could make out were desperate noises that couldn't be distinguished from one another.
He opened his eyes, looked at his Viggo, the real Viggo, and felt his heart rip further. There was nothing for him here - no love, no comfort, no friendship or companionship - and he was desperately needed there. He couldn't resist any longer.
"I love you," he whispered and gently kissed Viggo's lips then lay back down. He concentrated on the sounds and searched out the shadowy figure of that other Viggo. The sounds became clearer and louder, the shadowy figure more defined until suddenly he saw things in color and felt weight on his chest and then...
...things snapped into focus and that other place was gone except in his memories. There were no voices or shadowy figures, just the overwhelmingly real figure of Viggo clinging to him and sobbing.
Slowly, albeit cautiously, Orlando lifted the arm that wasn't pinned beneath Viggo and touched Viggo's shoulder. Nothing happened. He was trembling as he tried again, poking harder this time. Again, there was no response.
No, this couldn't be right. Viggo wouldn't do this... there had to be some mistake. He had to be doing something wrong. He couldn't be ignored here the way he had been ignored... there. It wasn't possible.
He took a deep breath and poked harder, trying hard to control the trembling of his hand and the tremor in his voice. His throat was scratchy and he wasn't even sure that the word he said was audible, but he moved his mouth in the familiar pattern and licked cracked lips as he waited, hoping for a response.
Viggo froze, his words and sobbing ceasing in an unexpected instant. It was something at least, though not quite what Orlando had expected, so he tried again, poking harder and taking care to clearly enunciate Viggo's name.
Long seconds passed in stillness and silence and then Viggo looked up and Orlando completely forgot everything he'd wanted to say. "V-Viggo?"
Time stopped for a moment and then he was being smothered with kisses and crushed so tightly it felt as though his ribs would crack. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," Viggo whispered between kisses, pulling back just enough to say the words as he pressed his lips hungrily against Orlando's lips, cheeks, and forehead.
It was too much, too soon. Orlando tried to pull away and make himself as small as possible, but he was held tightly and trapped between Viggo and the bed. All he could do was twist his legs some, duck his chin a little, and hope Viggo would notice.
Viggo did, immediately pulling back, looking puzzled, concerned, and a little afraid. "Please don't."
"Don't what?" What wasn't he supposed to do? Orlando squirmed and shifted until Viggo sat up, leaving him free to curl on his side and pull a pillow to his chest.
"Don't pull back into yourself." Viggo stroked his thumb along the edge of Orlando's jaw and Orlando leaned into the touch, seeking the warmth and contact that had been so lacking recently.
He caught Viggo's hand as it was pulled away and laced their fingers together. "I, um..." He wasn't sure what Viggo meant, wasn't sure he could promise that. It seemed his reality and Viggo's had been different. Orlando wasn't certain what had happened or why things suddenly seemed so different or what was real. "I don't know what you mean."
Viggo's hopeful expression crumbled. Orlando pushed the pillow aside and flung himself into Viggo's arms, holding tightly and whispering that he was sorry and that he would try. "I just, you know, don't understand what happened."
"We'll figure it out together, all right?"
Orlando nodded into Viggo's shirt, clinging tightly.
~*~
Elijah climbed the stairs slowly, chewing on his bottom lip and wondering how he would get Orlando out of bed without waking Viggo. For all he knew it was a moot point - Viggo could be awake and just not have come downstairs because he wasn't willing to leave or wake Orlando. If Viggo were still asleep, Elijah wanted to get Orlando out of bed first. He'd never persuade Viggo to let him care for Orlando otherwise.
He paused at the top of the stairs, listening for some clue to the situation, and then shook his head in disbelief. The noises he was hearing had to be coming from the kitchen. The bedroom would be silent, even if both Viggo and Orlando were awake. There weren't any conversations to be had when one party didn't respond at all, and what he'd heard was conversation, not monologue.
Still the voices, as faint as they were, didn't quite sound like they belonged to Sean, Dominic, or Billy. Perhaps Viggo was awake and had turned on the television. There was only one way to find out.
Elijah slipped down the hall, carefully avoiding the creaky spot just to the left of the guest room, and knocked softly on Viggo's door. The noise was definitely coming from inside. "Viggo?"
He heard shuffling and some words that he couldn't quite make out and then, "Yes?"
"Um, dinner's almost ready. Are you, um, coming down?" This wasn't how Elijah had imagined the situation going, and his brain was a little slow in catching up.
There was more muted noise from inside the room. Elijah leaned as close to the door as he dared, listening hard, but he still couldn't tell what was being said or even determine for certain if the noise was made by Viggo or the television.
Elijah leaned back, shuffled his feet and twisted his fingers in the hem of his shirt. "Viggo?" It really wasn't a complex question. There was no reason for Viggo to take so long to answer.
"Just a moment please, Elijah."
The noise from inside the room was louder but still indiscernible, and Elijah's hand was on the doorknob and turning it before he was consciously aware of the decision to move. The door swung easily on well oiled hinges. Elijah took a step forward and stopped dead in his tracks. "Holy fuck."
Orlando was sitting against the headboard, his knees drawn up to his chest. One hand was gripping Viggo's and it was immediately obvious that the noises Elijah had heard had been a whispered discussion between the two of them.
"I'm sorry." Elijah grimaced as two heads swiveled to look at him. "I thought..." He licked his lips and tried again. "You were taking so long to answer and I kept hearing noises and..." He shrugged. "I just wanted to make sure everything was okay."
"There's nothing we need assistance with." Viggo's smile was strained and his eyes kept flickering towards Orlando. "Thank you, though."
That wasn't precisely the answer Elijah had expected, but he could tell it would have to do for the moment. "So, um, are you coming down for dinner, then?" He took another step into the room. He'd give his friends the time that they needed alone, but wasn't willing to leave just yet. He couldn't quite believe his eyes.
"I don't know." Orlando whispered, shrugging his shoulders and looking down at the bed.
"We can eat up here if you want."
"Or we could leave." Elijah walked over, feeling like an intruder but wanting to voice the option. He didn't want to leave and he doubted that Sean, Dominic, or Billy would either, but if it was what Orlando wanted, he would. They all would. "We don't have to stay."
Orlando pulled his knees tighter to his chest. "I know, I just..." He shook his head and buried his face in his knees. "I don't know what I want to do."
Viggo twisted this way and that and finally slid a finger under the bit of Orlando's forehead that was still exposed. "Look at me, please?" He smiled encouragingly as dark eyes peeked out over bony knees. "Thank you." He brushed a stray curl back into Orlando's hair. "We could go downstairs and say hello. If you don't want to stay, you don't have to."
"Who's here?"
"Dominic, Billy, and Bean." Viggo's eyes flickered over. "And Elijah."
"I, um...yeah, okay."
The look that passed between them was intensely private and it was with regret that Elijah cleared his throat and brought attention back to him. "Uh, what do you want me to tell the others?" Orlando and Viggo obviously still needed time before they came downstairs.
"Just that we'll be down."
"What about, um, this?" Elijah waved his hand at Orlando. "What should I say?"
"Nothing. I'll - We'll - tell them."
Elijah's grin spread. This would be fun, though difficult to pull off. "Gotcha." He headed for the door, practically vibrating with excitement.
"And Elijah?"
Elijah stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Viggo. "Yeah?"
"Call Peter and Ian too, please? Invite them over for dinner, if you would."
"Yeah, sure."
~*~
The delicious smells wafting up the stairs were accompanied by the sounds of stainless steel knocking against ceramic and mingled conversation that rose in volume as the front door hinges squeaked. The voices blended together, but occasionally an individual one rose above the rest or a name could be discerned among the garbled chatter. Everyone was downstairs.
Orlando pushed the bedroom door closed and leaned against it, his arms clutched to his stomach. The brief surge of hunger that had accompanied the smells turned to nausea and the idea of eating even one bite sent his hand flying to his mouth to keep the rising bile inside.
He couldn't go downstairs.
Viggo laid a hand on the small of Orlando's back. "Are you all right?"
It was a loaded question on many different levels, but the answer, at the moment, was the same for each. "No."
"What can I do?"
It was a sweet sentiment and one Orlando had longed to hear for months, but at the moment there wasn't anything that would help. Viggo had already briefly summarized the last ten weeks from his perspective. Now Orlando had to assimilate the knowledge, make sense of everything and try to rebuild relationships. Viggo couldn't do that for him. The people waiting downstairs were just one step.
He shook his head and swallowed the acid burning in his throat. "Nothing."
"All right." Viggo found Orlando's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Are you ready?"
Far from it, but Orlando had already promised Viggo and Elijah he would go downstairs; there were people waiting who had driven across town to see him, despite the fact that they didn't know it yet. He forced a smile and shifted his grip on Viggo's hand so their fingers were laced. "I guess so, yeah."
Viggo stopped halfway down the stairs. "Wait here for a minute, okay?"
No, not okay; not at all. If Viggo left him alone, even for a minute, Orlando would likely bolt for the bedroom and hide. "Why?"
"I want to surprise them." The glint in Viggo's eyes was positively evil, but it faded to something far different as he stroked his thumb across Orlando's lips. "If you really don't want to..."
"I'll...I'll be all right." It would only be a minute and Viggo would be waiting for him and everyone down there was his friend. He could handle it, really.
Maybe.
Viggo replaced his thumb with his lips. Orlando stopped thinking about the people waiting downstairs and what they would say and how they'd react and really anything other than the way Viggo's fingers were tangling in his hair and how soft Viggo's lips felt against his. He opened his mouth, inviting Viggo in, and sighed in bliss as he once again tasted the warm, spicy flavor that was Viggo.
Orlando moaned softly and pressed his body closer, his desperate need to touch and feel and hold almost sending them tumbling down the stairs. He had missed this almost more than anything else.
If Viggo promised to keep kissing him like that, Orlando would wait as long as Viggo wanted and talk to whomever Viggo pointed out to him.
Viggo pulled away slowly. "You'll know when to come down."
~*~
"Is my kitchen still intact?"
"It's no worse off than Peter's hotel room."
That was not very encouraging, but Viggo just shook his head and took it as the jest he was certain Sean had intended it to be. "Just remember I don't have a professional cleaning service on retainer like the hotel."
"Course you do, mate. May I introduce you to the cleaning firm of Boyd and Monaghan?"
"Oy! No fair!" Dominic dropped the game controller without even bothering to pause it and whirled on Sean. "I cooked most of dinner. If anyone should clean up, it would be you."
Billy reached over and hit the appropriate button just in time to prevent Dominic's character from dying. "Yeah. You've made us do all the work today."
"Right. It was so hard for you to play video games all day while you stayed here with..." Sean paused and looked, then caught Viggo's eyes. "Where is Orlando?"
Viggo glanced back towards the stairs, waiting, watching, and listening. There was nothing, not even the creak of the stairs as Orlando shifted while he waited. "Orlando is, um-"
The stairs creaked and then Orlando was standing at the bottom of them, his arms clenched tightly to his torso and his bottom lip caught between his teeth. "Right...here." Orlando licked his lips and took a small step forward. "I'm, um, right...right here."
Viggo managed to take two steps towards Orlando as everyone sat in stunned silence, but he didn't get any closer. As one, Billy and Dominic rose from the couch and ran full tilt to Orlando, almost knocking him off his feet with the force of their impact. The others followed at a slightly more sedate pace, and Viggo smiled as he watched.
Not a second later, it was Dominic's tone more than his name being called out that got Viggo's attention. He pushed his way through, not giving his friends a chance to move out of his way, to where Orlando was laying half in Dominic's lap, a boneless, unconscious mass.
Chapter Thirteen