FIC: "Time Of Our Lives" - Sean and Elijah - NC17 - Part One of Six

[rakshi]

Deepest thanks to kelikala for her amazing artistry in aging our beloved boys
15 years for the banners and icons used in this series.

Title: 'Time Of Our Lives' (Part One of Six)
Author: Rakshi
Rating: Overall: NC-17. This section: NC-17
Pairing: Sean Astin/Elijah Wood, Dom/Billy (implied)
Summary: Elijah's been promoting his latest movie and he's exhausted, but the premiers are finally over and Sean is very happy that they're headed home. Yet, they may not find as much peace there as they'd hoped.

Author's Notes: Heartfelt thanks to my best friend and the greatest editor on Earth, abandonada. Her suggestions and amazing insights make me a MUCH better writer. This story owes her a lot.

Also posted to astinwood, fellow_shippers, and lotrip_all_fic so please forgive any duplication.

'Time Of Our Lives' is the forth segment of the Sean and Elijah 'Time' series. In the first story, ' Time', Sean and Elijah were reunited after a ten year separation and rediscovered their enduring love for one another. In the second story of the series, ' Time To Be Us', they deal with their inner fears and determined the course of their future together, in the third story ' Time After Time' they struggled to bring that future to fruition against some pretty overwhelming odds, and now in 'Time Of Our Lives' they discover that even after 20 years, there are still things that they can learn about each other, about themselves, and about their relationship.



Disclaimer: This story is a work of satirical fantasy about public figures. It is completely fictional. I make no assertions about the actual private life or the sexual orientation of any person mentioned in this work.

Now I've had the time of my life
No I never felt like this before
Yes I swear it's the truth
And I owe it all to you

Elijah squinted out of the limo’s the side window. It was raining in New York, and he could see little through the rain-spattered glass. He sighed, settled back into the seat, and took out his iPhone.

He was meeting Sean at the theater, and he was running late. His day had already been jam-packed when he received a phone call telling him that two more interviews had been added to his schedule. Finally freed from the last one, he had raced to his limo barely making it on time. “Jesus!” he muttered in frustration staring at his calendar, determined to free up some time in his near future. “I fucking hate premieres!”

Sean wasn’t directing him in this movie. He’d wanted to, of course, but his schedule was full and he simply didn’t have the time. Elijah had gently urged the producers to wait, but fearful of losing their financing they eventually--and reluctantly--decided to move forward without Sean at the helm.

Elijah had missed him. He worked well with other directors, but there was no denying that none of them understood him the way Sean did. He seemed to know instinctively what brought out the best in Elijah’s performance, which in the case of this film would have been a distinct advantage.

From the very beginning, Elijah hadn’t felt particularly confident about the role. The movie was an ambitious ‘whodunit’. The young director had made a valiant attempt to bring forth a film that stood in the tradition of such greats as Rear Window but missed. Still, Elijah thought protectively, ‘it’s not all that bad.’ He’d given 100% to the film as he always did and felt his performance had some fine moments. But he was not in the least surprised when the critics gave the movie a lukewarm reception.

He always found it difficult to respond to less than flattering reviews without coming off as defensive - but he’d gotten through it. All the interviews were behind him. Tonight’s premiere was the last one he was scheduled to attend, and then he could let this project go.

Thankfully, Sean had been able to break away from his schedule long enough to fly in from Los Angeles and attend this premiere. For a while he had doubted he could make it. His own career had skyrocketed after their Oscar-winning partnership in Witness to History. He was swamped with offers to direct feature films, and his schedule was even more hectic because he refused to abandon his position directing educational television. Being this successful and this busy meant that they were sometimes in completely different parts of the country and occasionally in completely different parts of the world. They both hated the separations and tried their best to minimize the time they spent apart, but they also understood that it was part of the price one paid.

The limo slowed and Elijah leaned forward to peer over the driver’s shoulder. Ahead he could see the spotlights surrounding the theater and the crowds that had gathered on the other side of the street. The press lines were hidden from his view behind a row of risers which he knew were plastered with the picture of himself and his leading lady that the producers had selected as the movie’s ‘money shot’. He’d be seeing that same image over and over again for months in movie trailers, on posters, and, in due time, on the cover of the DVD. He was already sick of it.

His limo was third in line, and he waited patiently while the other cast members got out of their cars and greeted the waiting crowd. Smile, wave, turn, stand still for photographers, walk forward a few paces; lather, rinse, and repeat. He’d been attending premieres since he was seven years old and had the routine down pat. He inhaled deeply to prepare himself. Normally, he would simply go on ‘autopilot’ and walk through the ritual without even thinking. But at the end of this arrival ritual - inside the theater - Sean was waiting. Knowing this added a whole new level to Elijah’s anticipation. His stomach tingled with butterflies - not because of the lights, the press, the fans, or any of the Hollywood hoopla, but because he and Sean had been apart for several weeks and that time of deprivation was about to come to an end.

His limo moved forward, and someone opened his door. “Right this way, Mr. Wood.”

Elijah took a few steps forward, smiling, following the red carpeting that led to the risers and the waiting press. But those few steps were all he managed to take before he was swept off his feet by two strong arms and kissed with such passionate intensity that he gasped in surprise. Sean had been waiting on the sidelines, hidden from Elijah’s view by the throng that massed around the arrival area.

“My god, I’m glad to see you!” he whispered hoarsely against Elijah’s ear as Elijah laughed and clutched him joyfully.

“Making a spectacle of ourselves tonight are we?” he asked with a grin as Sean reluctantly released him.

Sean glanced around and scowled. The photographers had wasted no time when they saw Sean’s avid welcoming embrace and flashes were sparking all around them. He shrugged and took Elijah’s hand. “Ahhhh, fuck it. Let ‘em have their fun.”

“Thought you were gonna wait inside,” Elijah said as they moved toward the press area.

Sean looked at him sheepishly, and Elijah laughed and leaned into his shoulder. “Yeah,” he said knowingly, “I’ve missed you, too.”

They began talking with the assembled reporters, still holding each other’s hand tightly. And as he responded to questions, Elijah flashed on the fact that six years ago when their relationship had first gone public, Sean would have never openly held his hand this way with so much press around.

Now he laughed easily and released Elijah’s hand only to wrap an arm around his neck. “Yeah, guess I was a bit enthusiastic,” he said in response to a reporter’s joking question. “I haven’t seen him in almost a month!”

“Don’t let him kid you,” Elijah said to the reporter with a grin. “He greets me the exact same way when I come in from getting the mail.”

Sean’s arm tightened around Elijah’s neck in a fake headlock. “Hey,” he growled, nuzzling Elijah’s hair at the same time. “Don’t go making me look bad here. Have to kick your weenie ass!”

The reporters laughed, and one of them knelt in front of them to snap a picture of their antics from below. “Thanks a lot, you two,” he said, rising.

They waved in farewell, and Sean recaptured Elijah’s hand, leading him toward the theater entrance. “No TV here tonight?” he asked curiously. “Just print?”

“Yeah,” Elijah told him. “The TV media was at the first two premiers. I doubted they’d be at this one. Tonight it’s just a few low-level print guys. You know…” Elijah shrugged.

“Yeah,” Sean replied dryly. “Tonight’s not a high priority. But you’re done now, right?” he asked, stopping for a moment.

“Yeah,” Elijah said, turning to look into his eyes. “Tonight is it for this one. How about you? Jesus, Sean, we need a break - and some time together.”

“We’re gonna get it,” Sean told him as they entered the theater and were met by an usher who lit their way down the isle. “I promise you. We are going to get it.”

“Heard from Ally?” Elijah asked, as they took their seats.

Sean’s handsome face grew somber, and he shook his head. “No. Not a word.”

Sean’s eldest daughter was much on their minds lately. The romance that had blossomed between her and Fellowship buddy Orlando Bloom had worried Sean from the very beginning. Orlando was a notorious lady’s man and to Sean’s mind quite a bit older than Alexandra. He feared that Orlando’s attraction to his daughter would prove to be simply another ‘fling’ and that she would end up with a broken heart. Added to this was the fear felt by both Sean and Elijah that a disastrous relationship between the two might damage their friendship with Orlando in ways that could prove irreversible.

Orlando had sworn to them and to Chris that his feelings for Alexandra were completely sincere and promised that they would wait until she completed college before any kind of marriage plans were discussed. The young couple tried their best to honor that agreement. But three years later when Alexandra received her bachelor’s degree in Space Physics from Sean’s alma mater, UCLA, they decided they had waited long enough and announced that they planned to wed. In spite of their many misgivings, Sean, Elijah, and Chris, supported the young couple’s decision and gave Alexandra a dream wedding at the Cerritos Performing Arts Center.

There were problems from the very beginning. Orlando was no longer in demand as an ‘A-list’ actor which was a source of tremendous frustration for both him and Alexandra. He had plenty of money thanks to his early successes in Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean and other movies, but he was working only sporadically. Alexandra, who had inherited her father’s uncompromising drive and ambition, worked night and day to her achieve her master’s degree and then immediately began working on her PhD,, all of which left Orlando feeling more adrift than ever.

Hoping to solidify their unsteady relationship Alexandra became pregnant, and a year later the young couple presented Sean and Christine with their first grandchild, Sean Patrick Bloom, known to everyone as ‘Paddy’.

Sean was delighted to be a grandfather, but in spite of his joy at Patrick's birth he worried ceaselessly about his daughter. Orlando was a loving and attentive father, but between the demands of school and motherhood Alexandra was terribly overburdened and becoming more worn out with every passing day.

Elijah glanced sideways at Sean as the movie started and reached to take his hand. Alexandra would be graduating soon, and Elijah fervently hoped that this would take some of the burden off her shoulders. He hated to see her so stressed, but worse yet for him was seeing the heart taken out of Sean as he agonized over his daughter’s struggles.

“How’s Paddy?” he whispered, leaning toward Sean so as not to disturb the patrons around them.

Sean’s grin lightened his heart. “Rat-rick is just fine,” Sean whispered back. “Keeps asking when Grandpa-Lijah is coming home.” Rat-rick was how Sean’s grandson, now a year and a half old, pronounced ‘Patrick’. He was the light of both their lives and dominated the household anytime he visited. Alexandra complained that they spoiled him rotten and begged them to stop, but Sean and Elijah were completely under his spell, and when ‘Rat-rick’ was around he ruled the roost.

“Grandpa-Lijah misses him,” Elijah murmured to Sean, tightening his grip on Sean’s hand. He felt Sean’s fingers squeeze his in return, and then suddenly drift away. A moment later Elijah stifled a gasp as those same fingers slid slowly - teasingly - down his thigh. Surprised, he glanced sideways at Sean who appeared completely absorbed in the movie, a pretense belied by the enormous grin on his face, which was not at all appropriate to the happenings on the screen.

“You’re not fooling anyone, you know,” Elijah whispered, recapturing Sean’s hand. “Now behave yourself before you get us arrested.”

“How long is this damned film?” Sean muttered sotto voce.

“Another hour or so.”

“Jesus!” Sean muttered, squirming in his seat. “Just please tell me there’s no party afterward.”

“Only the one we’re going to have in our hotel room,” Elijah whispered.

“Believe me, that one I can handle!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took longer than either would have preferred before they finally made their way to the hotel room Sean had secured for them. In spite of the fact that it was the last official premiere for this film, several members of the press had stopped Elijah for brief interviews - which became even longer when the director showed up and joined the dialogue.

“Jesus!” Elijah spouted when they finally arrived at their room. “I thought we’d never get out of there.” He peeled off his suit coat and dropped it onto a chair.

“Can’t blame them for wanting to talk with you,” Sean said shrugging. He had Elijah’s suitcase in his hand and walked with it into the bedroom. “Besides,” he called over his shoulder, “you had to make nice on your director.”

Elijah grumbled something unintelligible and started unbuttoning his shirt as he followed closely behind Sean. “The only one I want to make nice on tonight is you!”

Sean made no response, but in one smooth motion he tossed the suitcase to the floor, spun on his heel, and took Elijah in his arms. “You’ll get no argument out of me,” he growled, embracing him with rough eagerness.

In the next instant he was kissing Elijah with intense passion, feeling his every nerve ending catch fire as the lips he adored opened eagerly under his. Desire poured through his body in a roaring rush, and he moaned. His arms tightened around Elijah as they kissed, almost lifting him off his feet, and Elijah’s arms wound tightly around his neck holding him in an iron grip.

They kissed again and again without speaking, hungrily devouring each other’s lips with a passion fueled by long weeks of separation.

“Oh my god,” Elijah gasped finally, feeling his body ache and melt with desire. “Sean - Se…” He had barely begun to speak Sean’s name when his lips were captured again in kiss after hungry, passionate kiss. It seemed to Elijah that Sean could not get enough, that even breathing meant less to him than the taste of Elijah’s kisses.

He released Elijah long enough to tear off his own jacket and throw it quickly to the floor, then he once again swept Elijah into his arms and all but dragged him to the huge bed. Clinging to each other, they fell onto it with Elijah pinned beneath Sean’s body.

“Lijah,” he moaned in a voice low and strangled by emotion. “Oh god, baby, you’ve been gone so long.”

Their bodies molded together as they kissed again and again in all consuming bliss, writhing against each other as their passion grew.

“Seanie,” Elijah gasped. “Sean… sweetie… wait.”

Sean felt drugged by the intensity of his desire, but he lifted his head at the sound of Elijah’s voice.

Elijah laughed softly, his hands moving to cradle Sean’s face. “What say we get rid of these clothes and then come back to this, hmm? Ya think?” He interspersed each word with soft kisses as his fingers gently stroked Sean’s unruly hair.

Sean smiled slowly and bent to give Elijah yet another quick kiss before standing. He began to undress as Elijah arose too and moved to the dresser, laying down his watch and wallet then quickly stripping off his clothing. When he turned back to the bed, Sean was already lying there on his side watching Elijah’s every move.

“Pretty spry for a grandpa aren’t you,” Elijah declared, grinning.

“Get over here,” Sean told him, more inflamed than ever by the sight of Elijah’s soft-hued, naked body, “before I come and get you.”

Elijah turned back to the dresser and grabbed a tube of lubricant that he’d spotted lying next to his wallet. “I see you came prepared,” he said with a grin, tossing it to Sean. “The heated kind?” he observed as he lay down next to his lover. “You are in a mood!”

Sean made no response. His arms caught Elijah close while his lips and tongue found that pale, beautiful throat, laving the smooth skin, feeling desire flame within himself as the taste of Elijah’s skin drove him wild with need. “Lijah,” he moaned. “Oh god, Lijah, my love.” His fingers moved to caress Elijah’s body, overwhelmed with the force of his longing to taste… to touch… to reclaim the man he loved more than his life.

Elijah groaned, his body thrashing restlessly as his desire grew. Each touch of Sean’s fingers spread fire through his body, leaving every nerve ending alive and aching with need.

They both moved as one to grasp the lubricant, but Sean quickly took it from Elijah's hand and smeared it liberally over each of them. Then, trying to move carefully, he pressed his erection against the opening to his lover’s body and slowly entered him.

It had been weeks since they last made love, and he was immediately overwhelmed by sensation as Elijah’s body closed tightly around him. Gasping and whimpering, he fought not to climax too soon as he carefully sheathed himself and began a slow, deep thrust.

“God!” Elijah gasped, his fingers clutching Sean’s broad shoulders. “Oh god!” Eyes closed, he was lost in an equal mixture of pain and unbelievable pleasure. He gasped again as Sean began to thrust harder. “God, baby… easy… easy. Seanie… god… go slow.”

Elijah’s words seeped into Sean’s consciousness through a blood-red haze of desire. He drew in a deep breath and forced himself to slow his movements. It had been a long time since they had made love, and he realized suddenly that he was causing Elijah pain.

Trembling with the effort he settled into a slow, steady rhythm, withdrawing then thrusting again, entering and re-entering Elijah’s body. He felt the slender frame beneath him begin to relax. “Jesus," he moaned, feeling his heart pounding madly in his chest. “Jesus, Lij.. Lijah…” He gasped Elijah’s name again and again, drowning in rapture, lost in the feeling of unity that always overwhelmed him when he was buried deep in his lover’s body.

Moving slightly faster, he heard Elijah cry out again and knew instantly that his cries denoted pleasure... not pain. Sean’s thrusts grew harder, more forceful, driven by an all-consuming yearning. Desperately he reached between them to grasp the throbbing hardness of his lover’s erection. Their bodies moved in a desperate rhythm, and for a few moments they thrashed together wildly, straining to find release.

Sean’s climax hit him with a sudden, intense force, and white flashes of light danced before his eyes. Nearly sobbing in ecstasy, he lost himself completely to the huge bursts of pleasure that wracked his body. “Oh god,” he moaned. “Oh god, Lij, Lij... I love you so much!”

He felt Elijah’s fingers clutching at his shoulders, clawing uncontrollably until finally he cried Sean’s name in a strangled voice and spilled himself over Sean’s fist.

For a long time the room was silent except for their soft, whimpering moans of completion and erratic breathing. They lay molded together without moving, hearts pounding… deeply reluctant to separate and surrender the oneness they now shared. Finally Sean drew in a long breath. “Sweet Jesus,” he whispered then inhaled in another long, shuddering sigh. “My god, Elijah.”

Elijah laughed softly, his fingers stroking Sean’s hair, but made no other response.

Sean lifted his head and stared for a moment into the blue of Elijah’s eyes, and then he bent and kissed him tenderly. “I hurt you. I’m sorry, baby.”

Elijah shook his head and pressed a kiss to Sean’s sweat-damp cheek. “Just for a second. Then you slowed down, and it was fine.” He shrugged dismissively. “Don’t make it into a thing.”

“Don’t we have a ‘safe word’?” Sean asked, leaning on his elbows to take his weight off his slender lover.

“Yeah,” Elijah replied, grinning. “We do. It’s ‘Stop it, you dickhead! That fucking hurts!’” He laughed again and scrubbed his knuckles on the top of Sean’s head. “I said don’t make it a thing. It had just been awhile that’s all.”

Sean bent and kissed him softly then eased his weight off Elijah’s body and stretched out at his side. “We need a ‘safe word’,” he muttered.

Elijah shook his head and began to climb out of bed. “What we need right now is a shower.” He moved toward the bathroom then glanced back at Sean. “And clean linen.”

Sean nestled into his pillow, sighing blissfully, reluctant to move. “I wasn’t done saying ‘hello’ yet,” he murmured.

“Get rid of that bedspread,” Elijah said over his shoulder as he moved toward the bathroom. “You can finish saying ‘hello’ in a few minutes.”

Muttering, Sean got up, removed the bedspread, and quickly straightened the rumpled sheets beneath. “You gonna unpack?” he asked, raising his voice to be heard over the noise of the shower. He was eyeing Elijah’s suitcase.

“We’re leaving first thing aren’t we?” Elijah called, his voice muffled by the water’s spray.

“Yeah.”

The water sounds suddenly ceased. “Then no point to unpacking. I’ll just grab a change of clothes from my bag.”

Sean nodded. He set Elijah’s suitcase on the rack at the foot of the bed and opened it then moved to his own bag. He was rummaging through clothes, digging out a casual outfit to wear on the plane tomorrow when Elijah re-entered the room drying his hair with a long white towel. Water drops stood out on his moonlight-pale body, and when Sean turned and saw him he felt his mouth go dry.

“Jesus,” he whispered.

Noting his expression, Elijah grinned. “Go take your shower.”

Sean nodded and moved toward the bathroom. “I can’t wait to get you into the pool,” he said, reaching out as he passed to stroke Elijah’s thigh.

Elijah laughed out loud and settled onto the bed. “We’ll be home tomorrow and then you can indulge your favorite ‘wet Elijah’ fantasies all you want.”

“It’s not just the wetness,” Sean called, turning on the water. “It’s the coolness. Gets me so freaking hot!”

“You’re a symphony in contradiction, Astin,” Elijah responded laughingly. “But I’m totally up for some pool lovin’.” He lay on the bed for a while, lulled by the sound of Sean’s shower, then got up and wandered to his suitcase. He was pulling a pair of jeans out of his bag when Sean re-entered the room.

He moved toward Elijah, grinning. “They have a pool here, you know.”

“And, I assume, they also have police here who’d be all too happy to arrest us for indecent exposure?”

“I suspect you’re right,” Sean muttered, kissing Elijah’s shoulder as he passed him. “Too damned bad if you ask me.”

“Mmm…” Elijah murmured in agreement, leaning into Sean briefly before pulling a t-shirt out of his bag. “This’ll do.” He sat the clothes on top of his bag then clambered back into bed. Sean joined him a moment later clad only in boxers and nestled close to Elijah, his damp head resting on his lover’s shoulder. “God, I missed you,” he murmured. His fingers trailed over Elijah’s chest, tracing slow circles around his pectorals then brushing softly across rose-colored nipples.

“Mmmmm…” Elijah moaned softly. “You’re pretty feisty tonight.”

Sean’s happy sigh seemed to come from the soles of his feet. “Ohhhh god. This is heaven.”

Elijah turned slightly toward him, cradling Sean’s broad shoulders his arms. “That it is.” He thought about turning the light off, and while he was still thinking, they both fell into a deep, contented sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Elijah awoke the next morning Sean wasn’t beside him, but he could hear the low murmur of his voice close by.

“Chris, I don’t know what to do. I don’t think we dare say much right now. We’d just be interfering.”

For a moment there was silence, then Sean continued: “Oh don’t worry about that! If this crap goes on much longer I’m going to stop worrying about it and wade in with both feet. I just don’t think that time has come yet. And, you know, this isn’t ALL Orlando’s fault.”

Elijah winced, knowing how hard it had to be for Sean to say that to his ex-wife, then he sat silently and listened to the one-sided conversation.

“I know, Chris. I know. But Ally has to be willing to bend too, and right now she’s not.” After a moment’s silence he sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I know. She’s her father’s daughter. Yep. We’re coming home today.” Silence. “Oh, he’s fine. Eager to get home. We both are. How’s Donovan?” Silence. “Great! OK, Chris. I’ll call you later this week. Let me know if you hear anything, OK?” Silence. “OK, Chris, I’ll tell him. Bye.”

Elijah sat up. “Problems?” he asked quietly.

Sean shook his head and stood, tossing his cell phone to the table. “Could be. She was just wondering if I’d heard from Ally since she hasn’t heard a word.” He smiled at Elijah. “She sends her love.”

“Donovan’s too?” Elijah queried with a grin.

Sean snorted derisively and began rummaging in his suitcase. “C’mon, babe, get up. We need to haul ass if we’re going to make our plane.”

Elijah moaned and fell back onto the bed. “Oh god, Sean, I’m not fucking ready!”

Sean glanced at him and smiled, then strode to Elijah’s suitcase and grabbed the clothes lying on top of it. “This is what you’re wearing… right?”

Elijah nodded, burrowing into his pillow. “Eventually.”

Sean laughed and leaned over him, nuzzling his neck. “Get the hell up,” he murmured. “I’m going shave.” He tossed the clothes on top of Elijah’s still-prone form and wandered around the corner to the bathroom. “Elijah! UP!”

“I don’t mind you saying that,” Elijah grumbled, slowly rising with the clothes in his hand. “I just hate the reason for it.”

Sean laughed as he grabbed his electric razor and called over his shoulder. “Just get up, babe.”

Still grumbling, Elijah slowly rose. For a moment he hesitated, tempted to suggest that Sean join him in a quick wake-up shower but then glanced at his watch and changed his mind. Sean was right. They’d already slept way too long. He sighed and tossed his clothes to the bed, then scrubbed his hands through his short hair, trying to shake the cobwebs from his brain. “Ohhh god!” he moaned, then pawed through his suitcase and donned the first pair of briefs he saw before walking to the bathroom door and leaning against it. “Hurry up, you!” He said teasingly to Sean. "I want to shave too.

Sean smiled at him before turning back to the mirror to continue saving. “C’mon in! Room for both of us here."

“Better not,” Elijah replied, grinning at his reflection in the mirror. “We always end up elbowing one another when we try to share the bathroom.”

He wandered back to the bedroom, and while he waited for Sean to emerge he gathered their belongings and haphazardly jammed them into suitcases with no folding whatsoever and very little regard for which item was piled on top of the other.

He was pulled from his task by the gentle slap of a towel on his leg and turned to see Sean standing, naked, in front of him.

“All yours.”

“What’s all mine?” Elijah asked with a grin. “The bathroom? Or this!” Unable to resist, he closed the distance between them and grabbed a quick kiss. Then, after caressing Sean’s round bottom, he headed for the bathroom.

"Time, baby. Time," Sean called after him as he grabbed his clothes and began to dress.

He had only managed to stick one leg into a pair of faded jeans before he spotted their baggage, and his eyes widened as he viewed Elijah’s hurried packing job. “What the hell happened here?” he muttered eyeing their overflowing suitcases. The sound of Elijah's electric razor was his only response, and after shaking his head ruefully, he began a careful repacking.

Standing in the bathroom, Elijah moved the razor automatically over his face, his thoughts drifting. He wished he knew what he could do to make a difference in the difficulties Alexandra and Orlando were experiencing. He’d talked to both of them privately, an effort which he felt sure had made no difference whatsoever. His heart ached for everyone involved particularly for Sean and Christine… and, he supposed, for Donovan too.

Christine had remarried a year after Sean and Elijah were reunited. Her husband, Donovan Rembrandt, was a well-to-do doctor with a flourishing practice in Brentwood, a lush Los Angeles community that catered to the rich and famous. He was a kind, if somewhat introverted gentleman and… for the most part… Sean and Elijah liked him well enough.

The marriage had, however, added a subtle layer of tension to the complex relationships shared by the two couples. Donovan was more than a little jealous of Sean and Christine’s friendship, and frankly baffled by her casual acceptance of Sean and Elijah’s partnership. It didn’t take long for them to get the idea. Donovan would prefer it if Sean kept his distance, a situation which annoyed Sean to no end, but which Elijah found highly amusing.

The doctor was an affectionate, if somewhat distant, stepfather to Sean’s daughters. From the very beginning he saw clearly that their own father threw a very long shadow, and he never tried to assume a paternal role. He was basically a good and decent man who tended to be a bit of a closet homophobe, and while he was content to be in Sean and Elijah’s company at family events or to stop by on holidays he made it subtly clear that he would prefer that their visits be short ones.

Sean could see that Christine was happy in her new life so he forced himself to smile pleasantly anytime the two couples were together, and reined in his expressions of annoyance until he and Elijah were alone.

Elijah now found himself wondering what Donovan thought of the situation with Alexandra and Orlando, and even more importantly, what advice he gave to Chris about how to handle it. He’s probably as confused as I am, Elijah thought as he brushed his teeth and made a casual swipe through his hair with his fingers. We’re both outsiders really.

By the time he emerged from the bathroom Sean had reorganized their baggage and stacked it neatly by the door. He pointed to Elijah’s clothing. “There’s your clothes, babe. Everything else is packed up.”

“You're a wonder,” Elijah told him, grinning.

Sean rolled his eyes. “There’s a cab on the way so hustle your ass.”