For ipso__facto: Palm to Palm
Title: Palm to Palm
Recipient: ipso__facto
Author: eff_reality
Pairing: Billy/Orlando; Billy/Dom; Billy/Dom/Orlando
Rating: PG-13
Pre-reveal Notes: FYI, Orlando's "I resemble that remark!" is intentional. See Urban Dictionary for an explanation.
Post-reveal Notes: My first born will be named after the lovely and the talented Beta of Love, sandelwood.
Disclaimer: This is a non-profit, non-commercial work of fiction using the names and likenesses of real individuals. This fictional story is not intended to imply that the events herein actually occurred, or that the attitudes or behaviors described are engaged in or condoned by the real persons whose names are used without permission.
"Your move, Bill." Orlando sits on his hands.
Billy gnaws at his bottom lip through a smile. "You're done? It's my go?"
"Yep."
"You're sure about this now?"
"...Yes."
"...You're su--"
"Yes! Go!" Orlando explodes, half in jest.
Without a word, Billy lifts his piece and uses it to collect half of Orlando's chips, a big, bright smile taking over his face and freeing his mouth from his teeth. Orlando's head falls back all the way (Auugh!), and for a minute he's all Adam's apple as Billy's fingers hop from chip to chip like frogs to ridged, red lily-pads. "And that's why pretty boys." Snick. "Should never." Snick. "Play." Snick. "Checkers."
"I resemble that remark!" Orlando wags an awkward finger across the tiny makeshift table. Billy laughs quietly, rubbing the chips between his palms so they make clickyslide sounds. "How come you're so good at everything?" Orlando kneads his hands, elbows locked, his shoulders shrugged up to his ears.
Billy takes note of this gesture, and of the way the afternoon sun turns his eyes amber. How come you're so--
"Hello, gentlemen." Dom's gravelly voice throws a sharp spike into the quiet. His stance is wide, arms crossed as he surveys their game. "Wow. Isn't it the third time this week? If I didn't know any better, Orli, I'd think you were trying to steal my boyfriend away from me." He tempers the staged accusation with a wink.
The problem with the joke, though, is that, like every joke between Dom and Billy, it has just a bit of truth to it. Enough to make Billy's laughter a little too quiet.
And if Orlando didn't know they were shagging before, he sure as fuck knows now.
He squints into the sun setting over Billy's shoulder. "Just an innocent game. No worries, mate."
*
The Dom thing. So. Yes. They are shagging. Just a little, though.
It had happened by accident, really. They'd been hanging out one night, discussing how much they missed home and how nice it would be to have someone around to curl up with after a long day of shooting. And then Dom kissed Billy--well, more like pushed Billy into the couch cushions with his mouth.
And it was nice. Hot.
Dom's lithe and sensual and boyish and just as responsive as Billy expected him to be. He's hilarious and modest and has fucking gorgeous eyes. And Billy loves Dom, loves him, to death, right up there with Margaret at the top of the Billy Boyd Pyramid of Life. Which makes the whole experience that much nicer.
And gives it that much more potential for disaster.
But four weeks in, it seems to be going just fine. No big discussions or uncalled for feelings in sight. If Dom wants more, he isn't letting on. Granted, he is a good actor, but Billy's certain that if anything were amiss on that end, he'd know. Perhaps Dom's wheels are a different color than Billy's, but they still turn at the same speed.
Billy thinks that Orlando's wheels must be like none he's ever seen. That is, if he has wheels at all.
*
"Who d'you wanna fuck in the fellowship?"
It's been confirmed: Dom really can read Billy's mind.
"What?" An image of Orlando flashes behind his eyes, half-naked and sprawled across the sheets. Billy moves to unbutton Dom's fly in the name of distraction.
Dom grabs both of his hands and slides forward to pin them over his head, at the crease of the pillow. His eyes flash in a wicked, electric way, and Billy's skin tingles. He has to hand it to him, really. Dom could find a way to turn on wallpaper. "You heard me. And I know you've thought about it."
Billy lets out a heavy sigh and goes limp underneath him, despite his thudding heart. His eyes trace imaginary patterns on the ceiling. "I don't know." After a few unbearably silent moments, the perfect response somehow manages to work its way out of his mouth. "Elijah, I guess."
Dom sits all the way back up, distributing his weight evenly onto Billy's thighs. He's surprised and obviously disappointed, which is exactly what Billy wanted. "Really? He's a fucking preschooler, Bill."
"Well, compared to me, you are too."
"Quiet, you." Dom tweaks his nose in retaliation. He closes his eyes, presumably to picture Elijah's little face. He shrugs. "I guess he's cute. Not really my thing, but... I guess."
Billy knows the answer to this question, but he asks anyway. "Why d'you ask?"
"Scouting for potential threesomes." Dom slides both hands underneath the material of Billy's shirt in one fluid movement.
"Oh God." Billy rolls his eyes. And there goes that image of Orlando again, this time laid out at the foot of the bed. Only Dom's not there with them.
"...You haven't thought about it?"
Billy rubs one of his eyes with the back of his fist until he sees swirls of color. "I don't..." He sighs. He can feel his shirt rucked up underneath his chin, Dom's big square hands palming his chest.
"How about this? Alright?" Dom moves his hips forward in a slow roll, and Billy's eyes settle back on him. "I ask Lij... if he might be into it. And we see what happens."
Billy has to stop himself from rolling his eyes again.
"If he says yes and you don't want to go through with it, then we'll leave it alone. No harm done."
An image of a giggling, blushing Elijah flashes across Billy's mind, underneath him, and he has to laugh at how ridiculous it is. "I can tell you now, I'm not going to want to go through with it."
Dom's eyes go bluer, turning up at the corners. "Want me to yourself, eh?" He smooths out Billy's chest hair.
"Yes, Dom. I'm a horribly jealous bastard."
"Oh, Billy," he sighs dramatically. "Don't you know you're the only one I love?"
Dom bats his eyelashes for effect, but, again, Billy sees that little sliver of truth showing between his teeth, and he knows it's time to panic.
*
The next night, Viggo has a dinner party, and Billy is jumpy. He keeps his alcohol intake down to just a couple of beers and keeps his eyes on Dom the whole night, watching for any sudden moves in Eljiah's direction.
But when it finally happens, when Dom ushers Elijah over to the front entrance for a private chat--not even outside or upstairs!--Billy doesn't intercept. He simply turns on his heel and heads straight for the kitchen.
He opens the fridge door and leans into it, breathing deeply, the smell of Viggo's cooking spices more potent in the tiny room. After a long moment, he feels okay to open his eyes and shut the door, raking a hand through his hair.
"Um, hi."
Billy literally jumps, turning to face Orlando. He makes a production of sighing in relief and clamping a hand over his heart. "Oh, it's just my partner in checkers."
Orlando makes a presentational gesture at Billy. "The undisputed champion." He smiles nervously, then almost instantly purses his lips, then quickly pulls them back into his mouth, making them disappear.
Billy can't help smiling. Only Orlando could find a way to fidget with his face, too.
"Yeah," he exhales. "...So, um." He scratches his arm as he says, "You and Dom... then?" Orlando's terrible at feigning nonchalance. Or feigning anything, really.
"Ehm, yeah. Sort of." Billy tries to make his voice sound lighter. "Yeah." They stare at each other for a moment before Billy takes a quick glance at the archway and then brings his gaze back to center. "S'not serious or anything."
"It's okay, you don't have to explain." Orlando's quick to respond. "I, um." He comes forward and Billy's eyes widen, but it's ultimately only to open the fridge and look for another beer. "I think it's great. I do."
Billy takes a deep, deep breath and rubs the bridge of his nose, huffing out the start of a laugh. There's no polite way to respond to that that isn't a complete lie, including Thanks.
"Hello, hello." Dom enters and goes straight for the fridge.
Orlando scurries out of the way (S-sorry), but not before noticing the way Dom wraps both arms so easily around Billy's middle as he peers into the top shelf.
Billy knows Dom can't help it--he doesn't even think about such gestures anymore. But Billy still wants to rip his hands off.
Orlando leaves the kitchen without a word or glance over his shoulder.
"Lij isn't going for it." Dom pulls out another beer and uses the edge of the counter to pop it open.
Billy's eyes are still on the archway. "Didn't think he would."
Dom takes a loud swig and moans as it goes down his throat. He licks his lips. "What about Orlando?" He turns and leans against the counter, mimicking Billy's gaze.
The top of Billy's heart slides up into his throat, then back down slowly. Even if it's a joke, he doesn't like where it's going.
Billy doesn't say a word, but the look on his face is apparently all the answer Dom needs. "Aye aye cap'n," he salutes Billy and heads back into the living room, his eyes sparking.
Billy stays in the kitchen for the next ten minutes and contemplates quitting the fucking trilogy altogether.
*
"Are you sure about this? We don't have to go through with it. You seem a bit nervous, or..."
"I'm fine," Billy snaps. "Let's just... do it. Alright?" He reaches for the bathroom doorknob. His fingers hover there. When he realizes they're shaking, he makes a fist and brings it back into his body.
"What?" Dom sounds sickeningly accommodating. "What's on your mind?"
The exact words that Billy wants to say are there, swirling across his tongue, but he can't find the air to push them out.
Dom takes his hand. "D'you want to just watch? I don't mind."
Billy's nod is quick and to the point. "I think that's best."
*
When Orlando had first started undressing, Billy averted his eyes. It had taken the crude sound of a belt hitting the floor to remind Billy where he was, that he did agree to this, after all, and that he couldn't just stand there not watching.
But now that Dom's kissing--kissing--Orlando into the mattress, Billy finds himself unable to look at anything but the wood paneling underneath his feet. He can't stop himself from trying to find a way to close his ears without literally jamming his index fingers into them.
After a minute or so of wet and rustling and rubbing sounds, Billy steels himself, taking a glance at the center of the mattress, where their bodies are pressed together and moving. Rather, where Dom's body is moving over Orlando's, fluid as always. Orlando's body is relatively still, except for his right hand, which fumbles against the duvet as if searching. Dom settles his weight onto him, and the hand moves with more urgency, grasping at the air. It seeks and seeks, closes around nothing, and falls, resembling a shivering creature.
Billy is instantly at the side of the bed, taking it up and making his own hand tell it I'm not going anywhere. He hears Orlando moan into Dom's mouth in gratitude, his fingers latching onto Billy's. Billy tentatively lifts Orlando's hand to his mouth, taking his time kissing each knuckle, and then gently prying his fingers open to kiss his palm, mouthing soothing words into the lines there.
Though he can't see either of their faces, he can feel the tension stiffen Orlando's entire body when Dom presumably moves to prepare him, and he knows there's some kind of bargain taking place. He thinks he hears Dom whisper You want Billy?, and after a brief moment, Dom turns back to him, revealing both his and Orlando's faces.
"Is that okay?" Orlando's eyes are wide, his fingers now pushing their way into the spaces between Billy's.
*
At 2:17 in the morning, Orlando curls into Billy, and Billy can literally see his heart beating out of his chest like some ridiculous pink cartoon thing. Dom pulls him closer from behind with both arms, and Billy knows he'll never sleep.
He wonders what it would be like if he could step outside of his body for a minute, so he could crawl to the foot of the bed and muse over the irony of the picture he's making between the two of them.
After about ten minutes of complete stillness, Billy relaxes, thinking he might just be able to close his eyes. But then Orlando lifts his head and presses his mouth to his throat. Billy's eyes flutter shut of their own accord then, until he realizes that Orlando's not kissing him. He's mouthing something into his skin, the same phrase over and over, but giving no voice to it. Five repetitions, and Billy still can't make out a single word, so he tilts his head back, offering more of his throat, pushing the curve of it between Orlando's lips. He feels Orlando's mouth form a breathless smile before it takes its time forming the words again.
I'm. Here. For. You.
Orlando punctuates the statement by poking Billy in the chest with one of his fingers.
Billy thinks Fuck, even as his stomach flips pleasantly.
Dom moans a little in his sleep and presses closer, finding one of Billy's hands with one of his own and locking them together.
And Billy stills, moving neither forward nor backward.
***
Recipient: ipso__facto
Author: eff_reality
Pairing: Billy/Orlando; Billy/Dom; Billy/Dom/Orlando
Rating: PG-13
Pre-reveal Notes: FYI, Orlando's "I resemble that remark!" is intentional. See Urban Dictionary for an explanation.
Post-reveal Notes: My first born will be named after the lovely and the talented Beta of Love, sandelwood.
Disclaimer: This is a non-profit, non-commercial work of fiction using the names and likenesses of real individuals. This fictional story is not intended to imply that the events herein actually occurred, or that the attitudes or behaviors described are engaged in or condoned by the real persons whose names are used without permission.
"Your move, Bill." Orlando sits on his hands.
Billy gnaws at his bottom lip through a smile. "You're done? It's my go?"
"Yep."
"You're sure about this now?"
"...Yes."
"...You're su--"
"Yes! Go!" Orlando explodes, half in jest.
Without a word, Billy lifts his piece and uses it to collect half of Orlando's chips, a big, bright smile taking over his face and freeing his mouth from his teeth. Orlando's head falls back all the way (Auugh!), and for a minute he's all Adam's apple as Billy's fingers hop from chip to chip like frogs to ridged, red lily-pads. "And that's why pretty boys." Snick. "Should never." Snick. "Play." Snick. "Checkers."
"I resemble that remark!" Orlando wags an awkward finger across the tiny makeshift table. Billy laughs quietly, rubbing the chips between his palms so they make clickyslide sounds. "How come you're so good at everything?" Orlando kneads his hands, elbows locked, his shoulders shrugged up to his ears.
Billy takes note of this gesture, and of the way the afternoon sun turns his eyes amber. How come you're so--
"Hello, gentlemen." Dom's gravelly voice throws a sharp spike into the quiet. His stance is wide, arms crossed as he surveys their game. "Wow. Isn't it the third time this week? If I didn't know any better, Orli, I'd think you were trying to steal my boyfriend away from me." He tempers the staged accusation with a wink.
The problem with the joke, though, is that, like every joke between Dom and Billy, it has just a bit of truth to it. Enough to make Billy's laughter a little too quiet.
And if Orlando didn't know they were shagging before, he sure as fuck knows now.
He squints into the sun setting over Billy's shoulder. "Just an innocent game. No worries, mate."
*
The Dom thing. So. Yes. They are shagging. Just a little, though.
It had happened by accident, really. They'd been hanging out one night, discussing how much they missed home and how nice it would be to have someone around to curl up with after a long day of shooting. And then Dom kissed Billy--well, more like pushed Billy into the couch cushions with his mouth.
And it was nice. Hot.
Dom's lithe and sensual and boyish and just as responsive as Billy expected him to be. He's hilarious and modest and has fucking gorgeous eyes. And Billy loves Dom, loves him, to death, right up there with Margaret at the top of the Billy Boyd Pyramid of Life. Which makes the whole experience that much nicer.
And gives it that much more potential for disaster.
But four weeks in, it seems to be going just fine. No big discussions or uncalled for feelings in sight. If Dom wants more, he isn't letting on. Granted, he is a good actor, but Billy's certain that if anything were amiss on that end, he'd know. Perhaps Dom's wheels are a different color than Billy's, but they still turn at the same speed.
Billy thinks that Orlando's wheels must be like none he's ever seen. That is, if he has wheels at all.
*
"Who d'you wanna fuck in the fellowship?"
It's been confirmed: Dom really can read Billy's mind.
"What?" An image of Orlando flashes behind his eyes, half-naked and sprawled across the sheets. Billy moves to unbutton Dom's fly in the name of distraction.
Dom grabs both of his hands and slides forward to pin them over his head, at the crease of the pillow. His eyes flash in a wicked, electric way, and Billy's skin tingles. He has to hand it to him, really. Dom could find a way to turn on wallpaper. "You heard me. And I know you've thought about it."
Billy lets out a heavy sigh and goes limp underneath him, despite his thudding heart. His eyes trace imaginary patterns on the ceiling. "I don't know." After a few unbearably silent moments, the perfect response somehow manages to work its way out of his mouth. "Elijah, I guess."
Dom sits all the way back up, distributing his weight evenly onto Billy's thighs. He's surprised and obviously disappointed, which is exactly what Billy wanted. "Really? He's a fucking preschooler, Bill."
"Well, compared to me, you are too."
"Quiet, you." Dom tweaks his nose in retaliation. He closes his eyes, presumably to picture Elijah's little face. He shrugs. "I guess he's cute. Not really my thing, but... I guess."
Billy knows the answer to this question, but he asks anyway. "Why d'you ask?"
"Scouting for potential threesomes." Dom slides both hands underneath the material of Billy's shirt in one fluid movement.
"Oh God." Billy rolls his eyes. And there goes that image of Orlando again, this time laid out at the foot of the bed. Only Dom's not there with them.
"...You haven't thought about it?"
Billy rubs one of his eyes with the back of his fist until he sees swirls of color. "I don't..." He sighs. He can feel his shirt rucked up underneath his chin, Dom's big square hands palming his chest.
"How about this? Alright?" Dom moves his hips forward in a slow roll, and Billy's eyes settle back on him. "I ask Lij... if he might be into it. And we see what happens."
Billy has to stop himself from rolling his eyes again.
"If he says yes and you don't want to go through with it, then we'll leave it alone. No harm done."
An image of a giggling, blushing Elijah flashes across Billy's mind, underneath him, and he has to laugh at how ridiculous it is. "I can tell you now, I'm not going to want to go through with it."
Dom's eyes go bluer, turning up at the corners. "Want me to yourself, eh?" He smooths out Billy's chest hair.
"Yes, Dom. I'm a horribly jealous bastard."
"Oh, Billy," he sighs dramatically. "Don't you know you're the only one I love?"
Dom bats his eyelashes for effect, but, again, Billy sees that little sliver of truth showing between his teeth, and he knows it's time to panic.
*
The next night, Viggo has a dinner party, and Billy is jumpy. He keeps his alcohol intake down to just a couple of beers and keeps his eyes on Dom the whole night, watching for any sudden moves in Eljiah's direction.
But when it finally happens, when Dom ushers Elijah over to the front entrance for a private chat--not even outside or upstairs!--Billy doesn't intercept. He simply turns on his heel and heads straight for the kitchen.
He opens the fridge door and leans into it, breathing deeply, the smell of Viggo's cooking spices more potent in the tiny room. After a long moment, he feels okay to open his eyes and shut the door, raking a hand through his hair.
"Um, hi."
Billy literally jumps, turning to face Orlando. He makes a production of sighing in relief and clamping a hand over his heart. "Oh, it's just my partner in checkers."
Orlando makes a presentational gesture at Billy. "The undisputed champion." He smiles nervously, then almost instantly purses his lips, then quickly pulls them back into his mouth, making them disappear.
Billy can't help smiling. Only Orlando could find a way to fidget with his face, too.
"Yeah," he exhales. "...So, um." He scratches his arm as he says, "You and Dom... then?" Orlando's terrible at feigning nonchalance. Or feigning anything, really.
"Ehm, yeah. Sort of." Billy tries to make his voice sound lighter. "Yeah." They stare at each other for a moment before Billy takes a quick glance at the archway and then brings his gaze back to center. "S'not serious or anything."
"It's okay, you don't have to explain." Orlando's quick to respond. "I, um." He comes forward and Billy's eyes widen, but it's ultimately only to open the fridge and look for another beer. "I think it's great. I do."
Billy takes a deep, deep breath and rubs the bridge of his nose, huffing out the start of a laugh. There's no polite way to respond to that that isn't a complete lie, including Thanks.
"Hello, hello." Dom enters and goes straight for the fridge.
Orlando scurries out of the way (S-sorry), but not before noticing the way Dom wraps both arms so easily around Billy's middle as he peers into the top shelf.
Billy knows Dom can't help it--he doesn't even think about such gestures anymore. But Billy still wants to rip his hands off.
Orlando leaves the kitchen without a word or glance over his shoulder.
"Lij isn't going for it." Dom pulls out another beer and uses the edge of the counter to pop it open.
Billy's eyes are still on the archway. "Didn't think he would."
Dom takes a loud swig and moans as it goes down his throat. He licks his lips. "What about Orlando?" He turns and leans against the counter, mimicking Billy's gaze.
The top of Billy's heart slides up into his throat, then back down slowly. Even if it's a joke, he doesn't like where it's going.
Billy doesn't say a word, but the look on his face is apparently all the answer Dom needs. "Aye aye cap'n," he salutes Billy and heads back into the living room, his eyes sparking.
Billy stays in the kitchen for the next ten minutes and contemplates quitting the fucking trilogy altogether.
*
"Are you sure about this? We don't have to go through with it. You seem a bit nervous, or..."
"I'm fine," Billy snaps. "Let's just... do it. Alright?" He reaches for the bathroom doorknob. His fingers hover there. When he realizes they're shaking, he makes a fist and brings it back into his body.
"What?" Dom sounds sickeningly accommodating. "What's on your mind?"
The exact words that Billy wants to say are there, swirling across his tongue, but he can't find the air to push them out.
Dom takes his hand. "D'you want to just watch? I don't mind."
Billy's nod is quick and to the point. "I think that's best."
*
When Orlando had first started undressing, Billy averted his eyes. It had taken the crude sound of a belt hitting the floor to remind Billy where he was, that he did agree to this, after all, and that he couldn't just stand there not watching.
But now that Dom's kissing--kissing--Orlando into the mattress, Billy finds himself unable to look at anything but the wood paneling underneath his feet. He can't stop himself from trying to find a way to close his ears without literally jamming his index fingers into them.
After a minute or so of wet and rustling and rubbing sounds, Billy steels himself, taking a glance at the center of the mattress, where their bodies are pressed together and moving. Rather, where Dom's body is moving over Orlando's, fluid as always. Orlando's body is relatively still, except for his right hand, which fumbles against the duvet as if searching. Dom settles his weight onto him, and the hand moves with more urgency, grasping at the air. It seeks and seeks, closes around nothing, and falls, resembling a shivering creature.
Billy is instantly at the side of the bed, taking it up and making his own hand tell it I'm not going anywhere. He hears Orlando moan into Dom's mouth in gratitude, his fingers latching onto Billy's. Billy tentatively lifts Orlando's hand to his mouth, taking his time kissing each knuckle, and then gently prying his fingers open to kiss his palm, mouthing soothing words into the lines there.
Though he can't see either of their faces, he can feel the tension stiffen Orlando's entire body when Dom presumably moves to prepare him, and he knows there's some kind of bargain taking place. He thinks he hears Dom whisper You want Billy?, and after a brief moment, Dom turns back to him, revealing both his and Orlando's faces.
"Is that okay?" Orlando's eyes are wide, his fingers now pushing their way into the spaces between Billy's.
*
At 2:17 in the morning, Orlando curls into Billy, and Billy can literally see his heart beating out of his chest like some ridiculous pink cartoon thing. Dom pulls him closer from behind with both arms, and Billy knows he'll never sleep.
He wonders what it would be like if he could step outside of his body for a minute, so he could crawl to the foot of the bed and muse over the irony of the picture he's making between the two of them.
After about ten minutes of complete stillness, Billy relaxes, thinking he might just be able to close his eyes. But then Orlando lifts his head and presses his mouth to his throat. Billy's eyes flutter shut of their own accord then, until he realizes that Orlando's not kissing him. He's mouthing something into his skin, the same phrase over and over, but giving no voice to it. Five repetitions, and Billy still can't make out a single word, so he tilts his head back, offering more of his throat, pushing the curve of it between Orlando's lips. He feels Orlando's mouth form a breathless smile before it takes its time forming the words again.
I'm. Here. For. You.
Orlando punctuates the statement by poking Billy in the chest with one of his fingers.
Billy thinks Fuck, even as his stomach flips pleasantly.
Dom moans a little in his sleep and presses closer, finding one of Billy's hands with one of his own and locking them together.
And Billy stills, moving neither forward nor backward.
***