Settling

[shaan-lien.livejournal.com]

Title: Settling
Warnings: Language
Rating: PG-13
Category: lotr rp
Summary: After the premieres for Kingdom of Heaven are finished, Orli goes to visit Viggo in Idaho. From Viggo's POV.




When he settles into my arms its comfortable as if I had embraced him everyday since the first time I met him. It's as if we haven't aged, as if our bodies haven't changed and we still "fit" like we once did. Maybe it's just Orli, the one who hugs so freely, with his whole body, tight and strong. For that moment, you're the only person in the world, or at least in his, which is good enough. Yet, he has changed beyond his long straight hair, beyond the weight that he's put on to bulk up. I could see it in his face, not yet in his eyes because they're hidden by a pair of sunglasses. I can feel it in the way he tolds to me, longer than ever before and I don't believe its just because of the time that has passed. No, this isn't just a hug, it feels as though he's clinging to me, his hard warm body pressed against every inch of me, his sweet sensitive nature laid bare in Boise's airport.

He doesn't say anything, doesn't remove his shades, doesn't let go of me until after we've collected his single suitcase and we're in my car. In my car and heading down the highway, listening to some ambient music playing so softly I don't bother to turn it off and I suddenly wonder where I even acquired the CD. Orli's leaned back, an elbow on the armrest, thumb pressed against his chin, index finger along the bottom of his lower lip. He's not still. His foot, which is wedged between the dash and the window is jiggling as if he'd rather run, but I know that's just the way he is and somethings have changed.

I don't bother asking if he's hungry. Orlando, for all the planes that he's on, doesn't like the food and they rarely have anything suitable for vegetarians. We stop in Boise, a small restaurant I've been to once or twice before. The only time he looks away from the window is when I speak and he doesn't turn back until long after the words have been spoken. He thanks the waiter when he's handed a menu and that's the first word he's spoken since I've seen him. The shades come off now, dropped into his lap after shuffling them around in his hand for a moment or two.

He looks as if he's tired and is already losing the weight he put on for Kingdom. Either way, it will look good on him. "How was your flight?" I asked, starting simply for some reason that I can't think of. Normally it's Orli who's talking, his hands never still and I the one listening, leaned back in my chair, grinning as I take in his excitement. "Not too bad, just came in from LA," he begins, raising his eyes to mine. "How bout you? Are you all right? Is Henry doing okay?"

"Henry's a teenager," I mused as the waiter sat down glasses of water before us and then hurried away again. "Loud music, mood swings worse than when Christine was pregnant, discovering the opposite sex."

Orli laughs a little as he sets down his water. I remember, Vig, it wasn't that long ago."

"You seem tired."

He sighs, scrubbing his hands over his face, then winces and straightens a little. "Yeah, I am. Nice to have some down time. Don't know what I was thinking signing up for another fucking triology."

"I can't begin to guess," I intoned, which brings out another soft smile out of him. "But how are you doing? I don't mean your career, I mean you. How are you?"

He regards me blankly for a bit as if frozen, then blinks and visibly deflates, resting his elbows on the table. "I don't . . . fuck--I mean," he sighs heavily as he tries to come up with something vaguely coherent. "I just need a break. It was okay before . . . when Kate and I, but now. . . . It was good to see Billy though, he stayed over for a while at mine, saw Sean and Andy as well, got to work with Marton and Brendan again. I've just--I've missed you and Beanie too. Eric came up to LA just a few days ago, that was good, haven't seen him in a bit. Saw Sam and my mum when I was in London. . . . Thanks for having me, Vig, you don't--"

"--anytime, I told you that. Anyway, I'm the one who suggested it."

"Gettin' lonely there, mate?" he asked with almost a hint of hopefulness in his dark eyes.

"It happens," I admit softly as the waiter approaches once more. Unsurprisngly, he has a salad, mumbling about not being hungry. A small talk that I had never experienced with Orlando follows and endures throughout the meal. Then silence once we enter the car and he's back to staring out the window until he is finally lulled to sleep.