vigorli

Author: zebraljb
Rating: G to R
Disclaimer: I don't own them or know them, though I wish I did both. This is all fiction.

Elijah walked back from the commissary, peeling a banana as he walked. Suddenly the banana was swiped from his hand and smashed into his forehead.

“What the hell!”

An arm went around his chest and he was dragged into the woods. “Mr. Baggins,” an accented voice hissed in his ear.

“Beanie! God, you scared me!” Elijah gasped.

“We need to talk, Hobbit.”

“About what?”

“Orli…and Viggo.” Sean loosened his grip slightly.

“Uh…”

“Why’d ya screw with Orli like that?”

“I…I didn’t mean to, Beanie! I never thought he’d BELIEVE me!”

Sean released Elijah, who immediately backed up a few steps. “Elijah, remember yer first movie? Even though ya were young, ya were excited, yeah? Ya wanted everything to go well…wanted to do yer best. That’s all Orli wanted. Ya told him he needed to do something to make the movie a success, so he tried to do it. But in the meantime, he fell for Viggo. And when it all came down, Viggo fell for him, too.”

“What do you want me to do, Beanie?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

“You off tomorrow?” Elijah fell into step with Orli a few hours later.

“Yeah.”

“Wanna go hiking?”

“Are you serious?” Orlando gave him a long hard look.

“Well, I know it’s crazy, I mean, going on a long hike the day after an exhausting day on the set, but yeah.” Elijah smiled, his blue eyes sincere. “And I SWEAR I just want to hike.”

“Uh, sure.”

“Meet me at the lake at two?”

“The others coming?”

“Nah, just us. I figure we need some time to patch up our friendship.” Orlando gave him a dirty look. “Okay, I need time to grovel.” Orlando laughed.

“Ranger.” Sean clapped Viggo on the back, but Viggo never moved. “You’re getting too damn good at that.”

“What can I say…I live my roles.” Viggo turned around and smiled at his friend. “Sorry.”

“Damn kings…always think they’re better than everyone else,” Sean mumbled. “Anyway…up to some fishing tomorrow? I know you’re off.”

“You want to fish…YOU?” Viggo stared at Sean. “I thought you said that you’re not a nature boy…that you don’t like doing things that involve the great outdoors. I thought you were sick of being out here.”

“What if I changed my mind? What if I want to spend some time with my best mate?”

“Okay,” Viggo said warily. “What time?”

“Meet me at the lake at two-thirty.”

“Okay, ElWood, your scrawny ass better be here soon.” Orlando paced back and forth on the shoreline of the lake. He hated waiting for things. He really wasn’t looking forward to the hike, but he had missed hanging out with Elijah. He knew that he couldn’t get through the rest of the filming without his close friends.

The afternoon sun was surprisingly warm, and he felt the sweat start to trickle down his back. He looked at the lake, its shining water lapping cheerfully at the sand. “No way,” he said to the water. “You look refreshing and cool, but I know you’re colder than…” The water continued to make happy slapping sounds against the ground. “Bugger it all.” He tugged off his shirt, stepped out of his baggy sweatpants and went running into the water. He let out a scream as the coldness bit at his skin. He dove under all at once, trying to get it over and done with. When he surfaced, his entire body was numb. He laughed out loud at the sky, floating on his back.

Viggo made his way from the carpark, trying not to drop anything. He had his tackle box and fishing rods, along with a small bag of food. He knew Sean wouldn’t think to bring anything, and in an hour he’d be hungry.

Viggo stopped short as he came out of the woods and onto the shore of the lake. He saw a figure floating on the water, and heard a joyful laugh. The figure stood up, and Viggo could only stare at the naked chest. Orlando.

Orlando stood up and shivered. Enough of this. He needed his clothes. He began to wade back to the shore, then froze. Someone was watching him. He couldn’t quite see who. Suddenly the person took a step closer and he knew exactly who it was. Viggo was between him and his clothes.

“Uh, hi,” Orlando said. “I’m, uh, waiting for Elijah. We’re hiking. And I got hot, and decided to…uh…I need my clothes.”

Viggo turned so fast he dropped everything he was carrying. “What? Oh, those.” Viggo scooped up the clothes and started towards Orlando. He had all intentions of not looking at Orlando’s naked body, but he couldn’t help it.

“Thank you.” Orlando took the clothing but made no move to put it on.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“No,” Orlando said.

“I’ll, uh, let you get to that.” Viggo went to pick up his belongings. Orlando quickly dressed.

“Fishing?” Orlando said finally.

“Yeah, Sean was supposed to meet me, but he’s late, apparently.” Viggo looked around.

“Kinda like Elijah,” Orlando said. They looked at each other, smiles slowly crossing their faces. “The little buggers.”

“They want us together,” Viggo said, sighing.

“What do you want?”

“What do YOU want?”

“I want…” Orlando paused. “I want you to know that I was never trying to hurt you. I want you to know that I really do care about you, and it went way beyond any sort of curse.”

Viggo’s fishing poles hit the ground once more as he moved to take Orlando in his arms.