Take Care of Me chapter 1 rating:NC-17
Apr. 13th, 2007 09:44 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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vigorliThe previous entry doesn't work. My most humble apologies. If the moderators would please delete it, I would be grateful.
Title: Take Care of Me
Author: Liriel
Pairing: VM/OB, slight SB/EW
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: AU
Summary: Orlando and Elijah are flatmates, living in London. One afternoon they are overheard whinging about how easy girls have it. A challenge is issued. Will they accept it?
Beta: The incomparable, unforgettable![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
catlover2x Mwaaah
A/N: I know, and you know that most women don't have it this easy. So don't blame me, the opinions expressed in this story are those of the characters and not the poor author, who's just recording the events and thoughts.
Chapter 1
“Let's face it, you guys are just hopeless,” Billy said matter-of-factly, finishing off his lunch and pushing the plate away, ignoring the way Elijah looked hungrily at the scrap of lettuce left on the plate. “You haven't got a lick of common sense between the two of you. I don't know how you've managed to last this long.”
“That's not true!” Elijah whined. “We've got common sense. We've just had some rotten luck. It's not our fault things have turned out this way.” He looked at his flatmate for support, but Orlando was lost in morose contemplation of Dom's empty teacup.
The curly-haired young man was huddled into his worn jacket, his nose slightly reddened by the cold and he shivered every time someone opened the door to the restaurant and the blast of icy air hit him. He felt completely overwhelmed by the events of the past week and wanted nothing more than to curl into a corner and cry. But guys weren't supposed to cry when life suddenly went pear-shaped.
“Rubbish,” Dom snorted. “It's not rotten luck that you rented a place that has a leaky roof, for double what you should be paying. That's just blind stupidity. Didn't you think to question the watermarks on the ceiling before you signed the lease?”
Elijah mumbled, “We didn't look at the ceiling.”
“See! No common sense,” Billy declared. “Anyone with a lick of common sense would have thought to check out the ceiling. The flat's on the top floor for God's sake. And why you'd rent a flat that's up ten flights of stairs and no lift in the building is beyond me.”
“It was going to keep us fit going up and down the stairs,” Elijah said defensively. He turned his big blue eyes on his flatmate once more. “You know, you could help here. It's not just me that's being called all sorts of an idiot.”
“It doesn't matter,” Orlando said sadly. “We are idiots, Lij. We should have been born girls... Girls have it easy, all they have to do is find a bloke who'll take them on. Then it's all gravy, no more worries about how they're going to pay the bills, or making sure the flat is in good nick before they sign the lease... All they have to do is make sure the meals are ready for their man and he's got clean clothes to wear to work.”
“I know.” Lij slumped down in his seat. “It'd certainly be easier if we were girls. No one would expect us to know how to fix this.”
“You two are pathetic,” Dom said with disgust. “Girls don't have it easier. My sister is working, and paying her own bills. She rented her own flat, without any help from anyone else. You're just a pair of idiots who shouldn't be let loose on your own.”
Billy nodded his agreement of Dom's words.
“Why don't you just crawl back to mummy and daddy and ask them to fix it? It's bloody obvious you were let out of the cradle before you should have been.” The blonde man said callously.
“Fuck you too, Dom,” Orlando growled. “I can't go back to my parents... even if I wanted to. When I left they told me not to come crawling back expecting them to bail me out when I couldn't handle things.”
Billy sighed and stood up, taking the bill for his and Dom's lunch with him. “Well lads, sorry we can't help you. You should be looking for better paying jobs if you don't want to get evicted. Maybe if you can prove you've got jobs that will provide enough money to pay the rent, the landlord won't throw you out straight away.”
“But I doubt it,” Dom concluded, a nasty grin on his face as he rose to join Billy in leaving the unfortunate young men. “Rug up before you select your park bench, guys. And try to look destitute... oh wait, you don't have to try, you are destitute.” The blonde laughed unkindly at his own joke. “Give us a call if you ever get a phone again, yeah?”
The two men left without a backward glance, already thinking about the work that needed to be done when they got back to the office. Billy was a junior bookkeeper and Dom was a stenographer, and both of them were smugly confident that in very short order they would be moving up in the office hierarchy and could not afford to have lame friends like Orlando and Elijah hanging around them. It would lessen their chances for advancement.
Elijah was currently a part-time box boy at the local supermarket and worked nights whenever he managed to get more hours. Orlando had just recently lost his job as mail clerk in the office where Billy and Dom worked. He'd been late to work one time too many and been sacked for lack of discipline and disinterest in his job.
That had led to the situation the two young men found themselves currently in. The exorbitant rent on their less than stellar flat was due in two days, and they barely had half the necessary funds. If they were late paying the rent one more time, the landlord had threatened to evict them on the spot. It wasn't much of a flat and wouldn't have had a stick of furniture if it hadn't come furnished, but it was all that was keeping them off the street, or from sending them running back to their parents with their tails between their legs.
The heating in the shabby flat was almost non-existent, even when they could afford to feed the meter. It was also why they lingered in the restaurant, even though they couldn't afford to even share a cup of tea.
“Fuck,” Elijah said with a gusty sigh. “I should have known better than to think those two would help. I'm sorry, man.”
“Not your fault,” Orlando said morosely. “They never acted like such assholes before.”
The two young men sat, lost in thought and completely oblivious to the fact that they were being carefully studied. To look at, one would think they had very little in common. Elijah was short, with an unruly shock of dark brown hair that stuck up in every direction, no matter how he tried to get it to lay flat. He had large, soulful blue eyes which gave him an air of innocence, though he was anything but innocent. His face was slightly round and his body, while not fat, was not muscular either. Despite his statement that the stairs were meant as a way of keeping fit, any muscles the young man had were well hidden within his soft skin. He was a bundle of nervous energy, constantly moving, his voice was loud and his words had a tendency to tumble over themselves when he was excited.
Orlando was tall and lean, not overly muscular, but without the softness his flatmate carried. His hair was curly and long, just brushing his collar, framing his elegant face with rich dark waves. His eyes looked like melted chocolate with highlights of topaz, framed by sinfully long, dark lashes that were the envy of any girl who saw them. He was shy and quiet compared to Elijah's brash exuberance, and where Elijah was quite content to remain a box boy, Orlando had aspirations and dreams of a career as a successful artist.
“Hey, Lij?”
“Yeah?”
“D'you ever wish you'd been born a girl?” Orlando flushed as his friend looked at him in confusion and hastened to explain himself. “I mean, you know... if we were girls, our parents would have found a flat for us when we said we wanted to move out and live on our own. We wouldn't have had to flounder around on our own without knowing what we were doing.”
The young man huddled deeper into the seat, pulling the frayed collar of his coat around his neck as another icy blast from the opening restaurant door reached him and sighed heavily as he continued, “Don't you ever wish that someone would just come and take care of everything... Take care of you?”
“Yeah,” Elijah agreed readily. “I know we're supposed to be able to do this, but I think we must have missed the lesson somewhere on how to rent a flat. I'd trade places with Hannah in a moment. She's got a guy. He takes her out for dinner, gives her spending money, doesn't expect her to know more than she should... That'd be nice.” A sudden shiver shook the young man's body as the ice air gusted beneath his threadbare coat.
“Could you go back home?” Orlando asked quietly.
“No,” Elijah said, all his normal brashness missing. “I kinda burned that bridge when I left. I said some pretty rude stuff and my father said to not come back until I'd actually made something of myself. He wouldn't let me move back home.”
The two young men lapsed back into silence, not wanting to leave, determined to stay where it was warm for as long as they possibly could before they got kicked out.
*****
Two businessmen sat in the adjacent booth, listening intently to the conversation between the four young men, and then to the two men who were left behind. Blue eyes danced with amusement as they looked into green eyes.
It seemed as though the two young men could be the answer to the problem the two businessmen found themselves with. Viggo Mortensen and Sean Bean were highly successful in their chosen field of work. Unfortunately, with that success came certain social obligations, obligations that required them both to have a partner. Sadly, the amount of time both men spent working left little time to pursue regular avenues in the quest for a partner. They'd met for lunch to discuss how they could manage to obtain partners in time for the upcoming charity ball of which they were co-sponsors. They had chosen the restaurant they were currently seated in simply for its proximity to their offices.
Surreptitious observation had informed the men that the two young men who were currently huddled in the next booth were both very attractive. Intelligence wasn't a requirement for what they wanted, although Viggo couldn't help but hope that the taller of the two young men was at least a bit smarter than he sounded. He really wanted someone he could share his life and interests with, but knew he didn't have the patience to deal with someone who was terminally stupid.
Without speaking a word, the two men were in agreement. Moving together, they rose and moved quickly to join the two young men, preventing the startled duo from leaving as they were hemmed in.
“What the...” Orlando looked up in bewilderment when someone slid into the seat next to him. He found himself staring into a pair of stormy blue eyes, his gaze captured by the mesmerizing gaze of the older man who had sat beside him. He looked across the table to see his friend being similarly hemmed in by a large blonde man. “Sorry mate, we haven't left yet,” he said. “If you get up, we'll leave now and you can have the booth if you want it that bad.”
“Don't really give a fuck about the booth,” Viggo said matter-of-factly. “Sean and I have been listening to your conversation and thought we'd join you.”
“Fucking hell,” Lij gasped out, the memory of what he and Orlando had been discussing burned into his brain. He didn't know what these men wanted, but he really, really hoped these two wouldn't hurt either of them. “We... we... weren't really wishing we were girls... honest,” the young man stammered out. “It's just... we've had some bad luck, you know?”
“Relax,” Sean chuckled. “We're not going to bash you because you can't cope with the spanner in the works life has thrown at you. We're here to offer the help your friends wouldn't.”
“You're going to give us money for the rent?” Orlando asked in disbelief, edging slightly away from the muscular man sitting next to him. He felt completely intimidated and unsure of what was going to happen next.
“No,” Viggo grinned. “But we do have a solution for you.” The blue-eyed man turned to pin the slender young man seated next to him with his gaze. “Did you mean it when you said you wished someone would take care of you?”
“Umm,” Orlando's voice quavered slightly and he bit his lip nervously before whispering softly, “Yes.”
“What about you, bright eyes?” Sean smirked at the smaller man seated next to him.
“Yeah,” Elijah admitted with a sigh. “We've made a total balls up of things. It'd be nice if someone would take over... but I can't go back to my parents. I'm with Orli on that, they'd never let me forget it.”
“We're not suggesting you go back to your parents,” Viggo spoke smoothly, his eyes gleaming as he sensed he was moments from achieving his objective. “Sean and I have a different solution for you...” He paused as the waitress approached their table, shaking his head to indicate that they wanted nothing further from her.
Waiting until the waitress had departed again, Viggo spoke once more, his voice low and meant only for the three men he was seated with, “Perhaps we could continue this conversation someplace a bit more private?”
“We could go to our flat,” Elijah said naively. “It's still ours for a couple of days, anyhow, and it's only around the corner.”
Orlando kicked his foot out, completely missing the intended target of Elijah's leg. He wasn't sure he wanted these two men in their flat. They seemed tough and worldly, not to mention very fit, and he wasn't convinced the older men wouldn't hurt them.
“Sounds perfect,” Sean said quickly, rising to his feet and allowing Elijah to slide out of the booth. He put his hand on the young man's arm when Elijah would have started walking towards the exit, indicating that they should wait for the other two men.
“But we don't even know your names.” Orlando protested feebly, yielding to the older man drawing him from the booth. Once again he felt as though he were being swept along in a tide of events over which he had no control.
“I'm Viggo, and this is Sean,” Viggo said with a smile. “Now may I have your name?”
“Or-Orlando,” the young man stuttered breathlessly, wishing he could turn away from the man's unnervingly compelling gaze. He couldn't understand why just looking into the intense blue eyes left him breathless.
“I'm Elijah,” the blue-eyed young man said brightly, extending his hand to the attractive blonde man. “But my friends all call me Lij.”
“Pleased to meet you, Lij,” Sean said with a winning smile as he took the young man's hand in his shaking it gently and releasing it reluctantly.
“Okay, we know each other now, let's go,” Elijah said happily. He had complete faith that the two men couldn't be axe murderers, because they obviously didn't have axes stuck in their jacket pockets. And if they were going to suggest a way for him and Orlando to get out of the mess they were in, he was more than eager to hear it.
The four men made their way around the corner and down the street to the shoddy building that housed the destitute flat Orlando and Elijah called home. Orlando chewed on his lip nervously, worried about what these two men were going to demand in exchange for solving their rent problem. He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and hunched into the collar of his coat trying to escape the biting wind that swirled around him and made his eyes water.
“We aren't going to hurt you, Orlando,” Viggo said quietly, feeling the anxiety rolling off the younger man walking beside him. “I promise we'll just present our suggestion, and if you're not interested, we'll leave, okay?”
“Okay,” Orlando said just as quietly, not completely convinced, but unable to find any other way to get rid of the two men when Elijah seemed determined to drag them home. The only thing that was keeping him from running down the street as fast as he could to get away was that it was the middle of the day. Murderers usually didn't walk around in broad daylight with their victims, did they? That and the fact that he had absolutely no place else to go. If they really wanted to kill him, they'd just have to wait around until he came back. The point was moot anyhow, because they'd reached their building, and the security door was propped open yet again, offering absolutely no security whatsoever.
Oh well, the slender young man resolved philosophically, if the older men made it up ten flights of stairs, they'd probably need a chance to catch their breath before they killed them anyway, and it was a lot quicker to run down the stairs, so he and Lij could probably escape, if they got enough of a head start.
“Bloody hell!” Sean exclaimed, pausing to strip off his suit jacket when they were halfway up the stairs. “How many more flights of stairs are there in this sodding building?”
“Only five more,” Elijah said encouragingly as he waited on the landing for the blonde man to join him before starting up the next flight.
“Hold on, bright eyes,” Sean protested, reaching out to grab the young man's arm when Elijah would have started up the next set of stairs. “Give an old guy a chance to catch his breath.”
“You're not old!” Elijah protested, smiling at the blonde man. He felt a definite attraction to the older man and hoped whatever solution Sean and Viggo had for them would involve him spending more time with the blonde.
Viggo chuckled quietly as he passed his panting friend and continued the upward journey, “You need to get out of the pub and get more exercise, Sean.”
“Yeah, yeah, heard it all before,” Sean said, waving his hand in mock disgust. “I don't plan on climbing endless flights of stairs again, and I'm fit enough for everything else.”
Orlando remained silent as he followed the sandy-haired man up the stairs. It seemed as though Viggo was able to cope with the stairs just fine, so there went that avenue of escape. The young man sighed and prayed that Viggo would keep his word to not hurt him.
Reaching the top of the final flight of stairs, Viggo looked at the two doors on opposite sides of the landing. Neither one gave any indication as to which was his goal.
Orlando opened the door to the flat, resigned to inviting the two strangers into his home.
Viggo followed the slender young man into the flat, carefully schooling his expression to reveal none of his dismay for the shabby condition of the furnishings and the flat in general.
“Nice place,” Sean said dryly when he entered the flat with Elijah trailing behind him.
“It sucks,” Lij admitted. “But it was all we could get.”
“Two bedrooms?” Sean asked with an arched eyebrow.
“Only one,” the diminutive young man admitted ruefully. “But we have separate beds!”
“Relax, bright eyes,” Sean chuckled. “I wasn't checking up on you, just counting doors.”
“Oh.” Elijah blushed. “The other door leads to a closet.”
“Come and sit down, Orlando,” Viggo encouraged. “I won't bite.”
Reluctantly, the curly-haired young man sat gingerly on the rickety couch. He hoped the couch wouldn't collapse under the combined weight of himself and the older man. He flinched slightly when Viggo rested his arm along the back of the couch, the tips of his fingers just grazing Orlando's shoulder, seemingly accidentally.
Sean seated himself in the shabby armchair, smiling when Lij settled himself on the arm of the chair instead of bringing a chair in from the little kitchenette.
“Now that we're all settled, and you have both admitted your desire to have someone take care of you, Sean and I would like to present our offer to you,” Viggo began. He spoke low and soothingly, aware of how nervous Orlando was about them being in the flat.
“What we propose,” Sean took up where Viggo left off. “Is to give you what you want. We're willing to take care of you. You won't have to worry about bills, or groceries, or dealing with the landlord when you break the lease for this place. We'll look after all of that.”
“Awesome!” Lij crowed.
“What do you want in return?” Orlando asked suspiciously, studiously avoiding looking at the handsome man seated next to him.
“In return, you will come and live with me,” Viggo said casually. “Elijah will live with Sean... and you will accompany us to the various functions we have to attend.” The older man allowed his fingers to play with Orlando's curls, wanting to taste the young man's lips and see if they were as sweet as they looked.
“Will we still be able to see each other?” Elijah asked hopefully.
“Of course,” Sean smiled at the young man sitting on the arm of his chair. “Viggo and I are friends. We get together quite often. You'll see a lot of each other.” The blonde slid his arm around Elijah's waist and tugged gently so the young man tumbled into his lap with a giggle.
Viggo shifted closer to Orlando, cradling the back of the younger man's head in his hand as he moved until his breath was caressing the sweet pink of Orlando's mouth.
Orlando froze as Viggo moved closer, trapping him so that he couldn't turn his head away as the older man got so close that he could feel his breath on his lips. He swallowed nervously, willing his unresponsive limbs to get up... escape... don't stay there and let the other man do... whatever he was going to do! He whimpered softly at the first touch of Viggo's lips on his. No! Oh no! He didn't want this... he didn't!
Viggo kept the kiss soft and gentle at first, his tongue lightly stroking the seam of Orlando's mouth, asking for entrance. When Orlando whimpered, his lips parted slightly, giving Viggo the opportunity he sought and the older man wasted no time in delving into the sweet heat of the young man's mouth. He probed and tasted every part of Orlando's mouth, twining his tongue with Orlando's, enticing the young man to respond.
Orlando moaned softly at the assault on his mouth. His eyes fluttered closed and his hands came up to rest on Viggo's chest. Denying the way his body tingled at the sensation of having the older man's tongue in his mouth, Orlando sought to escape from the older man's amorous attentions. Mustering all the willpower he could, he pushed desperately against the older man, tearing his mouth away and falling to his hands and knees on the floor when Viggo released him.
“NO!” Orlando gasped, his body shaking with the intensity of the first kiss he'd ever received from a man. “No! Don't... don't... I don't...”
Viggo sat back on the couch, an expression of displeasure marring his face. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. “So you lied when you said you wanted someone to take care of you, is that it?” He queried the trembling young man sternly. He had felt the brief moment when the young man had responded and he was not willing to allow such sweetness to elude him.
“I don't... I didn't...” Orlando struggled to express himself when all he wanted to do was curl into a ball and cry.
“You need to make up your mind what you want, Orlando,” Viggo said firmly, rising to his feet, hoping to goad the young man into accepting the offer. “Sean, I don't think this is going to work.”
“Damn,” Sean sighed with regret as he reluctantly released Lij's lips. “Sorry, bright eyes.” He lifted Elijah off his lap and stood up.
“Wait!” Elijah said, grabbing on to Sean's arm when the blonde would have headed towards the door. “What's going on? Why are you leaving? You said you'd take care of me!”
“I know,” Sean said softly, bringing his hand up to caress the sweet young man's face. “And I wish that I could, but it's both or nothing, bright eyes. If your friend won't accept Viggo, I can't have you either.”
“He will!” Elijah protested. “Won't you, Orli. You'll accept Viggo's offer, won't you?”
Orlando shook his head mutely, not looking at his friend, not wanting to see the disappointment in Lij's eyes. He pulled his knees to his chest and curled in on himself, hiding his face from the three men who were looking at him with varying expressions on their faces.
“Wait!” Elijah begged desperately. “He'll change his mind. Don't go. Please don't go!”
Viggo looked at Elijah and then at Orlando. Making his decision, he turned back to Elijah and spoke firmly, “You have tonight to convince him, Elijah. If you manage to change his mind again, and he won't change it back the moment he sees me, you are to ring this number.” He handed the desperate young man a card with a phone number on it. “Ring before 8 am and have one suitcase packed and ready for each of you. Just say that you are ready to be picked up and you will receive further instructions. If you ring at 8:01, no one will answer, so if you are going to ring, make sure you do so before 8.”
“I will,” Elijah said with determination, gripping the card tightly in his hand. He was not going to allow Orlando's nerves to ruin the best thing that had ever happened to either of them.
“Good luck,” Sean whispered as he leaned in for one last, quick kiss before following Viggo out the door.
TBC
Title: Take Care of Me
Author: Liriel
Pairing: VM/OB, slight SB/EW
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: AU
Summary: Orlando and Elijah are flatmates, living in London. One afternoon they are overheard whinging about how easy girls have it. A challenge is issued. Will they accept it?
Beta: The incomparable, unforgettable
catlover2x MwaaahA/N: I know, and you know that most women don't have it this easy. So don't blame me, the opinions expressed in this story are those of the characters and not the poor author, who's just recording the events and thoughts.
Chapter 1
“Let's face it, you guys are just hopeless,” Billy said matter-of-factly, finishing off his lunch and pushing the plate away, ignoring the way Elijah looked hungrily at the scrap of lettuce left on the plate. “You haven't got a lick of common sense between the two of you. I don't know how you've managed to last this long.”
“That's not true!” Elijah whined. “We've got common sense. We've just had some rotten luck. It's not our fault things have turned out this way.” He looked at his flatmate for support, but Orlando was lost in morose contemplation of Dom's empty teacup.
The curly-haired young man was huddled into his worn jacket, his nose slightly reddened by the cold and he shivered every time someone opened the door to the restaurant and the blast of icy air hit him. He felt completely overwhelmed by the events of the past week and wanted nothing more than to curl into a corner and cry. But guys weren't supposed to cry when life suddenly went pear-shaped.
“Rubbish,” Dom snorted. “It's not rotten luck that you rented a place that has a leaky roof, for double what you should be paying. That's just blind stupidity. Didn't you think to question the watermarks on the ceiling before you signed the lease?”
Elijah mumbled, “We didn't look at the ceiling.”
“See! No common sense,” Billy declared. “Anyone with a lick of common sense would have thought to check out the ceiling. The flat's on the top floor for God's sake. And why you'd rent a flat that's up ten flights of stairs and no lift in the building is beyond me.”
“It was going to keep us fit going up and down the stairs,” Elijah said defensively. He turned his big blue eyes on his flatmate once more. “You know, you could help here. It's not just me that's being called all sorts of an idiot.”
“It doesn't matter,” Orlando said sadly. “We are idiots, Lij. We should have been born girls... Girls have it easy, all they have to do is find a bloke who'll take them on. Then it's all gravy, no more worries about how they're going to pay the bills, or making sure the flat is in good nick before they sign the lease... All they have to do is make sure the meals are ready for their man and he's got clean clothes to wear to work.”
“I know.” Lij slumped down in his seat. “It'd certainly be easier if we were girls. No one would expect us to know how to fix this.”
“You two are pathetic,” Dom said with disgust. “Girls don't have it easier. My sister is working, and paying her own bills. She rented her own flat, without any help from anyone else. You're just a pair of idiots who shouldn't be let loose on your own.”
Billy nodded his agreement of Dom's words.
“Why don't you just crawl back to mummy and daddy and ask them to fix it? It's bloody obvious you were let out of the cradle before you should have been.” The blonde man said callously.
“Fuck you too, Dom,” Orlando growled. “I can't go back to my parents... even if I wanted to. When I left they told me not to come crawling back expecting them to bail me out when I couldn't handle things.”
Billy sighed and stood up, taking the bill for his and Dom's lunch with him. “Well lads, sorry we can't help you. You should be looking for better paying jobs if you don't want to get evicted. Maybe if you can prove you've got jobs that will provide enough money to pay the rent, the landlord won't throw you out straight away.”
“But I doubt it,” Dom concluded, a nasty grin on his face as he rose to join Billy in leaving the unfortunate young men. “Rug up before you select your park bench, guys. And try to look destitute... oh wait, you don't have to try, you are destitute.” The blonde laughed unkindly at his own joke. “Give us a call if you ever get a phone again, yeah?”
The two men left without a backward glance, already thinking about the work that needed to be done when they got back to the office. Billy was a junior bookkeeper and Dom was a stenographer, and both of them were smugly confident that in very short order they would be moving up in the office hierarchy and could not afford to have lame friends like Orlando and Elijah hanging around them. It would lessen their chances for advancement.
Elijah was currently a part-time box boy at the local supermarket and worked nights whenever he managed to get more hours. Orlando had just recently lost his job as mail clerk in the office where Billy and Dom worked. He'd been late to work one time too many and been sacked for lack of discipline and disinterest in his job.
That had led to the situation the two young men found themselves currently in. The exorbitant rent on their less than stellar flat was due in two days, and they barely had half the necessary funds. If they were late paying the rent one more time, the landlord had threatened to evict them on the spot. It wasn't much of a flat and wouldn't have had a stick of furniture if it hadn't come furnished, but it was all that was keeping them off the street, or from sending them running back to their parents with their tails between their legs.
The heating in the shabby flat was almost non-existent, even when they could afford to feed the meter. It was also why they lingered in the restaurant, even though they couldn't afford to even share a cup of tea.
“Fuck,” Elijah said with a gusty sigh. “I should have known better than to think those two would help. I'm sorry, man.”
“Not your fault,” Orlando said morosely. “They never acted like such assholes before.”
The two young men sat, lost in thought and completely oblivious to the fact that they were being carefully studied. To look at, one would think they had very little in common. Elijah was short, with an unruly shock of dark brown hair that stuck up in every direction, no matter how he tried to get it to lay flat. He had large, soulful blue eyes which gave him an air of innocence, though he was anything but innocent. His face was slightly round and his body, while not fat, was not muscular either. Despite his statement that the stairs were meant as a way of keeping fit, any muscles the young man had were well hidden within his soft skin. He was a bundle of nervous energy, constantly moving, his voice was loud and his words had a tendency to tumble over themselves when he was excited.
Orlando was tall and lean, not overly muscular, but without the softness his flatmate carried. His hair was curly and long, just brushing his collar, framing his elegant face with rich dark waves. His eyes looked like melted chocolate with highlights of topaz, framed by sinfully long, dark lashes that were the envy of any girl who saw them. He was shy and quiet compared to Elijah's brash exuberance, and where Elijah was quite content to remain a box boy, Orlando had aspirations and dreams of a career as a successful artist.
“Hey, Lij?”
“Yeah?”
“D'you ever wish you'd been born a girl?” Orlando flushed as his friend looked at him in confusion and hastened to explain himself. “I mean, you know... if we were girls, our parents would have found a flat for us when we said we wanted to move out and live on our own. We wouldn't have had to flounder around on our own without knowing what we were doing.”
The young man huddled deeper into the seat, pulling the frayed collar of his coat around his neck as another icy blast from the opening restaurant door reached him and sighed heavily as he continued, “Don't you ever wish that someone would just come and take care of everything... Take care of you?”
“Yeah,” Elijah agreed readily. “I know we're supposed to be able to do this, but I think we must have missed the lesson somewhere on how to rent a flat. I'd trade places with Hannah in a moment. She's got a guy. He takes her out for dinner, gives her spending money, doesn't expect her to know more than she should... That'd be nice.” A sudden shiver shook the young man's body as the ice air gusted beneath his threadbare coat.
“Could you go back home?” Orlando asked quietly.
“No,” Elijah said, all his normal brashness missing. “I kinda burned that bridge when I left. I said some pretty rude stuff and my father said to not come back until I'd actually made something of myself. He wouldn't let me move back home.”
The two young men lapsed back into silence, not wanting to leave, determined to stay where it was warm for as long as they possibly could before they got kicked out.
*****
Two businessmen sat in the adjacent booth, listening intently to the conversation between the four young men, and then to the two men who were left behind. Blue eyes danced with amusement as they looked into green eyes.
It seemed as though the two young men could be the answer to the problem the two businessmen found themselves with. Viggo Mortensen and Sean Bean were highly successful in their chosen field of work. Unfortunately, with that success came certain social obligations, obligations that required them both to have a partner. Sadly, the amount of time both men spent working left little time to pursue regular avenues in the quest for a partner. They'd met for lunch to discuss how they could manage to obtain partners in time for the upcoming charity ball of which they were co-sponsors. They had chosen the restaurant they were currently seated in simply for its proximity to their offices.
Surreptitious observation had informed the men that the two young men who were currently huddled in the next booth were both very attractive. Intelligence wasn't a requirement for what they wanted, although Viggo couldn't help but hope that the taller of the two young men was at least a bit smarter than he sounded. He really wanted someone he could share his life and interests with, but knew he didn't have the patience to deal with someone who was terminally stupid.
Without speaking a word, the two men were in agreement. Moving together, they rose and moved quickly to join the two young men, preventing the startled duo from leaving as they were hemmed in.
“What the...” Orlando looked up in bewilderment when someone slid into the seat next to him. He found himself staring into a pair of stormy blue eyes, his gaze captured by the mesmerizing gaze of the older man who had sat beside him. He looked across the table to see his friend being similarly hemmed in by a large blonde man. “Sorry mate, we haven't left yet,” he said. “If you get up, we'll leave now and you can have the booth if you want it that bad.”
“Don't really give a fuck about the booth,” Viggo said matter-of-factly. “Sean and I have been listening to your conversation and thought we'd join you.”
“Fucking hell,” Lij gasped out, the memory of what he and Orlando had been discussing burned into his brain. He didn't know what these men wanted, but he really, really hoped these two wouldn't hurt either of them. “We... we... weren't really wishing we were girls... honest,” the young man stammered out. “It's just... we've had some bad luck, you know?”
“Relax,” Sean chuckled. “We're not going to bash you because you can't cope with the spanner in the works life has thrown at you. We're here to offer the help your friends wouldn't.”
“You're going to give us money for the rent?” Orlando asked in disbelief, edging slightly away from the muscular man sitting next to him. He felt completely intimidated and unsure of what was going to happen next.
“No,” Viggo grinned. “But we do have a solution for you.” The blue-eyed man turned to pin the slender young man seated next to him with his gaze. “Did you mean it when you said you wished someone would take care of you?”
“Umm,” Orlando's voice quavered slightly and he bit his lip nervously before whispering softly, “Yes.”
“What about you, bright eyes?” Sean smirked at the smaller man seated next to him.
“Yeah,” Elijah admitted with a sigh. “We've made a total balls up of things. It'd be nice if someone would take over... but I can't go back to my parents. I'm with Orli on that, they'd never let me forget it.”
“We're not suggesting you go back to your parents,” Viggo spoke smoothly, his eyes gleaming as he sensed he was moments from achieving his objective. “Sean and I have a different solution for you...” He paused as the waitress approached their table, shaking his head to indicate that they wanted nothing further from her.
Waiting until the waitress had departed again, Viggo spoke once more, his voice low and meant only for the three men he was seated with, “Perhaps we could continue this conversation someplace a bit more private?”
“We could go to our flat,” Elijah said naively. “It's still ours for a couple of days, anyhow, and it's only around the corner.”
Orlando kicked his foot out, completely missing the intended target of Elijah's leg. He wasn't sure he wanted these two men in their flat. They seemed tough and worldly, not to mention very fit, and he wasn't convinced the older men wouldn't hurt them.
“Sounds perfect,” Sean said quickly, rising to his feet and allowing Elijah to slide out of the booth. He put his hand on the young man's arm when Elijah would have started walking towards the exit, indicating that they should wait for the other two men.
“But we don't even know your names.” Orlando protested feebly, yielding to the older man drawing him from the booth. Once again he felt as though he were being swept along in a tide of events over which he had no control.
“I'm Viggo, and this is Sean,” Viggo said with a smile. “Now may I have your name?”
“Or-Orlando,” the young man stuttered breathlessly, wishing he could turn away from the man's unnervingly compelling gaze. He couldn't understand why just looking into the intense blue eyes left him breathless.
“I'm Elijah,” the blue-eyed young man said brightly, extending his hand to the attractive blonde man. “But my friends all call me Lij.”
“Pleased to meet you, Lij,” Sean said with a winning smile as he took the young man's hand in his shaking it gently and releasing it reluctantly.
“Okay, we know each other now, let's go,” Elijah said happily. He had complete faith that the two men couldn't be axe murderers, because they obviously didn't have axes stuck in their jacket pockets. And if they were going to suggest a way for him and Orlando to get out of the mess they were in, he was more than eager to hear it.
The four men made their way around the corner and down the street to the shoddy building that housed the destitute flat Orlando and Elijah called home. Orlando chewed on his lip nervously, worried about what these two men were going to demand in exchange for solving their rent problem. He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and hunched into the collar of his coat trying to escape the biting wind that swirled around him and made his eyes water.
“We aren't going to hurt you, Orlando,” Viggo said quietly, feeling the anxiety rolling off the younger man walking beside him. “I promise we'll just present our suggestion, and if you're not interested, we'll leave, okay?”
“Okay,” Orlando said just as quietly, not completely convinced, but unable to find any other way to get rid of the two men when Elijah seemed determined to drag them home. The only thing that was keeping him from running down the street as fast as he could to get away was that it was the middle of the day. Murderers usually didn't walk around in broad daylight with their victims, did they? That and the fact that he had absolutely no place else to go. If they really wanted to kill him, they'd just have to wait around until he came back. The point was moot anyhow, because they'd reached their building, and the security door was propped open yet again, offering absolutely no security whatsoever.
Oh well, the slender young man resolved philosophically, if the older men made it up ten flights of stairs, they'd probably need a chance to catch their breath before they killed them anyway, and it was a lot quicker to run down the stairs, so he and Lij could probably escape, if they got enough of a head start.
“Bloody hell!” Sean exclaimed, pausing to strip off his suit jacket when they were halfway up the stairs. “How many more flights of stairs are there in this sodding building?”
“Only five more,” Elijah said encouragingly as he waited on the landing for the blonde man to join him before starting up the next flight.
“Hold on, bright eyes,” Sean protested, reaching out to grab the young man's arm when Elijah would have started up the next set of stairs. “Give an old guy a chance to catch his breath.”
“You're not old!” Elijah protested, smiling at the blonde man. He felt a definite attraction to the older man and hoped whatever solution Sean and Viggo had for them would involve him spending more time with the blonde.
Viggo chuckled quietly as he passed his panting friend and continued the upward journey, “You need to get out of the pub and get more exercise, Sean.”
“Yeah, yeah, heard it all before,” Sean said, waving his hand in mock disgust. “I don't plan on climbing endless flights of stairs again, and I'm fit enough for everything else.”
Orlando remained silent as he followed the sandy-haired man up the stairs. It seemed as though Viggo was able to cope with the stairs just fine, so there went that avenue of escape. The young man sighed and prayed that Viggo would keep his word to not hurt him.
Reaching the top of the final flight of stairs, Viggo looked at the two doors on opposite sides of the landing. Neither one gave any indication as to which was his goal.
Orlando opened the door to the flat, resigned to inviting the two strangers into his home.
Viggo followed the slender young man into the flat, carefully schooling his expression to reveal none of his dismay for the shabby condition of the furnishings and the flat in general.
“Nice place,” Sean said dryly when he entered the flat with Elijah trailing behind him.
“It sucks,” Lij admitted. “But it was all we could get.”
“Two bedrooms?” Sean asked with an arched eyebrow.
“Only one,” the diminutive young man admitted ruefully. “But we have separate beds!”
“Relax, bright eyes,” Sean chuckled. “I wasn't checking up on you, just counting doors.”
“Oh.” Elijah blushed. “The other door leads to a closet.”
“Come and sit down, Orlando,” Viggo encouraged. “I won't bite.”
Reluctantly, the curly-haired young man sat gingerly on the rickety couch. He hoped the couch wouldn't collapse under the combined weight of himself and the older man. He flinched slightly when Viggo rested his arm along the back of the couch, the tips of his fingers just grazing Orlando's shoulder, seemingly accidentally.
Sean seated himself in the shabby armchair, smiling when Lij settled himself on the arm of the chair instead of bringing a chair in from the little kitchenette.
“Now that we're all settled, and you have both admitted your desire to have someone take care of you, Sean and I would like to present our offer to you,” Viggo began. He spoke low and soothingly, aware of how nervous Orlando was about them being in the flat.
“What we propose,” Sean took up where Viggo left off. “Is to give you what you want. We're willing to take care of you. You won't have to worry about bills, or groceries, or dealing with the landlord when you break the lease for this place. We'll look after all of that.”
“Awesome!” Lij crowed.
“What do you want in return?” Orlando asked suspiciously, studiously avoiding looking at the handsome man seated next to him.
“In return, you will come and live with me,” Viggo said casually. “Elijah will live with Sean... and you will accompany us to the various functions we have to attend.” The older man allowed his fingers to play with Orlando's curls, wanting to taste the young man's lips and see if they were as sweet as they looked.
“Will we still be able to see each other?” Elijah asked hopefully.
“Of course,” Sean smiled at the young man sitting on the arm of his chair. “Viggo and I are friends. We get together quite often. You'll see a lot of each other.” The blonde slid his arm around Elijah's waist and tugged gently so the young man tumbled into his lap with a giggle.
Viggo shifted closer to Orlando, cradling the back of the younger man's head in his hand as he moved until his breath was caressing the sweet pink of Orlando's mouth.
Orlando froze as Viggo moved closer, trapping him so that he couldn't turn his head away as the older man got so close that he could feel his breath on his lips. He swallowed nervously, willing his unresponsive limbs to get up... escape... don't stay there and let the other man do... whatever he was going to do! He whimpered softly at the first touch of Viggo's lips on his. No! Oh no! He didn't want this... he didn't!
Viggo kept the kiss soft and gentle at first, his tongue lightly stroking the seam of Orlando's mouth, asking for entrance. When Orlando whimpered, his lips parted slightly, giving Viggo the opportunity he sought and the older man wasted no time in delving into the sweet heat of the young man's mouth. He probed and tasted every part of Orlando's mouth, twining his tongue with Orlando's, enticing the young man to respond.
Orlando moaned softly at the assault on his mouth. His eyes fluttered closed and his hands came up to rest on Viggo's chest. Denying the way his body tingled at the sensation of having the older man's tongue in his mouth, Orlando sought to escape from the older man's amorous attentions. Mustering all the willpower he could, he pushed desperately against the older man, tearing his mouth away and falling to his hands and knees on the floor when Viggo released him.
“NO!” Orlando gasped, his body shaking with the intensity of the first kiss he'd ever received from a man. “No! Don't... don't... I don't...”
Viggo sat back on the couch, an expression of displeasure marring his face. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. “So you lied when you said you wanted someone to take care of you, is that it?” He queried the trembling young man sternly. He had felt the brief moment when the young man had responded and he was not willing to allow such sweetness to elude him.
“I don't... I didn't...” Orlando struggled to express himself when all he wanted to do was curl into a ball and cry.
“You need to make up your mind what you want, Orlando,” Viggo said firmly, rising to his feet, hoping to goad the young man into accepting the offer. “Sean, I don't think this is going to work.”
“Damn,” Sean sighed with regret as he reluctantly released Lij's lips. “Sorry, bright eyes.” He lifted Elijah off his lap and stood up.
“Wait!” Elijah said, grabbing on to Sean's arm when the blonde would have headed towards the door. “What's going on? Why are you leaving? You said you'd take care of me!”
“I know,” Sean said softly, bringing his hand up to caress the sweet young man's face. “And I wish that I could, but it's both or nothing, bright eyes. If your friend won't accept Viggo, I can't have you either.”
“He will!” Elijah protested. “Won't you, Orli. You'll accept Viggo's offer, won't you?”
Orlando shook his head mutely, not looking at his friend, not wanting to see the disappointment in Lij's eyes. He pulled his knees to his chest and curled in on himself, hiding his face from the three men who were looking at him with varying expressions on their faces.
“Wait!” Elijah begged desperately. “He'll change his mind. Don't go. Please don't go!”
Viggo looked at Elijah and then at Orlando. Making his decision, he turned back to Elijah and spoke firmly, “You have tonight to convince him, Elijah. If you manage to change his mind again, and he won't change it back the moment he sees me, you are to ring this number.” He handed the desperate young man a card with a phone number on it. “Ring before 8 am and have one suitcase packed and ready for each of you. Just say that you are ready to be picked up and you will receive further instructions. If you ring at 8:01, no one will answer, so if you are going to ring, make sure you do so before 8.”
“I will,” Elijah said with determination, gripping the card tightly in his hand. He was not going to allow Orlando's nerves to ruin the best thing that had ever happened to either of them.
“Good luck,” Sean whispered as he leaned in for one last, quick kiss before following Viggo out the door.
TBC
no subject
Date: 2007-04-13 02:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-13 02:24 am (UTC)Me too! :D
entry
Date: 2007-04-13 06:20 am (UTC)Let fb on MM great start I assume more next thursday? How about one Sat? Its my BD? HMMM???
Re: entry
Date: 2007-04-13 06:54 am (UTC)I'm afraid I won't be able to post any extra chapters, hon. This story is only ten chapters long and I'm really going to need the time to get the next story done in time. I'm very glad that you like it though. (And Happy Birthday for Saturday! I'm notoriously bad for remembering stuff like that, so I'll say it now so I don't forget!)
no subject
Date: 2007-04-14 12:07 am (UTC)Hee, no kissing between Sean and Orli... sorry, he belongs to Vig. *wink*
Glad you enjoyed the first chapter!
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Date: 2007-04-13 09:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-14 12:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-14 01:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-14 01:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-12 04:56 am (UTC)