vigorli

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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 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.
A/N2: Special thanks to

mesnica for the awesome banner!

Chapter 3

“Orlando! Wake up!” Elijah's frantic voice woke Orlando from a sound sleep and the curly-haired young man rolled over with a groan when the shorter man shook his shoulder impatiently. “We overslept! It's seven o'clock! Come on! We have to get up, NOW!”

“Alright,” Orlando said groggily as he sat up in bed. He blinked sleepily at his agitated flatmate.

“Come on, dude, get up and get dressed, please!” Elijah begged. “It's going to take extra time to get the suitcases downstairs and the phone box is down the street!”

“I'm up, I'm up,” Orlando said with resignation, flinging the bed covers back and wincing as his bare feet hit the cold floor. “I'll have a quick shower.”

“Fuck the shower! There's no time! If we're late calling, we're bloody well screwed!”

“Fine!” Orlando grumped. “I'll go dirty and smelly. That ought to make a real good impression!”

Elijah danced from foot to foot impatiently while he waited for his flatmate to dress. He sighed with relief when Orlando was finally dressed and grabbed his arm, tugging him out to the door of the flat where their suitcases waited.

They had spent the previous afternoon and a good portion of the night going through all their belongings, deciding what they absolutely had to keep. They'd finally fallen into bed at 2 am, fully intending to be up at six so they could take their time to shower and dress properly before making their way downstairs and to the phone box on the corner.

But Elijah had forgotten to set his alarm (again) and they'd overslept. The blue-eyed young man had woken with a start at 6:55 and scrambled into his clothes in a panic, shouting at Orlando to wake up all the while. But Orlando was a heavy sleeper and very difficult to wake up, which was why he'd been late to work so often, resulting in his being sacked. He hadn't stirred until Elijah had grabbed his shoulder and shook it hard. And he was still groggy with lack of sleep, allowing his energetic friend to push him to do what they'd agreed on.

When the two young men finally made it to the ground floor, Elijah handed his suitcase to Orlando and said, “You get the suitcases outside. I'm going to run down to the phone box and ring Viggo. We'll never make it if we both go.”

“Okay,” Orlando agreed sleepily. He watched Elijah pelt down the street before sighing and beginning the arduous task of transporting the heavy suitcases out to the edge of the property. Vaguely he hoped the landlord didn't choose to look out the window at that moment and see them doing an apparent runner.

Elijah dialed the phone number with trembling fingers. “Come on. Come on. Don't be too late. Please don't be too late,” he pleaded softly as he listened to the phone ringing in his ear.

“Hello,” the young man gasped with relief when the telephone was answered. “It's, it's Elijah... we're... we're ready to be picked up.”

“I'm sorry, I would have called sooner, but we don't have a phone in the flat. Yes... Yes, we're both downstairs. No, he's waiting in front of the building with the suitcases.” The dark head bobbed as Elijah listened to the brief instructions he was given. “Okay,” he said finally. “We'll be waiting. Thank you. Bye.”

The young man jogged back down the street to where his best friend was sitting on one of their suitcases, somehow managing to look sleepy, lost and very nervous all at the same time.

“We made it!” Elijah grinned happily, his breath frosting the air as he stopped beside Orlando. “7:55 when I rang! That was way too close. I apologized and said we would have rung earlier but we had to use the phone box.”

“So what do we do now?” Orlando asked nervously, wrapping his coat tighter around his slender frame.

“Now we wait,” Elijah said as he plopped down on his suitcase. “A car will come by and pick us up here. We just have to wait for it.”

Just then an Audi A8 pulled to the curb in front of the two young men. A large, dark-skinned man emerged and walked up to them. “Orlando?” He queried, looking between the two young men.

Orlando raised his hand hesitantly. This wasn't Viggo.

“Which bag is yours?”

“This one,” Orlando said nervously, getting up from the rather battered brown case he'd been sitting on beside the footpath.

The big man picked up the suitcase as though it were empty and then turned to open the back door of the car, standing expectantly, waiting for Orlando to enter the vehicle.

“Uhh,” Orlando began nervously. “I was... was... um...”

“Viggo sent me to collect you,” the intimidating man unbent enough to say in reassurance.

“Oh, okay,” the nervous young man said in a small voice. “Lij?” He turned to look at his friend.

“Just you,” Viggo's driver said firmly.

“Go on, Orli,” Lij encouraged. “It'll be fine. I'm sure my ride will be here real soon.” As he spoke, a BMW 650 coupe pulled to the curb behind the Audi.

“There, see. That's my ride,” Elijah said brightly. “Go on now.” He hugged the taller man. “I'll ring you, okay?”

Orlando nodded nervously, hugging his friend tightly before reluctantly releasing him and turning towards the Audi and the man waiting patiently. He climbed inside, jumping slightly when the door was shut, and fumbled with his seatbelt. He couldn't stop himself from running his hand over the butter-soft grey leather of the seat. He'd never been in such an expensive car before.

Turning to look out the rear window, Orlando watched Elijah enter the BMW and then turned back to the front, wondering how long it would take to get to Viggo's house and hoping he didn't lose his nerve before he got there. He sank down into the seat when he realized that it was heated, sending much needed warmth through his chilled body.

In the end, it took close to half an hour, the longest half hour of Orlando's life, for the Audi to travel from Earl's Court through London to Stanmore. When they arrived at the posh looking home, Orlando was a bundle of nerves and could scarcely make his legs work to alight from the car when the door was opened for him. He walked on trembling legs to the front door, which opened before he could knock to reveal a stern looking middle-aged woman.

“Come in, Orlando,” she said courteously. “Mr Mortensen informed me to expect you. Have you eaten breakfast?”

“N-no,” Orlando stammered nervously. “I... We...” He didn't know how to explain to the formidable woman that even if he'd had the chance to have breakfast, they'd had no food in the flat.

“I didn't think so,” the housekeeper said with a click of her tongue. “I declare you young people think you can live on air. Well? Don't just stand there. Come in, come in. You can't wait on the doorstep until Mr Mortensen returns.”

“He-he's not here?” Orlando asked in dismay. He'd wanted to confront Viggo immediately and explain his trepidation, before he lost his nerve. The frightened young man allowed the housekeeper to herd him towards what he assumed would be the kitchen.

“No, of course he's not here,” Mrs Bennett said, as if Orlando should already know that Viggo wouldn't be there. “Now, you sit here.” She pushed the confused young man into a chair in what was very obviously not the kitchen. “Relax, Orlando, no one is going to bite you. I'll be back in a moment with some breakfast for you.”

Left on his own, Orlando looked around the sun-filled room he found himself in. It was the same size as the lounge room and kitchen of the flat combined, but as far removed from what Orlando had left behind as... well, he didn't think it would be out of place in Buckingham Palace.

The walls were sandy beige and one entire wall was taken up by multiple French doors, which could be opened to allow the fresh air in when the weather was warmer, looking out over a beautifully landscaped garden. Thick drapes in a deep russet were pulled back to allow the sunlight to warm the room. The furniture was polished cherry wood and there were several oriental rugs on the gleaming hardwood floor.

The chair he had been pushed into was next to a round table which could have seated six without difficulty. Orlando swallowed hard as he realized that he was well and truly out of his depth. What on earth could Viggo... Mr Mortensen want from him that he couldn't get anywhere else? The young man was just debating how long it would take him to walk back to the flat when Mrs Bennett returned to the room, a tray of food in her hands.

“Here we are,” the housekeeper said briskly. “Now you mind you eat every scrap of this. A slip of a thing like you, there's no meat on you. You'd blow away in a strong wind.”

“T-thank you,” Orlando said meekly as he watched the intimidating woman unload the tray onto the table in front of him. A plate of toast was quickly augmented by a bowl of steaming oatmeal, a plate of eggs and bacon, a pot of tea, and a dish of fresh fruit. “When... when will Viggo... I mean Mr M-Mortensen...”

“Mr Mortensen will be home as soon as his meeting is finished,” Mrs Bennett said not unkindly. “He wanted to be here when you arrived, but he couldn't cancel his meeting. Now you take your time, and eat. When you've finished, I'll show you where you can freshen up.”

“Thank you,” Orlando smiled nervously and lowered his gaze to his breakfast to hide his embarrassment. He didn't know what Viggo had told Mrs Bennett about him, and he was too mortified to ask. He found himself wishing desperately that the older man would come back before he'd finished the enormous breakfast, if he ever managed to finish it! There was more food in front of him than he was used to having for a whole day, never mind just one meal.

Mrs Bennett smiled to herself as she left the beautiful young man to his breakfast. Mr Mortensen was right, the lad was incredibly nervous and shy, but she was sure that he was just what her employer needed to make him slow down a bit before he worked himself to death.

When Orlando finally put down his knife and fork he was surprised to find he'd eaten everything Mrs Bennett had placed in front of him. Obviously his stomach had decided to take advantage of the first decent food it had received in weeks. You could only eat instant noodles for so long before the very thought of them made you feel ill.

The housekeeper smiled with satisfaction when she returned to the breakfast room and found Orlando sitting, staring at the empty dishes as though wondering how they'd become empty.

“If you will come with me, I'll show you were you can freshen up,” Mrs Bennett said, her normally stern expression softening slightly when she saw the young man jump slightly at her words. She didn't know what was making him so nervy, but she would make sure that Mr Mortensen was aware that the boy seemed to be terrified of everything.

Orlando jumped slightly at Mrs Bennett's words. He hadn't heard her come into the room, lost as he was in trying to work out how to explain that he'd eaten enough for two people. Smiling nervously, he rose and accompanied the housekeeper up the stairs.

Freshly showered, Orlando was shown to a cosy room with a wall full of books and, after being told to make himself at home, left on his own. He wandered around the room, looking at the different pieces of art on the walls, running one hand over the satin smoothness of the dark wood of the desk as he walked in front of it. This room had to be a study, or den. He wondered if Viggo spent a lot of time in this room when he was at home.

Walking over to the wall of books, Orlando was soon lost in contemplation of the wide variety of titles of the books on display. There was everything from classics to the latest thriller, arranged in categories alongside books on everything from Ancient Egypt to the political history of England. Taking his courage in hand, Orlando finally selected a book on Renaissance art and retreated to the brown leather sofa that was arranged in front of a cheerfully burning gas fire. Curling up in a corner of the sofa, he began to read.

When Viggo returned home late that afternoon, he entered his study to find Orlando curled up on the sofa in front of the fire, fast asleep, with a large book on sculpture slowly sliding out of his lax grip. Moving quickly, the businessman retrieved the book before it could fall to the floor. He placed the book on the side table and then stood to admire the sleeping young man.

Orlando's cheeks were slightly flushed from a combination of sleep and the warmth of the fire burning cheerfully in the grate. Dark, lush lashes rested against the sculpted cheekbones and his lips were relaxed and slightly parted. One chestnut curl had fallen forward onto his smooth forehead and Viggo's fingers itched to smooth it back with the rest of the curls.

The older man felt a stirring deep inside him that he'd never felt before. He didn't know how Elijah had managed to convince Orlando to accept his offer, but he resolved to do whatever he could to make the nervous young man as comfortable as he could with the arrangement.

Orlando stirred slightly, his slowly waking mind realizing that he no longer held the expensive book he'd been reading and his eyes flew open in dismay, hoping the book had not been damaged when it fell to the floor. The young man gasped in surprise when he saw that he was no longer alone. Quickly he sat up, backing himself into the corner of the sofa and placing his feet on the floor while clasping his hands nervously in his lap. He looked up at the man watching him. “I'm... I'm sorry,” he said softly. “I didn't... I... Mrs Bennett...” The young man floundered, trying to find some way to explain how he came to be sitting on the sofa in Viggo's study reading one of his books, with his feet up on the furniture, without implicating the woman who had been briskly kind to him since his arrival.

“It's alright, Orlando,” Viggo said with a smile as he sat on the sofa with the nervous young man. “I asked Mrs Bennett to take care of you. I'm sorry I wasn't here to greet you when you arrived.”

“Th-that's okay,” the young man stammered. “I... I... uh... you have to work.... please, I need to talk to you before I lose my nerve.” The last words came out in a rush and Orlando huddled in on himself, afraid the older man was going to be angry with him.

Restraining his impulse to take the frightened young man in his arms and soothe all his fears away, Viggo was unable to refrain from placing a comforting hand on the tightly clasped hands that rested in Orlando's lap. “You don't have to be frightened, Orlando. Tell me what's bothering you, please.”

“I...” Orlando bit his lip, fighting against the misery that welled inside him. “I've never... never... I... I'm not gay!” He blurted out, then stared at the older man in horror at the words he'd been unable to contain.

“I figured that one out,” Viggo said with a sympathetic chuckled. “So why are you here, Orlando? You're not a stupid man. You know what I expect. If you're not gay, why have you agreed to accept my offer? By coming here, you do know that you have accepted what I have offered, and all that it entails?”

Orlando nodded mutely, his body trembling with fear at what he was about to say. “Lij... asked me to try,” he whispered miserably. “He... he said he... he... really liked S-Sean and... and w-would I please at least t-try. Th-then he-he k-kissed me...” the young man swallowed hard at the raised eyebrow this information earned him.

“Not... not, because...” Orlando hurried to explain. “Lij w-wanted me to... to try a k-kiss with... with a g-guy, when I knew it w-was coming. H-he thought if... if I knew it w-was c-coming, I w-would like it b-better.”

Viggo watched the young man intently as Orlando floundered with his explanation. When the words faded away to nothing, and the young man raised his sienna gaze to Viggo's face, the older man spoke, softly and calmly. “And did you like it better?”

Not trusting himself not to start crying, Orlando nodded slowly. He didn't know if he had the courage to ask Viggo to kiss him again, now that he knew what was expected.

Taking one trembling hand in his, Viggo drew Orlando along the couch towards him. “Come here,” he said huskily. When Orlando's trembling body was next to his, and he could feel the heat coming off the young man, Viggo lifted his free hand to cup Orlando's cheek. “I would like to kiss you, Orlando. Will you allow this?”

“Yes,” the faintly spoken word ghosted over the young man's lips. Orlando's eyes fluttered closed as Viggo bent his head and brushed his lips against the younger man's mouth. Orlando's hand rose to rest on the older man's chest as the pressure on his lips increased and he whimpered softly, surrendering to the kiss and Viggo as the older man's tongue teased over his lips for entrance.

His hand moving from Orlando's cheek to the back of his head, Viggo intensified the kiss, relieved at the first, tentative, sign of response from the young man. He tasted and explored the sweetness of Orlando's mouth, enjoying the soft sounds this elicited from the young man, and the way he moved closer to Viggo as their kiss intensified.

Orlando mewled softly as his mouth was tenderly explored and he felt Viggo's arm circling his waist, holding him closer. His body tingled with staccato bursts of desire and Orlando's trembling increased as he felt his cock pressing against the zipper of his jeans. That hadn't happened when Lij kissed him!

Reluctantly, Viggo drew back, releasing Orlando's lips with a last flick of his tongue. He stared into the young man's eyes, needing to see the young man's reaction, to know if this had any chance of working after all. He smiled as Orlando made no move to pull out of his embrace, his tongue flicking out to lick his lips as he returned Viggo's stare.

Panting slightly with the intensity of the kiss, Orlando stared into the intense gaze of the older man. His fingers trembled where they rested against the collar of Viggo's suit jacket. He was slightly embarrassed that the kiss had left him hard, and didn't know how to tell the older man that his kiss, now that Orlando knew to expect it, was far and above any kiss he'd ever received. For all Lij's boasting, he was an absolute amateur at kissing when compared to Viggo.

“And?”

The single word, spoken softly in a questioning tone, sent a shiver of lust over Orlando's body. His response was to lift his face slightly and press a timid kiss to Viggo's lips.

Viggo smiled when Orlando kissed him, running his fingers through the young man's dark, tousled curls. “Talk to me, Orlando,” he said encouragingly.

Orlando smiled tremulously. “Lij can't kiss for shit,” he whispered.

Unable to help himself, Viggo burst out laughing, tightening his grip on the slender body in his arms.

Orlando grinned, then ducked his head self-consciously. Going by his reaction to Viggo's kiss, maybe he was gay after all? But he was still terrified of doing anything else with the older man.

“I think we have something we can work with,” Viggo said with a grin. “I understand that you haven't done this before, so we'll take it slow, Orlando. I want you to tell me if something makes you uncomfortable, okay?”

His fingers playing nervously with the collar of Viggo's navy suit jacket, Orlando nodded, then looked up through his lashes at the older man. “There is one thing I don't understand,” he began softly.

“What is that?” Viggo asked encouragingly.

“Why?” Orlando queried. “I mean... why me... you have everything... a great job, a beautiful house... I bet you could get anyone you wanted... I just don't understand why you would want me.”

“I don't have everything, Orlando,” the older man replied. “Yes, I have a job I enjoy, and a beautiful home. But I don't have anyone to share this home with. My work has kept me far too busy to spend the time it would take to seek out someone to share my life with.”

“As my profile in the business community increases, I find myself in need of a partner to accompany me to various business and charity functions that I have to attend,” Viggo continued, feeling that to explain why he and Sean had approached Orlando and Lij would possibly help set the young man at ease and help him to understand the motivation behind the unorthodox proposal. “When Sean and I met at the restaurant where we overheard you and Elijah, it was to discuss how we were going to manage to find partners before the upcoming charity ball we have to attend as patrons.”

“Listening to the way your friends degraded you for the circumstances you found yourselves in, and then hearing both of you say that you wished someone would take care of you, gave Sean and I the same idea,” the handsome businessman said as he settled against the back of the sofa, drawing Orlando with him to rest against his side.

“It's not that easy to find a male partner who is willing to take the secondary role,” Viggo said cautiously, aware that he had to be careful how he proceeded. He didn't want to lose the ground he'd gained with the kiss. “When you and Elijah both admitted your desire to be taken care of, it was like having a gift dropped in our laps. I will admit, I do have a need to take care of my partner. That trait is what has ended the previous relationships I've had,” Viggo said with a sigh.

Orlando listened carefully to the older man's words, finding himself relaxing against Viggo's side as the business man continued to explain his offer to take care of Orlando.

“I think... I think that I might enjoy... that trait of yours,” Orlando admitted softly.

“I hope you will, because I'm sure that I'm going to enjoy taking care of you,” Viggo said, smiling fondly at the beautiful young man. He was feeling a surge of protectiveness already and determined that he would take things as slowly as the young man needed.

“What if... if I don't... if I can't do any more than just kiss?” Orlando asked timidly.

“Why don't we just wait and see what happens in that area?” Viggo said thoughtfully. “You enjoyed the kiss, you said...” he paused for Orlando's nod of agreement. “Then why don't we just wait and see if you enjoy the other stuff as well. I will try not to rush you, Orlando, but you're a very beautiful young man, and I'm very attracted to you. May I ask... do you feel any attraction towards me at all?”

Orlando blushed and bit his lip. He fastened his gaze on the mesmerizing flames in the fireplace as he admitted with a whisper, “I... I got... hard... when you kissed me.”

Putting his finger under the young man's chin, Viggo lifted the beautiful face up to look into the expressive, dark eyes. “Did you get hard when Elijah kissed you?”

“No,” Orlando's denial was almost inaudible. He closed his eyes in embarrassment, jumping slightly when he felt Viggo's lips brush his own once more.

“That's good,” Viggo said softly. “We'll take it slow, baby. I promise I won't hurt you.”

Orlando smiled hesitantly, willing to trust the older man to keep his word. Maybe this would work out after all?

TBC