vigorli

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

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 4

Orlando snuggled further under the covers, reluctant to leave the warm nest for the chilly air of the bedroom. He sighed with contentment as he drowsed in bed, his thoughts going back to the previous evening.

He and Viggo had spent the evening learning about each other. Viggo now knew that Orlando was terrified of heights, and had been ever since he'd fallen three stories and broken his back. He also knew that sometimes Orlando's back bothered him and if he couldn't find someone to rub it for him, it took days, and a lot of painkillers to get past the pain.

Orlando had learned that Viggo hated snakes, with an almost psychopathic intensity. The young man had been unable to hold back his giggles as Viggo told the story of his reaction to finding a snake in the garden shed one day, and the gardener's response when he'd bashed the snake with a shovel, hoe, and anything else he could get his hands on, until the poor reptile was one with the dirt.

Orlando had also learned that while Viggo said he didn't have an artistic bone in his body, he did have a great appreciation for a wide variety of art. The young man had confessed his desire to explore his love of sculpting that he had discovered in school and they had spent almost an hour discussing what the ideal sculptor's studio would have in it. It had been nice to have someone who actually listened to his dreams, and didn't laugh at him or tell him he had no chance of ever achieving them.

With a reluctant sigh, the young man threw the blankets back, shivering slightly as he left the warm cocoon of the bed. He had been very nervous when Viggo had told him that they would be sharing a bed. The older man had promised they would just sleep, until Orlando felt comfortable with doing more, but that they had to begin as they meant to go on.

It had taken a bit of time for Orlando to get used to actually being in the same bed as another man. He'd woken several times in the night, one time, to his embarrassment, he'd woken to find himself cuddled up against the warmth of Viggo's side. After that, he'd hardly dared to allow himself to even doze, afraid of what he might do in his sleep. He must have fallen asleep again though, because when he'd awakened, the clock read 10 am, and he'd never even heard Viggo get up or get dressed.

After a quick, hot shower in the ensuite, Orlando pulled on his warmest clothing and made his way down the stairs, hoping it wouldn't be too difficult to find the kitchen and see if he could beg a cup of tea from Mrs Bennett.

The young man still wasn't sure what his position was in Viggo's house, and he didn't want to put anyone out with his presence there.

“Good morning, Orlando,” Mrs Bennett said as she entered the front hall to see the young man slowly descending the stairs. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, thank you,” Orlando said softly, feeling his cheeks heat with embarrassment, knowing that everyone knew exactly where he'd slept if not what had happened.

“If you go to the breakfast room, Jill will bring your breakfast to you.”

“I don't want to be any trouble,” Orlando said nervously as he reached the bottom of the stairs. “Just a cup of tea would be fine.”

“Nonsense,” the housekeeper said briskly. “You're a young man, and from the looks of you, you've missed far too many meals already. We'll hear no more of that. Off you go to have a proper breakfast, now.”

Resigning himself to doing the housekeeper's bidding, Orlando nodded his agreement and made his way to the sun-filled room. He stood at the French doors, looking out over the garden until a young girl entered the room with a tray.

She was a pretty girl, with blonde hair and blue eyes, slim and petite. Just the way Orlando liked his girlfriends. The young man sighed ruefully as he realized his days of having girlfriends were over, as long as he remained in Viggo's home.

The young woman quickly unloaded the tray of food, stealing surreptitious glances at the attractive young man. She knew the young man was Mr Mortensen's partner, but she couldn't help but wonder just what it would feel like to have his arms around her, to feel his lips on hers. Jill sighed softly with regret, it seemed as though all the handsome men were gay.

*****

With breakfast done, Orlando was at a bit of a loose end as to what he should do with his day. In all their talking last night, they'd not once discussed what Orlando should be doing while Viggo was at work. The bright sunny day beyond the windows beckoned to him and he wondered if he was allowed to go out for a walk. Deciding that he should just ask instead of wondering, Orlando went in search of Mrs Bennett, finding her in the front hallway, discussing a trip to the supermarket with the intimidating man who'd collected him from the flat the day before.

“Orlando, there you are,” Mrs Bennett said briskly as she turned to observe the young man enter the foyer. “Lawrence is going to drop me at the grocery store, and then he'll take you to the doctor's.”

“Th-the doctor?” the young man asked nervously. “But, I don't feel ill.”

“Mr Mortensen wants you to have a thorough checkup,” the housekeeper replied. “I'm sure it won't take long and then Lawrence will take you shopping to get some more presentable clothes.”

“Oh,” Orlando said softly in surprise and some embarrassment. “I... um... These clothes are fine, aren't they?” He didn't want to admit that he didn't have any money for shopping, and most likely wouldn't unless and until he somehow managed to find another job.

“If you happen to be working in the garden,” Mrs Bennett said deprecatingly. “Don't worry, Mr Mortensen left instructions for you to be taken to several stores where he has accounts. Now just put your coat on while Lawrence brings the car around,” the housekeeper said briskly, handing the young man his shabby coat. “I have quite a lot to do today and I don't want to waste time waiting for you to get ready to go.”

“Yes ma'am,” Orlando said meekly, quickly pulling his coat on and wishing he had a scarf to wrap around his neck.

Examining the threadbare condition of Orlando's coat, Mrs Bennett turned back to the hall closet, rummaging around inside until she emerged triumphant with a green scarf. “I knew this was in there! Mr Mortensen never uses this. Here, wrap it around your neck, it won't do if you come down with a nasty flu due to the cold weather.”

“Thank you,” Orlando said gratefully as he accepted the scarf and wound it around his neck.

Satisfied that Orlando would be as warm as possible until he got new clothes, Mrs Bennett opened the front door and led the way down the stairs to the waiting Audi.

******
Leaning back against the heated leather seat with an exhausted sigh, Orlando closed his eyes. He'd never thought shopping could be so tiring! Lawrence had taken him to the doctor first off and left him alone there. He'd been poked and prodded in more places than he'd thought possible and had what he thought was vast quantities of his blood taken for tests. He'd been sitting numbly in a chair in the waiting room when Lawrence had returned to collect him, they had then spent the rest of the day obtaining an extensive wardrobe for Orlando.

A small smile curved his lips as the young man thought about the suits that were being tailored for him. Even his father had never had a tailored suit! His hand stroked the pink cashmere scarf he had wrapped around his neck and Orlando sighed with contentment at the knowledge that he would be warm for the rest of the winter, regardless of how cold it got.

His old clothes had been unceremoniously bundled into a large bag by the clerk who had assisted him in the first store they visited and then the bag had been dumped into the boot of the car. Orlando was positive that Lawrence would tip the bag into the rubbish bin when they were unloading all the boxes and bags from the shopping expedition. He wasn't sure if he was happy or sad about that.

If things didn't work out with Viggo, would he be expected to leave with what he came with? If that was the case, perhaps he'd better make sure Lawrence didn't throw the bag of old clothes out. But at the same time, he didn't really care if he never saw the coat he'd been wearing for the past three years ever again. It was a dilemma that had the young man pensively nibbling on his lip as the car pulled up in front of Viggo's house.

*******

A bemused smile spread over Viggo's face as he entered the bedroom and saw the sea of boxes, bags, and tissue paper with Orlando standing in the middle of the room, turning in a slow circle.

When Orlando was facing the bedroom door once more, he saw Viggo standing in the doorway with a smile on his face. The young man flushed scarlet at the obvious display of how much money he'd spent that day.

“I'm sorry,” Orlando said timidly. “I didn't mean to get so much...”

“It's fine, Orlando,” Viggo said with a chuckle. “Did you have fun?”

“Yes... mostly. I got kind of tired towards the end... oh wait! I got something for you!” Casting through the bags and tissue paper, the young man emerged with a triumphant grin, holding a small bag, which he presented to Viggo.

Removing a black on black patterned scarf from the bag, Viggo stroked the extremely soft material. “It's very soft.”

“It's Vicuña wool,” Orlando said shyly. “I probably shouldn't have gotten it, because it was really expensive, but I wanted to get something nice for you... but it was stupid, because I was spending your money... I'm sorry.” The young man hung his head in embarrassment. He should have thought about the fact that it was Viggo's money he was spending before he bought such an expensive scarf.

“Don't be sorry,” Viggo replied. “It was very thoughtful of you to get this for me, Orlando. I'll think of you every time I wear it. Thank you.” The older man pulled the blushing youth into his arms and lifted his chin to look into the sienna gaze for a moment before leaning in to press a tender kiss to Orlando's trembling lips.

Orlando stiffened for a moment before forcing himself to relax into the embrace.

Viggo released the slender body reluctantly with a heavy sigh. He had hoped that Orlando would at least accept his kiss without stiffening.

“I'm sorry,” Orlando said miserably. “I'm trying, really.”

“I know,” Viggo replied. “I had hoped that you'd be comfortable enough for me to hold you now, but I understand that I'm asking you to make a rather drastic change in your life. But I do need you to be comfortable enough with my touch that you don't stiffen whenever I touch you, Orlando.”

The older man took Orlando's hand and led him over to sit on the bed as he continued seriously, “There will be dancing at the charity ball on Saturday, Orlando. I can't have you stiffening on me whenever I take your hand to dance.”

“I'm sorry,” Orlando whispered. “I just... I wasn't expecting it. I'll do better, I promise.”

“I can't warn you whenever I'm going to touch you, Orlando,” Viggo said somberly. “We're going to have to do something to get you used to my touching you.”

“Okay,” the nervous young man said in a very small voice. He didn't know what Viggo had in mind, but he was sure it was going to make him really uncomfortable before it made him comfortable.

“To start off with,” Viggo began as he pulled the slender body against him. “When we sit together, I want you to sit close enough to touch me.” He slid his arm around Orlando's waist, pulling him against his body.

Orlando stiffened once more as he felt the older man's body against his own. He held his body very awkwardly, trying to keep as much distance between them as possible without appearing to.

The determined businessman held the trembling body against him for a long moment before he released him and stood up. “Now, how about if we clean up all this chaos before dinner?”

Quickly jumping to his feet, Orlando hurried to begin picking up the mess that was strewn around the bedroom. Most of the new clothes had been put away in the walk-in closet Viggo had told him was for his exclusive use, so all he really had to do was clean up the boxes, bags, and tissue paper.

Viggo shook his head in amusement as he watched Orlando scurry around collecting papers and bags. He grabbed the largest bag and held it open for the young man to stuff the tissue paper into, and then they piled the remaining mess of boxes and bags as neatly as possible against the wall.

“That'll do,” Viggo said at last as he straightened up from placing the last box on the pile. “Lawrence will come and collect all that later.”

“I could take them to the rubbish bin,” Orlando began hesitantly.

“No,” Viggo replied firmly, holding out his hand for the younger man to take. “Now we're going to go down and have dinner together.”

Swallowing nervously, Orlando steeled himself and put his hand into Viggo's, allowing the businessman to lead him from the room.

*****

Gesturing for Orlando to precede him into the study after dinner, Viggo crossed to the bar that was hidden by a row of false books. He pressed the button on the underside of the lowest shelf to reveal the fully stocked bar. He mixed a drink for himself and poured a glass of red wine for Orlando. When he'd discovered the young man enjoyed wine when he could afford it, he'd arranged to always have a bottle on hand for him.

Orlando fidgeted nervously as he walked towards the sofa positioned in front of the cheerfully burning fire. He was quite sure Viggo would not accept him choosing to sit on the armchair. Biting his lip, he sat on the very edge of the couch seat, looking as though he would bolt at a moment's notice. He startled nervously when Viggo stood in front of him, holding out a glass of wine.

“Th-thank you,” the young man stammered, his hand trembling as he accepted the glass. He was grateful Viggo hadn't filled it so full that it would spill with the way his hand shook.

“Relax, Orlando,” Viggo said with mild amusement as he sat back on the couch and lifted his arm invitingly, expecting Orlando to slip under it.

Swallowing hard, the young man moved back gingerly until he was resting within the circle of Viggo's arm. He shivered slightly with trepidation, afraid the older man was going to want to kiss him again.

Imperceptibly tightening his hold on Orlando's shoulders, Viggo crossed his feet out in front of him, feeling the heat of the fire through the soles of his shoes and took a sip of his drink. He planned to spend the evening with Orlando in his arms, figuring it could only help the young man to become accustomed to his touch so that he accepted it without flinching.

The two men remained silent as they sipped their drinks. Orlando tried desperately to get his body to relax without squirming in Viggo's embrace.

Unable to bear the young man's fidgets in silence anymore, Viggo finally spoke. “Just what do you think has changed since last night, Orlando?”

The young man jumped nervously as the quiet of the study was broken. “I... umm,” he began softly, his voice trembling. “All... all the clothes I got today... that's... ummm... you'd have a right...”

“Do you think I'm going to demand sex from you for clothing you?”

Orlando nodded miserably, that was what he'd been worrying about since he'd returned home and realized just how much money he'd spent. It had been so easy to lose track when the bags and boxes were spirited away to the car as he left each shop.

“Look at me, Orlando,” Viggo said sternly, waiting until the young man lifted his gaze to continue. “I said we would take it slow, and I meant that. As my partner, you cannot go around in the clothing you previously wore. Most of it has seen better days and to have you accompany me dressed in those clothes would garner attention you would not want, trust me.”

“I'm sorry,” Orlando whispered, his voice little more than a thread of sound as he shrank in on himself, feeling stupid and ungrateful.

“All I'm asking is for you to trust me,” the older man continued. “Do you think that you can do that, Orlando?”

The young man nodded, his eyes bright with tears. He would have apologized again, but couldn't force the words out past the lump in his throat. Viggo had been kind to him, and all he'd done was spend his money and expect the worst from him.

Taking Orlando's half empty wine glass from him, Viggo placed both their glasses on the end table beside the sofa before wrapping his arms around the slender body in a comforting embrace. “Don't cry, Orlando. It's okay, we're both finding our way here. We'll get there.”

Curling his hands into his chest, Orlando buried his face against Viggo's collar, allowing the older man's embrace to comfort him as his tears soaked into the fine cotton of his shirt.

“Shhh, it's okay,” Viggo murmured as he gently rocked the weeping young man. He knew he was asking a lot of Orlando, but he desperately needed the young man to be comfortable with his touch by Saturday. There would be unwelcome questions from his associates if his supposed partner flinched or jumped every time he touched him.

Finally regaining control of his emotions, Orlando pressed his hands against Viggo's chest, relieved when the businessman immediately released him. Wiping the tears from his face with the back of his hand, the young man sniffled and kept his head bowed as he spoke. “I'm sorry I'm so stupid.”

“Hey,” Viggo said softly, cupping the quivering chin to lift Orlando's face to look him in the eye. “You're not stupid, and don't you let anyone tell you that you are. Our conversation last night proved to me just how smart you are.”

“I don't feel very smart,” Orlando said miserably, completely unaware of just how adorable he looked with his lashes clumping with his tears and his lips still quivering with his distress.

“I'm expecting a lot from you within a very short amount of time,” Viggo admitted. “We're bound to have a few missteps along the way, but I promise I won't hurt you, and I won't force you to have sex with me until you want to, okay?”

“Okay,” Orlando agreed in a small voice, the idea that Viggo could seduce him into wanting sex was a new one and now that it was planted, he knew he'd be thinking more about it.

“Now, how about if we sit back here and just enjoy the fire for a little while before we retire.” Viggo very carefully did not mention the word bed, not wanting Orlando to have another meltdown.

Not trusting himself to speak again, the young man nodded and allowed himself be pulled back into Viggo's embrace. He sighed softly as he let his head droop against the broad shoulder. He felt like such a complete and utter fuck-up. He watched the flickering flames in the fireplace, his eyes growing heavier as his busy day and the emotional roller coaster he'd been on since Viggo returned home caught up with him. Orlando's eyelashes fluttered as he struggled to remain awake, not wanting to ask to go to bed.

Viggo smiled as he watched Orlando lose his fight against sleep and his eyes finally stayed closed, the slender body sagging against him as the young man relaxed in sleep. Unaware as yet that Orlando would sleep through everything with the possible exception of a nuclear blast, Viggo held himself back from brushing a kiss against the young man's tousled curls like he wanted to. He was well aware that Orlando was working his way into his heart and he hoped desperately that the young man would one day accept him in all ways.

TBC