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!

Orlando moved fretfully on the bed. His body was alternately burning up and freezing, and he desperately needed to do something, but in his fevered state, he couldn't remember what it was.

A cool hand was placed on his forehead and he struggled to open his eyes, wanting to know who was touching him.

“Just rest, Orlando, please,” Viggo said softly as he stroked Orlando's sweat-beaded forehead. “The doctor will be here soon, angel.”

“Please...” the young man moaned, his voice little more than a whisper. His throat hurt so badly and he needed to ask for water, but couldn't get the words to form a coherent sentence in his mind.

Viggo watched as Orlando parted his parched lips, slipping his tongue out to try and moisten them. Sliding his arm beneath the young man's shoulders, he lifted Orlando slightly and held a glass of water to his lips. “Try and drink for me, baby,” the businessman encouraged.

Eagerly opening his mouth for the cool water, Orlando managed to swallow some, although half the water slipped out of his mouth and slid down his neck to soak his t-shirt. “I'm sorry,” he cried, his voice broken and raspy.

“Shhh, it's okay, baby. It's okay,” Viggo soothed, placing the glass back on the bedside table so that he could stroke Orlando's curls.

Orlando clung to Viggo's shirt, his sobs cracking and breaking, the words he tried to speak no more than a bare whisper of sound. “I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean...”

“Just rest, baby. Let me take care of you,” Viggo said, his voice husky with unshed tears at the sight of the young man's suffering.

“Viggo,” the sick young man croaked, gripping feebly to the older man's shirt.

“I'm here, Orli. Try and rest, baby.”

“Please,” Orlando moaned, burying his face in Viggo's shirt. Gradually he relaxed and fell into slumber, soothed by the gentle hand stroking his hair.

Viggo laid the now sleeping young man back down on the bed and looked at his watch again. Where was the damn doctor? He should have been here hours ago!

A light tap at the bedroom door disturbed Viggo's contemplation of the sleeping boy in his bed. He looked up to see Mrs Bennett poke her head around the door.

“Dr Merritt is here, Mr Mortensen,” the housekeeper said, before withdrawing her head and allowing the doctor to enter the bedroom.

“Thank God!” Viggo said with relief as he stood up to greet the doctor. “Orlando's been sick since yesterday, and I just can't get his fever down.”

“Let's have a look,” the tall, grey-haired doctor said, adjusting his glasses slightly as he placed his medical bag on the bed.

Orlando whimpered and tried to move away from the cold sensation against his back, but no matter how he shifted, the cold feeling stayed in place, chilling him even further. “Cold,” he croaked.

“I'm sorry about that,” a strange voice said. “It always seems to be cold, no matter how I try to warm it up. Can you take a deep breath for me, Orlando?”

“Vig...”Orlando whimpered, reaching out to try and find his protector, ignoring the doctor's request.

“I'm here, baby. Just let the doctor examine you, Orli, then you can go back to sleep,” Viggo soothed, taking the young man's seeking hand in his.

“Deep breath for me, please Orlando,” Dr Merritt requested.

Still groggy, Orlando tried his best to do as he was asked, hoping the freezing implement would be taken away if he did what he was told. A spasm of coughing wracked his body as he tried to take the deep breaths the doctor wanted from him.

“Alright,” the doctor said, a frown on his face. “Roll him onto his back for me if you would, Viggo. Can you open your mouth for me, Orlando? I want to have a look at your throat.”

“Hurts,” Orlando whispered as he continued clinging to Viggo's hand. He'd never liked doctors, and it had gotten worse ever since he'd broken his back. To have a doctor here in his bedroom was one of his worst nightmares come true.

“I know it hurts, but if you let me look at it, we can get some medication for you to make it feel better.”

Reluctantly, Orlando opened his mouth and closed his eyes, not wanting to see the doctor peering at him so intently.

“Hmmm,” Dr Merritt said thoughtfully as he examined Orlando's throat. “Okay, I'm going to give you some antibiotics to take. You need to take them three times a day. I want you to drink plenty of fluids, and stay in bed. I'll come back to see how you're doing at the end of the week.”

“Thank you, Ed,” Viggo said gratefully as the doctor packed up his bag once more before handing Viggo the prescription. “I appreciate you coming here instead of making me take Orlando along to your surgery.”

“This boy is far too sick to go outside, Viggo,” Ed Merritt said somberly. “If you'd brought him to my surgery, I would have had him taken by ambulance to the hospital. As it is, I'm not entirely sure I shouldn't admit him anyhow.”

“No, please...” Orlando whimpered. He didn't want to go to hospital again.

“You do as you're told and let Viggo take care of you and we'll see if we can't avoid the hospital then, alright?” Dr Merritt said sympathetically, as he observed the young man's distress at the prospect of going to hospital. He didn't know why Orlando was so frightened of hospitals, but he'd do what he could to help the young man avoid being admitted.

Orlando nodded, clinging desperately to Viggo's hand as though fearing he'd be pulled away immediately and whisked off to the hospital.

*****

Entering the bedroom, Viggo crossed quietly to resume his seat in the chair beside the bed. Once he'd gotten Orlando to take one of his pills and settled him down to sleep again, the businessman had left the room to ring his office. He'd had his secretary reschedule his meetings for the week and informed her that he wouldn't be in for the rest of the week. He couldn't bear the thought of going to work, leaving Orlando alone while he was so ill. He needed to be there, in case Orlando wanted him for anything.

He was thrilled and encouraged when the young man had clung to him during the doctor's examination, but what had really given him hope was that Orlando had refused to let him go, even after the doctor had left. Viggo had only just managed to free his hand once Orlando fell asleep.

The sandy-haired man reached out his hand to stroke his beautiful boy's sweat-sodden hair, smiling when Orlando turned to nuzzle into the caress in his sleep. In such a short time, the sweet boy had crept into his heart. Viggo knew that if Orlando decided he just couldn't be in a relationship with him, it was going to devastate him and he would be lost.

“Please don't leave me, baby,” Viggo whispered. The sound barely loud enough for his own ears. “I need you.”

*****

Orlando awoke to a dark room. He was thirsty and he desperately needed a pee. Not thinking to call for help, the young man groggily tossed off the blankets and sat up. He swayed slightly as a wave of dizziness swept over him, then rose unsteadily to his feet. The young man stumbled across the room, clinging to whatever piece of furniture he could reach to hold him upright on his journey.

“What are you doing, baby?” Viggo asked softly as he rose from the cot he'd had Lawrence bring into the room and took Orlando's wavering body in his arms.

Sighing with relief, Orlando leaned into the strong embrace. He laid his head on Viggo's shoulder as he spoke, his voice raspy and cracked, “I need to pee.”

“Okay, let me help you to the bathroom,” the older man said, his voice laden with concern for the ill young man. “You should have called me to help you, baby.”

“Didn't want to be any trouble,” Orlando whispered, clinging to Viggo as he was guided on shaky legs into the bathroom.

“It's no trouble, Orli. Here we go. I think maybe you should sit down, baby. I don't want you to fall over.”

Nodding his agreement, the young man let Viggo assist him to sit on the toilet. He blinked blearily at the handsome older man when Viggo spoke again.

“I'll wait just outside, baby. Call me when you're done, okay?”

“'kay.”

With Orlando settled once more into bed after his excursion to the bathroom and a drink of water, Viggo would have returned to his narrow cot, but the young man would not relinquish his hold on the businessman's hand.

“Don't go, please?” Orlando begged in a hoarse croak.

“I'm just going to be over there, Orlando. You can call me if you need anything,” Viggo said tenderly.

The young man's eyes filled with tears as he thought that perhaps Viggo didn't want him anymore, now that he was sick. He just wanted Viggo to hold him again, to tell him everything would be alright and that he did still want him.

“I'm sorry,” the sick young man whispered, his voice thick with tears. “I didn't mean to get sick... I just...”

“Hey.” Viggo lifted Orlando's chin to look into the brown eyes glimmering with tears. “You don't have to be sorry, Orlando. I know you didn't mean to get sick. Do you want me to sit here with you until you fall asleep?”

“Please... hold me?” Orlando asked tentatively, afraid the older man would refuse.

Viggo looked at the young man in his bed for a long moment, then stood up. If he was going to hold Orlando, he was going to do it properly. “Scooch over,” he said calmly. When Orlando moved to give him more room, the older man slipped beneath the covers and took the trembling body in his arms. “Is this what you want, baby?”

“Yes,” Orlando said with a relieved sigh. He rested his head on Viggo's chest and wrapped his arm around the older man's waist. He turned his face into Viggo's t-shirt to muffle his cough and was relieved when the only response from Viggo was to kiss his hair.

“Sleep now, Orli. I'll be right here for you.”

*****

The early morning sunlight shone into the silent room, illuminating the two figures in the bed. Blue eyes opened to greet the new day and Viggo smiled contentedly at the realization that Orlando was still snuggled into his arms. He tightened his grip on the slender body slightly when the young man coughed in his sleep. Even though Orlando was still very ill, Viggo thought that he would be a very contented man if he could just spend the rest of his life holding Orlando in his arms. He wondered if the young man would be just as eager to be held when he wasn't sick.

A violent coughing fit wracked Orlando's body and he moaned softly before opening his eyes. He smiled when he realized that Viggo was still holding him. The young man rubbed his face on the older man's t-shirt and then made a small sound of dismay as he realized that in his sleep he'd gotten drool and snot all over Viggo's t-shirt.

“What's wrong, baby?” Viggo asked with concern. He'd been enjoying the way Orlando snuggled in against him.

Orlando lifted his head to look at the older man. “I'm sorry. I got snot and drool all over you.”

Viggo chuckled. “That's okay, the shirt will wash. The important thing is that you got some sleep. How do you feel this morning, Orlando?”

“A bit better,” the young man admitted shyly. “I'm sorry I got lost and soaked in the rain.”

“You got lost?” Viggo asked in surprise. “Why didn't you ring Lawrence to come and get you?”

“I didn't... didn't have any money for the phone,” Orlando admitted as he ducked his head with embarrassment. “And I don't know the phone number.”

“Oh, baby,” Viggo said with a sad sigh. “I'm sorry. That's my fault. I should have made sure you had money and all the numbers you needed to contact me.”

“It's not your fault,” Orlando insisted. “I just went out without telling anyone, and then I didn't pay attention to where I was going. I probably wouldn't have had any money even if you gave me some, because I didn't take my wallet with me.”

“We'll get you a mobile phone and you make sure to carry it with you,” the older man said firmly, upset that he hadn't thought of that before. “I don't want you to ever have this happen again.”

Orlando sighed with relief at the older man's words. Viggo wasn't going to get rid of him then. “I was afraid... you wouldn't... wouldn't want me anymore,” he whispered.

Viggo waited while another spasm of coughing shook his beautiful boy's body, then lifted Orlando's face to look into the sad brown eyes. “Never think that, Orli. I want you, very much. I would show you how much, if I could.”

Orlando smiled tremulously at the older man who'd been so patient and caring with him. “I... I want you to show me,” he said shyly.

Pulling the slender body into his embrace once more, Viggo cradled Orlando against his chest, stroking tenderly over the young man's hair. “As soon as you're well, baby, I will gladly show you how much you mean to me.”

The two men stayed snuggled together for a while, just enjoying the physical contact.

TBC