| Title: Consorted Authors: Jo & Brenda Series: Claimed, part 3 Pairings: Karl Urban/Orlando Bloom/Harry Sinclair/David Wenham; (Sean Bean/Dominic Monaghan; Viggo Mortensen/??) Rating: NC17 Summary: New vamps, new pets...and, yeah. All of the old fave vamps & pets, too. Plus, Elijah goes on a date. *grins* Disclaimer: Vampires still don't exist. And we doubt any of these things ever happened. But, you never know. Author's Notes: As ever, you guys all rock. We are humbled & thankful that so many of you love these guys as much as we do. We hope this last part entertains. *mwah*
Orlando turned, saw Dom watching him with concerned eyes. "Look pretty upset, mate," Dom continued, shrugging. "Can't have people pissed at my own party." Orlando rubbed the back of his neck and flashed Dom a small smile. "Sorry. Just...I'm kinda at loose ends at the moment. And the keys to the car are in Karl's pocket." Dom looked around. "And Karl would be...?" Orlando looked away, embarrassed. "On his way to Harry's." Dom whipped his head back, frowned. "They forget you were here or something?" "Ah, no, actually..." Orlando could just feel his face glowing. "They, um...theyleftmehere." "My hearing must be going in my old age," Dom decided, peering at Orlando. "Why would they do that?" "I don't think they were too happy with me." "And why is that, and am I going to need to be sitting for any portion of this explanation?" "Well, I told Harry to shut up for starters." Orlando shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. His shoulders hunched and he ducked his head, looking at Dom's feet. "And I was arguing with Vig and...I guess I didn't stop soon enough to please them." "You told..." Dom paused, grabbed Orlando's hand. "Come on. We're going to the study, away from all of this." Orlando followed meekly, not knowing what else to do. His head hurt, he was still a little ticked, and the fact that he'd been stranded at the party had just hit him. He let Dom pull him into the study and waited until the door was closed. "Well?" "Well what?" Orlando began to meander around the room, not looking at anything in particular, just moving. "Dave and I had an argument -- I'm right about that, by the way -- then Vig and I started arguing and Harry was laughing at me, so I told him to shut up. He said something about paying attention to him, and I blew him off, I guess. Next thing I know, he's leaving with Karl." "You blew Harry off?" Dom sank onto the sofa, groaning. "Fuck me. Well, I hope you got enough of him last night." Orlando winced. "Yeah, I know, I'm a fucking idiot. But damn it! Vig should have stayed the fuck out of my head!" "Well, don't say shit where he can hear you," Dom retorted. "Jesus, keep your thoughts private. Everyone knows he eavesdrops." "Thank you, I'll remember that in the future," Orlando snapped in a disgusted tone. "Just as soon as I figure out how to keep the fucker out of my head. I'm new at this, remember?" "Oh." Dom looked a bit sheepish. "Just, um, direct your thoughts. You know. At Karl. Or, Harry, I guess. Or both of them, I suppose, if you can do that." "I thought I was doing that." Orlando grumbled under his breath and dropped into a chair. "And yeah, I can do that. Or at least they can both hear me at the same time. Or could. Don't think they're listening to me right now." "Don't blame them." Dom slouched back, tugged at his lower lip. "Why'd you and Dave argue?" Orlando frowned at the first comment, but decided to let it go. The last thing he wanted to do was argue with Dom. "Dave and I argued because...well...we were talking about Harry." "And?" Dom prompted. "Do you have any idea how long he's been in love with Harry?" Orlando shook his head, slumped way down in the chair, legs sprawled out in front of him. "Since his first day on the job as Viggo's assistant. But he refuses to even try to get Harry's attention." "Wow. That's um...wow." Even Dom look impressed. "Still don't see why you two were arguing, though." "Because he's stuck on the idea that Harry could never be interested in him because of me and Karl, and I..." Orlando had the grace to look extremely embarrassed. "I called him a coward because he's always fighting with Harry, but from what I've heard, he never does anything to get Harry's attention in a positive way." "Oh boy." Dom shook his head, regarded Orlando with an amused expression. "You just don't know when to quit, do you? No, no, just listen," he said, holding up a hand when Orlando made a move to protest. "I like you. I do. But, Jesus, you can't just waltz in here and start arranging everyone's life to suit you. You didn't like it when Harry and Karl tried to do it to you, did you?" Orlando dropped his head into his hand and muttered something rude. "I get the point. Vig's already drilled it into my head. I fucked up. Believe me, I'll keep my nose out of it in the future." "Good." Orlando heard Dom get up, move around, looked up when Dom pressed something cold into his hand. "Drink," Dom said. "Just Coke, I'm afraid, but you're going to want to be sober." "I am?" Orlando looked suspiciously at the glass, then at Dom. "Why? Drunk's sounding pretty good right now." "I imagine you're going to want your wits about you when you walk into the library and apologize to Dave," Dom informed him, rocking back on his heels. "Oh fuck...do I have to do it tonight?" Dom shrugged. "That's up to you. You really want to wait?" Orlando made a quiet sound and let his head fall back against the chair. "No, not really." He sighed and handed the glass back to Dom. "Thanks, but I think I better just get this over with and go home. I'm definitely not party company anymore." "I'll have Sean's driver take you home," Dom said, walking him to the door. "He'll be outside." He bumped Orlando's shoulder with his own, grinned. "Cheer up, mate. Least you've got the bed to yourself tonight." "That's the last thing I wanted," Orlando muttered. The library. Dave. Apologize. Right. He could do this. Fuck. + + + Orlando paused outside the library door, took a deep breath. You can do this. Just go in there and admit you fucked up. Not like you haven't had a lot of practice saying that lately. He took a deep breath, stood there for a moment, tried to calm himself. Then he opened the door and walked inside, softly shutting it behind him. "Well, fuck me." Orlando could barely make out the figure of Dave, lounging in a chair. But he heard Dave well enough. "Come to goad me into round two?" "No," Orlando replied, voice soft. He leaned back against the door. "I came to apologize." "Did you now?" Dave shifted a bit in his chair, just enough for the low light to catch his features. And Orlando caught his breath at the raw misery on that handsome face. "Yes, I did." Orlando slowly moved closer, his eyes locked on Dave. He wanted to do something, say something to make him feel better, but he wasn't sure what, exactly, to do or say. "Earlier, I tried to stick my nose in where it didn't belong, and I made a mistake. I'm sorry. If you don't want to...well, it's your right to handle your life any way you like, and it's not my place to try to tell you what to do. I'm sorry." "Thank you." Dave shifted again, thumped his head back on the back of the chair. "You were right, though. I am a coward. A bloody fucking coward." His every word was laced with self-loathing. "It's no wonder Harry doesn't see me." Orlando bit his lip almost hard enough to draw blood. He wanted to help, but he could just hear Viggo in the back of his head. Damned if he was going to give the fucker the satisfaction of laughing at him again. Weight shifting from foot to foot, Orlando stood there and tried to think of something innocent to say. "Harry sees you." He almost groaned at how stupid he sounded. Dave snorted, the sound mocking. "No, he doesn't. But, it's something I need to deal with." He smiled up at Orlando, tilted his head a bit. "Thanks for apologizing, though. It's...it was very Harry-like of you." "You're welcome." Orlando smiled back, sure it was probably a pathetic attempt. Now he had no clue what to say. He knew what he wanted to say but was positive it was the last thing he should say. So he resisted the urge and just nodded his head. "Well, I, um...I should probably be going. Don't want to bother you, and Sean's driver is waiting for me so...." Dave nodded, then frowned. "Sean's driver? Where's Karl?" Fuck. Shouldn't have said anything. Orlando's fists worked their way into his pockets, and he turned just enough to hide his face from Dave's view. "He, um, he left. A little while ago. So, um, Dom said he'd have Sean's driver, you know, take me home." "I see." And Orlando thought maybe Dave did see. Frightening thought. Dave slapped his knees, stood up. "No need to bother Sean. I'll take you home." "You don't have to do that. I don't want to...to...fuck, guess I've already ruined the party for you, huh?" Orlando sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Well, I wouldn't have put it as bluntly as all that, but yeah." Dave grinned. Damn, but he was really good-looking when he smiled. Not that he hadn't been stunning before, but smiling... Orlando wondered how blind Harry was that he couldn't see what was right under his nose. "Come on, then, let's say our goodbyes," Dave said, holding open the door. Orlando nodded, walked out of the library. He glanced at Dave. "Listen," he said, voice subdued, "I won't tell Harry about...you know. If you want him to know, that's cool, but, um...I'll keep my mouth shut." "I appreciate that." Dave rumpled Orlando's hair, smiled again. "You know, with the adults gone, we could take advantage of that awesome theatre Karl has." "Just got in a whole batch of new movies." Orlando grinned, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. "And since the adults have seen fit to ditch me for the night..." "I feel your pain," Dave replied, attempting a serious look and failing miserably. "Well, come on, let's go raid the old man's liquor cabinet and drown our sorrows in bad movies." Orlando laughed and linked his arm with Dave's. "We better say goodbye to Dom first, or he'll kill us." Dave chuckled, patted Orlando's hand as they walked back into the main room. "You wouldn't be so flippant if you've ever seen Sean's pet on a tear. Vig himself avoids the lad." Orlando snorted. "That's why I said we needed to say goodbye to Dom. Sean doesn't scare me." He looked around, saw Dom standing across the room talking to Viggo. "Fuck." Dave followed his gaze. "What?" "Viggo." "Yeah, so? Believe me, I see quite enough of him." "I, um...." Orlando paused and then sighed. "I kinda argued with him earlier, too." Dave gave him an assessing look. "I'd say good for you, but I have the distinct impression I'm not going to like what the two of you argued about." He pushed Orlando forward a bit. "I'll just stay here, wait for you." "Oh, sure, throw me to the wolves," Orlando muttered. He glanced at Dave and just received a shooing motion for his efforts. Of course, he had to admit he deserved it. So he gritted his teeth and walked towards Dom. And Viggo. Viggo glanced past him when he walked up. "I see you've made up with my aide." "Have you?" Dom's hand on his arm was gentle. "Yeah, kinda." Orlando shrugged, smiled at Dom, avoided looking directly into Viggo's eyes. "Dave's gonna give me a ride home." "Good." Dom smiled, gave him a solid pat on the back. "We'll...um...talk later. When the old biddy isn't around to hear," he said, giving Viggo an impish smile as he walked away. "Child always knew the value of a good exit line," Viggo murmured, but he was smiling as he said it. Orlando had to fight to keep from squirming under Viggo's focused gaze. How the hell did Dave work with him? "Yeah, I guess." Orlando glanced at Viggo and just as quickly looked away. He wasn't going to fidget. No way in hell he'd give in to that urge. "So, um, yeah. Well, I guess I'll get going then, and um...right." "Goodnight, young Orlando." Viggo stuck out his hand, and Orlando shook it, still feeling vaguely ill at ease. He turned to leave and was half-way across the room before he heard it. //Mind that you take extra care with my assistant tonight, Orlando. He's still a bit raw.// Orlando's shoulders jerked up, almost touching his ears. He stopped and slowly looked back at Viggo. His mouth opened, closed, and he just nodded. Muttering under his breath, he rejoined Dave. "Ready whenever you are, mate." Dave hooked an arm around his shoulders, steered him out of the house. "There, see, that wasn't so bad now, was it? I could give you some tips to deal with him, if you like." Orlando wondered if he looked as pathetic as he thought he did. Tips? For dealing with Viggo? If he wasn't already bonded to both Karl and Harry, Orlando would have kissed Dave. "Would you? I keep getting the idea he's always laughing at me." "That's because he is," Dave explained with a laugh. "That makes me feel a lot better." Orlando grimaced. "Tell me he laughs at everyone." "Oh God, yes. It's something of a hobby for him." Dave led him to a Vintage Indian, handed him a helmet. "He does it to everybody, unnerving cunt." Orlando stood there, holding the helmet, his eyes locked on the bike. "You know..." He trailed off, bit his tongue. No. Just stop right there, Orli. You're keeping your nose out of things. He pulled the helmet on and smiled at Dave. "So how do you make him not laugh at you?" "You laugh back." Dave threw his leg over the bike, waited until Orlando got on behind him. //You wanna tell me what you were just thinking back there? 'Cause we're not moving until you do.// "Fuck," Orlando whispered as he let his head fall forward to rest between Dave's shoulderblades. "It was just something about the bike and Harry, that's all." "What about it?" Dave twisted a little, stared at Orlando. "Just, um...if you wanted to...and only if you wanted to," Orlando hastened to say when Dave started to frown, "it'd be a way you could talk to Harry without the two of you fighting. He's got a lot of restored bikes and, um, I've only seen one, but...." "Oh." Dave faced forward again, and Orlando was sure he'd fucked up again, that Dave was pissed. Shouldn't have said anything, shouldn't... //Thanks.// Orlando blinked. Guess he hadn't fucked up after all. He smiled to himself, rested his hands on Dave's waist. "You're welcome." |