I hate this. Sitting on a bumpy rock and smoking pipeweed (honestly, what is that?), then getting flipped on my ass by hobbits take after take is getting a bit annoying. “Move your feet,” I instruct as Aragorn, but a second later, Billy stumbles a bit, and we have to do it again. This is really getting tedious. But when I look over and see my elf smiling at me, I suddenly don’t care about any of that.
It’s been five days since I told Orli I loved him, and more incredibly, that he told me he feels the same way. Because of a shitty filming schedule, we’ve had almost no time together alone, except for a few very brief stolen moments in the trailer (this time with the door locked). Since we know this isn’t some little fling, we’ve decided that tonight will be the night we come clean to our friends. All nine Fellowship members have decided that tonight, after we get off this godforsaken mountain, we’re going back to our hotel for room service and videos. And then, once everyone has safely digested their food, Orlando and I will boldly declare our love. Or something like that.
Actually, Sean already knows. We shocked the hell out of him, but I’m pretty sure that’s because of the way he found out, not because of the actual relationship. He hasn’t had a problem with myself or Orli in the least, and I’m truly grateful for that. Sean was the first friend I made here, and he’s become one of the best friends I’ve ever had. But Peter and Fran have to know. So once we get back to regular elevations, Orli and I will stop in for a chat.
My mental train of thought comes to a halt, as we go for another take. “Gentlemen, that’s enough!” I say in my most authoritative I-should-be-king voice. Billy really puts his all into flipping me this time, and I go down a bit harder than I should, the air whooshing out of my chest.
“Cut!” I hear Pete call as I close my eyes, ready to kill the littlest
hobbit.
“Christ, Viggo, I’m sorry,” Billy stammers.
“It’s okay,” I say, gritting my teeth as I sit up.
“That’s gonna leave a mark, mate,” Dom tells me with a sympathetic chuckle.
“Seriously, Billy, what were you thinking?” Orli asks as he bounds over to me. “You could have really hurt him! There’s no padding on these rocks!” He’s practically shouting at this point.
“Orlando,” I say, trying to calm him down. “He didn’t mean to hurt me.” Billy looks a bit terrified of my lover right now, and I can’t blame him.
“I’m sorry, Bill,” Orli says, looking like a chastened puppy. “Didn’t mean to shout.”
“Everything straightened out?” Pete asks impatiently.
“Yeah, sorry,” Orli tells him.
“Viggo, you’re okay?” Pete inquires.
“I’m fine.” I grimace a bit as I rise to my feet, but it’s not too bad. “Just try to pull your punches a little next time,” I suggest to Billy, who nods sheepishly. My eyes meet Orlando’s as he returns to his place, and my lips twitch into a smile for a second, long enough for him to notice but no one else.
*****
“Stop fidgeting,” Orli tells me. I guess that tells you how nervous I am: Orli, of all people, is telling me to stop fidgeting.
“Sorry.” Luckily, anyone else will write off my behavior to the fact that we’re in the helicopter, the day’s filming over. Across from me, Dom is snapping pictures, while Bean is the picture of white-knuckled terror.
“I hate this,” Sean mutters, his eyes shut tight.
“You should open your eyes and see the view, Beanie,” Dom says in an attempt to torment him. “It’s beautiful this high up.”
“I. Am. Going. To. Kill. Your. Scrawny. Hobbit. Arse.” Sean punctuates each word by cracking a knuckle.
Orli leans against me a bit within the confines of the helicopter, and I smile. Suddenly, I’m not so nervous. After all, Peter and Fran are good people; I seriously doubt that they would disallow our relationship if it was conducted discreetly. If they do . . . no, don’t think that way, Viggo.
I’m brought back to earth by a startled yelp from Dom, a hand clutching at his ear. “What happened?” I ask.
“The fucking cunt tried to rip my ear off!” Dom whines.
“He asked me if I knew how many helicopters crashed in New Zealand every year,” Sean informs me.
“It was a perfectly innocent question,” the gray-eyed hobbit lies.
Mercifully, the helicopter is about to land, and I remind myself never to get into a chopper with Dom and Bean again. Or Orlando, for that matter. Being in close proximity with him and not being able to touch him is driving me crazy.
Once everyone’s changed, and wigs, ears, and feet have been removed, Orli and I quietly excuse ourselves. Dom is busy exaggerating tales of poor Sean’s abject terror, while Lij is promising people his firstborn if he could only bum a light. No one seems to notice that we’ve snuck away, until we’re almost at Pete’s trailer.
“Going somewhere?” John calls after us. Shit.
“Yeah, Vig and I wanted to talk to Peter and Fran about a script issue,” Orli lies. Yes! A script issue! Good thinking. “We’ll meet you guys at the hotel.”
“Okay,” Sean A. says, and they’re either satisfied with our answer or don’t care that much.
We enter Pete’s trailer after a knock, finding him sitting with Fran and Philippa. “You two need something?” Philippa asks.
“Actually, we were hoping to talk to Fran and Pete,” I say. Philippa nods, and leaves, giving us a smile.
“What’s up?” Pete queries, leaning back in his chair.
“Actually, something’s happened that we think the two of you should
know about.” At Fran’s worried look, I hastily say, “no, everyone’s
okay, it’s just that myself and Orlando, well . . .” I suddenly wish
I had decided what to say beforehand.
“We’re together,” Orli supplies, putting his arm around my shoulder,
almost protectively. “We really care about each other, but also about
the film, and it’s important for us to have your blessing.” He worded
it perfectly.
“I think it’s wonderful that you two are happy together,” Fran tells us sincerely. “You have our blessing, as long as you behave responsibly. That means discretion, and if the relationship should end, behaving maturely. Above all, it can’t affect the movie. But we are happy for you.”
“No matter what happens between Vig and myself, it won’t screw up the movie,” Orli promises.
“Pete?” I ask, wanting to hear his approval.
“Usually on-set romances are the last thing a director wants to deal with, but I know the two of you are good for each other, so it’s fine with me. And you also deserve credit for telling us about it instead of sneaking around.”
“Does the rest of the Fellowship know?” Fran asks.
“Not yet,” I inform her. “Tonight. We told them we were here for a script meeting.”
“A script meeting?”
I shrug. “Orli’s a good liar.”
“Well, why don’t you go and join them,” Pete suggests. “Enjoy the night off, and be back here bright and early tomorrow.”
“Okay, thanks,” I say.
“Yeah, thank you,” Orli echoes.
As we leave the trailer, we both exhale dramatically and laugh. “Wasn’t so hard at all,” I lie.
“Well, I’m a lot less worried about telling the Fellowship than Peter and Fran,” Orli says as we walk towards his car. “I can’t imagine they’ll have a problem with it.”
“Me neither. Bean seems fine with it, and you can bet Ian will be thrilled.”
We talk the entire drive back to the hotel, still a little nervous. After all, I had never even mentioned to any of my co-stars that I’m bi, not even Sean, although I’m sure everyone knew about Orli’s bisexuality. I pray to every deity in the book that no one will have a problem. I’ve made a mental catalogue of potential objections: someone’s in love with myself or Orli and will be jealous, they’ll think I’m a pervy old man, someone’s a latent homophobe, and so on.
By the time we get to the suite where the hobbits are staying, I’m close to a nervous wreck. Orli puts a hand on my shoulder as we reach the door. “It’ll be fine,” he reassures me, kissing me softly. It constantly amazes me how mature he really is.
Billy opens the door and grins widely. “Oi! It’s about time!”
“Sorry,” I apologize as we sit on the floor. “Took longer than we thought.”
“Yeah, the ‘script meeting,’” Lij says, rolling his eyes.
“What do you mean?” I ask uncomfortably, accepting the can of soda Dom hands me.
“Why would Philippa leave the trailer when you guys were there to talk about the script?” Billy asks. Shit. Good point.
“Okay, it wasn’t a script meeting,” Orli admits sheepishly.
“Why’d you lie to us?” Lij asks accusingly.
“Elijah, calm down,” Ian reprimands him gently.
“I’m sure whatever it is, they had a good reason.” That’s from Bean, who smiles at us a little. Thank you, Sean.
“Okay, so what’s the good reason?” Astin asks.
“We had to talk to them about something personal,” I say. “We were planning to tell you also.”
“What’s going on?” Ian asks, concern lacing his voice.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Orli assures the group. “It’s just that Viggo and I are together. As a couple.”
For a minute, there’s silence, and I can practically hear nine separate heartbeats. Finally, John speaks. “How long has this been going on?”
“Since Saturday,” Orli says, his voice a lot less steady this time.
“What was Saturday’s date?”
“The third,” I say, unsure as to why that matters.
“Hah! I was right!” Lij crows. “Pay up, bitches!”
“What?” I ask, now completely confused.
“Oh, we had a pot going to see when you two idiots would finally come to your senses,” Dom says. “And we mean that with all the love and affection in the world.”
“You mean you guys were taking bets on our personal lives?” Orli is valiantly trying to look offended, but it’s actually pretty amusing.
“The pot was up to five hundred,” Sean grumbles, taking out his wallet. “This is one expense I’m not telling Christine about.”
I laugh and wrap an arm around Orli, relief flooding through me. “So you guys don’t have any problems with this?”
“Well, if either one of you hurts the other, you’ll be skinned alive,” Billy tells us. “But other than that, no.”
“And I’ll remind you to lock the door in the trailer next time,” Bean teases us with a wicked glint in his eye. “I’m frustrated enough without having to see that.”
“Wait, you mean you saw them?” Lij squeaks.
“As naked as the day they were born.”
Next to me, I hear Orli groan. “Sean,” I say in what I hope is a threatening tone.
“Give us the details. And omit nothing,” Dom pleads.
“He didn’t see anything!” I exclaim. “It was all over by the time he got there!” Whoops.
“All over?” Sean A. asks. “You guys did it in the trailer?”
“No, not technically,” Orli begins, but I clamp a hand over his mouth.
Even Ian, who I hoped would have put a stop to this by now, is grinning
madly.
“So who’s bigger?” Billy asks.
“Ten bucks on Viggo!” Lij cries.
“I go with Orlando,” John counters.
I wonder if it’s actually possible to die from embarrassment. Poor Orli is a vibrant shade of red, and is practically in a fetal position. “Okay, okay, enough!” I tell them. “It’s not like I don’t have blackmail material on you guys.” That shuts them up. I don’t think Lij wants me revealing that he was the one who substituted Bean’s shampoo with dishwashing liquid. Or that John wants his ABBA obsession exposed.
“Fair enough,” says Dom, who’s probably afraid I’ll tell all about the time I caught him moaning Elijah’s name as he jacked off. He claimed he said Eliza. Right.
“Just be good to each other, and we’ll be your biggest support system,” Ian assures us.
“And if anyone fucks with you, they’ll have to answer to us,” Beanie says.
Orli, having recovered from his mortification, grins. “Thanks.” Without warning, he turns and plants a full kiss on me, prompting a chorus of groans.
“Get a room!” Sean begs.
“Actually, I think we already have one,” Orli teases. He winks at Sean before leaning against me. “Now can we watch some videos? I’m bloody tired.”
As the debate begins over which movie to watch, I smile. For the first time in years, I’m truly happy. I have an incredible son, a great job, and eight terrific new friends, including an incredible brown-eyed daredevil who can melt my insides with a single grin. I take Orli’s hand in mine, running my thumb over the inside of his wrist. The movie has started, but I couldn’t care less Leaning in, I kiss Orli gently on the cheek.
“Happy?” he asks softly.
I nod yes. “You?”
“Yeah.”
And that’s all that matters right now.
