Fatigue thrummed through Viggo's veins as he walked through the front door. Once again, he wondered what had possessed him to fly back three days early, knowing he was coming home to an empty house. To an empty bed. Although Viggo reasoned that he didn't have much of a right to wallow in self-pity, seeing as after the divorce he refused to open himself up to new relationships. No, he was alone in a house that now seemed too big, wishing fervently that Henry wasn't on vacation with Exene.
Dropping his bags on the floor and kicking off his shoes, he contemplated just falling asleep on the couch, but realized he didn't want to wake up with a crick in his neck. He managed to get up the stairs and start down the hallway to his bedroom, but halfway there he stopped and frowned. Low light was coming from his room. Strange. Viggo was sure he hadn't left the lights on, and no one could be in the house; the door had been locked and the driveway empty.
He pushed open the door all the way and blinked in confusion at the sight that lay before him. There was Orli, lying in his bed and crying softly. "Orli, what's wrong?"
"Vig?" Orli looked up at him with an expression of pure pain.
"What's wrong?" Viggo asked again, quickly sitting down on the bed and taking Orli into his arms. He was truly worried about the younger man, and pushed away all thoughts of how wonderful it felt to hold him. 'Not now,' he sternly told himself.
"I just . . . it's stupid," Orli hiccuped, his tears dampening the fabric of Viggo's shirt.
"Orli, tell me. I'm sure it's not stupid."
"I'm so tired of everything, Viggo. When I went into acting, I didn't think all this bullshit would be part of the package. I'm being sold as this pretty boy matinee idol and that's not what I want! I don't know who I can trust and who's just using me, and I feel so alone." He started sobbing now and Viggo held him tighter.
"It's okay, Orli. You're not alone, you have your friends."
"That's not what I mean," Orli sniffled, pulling away slightly and wiping his eyes. "My publicist keeps trying to set me up with these vapid little starlets and it just pisses me off so much. I tried telling her that I'm gay, and she said I should just keep that secret to myself."
"Well, she's an idiot."
"Listen, I didn't mean to freak you out by coming here. I thought you'd be home so I took a taxi over here, and when I realized you weren't here I let myself in with your spare key. It's pretty easy to find."
"You didn't freak me out. Do you want to stay here tonight?"
"Yeah. I'll take the guest bedroom."
"Nah, you're already in here. Just stay, and *I'll* take the guest room." Viggo held up his hand to stop Orli from protesting. "You've had a rough night; just try to get some sleep."
"Thanks, Vig." Orli smiled for the first time in what seemed like ages. "I'm really lucky to have you as a friend."
Viggo gave him an answering smile. "I feel the same way about you." Orli burrowed back beneath the covers and Viggo leaned down to gently kiss his head. "Let me know if you need anything."
"Okay. Thanks."
"Don't mention it." Viggo went into the guest bedroom and slid beneath the crisp sheets of the bed. He couldn't help but wonder why Orli had felt the need to come to his house instead of going to see someone like Elijah who was more his age. A feeling of hope surged through his body at the thought that maybe Orli wanted something more than friendship from him.
Something about Orli had captured Viggo's attention from the moment they met, and ultimately the young man had captured his heart. But Viggo refused to analyze Orli's motives any further. He needed sleep more than anything else right now, so he closed his eyes and succumbed to fatigue.
*****
The next morning, Viggo woke up with sunlight streaming across his face. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and yawned before sliding out of bed and going downstairs to get breakfast. Orli was already at the kitchen table, reading Viggo's newspaper and eating a bowl of cereal. It didn't strike Viggo as odd that Orli looked so at home; instead it was comforting somehow.
"Good morning," Viggo said, his voice still a bit raspy from sleep.
"Good morning to you, too," Orli replied, flashing his friend a brilliant smile.
"Did you sleep okay?"
"Better than I have in a long time. Thank you so much for letting me stay last night."
"Hey, you know I'd never turn you away," Viggo reminded him as he poured a glass of juice. "Do you want to talk about anything this morning?"
Orli suddenly looked nervous, twisting his fingers together. "The thing with my publicist is what's really bothering me."
"I can imagine," Viggo sympathized as he sat down at the table. "Maybe you should just get a new publicist."
"I probably should." Orli paused. "I decided a long time ago that I'd only come out if I found someone who was worth the grief I'd get for being openly gay." He looked at Viggo and smiled. "That's always been your philosophy, too."
"Yeah. If I was truly happy with another man, I wouldn't want to hide it. But otherwise I don't feel a need to announce to the world that I'm bisexual."
"Well . . . I found that person. The one who's worth risking everything for. He's the most amazing guy, and I'm so in love with him."
Viggo felt a tightening in his chest. "Really?" he croaked.
"Actually, I found him a long time ago. I never had the nerve to tell him how I felt because I was just so scared he wouldn't feel the same way. But I finally realized that if I didn't take a chance, I might never be with him."
"Sometimes you have to take chances," Viggo agreed, wishing he had heeded that wisdom. "So you're coming out? That's really brave of you, Orli."
"I'm not coming out just yet," Orli said slowly. "First I have to take that chance and tell this guy how I feel."
"You haven't done that yet? What are you waiting for?" Viggo tried to grin at Orli, not wanting his friend to think that he was insanely jealous of this other man. All he really wanted was for Orli to be happy, even if it wasn't with him.
"So you think I should just throw caution to the wind and tell this guy how I feel?"
"Definitely."
"Okay." Orli took a deep breath and gazed intently at Viggo. "I love you."
Viggo's mouth fell open and he blinked several times, unable to make his brain work. "You . . . you love *me*?" His heart felt like it was about to leap out of his chest.
"Yeah." The younger man bit his lip and looked down at the table. "I thought maybe you felt the same way, but if you don't then I'm really sorry."
"Orli, there's nothing to apologize for," Viggo said firmly, reaching forward to take Orli's hands in his own.
"Did I screw up our friendship?"
"You didn't screw up anything." The older man smiled and said the words he had wanted to say for three years. "I love you, too."
Orli gasped and scrambled out of his chair and into Viggo's lap, kissing him thoroughly. "Are you serious?" he asked when he broke the kiss.
"Of course I am," Viggo said, running a thumb over Orli's soft cheek. "I love you very much, Orlando."
"And you would want . . ."
"What? To come out with you?" Orli nodded and pressed a kiss to his neck, bringing out a small moan. "We have the same philosophy about the issue," Viggo murmured. "So that means yes."
"You don't mind that people would make a big deal about things like the age difference?"
"Do you?"
"No, but--"
"Orli?"
"Yeah?"
"I've been waiting three years for this. Forget about everything outside for a few minutes and just kiss me."
Orli laughed. "You're demanding, aren't you?"
"Only when--" Viggo was cut off when Orli's mouth landed on his own. For a few minutes they just sat there, content to do nothing more than kiss. "So are you okay?" Viggo asked when they finally separated. "Last night you said you were tired of everything."
"Well, I *am* tired of all the celebrity bullshit," Orli admitted. "But it won't bother me so much if I have you to come home to every night. In other words, I'm definitely okay. More than okay."
Viggo smiled and kissed him again. "Then I'm more than okay, too."
