TITLE: Shelter From the Storm (10/?)
AUTHOR: Elizabeth (sef7881@aol.com)
WEBSITE: https://www.angelfire.com/scary/randominsanity/RandomInsanity.html
PAIRING: Viggo Mortensen/Orlando Bloom
RATING: PG-13
SUMMARY: Finding hope in the darkest times
FEEDBACK: It's the sauce on my steak, it's the cheese in my cake
WARNINGS: AU, references to war and violence throughout the fic
DISCLAIMER: This story is solely a product of my twisted imagination
ARCHIVE: Help yourself, just drop me a line so I can brag to my friends
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Thanks again to my terrific beta, Losti. You
have helped me with this story so much, and I owe you a thousand virtual
Snow Pigs
DATE WRITTEN: August 4th, 2003
No more secrets. That was what Orlando had said after he and Viggo had revealed to each other that they were both gay, and he now wished that he hadn't said those three little words. Because if the two men were to be honest with each other, Orlando couldn't continue to hide his love for Viggo. As it was, it became more and more difficult to conceal how he felt with each passing day.
Viggo's unfailing kindness and sharp sense of humor was what made Orlando's
difficult life bearable; his smile always brought a bit of joy to Orlando's
days. And Orlando could not deny the intense physical attraction
he felt towards the other man. He found himself wondering what Viggo's
hands would feel like on his body, what his kisses would be like, what
sounds that beautifully husky voice would make during lovemaking.
Finally, three weeks after learning that Viggo was gay, Orlando decided that he could no longer continue to keep his love a secret. He had no idea if Viggo felt the same way about him or if he merely saw Orlando as a close friend, but he felt as if he had to take a chance. After all, it had been Viggo himself who told Orlando that he shouldn't let an opportunity for happiness pass him by. And Orlando was going to take that advice. He was going to be honest about his love for Viggo.
*****
"Look at that dog," Viggo laughed as Milo hopped up on Viggo's bed. "He thinks he owns the whole place. I once came home to find him standing on the kitchen table."
"Well, I don't mind," Orlando said. "He'll keep the bed warm until it's time for me to go to sleep." He shifted his position and reached up to pet the basset hound behind his ears. Milo made a sound of contentedness and rolled onto his side, offering up his belly to be scratched. "Greedy pooch," Orlando laughed.
"I'm going to put our dishes in the kitchen. Do you need anything?" Viggo asked, standing up and stretching.
"I'm fine, thank you." Orlando smiled at Viggo and went back to playing with Milo. The dog lazily stood up, shaking his floppy ears and hopping down off of the bed, where he quickly sat on Orlando's lap. "You don't know how heavy you are, do you?" Orlando laughed. Milo's only response was a pleading look for more petting.
"So, I have a small surprise," Viggo said as he returned to the bedroom carrying two plates.
Orlando's eyes widened as he saw the slices of chocolate cake on the plates. "How did you get that?" He knew that rationing was extremely strict, and that a cake -- especially one with chocolate -- must have cost Viggo a small fortune on the black market.
"It wasn't easy," Viggo admitted. "But we both love chocolate, and I figured that we deserve a treat."
"Thank you so much," Orlando said as he accepted a plate of cake and a fork. "I haven't had chocolate in ages."
"Neither have I. And you're welcome."
Orlando closed his eyes at the first bite of the rich cake, still not quite believing how much trouble Viggo had gone through to get the delicacy -- although he realized that it was hardly the first time that Viggo had gone out of his way for him. Still, it reminded Orlando how special Viggo was and why he loved him so much. Opening his eyes again, he saw Viggo savoring his own slice of cake while trying to keep the dog from getting his nose into it.
"Okay Milo, that's enough," Viggo laughed, gently pulling the dog away by his collar. "Why don't you go play in the living room? Go on." He pushed Milo towards the door, and the basset hound obediently trotted out of the bedroom. "Good boy."
"Poor Milo," Orlando chuckled. "He just wanted some cake."
"He'll be fine. In two minutes, he'll be mesmerized by the pattern on the living room rug and he'll forget all about it."
Orlando grinned and finished his slice, even collecting all of the little crumbs and eating them. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," he said again as he set down his plate.
"You're welcome," Viggo told him with a wide smile that made Orlando's heartbeat speed up. That was the final push that Orlando needed. He couldn't keep quiet anymore.
"Viggo?" he asked hesitantly, his heart hammering in his chest.
"Yes?"
"There's something I have to tell you. I've been going back and forth about whether or not to be honest about this, but we agreed that we wouldn't keep any secrets from each other anymore."
Viggo frowned and looked at Orlando with concern. "You know that you can tell me anything, Orlando."
"Yes, I know that." Orlando looked down at his hands, unable to watch Viggo's reaction to what he was about to say. "Viggo, I love you. I'm *in* love with you. I've felt this way for a few months now, but I was never planning on telling you how I felt. That changed when I learned that you're gay, and I thought that maybe I had a chance . . . that it was at least worth telling you how I feel."
Orlando finally dared to raise his gaze to meet Viggo's own, and was shocked to see tears shimmering in the blue eyes. He wondered if he had made a mistake, if maybe he had upset Viggo somehow, but then the other man let out a shaky breath and smiled. "You love me?" Viggo asked in an unsteady voice.
"I love you," Orlando confirmed. Taking a chance, he reached out and took Viggo's hand in his own. "And I'm not saying this because you've given me shelter and saved my life; I'm saying this because you are a beautiful, incredible man. I never thought that I could ever be happy again after what happened last year, but you changed all of that. You've changed my life."
"Orlando . . ." Viggo's voice was barely more than a whisper. "I love you, too." Orlando was unable to hold back a small gasp of surprise. "I've loved you for months, but I didn't think you were gay. And even after I knew that you were, I didn't know if you were ready for any kind of relationship, and I thought you might feel as if I was taking advantage of having you here without anywhere else to go."
"I could never conceive of you taking advantage of me, Viggo," Orlando told him fervently. "And as for whether or not I'm ready for this after what happened to Andre . . . well, what you said to me a while ago makes sense: the fact that I love someone else doesn't take away what I had with him."
"So you want this? You want me?" The disbelief was evident in Viggo's voice.
Orlando smiled. "Yes, I want you. More than anything."
Viggo smiled back at him and squeezed his hand. "I love you," he said again. He leaned in and gently pressed his mouth to Orlando's. His hand came up to tangle in the dark curls, and he sighed at the feeling of Orlando's tongue running along his lips, seeking entry.
When Viggo's lips parted for Orlando, their tongues immediately slid against one another. Orlando's hands settled on Viggo's shoulders and he deepened the kiss, exploring Viggo's mouth as much as he could. The taste of chocolate was still there, making the kiss that much sweeter.
"Orlando," Viggo breathed when they finally separated. His hand cupped Orlando's cheek, making the other man shiver with desire. Orlando had dreamed about those hands countless times, and he couldn't help but turn his head slightly to press a kiss to Viggo's palm. "You're so beautiful," Viggo murmured.
"So are you. I love you, Viggo." He leaned forward to kiss Viggo again. "I need you."
Viggo's eyes darkened as his hand slid down to Orlando's lower back
and pulled him even closer. "I need you, too."
