Orlando tensed involuntarily as he heard the front door open and close,
then he relaxed as the familiar pattern of Viggo's footsteps traveled through
the front hall and living room. He placed the book he had been reading
down on the floor and leaned back against the bed as he listened to his
lover walk down the long hallway of the
apartment. The bedroom door opened, and Viggo entered.
"It's freezing out there," Viggo said, his face red from the cold.
"Come here," Orlando urged, holding out his hand. Viggo stripped off his heavy coat and joined him on the bed, finding himself wrapped in a huge embrace. In the month since the two men had become lovers, Viggo had learned that Orlando was exceptionally affectionate; he constantly gave Viggo hugs and kisses in an effort to demonstrate his love.
This embrace warmed Viggo to his toes and made him forget all about the frigid weather outside. "Thank you, Orli," he murmured, running his hands over Orlando's back in gratitude.
Orlando smiled at the nickname his lover had given him, and pulled away just enough to give Viggo a brief kiss. "Better?"
"Much, thank you."
"What did you manage to get at the market?" Orlando asked hopefully. "Anything good?"
"Some chicken, plus some good potatoes and carrots," Viggo told him. Orlando had abandoned vegetarianism months ago after he realized his body wasn't getting enough nutrients, especially with the strict wartime rationing. "They were out of bread, though."
"Any kind of food sounds perfect," Orlando said with a smile.
"Alright, well I'll get the oven going so I can try and make a nice roast, and then I'll be right back." Viggo kissed Orlando on the lips, then stood up and went to the kitchen. Orlando retrieved his book and began reading again, smiling when Milo came trotting through the open bedroom door. He placed the book on the mattress and reached down, lifting the stout little dog up onto the bed.
"How are you?" Orlando asked the dog with a smile. Milo just looked at him with big brown eyes and sat down on Orlando's book. "Oh, you silly thing." He glanced up as Viggo reentered the bedroom. "You have a very silly dog."
"All dogs are silly," Viggo chuckled. "What's this one doing now?"
"He's sitting on my book," Orlando pouted.
Viggo laughed loudly and urged Milo off of the bed. "Come on, Milo. You have to move."
"Thank you," Orlando said as he rescued the book and placed it up on the nightstand again. "Did you start dinner?"
"Yes. It'll take a while, but at least I've got some nice company while
I'm waiting." He leaned in to give Orlando a long kiss, which lead to a
lazy hour of cuddling on the bed. Finally, the chicken and vegetables were
done cooking, and Viggo went to take them out of the oven. He returned
with the dinner, and the two of them enjoyed the
small chicken that Viggo had managed to make a decent roast out of.
When the meal ended, Viggo stacked up the dishes and returned them to
the kitchen; Orlando walked over to the window, peeking through the curtains
to gaze out at the dark city where there was a light snow falling. He felt
so confined, so restless and impatient. There was no denying that he had
to stay in the bedroom in order to remain safe, but he was fed up with
looking at the same walls day in and day
out with no respite and through no fault of his own.
"You look lost in thought." Viggo's gravelly voice made Orlando whirl around.
"Did I? Perhaps I was." Orlando frowned as he looked at the big paper bag that Viggo was holding. "What's all that?"
"Just something I put together for you," Viggo said enigmatically, placing the bag down on top of the desk.
"You've already done so much for me," Orlando said with a genuine smile, his gloom starting to melt away as it often did around his lover.
"Well, who says there's a limit to how much I can do for someone I love?" Viggo returned Orlando's smile and took out several candles along with matches.
"Viggo, I hate to tell you this, but if you wanted to have a candlelight dinner, you should have brought them in earlier," Orlando teased.
The other man chuckled and arranged the candles in a line. "No, this isn't about dinner, Orli. This is about Chanukah."
Orlando's eyes widened. "Chanukah? It's Chanukah right now? I had no idea."
"Yes, tonight is the first night."
"It's so easy for me to lose track of time here . . . how did *you* know it was Chanukah?"
"In today's newspaper there was an article about it. The Nazis were saying that the fact that there are no Chanukah celebrations in many European cities represents 'progress'." Viggo shook his head in disgust. "It's amazing how so many people can follow a doctrine of pure hatred. As long as I live, I'll never understand it."
Orlando's mouth set in a firm line, and he took Viggo's hand in his
own. "They can't stop me from celebrating it right here. Chanukah isn't
as important a holiday as Yom Kippur or Passover, but it symbolizes the
survival of my faith despite the presence of
persecution, so perhaps this is a fitting way for me to mark it."
"I don't have one of the candelabras that you need," Viggo told him apologetically.
"A menorah? I wouldn't expect you to," Orlando chuckled.
"Will individual candles be alright?"
Orlando leaned forward and hugged Viggo tightly. "They're much more than alright, Viggo. This is one of the most amazing things you've done for me, and that's saying something."
"Orli, I see what you go through being cooped up in this room all the time," Viggo said softly as he broke the embrace to run his thumb gently over his lover's cheek. "I can't imagine how difficult it is to live in fear like you do. You've lived through so much heartache, and I'd do anything in my power to make you happy."
"You do make me happy," Orlando told him with a smile. "I can't deny how difficult it is to be in this room constantly, or to never know if the person walking up the stairs of the building is a neighbor or an SS officer, but I suppose that I've learned to live with that. I realize that I'm lucky just to be alive, and I'm even luckier to have found an amazing man to share my life with. You truly are incredible, Viggo, and I love you so much."
They kissed for a long while, Orlando's hands cupping Viggo's cheeks while Viggo's arms slid around to pull Orlando close to him. "So," Viggo said when they finally parted, "would you like to light the candles?"
"I would love to." Orlando struck a match and quickly lit one of the pale yellow candles that Viggo had arranged on the desk. He lifted up that candle and softly sang a Hebrew prayer as he used the lit wick to light another. He then placed the candle in his hand back on the desk and finished singing the prayer. "Happy Chanukah, Viggo," he said softly.
Viggo smiled. "Happy Chanukah, Orlando." He kissed the other man, threading
his fingers through the dark curls. "And I have one gift to give you."
"A gift? You didn't have to get me anything on top of this."
"Well, I actually got it for you about three months ago," Viggo admitted. "I was just waiting for the perfect moment to give it to you." He pulled a small box out of the bag and handed it to Orlando.
"What's this?"
"Open it," Viggo chuckled.
They sat down on the bed and Orlando opened the box, gasping loudly as he looked into it. "Where did you get this?"
"At a pawn shop downtown. Is it . . . did I get the right one?"
"Yes, this is the exact same one," Orlando marveled as he carefully
pulled a gold watch out of the box. Just to make sure, he turned it over
and saw the familiar initials engraved in delicate script on the back of
the face -- H. B. for Harry Bloom. It was his father's watch, the one Orlando
had pawned more than a year ago on the morning
he tried to sail for England. "Viggo . . ." Tears shone in his eyes
as he looked at his lover. "How? I couldn't even remember which shop I
pawned this at."
Viggo smiled gently at him. "Several months after you started staying here, you told me that you had pawned your father's watch and cigarette lighter. I didn't think it was fair that you should have to give up those heirlooms in order to survive. You had mentioned that your father had engraved his initials on both of those possessions, so I scoured all of the pawn shops in Copenhagen, looking for gold watches and cigarette lighters with the initials H. B. engraved on them."
"It must have taken you forever to find this," Orlando said, running his fingers reverently over the slender links of the watch.
"It did take a long time, but it was worth it. Unfortunately, the pawn shop where I found the watch said that they had sold the cigarette lighter to a customer; I'm sorry that I wasn't able to get both of your father's possessions."
"Viggo, you have nothing to apologize for," Orlando told him, a smile creeping onto his face as he placed the watch gently on the bedside table. "The fact that you put this much of your time and effort searching for something of mine is incredible."
"*You* are incredible," Viggo said.
"I love you," Orlando murmured, wrapping his arms around Viggo. "Thank you so much."
Viggo smiled. "You're welcome, and I love you, too."
Orlando leaned forward to kiss Viggo, his tongue instantly seeking entry to the other man's mouth. Viggo moaned softly and responded to the kiss, sliding his hands up Orlando's chest and clutching at his shoulders. They fell back on the mattress and lay there for a long time, simply content to kiss and hold each other.
It was a long time later, when sleepiness had set in and the candles
had burned down, that the two men finally put an end to their languorous
kisses. Viggo stood up and blew out the candles before finally undressing
for bed. Orlando managed to tiredly shed his trousers and shirt without
getting off of the bed, then got under the
covers, holding up the blanket so his lover could join him.
"Thank you," Viggo said as he crawled into bed. Orlando simply kissed his forehead in response. "Good night, Orli."
"Good night, Viggo." He curled around the other man and closed his eyes,
feeling sleep immediately begin to descend upon him. Pressing his lips
to Viggo's neck for one final, drowsy kiss, he allowed himself to succumb
to slumber. Life was far from perfect, but for now, Orlando was grateful
for what he had -- safety, shelter, and the
love of a wonderful man.
