Master Plan
Author: Kinkyhobbit
Pairing: EW/DM
Genre: RPS
Rating: M
Warnings: language.
Disclaimer: I made it all up. As far as I know, this never
ever happened.
Summary: Back in NZ for reshoots, and Ian McKellen
decides to give the boys a bit of a talking to.
It was lunchtime, and
two hobbits and a wizard were plotting over their food.
“You’ve got to talk to
them,” whispered Sean, thumping his fist on the table to emphasise each word.
“It’s driving us nuts!”
“Allright, allright,”
Ian replied, holding up a hand, a smile playing on his face. “Though I don’t
see why you can’t do it.”
“I tried,” said Sean.
“Me too,” said Billy.
“Dom told me to fuck off and mind my own bloody business.”
“Really?” laughed Ian.
“Well, probably
because it was the third time in as many days that I’d tried to talk to him
about it.”
“Ah.”
“But they’ll both
listen to you,” said Sean.
Ian nodded, chewing on
a mouthful of food. “You know,” he said eventually, looking thoughtful. “I do
believe I have an idea.”
Sean and Billy grinned
and exchanged glances.
“Now be quiet both of
you, because here they come.”
***
After lunch, just as
they headed off for more filming, Ian slipped a friendly arm around Elijah’s
shoulder, forcing him to slow down and drop back behind the others.
“Elijah,” he said
softly, and fixed him with a gaze. “What’s going on?”
Elijah knew exactly
what Ian was getting at, and leant against him and gave him a hug.
“Nothin’.”
“Hmm. What I thought,”
he replied, patting Elijah’s shoulder. “I thought you two had something
special.”
Elijah sighed. “Yeah.”
“Well what have you
done with it?”
“I just-”
“Hmm?”
Elijah sighed again.
“You know how it works. It’s…people are talking and everyone’s getting shitty
with us. With me.”
“So you gave up.”
Elijah glanced up
ready to bite back, but the look in Ian’s eyes silenced him. He simply nodded.
“People expect a lot
from you. They have a lot…invested…in you,” said Ian, pausing while the meaning
of his words sank in. “They’re thinking of their own interests. Not yours.”
“But…it would affect
me badly if I came out, right? We all know that. It would screw up everything.
It’s silly to say it wouldn’t.”
“Oh I know, I know.
I’m not saying that.” Ian squeezed his shoulder and leant down. “I may be an
old man who doesn’t have to worry about these things anymore,” he said with a
grin. “But I do remember having the same fears for quite some time.”
“So you know it’s damn
hard.”
“Yes, I know. But
we’re not talking about coming out. You know that’s not it.”
Elijah watched the
ground in front of him as they trudged slowly along. “I just don’t know,” he
said softly.
They walked in silence
for a moment.
“You have to make a
decision,” said Ian matter-of-factly. “You have to decide what is most
important to you. And I’m not talking about coming out, choosing between love
and your career. I’m talking about deciding exactly how much control you are
going to give them over your life.”
They reached a point
where they had to part ways and stopped, Ian turning to face Elijah, his hand
resting on his shoulder.
“They pay you to play
a part in a film. They don’t pay you to play a part in real life,” he said
gently. “Your life is your own, and only you should be in control of it. You
decide what you want, and then find a way to make them live with it. It should
never be the other way around.”
Elijah nodded grimly,
and looked up.
“It’s not too late,”
said Ian with a smile.
Elijah smiled too.
“Yeah.”
They hugged each other
tightly.
“Tell you what,” said
Ian as they let go. “Come to my trailer tomorrow night when we finish up. I
have a present for you. It’ll cheer you up.”
“What’s wrong with
tonight?” asked Elijah cheekily.
Ian frowned and waved
dismissively. “Oh no, things to do, things to do,” he replied with mock
seriousness. “Tomorrow night.”
“Okay.”
“See you then.”
***
Early the following
morning, Ian cornered Dom while Billy and Sean distracted Elijah.
“Dominic, how are you
doing?” he asked softly.
Dom gave him a smile.
“Allright.”
“And how are you
and…?” he waved in Elijah’s general direction.
The smile faded with a
tired shake of the head. “Yeah, well…”
“He’s still learning,
you know. He’s been in this business for a while but he’s never had to deal
with something like this before. He’s scared.”
“Well so am I. I just
don’t think it’s worth fucking someone over like this. I wouldn’t have done
it.”
“You can say that for
certain?”
“Yes. I’m just…really
pissed off. I…I love him, you know? It’s as simple as that.”
Ian laughed softly.
“It’s never simple, Dom. It complicates everything.”
“I don’t know what to
do.”
“Well neither does he.
Perhaps if you both put your heads together you’ll come up with something.”
Dom shook his head in
irritation. “I can’t talk to him at the moment. I tried a few times and he just
walks away, or says ‘not now, later’, and we never do. Now I’m afraid I’ll say
something really unpleasant, if I get half a chance to say anything at all.”
“A lot of people want
something from him. There’s a lot riding on these films and Elijah is a big
part of it, and then there’s the other films he’s doing. You both just have to
find a way to work around all that.”
Dom sighed. “I…I’m
just so fucking pissed off with it all. I mean I know all that stuff, but part
of me still says it’s nobody’s business but ours and they have no right. They
have no right, Ian.”
“I know, but they do
have a fair bit of influence. Like I said, you both need to find a way to work
around it.”
“Yeah.”
“Together.”
Dom nodded. “Yeah,” he
said unenthusiastically.
Someone called to Dom
and he glanced towards them, then back to Ian. “Gotta go.”
“Of course,” Ian
nodded. “Oh, er, by the way…I have that book I was going to lend you.”
Dom frowned, then
remembered. “Oh yeah? Great.”
“You can pick it up
tonight, if you like, after we finish up. It’s in my trailer, just let yourself
in if I’m not there.”
“Okay.”
***
Elijah knocked at the
door of Ian’s trailer. No answer, but he could see a light on. He knocked again
and called out before tentatively opening the door.
“Ian?”
He stuck his head
inside. No sign of Ian. The main light wasn’t on, just a lamp on a table.
He stepped in and
glanced around. On the table near the door was a neatly folded piece of paper
with “Elijah” written on it. He picked it up and opened it.
“Sorry, I was delayed.
Wait for me. Won’t be long. Ian”
Elijah chuckled.
“Little Gandalf humour there,” he murmured softly. “Okay.”
He flopped into a
chair and leaned back, looking around the room. In the orange light from the
lamp he spotted the wine bottle sitting on the table where the note had been.
He hadn’t noticed it when he first walked in. He frowned at it. It had been
opened and now had the cork stuck half in the top of it. Two glasses sat beside
it.
He had just decided it
wouldn’t be rude to pour himself a glass before Ian got back, and was in the
process of doing so, when the door opened and Dom stepped inside.
They saw each other,
and froze.
“I…I’ve just come to
get a book,” said Dom eventually.
Elijah nodded, putting
the bottle carefully back onto the table. He sat back down and swirled the wine
gently, watching the colour, afraid to look up and furious that his hands
insisted on shaking ever so slightly.
Dom looked around the
room. There was no book to be seen. “He said, uh…he’d leave it…out.”
“Yeah?” Elijah glanced
quickly around the room.
“Yeah.” Dom looked at
him. “What are you doing here?” he asked casually.
“Oh, Ian said to drop
in when we finished filming. Said he had a present for me or something.”
Dom nodded
thoughtfully. “So where is he?”
Elijah shook his head.
“He left a note. Said he was ‘delayed’.” He raised his eyebrows with a smile.
“Right,” said Dom,
smiling back. He leant against the table, drumming his fingers against the
edge, looking around the trailer. He wasn’t sure if he should leave or not.
They glanced at each
other and quickly looked away. Elijah’s eyes shone beautifully in the orange
light and Dom felt a fist clench tight around his heart.
“Where’s that damn
book,” he muttered.
“He should be back
soon.”
“He said to just let
myself in if he wasn’t here.”
“Yeah?”
Dom nodded.
“So he told you he might
not be here?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh.”
They both thought for
a moment, realisation dawning in the same instant.
“That sneaky old
bugger,” said Dom softly, shaking his head with a smile.
Elijah laughed. “He
means well.”
“Yeah.” Dom bit his
lip, still uncertain. He looked at Elijah’s glass, then to the bottle and
remaining glass on the table beside him. “Is that for me?” he asked softly.
“Suppose it is. The
bottle was already open when I came in.”
Dom poured himself
some wine and sat down opposite Elijah, their knees almost touching.
They sat staring at
their own glasses in a long, awkward silence.
“So, um…how ya doin’?”
said Dom eventually, then dropped his head and sighed at how utterly corny and
unoriginal he was being. He shook his head and looked up to see Elijah smiling
at him. They both laughed softly.
“Sorry,” whispered
Dom.
“It’s okay. I’ve been
thinking.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“What about?”
Elijah looked at him
and held his gaze for a long moment before glancing at the floor. “Just…what we
should do.”
Dom nodded
thoughtfully, trying not to get too hopeful about the “we”.
“I’m sorry,” said
Elijah eventually.
Dom looked up. “Me
too.”
Neither of them looked
away this time.
“Missed ya,” said Dom.
“Missed you too.”
Dom smiled, then took
Elijah’s glass and put both glasses on the table beside him. He turned back and
gently took Elijah’s hands in his own.
“We’ll be okay,” he
said eventually. “We’ll work it out.”
Elijah stood, blinking
away tears, and slid easily, comfortably into Dom’s lap. They held each other
gently, Elijah caressing Dom’s hair.
Dom laid his head
against Elijah’s chest. Familiar fabric, familiar heartbeat. He closed his eyes
and listened to Elijah breathing.
“Thought I’d lost
you,” he murmured.
Elijah kissed the top
of his head. “No.”
Dom looked up. Elijah
rested his hand upon his cheek.
“I don’t ever want to
feel that way again,” said Dom, his voice shaky.
Elijah swallowed,
trembling fingers brushing Dom’s lips. “Love you.”
He closed his eyes as
Dom’s fingers slid into his hair, and warm, soft lips claimed his own.
***
Liv, Ian and Sean were
in Liv’s trailer relaxing with another bottle of wine, the conversation
regularly punctuated with knowing glances and giggles.
Ian glanced at his
watch and Liv smiled at him. “I think it’s working,” she said. “They’d have
come looking for you by now otherwise.”
Ian just sighed and
sat back in his chair, a smug, self-satisfied grin on his face. “I think you
might be right.”
There was a knock at
the door, and it opened to reveal Billy.
“Come in, Bill,” said
Liv, standing to offer him a glass.
“Don’t mind if I do.”
He took the glass and glanced around the room. Ian sat there and grinned at
him.
“What are you smiling
at?” asked Billy with a grin.
“Well,” said Ian. “I’m
smiling at the thought of what’s happening in my trailer at this very moment.”
Billy raised his
eyebrows and laughed. “Really? So it worked?”
“Apparently.”
“You devious old
bastard.”
“Hmm, yes,” said Ian,
taking a sip of his wine. “Indeed.”
Liv raised her glass.
“May he never change.”
They laughed and drank
a toast to Ian, then another to Dominic and Elijah. Then a few more, and
finally opened another bottle, and continued drinking well into the night.
Kinkyhobbit 2002
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