�normal.
Elijah had imagined dozens -- ok, hundreds of different scenarios.
Lame, girlie scenarios he�d never tell a soul. Like running towards each other across the orange dawn of deserted parking lot C; waking up to the sound of pebbles thrown at his bedroom window for a midnight rendezvous; downtown billboards declaring �O+E=<3 Meet Me at the Bar, Dude�.
The list was incredibly and painfully pathetic.
The scenario Elijah had not imagined was turning the corner into the crowded expanse of B hall and seeing Orlando lounging against the door to his first period class.
Orlando wore a black cowl turtleneck, black knit hat and dark jeans. His grin stretched across ski-burned cheeks when he caught sight of Elijah. �Lij.� His dark head snapped back in that strange universal male chin-cockedup-head thing Elijah had never quite understood.
Elijah lifted a shoulder in return.
Orlando made the head-flick thing look ridiculously cool. Elijah was certain he�d just look like an autistic pet chicken. �Orli.�
Orlando pulled a hand out of his pocket. He held it out to Elijah at hip level, palm up.
Something stumbled unpleasantly in Elijah�s throat at the what�s-up-dude-distancing of the gimme-five gesture. He smiled sideways and dropped his gaze.
Orlando was right.
They were in school.
Elijah waited until he was almost around Orlando before slapping half-heartedly at the offered hand. �Hey.� Elijah�s voice was cut off by the sudden snap of a thumb around the back of his fingers, trapping his hand against a wide palm.
Orlando tugged. Hard.
Elijah closed his eyes and breathed deeply, desperately sucking in the scent of warm, woolen Orlando. Elijah�s free arm wrapped tightly around the long neck as Orlando lifted him clear of the floor in a one-armed-full-body-hug.
They were fused noseneck to knees for a total of two breaths before Elijah peeled away. He dropped his arm and rocked back on his heels, cheeks flushed and grinning like a bad comedian. �Hi.�
Orlando chuckled and reached towards Elijah�s face, changing directions awkwardly and nudging him in the shoulder with a knuckle instead. �I�ll catch up with you after fourth.�
The bell rang.
Elijah nodded, still grinning, and pushed around him to go into the classroom. He poured himself into his desk, beaming with peaceful delight at the beauty of the world around him. His irrepressible grin faded as his cheeks flushed rose-pink.
Orlando had been waiting in front of his first period class.
His new, second semester, first period class.
Which meant Orlando had gone through the rigmarole of finding out which class and where it was.
Elijah bit his lower lip, still blushing.
Ok.
That just might have been the perfect scenario.
+
Orlando�s blush was hidden by wind-burn as he jogged to his first class.
He hadn�t meant to hug Elijah at all. Let alone that close for that long. In the middle of the fucking hallway. But it had been over two weeks since he�d even laid eyes on him, let alone touched him.
Fingers laid light against his palm was all it took.
Orlando laughed helpless and resigned as he skidded through the door of his class.
Being secretly in love kind of rocked.
+
Elijah walked out of forth period, turned the corner and there he was. Orlando sauntered towards him, flanked on three sides by other players.
It was spring semester and with the changes in schedule Orlando and Elijah had the same lunch period.
Elijah stepped easily into the herd.
The group grew and shifted. The inane chatter floated around them, a nuisance of words and laughter and nothingness. The hallways emptied as they headed for the smaller Student Center cafeteria. Elijah found himself walking next to Orlando, the endless round of your-Christmas-rocked-mine-sucked fading when Elijah felt the brush of Orlando�s shoulder against his. They passed the east hall, and Elijah stumbled at the unexpected tug on his sleeve.
The east hall led to the locker rooms.
They abandoned the group, and Elijah fell into step beside Orlando. Shoulder to shoulder they strode down the deserted hall.
Orlando hit the locker room door first, slapping it open, his backpack already sliding down one arm. Elijah followed close behind him, fumbling for his manager keys before throwing his pack carelessly on a center bench between their lockers. It slid off and landed with a muffled thud on top of Orlando�s.
Orlando spun around and thumped back against the equipment room door. Breathing hard. Eyes dark. He licked his lips. �Hurry. Up.�
Elijah shoved the key in the lock, spinning the bolt hard in the metal tube.
Orlando heard the lock click, yanked open the door, grabbed Elijah by the collar and dragged him inside.
Elijah stumbled back against the slammed door with a low sound of desperate, relieved need at the insistent slant of Orlando�s open mouth across his.
Elijah fought back into the savage kiss, tongues and mouths and teeth greedy and clashing, scraping desperate and without finesse. He ground back against the too-hard press of Orlando�s hips, amazed at the heat, the still perfect pressure, and the heady scent of Orlando after too many missing days.
Elijah hissed as nails grazed his back and ass, hasty and strong in their uncaring shove at his how-did-they-get-open jeans, pushing them down his hips. Hands turned him, shuffled him back, nails scraped across a hard nipple, teeth followed the line of his jaw, a wet thumb circled his navel and he bucked into the touch in time to catch the weight of Orlando�s palms gripping his naked hips. He was half lifted against a pile of towels as Orlando dropped to his knees.
Elijah froze, panting and desperately hard. �Orli?�
�Ohgod, I dreamed this�� Elijah barely heard the low, desperate whisper in the endless pause of Orlando�s mouth so close to his twitch-hard cock. Elijah jerked, not really surprised at the hungry sound that escaped as the flat of Orlando�s tongue rolled across the head of his cock. Again. And again.
Orlando made a sound that would have passed for a moan, had it been unbroken by the distraction of his mouth and tongue. He licked again. He opened his mouth wider and sucked on the head, fingers digging into the pale narrow hips that shoved back against his touch.
Orlando heard Elijah�s harsh bitten-off yelp and tried to control his frantic breathing, taking more of Elijah�s length between his lips. He pulled back and tongued the head again before sliding back down, nosing closer to Elijah�s groin each time, lips tighter, tongue flatter and taking more until he was mesmerized by the surprisingly easy velvet glide of cock into mouth over tongue to the very edge of his throat, two fingers and a thumb stroking counterpoint around the base to drive it between his lips. Elijah�s fingers tug-fisted painfully tight in his hair, fingertips grazing his scalp with every thrust of his head.
Orlando moved with the pull-push of Elijah�s hands and hips, unaware of the low hum of pleasure rolling in his chest until he felt the uneven swollen jerk of Elijah�s cock against the roof of his mouth, heard Elijah strangle on an obvious wail of release and the taste of everything Elijah exploded across his tongue. Orlando choked for a microsecond, flinching and unsure, before swallowing, holding Elijah steady, breathing nasal and deep.
Orlando finally responded to the gentle tugs on his hair, Elijah spent length falling slick from his lips as he rocked back, face flushed rosy bright and lips redwetbruised.
Orlando�s black wool hat dangled from three of Elijah�s fingers.
Elijah blinked the sweat out of one eye and stared down over the obscene sprawl of his wet cock, skin naked to mid thigh, into the dark, burning eyes of a still panting Orlando.
Who�d just given him fucking head in the equipment room of their high school.
Elijah fell to the floor with a trembling slither, pulling Orlando and several towels down with him, sliding sideways then flat, Orlando�s dark eyes and tumbled curls hovering over him.
Orlando leaned down, one hand pressed against the side of Elijah�s face. �Lij, was that any better than last��
Elijah yanked Orlando�s head down to his, teeth scraping lips as he thrust his tongue hard and deep between the ridiculous words. Orlando made a soft sound of greedy pleasure and dropped mouth tongue teeth into the welcome-home kiss.
+
Billy�s foot slipped on metal, his hands tightening their hold on the top ridge of the long row of lockers.
�Sssst.� Dom cocked his head, listening to the low murmurs coming from the other side of the equipment room door. He and Billy were perched, hanging over the top row of lockers, the equipment room door just visible at the end of the row.
There was a click and the equipment room door opened.
Dom and Billy quit breathing.
They watched as Orlando appeared in the door, one hand on the knob, his back to the locker room. A hand appeared on the back of Orlando�s neck, pulling his head down. The words not now and later floated across the room.
Orlando�s hand tightened on the knob, then released it, reaching back inside the room. The door slowly started to swing shut.
There was a soft sound, that of mouths parting from an obscene kiss.
Orlando�s hand reappeared.
There was a low chuckle and another reluctant refusal.
Orlando backed out of the equipment room, took a cursory look around and let the door shut. He leaned down and picked up his backpack, slinging it over one shoulder. He looked flushed and on edge. He stood staring down at the other backpack for a long moment, a black knit hat clutched in one hand.
The equipment room door opened again. Orlando spun around, his face flushing.
Dom and Billy grinned.
Elijah leaned casually against the doorframe, thumbs tucked in the pockets of his jeans, head kicked back against the cool metal. He looked flushed and relaxed. The top button of his jeans was undone.
He grinned, lifted a hand,
and crooked a finger at Orlando.
Orlando let his backpack slide to the floor.
The door closed with an audible click behind them, and Billy and Dom heard the deadbolt turn in the lock.
�Hot damn.�
Billy could only nod.
+
�Dude, you have to eat. Your first track meet is this afternoon.�
��lleatlater.� Orlando waved a hand dismissively in Elijah�s direction and turned over another piece of scribbled-on notebook paper. He lowered his head and squinted at his open text book before flipping his pencil and erasing furiously.
Elijah rolled his eyes and set down his pen, pushing his literature book away.
Later. Right.
Elijah shoved back from the cafeteria table. He exchanged friendly insults with the football players at the other end of the long table, and maneuvered his way easily through the still crowded lunch room.
Orlando started when Elijah slapped the paper-wrapped half-a-sub-sandwich and two cartons of milk down on the table next to him. �But��
�Eat.� Elijah raised both eyebrows and stared at Orlando pointedly as he sat back down on the other side of the table.
Orlando snorted, his dark brows drawing together. �I have to finish this calculus homework��
Elijah slapped his own half a sandwich down on the table and made a fingers-to-palm gimme motion with his hand. �Give it here.�
�But��
�Give me the book, Orli.�
Orlando frowned. �Don�t you have to finish your Lit sentences?� Orlando reached for the mangled worksheets in front of Elijah. Elijah snatched them out of his reach and snagged Orlando�s calculus book as well.
�Eat half and you can do my Lit sentences while I finish your calculus.�
�But that�s��
�Don�t worry, I�ll help you study for the test.�
�But I don�t��
�Eat!�
Orlando growled under his breath and dragged the paper-wrapped sandwich closer. He leaned forward, squinting down at the label as he carefully peeled back the wrapper.
Elijah leaned across the table and lowered his voice. �Don�t you have your contacts in?�
Orlando shook his head, lifting a slice of bread to inspect the sandwich�s innards.
Elijah frowned. �Where are your glasses?�
�In my backpack.�
�Well, why the hell aren�t you wearing them?�
Orlando picked up his sandwich, still squinting, and winked at Elijah. ��Fraid you might attack me if I put them on.�
Elijah threw a slice of pickle at him.
Orlando laughed and took a huge bite of the sandwich.
+
Elijah glanced at the wall clock as he headed around the corner, snagging the beer off the bar. Still an hour until close. He headed for a booth in the back.
He put one knee up on the edge of the booth so he could slide the full pint around Orlando�s stack of books, silently switching his empty glass for a full one.
Elijah started when he felt a gentle hand grab his arm. He looked up. Orlando was still staring intently at a text book, scribbling notes in his notebook with a chewed up pencil.
Orlando tugged on Elijah�s arm.
Elijah snorted but let Orlando pull him onto the seat next to him.
Orlando flipped another page, one hand sliding down to Elijah�s hip and dragging him flush up against his side. He slipped a thumb through the belt loop on Elijah�s jeans.
The bar was deserted tonight.
Elijah dropped his head into the hollow of Orlando�s shoulder, sliding an arm around the slender waist in return. He felt the light press of cheek or chin or lips against his temple.
Orlando�s pencil resumed its scratching across the notebook.
Elijah closed his eyes.
Wouldn�t hurt to just sit here for a second.
The front door had a bell�
+
�Hey.�
Orlando looked up with a blink, pencil paused over paper. His eyes widened behind his glasses. His gaze dropped suddenly to where Elijah lay, feet curled up on the booth, one arm thrown across Orlando�s thighs, head tucked into the curve of his hip, fast asleep.
Orlando�s hand was shoved deep in the back pocket of Elijah�s jeans.
He looked back up at the vaguely familiar man, his eyes huge.
The tall, good-looking blonde smiled at him; warm, friendly, and ignoring Orlando�s obvious discomfort. �Viggo around?�
Orlando opened his mouth. Nothing came out. He tried again. �Up�upstairs, I think.�
The blonde grinned. �Thanks.� He nodded at the sleeping form in Orlando�s lap. �That Elijah?�
Orlando could only nod jerkily.
�Tell him Sean Bean said hi.�
�I�I will.� Orlando watched as the man disappeared around the corner.
+
Viggo flung open the door. He grinned, cinching the towel tighter around his waist, wet skin dripping on the hardwood floor. �You�re early.�
�Will you forgive me if I come bearing gifts?� Sean grinned and held up a bottle of single malt scotch.
�You�re forgiven.� Viggo waived him into the room.
Sean stepped through the door with the air of someone familiar with Viggo�s two-bedroom apartment. He set the scotch down on the kitchen counter and opened a cabinet, pulling out two glasses. �That your nephew downstairs?�
Viggo nodded and followed Sean into the kitchen. �Yeah, he�s working the bar for me on weekends.�
�Grown up now, isn�t he?�
�Nearly. He has a birthday coming up in a few weeks.�
Sean made an non-committal sound and shifted slightly as Viggo laid a hand on his hip and reached around him for a couple of plates. �Did you know he�s probably sleeping with that pretty regular of yours, the bookworm?�
Viggo nodded again, un-phased. �Thought that might be the case. His name�s Orlando.�
Sean grinned. �You aren�t surprised?�
Viggo shook his head and frowned, both hands framing Sean�s hips against the counter. �Not really. Elijah wrote me from summer camp last year and all he could talk about was this guy named Josh. Not exactly what you�d expect from a straight seventeen year old. But Orlando seems like a nice enough kid. Any more questions, nosy?�
Sean turned and slid his arms around Viggo�s waist. �Just one more.�
Viggo snorted.
Sean leaned in close. �Why are you still wearing that towel?�
+
Elijah yawned hugely and looked at the stopwatch in his hand. He blinked, then looked up and stared down the still empty road. He sniffed and tucked his hands back in the pockets of Orlando�s letter jacket, legs swinging under the open tailgate of Orlando�s truck. He yawned again and shivered, glad the sun was finally coming up over the horizon.
Elijah heard Orlando before he saw him.
Orlando came loping gracefully over a rise in the narrow country road, black nylon sweats and long sleeve t-shirt unable to hide the play of long limb and muscle pumping fast and fluid as he came flying by the truck, feet skidding on gravel as he slowed and loped into a walk.
Elijah checked the time. �Twenty-seven, thirty-one, five.�
Orlando nodded and walked it out, moving in a slow circle, gasping too hard to form words.
Elijah tilted his head. �That�s almost seven seconds faster than last week and within a few seconds of your personal record.�
Orlando grinned, still gasping and unable to talk, he quit pacing and bent at the waist, sucking in huge gulps of air.
Elijah hopped off the back of the truck. �I still think you�re crazy.� Elijah sniffed and tucked the stopwatch back in his pocket. �Only crazy people get up before dawn on a fuckin� Sunday to �test their time�.�
Orlando was still breathing hard as he lurched forward and wrapped his arms around Elijah, tugging him against his sweaty chest.
Elijah made a face. �You�re ripe, man.� But he slid his arms around Orlando�s waist and leaned into him.
�You. Loveit.� Orlando grinned against Elijah�s temple, his voice a barely audible gasp.
Elijah snorted, turned his head into Orlando�s neck, and licked him, tongue scraping against skin, stubble, sweat and Orlando.
Orlando closed his eyes. �Mmmm��
Elijah chuckled. �Come on, I need food.�
�Denny�s?�
Elijah nodded and squeezed Orlando around the waist before stepping back. �Denny�s.�
Orlando whooped, smacked him lightly on one cheek and ran around the truck, headed for the driver�s door.
Elijah grinned and climbed in.
Getting up before dawn didn�t suck at all.
+
Orlando cleared his throat, pushing the last of his pancakes around the decimated plate. �So what are you doing Tuesday night?�
Elijah barely managed to contain his grin. �Hmmm, Tuesday�Tuesday�oh, you mean that over-commercialized, spouse-torturing, make-people-without-dates-miserable, hell they call Valentine�s Day?�
Orlando raised an eyebrow.
Elijah tried to look as if he were considering. �I had planned on organizing my sock drawer��
Orlando threw a packet of sugar at him. �I�ll pick you up at six.�
Elijah grinned. �My sock drawer will never forgive you.�
Orlando snorted. �Asshole.�
Elijah prodded Orlando�s shin under the table with a foot, his smile infectious. Orlando made a face and prodded him back, their feet and ankles a tangle of denim and cotton and skin.
�How about five thirty?�
�Ok.�
�Five?�
�Whenever.�
�Four��
�Shutup.�
+
Elijah loped out to the truck and froze with his hand on the door handle. �Hi�Buffy.�
�Hey, Elijah.� Buffy�s smile was awkward. �Oh, I�m�I�ll get in the back.�
Elijah shook his head. �No, no, don�t be ridiculous.� He climbed in the back and settled in the seat behind Buffy.
Orlando�s dark gaze met his in the mirror. �Lij, I�m just going to drop her at��
Elijah held up a hand. �It�s totally fine.� He turned to stare out the window.
Of course the entire town would expect Orlando and Buffy to go out on Valentine�s Day. And of course Orlando and Buffy would keep up appearances.
The silence was awkward and unbearable.
Half-way to San Marcos, Buffy turned in the seat. �This is stupid, Orlando, stop the truck.�
Orlando looked at her.
�Stop. The truck.�
Orlando pulled over to the side of the road.
Buffy climbed out and pulled open the back door, her face flushed. �You, out.�
Elijah clambered out of the back. Buffy climbed in and pulled the door shut behind her.
Elijah stood outside the truck for a few seconds before he climbed in the front seat next to Orlando.
Orlando pulled back onto the highway.
The silence was even worse than before.
Buffy snorted and leaned over the front seat. She grabbed Elijah�s hand, grabbed Orlando�s hand and slapped them together before slumping back into the seat with a huff. �I know this isn�t normal, but it�s the best we can do right now, ok? Just�pretend I�m not here.�
Orlando and Elijah looked at one another.
Orlando let go of Elijah�s hand and slowly lifted his arm.
Elijah scooted across the seat and Orlando pulled him against his side in a smooth movement, tucking Elijah into the curve of his ribs, hip and thigh. Orlando slid a thumb through Elijah�s belt-loop. Elijah laid a hand on top of Orlando�s thigh.
Buffy grinned silently from the back seat, something warm and poignant twisting inside her chest as she watched the two young men gradually relax, Orlando chuckling quietly at something Elijah murmured into his ear.
+
Elijah glanced sideways at Orlando as he took the ticket from the valet. Orlando was wearing a black jacket and white dress shirt with jeans. Elijah glanced down at his own dress slacks, indigo dress shirt and gray sweater. The corners of his mouth twitched.
Technically, this was their first real date; dressed up, out to dinner, on Valentine�s Day.
Elijah followed Orlando into the restaurant. It was small, dimly lit and casually-chic. Tables were scattered between silk screens and rows of jungle plants, each small space giving off the illusion of privacy.
They ordered, watched the waiter open and pour the wine, and sat silently staring at the table until Orlando laid a hand on Elijah�s arm. �What�s wrong?�
Elijah shrugged and took an awkward swallow of wine.
Orlando�s hand tightened. �Lij.�
Elijah set down his glass, flipping a fork over before he got it settled flat on the white table cloth. He cleared his throat and gestured at the restaurant around them. �This is really nice, but��
Orlando released Elijah�s arm, set down his glass and leaned back in his chair. �You hate it.�
Elijah sighed. �No, I don�t hate it, Orli � it�s great, really.�
�But?� Orlando ran a hand through his hair.
�Do you realize this is our first, real, actual�date?�
Orlando�s cheeks flushed. �Yes, and that�s why I asked Billy where to go and he suggested this place, but, seriously, if you don�t like it we can go someplace else��
Elijah made a short, derisive sound and grabbed Orlando�s wrist before he could wave at their waiter. �Dude, it�s fine. It�s perfect.� Orlando frowned. Elijah squeezed his arm. �It is. It�s awesome and romantic and stuff. I just wish we didn�t have to drive all the way to Austin, that�s all.�
�Oh?� Orlando relaxed visibly, his smile teasing. �You�d prefer to just grab a greasy burger and shake at the Tasty-freeze on Friday night instead?�
Elijah looked at him, eyes searching the handsome face. �Yes.�
Orlando�s smile broke. He stared at Elijah for a long, silent moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was husky. �Elijah Wood, I promise that next Valentine�s Day, I will take you out for a burger at the Tasty-freeze in Lockhart.�
Elijah snorted and leaned across the corner of the table.
Orlando�s hand tightened on his wineglass, but he didn�t flinch when Elijah kissed him.
Elijah pulled back three inches and growled. �Kiss me back, dammit. It�s cheesy-ass cupid�s day and I want to neck with my secret boyfriend in a fancy restaurant ninety six miles from home.�
Elijah cut Orlando�s chuckle off with another kiss.
Orlando�s fingers rested against the curve of Elijah�s jaw by the time Elijah broke the kiss again. He licked his lips and sat back in his chair.
Orlando�s eyes slow-blinked open. He smiled. �March eighth.�
Elijah blinked. �Huh?�
Orlando leaned close again, lips dragging along the underside of Elijah�s ear. �I want you to have sex with me. You know: All. The. Way. Sex. Starting on March eighth.�
Elijah knocked over his wine glass.
+
�Are you absolutely sure?�
Orlando rolled his eyes and put the game on pause. He let the controller drop into his boxer-covered lap. Elijah sat cross-legged on the floor next to him in worn jeans, leaning against the foot of his bed, not so patiently waiting for Orlando to die so he could finish Level 7.
Elijah�s mom had finally landed a job working night shifts at the hospital. Not that it mattered, really. Elijah�s bedroom was an add-on above the garage, reachable via a set of outside stairs along the side of the house.
Orlando stretched his legs out straight, wriggling his toes. �Dude, it�s my Spring Break. I told them I wanted to do a senior year, guys only trip to the lake house. The parents were totally cool with it. They don�t need to know it�s just you and me.�
�Not your parents, Orli. I mean are you sure.�
Orlando blinked and looked at Elijah. Elijah�s bedroom smelled like sex and sweat and moonrise. �Uh, yeah, Lij. Hello. I�m sure.� Orlando flicked his head over his shoulder at the bed and waggled his eyebrows.
Elijah snorted and elbowed him in the side. �I�m serious. We�ve only ever tried it with two, and I don�t think that�s the same as��
Orlando tossed the controller away and pounced, clambering across Elijah�s lap with a snicker. �Dude, were you even paying attention last night? You didn�t even�� Orlando made a vague motion with his hand, �all you used were the two�� he blushed, �inside and barely, barely licked at the tip and�and I��
�Came so hard you nearly put my eye out? Yeah, I was there.�
Orlando whacked him on the shoulder. �Shutup.�
Now Elijah was laughing. He grabbed Orlando�s ass and squeezed, lift-pulling the firm muscles apart in slow motion. Orlando made an obscene noise and bit at Elijah�s lower lip. Elijah grinned against Orlando�s mouth and slipped his fingers along the cotton-covered crease of Orlando�s ass, gently, gently pressing along the dip. Orlando flinched and Elijah murmured against his mouth. �You sore?�
Orlando shrugged and licked distractedly under Elijah�s ear.
Elijah took that as a yes. He was struck by an insane and deliciously dirty thought. �You want me to kiss it and make it better?�
Orlando froze. He slowly pulled back, a hand covering his mouth, eyes wide. �That�s gross.� His voice was a fascinated whisper.
Elijah licked his lower lip and felt the involuntary twitch of Orlando�s growing erection against his stomach. It matched the sudden ache in his own groin at the thought. �That mean yes?�
Orlando didn�t answer. He dropped his hand, lower lip caught between his teeth.
Elijah sucked in a little breath -- oh, that was definitely a yes.
Elijah scrambled out from underneath Orlando, moving around to curl over his back and shoulders. Orlando didn�t resist, his breathing definitely irregular.
Orlando let Elijah move him like a rag doll, placing his hands on the edge of the low bed, guiding him until he was on his knees, leaning half-on the mattress, Elijah hovering behind him.
Elijah reached underneath, sliding a hand into Orlando�s boxers. Orlando moaned when Elijah wrapped a fist around his erection. Elijah squeezed it gently and pushed Orlando�s boxers to his knees. He started with an open-mouthed kiss between Orlando�s shoulder blades and moved quickly down.
Orlando shuddered and dropped into a deeper arch.
�Lij? You don�t have to�oh. Oh.� Orlando inhaled deeply through his nose. And whimpered.
Elijah moaned at the low sound and gently kissed the soft pucker again. Orlando responded with another low whine of helpless pleasure. Elijah tried adding a little tongue. Bitter and musky, but not terrible. Better. Much better. Actually really fuckin� hot. And God, the sounds Orlando made�
Elijah pulled off a button trying to get his jeans unfastened and his hand tight around his own already pulsing length.
�Fuck.� He couldn�t quite manage two at once. �Can you do yourself?� Elijah licked a little in encouragement and released Orlando�s cock, teasing the slick head with a quick swirl of fingertips.
Orlando huffed out a low growl of protesting agreement and turned onto a shoulder, reaching an unsteady hand towards his own cock, fingers glancing off of Elijah�s. Elijah hummed appreciatively and switched hands, using one to roughly squeeze stroke his cock, the other to spread Orlando�s cheeks wider, holding him as steady as possible under the circumstances.
Elijah�s low humming moans sang counterpart to Orlando�s increasingly obscene sounds as he carefully, wetly, kiss-lick-tongued his way to two noisy, devastating orgasms.
+
�Holy shit, you�re porny.� Orlando lay flat on his back on the floor, boxers still tangled around his knees one arm thrown over his head, faintly dizzy and breathing hard.
Elijah lay sprawled face down next to him, hand still pushed down the front of his jeans, too bone-limp to bother pulling it out, panting sideways into the soft shag of the carpet. �Yeah, who knew?�
�That was like��
�Yeah.� Elijah sounded smug.
Orlando grinned. �Yeah.�
+
There were twenty three days between Valentine�s and the first day of Spring Break.
Twenty three days of what was gradually becoming a perfect, uncontrollable hell.
They collapsed exhausted and boneless, muscles aching and lips swollen, each time more frantic, increasingly desperate, until they rubbed against one another so hard, kneading so much muscle, sinew, hair and bone there were bruises; their sweating, skin-whispering bodies trying to get down-under into and around until they could do nothing but feel.
On the evening of day nineteen, Elijah caught Orlando staring at his mouth over a plate of blueberry pancakes.
Elijah licked his lips.
Orlando reached for the check.
Looked like it was going to be a make-out-till-we-pass-out kind of night.
+
There was a taste of the wickedly deliberate in the way Orlando walked up the stairs to Elijah�s room. In front of Elijah.
Orlando moved out of the way, leaning back against the low rail so that Elijah had hip room to slide in front and open the door.
Elijah swallowed hard and fumbled in his pocket for the keys. He was fumbling with the metal ring when two large hands slapped against the doorframe on either side of his shoulders. A hot mouth caught the curve of flesh at the base of Elijah�s neck between sharp teeth and bit down.
�Hurry up.�
Elijah shivered out a moan, finally managed to get the key in the lock, and turned it.
Orlando nudged him through the door with another sharp nip and a firm press of his hips. Already hard.
Elijah dropped the keys -- uncaring -- to the carpet and spun around, grabbing a hand full of dark curls, dragging Orlando through the door and against his open mouth.
Orlando kicked the door shut behind them and fumbled for the hem of his t-shirt, mouths still slanted across one another. His fingers tangled with Elijah�s as he yanked the shirt off one-armed over his head, their lips parting with a wet sound before Orlando attacked him again, jerking the hem of Elijah�s shirt from the waistband of his jeans and struggling to pull it off.
There was no laughter, no teasing, no antics as shoes were thrown off and two pairs of jeans were drop-kicked into a clumsy pile, topped with mismatched boxers.
Tripping, naked and with an occasional sharp elbow to normally sensitive skin they scrambled across the already rumpled sheets of Elijah�s bed. There was rolling, a twisted hand and an impatient curse before Elijah settled between Orlando�s thighs, their moans nearly identical as hard cocks slid base to tip against one another.
Orlando shifted and slid his heels over the backs of Elijah�s calves, arching against Elijah�s skin. Elijah hunched against Orlando, hands kneading the broad shoulders, tongue licking a spiral around an already peaked nipple as he started rocking against the hot sprawl of Orlando�s long, vibrating body.
Orlando rubbed furrows in Elijah�s hair with his fingertips, chest lifting on a low whimper as Elijah caught a nipple between sharp teeth and nipped, retaliation for the bite still tingling on the back of his neck. Orlando�s head shifted restlessly on the pillow and he reached for one of Elijah�s hands.
Elijah hit stillhardhot insanity when he felt Orlando suck two fingers deep in his mouth, warm tongue pushing along the underside and delving between to lance the sensitive web of flesh before he pulled them noisily from his mouth and waited for Elijah to look up.
Elijah�s heart skipped a full beat as he stared over the rise and fall of Orlando�s lickwet chest and met the impossibly dark asking eyes.
+
Orlando huffed out a whine of tight desperation, one hand clutching the top of Elijah�s shoulders as the barely slick fingers pushed further in.
�It�s�you�re not�� Elijah was panting with Orlando, the clenching pulse around the middle of his two fingers echoed the crimson twitch of his cock. Nothing was as hot as Orlando pushwrithing on the end of his fingers.
Elijah could only think of one thing that would be�
�Stop and I�ll break your fucking�� Orlando hissed and spread his thighs wider.
�Je-suss, that�s�� Tight. Too much. Not enough. So near to perfect.
�Lij, just�� Orlando arched at an almost perfect curl of Elijah�s fingers. He could only imagine what the other would feel like. �Ohgod. Just go ahead and do it.�
�What?� Elijah pulled back abruptly in surprise, yanking his fingers out.
Orlando yelped and slammed his knees together. He cursed and pushed up onto an elbow.
They stared at one another over the tent of Orlando�s knees, both breathing hard.
Slowly, Orlando lay back down, his knees falling open. �I want you to fuck me.�
Elijah�s cock twitched in unanimous agreement. Elijah shivered, attempting a frown of discouragement. �We still have five day��
�I�m ready. I�m ready now.� Orlando flipped abruptly to his side, long arm making a familiar reach towards the nightstand. �More than ready. Fuck, Lij.� Orlando fumbled the lube out of the drawer, dropped it and had to lean over the side of the bed to retrieve it. �The past few days -- Dude, get up on your knees -- have been fucking bizarre.� Orlando scrambled back onto the bed and knelt in front of Elijah. He poured a palm-full of lube into one hand, dropped the bottle near his hip, rubbed his hands together and leaned forward, fisting the length of Elijah�s cock.
Elijah grabbed his shoulder with a gasp, thrusting into the hand that knew him almost as well as his own. Hell, Orlando�s hand could teach his hand a thing or two about�hey, don�t sto�
Oh.
Orlando.
On his knees.
Orlando looked over his shoulder, legs sliding a bit further apart, hips dropping to match Elijah�s. �Screw waiting five more days. If you don�t fuck me right now, I�m going to go fucking insane.�
Elijah licked his lips, hands reaching involuntarily for the folded hollows of Orlando�s hips, soft skin and hard muscle beckoning until he was curled over the long back, one palm stroking down the long spine.
Five days? Elijah couldn�t wait five seconds.
He reached for the lube. With astonishing speed he slicked up his fingers, smeared the excess over the soft pucker of skin, and pushed two inside.
Orlando flinched and made a low, unintelligible noise.
Oh so amazingly tight. Elijah�s breathed in soft, obscene hiccups of sound and pulled his fingers out.
Orlando said�
Elijah thought�
Whatthefuckever. They were gonna do this eventually. Or now.
Elijah put the tip of his cock against the closedagain pucker and pushed.
The resistance was actually quite amazing.
Elijah pushed harder, gripping the side of Orlando�s hips with both hands.
Orlando shifted under him, pushing back and there was an impossibly still moment when skin pushed against skin and there was no way in hell that was going in there and they�d better just�
and he was in.
Just the head, but...in.
Elijah and Orlando went still and silent, broken breath and frozen limbs. Orlando finally managed to find enough breath to speak. His voice spread pain-thin over the silence. �Do�something. Don�t just�shitshitshit.� Orlando stopped, going abruptly silent mid-curse.
Elijah was alltheway.
Elijah was just short of hyperventilating, the sliding crush of tight, unforgiving muscle around his cock dragging him like a racehorse to the finish. If he didn�t move, he might be able to last all of a good sixty seconds.
He leaned forward and moaned as it caused a shift in the tight�
Oh, not so much anymore.
There was an indescribable smoothing. Inside.
Elijah breathed through his nose and tried a very slow nudge back, then forwards. He cursed as Orlando�s muscles clamped down again, squeezing the orgasm hovering at the base of his balls right up through the end of his cock, wrenching a shudder and an involuntary thrust deeper. �Fuckfuckfuck�� Elijah blew the sweat out of one eye, reaching around and underneath, still slick hand feeling for Orlando�s cock just as the orgasm hit him like a lightening rod through the base of his spine. His eyes widened in disbelieving dismayed ecstasy and he squeezed.
�Ow, FUCK!� Orlando twisted and arm under and batted Elijah�s hand away.
Elijah jerked twice more and went still, the horrific after-pleasure still racing under his skin in hot waves.
They�d just had allthewaysex.
And not only had Orlando not come�
he wasn�t even hard.
+
Orlando flopped onto his back, sprawled thighs-apart on the bed, one arm curled tightly across his face.
Elijah stared down at him. There was an ocean of horrified silence drowning in the two inches that separated their bodies.
Like moving in the aftermath of a nightmare, Elijah leaned forward and put a hand on Orlando�s arm.
Orlando flinched.
Elijah grabbed Orlando�s arm with both hands, panic making him tremble. He scooted forward until he was pressed along one side of Orlando�s hip and pried the arm off of Orlando�s eyes.
Elijah made a sound like he�d been sporked in the balls. �Fuckin� please don�t be fuckin� crying. I�ll�fuck, Orli.� Elijah�s voice dropped to a pleading whisper. �Tell me you�re not crying. Tell me it�s your allergies. Or something.�
Orlando snorted and pulled his arm gently out of Elijah�s grasp, his smile wobbling as he wiped his nose on the back of his wrist. �It�s my allergies.�
Elijah scrambled on top of Orlando�s prone body, curling limbs, hands and cheek against every reachable inch of skin. Orlando shifted under him, then settled, curling his arms around Elijah�s back.
They lay in silence.
Orlando turned his head and sighed into the cooling spike of Elijah�s hair. �I�m sorry.�
Elijah raised his head, his expression indescribable.
�That wasn�t really�what I expected.� Orlando ruffled fingers through the hair over Elijah�s ear.
�Did I hurt you?�
Orlando shrugged.
Elijah scooted up, mouth hovering over Orlando�s. �Tell me.�
�I�m fine, Lij. I mean, at first it was just, um�ow. And then there was no�� Orlando made a vague gesture towards his nether regions. �But then it felt kinda�� Orlando�s eyes lost their focus. ��but then you�d already�so.� Orlando shrugged again and smiled sideways. �It�ll get better. We�ll�practice.�
Elijah leaned forward, leaving only a margin of speaking air between their lips. He trailed a thumb over the inside crease of Orlando�s hip. �Let me make it up to you?�
�No.�
Elijah looked stricken.
Orlando palmed Elijah�s temples, touching their foreheads together. �I�m just�not right now, ok?�
Elijah didn�t look any happier.
Orlando sighed and let his head drop to the pillow, the pad of one long finger tracing the pout of Elijah�s lower lip. �It�s�a lot to absorb, ok?�
Elijah nodded, but he didn�t look convinced.
Orlando pulled him down for a hard kiss before not so subtly squirming out from under him.
Elijah watched him walk to the bathroom.
And shut the door.
+
Elijah snapped his eyes closed as Orlando opened the bathroom door.
�Loser, I know you�re not asleep.� Orlando slid between the sheets.
Elijah opened one eye. After a few seconds, he rolled away from Orlando, curling on his side.
Orlando followed, rolling into a familiar arch around Elijah�s back and tucked him into his chest.
Elijah curled Orlando�s hand under his chin.
He lay awake long after Orlando�s breathing settled into a low hum of sleep against his hair.
+
Billy leaned back in his chair and quirked an eyebrow. Orlando had just given him one hell of a strange look.
Orlando took his usual place in the desk in front of Billy, only to spring up with a small sound as soon as his butt touched the seat.
Billy watched as he gingerly sat down again.
Billy spent the next fifty minutes of class watching Orlando try to find a comfortable position on the hard red plastic.
Billy tapped Orlando on the shoulder with his pen just as the bell rang. The sound of sliding desks, conversation and laughter covered his words.
�You got something you wanna talk about?�
Orlando slowly turned around, his cheeks flaming red.
Billy raised an eyebrow. �First time?�
Orlando nodded.
Billy lowered his voice. �So, you�re�not. The top.�
Slowly, Orlando shook his head.
Billy grinned. �Dom owes me twenty bucks.� He stood up and gestured to Orlando. �Come on, let�s find some place quiet.�
+
Elijah stood awkwardly outside his fourth period class, trying not to look like he was waiting for anyone.
For the first time all semester, there was no footballplayerposse outside his door when the lunch bell rang. He frowned and turned down the hall towards the cafeteria.
�Heya, Lij.� Dom pounded up behind him and slapped him on the back, one arm going around his neck. He was breathing hard, like he�d been running. They headed for the cafeteria.
Elijah couldn�t help it. �You seen Orli?�
�Around. Said he had stuff to take care of. So, what do you want for lunch?�
Elijah snorted, understanding. �I don�t need a fuckin� babysitter, Dom. I can find the cafeteria by myself.�
And where the hell was Orlando? And what stuff did he have to take care of? Not like he hadn�t crawled out of Elijah�s bed before dawn this morning to get ready for school�
Dom grinned. �Don�t think of me as a babysitter, man. Think of me as your temporary entertainment director.�
Elijah rolled his eyes. �Fuckin� freak�� His voice trailed off as he glanced down the east hall.
Orlando and Billy were walking slowly down the hall, heads together, one of Orlando�s hands on Billy�s shoulder the other pushing open the locker room door.
Orlando made a sound that told Elijah he was trying hard not to be turned on by something that would gross out most sane people. Elijah watched Orlando follow Billy through the locker room door.
Elijah resisted the urge to spring out from under Dom�s arm and sprint to the locker room, demanding to know what Billy could possibly have to say to his boyfriend that required a secret meeting during lunch.
Without him.
The day after they�d had sex for the first time.
Elijah told himself not to be ridiculous. Billy and Orlando had been friends long before Elijah showed up. Besides, Billy and Dom were a thing.
Right?
Elijah looked at Dom intently. �Everything cool between you and Billy?�
Dom shrugged. �Cool as ever.�
Elijah�s eyes widened.
When Orlando shrugged, it meant he didn�t want to tell Elijah something.
+
Elijah walked out of his last class and jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder.
�Lij?�
Elijah relaxed instantly and turned to Orlando. �Dude, where�ve you been?�
�Busy. Look�� Orlando ran a hand through his hair, staring everywhere but at Elijah�s face. �I�m not running in the meet today.�
�What?�
Orlando shrugged, his cheeks pink. �I�m just not.� Orlando offered no additional explanation.
Elijah blinked. �Ok. Do you still wanna go get��
�Um, I have stuff to take care of tonight. But rain check, ok?� Orlando finally met Elijah�s eyes. His cheeks still a bit pink.
Elijah was completely disturbed. The same elephant-in-a-canoe from before Christmas was doing a one-legged Riverdance on his chest.
Something was wrong.
�Ok.�
Orlando sighed with what sounded like relief, his smile tentative. �Cool. I�ll�see you tomorrow.� He stuffed his hands in his pockets, smiled again and spun away.
Elijah felt sick to his stomach.
�Ok.�
+
Elijah flung down the game controller. He huffed and stared around his room.
One of Orlando�s t-shirts mocked him from the back of a chair.
Elijah clambered to his feet and grabbed his wallet. His room was suffocating without Orlando in it. Not knowing where Orlando was. Or why.
One advantage to living near the center of town was that the distraction of food was never far away. And a greasy-food coma at the Tasty Freeze sounded like the perfect distraction.
Elijah paused at the bottom of the stairs, eyeing his car.
He dropped the keys into his pocket and walked down the driveway. The Freeze was only a few blocks away and even in his funk, Elijah had to admit it was a beautiful spring night.
+
Elijah looked around as he stood in line behind a pee-wee soccer team. The Tasty Freeze was an open-aired burger stand/old drive in complete with car hops and picnic tables.
Elijah moved as the line moved, then paused mid-step, his ears twitching.
Very slowly, he turned around.
Towards the back, in the unpaved section of the parking lot, complete with the most abused of the red chained-together picnic tables was a huge black pickup truck.
Parked so that it blocked the view of one half of a table.
Elijah�s ears twitched again. That was Orlando�s laugh.
And that was Orlando�s truck.
Elijah stepped out of line, disbelieving. He walked in a daze to the back of the lot.
He stepped around the pickup and the bile roiled in his stomach, breathing suddenly becoming an issue.
Orlando was perched on the table, pressed shoulder to ankle against Billy, also perched on the table. They were hunched over something in Billy�s lap, one of Orlando�s arms around Billy�s shoulders. Billy turned a page. They laughed again and Orlando slapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes widening.
Elijah hadn�t made a sound.
But Orlando looked up.
He dropped his hand and grinned, dark eyes sparkling with humor and pleasure at seeing Elijah. �Hey, Lij.�
Elijah couldn�t control his reaction. Last night. Alltheway sex. Orlando not getting off. Crying. The secret conversation today during lunch. The brush-off of their usual track-meet followed by Denny�s in celebration. To find him here just�laughing with Billy about something Elijah hadn�t been asked to share.
Elijah turned away without a word. He walked around the back of the lot, no longer interested in food.
Orlando�s smile faded into a confused grimace. Billy touched him on the knee. �Orli, I don�t think he�s happy that you�re talking to me.�
Orlando made a derisive sound, staring incredulously after the rapidly departing Elijah. �What do you mean he�s not�oh. Oh. Fuck.� Orlando jumped up, moving away from Billy so fast the book fell to the ground. He stared after Elijah, both hands fisted tight and frantic in his hair. He spun around to face Billy, pulling at the dark curls. �Ohmygod. I�m at the Tasty Freeze.�
Billy knelt to pick up the book, confused. �So?�
Orlando turned back to look at Elijah. �With you. Not him.� Orlando turned back to face Billy, his panic complete. �I told him that I�d go on a date. Here. Valentines Day. Shitshitshit. And now I�m here with you. Instead of him.�
Billy gestured behind Orlando. �I think you�d better go tell him that. I�ve never seen him move that fast.�
Orlando spun around, cursed and took off at a dead sprint.
Elijah was half way down the block.
Running.
+
It took Orlando two blocks to catch him.
�Lij!�
Elijah didn�t answer, still running full out.
Orlando thanked every past mile of track and road under his feet as he took it up a notch and snagged the back of Elijah�s hooded sweatshirt.
Elijah slowed as soon as he felt the tug. He gasped to a stop, twisting and jerking away from Orlando�s hold.
Orlando caught him again easily. �Lij�Lij�I�msorry, �msorry, �msorry�� Orlando reeled Elijah in against his still heaving chest, whispering a litany of regret.
Elijah refused to turn, straining his face away, rigid and unforgiving against Orlando�s chest, staring hot and wet-eyed as far from Orlando as he could get.
�Billy and I were just talking.�
Elijah still refused to look at him, his fingers digging canyons in the arm Orlando had banded around his chest.
Orlando breathed into the back of his skull. �I just needed to ask him about last night. What was�wrong. What I could do better. He was just�showing me stuff.�
Elijah sniffed snotty and loud in the quiet street. �I know. I don�t care that you were talking to Billy. He�s your friend.� His voice wobbled up and back down through his normal range.
Orlando shut his eyes, the burn behind them tangible as he heard Elijah�s voice filtered through tears. Orlando pressed his nose against Elijah�s head, breathing warm into the hot spike of dark hair.
Elijah�s fingers relaxed into an almost caress. He sniffed again and huffed out a painful, blubbering laugh. �Shit, I�m such a fucking girl.�
Orlando tightened his arms. �No, no.� Orlando gently turned Elijah around. The broken blue of Elijah�s eyes wrecked him. He pulled Elijah back into his chest, as close as he could get, squeezing hard. �You�re not a girl. You�re not. Thank God.�
Elijah snorted softly against Orlando�s neck, his arms finally sliding around the slender waist.
They stood silent and clinging on the sidewalk until a car door slammed in the distance.
Orlando pulled back and petted the sides of Elijah�s face, thumbing under his eyes to erase the last tracks. �I�m such an asshole.�
Elijah sniffed and shrugged.
Orlando knocked his forehead against Elijah�s. �You still hungry?�
Elijah shrugged again.
Orlando grinned. �Can I buy you a burger?�
Elijah went very still. �What kind of burger?�
�Whateverthehell kind of burgers the Tasty-freeze has.�
Elijah Wood kissed the high school quarterback full on the mouth � with tongue -- in the middle of downtown Lockhart.
It was pitch black.
And the streets were deserted.
But still�
