Chapter Five - Home
Dom has been pacing his landing for about fifteen minutes now, eyeing the guestroom door every other two seconds. He stuffs his fists in his jeans pockets, forcing himself not to bite his nails.
"Fuck," he mutters softly under his breath and turns around, making for his own bedroom again. He grabs the doorknob, hesitates, lets go of it and turns around again. "Fuck," he grumbles a second time and rests his back against the doorframe, briefly closing his eyes.
Elijah had taken Dom's night by storm. Shy at first, he had sat down on the red velvet monster as Billy had dubbed the couch and had accepted a beer from Dom's hands with that brilliant smile so typically Elijah that it instantly turned Dom's insides to mush.
He had brought Dom a CD, some stuff that he had thrown together, claiming they were the songs that always made him feel at home, no matter where in the world he was, and that maybe they worked for Dom as well. He had offered a timid smile to accompany the gift and Dom was pretty sure that from that moment on Wellington could hire him as an additional lighthouse, as he was sure he hadn't stopped glowing ever since.
Billy had said goodbye only ten minutes after Elijah had made his entrance, and Dom had thrown him a questioning look that the Scot ignored completely. "I'm an old man, guys," he had claimed, much too chipper to Dom's liking. "I need my sleep if I ever want to keep up with you youngsters."
Elijah had giggled, Dom had frowned - scared as he was to be left alone with the American - but Billy had winked at him when he stepped out the door. "Common ground, Dom," he had said softly. "You can do it." After which he got into his car, and, while smiling rather wickedly, had left Dom to his own devices.
* * *
When he walks back into the living room, he sees Elijah on his knees on the floor in front of the sound system, softly humming while he goes through an open yet unpacked box, filled to the brim with CDs. He turns around skittishly when he realises Dom is watching him, and the shyness returns full force. "Sorry," he mutters and tries to stand up, almost knocking over another unpacked box in the process. "I shouldn't have... Sorry."
He blushes and Dom notices how pale the boy's skin actually is. He stares at the flushed cheeks, almost unable to withstand the steely blue of those fucking eyes, and has to seriously fight the sudden urge to reach out and stroke the boy's cheek. He shakes his head, struggling to resurface.
"It's okay, really," he says quickly, motioning with his hands, gesturing for Elijah to sit down again. "You just go ahead and take a look."
"You sure?" Elijah asks, and when Dom makes more encouraging moves, he carefully lowers himself in front of the box of CDs again, reaches inside and pulls out a handful of jewel cases. With a soundless grin, Dom watches how they are all subjected to the boy's close scrutiny. He decides he needs more beer.
When he returns from the kitchen with two bottles, he notices how the blush has almost completely disappeared from Elijah's face and how totally captivated he is by Dom's CD collection. He walks up to the boy and squats beside him, handing him his beer.
"What's this?" Elijah asks and picks up the CD that is on top of a pile he obviously has placed apart from the rest. Dom takes it from him and smiles. "I Am Kloot - Manchester band," he announces proudly. "Very good, still quite unknown, but I am sure they're going to hit it big one of these days. Their first real album still has to be recorded, but this is taken from one of their first gigs I went to earlier this year."
He notices how Elijah is watching him as he talks, drinking in his words, unconsciously reaching for the CD again. "What do they sound like?" he asks, and suddenly Dom sees a glittering in the blue eyes that he hasn't seen before. "Uhm....." he answers, rather stupidly. "I guess they have a rather unique sound, it's difficult to compare them." Elijah nods, hesitating, casting a timid glance at the sound system. "Could I... you know," he jerks his head slightly, indicating the CD player, already trying to open the jewel case.
Suddenly, Dom laughs out loud, causing Elijah to cringe. "Of course you can," he says, hitting the eject button briskly. Elijah offers a relieved smile and when he reaches out his hand to place the CD inside the player, Dom grabs his wrist.
"Elijah," he says, a bit too gently maybe, but hell, it's out there now. "Why are you so shy around me?" The boy whips his head around, staring at Dom, unyielding blue eyes wide with surprise.
* * *
Dom opens his eyes, takes a deep breath and pushes himself away from the doorframe he is still resting against. He is sure that the thumping sound he is hearing must be the loud beating of his heart, because he knows the rest of the house is completely quiet. He turns around and stares at the door of the guestroom again.
Elijah is sleeping on the other side of that door, he thinks, but wishes he could say it out loud, because he still has trouble believing it. And God help me, but I want to take a look...
Releasing a shuddery breath, he suddenly starts moving towards his own bedroom again. What the hell do you think you're doing, Monaghan? Fucking pervert... He grabs the doorknob, turns it, and this time actually walks into his own bedroom, closing the door behind him.
* * *
Elijah swallows nervously, averts his eyes and picks at some lint on his t-shirt. "I... erm..." he starts and fidgets with the CD case, clumsily trying to remove the disc. "S-sorry..."
"Don't be," Dom quickly interrupts, realising he has been a little too candid. "I'm sorry for asking such a stupid question. But Elijah..." Somehow the tone in Dom's voice makes the boy look up and to Dom's disappointment, the happy glittering in his eyes has disappeared. "I want to be your friend, okay? I know you think I am insane or something, but I'm not, really - and we're going to be working together for such a long time and..."
"I don't think you're insane," Elijah suddenly cuts in, his voice surprisingly clear. Dom looks at him, dumb-founded, slowly closing his mouth. He meets the boy's unbelievable eyes and detects a strange mixture of determination and fear there. "It's just that sometimes I don't..." He hesitates, clearly searching for the right words. "Sometimes I think..." he starts again, but he's not looking at Dom anymore.
"Sometimes I get the feeling you think I'm just this kid and that you don't like me at all and then you make these jokes that go way too fast for me," he inhales, completely surprised by his own openness. "And I know the jokes are on me," he adds.
Dom is silent and lets go of Elijah's wrist.
"But Billy likes you," the boy continues quietly, close to a whisper. "And Sean thinks you're okay, too." He clicks the CD back in its case and reaches for the player, pushing the power button. "So I guess it's me then." He glances sideways at Dom and gets up from his crouched position. "I'd better go. I am really not good at this..."
"Hey," Dom grabs his wrist again. "Don't go, please. It's not you, you know. It's me." They watch each other for a few long seconds and suddenly Elijah pushes his fist against his mouth. He can't help a tiny grin from escaping.
"It sounds like we're breaking up or something," he giggles around his fingers and when Dom's worried look turns into a grin as well, the boy lets out a brilliant laugh from deep within himself and Dom can't help but laugh as well.
He grabs Elijah's CD from the coffee table and pushes the power button of the player once more. "Right, kid," he exaggerates with a wide grin. "Why don't you go and grab some more beer from the fridge while I listen to the things you've brought me."
* * *
Lying on his back, staring at the ceiling, Dom realises he has done far too much of that during these past few weeks. He can still feel his heart beating in his chest, forcing himself to take a couple of deep breaths. He thinks of how Elijah had returned from his kitchen with two new bottles, how he had watched the boy drink from it - those wet, pink lips closing around the neck of the bottle, the slight bobbing of his Adam's apple as he swallowed the beer. Dom had tried his utmost to concentrate on the music in his ears and the CD in his hand, instead of on the casual way in which Elijah had wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, smiling as the first sounds of Siva wafted into the room.
* * *
The both of them are still sitting in front of the sound system, listening to various examples of their newfound common ground, a wealth of jewel cases and empty beer bottles scattered around them. Elijah looks up again, the smile he had been wearing all evening slowly sliding off his face.
"Really, Dom, I should go home," Elijah says, checking his watch and realising what time it is. "One more day of rehearsals tomorrow, and a script meeting and dialect training..." His head lowers and all Dom sees is the mass of unruly, dark auburn hair, going every which way, undoubtedly soft to the touch. He can barely stop his hand from reaching out.
"I'm nowhere near Frodo yet, Dom..." he sighs and shakes his head. "I feel like I don't even have him in sight..." Dom opens his mouth to disagree because what he has seen at those script meetings tells him Elijah is going to be a brilliant Frodo. Yet he snaps his mouth shut again when he realises Elijah has to believe that himself first.
"We're all nervous about this, Elijah," he says instead. "You'll grow into him, I'm sure... God knows you work hard enough for it." He gets up, groans with the pain in his legs from sitting on the floor for such a long time, and makes his way to the kitchen. "Just one more!" he announces. "For the road!"
* * *
With a deep sigh, Dom gets up from the bed and slips into his sweats yet again. He opens the door as quietly as he can and makes his way down the stairs. He needs a distraction, something to drink maybe, or eat, he really doesn't care, but knowing - just knowing that Elijah is sleeping one wall away from him in his own house, causes him to be nervous and excited all at once.
He pours himself a glass of milk, makes his way to the living room and plops down on the red velvet monster. He puts his feet up on the coffee table and takes in the sight of the mess the two of them left behind when they went upstairs.
* * *
"Jesus," Elijah mutters, too loud for Dom not to hear. He turns his head to look at the clock on the wall and then check his watch. Sighing, he drops his chin on his chest. "It's the fucking same thing every single fucking time..."
Quite the mouth, Dom smirks inwardly but remains completely stoic on the outside. He watches how Elijah scrambles to his feet, brushing imaginary dust from his jeans, and then stumbling backwards the slightest bit, indicating that he doesn't hold his liquor too well yet. Elijah grabs for the armrest but misses it, falling down on the couch.
"Shit, Dom," he starts, his head lolling backwards against the backrest, but never losing eye contact with the Brit. "You're seriously devious, man. First you get me going over all kinds of unknown music and then you slowly fill me up with this stuff." Giggling, he kicks at an empty beer bottle on the coffee table and proceeds to waggle an unsteady finger at Dom. "Very very devious, Dom."
"Shit..." he mutters and drops his hands in his lap. His eyes narrow and widen as realisation hits him. "Shit."
Dom chuckles a bit but knows Elijah got here in his own car and that he is in no state to drive anymore. He gets up and moves over to the couch, takes hold of Elijah's arm and looks into his eyes. "You can sleep here."
* * *
Dom picks up the CD that Elijah gave him and turns it around in his hands. He scans the titles again, downing the last of his milk, and is suddenly hit by the gesture this gift really is. These songs are personal; they make Elijah feel at home - how had he put it? No matter where in the world I am. These are the songs he grew up with. These songs are his comfort - they make him feel good when things are bad. These songs might well be Elijah himself.
He turns the jewel case around again and looks at the scribbly handwriting on the front.
"For Dom - Home"
He stands up, leaves his empty glass on the table and makes for the door, CD clutched in his sweaty palm. On the stairs he suddenly realises that Elijah knows about his homesickness, yet he never told him. He stops and thinks about this.
He never even told Billy...
"Fuck," he curses under his breath. "That does it." He crosses the landing once more and comes to a halt in front of the guestroom door. Just a tiny peek, he thinks to himself, trying to justify one short glance inside the room. See if he's okay - he did drink too much....
Dom places the CD on the floor and slowly, softly turns the handle, carefully pushing the door open just a little bit, noticing immediately how Elijah never drew the curtains. He opens the door a little wider, just enough so that he can watch the bed, and when he is sure Elijah is sound asleep he takes a small step into the room.
Elijah's clothes are in a heap at the foot of the bed. One leg of the jeans is pulled inside out, as if the boy had been struggling to get out of them. The dark blue hoody and the t-shirt he had been wearing underneath are in a tangle together, almost sliding off the bed when Elijah turns around, a brief groan escaping his lips.
Dom squints, trying to focus, feeling like he shouldn't be watching this, yet not moving a single inch. He leans backwards slightly and rests his body against the doorframe, one hand hanging aimlessly by his side, the other brought up to his face, his knuckles close to his lips.
Elijah's face is barely visible in the faint light that comes through the window, but Dom knows where to look. He watches the chaotic mess of tangled hair - stark against the white pillowcase - and almost grins. Maybe he will stumble into the bathroom tomorrow morning - unannounced, by accident - and witness the fight Elijah must surely put up with it every day.
He notices the razor sharp jaw and that beautiful straight nose and the way those impossible lips are just slightly parted and suddenly he knows why Pete chose Elijah to play Frodo. He understands why he had to look no further once he saw this pure, beautiful, perfect face. If hobbits are supposed to embody honesty, and vulnerability and purity, Dom muses, then Elijah�s Frodo will be the epitome of a hobbit. He smiles in the dark.
Still sound asleep, Elijah moves again, unconsciously pushing at the duvet, ending up on his back. His chest is exposed now, and Dom stuffs his knuckles in his mouth, desperate not to make a noise. If Elijah would wake up and find him standing here, all hell would break loose, he is sure of that. But instead of getting out of the room, Dom eyes are drawn towards the shockingly dark nipples, standing out even more in the pale light.
There's another sound - Dom's heart misses a beat - but again the boy doesn't wake up. Instead, he simply snuggles deeper into the pillow and rests his hand on his chest, making Dom watch the clearly soft expanse of Elijah's belly intently, trailing it all the way down to where the duvet covers slightly jutting hips.
Without actually remembering that he moved it, Dom notices with a start how the hand not currently wedged between his teeth, has come to rest on the steadily growing bulge in his sweats.
For fuck's sake - get out, get the fuck out! Dom scolds himself silently, but he feels like he has been nailed to the floor. And instead of moving his feet, he just presses the palm of his hand a little harder against his erection, only briefly closing his eyes, barely suppressing a moan of relief.
When familiar, impatient beeping crescendos from Elijah's cell phone suddenly and pierces the utter silence in the room, Dom is cruelly shocked out of his pleasure, and his eyes fly wide open.
Chapter Six
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