You Are Amazing

Title: You Are Amazing
Author: laeglass
Rating: R this part; NC-17 in general
Pairing: Viggo/Orlando, Sean B./Elijah, Viggo/Karl (implied)
Summary: Viggo meets Karl.
Feedback: Please feed me. laeglass_freak@hotmail.com
Archive: Mirrormere, Aníron slash, Adultfanfiction.net
Disclaimer: Orlando Bloom, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Bean, Elijah Wood, Karl Urban and generally everyone mentioned in this story belong to themselves. I know nothing about their private lives and/or sexual preferences. This never happened; I am making it all up.
Betaed by kittkatth. Thanks sweetie! :)


Part Five

Viggo’s POV


I looked myself in the mirror. Were a pair of jeans and a black sweater casual enough attire or should I change? I smoothed my hair with nervous hands and inhaled deeply. Was I ready to face Karl after everything that had happened between us? I wasn’t sure. Karl had hurt me so badly; I wasn’t certain if I could talk with him civilly, when all I wanted was to deliver a punch to his jaw. I checked my appearance and nodded to my reflection. Okay, I was ready to go, or as ready as I could possibly be under the circumstances.

“You’re going now?” Orlando asked and looked at me calmly from where he was lying on our unmade bed. The expression on his lovely face belied the calmness of his tone. I could see that he was nervous and that he didn’t want me to meet Karl, my ex-boyfriend. I wanted to reassure him but couldn’t help feeling a bit annoyed with him at the same time. Did Orlando think that I would jump Karl the second I saw him? Didn’t he trust me at all? Then I chastised myself for even thinking anything like that; Orli was probably just worried about me. I swallowed my annoyance - which was unjustified to begin with – and tried to sound comforting when I answered Orlando’s question.

“Yes”, I answered simply and met his worried eyes in the mirror. “I don’t think it’ll take long, though. I’ll just listen to what he has to say and then I’ll come home to you. Okay?”

“Yeah”, Orlando said and tried to smile but failed miserably. “Vig, I have to be honest with you. I really don’t like the idea of you meeting Karl alone. Maybe I should come with you.”

I turned to face him. “No, Orli. We’ve discussed this already. I don’t want you to meet him; or rather, I don’t want him to meet you. I don’t trust Karl and I don’t want him near you or anyone I care about.” Orli didn’t look happy with my words so I continued in a gentler tone. “I won’t be long, I promise. I’ll be back before you’ve even noticed that I’ve gone.”

Orlando nodded stiffly but managed to smile when I cupped his jaw and kissed his lips, my darling boy. I inhaled his sweet scent and smiled ruefully as my cock twitched inside my pants again. Behave, old boy; you’re not getting any right now. I kissed him again and met his brown eyes. “And when I get back I’m gonna love you the way you deserve, angel. Don’t worry about Karl, Orlando. There’s nothing he can say that could interest me in the slightest. I love you. I belong to you. Nothing will change that.”

“And I love you”, Orlando said sweetly and smiled. “Just don’t let him get to you. He can’t hurt you anymore, Vig. It’s all in the past, yeah? Just think about the sweet things we’ll do together once you get back home if it gets too much. I’ll be here waiting for you.”

I smiled, too and kissed the tip of his nose. “You’re right, as always, angel. But now I really must get going. I’ll see you later, okay? Just make yourself at home; there’s some food in the fridge and Henry’s DVDs are in the living room if you want to watch a movie or something. You’ll be fine.”

Orlando pouted a little but nodded nevertheless. “Yeah. And if Karl tries to come on to you, you should just punch the guy and be done with it.”

“I will, I promise. But I have to say that it’s highly unlikely that Karl would be interested in me anymore. And I’m definitely not interested in him. I’m just doing this so that he’ll leave us alone.”

With a final kiss and a promise to hurry home I left Orlando to his own devices and headed to downtown. Better get this over with.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“You came.”

Karl’s voice was warm and he smiled as he stood up and took my hand in his. I immediately noticed how different he looked; he had bleached his hair and cut it shorter. It looked very good on him and made his hazel eyes look even darker.

Karl had a cup of coffee in front of him on the table. It smelled good and my mouth watered at the thought of drinking some myself, but then I remembered that I had decided not to drink or eat anything, just to listen what Karl wanted and then get the hell out of here. I met Karl’s eyes evenly and found that he was looking at me very intently. For some reason that made me feel a bit nervous, And then annoyed at feeling nervous. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to show up but I’m glad you did. You look good Vig, Really.”

I smiled tersely. Karl looked good as well, but then again, he always did. Hell, let’s face it; Karl was a gorgeous bastard and he knew it too. He’d always been able to play it to his own advantage. “Karl”, I acknowledged, squeezing his hand briefly. “To tell the truth I wasn’t sure myself if I was going to show up”, I confessed and was rewarded by a dazzling smile from my ex. Stop being so good-looking Karl. It’s easier to remember why I’m still angry and hurt if I don’t feel attracted to you.

“You must be surprised to hear from me”, Karl said and sat down, gesturing for me to follow his example. He smiled a pleased smile as I did as he had expected. “The last time we talked, things got a little… out of hand. I said some awful things to you Vig; things that I shouldn’t have said. I want to apologize for that.”

“You asked to see me because you want to apologize to me?” I repeated incredulously. It was so totally out of character that for a moment I didn’t know what to say.

“Yeah, I feel bad that we split up on such bad terms. After all, we had a good time together, didn’t we?” Karl said almost wistfully. He noticed my expression and was quick to find his smile again. “You may not believe it but I’m not that same uninvolved, heartless bastard that I was back then. I know now that I treated you very badly and I feel kinda guilty about it.”

I just stared at him, trying to decipher what Karl was trying to do here; I didn’t believe that people could change just like that, seemingly overnight. Especially considering how many times my ex-lover had fucked me over. No, I wasn’t buying his bullshit. “That’s really interesting. Now would you be so kind to tell me, how does you feeling bad have anything to do with me?” I asked, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

Karl leaned back on his chair and lowered his head a little, wrapping his large hands around the coffee cup. I suspected he did that only to have something to do with his hands. I felt smug; if I could make Karl want to fidget I had the upper hand. “Okay, I think I deserved that”, he said and glanced at me from beneath his lashes. “I missed you, Vig.”

“What?” I exclaimed loudly and frowned in bewilderment. Karl looked at me oddly.

“I said that I probably deserved that”, he repeated slowly like he was talking to a child. “Are you okay mate? You look a bit shaky.”

I nodded. Yeah, I did feel a bit shaky, too. Did I really imagine the part about him missing me? Fuck. What was wrong with me? “I’m fine. And you did deserve that”, I couldn’t help adding and we shared a grin. God, it would have been so easy to fall into banter with him. Karl had been right earlier when he said that our time together had been good; we always discussed everything and we shared a wonky sense of humour. Yet it felt strange to actually speak with him, face to face, after all these months. “So now that you have apologized”, I said, sobering up. “What now? I’m sorry but I can’t offer you forgiveness just like that. Over time, maybe, but not just yet. I appreciate the gesture, though. Anything else you wanted to discuss or was that it?”

Karl nodded. “Fair enough. I didn’t think that you’d accept it that easily, but I needed to get this off my chest.” He then ran his fingers through his dark hair and exhaled loudly. “Shit, I feel like such a teenager again, Vig. You always had that effect on me.”

He gave me another coy glance and grinned when I raised an eyebrow in amusement at his antics. Was he actually flirting with me? I had to admit it, the guy had some nerve. “Actually, there is another thing I wanted to talk to you about”, he admitted after a moment’s silence. “You know that John is still my agent, right? Anyway, he and I had a little chat a few weeks ago. He suggested that you and I did a show together. He’s been in contact with some high-profile gallery that’s very interested in both of us.”

Well this was new to me. John Rhys-Davies, who happened to be my agent as well – in fact he only ‘got together’ with Karl after I started seeing him - hadn’t mentioned anything to me. “What, together? Is he out of his fucking mind?” I asked sharply. John knew very well what had happened between my ex and me, and yet he’d suggest a common exhibition? Or was it John’s idea to begin with? Was Karl behind this idea, and if so, what was he trying to achieve? Suddenly something inside me snapped.

“Shit, Karl, I almost fell for your so-called heart-felt apology,” I said wryly, preparing to stand up and leave. I couldn’t believe that he had managed to have me fooled again. “I’m such a fucking idiot when it comes to you, Karl. I always believe your sweet little lies like some brainless dolt. I have to hand it to you; this was a good one. I actually believed that you were sorry for the things you’ve done, but as it turns out, you’re just interested in using my name and my art for your own benefit. Fuck you, Karl. Next time you and John have a little chat you can tell him that I’m not interested, and that he can expect to get fired by me in the near future.” I think I actually snarled those words and stood up. I was so angry and disappointed; Karl was the same old fucker that he’s always been, but at least he used to be honest back then.

Karl stood up as well and held his hands up. “Whoa, whoa there, mate. Not so fast. I meant what I said earlier. I’ve been a fucking bastard and I’m sorry that I hurt you. That has nothing to do with John’s suggestion, and I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but I’m not exactly an unknown name in the art world anymore. I don’t need you to boost my career. That’s not why I wanted to ask you this.”

“Why then?”

“Just think about it. Urban and Mortensen. The wild child and the grand champion, together. The public and the media would go crazy”, Karl explained and his face lightened up enthusiastically. “I would kill to work with you, Vig. I’ve always looked up to you, you know that. Hell, if we did a show together we would have all the media attention we could ever hope for. Think about it, Vig. It’s a brilliant idea.”

I couldn’t help grinning at his obvious enthusiasm. I also couldn’t help admitting that the idea in itself wasn’t all bad; in fact, it was quite good. That didn’t mean that I was interested in working with Karl, though. “Fine. Let’s say that I give this a serious thought. What happens next?”

Karl sat down and leaned forward so that his elbows rested on the table. “Of course we contact John first. It makes things a lot easier that he’s working for both of us; we don’t have to deal with other agents and their demands and such. After that it’s just about taking the photos and then selecting the ones you want to show. You know that John will take care of everything; all you need to do is take the pics and show up at the opening. The media loves you, and they’re starting to like me, too.”

“I’m having an exhibition in London at the moment. Originally I had thought to take some time off after that showing,” I admitted. “Spend some time with Henry and maybe go to Idaho for a while, I don’t know.”

Karl looked at me patiently. “Vig, don’t be daft. You know as well as I do that the artist in you won’t let you take any time off. Besides, we’re not talking about next month here. The showing would in the earliest take place in four months. I’m pretty busy with other projects right now.” We sat in silence for a moment and I spent the few seconds studying his face. Karl seemed to be really serious about this; as I had told Orlando earlier, my ex-lover had lots of ambition and he was very serious about his art and career, as was I.

“Normally I would tell you to call my agent and discuss this with him but since this is his idea…” I mused. Would it be a good idea to get involved with Karl again? No, it wouldn’t, my mind told me. But somehow I felt that it would be the kind of challenge that I needed in my life right now, professionally speaking. I had always thought that Karl was talented; he had great, if sometimes a bit unconventional ideas and a good eye for photography. Maybe I should give this idea some serious thought after all. “Call me next week and you’ll have my answer. I can’t give you one right now. Is that okay?”

“Better than okay”, Karl admitted and took my hand in his where it rested on the table, squeezing it briefly. “Jesus, Vig, I’m so excited at the mere thought of having my photos shown next to yours. You’re still my idol, after all this time.”

We shared a companionable smile and fell into silence once more. “Well, if that’s all I’ll get going. It was… nice to see you”, I added after a moment’s hesitation. I was quite surprised to realise that it was true. It really was nice to see Karl. Somehow, after the separation, he had turned into a monster in my mind and memories, but it was good to see him again and remember that he could be nice, and funny too.

“You too Vig, really”, Karl practically drawled and I actually jumped on my seat as I felt his hand land on top of my thigh; it was warm and solid, and when he squeezed a bit I felt my cock jump. Not this shit Karl. Please.

“What are you doing?” I almost squealed and brushed the offending hand off of my thigh. Karl offered a grin as an apology.

“C’mon, Vig, let’s not beat around the bush. I know that you still want me. Or are you going to deny the attraction that’s between us? You’re so fucking sexy right now, I could go down on you right here right now regardless of who’s watching.”

“Stop that, Karl”, I growled and stood up, furious at both him and my reaction. I couldn’t deny that my traitor cock had gotten some ideas from the groping and the fact pissed me off, majorly. Now, I know that physical stimulation can result in such reactions but I was ashamed nonetheless. I had made love to Orlando only a few hours earlier, and now Karl fondling my thigh resulted in my cock stiffening? How pathetic can you get, old man?

“You’re hard”, my ex-lover observed with a shameless smirk. “I bet you’d love to fuck me, wouldn’t you? Hard and fast, up against the wall.”

“Karl, I’m with someone”, I said seriously. I was trying not to imagine the things he said but it was hard, no pun intended. Sex with Karl was always great. We had never made love, ever; it was more like a wrestling match that more often than not ended in him getting my cock up his ass or down his throat. That was the way we’d preferred it when we still were together: hard, fast and sweaty. With Orlando it was… different. Sure, we fucked sometimes, but it was always so much better when we made love slowly and sweetly, face to face, so that I could gaze at his lovely features and take his sweet lips in a lingering kiss when the fancy hit me. It was romantic, it was lovely. With Karl… hard and brutal. And right now it seemed that my cock was interested in something hard and brutal. Fuck.

“So?” It was obvious that Karl didn’t understand why I was unwilling to take him up on his offer. My cock wasn’t, but I was the one in charge. At least that’s what I wanted to tell myself. “I’m not trying to break you up with whoever it is that you’re dating now, but I know that you and I still have this spark between us and I would like to explore it further. I know you want me; it’s obvious that this hard-on you’re sporting is for me and not for your significant other.” He said the last two words with contempt.

“No, Karl. He and I, we’re serious about this relationship, and I’m not going to jeopardize everything by fucking you. I’m just going to pretend that this never happened and try not to let it affect my decision regarding the art show,” I said and made to leave. I should have known that this would happen; but then again, with Karl it was impossible to predict what would happen next.

Karl obviously realised that I was going to leave for he also stood up and came to stand in front of me. “You can tell yourself that you don’t want me but deep inside you know better. This”, he accentuated his words by squeezing my semi-hard member through my jeans, “knows better. But I’ll humour you, for now. You’ll come to me when you’re ready. Give my best to your partner.”

With that, he took hold of my neck and pulled me into a kiss. I wasn’t exactly shocked, since that was something that could be expected from Karl, but still it took me all of ten seconds to push him away. His taste was familiar; he tasted of Marlboro, coffee and something sweet that I didn’t immediately recognize. We both breathed hard and stared at each other in silence. Karl’s hazel eyes had darkened noticeably and I could feel his hardened cock against my thigh. I was dimly aware that all other patrons were openly staring at us; sure, it’s L.A., but two guys kissing isn’t that common a sight even here.

“Fucking hell, Karl”, I spat, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “That was totally uncalled for.”

Karl just smiled and adjusted his crotch indiscreetly. “Don’t pop a vein, Vig. What’s a little kiss between mates?” He winked and walked to the door. “I’ll call you next week. Think about my offer.”

You didn’t have to be a brain surgeon to understand that he wasn’t talking only about the exhibition.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I came home and headed straight to the kitchen, having dropped by the grocery store on the way back. I filled the fridge with the food I’d bought and noticed that there was a used plate and a glass in the sink. Good, that meant that Orlando hadn’t starved while I was away.

I found him in the living room, sitting on the sofa, his long legs folded beneath him, staring at the TV screen in deep concentration. I had to smile at the sight he made; he was wearing a bright yellow t-shirt and a pair of baggy dark blue jeans. He looked good enough to eat, I decided. I was just about to say something when he turned his head and noticed me. A bright smile instantly lit his face up and he straightened his legs in front of him. I noticed that he was wearing a pair of socks, the colour of more faded yellow.

“Vig, I didn’t hear you come in!”

“Yeah, you were so engrossed in the television”, I said and sat down next to him, gathering him into my arms. We hugged briefly before I gently disentangled myself from his grip. “What are you watching?”

“Sopranos. It’s this mafia thing,” Orlando explained and smiled. “I haven’t seen this show before, it’s pretty good.”

“They don’t show it in the UK?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t know”, Orlando said and blushed. “I never watched much telly. Mark always said that too much TV makes you stupid.”

“Actually I kinda agree with him there”, I admitted. “We don’t watch much television either; I have it just to watch some DVDs and news sometimes.”

“Uh huh. So… how did it go with Karl?” Orlando asked carefully, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. I could tell that he was trying to read my expression by the way he was looking at me; his face was so intent, his brow furrowed a bit.

“Better than I expected”, I said simply. I had decided on the way home not to say anything about the kiss, or the fact that he had tried to come onto me. Orli would just get upset over it, which would be totally unnecessary, and I didn’t feel like explaining to him that he had nothing to worry about when it came to Karl. “He wasn’t a total ass, which was refreshing. Actually he made me a business offer, sorta.”

“What kind of an offer?” Orli asked, laying his head down on my shoulder. He started playing with the buttons of my shirt absentmindedly, but I wasn’t fooled. I could feel how tense his slender body was against mine. I kissed the top of his head.

“About showing our photos together. I don’t know whether to say yes or no, but I don’t want to talk about Karl. What have you been up to, angel? Apart from watching television of course.”

Orlando shrugged. His chin dug into my collarbone so I encouraged him to move a little. He raised his head to meet my eyes and we kissed briefly. “This and that. I ate a little and unpacked my bags, finally. I noticed that there was a computer in Henry’s room so I switched it on. I hope that’s okay”, Orlando said quickly, sounding a bit worried. “I didn’t mean to go through his stuff, honest. I just wanted to surf a bit on the net.”

“That’s okay. I doubt Henry has much personal stuff on his comp anyway, at least not here. I’ve told him about the no porn rule,” I said and grinned. “The rule says that anyone under fifteen cannot watch porn under this roof.”

Orlando grinned, too, and resumed to playing with the buttons. “I’ve been thinking”, he suddenly said and smiled.

“Uh oh, that’s a first. Should I be worried?” I teased.

“Shut up”, Orlando laughed and tried to hit me with a pillow. “I’ve been thinking, you have this gorgeous house, all this space, and yet you don’t have any animals in here. What would you think about having a dog? Or a cat maybe? I like dogs better myself but cats are easier to take care of, being more self-sufficient and all”, Orlando said excitedly and almost vibrated on the couch. “I could walk him in the mornings if you or Henry are too tired, yeah? And then either of you can walk him in the evenings. I got online after you left to meet Karl, and found out that there are several kennels pretty close to your place. We could go and have a look, yeah? Of course you might want to talk with Henry first, after all this is his home, too.”

“You want to have a dog?” That was all that I could say after Orlando’s monologue; he seemed to manage to say it all in one breath.

“Or a cat, but yeah”, Orli said and reached for my hand, “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a pet, someone to care for and look after? I would love a golden retriever; they’re very beautiful and nice. What do you think?”

“Henry’s allergic to cats so they’re out of the question,” I answered apologetically. “And dogs, well. Of course a dog would be nice, but let’s face it. I travel a lot, that’s a part of being an artist, and Henry’s staying with his mother half of the time. And next time I’m going somewhere in business I’m taking you with me, obviously, and the next time, and the next time and so on. So who would take care of the dog? Exene’s got one of her own so I don’t think we could ask her.”

“Sean and Elijah maybe?” Orlando suggested, but I could see that his enthusiasm had started to fade. That made me feel quite guilty; who was I to ruin Orlando’s good mood?

“Hey, I’m not saying that we can’t take a pet”, I said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pulling him closer. “We can ask Sean and Elijah, sure, but please don’t be disappointed if they say no. After all, Sean has his job and Lij has his studies at Uni; I’m not sure if they could take the time to look after an animal. Besides, I’d say that I already have someone to take care of and look after you. And let me tell you that’s not an easy feat, nor a cheap one”, I joked.

Orlando scrunched up his nose. “I’m not your pet, or your boy toy for that matter”, he said and pushed me away a bit. “I know that I don’t have any money of my own, or an education or anything, really, but I don’t want you to think that you have to provide me with everything. I mean, I could probably get a job somewhere, at some fast-food joint or something.”

My remark of him being someone to care for had been said in jest, but I could see that Orli had taken it very differently. Mentally I sighed. Of course I could see where he was coming from and why he would react in the way he did, but on the other hand this discussion was pretty pointless and to be frank, tiring. I had money, he didn’t. What was the fucking problem? I knew it was the same with Sean and Lij, Sean being the one who worked while Elijah was still a student. Money didn’t seem to be a problem for them; why should Orli and I have a problem with it, either?

“Orlando, I didn’t mean it like that”, I said tiredly. I just wanted to kiss and cuddle with him and forget about the meeting with Karl, not to fight with him over something that seriously wasn’t worth a fight. “It was supposed to be a joke, I’m sorry that it made you feel bad. You know that I’m happy to take care of you, don’t you? It’s not a big deal, really it isn’t. I don’t see you as my pet, or a boy toy; you’re my lover, my fiancé for fucks sake, and I’m glad and proud to take care of you financially.”

“You just see me as a stupid kid”, Orlando accused. “Well I’m tired of being coddled and talked down to. Perhaps you should take a dog or a cat or whatever and I should go back to England, yeah? That way you’ll still have someone to control; just the way you like it. And I could have my old life back.”

“What the hell, Orlando, you’re not going anywhere. Stop making pointless threats; you know as well as I do that there’s nothing in London for you anymore. Or did you think about going back to Mark maybe?” I knew a second after I said it that it was a mistake to bring Mark up. Actually it was more than a mistake; it was a hit below the belt. Fuck, what happened to our nice conversation about cats and dogs? “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t-“ Orlando never let me finish.

“Yeah, back to Mark, of course; where else would I go? After all, that’s all I can do, yeah? Spread my legs and suck cock”, Orlando bit out angrily. “That’s all I’m good for, right? Bloody hell, Vig; I thought you knew me better. Fuck you.”

Now my temper flared. “Now wouldn’t that be fuck you, my dear? If my memory serves me right that’s the thing you excel at, isn’t it? Jesus, you let me stick my cock up your ass three minutes after we’d been introduced.” As soon as those words left my mouth I wanted to take them back.

I saw Orlando’s brown eyes tear up and tried to reach for him, pull him back into my arms and apologize for saying anything about Mark and his past, but Orli beat me to it. He turned around and fled to upstairs, slamming the bedroom door shut after him. I stayed in the living room, my heart hammering in my chest. I felt like the biggest jerk in the world for making Orlando cry and for hurting him. Some boyfriend I was. I almost followed him but I stopped at the foot of the stairs to think.

It wasn’t me who started the fight; it was Orlando and it was also him who ran away. If he thought he could just throw temper tantrums and insult me whenever he felt like it and then expect me to come begging for his forgiveness he was very wrong; sure, I shouldn’t have lost my temper, either, but the nonsense Orlando spouted would have grated anyone’s nerves. I would talk with him after he had calmed down and matured some, I decided. If my lover wanted to sulk upstairs that was his business, but I wasn’t going to sit here and wait for him to come down. Jesus, I was used to Henry’s mood swings, him being teenager and all, but to have a lover who acted like that, too? I felt very weary at that moment, weary and old. There had never been a moment that underlined our age difference more.

On the spur of the moment I grabbed my cell phone from the table and typed in a familiar number before I could change my mind. After a few rings a male voice answered. “Hello?”

“Karl? Hi, it’s Viggo. I’ve been thinking about your offer”, I ventured, “and I think that we should discuss it some more before I make up my mind.”

Karl’s warm voice filled my ear through the receiver. “Excellent”, he said. “I’m glad that you’re giving it a chance. You still remember where I live, right? Why don’t you drop by and we can discuss things further?”

Of course I knew what he meant. I would have had to be an idiot not to.

“I’m on my way.”


~ tbc ~

A/N: So sorry for the long wait. Please feed me.