Playing the Game

PLAYING THE GAME

RATING: NC-17
PAIRINGS: Paul Hunter/Elijah Wood, later on Matthew Stevens/Dominic Monaghan.
DISCLAIMER: This is *fiction*, i.e. it’s not real. As far as I’m aware, Elijah and Dominic have never even met these guys, let alone anything else. It’s pure fantasy.
AUTHOR’S NOTES: Yes, I know this is pretty far fetched, but hey – a bunny is a bunny! In case you’re wondering, Paul Hunter, Matthew Stevens, Mark Williams and Steve Davis are all snooker players.
Thanks have to go to Laura (my wonderfully mad email friend) for putting this picture in my head in the first place and for helping me to come up with some of the ideas.

Things that should be in italics (e.g. thoughts) are in *these* instead.

PART ONE – OPENING SHOT

The two dark-haired Welshmen shot glances at each other as their blond friend paced the room. One of them spoke up, “You’ll wear out the carpet in a minute.”

The blond shot a half-glare at the other man. “So? It’s my carpet. And it’s not like I can’t afford a new one.”

The second Welshman laughed a little. “And they call you calm under pressure?”

“I am calm!”

“Could have fooled me!” The second man turned to his other companion. “What do you think, Mark?”

The blond cut in before Mark could answer. “I am calm. I just still don’t understand why I have to do this.”

Mark shot a warning glance at the other dark-haired man before replying, “Ignore Matthew. He’s obviously just jealous because they wanted you and not him.”

“Am not!” Matthew pouted, trying to conceal a small smile. “I wouldn’t have the patience for it anyway.”

“See Paul, that’s why they asked you.” Mark stood up to try and calm his friend down. “Because you’ve got the patience.”

The blond sighed. “I know, Mark. But Steve’s got plenty of patience and he’s got more experience.”

“Perhaps it’s the age thing, then?” Matthew suggested. “I mean, you’re one of the youngest players on the circuit. Besides, too much experience would probably scare him.”

Paul turned to look at him. “So you’re telling me that I really am the only person that can teach a young actor to play snooker?”

“You’ll be fine.” Mark placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I know you can do this.”

“He’s right.” The teasing tone that had filled Matthew’s voice was now gone, replaced with a more genuine voice. “I mean, you wouldn’t have been asked if you were thought incapable.”

“I know.” Paul gazed down at the floor. “It’s just still…”

“Hey, you’re the one with an advantage here,” Matthew pointed out. “If he starts getting too full of himself just set up one of the trickier shots. He’ll soon shut up.”

Paul nodded, still staring at the floor. Mark was about to reassure his friend further when there was a knock at the door. Paul instantly looked up. “Well, I guess this is it.”

~*PH*~~*EW*~

Elijah danced nervously by the door as he waited for someone to answer. He hoped he had the right house – he was tense enough as it was without the embarrassment of getting the address wrong.

The small, dark-haired man looked up as the door opened. A tall, blond man peered out, looking a little nervous himself. Elijah instantly recognised him as the man he was looking for – Dom had shown him enough pictures and videos for him to know. A small thrill shot through the American as the man smiled politely and asked, “You must be Mr Wood?”

“Please, call lijalijah.” As the blond moved back to let him in, the actor continued, “And you must be Paul Hunter. The man with the golden cue, right?”

Paul blushed slightly as he nodded. He wasn’t exactly sure why Elijah’s question caused him to react in this way, but something in the American’s tone added a whole new meaning to the way in which he was introduced.

Elijah was about to continue when he saw a dark-haired man come out of what must have been the living room. The man shot a half-wink at Elijah before turning to Paul. “Listen, I’d better be off. Let me know how everything goes, okay?”

Paul nodded. “See you tomorrow, Matthew?”

“Probably.” As Matthew passed Elijah, he whispered, “Don’t be too hard on him.”

Elijah smiled a little at this. As the Welshman left, the American turned back to Paul. “So…I hope you don’t mind doing this.”

“Not at all.” Paul was a little confused by Matthew whispering to Elijah as he had left. Trying to gather himself, he added, “Though I was wondering why you chose the role.”

Resisting the urge to answer “because of you”, Elijah shrugged. “I dunno. I mean, it just…it’s something different, you know?”

“Well different’s one way of putting it.”

As the second Welsh voice cut in, the other two men looked up. Paul smiled a little as he made the introduction. “Elijah, this is Mark Williams.”

“I’m gonna stick around for a little while, if that’s okay.”

Paul visibly relaxed at this. “Thanks Mark. You know you don’t have to.”

“I know.” Mark turned to Elijah. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“Of course I don’t.”

As the three men made their way back into the living room, Paul shot a cautious glance at the young actor. Was he imagining things, or did Elijah seem more bothered by Mark’s presence than he was letting on?

Elijah kept a close eye on the two snooker players as they approached the snooker table in the room. Despite what he had been told, he was still looking for any signs from the blond man – for good or for bad. But so far, Paul had only shown one real sign of being affected by anything. Elijah had heard Paul being called calm under pressure, but he wondered how long the calm would last.

~*PH*~~*EW*~

Half an hour later, Paul was beginning to despair. Despite the best efforts of both he and Mark, Elijah still didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. The Welshman had currently left the room and so the Yorkshireman and American were alone together.

As he watched the blond reach for his bottle of water, Elijah gently bit his lip. He hoped he wasn’t pushing Paul too hard, but he had to find out. He couldn’t do anything too obvious in front of Mark, but his more subtle hints seemed to have been lost on the blond. Although, the dark-haired man had to concede, nothing seemed to have affected the blond in the last half-hour. For all he knew, Paul could be a tangle of emotion but just wasn’t letting on.

Paul took a long sip of his drink, part of him wishing it was something a little stronger than water. As he drank, he could feel eyes trained on his every move. He looked up to see his student almost examining him. A part of the World number eight player felt uncomfortable under the gaze of the bright blue eyes, but another, more hidden part of him was strangely intrigued. He wondered why Elijah seemed so enthralled, but couldn’t bring himself to ask.

After several moments’ silence, Paul took a step towards the table. “So…what seems to be causing you the trouble?”

“I just…I can’t seem to get the hang of the cue.” Elijah gave Paul a helpless look, hoping that the other man would do as he intended. “However I hold it, it just feels…wrong.”

Paul nodded knowingly. “That explains a lot. If you don’t handle the cue properly then you’re not going to get anywhere.”

Elijah had to fight to bite back a comment. Instead, he just raised an eyebrow at the blond, wondering if he had been the only one to have seen the alternative meaning to the statement.

At the look on Elijah’s face, Paul blushed a little. His comment had been perfectly innocent – or at least, the intention had been innocent. But now that Elijah had put the thought into his head…The blond mentally shook himself. He was a professional, helping Elijah learn. That was all. If the actor wanted to throw innuendo into the game, that was his problem.

Elijah looked hopefully at Paul. “So can you help me?”

Paul nodded. “Let’s see how you’ve been holding it so far.”

Elijah aimed the cue for the white ball, intentionally holding it in a way he had been told not to. He had to stop himself from grinning as he felt a pair of hands resting gently on his arms. Determined to play the innocent a bit longer, he asked, “What are you doing?”

“Showing you what to do, since you don’t seem to be getting it when I tell you.” That was all it was, Paul told himself. He was being a good teacher, helping his student. That was all. There was no ulterior motive – his actions were perfectly innocent.

Elijah allowed the blond to guide him into holding the cue properly. He forced himself to stare at the cue ball, trying his hardest to ignore the arousal induced by being in such close contact with such a beautiful man. He couldn’t risk doing anything yet, especially not with Mark still in the house. For now, he had to keep playing the inept student.

Paul swallowed a little as he gently guided Elijah’s arm back. “Make sure you keep the movement straight,” he almost whispered as he directed Elijah towards hitting the cue ball. The cue had almost made contact when –

“How’s it going?”

As Mark’s voice cut in, Paul hastily pulled away. Elijah followed through with the shot, but his skittishness meant that the white ball sped straight past the red he had been intending to hit.

Mark raised his eyebrow at the pair. “Haven’t interrupted anything, have I?”

“No. I was just showing Elijah how to hold the cue properly.” Paul forced his usual, passive tone as he spoke. Besides, what he was saying was true – wasn’t it?

Mark nodded, suddenly beginning to understand what was going on. “I see. Well, since you seem to be getting on so well I suppose I should head off. I have to get back soon anyway.”

As the Welshman said this, Paul’s stomach twisted. Whether it was from nerves, excitement or both he couldn’t tell, but he didn’t know if he could trust himself if Mark wasn’t there.

“Um…okay then, Mark. If you have to go, we can’t exactly stop you.”

Mark smiled a little. “I wouldn’t want to get in the way now that you’re beginning to get somewhere.”

Paul saw a strange glint in his friend’s eye and wondered what the Welshman was thinking. Determined not to ask, he turned to Elijah. “I’ll be back in a second. I’m just going to show Mark out.”

“Sure.” As Elijah watched the other two men leave the room, he couldn’t help but grin. He and Paul were now alone in the house – time to step things up a gear.

~*PH*~~*EW*~

Another half-hour passed and things seemed to be improving. Paul was beginning to regain faith in his abilities as Elijah began to get a little better at the game. Of course, more contact had been necessary, since the American still needed guidance. The hands guiding the actor’s arms, the occasional correction of posture…all part of the teaching, the blond told himself. Some contact between student and teacher was necessary…there was nothing behind it.

Elijah looked up as he managed to pot a red and get away with not potting the white. His teacher seemed lon thn thought, though thoughts of what he didn’t know. He was hoping that Paul was thinking about the “right” thing – as well as his own desires, Elijah didn’t want to let Dom down. Dom had said that a “friend” of his needed help and Elijah wanted to be that help.

Paul spotted the dark-haired man inspecting him. Smiling faintly, he said, “That was a good shot.”

“Thank you.” Elijah took a hesitant step forward. “Is everything okay? You just seem a little…distracted.”

“I’m fine. Honestly.” *I just have to stop myself from grabbing you and…NO! I am not thinking that!* Paul instinctively reached for his water as conflicting thoughts raced through his mind. He wasn’t attracted to Elijah…he couldn’t be attracted to Elijah. Could he?

Elijah smiled a little as he said, “I think I’m ready to play a frame, if you’re game?” The actor was aware of Paul’s inner conflict – after all, it wasn’t exactly unexpected. Despite his lust, Elijah didn’t want to upset Paul – and not just because he was a friend of a friend.

Paul gave Elijah an almost-suspicious look. “You sure?”

“Why not? They say the best way to learn is to play.” Elijah didn’t know if Paul would pick up on the potential double meaning, but it was certainly his mission statement.

Paul shrugged. “Well, if you’re sure.”

Elijah smiled. “I’m sure.”

~*PH*~~*EW*~

Fifteen minutes later the frame was over. Predictably, Paul had taken a clear win over Elijah as fa the the game was concerned, but Elijah was more focused on another task. He had spent a lot of the frame “accidentally” brushing past Paul or shooting the blond meaningful looks and he was almost certain that the other man’s response had been more-or-less positive. The actor figured that it now had to be all or nothing. There was only one way to find out for sure.

Paul was stood silently by the table, absently chalking the tip of his cue. His mind was once more lost in a swirl of conflicting thoughts, none of them helped by his desire to melt every time Elijah’s jewel-like blue eyes fixed on him.

Elijah took a hesitant step forward. “You know…that was really impressive. I just…you’re really amazing, you know?”

Paul blushed a litas has he placed the chalk back onto the edge of the table. “Well I’ve had enough practice. I have been playing since I was-”

Elijah stepped even closer so that he was mere inches away from the other man. In little more than a whisper, he cut in, “I wasn’t talking about the way you played.”

The American reached to tilt Paul’s face so that it was closer to his and gently pressed his lips to the blond’s. Despite his body’s screaming desires to melt into the kiss, Elijah pulled back almost straight after, wanting to gauge Paul’s response. He gently bit his lip, the less self-assured part of him ready to apologise straight away.

Paul looked at the small, dark-haired American in front of him. Their kiss had been brief, but had set off enough sparks for the blond to fend off any doubts. It had to be true – he had to be at least in lust with Elijah.

At the snooker player’s silence, Elijah sighed. “I’m sorry Paul. I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s fine. Really. It’s just…a bit of a shock, that’s all.” Paul gently cupped the younger man’s face with his hand. Using the other hand to place the cue on the table, the blond leant in and kissed Elijah, his hesitance all too apparent. He was almost relieved when Elijah moved to meet him, perfectly willing for his student to take control.

Elijah kept the kiss as gentle as he could; forcing himself to put his own desires second. It wasn’t for him to push Paul into doing anything – theoretically, his job was done. But somehow, the idea of anyone else finishing what he had begun didn’t sit right. Elijah knew he shouldn’t, but he really was beginning to get possessive of Paul.

Eventually the dark-haired actor had to pull back for air. He looked closely at Paul, tryio fio find anything in the eyes that suggested the snooker player was unhappy or uncomfortable. Seeing nothing but still needing the reassurance, he asked, “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“I think so.” Paul gazed down at the floor, trying to collect his thoughts. “It’s just…this is all new to me.”

“I know.” Elijah moved to embrace his companion. “Or at least, I guessed as much.”

Paul allowed the smaller man’s head to rest on his chest. He looked into the brilliant blue eyes and saw a strange sincerity within them. Still something niggled at the back of the blond’s mind. “How did you know?”

Elijah bit his lip, unsure whether or not he should confess just yet. The last thing he wanted was for Paul to think that this was just a set-up. Elijah knew only too well what being messed about with could do to a person and he didn’t want Paul to suffer. Still, he thought, he owed it to the other man to be honest.

Taking a deep breath, he confessed, “Matthew thought you might be.”

Paul pulled away, a little stunned at this. “So he got you to come here and find out?”

“He knew you were confused, but couldn’t bring himself to talk to you.” Elijah spoke to the floor, forcing himself not to get upset. “He got talking to Dom, and-”

“This was all a set-up?” Paul had vaguely heard Elijah’s words, but had already written them off as excuse. “This meant nothing to you, did it?”

Elijah fell silent. He wanted to reassure the blond that it wasn’t true, that the afternoon had meant something to him, but he was afraid that to open his mouth would be to break down and he couldn’t do that.

Paul, however, took the silence to be a confession. Trying not to release his full wrath, he asked, “So who else was in on this?”

“No-one,” Elijah whispered. “No-one else knew.”

Paul nodded, mind whirring once again. The only thing that was clear was that he had to be alone. Pulling his walls back up, he said, “I’ll see you same time next week. I’ll make sure Mark or Steve can join us.”

Elijah looked up, tears glistening in his eyes. He had almost forgotten about the role, the reason this could have happened at all. He wasn’t sure if he could carry on, but if Paul could be professional then so could he. Besides, it was obvious that Paul wouldn’t let them be alone together again so it wasn’t as if things couldn’t carry on normally. Even so, he still felt incredibly guilty.

Taking a step forward, he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Paul gave him a stony look. “You know where the door is. I’ll see you next week.”