Symbelmyne

Title: Symbelmyne
Pairing: Elijah/Orlando; also starring the other three hobbits
Rating: R for language and suggestions of sexuality
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters and make no money from this work
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“Do you know if Elijah’s coming?” Dom said casually to Billy, leaning on the table and squinting through his sunglasses at the sailboats dipping and swaying, tied up at the quay. It was one of those perfect California days. Warm. Drowsy. Slow. The kind Dom had come to love. His golden brown skin attested to his status as a Valley boy.

Once every six months, no matter where they were or what they were doing, the hobbits made it their business to get together to re-establish the bonds they had formed in New Zealand. And even though their lives had diverged quite a bit from those heady days of Lord of the Rings, the four friends had remained close, sharing both happiness and sorrow as the years had ticked by. Ten years, to be exact, since they had first stepped off the plane in Wellington and donned their furry hobbit feet for the first time.

“Dunno – he didn’t answer my email – he knew we were meeting today, though.”

“Hmm…that’s unlike him. Seanie?”

“Huh?” The Brit’s melodious voice had roused the American from his private thoughts, none of which were exactly good.

“Elijah? Do you know if he’s coming – Bills and I haven't heard from him.”

“Oh…oh, uh…no, I don’t know….”

“But you do know something…I can see it in your eyes. Spill it, Astin.”

“No…no, I…I don’t know if Elijah would want me talking about it….”

At that, Dom sat back and glared at Sean. “Wouldn’t want you talking about it?! We’re his best friends, for fucks’sake!”

Billy put his hand on Dom's arm and patted him reassuringly. “Dommie, if Elijah wanted us to know something, he would’ve told us…but Sean, he’s alright, isn’t he? And Orli’s alright?”

The light in the Scot’s green eyes was soft and compassionate, so different from his partner in crime’s stony bluegray blaze. That was Dom. He loved and cared deeply, and had the fuse to match that passion. It got him in trouble sometimes.

“I…I guess he’s alright….”

“You’re scaring me, Sean. What’s going on?”

Sean shook his head and said nothing further, simply gazing out at the harbor as if to lose himself in the view. He could hear it in his mind, that awful sound coming out of his phone when he spoke to Elijah two days ago, the younger man’s voice practically unintelligible with grief. Even after all this time, Sean was still the one that Elijah turned to, the Samwise to his Frodo, when he needed a shoulder to cry on. But Sean was afraid that this time, his shoulder would never be able to bear the burden of these tears that had turned the buoyant, dark-haired man into a broken toy, and worse still, that Sean could not be the one to fix him.

As if on cue, Billy’s cellphone began to buzz excitedly in his jacket pocket.

“Oh hold on…maybe that’s him now,” the Scot said, reaching for it and thumbing the “on” button. “It’s a text message….Sorry guys, can’t make it today…Talk soon. Elijah….That’s all he wrote.”

“Shite!” Dom exclaimed, hitting the table in frustration. “Astin….” he began warningly, “if you don’t tell us….”

“OK…OK…Stop browbeating me….Orli left him, OK? Happy now?”

Billy looked like the air had been let out of him. He sank back into his seat with an audible “oof”, mouth opened in an “o” as he exchanged a shocked glance with Dom. Orlando Bloom left Elijah Wood?! And the world had kept on spinning?

“WHAT?!” Dom sputtered, eyes suddenly as big as Elijah’s. “When?!”

“A few days ago.”

“What the fuck happened?! What did he do?!”

“Shhh…I don’t know a lot of details. And that’s the truth – I swear it – he didn’t tell me much and I didn’t push it. I figured he’d tell me when he was ready.”

Dom pulled his glasses off and wiped his hand over his face, his anguish clear. There were tears in his eyes, knowing how much pain his friend must be in, and feeling totally useless, unable to do anything substantive to help. “Where is he?” he said finally.

“His mother’s house, I think.”

“So then what’re we doing sitting here – let’s go.”

“Dom, we can’t just barge in there,” Sean explained patiently, and Billy nodded in agreement, “no matter how much we want to.”

“The fuck you say -- let’s go. Elijah needs us.”

They could both see that the Brit was not going to give up until they were in the car, on the way to Santa Monica. Sean sighed, reaching for the keys in his back pocket.


Such a non-descript, middle class neighborhood. It always amazed Billy for some reason that this was where Debbie Wood chose to bring up her children. But knowing Elijah, and the rest of his family too, he realized it couldn’t be any other way. There was a normal, tree-lined, “boy and his dog” feel about this area, like Frank Capra could’ve shot movies here. And wasn’t that exactly what made the young actor such an enigma?

It was as if a few stars and a moonbeam or two had fallen from the sky to coalesce into this being of such rare and precious quality. Just like Frodo, Elijah looked like he had been a gift from the elves. He had seemingly had it all – and not just beauty. Brains. Talent. Heart. And a partner who loved him beyond measure. Past tense, Billy supposed. What could’ve possibly happened to break that spell? He didn’t know. Couldn’t imagine it. Elijah was so wild for Orli, and presumably Orli for him, that they would’ve done anything to be together. All those years ago, when the world renounced them with every dirty word in the book for their relationship, it couldn’t have mattered less to either.

Orli left him. Orli left him. Sean’s words echoed in the Scot’s mind as he watched the houses and lawns and trees going by the window, the colors bleeding into a brown and green-toned blur. Inconceivable. No.

But true. When the three hobbits rang the bell and saw the fourth’s condition as he opened the door, there was no doubt. Elijah looked like he hadn’t been out of the house in days. His normally white skin was now a sickly ashen pallor, and there were heavy purple shadows under his eyes; when was the last time he had slept? Or ate? But his eyes…his huge blue eyes were so full of despair that he resembled a Keane painting – a little boy left standing in the rain. Sean gasped and grabbed the younger man into a hard bear hug, registering how weightless he felt in his arms.

“What’re you doing here?” he murmured dazedly, blinking at them, then tried on a smile to throw them off the scent. It had just the opposite effect.

“Cut the crap, Elijah – we know,” Dom said, pushing past Sean to also hug him, wanting to cry at the state he was in. He couldn’t help but notice the baggy sweat shirt and pants hanging off his slender frame like they were three sizes too big. “And before you scream and call Astin a whole shitload of filthy names, we had to threaten him to make him tell us.”

Nodding defeatedly, Elijah hugged Billy next, holding the Scot for a long moment as something seemed to break inside. Billy. Billy for some reason was the trigger, and then he couldn’t hold it back any longer to be in the company of his best friends in the world. Friends who loved him so much, they wouldn’t take “no” for an answer and had come to him to offer their help. He was wrong to have locked them out. He needed them.

Billy felt Elijah’s back begin to shake, and a moment later, his body convulsed into wracking sobs. He burrowed tightly into Billy’s familiar warmth and just let his sorrow flow. His heart was breaking. Was broken. It was over. Orli was gone. And he had done this. He deserved it.

“Shhh, sweetheart,” Billy cooed, holding him and meeting Sean and Dom’s eyes over his trembling shoulder. “It’s alright…we’re here now…let it all out…that’s it.” Now the other two hobbits also contributed their embrace, stroking Elijah’s arms and hair, their own tears falling. Simbelmyne.

Sean, playing Daddy, pressed a cool, wet cloth to the back of Elijah’s neck and gave him a tender kiss on the forehead. Samwise was here now, he was not about to let Mr. Frodo down, and no mistake. “Where’s your mother?” he asked softly.

“Visiting Hannah in New York – I’m here by myself,” was the barely audible reply. His eyes looked like two swollen coals, red-rimmed, all pupil.

“I should’ve never listened to you and stayed away,” Sean growled, angry at himself. “I should’ve…”

“Seanie, you didn’t know,” Dom insisted, sitting down on the couch next to the two men and rubbing Sean’s shoulder. “And you, Elijah, you should know better than to make Sean keep secrets from us. We’re the hobbits – we tell each other everything.”

The dark-haired man hung his head sheepishly. He was curled into a ball against the arm of the sofa, and just looked pathetic and small. “I’m sorry, Dom,” he whispered.

“Don’t mind him, Elijah,” Billy said as he came out of the kitchen bearing a mug of hot tea he had made and set it on the coffee table in front of their youngest. “He’s just jealous you told Astin and not him.”

“He didn’t really tell me, Billy – I had to wheedle it out of him.”

They were trying to make light, to soothe Elijah, but it wasn’t working. Not this time. He doubted there was anything that could soothe him, although he loved his friends’ attempt. For, this time, he was filled with a sadness the likes of which he had never experienced before. It simply raged on and on, a screaming wind rattling around in his mind, that made his body ache and freeze and burn. Just like love, in fact, only the polar opposite. And it screamed every obscene name there was for a bastard like him. Orli had been right. He had warned Elijah that some day, this could happen, that he was subverting his youth to have a committed, monogamous relationship. But as was so often the case, he had refused to listen. He knew better. Well, maybe not this time.

“I deserved it. That and more,” he croaked miserably, putting his hands up to cover eyes that continually leaked tears. “I wanna die….”

“Shh…there’ll be none of that,” Billy said, clucking his tongue.

“Do you wanna tell us what happened?” was Dom’s interjection, winning him dirty looks from the other two hobbits. “Well, maybe it’d make him feel better to talk about it.”

“J-Jude Law is what happened,” Elijah answered softly, finding it hard to look Sean in the eye. “I..I…oh god….”

A fresh spate of sobs broke from his chest, as Billy, Dom and Sean exchanged horrified glances. The handsome British actor was Elijah’s latest co-star…only this time, it appeared to have gone further than just a movie role. Elijah didn’t offer any other details, and no one asked for them. They were men. They understood well enough.

“You arsehole!’ Dom bellowed, his mood switching to beyond furious. “You fuckin’ arsehole! How could you?! How could you do that to Orli?!”

“Dommie….” Billy murmured, trying to calm him down.

“No, Billy – he’s right,” Elijah said, lifting his head and swallowing hard. “I had everything. I had it all...and I fucked it up. Orli told me. He said I was too young...."

"Do you...do you love him? Jude, I mean."

"I...don't know, Sean...."


Elijah jumped awake with a muffled shriek, his heart pounding so hard in his chest that it literally hurt. Oh my god...a dream...it was a dream....Attempting to get hold of himself, he fell back into the pillows and stared up at the ceiling...breathe...breathe...I'm here. Orli's here -- yes, the vaguely man-shaped lump in bed next to him attested to that...I didn't do anything.

"Lijah?" he heard a soft voice say, then felt a hand on his leg. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing...just a dream...go back to sleep, baby."

Goddammit. That's what I get for going to movies starring gorgeous actors. Shit. Ah, but I have my own gorgeous actor, don't I? Releasing a giggle, Elijah snuggled his body against Orli's warm side and inhaled his scent deeply, feeling contentment fill him. Soon, his heart quieted and he too was asleep once more. Chastened.