Slasha, Baby 2007

What Once Was...

---

Ten years from now

"Stop worrying, they'll be here," the soft Scottish accent spoke against Orlando's shoulder as Billy wrapped his arms around his lover's waist.

"Why are you so certain?" Orlando spoke softly, tilting his head back until he could rub his head against the top of Billy's head.

"Because if you asked me I'd come," Billy replied honestly, his arms tightening, his lips pressed against Orlando's cotton-covered shoulder.

"Usually I don't even have to ask you." Orlando smiled and turned in Billy's embrace, pressing his lips against Billy's forehead.

"Seriously, lad." Billy tilted his head up to meet Orlando's lips. "It's been five years; they're just as curious about the passage of time as we are. They'll be here."

"It won't be awkward for you?" Orlando nuzzled against Billy's neck as he spoke. Leaning back against the railing behind him, he tugged Billy into the space between his outspread thighs.

"Why would it be awkward for me?"

"It's not often you have to have dinner with your lover's ex lovers, is it?" Orlando quirked an eyebrow as he looked at his lover.

"Listen to me, lad." Billy lifted his hands until they framed Orlando's face. "How long have we been together now?"

"Five years." Orlando breathed.

"I'm not worried about what once was. In fact I feel a little sorry for them. I know what they are missing. I like to think that we played a small part in getting them together. Besides, you forget one of them was my lover as well."

Their conversation was halted by the searching sweep of headlights as a large non-descript black sedan pulled into their drive.

Billy slid his hand into Orlando's and waited until long fingers closed around his own before he tugged him down the heavy stone steps to greet their guests.

"Beanie!" Billy exclaimed, throwing his arms around the tall man as he emerged from the passenger side of the vehicle.

Sean staggered a little at the unexpected impact, but tightened his arms around the small but muscular frame.

"Boyd." Sean chuckled, "Anyone would think you haven't seen me for a while."

"It must be seven years."

"Almost eight," Bean corrected.

"You look good." Billy disentangled himself and ruffled Sean's shaggy blond hair.

"As do you." Sean nodded, running his appraising gaze along Billy's body. "It must be the quality of shag."

"Behave, Sean!" Karl chuckled from his vantage point at the other side of the car.

"It's chilly out here, let's get inside where it's warm," Orlando offered nervously.

Sean looked up and watched the nervous man, then stepped forward to pull him into a tight embrace.

"How are you, lad?" Sean asked, his mouth buried in Orlando's thick russet curls.

"Never been better," Orlando responded honestly, his grateful eyes meeting Billy's over Sean's shoulder.

Billy and Karl lifted the cases from the trunk of the car and followed Sean and Orlando into the house.

~*~*~*~*~

It only took a few minutes for them to stow the baggage in the guest room that had been prepared and for all four men to settle in the living room. Two comfortable sofas framed the hearth where a cheerful fire crackled in the fireplace.

"Hard to believe that it's been almost twenty years since we all met." Sean sighed as he sank back into Karl's loose embrace, a tumbler of scotch balanced in his hand.

"Much more of that and I'll feel old, old man." Karl pressed a kiss against his lover's head.

"I am old, you daft twat." Sean turned his head to rest it on Karl's shoulder, before turning his gaze on the two men on the other sofa. "What are you two looking at?" He grinned at them.

"Jest admiring our handiwork," Billy responded, pulling Orlando's closer, his hand closing over Orlando's.

"That's right." Orlando grinned, faint memories rekindled with Billy's words. "Didn't we send you on your first date?"

Karl looked at them incredulously. "You two really aren't taking the credit for us after all this time, are you?"

"Aye, I think we are." Orlando nodded, his grin splitting his face.

The room was silent as the four men remembered their pasts.

"We really did some stupid things, didn't we?"

"We were young, that's all." Sean sighed, lifted his glass to his lips and took a long swallow of the rich amber liquid.

"You thought this was going to be awkward, didn't you?" Karl asked Orlando, his fingers tracing Sean's thigh as he watched the younger man speculatively.

Orlando sank deeper into the sofa and Billy's embrace before he replied, "You didn't?"

"If I did, I wouldn't have come." He shrugged. "So you've fucked both of us. We've all moved on. There's no rule we can't be friends."

Orlando's eyes closed as Karl's words brought every tiny detail of his history back to him.

The rapport he had built with the ruggedly handsome Sean. A man he had lusted after for years before he had met him, trained with him, drank with him. It had only been a matter of time before his youthful adoration found him in Sean's bed. Losing his virginity to the 'then' hunk of the month had been the manifestation of all his teenage wet dreams. He had been happy, deliriously so, until Sean had moved on.

It hadn't been as heartbreaking as it should have been; by then their relationship had become an abiding friendship with the bonus of mind-blowing sex. Orlando sank deeper into Billy's embrace, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips, his memories coaxing a happy grin to his tanned face.

By the time Sean had found himself another partner, Orlando was completely smitten with a slightly built, ginger-haired Scotsman, who unfortunately was head over heels in love with his fellow hobbit. His hand tightened around Billy's fingers as he remembered the way they had parted ways.

"Have you seen Dominic lately?" Sean asked, his rich voice breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

"Not since he married Evi," Billy answered.

"They're divorced now, you know," Karl responded.

Billy shrugged non-committally. The bitter memories of losing his lover and his best friend in the one evening threatened to overwhelm him.

Sensing his lover's discomfort, Orlando leaned in to press a tender kiss to his lips.

"Do either of you see any of the others?" Orlando asked, desperately changing the subject to ease his lover's pain.

"We had dinner with Viggo last week," Karl responded, equally eager to lift the cloud of sorrow that had fallen over the wee Scot.

Billy held a special place in Karl's heart. After his public, bitter break from Dominic, Billy had been inconsolable. The friends that he held near and dear had rallied to ease his pain and it had been on a night when he and Karl had been out drinking and carousing that their mutual attraction had reached a screaming climax. After a few drinks, their libidos were unhindered by their good sense and they had fallen into bed. Well, not fallen, in so much as they tore each others clothes off and shagged desperately, deep and hard, over and over long into the night.

Sean looked at his lover, watching the crimson blush climbing his cheeks and knew that he was remembering his one night with Billy. It wasn't hard to read his thoughts. Karl had only had two male lovers before him and both of them sat on the sofa opposite them. Neither of them had meant anything romantically to his lover, but it was amusing to watch his discomfiture whenever the memories were awoken.

The seeds of their relationship were sown by the men sitting opposite them and for that he would be forever grateful. Too nervous and wary to go on a date on their own, Billy had dragged Sean along for moral support and Orlando had convinced Karl to tag along. Not an hour into the date, Billy and Orlando had finally given into the attraction that had been drawing them together for almost as long as they had known each other and gone back to Orlando's home. Left to their own devices Karl and Sean had talked until the bar closed. Three weeks later they had moved in together and hadn't been apart since.

"We must be getting old." Orlando smiled fondly. "All this reminiscing."

"Aye," Billy agreed, climbing to his feet. He put his tumbler on the coffee table and extended a hand to his lover. "What once was, never will be again."

Concept created by Megolas in 2002
Fabulous artwork ©2002 by Hope
Moderated since 2004 by MSilverstar, with yueni and/or feelforfaith
Site revised ©2006 by yueni and 2007 by MSilverstar

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