Orlando never doubted that he loved Viggo, that was a given, something in his very genes confirmed Viggo as his ideal mate. However …

In the nearly six years since they'd met, clashed, meshed, ripped themselves apart and melded once again into an even stronger alloy, they had become accustomed to one another's habits and needs. Though Viggo certainly had his quirks, and Orlando was the definition of spontaneous, the Brit thought that some of the magic was missing from the marriage.

Being Orlando, he brooded about it for nearly five minutes before deciding to take action. Looking about the room, he searched for a familiar head of straw spun into gold. Turning his Viggo-sense on wide range, Orlando detected the sunny, leonine aura of his husband on the other side of the crowd.

God, Viggo looked delicious in that suit. Orlando was getting more excited by the thought of grabbing his man and dragging him into a closet for some quick, hot sex like they'd done the night Return of the King was nominated for all those Academy Awards. All he had to do was get through this Golden Globes after-party crowd, which was only slightly less difficult than bringing peace to the Middle East.

Orlando sighed and answered another reporter's question while twelve more photos of him were taken. As soon as he could, he politely extricated himself from the roadblock and walked into another one. Eric Bana, his co-star from Troy, was there representing his latest film, Munich. The photographers just had to have a picture of the two of them together.

And so it went for the next hour.

:::::::::::::

Viggo never doubted that he loved Orlando; that was written in the stars long before Orlando was born to grace this turn of the Wheel for Viggo. However …

In the nearly six years since they'd stormed into one another's lives, wreaking devastation and clearing the way for big changes, they'd come to a sort of lull in the relationship. Though Orlando was as endlessly fascinating as a kaleidoscope and Viggo was no stick in the mud himself, Viggo sometimes felt as though he wasn't giving his boy enough excitement.

Being Viggo, he pondered it seriously, drifting out of the hall into the garden without seeing or hearing the people that called out for his attention. He needed to be alone to think about something that could have such a major impact on his life. All else faded.

Knowing Orlando would understand if he disappeared for a bit, Viggo strolled off down a flower bordered path. In a few minutes, he literally ran into someone doing the same thing he was: getting away from the crowd.

And they ended up talking for the next hour.

:::::::::::::

Orlando hurried out the French doors and looked around for Viggo. Knowing his husband, Viggo was probably laying on the grass somewhere staring up at the sky. Hoping to catch Viggo prone, Orlando hurried off down the first path he came to. It wasn't long before he heard Viggo's vibrant voice.

Stifling a giggle, Orlando crept along the hedge until he could peek around the corner. Any thoughts of jumping out and surprising Viggo with a snog attack flew right out of his head.

Viggo was not alone and every little detail of the tableau before him disturbed Orlando: the proximity of the two men on the bench, the smile on Viggo's face and the way he was leaning slightly forward, the appealing expression on the other man's face as he reached out to brush an unruly lock of hair from Viggo's forehead.

Orlando felt sick. Is this what his intuition had been trying to tell him? Was Viggo so bored that he was playing around? Orlando had never felt this bad in his life, not even that time he got seasick on the Troy set. He honestly thought he might spew.

If Viggo were with any other attractive young man, Orlando would brush it off; Viggo worked in a business where good looks were just another commodity, and a plentiful one. However, the Brit wasn't about to lightly dismiss the threat represented by Jake Gyllenhaal. Jake was no himbo like Jared Leto, Ashton Kutcher, or … Orlando himself.

Viggo laughed softly and Orlando couldn't keep from looking. He watched, dismayed, as Viggo touched Jake's cheek with the back of his hand. Jake turned his head slightly and pressed his lips to Viggo's knuckles. A fringe of dark lashes swept lofty cheekbones as Jake dropped his eyes in an expression so winsome that Orlando wanted him, too.

Feeling as though his heart was being fed into a wood chipper a centimeter at a time, but unable to tear his eyes away, Orlando stood frozen and watched Viggo flirt with Jake. Jake who was everything that Orlando was not: breezily self-assured, frighteningly intelligent and crushingly handsome.

Orlando still saw himself as a fraud on the verge of being found out, a bit slow on the uptake and girlishly pretty. He sometimes thought his life would all turn out to be a dream and he'd wake up back in acting school. It all seemed too good to be true: the role of a lifetime before he even graduated, meeting his soul mate, his A-list career.

Whenever Orlando started to feel like this, Viggo would sense it and reassure his husband that he was talented, clever and the most beautiful thing Viggo had ever seen. In minutes, Viggo would have Orlando on his lap in their favorite chair with a mug of hot chai feeling like the universe was a pretty good place after all if it included men like Viggo. And of course, Orlando had to thank him somehow, and the chai would get spilled, and they would have to take off their wet clothes, and one thing always led to another ending in their big bed.

As Orlando watched Jake brush his lips tentatively against Viggo's, he realized with terrible clarity just how much he loved his husband. He thought he knew the depth of his feelings, but he hadn't begun to suspect the magnitude of the emotion. It was so powerful that it was killing him, as he watched Viggo respond to the hesitant overture, taking Jake's sweet mouth with his customary confidence.

And a bit more. Just to throw battery acid on Orlando's shredded heart, Viggo kissed Jake with an ardent force he'd never shown Orlando. It was a savage, dominant act that made Orlando's manhood pulse even as it flattened his soul. Not since their reconciliation after the Bosworth fiasco had Viggo appeared so intensely aroused.

Orlando stumbled back, his throat tight with repressed sobs, eyelids scalded by tears he couldn't let fall just yet. He made his way back inside and had a couple of drinks until Viggo found him. Orlando spotted Jake in a group about fifteen feet away and nodded at him.

"That cowboy movie is doing well," Orlando commented "Brokeback Mountain."

"Yep. Wouldn't surprise me if it won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, too."

"Jake's lovely, don't you think?"

"Of course, he is, but not as lovely as you."

"But he's more your type, wouldn't you say?"

Viggo frowned. "No, I wouldn't, and I'm wondering why you would."

"My mistake. Are you ready to go? I think I ate some bad shrimp or something."

"Not feeling well, babe?"

"Maybe I'm just anxious to get you home."

Viggo smiled. "That'd suit me fine, tiger."

"All wound up, are you?"

"Okay, let's get too the bottom of this," Viggo said, gripping Orlando by the biceps and steering him out the front door to the end of the columned portico.

"Viggo?"

"Are you ready to talk to me directly? Or do you want to keep dropping snide hints?"

"I was waiting 'til we were alone."

"I've fixed that," Viggo said. "Tell me what's wrong, baby."

"Let's start with you pretending you don't know what's wrong."

The look of surprise on Viggo's face would have been comical if the situation weren't so serious. "Do you really believe I'd lie to you?"

"I didn't say …"

"Sure you did. Now why don't you tell me what rattled you so bad you've forgotten my vow to always be honest with you? You do remember our vows?"

"I saw you … in the garden."

"I don't understand. If you saw me, why didn't you come over?"

"I hardly think you would have welcomed my company."

"Your company is the most welcome thing in the world to me."

"All right," Orlando said, putting a hand to his forehead. "No fever. I wasn't hallucinating. You were snogging Jake Gyllenhaal."

Viggo's face underwent another rapid change of expression. "Oh baby. No wonder. Let me explain about that."

"I'd be very interested in hearing your explanation."

"Well," Viggo laughed softly. "This isn't going to sound good, but it's the truth. Jake and I were having what became a pretty serious discussion about the craft of acting, and he … Well, once he knew I was gay, or bi-sexual, or whatever, he wanted an opinion."

"It doesn't sound good, or even plausible. It sounds as if you think I'm really gullible."

"Do you really believe I was interested in that boy?" Viggo asked, looking Orlando in the eyes. "Do you?"

"Why not? He's smart like you. You can have all sorts of serious discussions with him. And he's gorgeous. I wouldn't blame you for being attracted."

"And you shouldn't. None of us can help what attracts us, but you should be mad as hell if I acted on it. We're not a couple of guys shacking up anymore, babe. We're married."

Viggo held up his left hand, displaying his ring.

"I know, and the day you asked me to marry you, you made me the happiest guy on the planet, but I'd understand if you found someone … more suited to you."

Viggo shook his head and grabbed Orlando by the upper arm again.

"Are you going to drag me somewhere else?" Orlando asked.

"Yes."

"Oh, all right then. Are we still having a discussion?"

"Yes."

"Are you angry with me?"

"Not with you, babe, but your insecurity is getting under my skin. I've told you every day since I met you how wonderful you are, even when you couldn't hear me, but you still don't believe it. I'm beginning to wonder if I can ever convince you."

Orlando felt a chill of foreboding at Viggo's words. What if Viggo got tired of Orlando always pulling him down, always needing reassurance? Orlando racked his brain for the right thing to do, the right words to say to make Viggo stay with him. He didn't pay attention to where they were going until Viggo spoke, jarring him from his thoughts.

"Jake, can I have a little more of your time?"

Jake pursed his lips. "I don't know. I hear I'm Hollywood's hottest commodity right now."

"Please?"

"Anything for you, Viggo," Jake grinned. "How can I resist those eyes? Excuse me, gentlemen. And George."

George Clooney flipped Jake off, but he was smiling, as charmed as everyone else, Orlando noticed. Then Viggo's arm went around his shoulders and Jake's and they were back outside. A short walk into the garden brought them to the scene of the crime.

"You two haven't met," Viggo said. "And it's high time. Jacob B. Gyllenhaal, I have the pleasure, no, the honor to introduce my husband, Orlando Bloom. You may have heard of him. He's been in a couple of things."

Jake chuckled. "I wish I was forty so I could be your best friend," he said. "I've never met such an … authentic … man in my life."

"Yeah? Well, he's mine," Orlando blurted out.

Jake blinked. "I figured. Since you're married and all."

"I just didn't want you to forget," Orlando said lamely.

Jake exchanged a glance with Viggo and Orlando saw something pass between them.

"There," he said. "Right there. What was that?"

"What was what?" Viggo asked.

"That look. You looked at one another."

"Do you know how silly you sound right now?"

"No, but I'm sure you'll be glad to tell me how silly I sound?"

"Whoa," Jake said. "Tell me to butt out if you want, but Orlando's not being silly, if I'm reading him right. He's just scared."

"That's what you said before," Viggo nodded.

"You were discussing me!" Orlando exclaimed.

"I told Jake a little about our relationship. I was kind of worried and …"

Orlando looked startled. "Me, too. I thought maybe you were getting bored with me, and then I saw you with Mr. Fabulous here and …"

"I thought you were getting bored with me," Viggo said. "I was asking Mr. Fabulous for a young man's point of view."

"As I would know if I'd come out of hiding and confronted you," Orlando said.

Viggo shrugged. "That's true, but honestly, babe, I love you just the way your are. A few anxiety attacks a year isn't too high a price for your love."

"But they are a bit tiresome, I imagine."

"Nobody likes a whiner," Jake offered. "Or so my big sis tells me. And since she's smarter than any two people I know put together, I usually believe her."

"Could you please stop being charming for five seconds?" Orlando said. "I want to dislike you, and you're making it bloody impossible."

Jake grinned. "You're right, Viggo. He's absolutely irresistible."

"So now that we've formed our mutual admiration society," Orlando said. "Could one of you, preferably you, Jake, explain about that kiss?"

Jake's grin widened, revealing the sharp points of his canines. "Viggo asked me what I wanted, and I told him."

"I wasn't sure exactly what he meant," Viggo said. "Instead of asking, I showed him what I thought he was talking about."

Orlando looked at Jake. "How'd he do?" he asked.

Two patches of red blossomed across Jake's pale cheeks. "Nothing wrong with his intuition, or his follow-through."

Orlando cocked his head and studied Jake for a moment. "What's really going on here?"

Jake and Viggo exchanged another complicitous look.

"Look," Orlando said to Viggo. "I believe you when you say you were seeking Jake's advice, but there's more to it. " Orlando turned to Jake. "I understand why Viggo kissed you, but why did you kiss Viggo? Just to help him out?"

"I'm, uh, having a little crisis of my own," Jake said. "I just can't get some things out of my head. Things that relate to Heath."

Orlando looked into Jake's eyes and Jake met the frank gaze without flinching.

"You poor sod," Orlando said.

"Yeah," Jake smiled ruefully. "He couldn't be happier with his new life and baby girl. It's so … I don't know, ironic I guess. I'm at a career peak and my personal life sucks."

"Tell me about it," Orlando said. "I can remember a time when I should have been the happiest wanker in existence and I was more miserable than a wet moggy."

Jake raised an eyebrow. "Moggy?"

"Cat," Viggo translated. "Don't get hung up on the minutiae, Jake. It's your fatal flaw."

"Right. I forgot already. Okay, let's recap. Viggo will show more passion from now on. Orlando will have more confidence. And I … I will go eat worms. Now go home. Please. Go home and bone each other's brains out. I, the new King of Hollywood command you. Go, I say, and let you not tarry betwixt here and the sheets. Go. Go."

Jake made shooing motions until Viggo took one of his hands and pressed it warmly between his in Viggo's version of a handshake. Orlando shook Jake's other hand and led Viggo away.

As Viggo was starting the car, Orlando put a hand on his thigh. Viggo glanced over and surprised a wistful look on Orlando's face.

"What is it, my heart?"

"Jake looked so sad."

Viggo turned in his seat and cupped Orlando's cheek on his palm. "And this is one of the many, many reasons that I will always love you best of all: your sweet, soft, accepting, foolish, compassionate, enormous heart. There isn't another like you, Orlando Bloom, and you're all mine. Is it okay if I kiss you right here in the parking lot? 'Cause I sure want to."

"If you don't I'll be forced to thrash you," Orlando said in a small voice.

Their lips met in one more pledge of the love they felt for one another and they were swept up again by the intense and nameless longing that was partly sexual and partly the simple desire for companionship, for someone to complete them, and lie next to in the dark.

"Wow," Viggo said when they drew apart. "If anybody was watching, they won't have any doubts about what kind of relationship we have."

"As long as you don't, I'm happy," Orlando dimpled.

"Ready to go home and have a roll in the hay?"

"What?"

"Ready to hit the trail?" Viggo asked.

"Why are you talking like a cowboy?"

Viggo smiled slyly. "You'll see," he said.

"I'm in for a treat, am I?" Orlando asked gleefully, as Viggo began backing out of the parking space.

"Jake was kind enough to enlighten me on a few things that he finds arousing. Through some twisted logic of my own, I thought you and he might have similar … tastes, and it's a fact that there isn't much I wouldn't do to keep you."

Orlando shivered and moved closer to Viggo. "I'm feeling the magic," he said.

"Or at least the wand," Viggo said as he swerved sharply. "Easy, babe. I'll get us home as quick as I can."

Orlando pulled his hand from between Viggo's legs and Viggo spoke quickly.

"You don't have to stop, just … never mind. It's better we wait. If you touch me while I'm driving, I'm liable to kill us both."

"I'll be good," Orlando said, looking in the side mirror as they moved toward the exit.

"You're looking pensive again."

"Poor Jakey."

Viggo nodded. "He's got a tough time ahead of him, that's for sure."

"I wish there was something we could do to make him feel better," Orlando said softly. "We should invite him over some time."

Viggo put his foot on the brake and looked at Orlando. Orlando met his eyes and the question hung between them.

The Series continues with Ordination