Viggo wandered out on the deck of his rented house seeking cooler air and less noise. The hobbits had been in charge of his birthday party, and their theory was always 'more is better'. Therefore, his house was currently filled to capacity with every person the quartet had talked to in the last two weeks, enough food to feed a third world country, a table full of alcohol, and music loud enough to rattle the windows. At least all of the people he considered friends were here; although, he would have been happier having a quiet dinner with Sean and Orli.

The only time he had been close to Orli all night had been when the younger man handed him a gaily wrapped package, kissed him on the cheek and whispered, "Happy birthday, Vig," in his ear. It wasn't exactly the present or the kiss he would like to have from the elf but there was always later.

They didn't exactly have a relationship. They were friends - friends that occasionally lingered after a party or went home together after a late night of shooting and spent the night. Viggo didn't normally have casual sexual relationships, but one night Orli had stayed to help him clean up from a party.

Viggo let himself get lost in the memory. He had been washing dishes. Orli brought him the last of the plates and dropped them in the water sloshing about a gallon of soapy water onto Viggo's front. He had done what any mature individual would do. He scooped up a handful of soap bubbles and smeared them down Orli's shirt. Things had escalated quickly from there. Viggo had grabbed a cup to be able to scoop water out of the sink and Orli had armed himself with the sprayer. Viggo was soaked in seconds. He wrestled the sprayer out of Orli's hands pinning him against the cabinets.

That was when things had become surreal. Pressing his hip against Orli to keep him still, he had realized that the younger man was rock hard. Orli had tried to pull away his cheeks an interesting shade of scarlet. Viggo stopped his retreat the only way he could think of - he cupped Orli's hand around his own raging erection. Realization dawned in Orli's eyes to be quickly replaced by passion. Pulling Viggo's head down, he attacked the older man's mouth with a hunger that shut down all rational thought. In minutes they were in Viggo's bed and Viggo was buried inside of Orli's hot tight body.

Viggo smiled at the memory deciding it was time to go find Orli. They had never progressed beyond the occasional hot night, but Viggo continued to hope. He didn't see Orli in the living room, so he headed for the kitchen. One step into the kitchen, he wished he hadn't found him. Orli was sitting on the counter in the darkest corner. Beanie was between his knees hands under the younger man's t-shirt kissing him. Viggo wondered if you could hear a heart breaking when both men turned to look at him. Orli stiffened in Sean's arms, but Viggo couldn't read his expression in the dark.

"I'm sorry," Viggo whispered as he backed quickly out of the room. The pain in his eyes was easily readable in the light spilling in from the living room.

Sean looked at Orli who was still staring at the door where Viggo had just been standing. "Well I guess that ends that moment." Sean scratched the back of his head. "Is there something between you and Vig?" Sean asked stepping back and putting a little space between him and Orli.

Orli nodded unable to find his voice.

"Is it serious?"

"I didn't think so until about two minutes ago," Orli answered letting his head fall back against the cabinets behind him and closing his eyes. "I'm such a fucking idiot. We've been together a few times, but it was just friendly stuff."

"Does Vig know that because that wasn't the impression I just got? It looked like he cared a hell of a lot."

"Yeah," Orli sighed sounding defeated.

"You need to go talk to him. One-sided love affairs aren't good for on-set dynamics."

Orli sighed and looked towards the door again. So softly Sean almost didn't hear him, he whispered, "It's not one-sided."

"What? Then what in the hell are you doing in here kissing me."

"I thought it was one-sided - on *my* side. I've been trying my best to *act* like it meant nothing more to me than I thought it meant to him. Shit now what!" Orli slammed his head back into the cabinet.

"You've gotta be honest with him."

~~~~~

Viggo closed the door behind Elijah glad that his house was finally empty and quiet. Flopping down on the couch, he tossed an arm over his eyes.

"Hey, Vig."

Viggo opened his eyes to see Orlando standing at the foot of the couch. "I thought everyone was gone."

"I needed to talk to you. I need to talk to you about what happened," Orli began.

"Sean told me he cornered you and you were pushing him away," Viggo laughed but it was a sound completely without humor.

"That's not quite what happened."

"I know, but it was nice that he tried. Look, we aren't…well we aren't anything. I have no right to be mad or upset at you or Sean." Viggo sat up on the couch, elbows on knees, fingers in hair and eyes staring at the floor.

"I want you to have that right. I really fucked up tonight, Vig, and the fact that it's your birthday makes it that much worse. I hurt you and I'm sorry. You have every right to be really pissed at me, but what I'm hoping is that you were really jealous because that means you want me. Do you want me, Vig? Do you want more than what we had?" The final words were whispered right next to his ear.

Viggo opened his eyes to find Orli sitting right next to him. If he moved just a little, he could bring their lips together. Looking into the younger man's eyes, he thought he saw love and hope. "I need you to spell it out for me, Orli. I'm not feeling like a very good judge of feelings right now," Viggo prompted.

Orli bit his lip and put his heart on the line. "I love you. I want to be with you tonight, tomorrow and for as long as you can put up with me." Viggo was silent. Orli finally raised his eyes to gauge the older man's reaction to his words. Dark eyes met light and the warmth and love shining from Viggo's face made Orli's stomach flip.

"You know, Orli. My birthday actually started at midnight. You've got 22 hours to make this the best birthday I've ever had."

"Then I'd better get started," Orli whispered covering Viggo's mouth with his own.

~fin~