Finally....*sigh*

[bluetears07]

Disclaimer: Ever so sorry boys…the stuff in here never happened.
Series: Preordained
Paring: Sean A./Elijah
Summary: AU: Some things are just meant to happen while others are simply ripples off of one small mistake that change us forever. (Read AU Description, and also AN; behind cut)
AU Description: Same as before. (Refer to the “Prologue’s” AN for information mentioned previously.)
Rating: R (over-all) Chapter Twenty: NC-17
AN: (I’ve determined I can not write comfort sex…so I apologize to all of you…*blush*) There will be more time now between each chapter because the wonderful summer is over and I have a ton of homework…but I won’t stop writing completely—know that much, just not as periodically…*wink* Enjoy!
Guide: ‘Thoughts’
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Preordained

Chapter Twenty: Backseat Driver

“Uhhmm…let me think about it,” Elijah murmured quietly. It was obvious in his tone that the young actor had been caught completely off guard by the sudden proposition of going to film a movie so far away from home…so far from Sean. Pushing away from the plaster wall he had been slouching against for support, Elijah anxiously continued to chew away at the already ragged nail of his left thumb. His fingers curled around the silver case of his flip phone, turning the flesh covering his knuckles stark white. “I’ll get back to you as soon as possible, okay?” he offered, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he pulled the dark frames of his glasses away from his face. Gripping the black plastic between his thumb and forefinger, Elijah pressed the heel of his hand against the yielding flesh of his left eye, rubbing gently at the flushed skin.

After a moment of silence, during which Elijah listened to his agent yammer incessantly about what an immense opportunity it would be for him to expand his acting ability in a leading role, the young actor finally decided to politely end the discussion. There was no way he was going to be able to answer the question so quickly before he had even the chance to clearly think about the ramifications. Several members on the editing crew began to slowly stream out of the dark room and turn down the hall to the parking lot exit. Sliding his glasses back to rest on the straight bridge of his nose, Elijah briskly wrapped up the conversation as soon as he spotted Sean politely holding the door open for the last member on his crew, the chief editor.

“Okay, okay, I’ll call you back as soon as I make a decision. Bye.” With a snap of his wrist the flip phone was flicked shut and quickly jammed into a back jean pocket - out of sight and mind. Once every last crew member was well out of hearing and seeing range, Elijah crossed the short span of the hallway that separated himself and the doorframe where Sean was standing with his back pressed against the faux wood molding. A small, knowing smile was gently curving up the corners of Sean’s lips as he watched his co-star. “Where’s everyone going?” he asked quietly, leaning nonchalantly against the opposite side of the doorframe, motioning down the hall to the retreating backs of Sean’s editing crew.

A pale, nail-less thumb reached across to idly run along the rim of one of the smooth plastic buttons holding Sean’s dark green shirt closed. The pad of his thumb slowly traced over the soft fabric stitched through the small holes in the button, feeling every thread sewn to hold the fastener in place. Sean’s natural warmth radiated through the garment beneath Elijah’s fingertips as the younger man let his hand slip lower to idly toy with the next button. There was no suggestive implication behind the casual touch, only the younger man’s longing to be physically closer to the writer he loved and hadn’t been able to touch for what seemed like an eternity. It was more repressed, possessive mannerisms than a sexual caress, though Elijah couldn’t deny the electric current of arousal that sparked through his system as he noticed the faint blush creeping up to flush Sean’s cheeks a soft pink that was barely distinguishable in the dim light.

“Well, since it’s almost one o’ clock, and we’ve been working since six, I told them that we could have an hour lunch break now,” Sean replied as he caught Elijah’s busy hand about the wrist, his gaze never straying from Elijah’s. Releasing the thin wrist held between his thumb and forefinger, Sean pressed his palm against the younger man’s before lacing their fingers together. Elijah felt the tell-tale glide of smoother than normal skin against his finger as Sean’s bare ring finger slid against his own.

The question Sean had been so close to replying to was still buzzing unanswered in the back of the younger man’s mind. A familiar, soft warmth rolled about in the pit of his stomach as he felt the rhythmic caress of a thumb soothing the pale skin stretched over the back of his hand and knuckles. Every last nerve ending in Elijah’s body seemed to be more sensitive then it ever had before. He could feel the rapid pulse of Sean’s blood flowing in his veins as their wrists were pressed together by Elijah’s chest when he stepped closer to his lover. Sean’s gaze dipped lower to where their linked hands were sandwiched between his clothed chest and Elijah’s. The young actor smiled as he saw the look in his writer’s eyes as the older man silently marveled at the stark contrast between his own tanned skin and Elijah’s ashen flesh.

“So, you wanna take your car or mine?” the older man finally asked in a low tone as his eyes slowly rose up in time to catch Elijah’s glance over his shoulder and down the corridor, before the younger man boldly leaned forward and closed the small gap between their bodies. The soft pressure of coffee-flavored, curved lips against his own sent an arsenal of electric shocks up and down his spine as Elijah kissed him right there in the doorway to the editing room on the Focus lot where Christine had first found them together almost two weeks prior.

His whole body felt as if it had been wound up tight the entire morning in order to prevent himself from doing this very thing. Now, as the tip of his nose brushed against Elijah’s cheekbone and as he tilted his head to grant Elijah’s probing tongue access to the warm recesses of his lips and mouth, he slowly began to feel like he was coming completely undone. The strange angle of Sean’s newfound sharp, jutting hipbones unsettled Elijah when his own hips shifted against them as he moved impossibly closer. Sean felt a trembling hand skid faintly across his cheek before the touch returned with more sureness against the nape of his neck, fingers tangling slightly in the soft hairs curled loosely.

Through the very tips of his fingers, pushed tight against Sean’s chest, Elijah could feel the now steadier beat of the older man’s heart as his tongue traced back over the searing flesh of another. After a moment of pure and very reckless indulgence, Elijah eased his mouth from Sean’s, eliciting a muffled moan from his writer as the older man pressed his forehead against Elijah’s and drew in a ragged breath. Elijah couldn’t suppress the grin that creased his lips as he listened to the state he had gotten the naturally calm, collected and focused Sean into with a little French kiss. A tentative hand pressed against his flushed cheek before tracing along the smooth frames of Elijah’s glasses, brushing a few stray hairs into further disarray. With a quick peck, Elijah slipped out of the narrow doorway and with Sean’s hand firmly clasped in his own led his writer down the hall to the parking lot for a quick lunch break.

“Mine…”

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They hadn’t said much to one another since returning to the car with their lunch in hand—it almost felt taboo that they were even having lunch together outside of the Focus lot. However, the constant thrumming of thick raindrops pitter-pattering against the darkly-painted hood and windshield of Elijah’s car was beginning to lull the damp couple into a sense of near tranquility. Accompanying the rain was a thin sheen of condensation that had already begun to fog up every last inch of curved window in Elijah’s Mini Cooper as the cold weather waged war with the heater turned up full blast in the front seat where the two sat eating their lunch. Every last patch of skin covering their bodies quickly turned to gooseflesh as the dry heat caressed the moist skin in a vain attempt to ward away the cold; the very hairs on the backs of Sean and Elijah’s necks were standing on end. A musk of clove cigarettes, classic smog-tainted L.A. rain and an underlying current of cologne that Sean recognized as the special one Elijah only wore on special occasions hung thick in the interior of Elijah’s car.

Looking through the hazy windshield Sean saw the sky above them swirling a depressing gray full of thick rain clouds that didn’t look like they would even consider letting up on their downpour before nightfall. A few wayward droplets of rain slipped from the damp tips of Elijah’s hair, strands of hair that were sticking up at odd angles after he had attempted to dry it off on Sean’s already drenched shirtfront. Elijah couldn’t help but grin impishly as he noticed the rather delectable way Sean’s soft fabric shirt was clinging to his thinner than usual frame. A quick flash of pale fingers hastily tearing buttons through holes, peeling dark green, sticky fabric off clammy flesh seared in Elijah’s mind’s eye as he compulsively licked his dry lips. Since Elijah had let Sean drive them over to the nearby Subway, he was now sitting in the passenger seat listening quietly to the crinkling of Sean’s artificial wax paper mingling with the methodic pattern of heavy rainfall bombarding his car’s hood and roof.

The possibility that he was doing something that might be against the rules set up by Sean’s wife sent an adrenaline rush straight to his head. For some reason, the younger man couldn’t sit still, his eyes flicked over the interior of the car, empty imported beer bottles cluttered near his feet, cigarette butts crammed in the ashtray along with generic candy and glinting silver gum wrappers. He glanced down at the half-eaten sandwich balanced precariously on his lap and began to pick distractedly at a sesame seed baked just under the surface of the floury bread. Anxiously, he started to gently bounce his right leg, sending a small tremor throughout the car’s receptive shocks and suspension and gently jostling the sub in his lap. Elijah heard Sean’s wax paper crumple once, twice and then the soft intake of air as Sean parted his lips to speak over the thudding rain.

“So, uhh…” Sean began quietly, pausing to take a bite of his meatball sub. Knowing that in Sean’s mind he was earning extra brownie points, Elijah quietly wadded up his own wax paper around the sandwich and slid it back into the plastic baggie for later consumption. After laying the bag on the dashboard, he looked up to focus all his attention on listening to the gentle inflections of his writer’s voice.

Gently cocking his head to the left and angling his body towards Sean, the younger man pressed his elbow into the yielding cushion of his seat and let his hand rest heavily on the back of Sean’s neck. Even the chills that had been coursing through his body shivered at the contact of frigid skin against the sensitive flesh. Soon however, Elijah began to gently card his fingers through the damp, curled hairs at the nape of Sean’s neck. The familiar caress sent a bolt of comforting warmth throughout Sean’s entire body; it had been a long, long time since Elijah had been able to simply run his fingers through the soft strands of Sean’s hair. He watched quietly as Sean’s warm eyes flicker while the older man grew accustomed to the caress, suspended between a perfect balance of dark and light, as the older man now turned his head in Elijah’s direction.

“Who was it that called you?” The simple question sent Elijah’s mind stalling into a deadlock as he tried desperately to remember to what phone call the older man was referring to.

‘Call?…Today…agent…filming…Prague…no Sean…bad…very fucking bad…’ Elijah’s mind managed to piece together the important details as Sean watched the gears spinning in his lover’s head. A strange burning knot twisted in the very pit of Elijah’s stomach as he debated with himself whether or not to tell Sean about the job offer. As always, when it came to reading Elijah, Sean could see the inner conflict seething beneath the placid fathomless depths of blue. The hand at the nape of his neck had stopped moving, even when Elijah parted his lips to reply with a well practiced air of nonchalance.

“Oh, nobody… Just my agent,” he said in a blasé tone, waving his free hand to emphasize the point. Sean’s only reply was a murmured, “Yeah?” as he took another bite of his sub sandwich, tentatively pushing the subject further but not really committing to pursuing it. “Yeah, job offer…you know,” was all Sean could find out as Elijah’s voice trailed off. The younger man lowered his gaze from Sean’s while his fingers begun to twine about the strands of Sean’s hair once more.

Elijah couldn’t explain in words or rational thought why he hadn’t told Sean the truth about his agent’s offer to have the opportunity to film in Prague for the summer, not to mention acting in the lead male role. There was a nagging suspicion lurking unnamed in the back of his mind, screaming that Sean would tell him to leave and go film in the foreign country. That prospect scared him to death—he knew it was exactly what Sean would do and as long as he kept himself from telling Sean, he wouldn’t have to hear his writer speak those words. Thus, he could maintain the illusion he had managed to build up in his mind that maybe it all would somehow work out in the end.

Everything else seemed to melt away as Sean closed his eyes after tossing his own half finished sub, neatly wrapped, on the crammed dashboard. For a moment he let himself get caught up in trying to feel every last dip and curve of Elijah’s fingertips as they ran over the nape of his neck, mapping out every line carved gently into the very tips. And if he held his breath he could even feel the faint heartbeat thrumming through the veins lacing beneath the skin covering Elijah’s fingertips. He felt the deft fingers run slowly along the side of his neck, skidding over the curved line of his jaw, before brushing gently against a few strands of damp hair to trace the delicate skin of his ear.

Shortly after Sean allowed the topic to drop, an eerie silence wrapped around the two men; encasing each in thick cotton padding, protecting them from the bombardment of the world around them but not from one another. It was comfortable and awkward at the same time. Both men were simply content to sit and touch like they had not been able to do in New York City only two days before. However, there seemed to be something hanging unsaid in the air between them that charged the interior of Elijah’s car with an unstable, unpredictable element. Sean knew exactly what was going unsaid between them. After all, he was the one not saying it. It was his wedding band, or rather, his lack of one wound about his ring finger.

“Uhmm,” he mumbled, finally breaking the silence they had fallen into. Elijah watched Sean’s chest expand as he drew in a deep breath before sighing. The older man’s eyes slowly opened and as he spoke his gaze stayed fixed out the windshield. “Chris’ lawyer okayed the majority of the first draft of our…uhh,” Sean stumbled over the next two words as he fumbled with tangling his fingers together, trying to illustrate in gestures what he was attempting to articulate. “…divorce papers…” The words slipped from his tongue in a low whisper as he pressed his palms against his clothed thighs.

“Sean…” Elijah knew it was a pathetic attempt at comforting Sean but it was all he knew. The methodic glide of his fingers over Sean’s clammy skin slowed to a more soothing tempo as he felt the muscles beneath his finger tense.

“It’s really strange, Lij,” the older man said as he finally glanced over at Elijah’s pale face when he spoke the younger man’s nickname. When Sean looked over in his direction for a fleeting moment, the pad of Elijah’s thumb pressed against the corner of the older man’s mouth. Shifting his thinner-than-normal hips off from the driver’s seat, Sean’s fingers dipped into the loose right front pocket and withdrew a shining golden band. After settling back onto the seat he began to stare transfixed at the glinting object for a moment, holding the ring between his thumb and forefinger.

Just once before had Elijah really had the chance to look at the wedding band, the night after Sean had finally admitted the depth of his feelings for the young actor. After Sean had fallen asleep with one arm encircling his pale slim hips, Elijah had taken the writer’s hand in his own and twined their fingers together. The glinting gold caught in the streaming moonlight and of course Elijah stared at it for a moment, knowing exactly every little thing it meant to both himself and Sean.

It wasn’t like any wedding band Elijah had ever seen before, or at least not like the plain one his mother used to wear. Sean’s band was a beautiful union of woven strands of thin, but solid golden threads. When Elijah had laced their fingers together the silver ring Sean had given him had clinked against the golden wedding band, disturbing the even rhythm of the older man’s breathing. As Elijah compared the two rings, the silver symbols winding together continued to look more and more like the interlacing strands of golden thread that made up Sean’s wedding ring. It was really strange indeed to see the two rings clashed together—one silver ring binding the younger man to the wearer of the wedding band which bound him to a third party who remained unseen in the privacy of Elijah’s moon-bathed bedroom.

“Not wearing it anymore, I mean,” Sean elaborated finally, looking away from the ring and glancing at the crammed ashtray. Without saying a word as to why he was doing so, Sean dropped his wedding band into Elijah’s ashtray, amongst the dead cigarettes butts and candy wrappers. Leaning back, Sean dug his shoulder blades into the cushioned seat and tilted his head in the direction of Elijah’s familiar hand. Elijah watched as the hazel eyes veiled as Sean began to speak. “Consistency was always something that I-I though I had a pretty good handle on, at least before…” The warmed flesh caressed Sean’s damp skin as the young actor soothed the crinkled lines lingering at the corners of his writer’s eyes and glided over his flushed cheeks. “I’d wake up every morning and I knew it would be there, wound about my finger…” Sean’s eyes opened slowly before he held out his left hand to stare at the patch of flesh that had lay beneath that metal band for the past thirteen years. “Now though…now everything seems like it’s all up in the air and I’m just blindly scrambling around trying my damnedest to salvage what I can.” A searing guilt tore at Elijah’s insides as he watched Sean’s eyes cloud with suppressed frustration. They’d never had the chance before to discuss what exactly was happening and now Sean was laying himself open for Elijah to try and piece back together. “You know, that whole phoenix philosophy shit,” Sean added with a bitter laugh, attempting to lighten the ever-darkening mood he had inadvertently created.

“Sean…” Elijah whispered again as Sean shifted his position on the seat once more, pulling his face away from Elijah’s caresses and pressing his left hand against the leather rim of the Mini Cooper’s steering wheel. Reaching out for Sean, Elijah managed only to grasp the back of the older man’s collar.

“I haven’t seen this skin for nearly thirteen years, ever since she…” The writer once again found himself stumbling over his words like never before. “…she put it there.” He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing down another tangent. “If you think about it, it’s almost like I have a clean slate now; flesh untarnished by the weathering of time,” Sean muttered as he ran his thumb over the pale, damp flesh where the ring had once been. “I have this chance to start all over again…” The optimism in Sean’s voice would have been enough to convince anyone that he was perfectly fine. However, as soon as the older man’s face crumbled it was blatantly obvious the writer was far from being fine. “But then I think about Ally a-and…” His voice broke and wavered dangerously as he tried desperately to finish his sentence.

“Oh Sean…” The words slipped from Elijah’s lips as the younger man, regardless of the gear stick digging into one of his hips, leaned across the space between their seats and took Sean’s face in hands. Fingers wound about the strands of Sean’s damp hair once more as the other hand framed the opposite side of the older man’s face. The tips of his fingers hooked around the line of Sean’s jaw that spanned from ear to the curve of his jawbone, tugging gently to encourage him to look at Elijah. There was something in the clouded hazel depths of Sean’s eyes that sent shivers up and down Elijah’s spine; unadulterated desperation.

“And I-I-mmm, ‘lijah…” Sean moaned in a breathy sob as Elijah’s lips slowly pressed against his own, moving soundlessly with familiarity. It seemed like forever and a day since that kiss on the Focus lot only a half an hour or so ago. The pressure against the younger man’s hip began to build as he pressed tighter against the gear stick, needing with ever last fiber of his being to be closer to the damp body of his lover. With a gentle swipe of Elijah’s tongue along Sean’s fuller lower lip, pleading for acceptance, everything crumbled and the sting of liquid salt laced the distinct taste of his writer’s lips.

“I’m so sorry Sean…” Elijah mumbled between ragged breaths as he placed slow, comforting kisses against salty flesh. “…so sorry,” the young actor kept muttering as he nudged the straight tip of his nose against Sean’s cheek, soothing the damp skin of the older man’s cheek with his pale fingertips.

Finally Sean’s senses kicked into gear and his hand moved to grip the back of Elijah’s neck, deepening the comforting caress. Soon both of Sean’s hands had moved to wrap their fingers tight against the back and sides of Elijah’s neck, thumbs pressed against the younger man’s wildly beating pulse. A strange sense of possession thrummed through Sean’s body as he screwed his eyes shut and boldly pressed his tongue back against Elijah’s. Encouraged by Sean’s forward reaction, Elijah twisted his hips around the gear stick and managed to maneuver his lithe body in such a way that he ended up straddling Sean’s lap; caught between a warm, more than willing body and the stiff steering wheel. The torn material of his jeans rubbed against the loose fabric of Sean’s own denim pants as the younger man’s hands slipped from his face to toy with the soft fabric of a green shirt collar. However, the small of Elijah’s back was digging into the steering wheel at an odd angle that made him gasp in pain as soon as he tried to shift his hips. After tearing his lips away from Sean’s, Elijah quickly pressed the pad of his thumb against the writer’s glistening mouth in reassurance.

‘Too long…’ Sean’s mind spun as he fell headlong into the bottomless pools of clear blue. A large degree of suppressed want and need to comfort literally oozed from Elijah’s vibrant eyes as his gaze held Sean’s for several minutes of pure silence. Silently, Sean’s fingers found the dark frames of Elijah’s glasses and pulled them away from the young man’s face and placed then on the dashboard. Ignoring the dull pain in his lower back accompanied by his now slightly blurred vision, Elijah stopped his advances to simply look at the metamorphic color of Sean’s eyes. At the moment the hazel hue was leaning more towards the deep emerald spectrum, though they were shimmering with unshed tears and reflecting the gentle current of raindrops streaming down the windshield. He wasn’t quite sure what he was looking for but as soon as Sean’s eyes flickered darker to match his shirt, Elijah was sure his course of action was the right one.

‘Show me why, Elijah…’ Sean pleaded silently as he felt Elijah’s thumb skid over his lower lip and a soft, melancholy smile pulled at the younger man’s kiss-swollen lips. Then, before Sean could register exactly what was happening, one gentle tug and he and Elijah were tumbling through the space between the passenger and driver’s seats and into the cramped backseat. A strangled moan escaped from Sean as he ended up on top, pressing Elijah into the yielding seat cushions with the younger man’s legs wrapped securely around his thin hips, inadvertently catching on fabric and tugging at the waistband of his loose jeans.

The angle was all wrong and awkward as Elijah twisted his body about so that he and Sean were laying across the length of the backseat. Elijah’s slippery gray Converse soles slid with a distinct screech against the foggy backseat window as he unwound his legs from Sean’s waist and bent them at his knees, accommodating for the small width of the backseat. Sean’s shins banged clumsily against the speakers embedded in the side of the door panel as he hitched his hips up to align with Elijah’s. A low moan of approval from Elijah when Sean’s half-hardened cock ground against his own, confined by tight jeans and a thin layer of boxer material, was cut short when eager lips pressed against his own with bruising force. The writer’s hands had managed to find the young actor’s belt buckle and were working the metallic clasp open.

“Sean…” The twitching muscles of his stomach coiled and contracted as soon as Sean’s warm fingers slip beneath the sticky, damp hem of his shirt to gently caress the clammy skin as he finally undid Elijah’s leather belt and unclasped the water-rusted button snap fly. Another wailing screech of skidding wet rubber against glass echoed in the car as Elijah lost his footing thanks to Sean’s talented tongue tracing patterns along the roof of his mouth, turning the young man’s motor skills to pure jelly.

‘Show me why I’m doing all this…please Lij…’ Ever since they finished shooting Will and Patrick’s big scene, it had been increasingly harder and harder for Sean to maintain a secure grasp on the ever illusive, intangible idea that was Elijah forever by his side. Thanks to the parameters that Chris had set up, Sean was slowly losing sight of why he was going through the divorce in the first place. It was all blurring together and the prospect of losing his only daughter in the process scared him more that he had ever imagined it could. Even after talking to the seven-year-old the night before about why ‘Mommy was jealousy of Uncle Elijah’ had been hard enough. However, Ally seemed to accept that what her father was doing, whatever it maybe, was the best for him because she knew it would eventually make him happy and that’s all that really mattered to her. At that very moment, as soon as Sean realized really for the first time everything that would happen and what he could and would lose when he took off that ring, he needed Elijah’s warmth, reassurance and above all love more than he needed to breath.

“Please…” Sean begged breathlessly as he began to trail frenzied kisses down the pale column of Elijah’s throat, licking and nipping at the quickly flushing skin. Pale hands trapped between their damp clothes and clammy skin, Elijah tipped his head back in silent surrender, colliding with the thin wire crisscross pattern of the stereo speakers and muttering a curse. Writhing helplessly beneath Sean’s frustratingly slow bucking hips, Elijah shifted his own hips off the seat only to be rewarded by the tell-tale whine of his soles slipping all the way down the glass window and grating against the opposite speaker embedded in the car side. Heaving a sigh, he collapsed back down on the seat with his hands now free from their confines.

“Please what, Seanie?” Elijah implored, letting the childish nickname slip from his lips. Tentatively, he curled his right hand beneath Sean’s chin and tipped the older man’s face up to press a short kiss to the still salty lips. “Talk to me, love…” The young man instructed before a tremble wracked through his body, sending every last drop of warm blood coursing downwards to pool in the pit of his stomach. One pale hand shot out to brace against the speaker as Elijah’s back arched like a tautly strung bow. Leaning half his weight back on his knees and pressing the rest on one elbow resting upon the seat cushion near Elijah’s chest, Sean’s fingers carefully peeled away the rain-soaked material of both his jeans and boxers confining the younger man’s cock. “Fuck, Sean…” A guttural moan that Sean had never heard pour from Elijah’s lips resonated in his ears as his hot fingers finally met clammy skin and wound tightly about rigid flesh.

“Let me…” he murmured against the flesh of Elijah’s neck as nail-less fingers dug into the clothed flesh covering his shoulder. The young man’s body fell back against the seat just as Sean’s wrists snapped with a quick jerk, eliciting a surprised yelp and sending Elijah’s hips bucking. Tantalizingly coarse fabric ran along the length of Elijah as his hips collided with Sean’s still fully clothed painfully hard cock. “Show me…” Sean’s breath hitched as his fingers skidded over flushed flesh, smearing pale liquid arousal over the head with the pad of his thumb. “Show me; tell me why, Elijah…” The older man breathed against Elijah’s lips before the younger man tipped his head back and parted his lips, tracing Sean’s fuller lower lip with a slow flick of his tongue.

“Why?” Elijah echoed back, looking up at Sean’s face through half-lidded eyes, vision blurred by foggy arousal. “What and why we’re doing this all for, you mean?” He asked, trying to clarify what it was exactly that Sean was referring to in the disjointed sentences. Through the thick haze clouding his mind, Elijah managed to piece together an answer. “It’s because of this, Sean…” The young man began, pressing a chaste kiss against Sean’s lips in a simple expression of pure love. “Because of everything…” Elijah babbled with slight coherency as he pulled his hand away from the speakers. Sean could feel the younger man’s pulse jump as he grew impossibly harder in Sean’s hand. In the back of his mind Elijah knew that it was his writer’s left, now ring-less hand that was pumping him past the point of no return. With achingly slow movements, Elijah began to slide his hand down the damp front of his shirt. Sean’s pumping hand stilled as soon as he felt Elijah’s fingers wrap around his wrist and tug.

“But especially because I know there’s no going back to how I was before…” The young man whispered as he pulled Sean’s hand away from his cock and up to his swollen lips. Sean watched with bated breath as the young actor’s eyes slid shut, dusky eyelashes curving gently against high cheekbones as his mouth fell open. A husky growl rolled in the back of Sean’s throat as the younger man took his slippery thumb inside his hot mouth. The flat of his tongue laved at the warm flesh before swirling around the tip, tasting his own precome on the writer’s thumb.

Another quiet screech of grating rubber and Elijah’s shoes slipped further to where they caught on the fabric of Sean’s jeans. Despite the belt wound about his waist, the loose jeans were dragged down so that they rode low on Sean’s newly redefined hipbones. The freezing metallic clasp of his belt slipped low enough that Sean moaned in pain as the belt buckle insinuated itself right over his cock. Unable to pull his hands away from Elijah’s mesmerizing mouth to undo the constraining belt, Sean resorted to grinding down against Elijah’s twitching hips. The icy bite of metal and rough fabric skidding along Elijah’s hyper-sensitive cock sent the younger man over the edge, back snapping into a curving arch as his head once again banged against the speakers. The soles of his shoes whined in a cacophony of protest as Elijah’s feet slid wildly against the window in every direction as his body convulsed in sweet release. Both of Elijah’s hands slid under the loose open collar of Sean’s shirt and dug into the tense flesh of his nape, coming harder than he ever thought possible; Sean’s name pouring from his lips in a ragged moan.

“Oh shit, oh shit…” Sean began to murmur as he watched Elijah writhing beneath him, hot spurts of come soaking through the hem of his shirt and staining the dark green fabric with obvious splotches. Putting all his weight on his one elbow, Sean frantically undid his belt one-handed and wriggled out of the jeans far enough that he was thrusting heedlessly against Elijah’s sticky flesh. “Oh, shit…” he moaned into Elijah’s warm mouth as the younger man regained his fine motor functions and kissed Sean’s parted lips, swiping his tongue inside. The protesting groan of the Mini Cooper’s shocks and compact suspensions as the car began to bounce slightly in time with his bucking hips sounded in Sean’s ears, as the rain outside increased ten fold.

Finally pressing his hands against the jutting bones of Sean’s hips, stroking the soft flesh of Sean’s lower stomach, Elijah felt the muscles coil and he bucked up against Sean’s downward thrust. Caught off guard, Sean collapsed against Elijah’s body, pressing his face into the crook of the younger man’s neck, and came with the same intensity as searing liquid poured from his damp, clammy skin.

“Mmmm…Lij…” Sean whispered against pale flesh a few minutes later, his voice wavering as he attempted to pull his limp body from Elijah. However, the younger man only wrapped his arms tighter around his writer’s slim hips, caressing the flushed flesh, and pulled him back down against his lithe body.

“Right here, Sean…always right here…” he murmured drowsily before dropping a gentle kiss to the older man’s temple as he began to card his right hand through Sean’s sweat dampened hair, a few strands catching on the shimmering silver ring.

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It was nearly two in the morning when Elijah finally snubbed out the last clove cigarette of his third packet and picked up the cordless phone on his nightstand. Flicking on the nearby lamp, Elijah squinted his eyes and began dialing the same number that had almost been his own Elijah sighed and hoped Dominic wouldn’t be too pissed that he was calling so late.

“Hey Dom, I’m sorry about calling you so lat-” Elijah began as soon as he heard the other end of the line pick up but was quickly cut off by Dom’s voice.

“Naw, it’s fine mate…” Dom replied as he waved his hand in the dark despite the fact he knew Elijah couldn’t see him. Dominic slowly sat up in bed so as not to disturb the sleeping Scotsman. The Brit began to prepare himself for some long philosophical discussion in which Elijah would most likely pussyfoot around the main topic for a good half hour; naturally it would be something to do with Sean, before actually getting to the real problem in simple, tangible, English terms.

“Oh, okay…well, can I ask you a hypothetical question?” Elijah began quietly, worrying his lower lip as he started to trace the patter of crisscrossing lines that made up his flannel boxers.

“Past midnight, Lij, use small words.” Dom deadpanned as he folded his arms across his chest and got comfortable. Undaunted by Dominic’s comment, Elijah pushed on and set up his situation for his friend.

“If you were offered a job that could possible advance your career in a hop, skip and a jump, would you take it?” The young actor paused for a moment as he thumbed the cool silver band encircling his right ring-finger. “Even if it meant you’d be away from Billy for a few months and he might be, erm…going through a small problem.” Dom didn’t have a clue why Elijah was consulting him on this topic. It was obvious to him that the best course of action to take was just talk to Sean about it. That simple.

“’lijah…you’re talking to the wrong fella, mate. Just go talk to Sean.” The young man sighed into the receiver knowing that his comment would not go unchallenged by Elijah’s wired mind.

“But that’s the thing…I know what he’ll say and…” Elijah trailed off, anxiously flicking his lighter on and off.

“And you don’t want him to tell you to go, right?” He heard the faint rustling of fabric as Dominic knew Elijah was nodding his head. “Lij, look, I know you’re scared…but, whether you like it or not, and if you love him as much as you say you do, you need to tell him…” Glancing over at the drowsing smile playing upon Billy’s lips, Dom sighed again. He traced the gentle slope of Billy’s nose with the tip of his finger as he spoke. The Scot’s eyes fluttered open as he scrunched his nose up in retaliation to Dom’s probing finger. “At least give Sean that before you start making his decisions for him. Night, Lij.” The line went dead as Billy dragged Dom back beneath the sheets.

For once Dominic Monaghan, at a quarter past two in the morning, actually had a very valid point.

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AN: I'm so sorry that it has taken me so long to update...thankfully I'm done with Volleyball now so that won't be sucking up all my energy....Thank you to everyone one for sticking it through for the past month or so...And I'd like to once again, and sadly (probably) for the last time thank the wonderful stellahobbit for being my beta...Since Stella has been booked up and has a lot more things on her plate right now I'm in need of a beta for this fic...*big blue Hally puppy eyes*