Mural

The car pulled up in front of the old theater at about midday. Radiohead was playing loudly on the stereo system; the bass was cranked up high enough to rattle the pavement. The windows of the car were down, and two heads leaned out to watch the street.

“Okay. Nobody’s looking, let’s go.”

Dom turned off the ignition, and with it the music. In the silence that followed, two doors opened and shut, and two pairs of feet walked up to the ticket counter in front of the theater. It was closed; the blind was down.

“Shit. I forgot. Come on, Dom, we gotta roll up the windows or it’ll rain.” Elijah had turned back to the car.

“What?”

“I said,” with impatience, cranking at the window, “we have to close the windows. If we don’t, it’ll rain.”

“Lij, you make it sound like the two are connected.” Dominic got to work on the driver’s side. Elijah had finished with the other.

“They are. It’s like a law of physics or something. If you leave the windows in a car open, it’s bound to rain and get the seats all nasty.”

Dom tried to make sense of the twisted logic, failed. He tried again. “Uh, it’s axiomatic, right?”

“Huh?”

“Nothing. Never mind.” He shook his head.

“Dom, are you coming?”

“Yeah. Are you sure we’re allowed to be here?” Dominic wasn’t a coward, but neither did he want to be arrested for trespassing.

“Nobody’s here to stop us.” Elijah said.

So much for trying to keep out of jail. Dom sighed. “You Americans; you’re all insane.”

Lij turned around and grinned at him, and Dom’s heart stopped. “Yeah, I know.” He turned back to the old building, and Dom took that time to catch his breath. What the hell was that? “Come on, Dommie. I want to show you this.”

“You’re sure we’re not doing something really stupidly illegal . . .”

“Yeah. ‘S fine. Come on.”

“Okay, but only if –” just then Elijah grabbed his hand, and he forgot what he was going to say. Dom tried to look around, tried to notice the theater door they had walked through, the hallways they were now walking down; anything to keep himself from noticing how good Elijah’s hand felt in his. They fit together, he thought to himself. And then: Fuck, I’m in trouble.

Lij was dragging him down the hall by his hand. Babbling, as he usually did. Dom didn’t mind, it was just Elijah’s way. He was always either really quiet or really talkative, but Dom rather liked it. Whatever Lij was, he was always fun to talk to. And he had really nice hands. Fuck, stop that. Stop thinking like that. He probably only likes girls. And even if he does like boys, it’d be Orlando, Viggo, even Ian before it would be you, Dominic. Stop thinking about him like that.

“I found this about a week ago, when Peter was looking for another warehouse to film in. You know, ‘cause the back room’s so big. We just came here, and I saw it. Couldn’t wait to show you, it‘s fucking amazing. The theater’s closed, between shows or in the off-season, something, but the mural’s still there. Fuck, it’ll probably be there till the end of fucking time. God, Dommie, you’re gonna freak when you see it, it’s the most amazing thing . . .” and on and on.

Dom would have answered him eventually, but then Elijah started stroking a thumb across the back of his hand, unconsciously it seemed, and Dom couldn’t really think of anything to say. Hand, he thought. Hand in his. Skin. Hands and skin. Feels good. Wait, mural? “Mural?”

Lij broke off his sentence and stared at Dom. “Did I say mural?” He asked, innocent tone of voice belied by his oh-shit expression.

“A while ago. What were you talking about?”

“Nothing.” Elijah sounded nervous. “You’ll see.” He started pulling Dominic along again.

*

Fuck, fuck, fuck, Elijah thought, giving a tug on Dom’s hand with each word. Dammit, dammit, fuck. Shit. Fuck. I should learn to keep my fucking mouth shut. Damn, how hard would it have been to just not fucking talk, huh? But he knew he couldn’t help it. He always got this way around Dominic; he was either tongue-tied, couldn’t rub two fucking sentences together, or he babbled. He’d had a crush on Dom since about the first week of filming, and talking weird was just another symptom of being Too Damn Obvious.

It wasn’t just Dom’s eyes, that clear gray color that was like a language of its own. It wasn’t just Dom’s arms (wow, arms), or his face, or his smile. It was the way he walked through the world, not pushing at it, just letting it settle around him with every step. It was his personality, three parts poet/guru to five parts sick bastard. It was the fact that even thinking about him made Lij spout poetic little phrases in his head. It was so many things; Lij was amazed that the entire fucking world wasn’t in love with Dominic.

He was telling the truth. He came here with Peter Jackson one day, went looking around on his own, and saw it and thought of Dom. Just Dom, not getting into Dom’s pants or licking Dom’s ear or using this as a chance to take him to bed. Just Dom, and how lovely Dom and the mural would look in a room together.

That’s why he wanted this to work. Dominic was always so great, was always there for him when he needed it, always willing to talk or just sit there and listen, or anything. Add to that the fact that Elijah had the biggest fucking crush . . . well, Dom deserved a present no matter what. But it was supposed to be a surprise, dammit.

“It’s this way. Just a little further. Listen, when I tell you to close your eyes, close’em. Okay?”

“Yeah, sure.”

*

They finally reached the end of the hall, and stepped into the back of the darkened theater. With the lights off, Dominic could only see a patch of floor lit by the light from the hallway. Then Elijah closed the door to the hall, and he couldn’t see a thing.

Lij had let go of his hand to shut the door, but then he took it back, and held onto the other wrist, walking backwards and leading Dom down the left aisle of the theater. They walked slowly, both stumbling against each other in the dark. Every time Elijah walked into Dominic, or brushed against him, Dom caught his breath. It felt really, really good.

Then –

“Ouch!”

“Oh, sorry. That was your foot?”

“Yeah. ‘S okay though, it just surprised me.”

Step, step, step, wobble.

“Oh, fuck. Sorry, I tripped over something.”

“Shit, I forgot to tell you about that. There’s ridges in the carpet, ‘cause it’s an old theater. There’s like two more, I’ll tell you when we get to them.”

Dominic thought he might be developing a crush on Elijah Wood. Fuck, maybe he’d had one already. It might have been there for a while, because he always noticed Lij’s eyes on set in the mornings. Almost before anything else, he would see blue through the haze of sleep, and it would be the best possible wake-up call.

Whatever it was that Dom felt, this situation, with the dark and Lijah holding his hand like that, was really kind of perfect. Dom knew Elijah was just being a friend, probably didn’t even notice him that way, but it didn’t matter. If he had a crush on his costar, well, he was an actor. He could hide it.

Elijah stopped moving, and Dom crashed into him. Oh, ah . . . sorry, I didn’t mean to walk into you with my hard-on. I’ll get it out of your way now. Yeah, right.

“You stay here. I gotta turn the lights on.” Lij said softly in Dominic’s ear. He heard Elijah breathe in once, sharp, and then he felt a soft kiss on his cheek. Wow, that felt nice. He must have made a weird noise, because Elijah dropped his hand like a hot brick and walked off, leaving him alone in the dark.

Dom hoped Elijah wouldn’t do that again. Obviously he had kissed him like a brother, or like a cast mate, a friend; but Dom hadn’t taken it like that. If Elijah kissed him again he didn’t think he could control himself. Just feeling Lij’s breath on his cheek had given him chills. Fuck, I am very definitely in trouble.

Then Elijah switched the house lights on, and Dom saw what he had been talking about. He stared. Everything else was forgotten. Blue, his mind thought. So much blue.

“Oh fuck, Lijah. How did you find this? This is, this is . . . fuck. How . . .? Oh wow. Oh wow.” He couldn’t seem to find words. Amazing, fantastic, spectacular. No, too weak, all of them. Oh wow.

When he’d said “mural”, Dom had expected a little kiddy picture on the wall. He was prepared to like it, because it was from Elijah, but he hadn’t been prepared for this. Dom was swimming in it; he was lost in it. It was amazing.

“What? I can’t hear you. What did you say?” Elijah came out from behind a curtain and walked to the middle of the stage.

*

“Fuck, Lij, do you know what this is?” Oh shit, he sounds angry. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken him here.

“Um, it’s a painting of the ocean?” “No, it’s not a painting of the ocean. It is the ocean. Lijah, you’ve got the fucking ocean in this room.”

That’s what it was. Every single wall, every single surface, the ceiling, the floor, everything but the stage area, was one giant painting of the New Zealand ocean. The whole room was just one big, pulsing tangle of blues (and greens and grays), the waves hinted at in the texture and movement of the lines. There was purple at the base of the walls, and at the ceiling it faded into a very pale green, but it was blue blue blue everywhere else.

“Uh, sorry.”

“Sorry! Don’t fucking say you’re sorry.” Now he really sounded mad. “Who the fuck would paint something like this? How did you find this? This is wonderful. This is fucking brilliant. Lijah, what is this?”

“Some guy painted this mural on the walls, and. Then they, you know, made a theater, and he just kept painting I guess. Dommie,” hesitant, “do you like it?”

“Like it. C’mere.” Dominic marched over to the stage, and pulled on Lij’s ankle until he jumped off of it. There was no instrument pit; it was just stage hitting floor, with a little scalloped wave pattern at the edge where the two met.

Dom waited until Elijah got his balance back, and then wrapped him in a tight bear hug. “Thank you thank you thank you thank you,” he muttered in Lij’s ear, over and over again.

Dom sounded glad; delighted in fact, which was good. But then all at once he sort of got quiet. Elijah had to strain to hear him, even though Dom’s mouth was about an inch from his ear. He could feel little puffs of breath, and could still feel the words thank you thank you against his cheek, but it seemed as if Dom had forgotten he was speaking at all. Strange.

Elijah was just glad that Dom wasn’t pissed. He stayed in Dom’s arms, not because he had a crush, but because Dom was his friend and was thanking him, and it would be impolite to break away now. Right. Of course.

And it felt really amazing just to be standing here, but Lij kinda wanted to see Dom’s face. That’s all he wanted, nothing wrong with that.

He fucked up. When pulled back he was still in Dom’s arms, and when he saw Dom smiling like that, he just sort of lost his mind. Looked at Dom, said, “You’re welcome,” and kissed him softly on the mouth. Couldn’t stop himself. No fucking self control at all. Oh, fuck no. What the hell did I just do?

Lij jumped away. “I’m sorry,” he shrieked. “I didn’t mean anything, I’m sorry.”

“Whoa, wait, Lijah –“

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I just wanted to show you the theater, and then you looked so happy. It wasn’t anything.” He didn’t want Dom to think he was a sicko, or that their friendship would get fucked up because Lij couldn’t keep his fantasies to himself.

Dom looked confused all of a sudden. Hurt. “It really didn’t mean anything?”

“Well . . .” Fuck, Elijah couldn’t lie, could he?

“Because if it didn’t then I’m sorry I freaked you out. I just, I don’t know, I just wanted to see what it was like to kiss you. I’m sorry. Look, I’ll just go, and maybe come back later.”

Lij gaped. Dom had wanted to kiss him? How, and in what possible universe, could this be the way of things? No, it was he who liked Dom. Liked him a lot. Not the other way around. But that’s what he said.

Elijah took a step closer. “Repeat what you just said.”

“What?”

“What did you say? You said you wanted to kiss me?”

*

Dom shuffled his feet. Fuck, he was in for it now. “Yeah, I said that. I just, I don’t know. I guess . . . I don’t . . . never mind. Look, I’m going. Don’t worry about me.”

“You want to?”

“Yes. I said that, all right? Would you stop fucking harping on it? I promise I’ll leave you alone. I’ll get over it or whatever, but would you shut up?”

Lij shook his head wonderingly, and walked over to Dominic. He put his arms around Dom’s waist and smiled into his face. “Yeah, I’ll shut up,” he said, and kissed him again.

That felt really, really nice, almost perfect. Just lips, tongues sliding across each other, tasting each other. And the blue of the mural out of the corner of Dom’s eyes. But then, he thought, this can’t be happening. If it is, it’s too good. Dom started to panic. This is too much. I just realized that I like him five minutes ago, for fuck’s sake. There has to be like a grace period or something in here. Dom pulled away to look at Elijah, and some of his thoughts must have shown on his face, because . . .

“Dom, what? Um, you don’t want this? I mean, I know you said so, but saying and doing are –“

“Just,” breathe deep, calm down, “just give me time to get used to it, is all. It doesn’t even feel real.”

Lij smiled and wriggled in his arms. “I don’t feel real? How am I not real?”

“No, it’s just that . . . I watched you in Flipper, for god’s sake.”

“So?” He was almost laughing. “You’ve been acting with me for – wait, when did you see Flipper?”

Dom tried to explain himself, but knowing Elijah it was probably a lost cause. Boy never let go of an idea once he had it in his head. It would have been adorable, but. “Kissing and acting are two different things.”

Elijah looked at him slyly, and he wondered where that came from until he felt Lij’s hands on his crotch, squeezing and rubbing through the fabric of his jeans.

“What about fucking and acting? Those two aren’t so different, are they?” His hands kept up what they were doing, and Dom couldn’t concentrate on the question. No fair. That’s . . . oh my. But that’s cheating.

Lij smiled at Dom’s consternation, grinned when Dom couldn’t help moving against his hands. He started to unbutton Dom’s jeans.

Dominic tried to gather his thoughts. “Lijah, you. You want to have sex? With me?”

“What do you think?”

“Well, I . . . what, here?”

Elijah put his face very close to Dom’s, and said deliberately, “Yes, here. Wherever you want. This is as good a place as any.” He put his mouth on Dominic’s, kept it there for a long time. But see, he couldn’t fucking stop talking.

Elijah broke the kiss off this time. “On set, if you want, in front of everybody. Or someplace secret and hidden.”

Dom wanted to start kissing again. “Lij, shut up.”

“In the backseat of a car.” Well, that teasing smile was nice, too. But Dom wanted to lick it, not have it make fun of him.

“Lij, would you just stop?”

“In a chair, or a train, maybe a bus.” Fuck, now Dominic had Green Eggs and Ham in his head. It was doing a spectacular job of spoiling his mood.

Lij winked at Dom, unaware of his friend’s trauma, and made it worse. “Hey, baby,” lasciviously, “want a protein injection?”

That did it. Dom burst out laughing, laughed so hard that his legs couldn’t hold him up. He sat down on the floor, pulling a very startled Elijah Wood with him.

*

Okay, now what? Elijah didn’t know what he had expected with his teasing, but this really wasn’t it. He sat on the floor, tangled up in Dom’s arms and legs, feeling him shake with laughter.

“Lijah,” Dom said, “you talk too damn much.”

Elijah winced. “Yeah, I know.” Dom laughed again, and started kissing his neck. Well, that’s better.

Then Dom pulled Lij around to face him, and started kissing his lips again, and that was much better. It felt so good that he didn’t notice that Dominic was unzipping his pants until he felt a hand on his stomach. He shivered, and the hand moved lower.

Lij said “oh” once, in a very small voice, and then they were moving together, finding each other and the balance between them. They could both see the mural when they opened their eyes, moving when they moved, rocking with them.

Well, when you think about it, it’s a lot like drowning. It’s good like that.

The End