Another note.

Orlando couldn’t believe it. Still, there it was, waiting for him. He kept staring at the proffered envelope until the woman behind the desk cleared her throat, reminding him of the people waiting in line behind him. Smiling sheepishly, he took the envelope and walked off to the side. This envelope would bring the grand total up to five.

The first one he found this morning, when he woke up and realized Viggo wasn’t there beside him. It was waiting on the pillow, his name neatly written on the front. Of course, that one had directed him to get up, showered, and dressed. When he came downstairs, he found the second one next to a plate of food. That then directed him to an art gallery where he found the third by one of Viggo’s favorite paintings, and then it was on to the park. The fourth was neatly hidden by one of his favorite spots, and brought him to the hotel he was now at.

Sighing, he opened the envelope, half expecting it to take him to some other random location. Sure enough, there it was. Another set of written directions.

*Remember this hotel? You swore you’d never come here again, and now here you are.* Orlando laughed at this, drawing curious stares from people around him, but he ignored them and continued reading. *Much as I hate to disappoint you, the treasure you’re searching for isn’t here. However, if you come back to the house and check my car, you’ll find what you seek for isn’t far.*

This message brought added, though somewhat muted, muttering. *Bloody hell. Why bother to leave the house at all if I was only going to come back?* Still, he had to admit that there was a certain excitement to it.

When he got back, he went over to Viggo’s car. And then he proceeded to let loose a string of explicatives. He kicked the front tire, but it only served to aggravate him further when it actually hurt. Hopping back in pain, he continued to curse as he looked at the keys to Viggo’s car sitting neatly in the ignition, while the door was locked. And of course Orlando didn’t have an extra set on his keyring. Just as he was about to break a window in his frustration to get into the car, he remembered the keypad on the other side of the car. Laughing nervously to himself as he realized how stupid he had been and that anyone could have seen him acting like a maniac, he walked over to the other side and punched in the code to unlock the door.

Of course, he didn’t see anything obviously waiting in the car. He checked both the front and back seats, as well as the glove compartment, but still didn’t find anything. Getting annoyed, he plopped down in the driver’s seat, and decided to turn on the radio, so at least he’d have something to listen to while he figured out what Viggo was up to.

As soon as he did this, he heard Viggo’s smooth voice coming over the car’s speaker system.

“I’m not sure how long it took you to figure out to use the keypad to open the door, but I’ll bet it must have been interesting to watch you get frustrated as you tried to get in and found you couldn’t. Hopefully it didn’t take you much longer to figure out that I wanted you to turn the car on.” At that, the voice paused and Orlando smiled ruefully, as he realized the thought had never occurred to him. “Anyway, I sent you on this scavenger hunt for a couple of reasons. I won’t bother telling you them now because I’m sure you wouldn’t listen anyway. I’m almost done. Don’t worry. All you need to do now is turn off the car and check the trunk. You’ll find your instructions there.” After that, silence filled the car. Sighing, Orlando turned it off and got out of the car.

Opening the trunk, he found three balloons and a pin taped to a box. Taking the pin, he popped the balloons and found a slip of paper inside one of them. Not bothering to read what was written on it, he opened the box next. His breath caught in his throat. Inside he found a framed photograph of the two of them at some party, but that wasn’t what had caught his eye. It also had a copy of “Transfiguration” by Jack Hirschman, a poem Viggo knew Orli especially liked, written over something he must have painted and placed in a delicate silver frame. He picked it up, reading over the familiar words:

I am peasant
next to your language
because I am not
a peasant, simple
next to your love
because I wound it,
dumb next to your voice
because you are my lips
and leave me speechless,
leave me also loneliness,
hurt me
with the inexpressible,
and because you
live the way you do
and I cannot,
I must go elsewhere
in this corner of my shoulder and weep you,
who love me inexhaustibly
more than I can ever hope
to silence with a poem,
because it is the silence
I hope for, because
it is the very pure
silence hope itself is,
and so I bend, to
my pencil I say: you,
to the beautiful page, you.
I say Yes without speaking.
I say many things, and still
there is room, there is space,
your face is where I see forever

Closing his eyes in order to regain a sense of control, Orli took a deep breath. He then looked at what was written on the slip of paper. It was a short message, short and to the point.

*Come inside.*

“Come inside. *Finally,*” he muttered. He put the framed items back in the box, picked it up, closed the trunk, and half ran/half walked up the path to the front door. He fumbled with the key for a moment, but managed to get the door open despite his haste. He went inside, planning all sorts of different things for Viggo, but he wasn’t at the door. Figuring that Viggo was just waiting upstairs, he gingerly placed the box on a table in the entryway. He then turned to go upstairs, but a voice interrupted him.

“You’re in an awful hurry, aren’t you?”

At this brown eyes met blue and Orlando groaned. “What are you doing here Elijah?” he asked, perhaps a tad bit too impatiently.

“You don’t seem to be too happy to see me.” Elijah mock pouted.

“What are you doing here?” He repeated

“Are you really *that* anxious to get rid of me?” Elijah chuckled. “And here Viggo said that you’d like it.”

“Like *what*?”

“Ever hear of the show ‘This is Your Life’? Well this is more like ‘This is Your Relationship’. And I think I make a far better host than whoever it was who hosted that tv show.”

“You’ve *got* to be kidding me, Lij,” Orlando muttered.

“Actually I am,” Elijah responded. “But Orli, you should have seen the look on your face when I suggested it.” With that he doubled over in laughter, much to the annoyance of Orlando, whose patience had already been far too tested over the course of the day.

“So what are you actually doing here?” he asked for the third time.

“Patience is a virtue, Orli,” was all he got in response.

“Lij-” Orli said, starting to get even more annoyed, if such a thing was possible.

“Orli-” Elijah replied teasingly.

Fully exasperated, Orlando turned his back on Elijah and headed again for the stairs. But no sooner did he reach them then he felt himself being dragged away.

“What the fuck are you doing, Elijah?”

“I’m not allowed to let you go upstairs.”

Brown eyes studied blue. “And why not?”

Elijah returned the gaze, a hint of a smile gracing his lips. “It’s a surprise.”

Orlando crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at the younger man. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you to respect your elders?”

“You’re one to talk, considering the way you are with Viggo,” was the response.

Sighing, Orlando asked, “Then what am I supposed to be doing?”

“Well...I *am* your guest. You haven’t exactly been the best of hosts,” Elijah replied.

“And just how long am I supposed to entertain you?”

Elijah checked his watch. “Actually, you don’t have to anymore. *But*,” he said sharply as Orlando turned to the stairs again, “you can’t go upstairs like that.”

Clenching his fists and then relaxing them again, Orlando faced Elijah once more. “Then how am I *supposed* to go upstairs?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“My, my. I wonder what Viggo sees in you,” Elijah said in between giggles. “Anyway, you’re supposed to wear this,” he explained, pulling a black scarf out of his pocket.

“How am I supposed to go upstairs *blindfolded*?” Orlando asked angrily.

“I’ll help you.”

“Help me right off a bloody cliff,” Orlando muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” Elijah asked curiously.

“Oh, nothing,” Orlando replied innocently. After a moment he sighed and gave in. “Fine, tie the bloody thing on me and let’s go.”

Elijah went to tie the scarf around Orlando’s eyes and then stopped. “I almost forgot. There’s one more thing.”

“What?!?!”

“You....um.....see.....you....you have to.....ummmmm...”

“I have to *what*, Lij?” Orlando growled.

Elijah blushed and then managed to get it out in a whisper. “You have to take your shirt off.”

“You want me to what my what?” Orlando asked, his anger turning into amusement as he watched Elijah squirm.

“*I* don’t want you to, but Viggo said that I was supposed to tell you to....and....would you just take it off?”

“Take what off?” Orlando asked innocently.

“Your shirt,” Elijah whispered.

“I can’t hear you, Lij,” Orlando said, his grin growing broader.

“Your shirt,” Elijah repeated louder, though his voice squeaked a bit at the end.

“You act as though you’ve never seen me shirtless, Lij,” Orlando said teasingly, enjoying the fact that he now had the upper hand. “But shouldn’t there be music?”

“Music? What do you need music for?” Elijah asked, the blush still staining his cheeks.

“To strip to, what else?”

At this Elijah turned even redder, if such a thing were possible, and swallowed hard. However, he remembered why he was requesting this, and managed to recover a bit.

“Might I remind you that afterwards I’m going to blindfold you and lead you up a staircase, so you might not want to piss me off.”

“Fine,” Orlando replied. He then took off his shirt. “Do your worst, Lij.”

Elijah chuckled. “Shouldn’t you be saying that to Viggo?” He then moved behind Orlando to tie on the blindfold.

“Oh I do, believe me,” Orlando replied smoothly.

Elijah’s hands slipped at the comment, moving the blindfold from where he was tying it. “Shit!”

“Am I bothering you, Lij? Too much information?”

“*Yes*. Now stay still and be quiet so I can tie this damn thing on.” Fortunately, Orlando complied and he was soon able to finish tying on the blindfold.

When Elijah was satisfied that it tied tight enough and Orlando couldn’t see anything, he started to lead him over to the steps.

“Ouch! Damn it, Lij, why didn’t you tell me we were at the staircase?” Orlando yelled.

“Sorry. I’m not used to the whole leading a half naked man around blindfolded and up a flight of stairs. Give me a sec to figure this out.” Elijah stood there for a moment and thought. He then took Orlando’s hand and placed it on the banister. Elijah kept his other hand in his and said, “Ok, now try to step up.”

Taking a deep breath, Orlando lifted one foot and managed to find the first step. He then brought up his other foot. However, when he tried to repeat the process, he missed the next step and kept putting his foot back on the step he was already on. “Lij, this isn’t working.”

“Try putting your foot further forward when you bring it up. And each time you move up a step, I’ll give directions for how far away the next one is. Sound good to you?”

“Not like I have much of a choice,” Orlando muttered, already impatient about the whole process. But he tried it, and it worked.

In this manner the two of them made it slowly up the staircase. Since Orlando was blindfolded, he couldn’t see the figure watching his progress, laughing to himself each time Orlando started muttering about the whole ordeal. However, the man knew it wouldn’t be long before it was over and there’d be no complaints about the time taken.

Sure enough, Orlando and Elijah made it to the top of the staircase without incident. Elijah then decided to take both of Orlando’s hands and just pull him in the direction he wanted him to go. He stopped briefly to open a door, and then pulled Orlando inside. Finally, they stopped at the edge of a bed and Elijah told Orlando to sit down.

Orlando sat obediently, but he soon heard the sound of metal being played with and got nervous. “You’re not playing with handcuffs, are you Lij?”

“Handcuffs? What are you talking about Orli? Why would I be playing with handcuffs, especially with you? Scootch back a bit, would ya?”

Orlando complied, but got really worried when Elijah grabbed onto his hand again. However, as soon as he was about to complain, he felt the metal on his wrist, and the quick snap as the metal caught shut. “Elijah! What the fuck are you doing? I thought you said that you didn’t have handcuffs?”

“Would you hold still, sheesh? And I didn’t say that I didn’t have them; I simply asked you why you thought I would be playing with them. Are you going to let me do the other wrist or am I going to have to get reinforcements?”

“Reinforcements? What are you talking about? Lij, uncuff me now. Bloody hell I’m gonna let you get my other wrist.” However, he didn’t take into account the fact that he was blindfolded and could only use one hand, so Elijah quickly managed to take care of the other wrist.

“Well, my work here is done. Have fun Orli,” Elijah said. And with that said, he walked out of the room and shut the door.

“Elijah!” Orlando yelled. “Come back here. What the fuck are you doing leaving me here like this? Is this because of the prank I pulled last month? Look, I’m sorry I did that to you. It was just a joke.” He waited awhile, but nothing happened. “Elijah?” He sighed. Now he was half naked, blindfolded, and handcuffed to a bed. All he could do was wait.

After a few hours, or was it minutes? It’s hard to tell when you can’t see, the door opened and the person who had watched the entire interplay between Elijah and Orlando walked in.

“Elijah?” asked Orlando. But there was no answer.

In the darkness, the figure moved closer to Orlando, leaning over him to check and make sure that there was no way for him to break free. He then reached behind him into a bucket, removing one item.

“Elijah, this really isn’t funny,” Orlando said, consternation filling his features.

All that was heard was the sound of two people breathing. Orlando then felt the mattress dip, and hissed as a piece of ice was slid down his arm, starting from his wrist, lingering on his shoulder, then slipping across his neck and up the other arm. The pressure left off suddenly to be replaced with the placement of warm fingers running across the wet trail which the chip of ice had left.

At this Orlando smiled, recognizing the touch of his lover. “Viggo,” he breathed softly.

Viggo smiled in the darkness, but didn’t say anything. Instead he continued to explore the way Orlando’s arm muscles twitched underneath his fingers, enjoying the way it caused the handcuffs to clink from time to time as he struggled against them.

“Viggo,” he started again, but whatever he was going to say was forgotten as Viggo took another chip of ice and started running it down his chest. “Vig-” he tried again, but cut himself off with a gasp as Viggo started licking the water off his chest. He pulled against the restraints holding him, but they held firm. He was so fixated on the sensations Viggo was creating that he completely missed when the door opened and another person entered the room, watching the action on the bed.

He didn’t pay attention until Viggo stopped and raised his head. “Viggo, what the fuck? Why’d you stop?” he complained, struggling against the restraints. However, his actions were ignored. Viggo looked at the newcomer, and inclined his head towards Orli, indicating that he should take over.

Meanwhile, Orli was still muttering and cursing, trying to free himself, and only succeeding in banging his head against the headboard behind him, which lead to even further cursing. However, as soon as he felt the brief, tentative touches of the other person, he soon ceased.

“What the-? Bloody hell, you’re not Viggo...shit!” he screamed as the newcomer brought his mouth down suddenly over one of his nipples. At this, the person stopped, only to see Viggo silently urging him to continue. Given that encouragement, not to mention the way Orlando was writhing on the bed and begging for more, he got the strength to continue his ministrations. He grew even bolder as Viggo approached Orlando from the other side of the bed and let one hand stray to Orli’s jeans and start to undo the buttons, eliciting a moan from Orlando. All the while, he kept his eyes trained on Viggo, making sure that he knew what was going on and approved.

Viggo merely leaned over the other two and pulled off Orli’s shoes. Judging from the way he was writhing, it was probably a good idea. He then moved back up and whispered in Orli’s ear, “Enjoying this?”

“Mmmmmm...” was all he got at first, but then Orlando managed to recover his sense of speech. “Viggo, what are you doing? Who-”

“All in good time, Orli. Patience is a virtue,” he replied.

“Fuck patience! I want-” and promptly stopped as the other person finished unfastening his jeans and boldly slipped his hand under the material, running over Orli’s swollen cock. Orlando arched up, trying to get more, but not being able to do much at all. He pulled even harder at the restraints, resulting in more clanking of metal as an accompaniment to his cries of pleasure.

Yet the other man hesitated, unsure quite how to continue. Viggo sent him a questioning glance, and received a quick shake of the head in return. Sighing, Viggo moved towards the other man, helping him take off the rest of Orlando’s clothes. He then guided the man’s hand back to Orlando’s cock and covered it with his own, silently helping him. After a short bit, he removed his hand, and his mouth returned to Orlando’s ear.

“Still don’t like my lesson in patience?” he asked. All he got in response were short gasps and moans. He smiled and leaned over to kiss Orli, trying to control his movements because the clank of the handcuffs was starting to become a constant and he didn’t want to totally scratch the bedposts. Their tongues dueled briefly before Orlando pulled back, breathing raggedly. Apparently, the other member of their party had grown even bolder and decided to take Orli in his mouth. At that point Viggo decided to get even further involved and started kissing his way down Orli’s neck, sucking at the hollow in his throat and causing him to arch up even further. “Damn, Orli, don’t break the bed,” he muttered, secretly pleased that his plan had worked so well.

“Fuck! I’m gonna come, Viggo,” he warned. However, neither one of the others seemed to pay any attention to it nor did they move. When he felt Viggo’s tongue lick his nipple, he came with a cry. When he finally stopped shuddering, Viggo moved up and removed the blindfold from his eyes.

He blinked a couple times, trying to regain his senses, and then his eyes widened when he realized that Elijah had been the other one in the room. “You-”

“Yes. I remembered that fantasy well, didn’t I, Orli?” asked Viggo while freeing Orlando from the handcuffs.

“I don’t remember there being handcuffs involved,” Orlando muttered darkly. He then rubbed at his wrists to get some feeling back in them, pouting like a five year old the whole time. Elijah couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.

“What do you find so funny, Lij?” Orlando asked, albeit a bit harshly.

“You.”

“Thanks a lot,” he replied sarcastically.

“I thought that you wanted this, Orli,” Viggo cut in. “Just because it didn’t turn out exactly the way you planned is no reason to take it out on Lij. It’s not exactly like he does this all the time. He just wanted to make you happy.” *Like I did*, he finished silently, trying to will away the tears that seemed to appear unbidden.

“I-”

“Forget it, Orli,” Viggo interrupted. “I gotta go.” With that he stood up and left the room.

“Lij, I’m sorry,” he said, turning to the younger man.

“It’s no big deal, man. I’m not the one you should be apologizing to. Viggo went to a lot of trouble to set this up, you know.”

“I know. But he didn’t give me a chance to finish.”

“Sounds like somebody else I know,” a hint of amusement in Lij’s voice.

“You’re so good to me, Lij. Whatever would I do without you,” he responded, the sarcasm returning full force.

However, all their good humor faded as they heard a car start out and peal out of the driveway.

Viggo was gone.

The End