Disclaimer: This story is not real. I do not know Dominic Monaghan or Elijah Wood and I don't know if they have a romantic relationship.
Author Note: I took a lot of liberties with the time after Dominic's departure from Lost
Summary: Dominic is done with Lost and has plenty of time for Elijah. They decide to go on a romantic Adventure exploring the US where angst, adventure, and most of all romance awaits them.
Dominic was in the setting room, the laptop opened before him. He stared intensely at the screen, one hand clicking the mouse repeatedly and the other gripping the cell phone that he had just used to make some arrangements. Earlier, he and Elijah had come to an agreement. They’d take turns deciding on what to do and where to go. Elijah had planned Maine, and now it was Dom’s turn to plan New Hampshire.
Elijah came out of the bedroom, carrying a menu for room service. He sighed, glancing at the clock. He had hoped that they’d be ready to leave by today, but seeing as they hadn’t really sat down to plan anything, Dominic thought it’d be good just to spend the day in their room, hanging out, and planning. “Not to worry, Lij. We have plenty of time, remember? Cleared schedules until further notice?” That’s what Dominic had said when Elijah had voiced his concern the night before. Of course, being out of the spotlight was nice, and normally Elijah would enjoy it without any worries, but he didn’t want Dominic to miss his chance to really make a name for himself. He was on his way with Lost, but he needed to keep working to reinforce that. He was intent on enjoying this trip and showing Dominic the country, but he was also going to make sure it didn’t last so long that people forgot who Dominic was… “So have you made up your mind yet?”
Dominic blinked back to the here and now, coming out of the zone he was in as he made the arrangements. He smiled at his boyfriend, who was now seated next to him, staring at him curiously. “You mean for when we go to the shire?”
“Huh?” Elijah frowned, confused. How did the shire get into this? Were they taking a detour to New Zealand and if so, why? Maybe Dominic wanted to talk to Pete about some upcoming projects…
Dominic grinned giddily. After looking at the name New Hampshire, he had made an amusing discovery and it had gotten him really looking forward to the new destination. “The shire. Look baby, take off the New and the Hamp and look at what you have.” He pulled out a pen and pad and wrote down the state and crossed out what wasn’t required and showed it to Elijah. “Shire”
The giggle that erupted from Elijah made Dominic’s smile grow even bigger. There was nothing that could put him in an ecstatic mood than hearing his baby laugh.
“Fucking awesome, man! I didn’t even notice that.”
“Bloody brilliant. Two hobbits, going to their new shire! Heh!”
Elijah just smiled and looked over at the screen. “So what are we going to be doing in New Hampshire? Have you got a hotel booked yet?”
“Nope. “
Elijah’s eyes widened. Was it a good idea to have Dominic do some of the planning? He didn’t even have a hotel booked and that was one of the first things Elijah always did. Having a place to put your head down was very important. “Dominic…”
“I booked us a state of the art cabin in the Lake region!” Dominic laughed, amused by the wild ‘I’m going to freak out at any second’ look Elijah had gotten in his eyes.
Elijah blinked and stared at his lover. “You did what?”
“Booked us a cabin. See,” Dominic went to the site he had started out on and went to the page that held a picture of their cabin and the interior. He had thought long and hard about where they would stay during their time in New Hampshire and felt the need to stay somewhere even more private than an inn. Somewhere where it‘s just them. A cabin was perfect for such a venture. “What do you think? It‘ll be just the two of us, and nature of course…”
Elijah stared at the picture with wide eyes, then turned back to Dominic, just about out of words. What could he say to that? Fucking awesome just wasn’t enough. He needed words to describe how he felt. That would burst forth with love and celebration. “I love it…I love it and I can’t wait,” he wrapped his arms around Dominic’s neck and kissed his cheek. This will be the best place yet…”
“This trip is going to be filled to the brim with best places,” Dominic smiled, stroking his lover’s cheek. “And look, so many things to do…”
“What is the region we’re going to again?”
“The Lakes Region. We can rent sailboats, take tours, visit historical museums and wildlife refuges, and even get a look at Golden Pond…”
“Mmm, sounds ridiculously romantic…I can’t wait to be in our cabin and then exploring the lakes…but is there anything else to do in New Hampshire? I don’t want us to be just sitting around being fucking romantic the whole time,” Elijah giggled again, giving his lover an affectionate peck on the cheek. Dominic just smiled and clicked the mouse a few more times and grinned. “We can go hiking, kayaking, wildlife watching, biking, horseback riding…take tours…there’s a lot we can do.”
“Well then I say bring it on,” Elijah chuckled, closing the laptop and placing it on the floor so he could straddle Dom’s thighs. “I can’t fucking wait..”
“It’s going to be completely ace,” Dominic smiled, pulling his love closer. “We’re going to make memories that will put New Zealand to shame, baby. Just you wait…”
Elijah just smiled and leaned into a sensuous kiss. In his opinion, nothing will ever compare to New Zealand…that first year of finding Dominic and being in love…It had been a magical time. He’ll never forget the moment when he realized that he loved Dominic. The loving Dominic part was what made it so poignant…Dominic hadn’t even known at first…but that had been ok with Elijah…just loving the other man had been enough…but receiving that love in return…and that first real kiss…nothing could ever take the place of that memory….
Elijah was the last to leave the feet trailer, now out of his hobbit gear. Sniffling, he rubbed his sore eyes and cursed as more tears fell. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. A director’s tirade had never brought him to tears before. He usually listened and took what he could from the experience and moved on. But Pete’s harsh words had disturbed him, bringing back the doubts he had earlier of his ability to bring Frodo to life.
The scene was when Frodo was trying to give the ring back to Gandalf. Peter had already been in a gruff mood that day and nothing was going right from the costumes, to the lighting. Elijah hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before and for some reason, he was unable to get himself together enough to seamlessly pull off the scene. He kept forgetting his lines and one time he was even faced in the wrong direction. Finally Peter had had enough.
“Stop fucking around Elijah! Either be Frodo and try to give the ring back or get the fuck off my set!”
Everyone was quiet and it felt as if all eyes were on him. Closing his eyes, he just nodded and carried off the scene as best he could. After a few more tries, he finally got it right and had rushed back to his trailer, trying to keep himself together. Thankfully, no one was in the trailer. His fellow hobbits had the day off and it was another hour before the make-up artist had arrived to help him remove all signs of Frodo.
Sighing, he started for the trailer he shared with Dom and Billy and Sir Ian. The one place he didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to bring Dom and Billy down with his depressed mood and he certainly didn’t want to face Sir Ian after all that had happened that day. Entering the trailer, he ignored the greetings his friends gave and went to his room and collapsed on the bed, pressing his arms to his eyes, still fighting the tears that wanted to fall. He didn’t even hear the door open or the soft footsteps approaching the bed. He didn’t even look when a weight pressed down on the side of the bed and a gentle warm hand touched his hair. It was Dom’s voice that brought him back to attention.
“Ian told us what happened today. Are you alright?”
Elijah looked at Dom, who stared back with sympathetic eyes. Besides Sean Astin, Dominic had become the one person Elijah had grown closest to. Not only had he grown close to Dominic…he found himself developing feelings towards the brit that he had never even considered himself capable of having towards another man. It had brought a whole new dynamic to his side of their relationship and he had no idea what to do about it. Not that it mattered. He was pretty sure that Dominic was straight. He had watched him flirt with so many girls…plus with the way Hollywood was…he didn’t want to chance it…but still moments like this…he couldn’t help wanting something more than friendship…
“Come on Doodle, tell me what’s wrong….” Dominic was now stroking the back of his neck, his long fingers warm and smooth, causing Elijah to almost forget why he was so hurt.
Elijah turned and looked up into those eyes and sighed, feeling the floodgates open, despite his best efforts. “I pissed Pete off today. I kept getting the directions wrong and…well he ripped into me…and…fuck Dom…I can’t do this. I can’t be Frodo. I was a fucking fool to think otherwise…”
“Hey now, of course you can do this. You’re bloody fantastic Lij. You bring Frodo to life. As for Pete…I’m sure he didn’t mean what he said. According to Ian, this has been an unusually stressful day for the bloke. Tomorrow, he’ll apologize and you two can go back to being friends,” Dominic reassured, continuing to rub his friend’s shoulder. “It’ll be alright, Lij.”
Elijah wished that he could believe that. He wished that he could feel confident in his abilities again and show everyone that he could indeed portray Frodo in a way that’ll please everyone, up from Pete down to the fans of the books. But his confidence was all but gone, and he was sure that he’ll continue to disappoint everyone. He might as well just turn around and go home…He shook his head, covering his wet face with trembling hands. “No…no I’m going home…it’s the best for everyone….I don’t want to ruin the movies…”
“Hey, hey, hey,” Dominic wrapped his arms around Elijah and held him close, his hands gently stroking his back. “You are not going to ruin the movies. You are not going to disappoint anyone. You’re going to fucking rule Frodo, love. You’re going to bring him to life in a way no one else can. You’re going to show Pete and the rest of them what you can do. Trust me. I’ve seen you in action and you’re bloody brilliant.”
“You really think so?” Elijah looked at him with wet blue eyes that made Dom just want to melt at that very moment.
“I know so. You’re going to own this role. I believe in you Elijah. I wouldn’t be telling you this if I didn’t.”
Looking into those eyes, holding the boy of his heart in his arms…Dominic knew he shouldn’t. He knew that it could ruin the movies and not only that…ruin the trust Elijah had in him…but he couldn’t help himself. Those eyes, they spoke of something that Dom hadn’t hoped to ever find in Elijah’s eyes…those red lips, parted and quivering, still wet with Elijah’s tears…they were all beckoning to him. Without thinking too much about what he was doing, Dominic leaned forward and pressed his lips to Elijah’s in a hesitant, chaste kiss…
At first, Elijah was too stunned to do anything…for just a second, he was frozen, not even daring to touch Dominic. But then something screamed at him to do something…to respond in a way to tell the man that he’s been crushing on for weeks now, that the kiss was most welcomed. That this was something Elijah wanted…even more than being a successful Frodo…not giving himself anymore time to think about it, he wrapped his around Dom’s neck and returned the pressure. He didn’t know what else to do…or what else would be welcomed, so he just sat there, returning the pressure of Dominic’s lips, not daring to do more. Not until he got another signal from Dominic.
After a second, Dominic pulled away and looked at Elijah, feeling dazed yet hopeful. Elijah had returned his kiss and what a wonderful kiss it was. The sweetest kiss he had ever had…a kiss he shall never forget as long as he lived….
“I like you,” Elijah shyly replied, his tears now forgotten, something else just as important taking the place of his earlier worries. “I…I more than liked you…for a very long time now and…”
“Shhh,” Dominic pressed a finger with a gentle smile. “I more than like you too…for a very long time now…”
Elijah stared at Dominic in shock, not knowing how to respond, yet he was astonished. All this time, he had been pining away, thinking that his feelings, new and confusing, yet real…that they would never be returned…yet here Dominic was, confessing that they were…and not only that, he had kissed him. He blushed at the memory of those warm, soft lips, pressed gently against his own. “What are we going to do?”
“What do you want to do? Say the word and we can forget about this. Go back to being just friends…it’ll be hard…but we can do it…or…we can pursue this. See where it leads us…”
Elijah looked into Dominic’s eyes, not sure of what is answer should be. So much could happen from now until the end of the movies. He loved Dominic. He treasured his friendship, he didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize it…but he couldn’t ignore his growing affection for his friend, either. He needed help in making up his mind…something real and telling…something that would bring him even closer to Dominic… “Kiss me again….”
Dominic just smiled and did as Elijah said, keeping the kiss chaste and safe, letting it do the convincing. Neither of them were aware of Sir Ian, standing in the doorway, smiling. Ah, young love. It did his heart good to see it bloom like this. Hopefully it was a strong love and stand throughout time. Young Dominic and Elijah simply fit each other. They complimented each other perfectly. He had seen a great many things in his life, and only a few times had he seen anything like the young Manchurian and his young American. They were indeed something special…
“What are you thinking about?” Dominic disrupted Elijah’s reverie, a teasing smile on his lips. He loved catching Elijah deep in thought. He looked so serious, and still…and so bloody perfect.
Coming out of his daydream, Elijah just smiled and touched Dominic’s face, his eyes lit with unconditional love. “Of you. Of our first kiss and the realization that we loved each other…do you remember?”
Dominic smiled, blushing at the memory. How could he ever forget that day? It was the day his real life began. “How could I forget? I remember, you were upset about Pete yelling at you. Ian sent me in, saying you’d need a friend…I think he had suspected our feelings for each other at that point. I remember seeing you crying and wanting to hold you and protect you from the world. I especially wanted to tear Pete a new one…”
“Fuck, I was so young back then…I do believe my career now is older than I was back then.”
“Looking back…we both were so fucking young…”
“Do you miss those days, Dom? Sometimes I do. Being in New Zealand…our own private world…”
“Sometimes…but I think now is better. We’re both older…more weathered…seen more…been through everything we could practically go through as a couple…and now stronger than fucking ever. I’m secure in the knowledge of our love…and that was something I just didn’t have back then.”
Elijah blinked, trying not to feel a little hurt at the last part of Dom’s words. Not secure? How could Dom not feel secure about their love? Elijah had thought that he was loud and clear about his feelings. How could Dom not know? “You didn’t think I loved you?”
Dom sighed, hating that he had hurt Elijah, but they had gone through so much shit then, from protests from well meaning friends, to the ever worrisome suits. Then there had been Elijah’s jealousy…then his own…”There was so much back then Elijah…I mean…Astin’s behavior…my behavior…the suits…”
“But you know now, right? You know that I love you….that I’ve always loved you….there’s no question about that?”
A small smile graced Dom’s lips. “Yeah. I know that now.
“Good. Because I do love you. Always have and always will,” Elijah smiled, leaning in for another kiss, knowing that most likely this wasn’t the end of the insecurities for either of them. Life was sure to throw more obstacles in their way…but he was positive that as long as they stayed together, and loved one another, nothing would ever stand in their way. Their love was stronger than that.
~*~
Elijah stood outside the inn, surrounded by both his and Dominic’s bags. Dominic had ordered their cab fifteen minutes ago, or so Dominic had said before disappearing about ten minutes ago. Elijah frowned, looking once again at his watch. This wasn’t good. They had a flight to catch in soon. If Dom didn’t hurry, they would miss it and Elijah really didn’t want to cool his heels in some airport. He wanted to get to New Hampshire and be settled before the day was over. “Fuck Dom. Where are you?”
As if summoned by the question, a Toyota Highlander Hybrid pulled up in front of the hotel where Elijah was standing. The door swung open to reveal a grinning Dominic. “Hi baby.”
“Dominic, what the fuck?!” Elijah’s eyes opened. He had not been expecting this. For some reason he thought that they’d be flying to their destinations. He hadn’t expected Dominic to go and rent a car.
“Well, this was supposed to be a road trip anyway, right? Why travel the country and waste time and money on a plane when we can just drive to where we want to go? Plus we get to see so much more of the country this way,” Dominic grinned.
“You’re fucking unbelievable, do you know that?” Elijah giggled.
“Yes and that’s why you love me,” Dominic winked, sliding out of the car to help Elijah pile their bags and souvenirs into the back of the SUV. “I have everything ready for a road trip too. Snacks, books, blankets, water…”
“You…” Elijah smiled, looking at his excited boyfriend, his love for Dominic growing.
Dominic blushed and smiled. “And you…”
After tossing the last bag into the back, Dominic slid into the passenger seat and squealed with delight to see the DVD player and a stack of movies on the dashboard. “Fucking awesome!”
Dominic just laughed as he slid into the driver’s seat. “So you approve?”
“Titanic, Gladiator, Spiderman one and two…”
“And lots more in the glove compartment…plus your CD’s so you can listen to music. Don’t want my baby getting bored.”
Elijah looked at Dominic and smiled. Bored was one thing he could never be with Dom. “I love you. I’m glad we’re doing this.”
Pulling away from the hotel, the boys grew silent. The trip was off to a wonderful start. Already Dom was impressed with what he saw. Maine had been fucking wonderful and he just knew that New Hampshire, or New shire as he liked to think of it, was going to be even more romantic and wonderful. He had to admit that at first he had been a little depressed over Lost, despite the bad treatment and horrible storylines and certain rumors of storylines being taken away to go to fan favorites, but his lovely Elijah knew just want to do to lift him back out of a depression and show him how beautiful life can be after all. He once teasingly told Billy that Elijah was his angel. But now…he honestly believed that. Elijah was indeed his angel and he will hang onto him forever. Come what may….
Taking Elijah’s hand in his, Dominic drove them into the horizon, knowing that there was even more romance and beauty to come.