Watching Orlando bounce around the room from person to person, setting in each outstretched hand an assorted chocolate, Billy smiles.
Looking down at the gold oval-shaped piece in his hand, its wrapper resembling the last one Orlando had given him, Billy thinks it’s the one with a liquid caramel center. Probably surrounded by bittersweet dark chocolate too. Frowning, he tried to remember if he had told Orlando about his cravings for caramel covered dark chocolate, when the sound of swishing fabric and the glint of a sequin drew his attention.
Liv is laughing as she throws her wrapper at Orlando. It lands in his hair and hangs a long moment before he shakes his head, flinging it to the ground. Playfully pinching Liv’s arm, he continues his distribution.
The circle of fellows is more like several circles, although only Billy bothers to think about their positions in such shapes. On second thought, Billy decides they’re planets in a solar system. He considers himself a moon, however, and not just any moon. Earth’s moon. Completely caught in a strong gravitational pull. Bound, with one side perpetually facing the Earth.
Where is the Earth right now?
It’s caught by another gravitational tug. One that’s much stronger than even the Earth to the Moon.
The Sun has a very tight hold over Earth.
Orlando has reached what Billy thinks of as Mercury. Bean is closest in orbit to the Sun. He is that perfect mixture of dry and burnt, icy and frozen. The passionate core, however, is always apparent.
It seems Orlando knows he’s about to reach the Sun. His steps are slightly slower, a little more of that grace he honed from his role as Legolas is perceptible. A slight buzzing circulated the room. He was almost there.
The Sun stood there, smiling softly, layers of deep power and ferocity quieted but still close to the surface. Slight shift in a few facial muscles, and there’s an impish and somehow seductive look where previous had been only a sort of warmth.
Billy thinks it’s wrong that something so powerful and possibly destructive can animate itself with such delicacy. Thinks that it could easily lead to some sort of betrayal. Ignores the ever so small voice whispering in his mind that it’s because he can’t control such power that he envies the one who can. The one who can hold Earth so steadily and with such considerate attention.
Billy watches as Orlando’s eyes light up as he slowly hands a chocolate to the ready hand. Watches as Orlando’s hand lingers, slowly caressing each knuckle, each line, as it leisurely departs. Watches as Orlando looks into the Sun and sees only the Sun.
Billy looks down.
Everyone knows that if you look at the Sun, you go blind.
He unwraps his chocolate. Bittersweet it is. He decides to brighten his smile and look back up. He sees the Sun say something that makes the Earth laugh softly.
Peripheral vision told Billy that someone had come to stand beside him. They were attempting casual, but with the slight swaying quality to the stance, Billy knew that what they were going to do or say was far from casual.
“Billy,” Dom said with an underlying intensity.
“Yeah, Dom?” Billy said, still smiling, not looking away.
“You have that look again, mate.”
Billy frowned slightly and turned to his friend. “What look?”
“The one that screams that you’re going to murder someone in a horrific and gory way. The one that says you’ll leave the blood spatter on your face as some sort of sick trophy. That look.”
Billy blinked.
Dom sighed. “I know you wouldn’t really kill anyone, but the way your smile is straining and your eyes are sparkling but somehow glazed? Not a pretty picture.”
“Who says I want to be a pretty picture?” Billy says and turns back to gaze at Orlando and Viggo, who are now talking in the corner, hands drifting toward one another. So gentle and subtle those hands of theirs. Only people who really watched--people like Billy--knew those subtle hands were craving and demanding to be firm and obvious.
“You know, you can be bloody morose and stupid. You know that right?”
Billy turned to Dom, knowing he had to retort, knowing that something needed to be said in his defense in order to keep from revealing too much. He glanced at the chocolate in his hand for a distraction, but still wasn’t prepared when he looked into Dom’s face.
Dom’s eyes. His eyes were always telling. They really were windows into his soul and all that. Dom’s had apparently seen a good cleaning, because frustration, longing, and affection were all attempting to place themselves in plain view.
Billy knows he was just hit by an asteroid.
The End.