Auld Lang Syne by Kaydee Falls

The movies and premieres were all over, with few remaining press junkets left. The events of the night, therefore, would have no professional repercussions. A guilt-free night for all involved, Viggo had told them slyly, as long as they kept it all behind closed doors.

The doors were kept closed.

R    ensemble    6,100 words

Incunabula by Sophrosyne

The room is lit from an overhead light, blank and yellow, highlighting the shadows under all their eyes, making them all parchment-coloured. It's an unkind light, and Billy closes his eyes against it, feeling them roll back instantly, seeing in his skull white space flash black, scribbled and crazed with lines, like some message from an arcane language, transmitting to him. He opens his eyes, dizzy, and Elijah snaps up suddenly, his skin damp and unwary, abruptly awake. Before he's even focused his eyes he's smiling at Billy.

"Sorry. Tired," he says, hoisting himself up to sitting and taking a pull from Billy's bottle. There's cool air now on Billy's neck where Elijah's moist brow was pressed.

"Shall we go home?" Billy asks. Elijah nods. A tiny wash of feeling comes to him from around the room as everyone sighs.

R    bb/ew    5,200 words
Read story online!

Mutual Appreciation Society by Sparcck

Dom gives the two and a half joints on the table the same blank look he's just given Elijah.

Elijah laughs and unfolds himself, dropping to the floor and kneeing his way across the carpet to pluck the spliff from Dom's mouth, gesturing for a lighter.

"Sorry," Dom says, "I didn't realize a bloke's foreskin had become a proper topic of conversation." He furrows his brow at Elijah, leaning up to dig Billy's orange bic out of the pocket of his cargo shorts.

He lights the joint and inhales as Elijah does, licking his upper lip. "'Sides," he says in a piss-poor Southern American accent, "'Merkins don't got none."

Elijah chokes and laughs, pinching Dom's nipple. "Terrible!" he crows and Billy nods.

NC-17    dm/bb/ew    6,000 words

The Part That Really Matters by Strawberry

Dom looks around the tiny room; every table full, the comfortable hum of mid-morning conversation and the waitresses in their crisp white shirts maneuvering flawlessly through the maze of tiny tables. Over Billy's shoulder he can see two Japanese girls at the dessert case, whispering to each other and pointing at the lemon tarts. His finger rubs at the plastic tab glued to the glass tabletop: Souvenir menus can be purchased for £4.95. He shakes his head.

"I can't believe you brought me here."

Billy stirs his tea and smiles. "You said you wanted proper tea, didn't you? Or are you missing your stale Twining's microwaved in Elijah's Doctor Who mug?"

PG    dm/bb    2,900 words

Paint Myself by Becca Ming

PG-13    vm/ob    illustrated drabble

Into the Dark by MSilverstar

Viggo slings an arm around his shoulders, "You're cold, let me help." it does help. Sean hadn't known he was chilled through, until Viggo starts to warm him up. He realizes he's never been quite this close, quite like this, with anyone quite this large. Viggo smells of hotel shampoo with just a shadow of wood smoke. It's... different. It's surprisingly nice.

Sean reaches for Viggo, not knowing exactly where he's going. Flying blind. He runs his finger down Viggo's face to his mouth. He smiles at the little hitch in Viggo's breathing, and then finds himself slightly shocked as he touches Viggo's tongue, which has come out to meet him. Sean pulls them close, and lets his mouth replace the finger. He's never kissed a man like this before. That it's Viggo makes everything different. Somehow, it's just another part of a mad and unexpected friendship.

R    vm/sb    2,100 words
Read story online!

Making Amends by Trianne

Let me help you, the guy had said, and his voice was very husky. He was not Elijah's type at all, really. But there was something about him. Maybe it was the casual and artless way in which he picked up Dom and hefted him onto his meaty shoulder. Perhaps it was Wolf's deep-set eyes of warm amber that transfixed him as if he was some juicy prehistoric fly; maybe it was his long legs and big-knuckled hands. Whatever it was, it was something that Elijah hadn't even realised he'd been missing. He had followed the guy out of the rest room and back to where he had left his friends. They had gone, presumably all rides home sorted. Elijah had been wondering just how he was going to get Dom into the Mini Cooper, parked a hundred yards thattaway. Wolf (for that was indeed his name) seemed to find Dom's deadweight negligible; he merely motioned with an emphatic toss of silky blond locks that Elijah should lead the way.

R    ew/omc, ew/dm    5,500 words
(sequel to Friends and Lovers and Those In Between)
Read story online!

Cops 'n Robbers by Shaenie

"Let go of the gun," Elijah muttered. When all else failed, fall back on the role. It was a form of defense he was well practiced at.

"Fuck you," Dom breathed, and Elijah watched Dom's pink tongue dart out and moisten his lips. For long moments, Elijah was completely captivated by those wet lips, and by the steely glitter of Dom's eyes. He didn't move. He was fairly sure the cop bravado had been a backhanded invitation, but not completely sure. And it would be embarrassing to be wrong, to say the least.

Dom chose that moment to make another bid for freedom, which Elijah hadn't really been prepared for.

NC-17    dm/ob/ew  10,600 words
Read story online!

Vanishing Points by Echo

Orlando drifts in and out of Elijah's life and sightlines. Comes storming up to Elijah's door at odd hours of the morning, hair waxy and stiff from too many styling products, voice bleak with too many cigarettes.

He never presents his best side to Elijah, and Elijah finds himself missing the days of New Zealand when Orlando had no one else to show it to. When Elijah was his chosen audience. It doesn't matter much though; he will take Orlando, any part of Orlando, if it is offered. If he is told that he can.

PG-13    ob/ew    1,000 words

Equipoise by Blythely

"Fucker," Billy says mildly, stroking his fingers across his wet navel, dipping one into his belly-button with a squelch. He sucks the wine from his finger, closes his eyes. Orlando watches Billy's fingers drift from his skin to his mouth, his eyes closed against the sun, his movements a little clumsy from the heat and the alcohol, and it's too fucking much, almost. Billy must know what he's doing, must know that his back is arched a little, Orlando thinks, it must be on fucking purpose. Even if he is half-drunk. Orlando's half-drunk too, and he can still think --

Billy cracks an eye open before Orlando can stop his staring. There's a long stretchy moment where Orlando begins to think that maybe he should just shove Billy down on the drinks table, or over the balcony, or in the Thames.

NC-17    ob/bb    5,800 words

Monkey Lore by Eliyah

Dom only had strength enough to telephone Elijah to say "I will give my body to the first man that brings me Pearl Sago" before his voice gave way to a gentle snuffle which increased in volume into a snore.

Elijah had been up since 5am and had just completed his morning yoga routine.

Sitting in Lotus Form, Elijah pondered Dom's phone message.

The sun came up in the East.

It dawned on Elijah that anyone who brought Dom Pearl Sago would have Dom's body!

R    ew/dm    1,800 words

Lodestone by Sheldrake

Orlando smiles and turns back to his crowd-watching. His body stretches under his shirt as he leans, the shirt itself impossibly white against his tan, his hair impossibly dark. Everything about Orlando, thinks Dom, is impossible and unfair. His mother's voice drifts by on a non-existent breeze: "Life isn't fair, Dom." Life isn't fair. He drinks his drink down all in one go, and stops looking.

PG-13    dm/ob    4,000 words
Read story online!

Occupation by Beizy

Elijah watches with a fascinated kind of curiosity. This is Sean in a nutshell, and Elijah seems to be all about that lately. He loves the fact that there are entire chunks of Sean that are nothing at all like himself. Elijah can study every inch of them without involving a single thought of himself, can wander those unfamiliar territories until they're plotted on his psychological map of Sean. Stick a flag in, he thinks. Mine, he thinks, but would never admit it.

R    ew/sa    3,300 words

Spelling Dominic by Ella Minnow

The sun is coming up, finally, and the light slipping over the edge of the ocean behind Billy casts his face into shadow. The urge to throw up recedes a little as the feel of Billy's fingers tucked into the dip beneath his elbow sinks into his consciousness. They're warm from the mug of tea and Dom hadn't realised how cold he'd become, sitting out all night in nothing but a t-shirt and boxer shorts and the blanket.

Billy leans in until the sun is eclipsed by his head and Dom can make out his eyes and the sympathetic twist of his mouth again. Billy hasn't shaved yet and the stubble on his cheeks and jaw catches the light.

"Dom."

PG-13    dm/bb    3,200 words

Orlando by Rave

"Mmm," said Orlando, shaking his head. "'S a--" he brought his hand up to his mouth for a moment, trying to knuckle the traces of blood from his teeth. "--nothing. Bad taste in my mouth."

Viggo grinned and dangled his bottle from one hand. "Is it this?"

Orlando twisted the bottleneck between his thumb and finger and looked up. It was carefully done, just how the light would catch his eyes and the shadows of his cheekbones and the smooth skin of his neck, and Viggo smiled, just a little, maybe out of the pure pleasure of seeing something so beautiful. "No. This I like. But I think I bit my lip, something. You know when you taste blood in your mouth and you don't know how it got there?"

"No, I always know," said Viggo, grinning widely at him, and took another long pull from the bottle.

PG-13    ob/vm    3,100 words

Eleven ways not to start an autobiography by Mary Borsellino

In the real world, stuff happens and it's not important until later, but it's not like you can spot in advance what's foreshadowing and what's just the ordinary background noise of every day. And if, when writing, you only put in the stuff that became important later, then what about all the stuff which could have been important and then just turned out not to be for whatever reason?

I don't want to tidy the edges, make it neat and fictionalised and readable. I want to write it like it was: messy, hectic, fun, full of clever company. The future felt so looming, so ripe. Do kids feel that now? Is that why they buy the books about things that happened before their parents were out of elementary school?

PG-13    bb/ew    6,800 words

Against the dying of the light by Karri

Taking a deep breath, he folds his arms on the counter and rests his head on them. Toast crumbs blur inches from his eyes. The smell and the angle don't help the bile rising in his throat. Fuck, what is he doing? Dom is going to laugh at him, Billy's going to think he's sick, Sean and everyone else'll find out about it on set tomorrow and that'll be it, it'll be this thing that never goes away, laugh-at-stupid-Elijah time instead of something they can share, something good to keep between them so they don't forget each other.

NC-17    ew/dm/bb    14,600 words

New Zealand Sky by Bunnie

Elijah sighed and frowned, his mouth twisting. "God, it just seems so petty. But it's just that... I've barely been home, and I'm already leaving in a few days."

"Well..." Dom shrugged. "That's hardly anything new. You've been doing that for years."

"I know, but... I don't..." He made a harsh, annoyed growl. "I'm not even sure what home is, anymore. Not New York. That was just..." he made a dismissive gesture, "...ill-timed. Though I'd like to try it again, someday. And LA... sure, it's familiar, but is it home? I don't feel like I'm anywhere long enough to be 'home' anymore. I feel like... like I don't belong anywhere. Adrift."

R    dm/ew    3,000 words
Read story online!

Rain in LA by Dee

"Fucking ridiculous business." Dom took a swig of beer, and Orli did the same, nodding gloomily. "Speak for yourself, anyway," Dom added. "I still have my artistic integrity. I haven't sold my soul to celebrity like you."

Orli grunted, picking at the label on his beer. And then he laughed. "I was going to say I never wanted it, but that's just shit, innit? I mean, that's what we all want, starting out as no one. We all want to be huge. Didn't you?"

PG-13    dm/ob    9,700 words

Full Circle by Shanalle

"Don't tell me… you don't think he's just a little bent?" He mimicked Sean's nasal, American accent to perfection. "'I spent so many hours staring into Elijah's eyes. If you look really close, it looks like an eclipse. The pupil has gone in front of the sun and from behind the dark pupil are like rays of gold light coming through the pools of blue water.'" He snickered. "Christ, Lighe, he sounds as queer as I do when I talk about Billy."

Elijah laughed again, his signature high-pitched giggle. He didn't know what was funnier - the prospect of Sean being at all interested in men, or the idea that he might be similar to Dom. "Dom, don't get me wrong but I don't see Sean piling on the eyeliner and leather anytime soon."

PG-13    dm/bb/ew/sa    5,500 words

Dearly Beloved by Mcee

He would be hard-pressed to describe this skewed feeling of homecoming to the man sitting beside him. Elijah is twisting his hands in his lap nervously, tapping the spine of an unopened pack of cigarettes (not his brand) against his knee in lieu of going for the desperate grab at the wheel Dom knows he's itching for.

Dom would've thought a seasoned globe-trotter like him would've gotten used to the upside-down of things in places that weren't home, but then again Dom has never really grown out of expecting them either, even after half a lifetime wrong-side up. It's hardly fair to expect Elijah, whose main pied-à-terre is merely across the continent from him, to feel any more at home.

PG-13    ensemble,    1,300 words

Emergence by Cassandra

He blanks out, lulled by the vibrations of the engine and the underscoring of the radio, and only wakes up when Billy opens his door and talks to him, a steady stream of words that Elijah tries to focus on and as a result misses the trial of walking from the car to the house, where he is promptly taken by Orlando down the hall to the guest room.

He kicks his shoes off, with a bit of help from Billy, and shivers during the transfer from warm blanket to cold sheets, but the coolness of the pillow under his cheek is actually a relief. He abruptly wants Dom, wants his awkwardness and inability to do anything useful, but it's Orlando who tucks him in, and strokes sweaty strands of hair from his hot forehead.

"Just get some sleep, okay, 'Lij?" Orlando tells him, and then the light clicks off and the door creeps shut, and the murmur of voices down the hallway isn't enough to hold him, to keep him from falling back into the emptiness of sleep.

PG-13    ob/ew/dm    4,800 words
Read story online!

Dinner Dates by Becca Ming

PG-13    vm/ob    illustrated drabble

Never Go Home by Inbetweens

Aragorn hadn't been acting so much as absorbing something into his own body. He's been slipping into Aragorn more frequently these days, out of longing for him. He misses Anduril and New Zealand sunrises and the fellowship and the feeling he got as Aragorn among elves, the feeling of being so utterly human. He dreams about oliphaunts, dreams about crowns. Dreams about Dom.

They race again, then again for a different camera angle, and Viggo feels uncomfortable on the galloping horse. He keeps thinking about all of the running going on around them and holds her too tightly.

Dom watches from the side, and occasionally Viggo spots him talking to the crew and bored cast members. He's not sure he likes the look of California in Dom; he's not sure he likes Dom in California, for that matter. He doesn't like looking at him and seeing so many ghosts.

R    vm/dm    4,000 words