porter_inc | Road trip!

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orlando

Road trip!

After this.

Will had been standing outside the bakery when it opened its doors at 6AM on the dot. The owner was happy to see him and apparently hadn't heard about the divorce or the move. She had, however, seen a couple of stories and had been full of questions for him. Once he'd caught her up (trying to do it quickly but politely), he'd ordered a dozen each of the croissants and the brioches. He'd also asked her to box up an extremely tempting chocolate torte so he and Orli had dessert if they decided to cook dinner at home.

Boxes in hand, Will headed for the car, but stopped short when he saw that the florist next door had some gorgeous sunflowers on display. Smiling, he dashed inside and had him put together an autumn wildflower bouquet for Orlando. If he'd sent condolence flowers to Cordelia (anonymously, of course), he definitely needed to get some for the man in his life.

Finally, once he was all set, he got into the car with his treasures and headed for the freeway.

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Will smiles as he slowly rubs Orlando's chest. "I love that you love that about me. I'm so used to it annoying people."

"Same here," Orlando admits, shyly.

Will raises his head so he can kiss Orlando on the cheek. "Sounds to me like it's about time we found each other. I love that you're so sweet and thoughtful and romantic, sweetheart," he smiles. "Just for the record."

Orlando grins and toys with a curl of hair on Will's chest. "So when I buy you sappy things or act like a girl over a date, you won't think it's bad?"

"Are you kidding me?" Will laughs softly, touching his lips to Orli's ear. "I would think it's a lot of things - adorable, sweet, thoughtful, charming - but bad? Definitely not." Sighing happily, he puts his hand over Orli's. "If it's who you are, I could never find it bad."

"You're going to be so disappointed when all the new is worn off and you catch me scratching my arse in public," Orlando warns with a grin.

Will snickers. "I'll probably be too busy adjusting the ol' package to notice."

Orlando giggles at that. "Maybe I could adjust your package, and you could scratch my arse?"

"Hey, that sounds like a perfect definition of give and take in a relationship," Will laughs. "Hell, it should be in marriage vows!"

Orlando tenses at that before he even realizes it.

Will feels him tense, then winces. He hadn't been thinking and knows he's hit a sore spot. "Shit, I'm sorry, Orli," he says softly. "It just came out."

"I know," he says quietly, and he rests his head alongside Will's. "I'm not mad, I'm just," he sighs, "Sensitive about it, I guess."

He hesitates for a moment, then continues. "I always wanted to get married. And then when I did, I made a complete mockery of it. I guess I'm not cut out for it."

"You need to cut yourself some slack, baby," Will says softly, stroking Orli's cheek. "There's a difference between making a mockery of something and not having it work out, all right? When you were married, weren't you the best husband you could be to Cordelia?"

"No," Orlando confesses. "I spent the whole time wanting something I couldn't have. Someone I couldn't have. I'm not good at relationships, Will," he says, pain in his eyes.

Will's struck by the honesty and the genuine pain there, and he holds Orlando a little closer.

"People can change," he whispers. "We learn from the mistakes we've made and we change." He cups Orli's face and kisses him softly. "It's okay to have doubts, baby, but don't resign yourself."

Orlando accepts his kiss, but his eyes are still troubled.

Will licks his lips and watches Orlando for a few moments before taking hold of his hand. "Tell me what you're afraid of."

Orlando holds Will's hand and stares at the way their fingers entwine. "I guess I'm scared that I'll leave you if I'm happy. I've done it before."

He looks up guiltily. "It's like if I get what I want, I get cold feet or something. Remember earlier, you said I was the first person you'd ever fell in love with, without sleeping with him?"

Will nods and gives him a little smile. "Yeah."

"Jimmy, the one I loved the longest, the one I wanted the most," Orlando explains, "was the one I never had sex with. I put him on a sort of pedestal because of it, maybe. I respected that about him, but it made him sort of mysterious or something."

He feels sick as he thinks about it. "I'm scared that if we make love, I'll ruin this, like I have every other relationship."

Will swallows, not sure what to say at first. He's not sure what he can say. He raises Orlando's hand to his lips, holding it there as he kisses the back of it. There are so many things going through his head, so many things he wants to know about Jimmy and what made him so special, but the only thing that comes out when he finally speaks is, "You won't."

Putting Orli's hand against his chest, Will looks at him solemnly. "I don't mean any disrespect," he says, his voice soft, "but this can't be ruined unless I ruin it, too. I don't know Jimmy and I don't know how he felt about you. But I know I'm not him and I do know how I feel." His hand tightens its hold on Orlando's. "Nothing is one-sided, Orli. If I'm going to take half the credit for what's good in this relationship, I'm damn well going to take half the blame for whatever goes wrong."

Orlando looks at him, holding his gaze for a moment, and seeing the resolve there, then he embraces him again. "I love you. I really do, and I want you to know how much."

Will closes his eyes and holds onto him, almost afraid to let go. "I know you do, baby, and I want you to know the same thing," he whispers. He doesn't know how to tell Orli that sometimes just the way he looks at him speaks volumes, or that his heart is breaking because of everything he's gone through.

Orlando leans back just enough to kiss Will, conveying all the desperate need he feels into the kiss. "Please be patient with me," he pleads, scared to let go.

The kiss takes Will's breath away, and he clings to Orlando, wanting him to know that he has nothing to worry about. There isn't anything he wouldn't do for him.

"Always," he murmurs, pressing his lips to Orli's ear. "I will always give you the time and the space you need. You're worth too much to me to do anything else." His hands move over Orli's back, trying to soothe and reassure him. "I love you, Orli," he whispers. "I love you."

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