Reading The Script
by Trianne
Pairing: Elijah Wood/Dominic Monaghan
Rating: PG13
Summary: Dominic is helping Elijah read film scripts
Warnings: If you hate fluffy, sweet little stories with no real point, then I bid you adieu, no hard feelings and thanks for reading thus far. Sex is alluded to rather than described, sorry.
Disclaimer: I do not know these people. No profit is made nor offence intended.
1776. Virginia. Enoch Wyke enters a darkened room in which an old lady sits spinning. As he approaches, she looks up and does not appear concerned that he is in modern dress. He nears the old crone and is about to reach out to her, gently, when she takes out a carving knife and slashes at him. As he stumbles backwards he falls over the body of another young man, in Redcoat uniform, eyes staring sightlessly, and the old lady slowly removes her head to reveal-
"Elijah! That is the biggest load of bollocks I have ever read. It's like "Plan Nine from Outer Space" Meets "Total Recall". You're not seriously thinking of doing that one, are you?"
Dominic is lying in their bed. The script is just the latest in a long line that have been couriered over by Elijah's agents in the last few weeks. The premiere of the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring has made the young actor a bankable commodity, even more than before.
Discussed so far have been:
a) Tears for Steers – a gripping tale of Ethan Willoughby, the son of an aging rodeo star who has to take his dying father's place in the ultimate rodeo – bareback and naked but for an oversized Stetson. REJECTED.
b) Lives and Loves of a Librarian – a comedy wherein the main character, Ernest Wimple, discovers, in a hitherto undiscovered section of the library, the secret journal of his grandfather, Ricardo Rydell, the most notorious womaniser in the small town of Padstowe Flats. Hilarity ensues when Ernest puts his late grandfather's seduction tips into practice and is pursued down Main Street on Valentine's Day by the entire female population (and a fair section of the male). RELUCTANTLY REJECTED.
c) A Sudden Spurt – an adult movie in which the main character, Eli Wendell, wakes up one morning to find his penis has grown 6 inches overnight. At first amazed and ecstatic, Eli soon finds that life with a shlong the size of a subway train has its (many) drawbacks, least of which is finding pants which fit. His many admirers include the lecherous tailor at Suits You Sir in the local mall, who pursues Eli throughout the film - tape measure in hand - assorted cheerleaders and a blonde sex therapist called Lola McTiggle. VERY RELUCTANTLY REJECTED.
Unbeknownst to Dominic, Elijah has actually rescued this last script from the reject pile and added it to the FOR CONSIDERATION LATER pile.
In the past, Elijah's mother has gone through scripts with him, helping him in the whittling process; now it is Dominic, his lover. Elijah sighs deeply, and lays back on the floor of their bedroom. He is overwhelmed by the choices open to him, and conscious of making the right career moves.
Try 17 would start in a few weeks time, that sounded like fun. Famke Polente and the others should provide just the right distraction for him, several weeks of work in Canada, the kind of small independent film he liked. But then what?
"Elijah. You are not considering Colonials from Quadrant X, are you? Say you are not considering it," Dominic pleads. He is concerned about Elijah's lack of judgement in some areas. How can someone so hot, incredibly talented and downright enthusiastic as Elijah make such poor choices?
"No, I don't think so," Elijah replies, thoughtfully nibbling a pencil, which gives his nails a rest. "Though the aliens landing and infiltrating the Revolutionary Army might be fun. Those uniforms, time travel, the sex..."
Elijah lights a cigarette, a habit which Dominic abhors, but they have reached an understanding on that score. Elijah smoking cigarettes now comes with a penalty clause, a sliding scale aimed at encouraging him to quit. One cigarette equals fixing all the drinks for the day. Two cigarettes equals cleaning out the bathroom. Three cigarettes means a blowjob for Dominic. Four means he gets to give a blowjob to Elijah, at any time of his choosing. Any more than four…
This mid-script cigarette is number six of the day, which means that sometime soon they will be having sex for the third time that day. Sometimes Elijah wonders if Dominic hasn't designed the sliding scale all wrong, but what the hell. He picks up yet another script.
"What about The Growing Pains of Edward Winchester, the angst-ridden tale of true love among the academics of an ivy league college in 1896? It says Edward writes poetry, is a talented painter and still life model…" Elijah is hopeful of this one. He admires the director, so the film is bound to be good.
Dominic sighs, patiently.
"Elijah," he says, gently, beckoning to his lover to join him in bed, "do you not see a pattern emerging here, light of my life?"
Elijah moves to join Dominic, stubbing out his half finished cigarette. The bed is warm and has a lingering aroma of the sex they enjoyed an hour ago, which should be disgusting but is actually comforting and quite sweet.
As he climbs onto the bed, Dominic opens up his arms to take Elijah in and they lay - friends who shag, comfortable and content.
"What pattern?" asks Elijah, rubbing Dominic's wrist with his thumb.
"Well, each of the main characters, your character, has the initials EW for a start. Each of them is definitely weird. All of the films, in one way or another involves you in kinky sex situations..."
"Your point being?"
"Well, maybe the films are being written with you in mind because the scriptwriters happen to fancy the pants off you and want to see you enacting their silly little stories on the big screen?"
"Your point being? No, seriously, Dominic. That thought had crossed my mind, honestly. But I cannot do big budget movies with soulless scripts. You don't want me to do that, do you?" Elijah looks into the eyes of his lover and seeks reassurance. If Dominic now wants him to chase the big bucks, then maybe Dominic isn't the man he thought him.
He is instantly reassured. All he sees in those beautiful eyes is respect.
"Elijah," Dominic says, and he squeezes him tight, "I want to see you do credible work in a good film. Choose a director you can trust, and go for it."
"You have a good feeling about Try 17, then?"
Dominic thinks at that moment that Elijah Wood has never looked so adorable, so eager and vulnerable. He takes his time in answering and kisses his lover softly on the forehead, while his free hand idles around in the region of a delectably warm belly.
When Elijah asked him to take an active part in his life, his family life, his acting career, everything, Dominic could have died of pride. Actually curled up his toes and died right there on the spot. And Elijah's mother, surprisingly, had accepted this incursion into her son's affections. It was as if she had seen that Dominic was good for Elijah and would not knowingly hurt him.
"It'll be good, Elijah. The cast is great, Vancouver is beautiful. Only problem is how very much I am going to miss you." Dominic would like, at this point, to really hug Elijah very hard but that might break a bone in the bendy boy's beautiful bod, so he restrains himself.
Elijah has reached over and dragged a stack of scripts onto the bed with them. Dominic sighs but he is patient. Elijah has gone over some scripts for Dominic too, a thinner stack to be sure, and has made some useful suggestions. Of course, Dominic will ignore them all, but he is touched by Elijah's interest and concern.
"How about this one then," Elijah snuggles deep into the crook of Dominic's arm and quotes from the script in his hand.
"A young man, delicately framed and with an air of vulnerability, is seated in a street café in Paris. He sips coffee from a small cup. It is spring time and the décor and costumes indicate pre-World War Two. A man sidles up to the table and takes a seat. He is older and obviously more experienced than our hero. He orders coffee from the surly waiter and then addresses the young man thus: "Emilio Wannamaker? I am Z, I am here to give you your instructions. Listen very carefully…"
Dominic grabs the script from Elijah's hand and throws it across the room where it lands like some disorientated albino bat among discarded boxer shorts.
"Elijah! No!"
"But its set in Paris, eve of the War. It sounds romantic."
Dominic feels that drastic measures are now necessary. In a deft move a pro-wrestler would envy, he is on top of the bed and pinning Elijah down, pressing him deep into the sheets.
"Elijah. You will not do that movie. You will do none of those movies."
The younger man struggles, pouting. He is not entirely sure he likes that Dominic thinks he can dictate to him in this fashion. Not entirely, but it is quite good really; script conferences with mom were never this interesting...
As if he can read his mind, Dominic leans in for a kiss so devastatingly deep and passionate that for a moment he forgets his own name and has to rely on the evidence of his ears, "Dominic, oh my God!" as gasped by Elijah, weakly.
The pile of unconsidered, soon to be rejected scripts, slithers from the bed as the two young men roll and thrash and flip.
Unheeded, alone and unread, lies a script that is profound, moving and original. It has depths that will touch the hearts of millions – if it is ever actually made into a movie. For now, it is neglected, just one of many pages nestling amongst dirty socks and tab ends in the bedroom of Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan.
For now.
The End