Orlando paused in the midst of sipping his tea. He set the glass back down, lifted his eyebrows. "Occasion?" "Yeah," Elijah said with a small nod. "Last time you brought me here for lunch, it was to tell me you were getting hitched." He waved his hands when Orlando opened his mouth. "Okay, bonded. You knew what I meant." "Just having lunch with my lawyer-slash-best friend." Sure, right. Orlando's smile was entirely too innocent. Elijah gave him a wary look, but waited until the waitress had set their plates in front of them and left before speaking again. "I'm not your lawyer yet, dork." Orlando grinned, lifted his glass in a salute. "Close enough. I just thought it'd be nice to have lunch and catch up. We haven't really talked since we got back from Tokyo." Elijah let out a soft snort of amusement. Whatever. He knew Orlando. Fucker always had an ulterior motive when he acted this innocent. He took in the black pin-striped suit, black silk tie, and cream shirt. If that suit cost less than his entire salary for a month, Elijah would eat his next paycheck. With salt and pepper. It was almost frightening how quickly Orlando had adapted to the new money in his life. "In other words," he said, swallowing a mouthful of food, "you finished early today and now you're playing hooky." "Alright, you win." Orlando gave Elijah a sheepish grin. "My meetings wrapped up faster than I thought they would, and now I'm free until tonight." "Hot date?" "Yeah, something like that." Orlando busied himself with his food. "So where's Karl taking you?" "It's not Karl," Orlando mumbled, head down, cheeks tinged pink. Ah ha! Elijah knew it. Something was going on, and Orlando did -- and didn't -- want to talk about it. Elijah settled down to begin prying details out of his friend. "So who is it?" "Harry." Elijah had to strain to hear Orlando's soft answer and, when he figured it out, his eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up. "Harry? Sinclair? Same fucker who scared the shit out of you at your party the other week?" Orlando nodded. Whoa. Just...whoa. Elijah looked around the restaurant, wondered when someone was going to jump out and yell "April Fool's!" This couldn't possibly be real. No fucking way. Orlando was going on a date with Harry? Elijah pinched his arm, hard. Ouch! Okay, not dreaming. "When the hell did this happen?" "Right after we got back from Tokyo." Orlando pushed his food around his plate. "I went and talked to Harry." Elijah looked at him suspiciously. "Why do I have the feeling there's more to it?" "Because there is." Orlando shrugged. "Harry and I talked things out, and he made a vow to me." Elijah blinked. He knew enough about vampires, about their society, to understand the significance of a vow. "Anyway, we were getting along great, and then Karl got there," Orlando continued. He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighed. "There were some...misunderstandings and a fight and.... Well, Harry basically threw Karl out." "He threw him out?" Elijah stared at Orlando, stunned. "Yeah. And I stayed." "You stayed?" Orlando nodded, looked uncomfortable. "There were some things that Harry and I still needed to talk about. So I stayed. And, um...we ended up in bed." "In bed?" Elijah asked, voice rising to a near squeak. "You slept with Harry? I didn't think that was possible!" "We didn't actually have sex," Orlando said as he flushed. "And no, it's not supposed to be possible." "Then how...." "According to Viggo, it's because of the bond that Harry and Karl have." "Bond? What bond?" "The bond that Harry and Karl have." Orlando looked at Elijah, frowning just a little. Elijah got the definite feeling he was supposed to understand what his friend was talking about. "The one that lets them share me." "Their...oh, right. The not quite pet/vampire bond." Elijah shook his head when Orlanod just nodded. "Just what your life needed, I guess." Funny, but Orlando didn't look as upset about it as Elijah thought he would be. "And you're okay with that? "Well, yeah," Orlando replied, looking amused. "I was meant for both of them." "Uh huh." Clearly Elijah was missing something. A lot of somethings. Strangling his best friend was beginning to sound appealing. "You care to elaborate?" "Well, Viggo said that my feelings for them are the same. Inseparable, indistinguishable. I just needed some time and distance to really think about it." One shoulder lifted in a tiny shrug, and Orlando looked at Elijah. "Harry and Karl are so much alike that this was inevitable. Of course, they're not talking right now, so it's kinda fucked up." "They're not talking?" Lovely. Someone had turned Elijah into a parrot. "Yeah, Harry's been blocking Karl since the night I went over there. That was almost three weeks ago, and they're both going nuts." "I bet." Elijah studied Orlando closely for a moment. "And now you've got a date with Harry tonight. How's Karl feel about that?" "He wants us to get to know each other." Orlando shifted in his chair. "I think he's upset that he won't be there, and I know he misses Harry, but...he keeps insisting I go and have a good time." "Orli, this is pretty fucked up." Actually, it was more than fucked up. It was bizarre, surreal, absolutely completely un-fucking-believable. "I know." Orlando's soft laugh held only the faintest hint of an edge to it. "But Karl said this was supposed to happen from the beginning, and Viggo told me that I was always intended for both of them." "Both?" Again with that word. Elijah's voice was faint. "So, what? You're pet to both of them now?" "I don't know." A slight pause and a determined glint appeared in brown eyes. "But I intend to find out tonight." Onto Part Twenty
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