Title: Second Chance
Author: Simarillion
Pairing: Billy Boyd/Dominic Monaghan
Rating: G
Summary: Thinking about the past.
Disclaimer: This is FICTION ladies and gentlemen! None of it is real!



SECOND CHANCE


Billy rubbed his hand over his eyes and sighed exhausted. Why was it that she had to leave him now of all times? Warily he shuffled over to the couch and plopped down on it. It was of no use to try and do anything remotely productive with his day because he already knew that he wouldn’t be able to do anything but sit here and sigh and think and sigh again. Stupid, he knew but it was just like it was nothing to be done about that.

There had been a time when he had laughed about the love sick and depressed men and women in the cheesy romance films on TV but today he felt like being the main character of such a film. Amazing how time could stretch to infinity and never end. Well, that was how it felt to Billy. He had spent the last three days watching the same wall. But his time had not been spent idly, he had used this time to rethink certain events and decisions he had made in the past and come to the conclusion that he had to do something, right a wrong.

Okay, so he knew that he had to do something but how to start? Where to start and of course when to start? He sighed again and glanced from the wall to the window at his right, looking out over the street outside. It was grey and windy, the clouds hiding even the tiniest speck of sun behind their heavy bulk. The weather very much mirrored his mood. Every now and then light rain would drizzle down and paint a dark pattern on the pavement but it rained never long enough to turn everything darker. The wind tore at the naked branches of the trees and made the bushes sway in it.

The loud ticking of the clock made him glance up at the source of the sound and he noticed that it was five o’clock in the afternoon already. So he really had wasted another day mourning after her. Why? Why was it that she could get to him like this? But was it really her he was mourning after? Probably not. If he was truly hones with himself, he knew who he was really mourning after. It was not her and it was not their ended relationship. It was somebody completely different, somebody who was out of his reach now.

The clock kept on ticking and the wind kept on blowing, from time to time the rain joined in to drizzle down again. And Billy kept on staring and thinking. From time to time memories flicked into his brain and he saw the rich green and blue of meadows and rives and forests and lakes, memories of a time where he had made the worst decision of his life. A decision he would regret for the rest of his life and most likely even longer. This one day would haunt him even after his death for he had destroyed the one thing that could have become the most important thing of all.

Wind ruffling through the high grass and the coats and hair were blowing and flapping into their faces. It was incredibly cold and windy and Peter had already suffered from the weather conditions. A strong current of air had torn his glasses off and left the director nearly blind. Much to the amusement of his cast who kept pulling faces at him without being lectured. He couldn’t see it after all.

“Okay, let’s do the scene with Gandalf, Pippin and Merry now. Ian, would you please be so kind and join Laurel and Hardy over there. Don’t start denying it, I was already told a long time ago that you are pulling faces. Let’s get a move on things here.”

“Who told him?” Billy frowning looked from one face to the other next to Peter and couldn’t work out who had betrayed them.

“Hmm, probably Fran. She has been snickering behind her hand for about an hour now. She knew that he knew.” Dom trotted over to the door to the stables and waited for his two colleagues to join him. He held on to his wig, afraid that a rough bout of wind might tear it off.

“Fran? That could be but I refuse on suspecting a guilty woman.” He snickered and stopped next to Dom.

“Well, if it helps the two of you to actually concentrate on work, I can tell you that it was Miranda who told him and not on purpose I might say. She was laughing about one of your grimaces and talked with Fran about it when Peter overheard the conversation.” Sir Ian had made his way over to the two hobbits and smiled amused at them.

“I knew Fran was involved in it in some kind of way.”

“Me too.” Was Billy’s sole agreement.

“Get ready!” The three actors got into position.

“And Action!”

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The long day of shooting in the biting wind was finally over and the last two hours had been spent in the make up trailer, having the feet and the ears removed. Now without wig and make up, they looked like normal humans again. Billy yawned tiredly and grabbed the rewritten script lying in front of him. What would he give for a decent night’s sleep. What for a morning that didn’t start at five o’clock in the morning. He waved his goodbye to his make up artists and headed out of the trailer, relieved to leave the set for today. Walking down the path to the cars he heard hurried foot steps behind him.

“Hey, where do you think you are going without me?” Dom slung his arm around Billy’s shoulders and joined him down the path. “You tired?”

Billy was only able to nod, fighting another yawn.

“Um, I wondered if you might want to come over to my place since you are obviously too tired to got to the pub and join Vig, Orli, Sean and Karl.”

“Dom, I don’t know. I really am very tired.”

“No, it’s okay. I, never mind, it’s okay.” Dom’s arm dropped from his shoulder and the other’s pace slowed. Something was not right here and Billy was determined to find out what it was. Dom had never reacted like this to Billy declining to spend the evening with him.

“Actually I am not that tired anymore. I guess I will take you up on that invitation.”

“I never meant to….”

“No, honestly, I feel better now. Must be all the fresh and cold air.” He smiled at Dom and turned back to the cars in front of them. Billy called over his shoulder: “Your place at ten!” And then he left a speechless Dom behind.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Arriving in front of Dom’s house here in Wellington, Billy yawned a last time –tiredness had caught up with him again –and then he rang the doorbell. He waited for a couple of minutes and just as he was about to ring again, he heard the soft sound of footsteps from the inside. The door was unlocked and it opened, letting him inside from the cold.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Listen, Billy, I don’t want you to come here just because you think that I want you to. If you are too tired, go to bed.” Dom looked at him guiltily and worried his lower lip.

“I told you on set already that I am not tired anymore. What’s the matter with you Dom?”

“Nothing.” He led Billy into the kitchen where he had prepared noodles and pesto and finished setting the table. “Sit down, dinner is ready.” Putting a full plate in front of Billy, Dom took his own plate and sat down as well. “I hope you like it. Want some wine?”

Billy nodded and took a bite of the noodles. “They are great!” Tasting the delicious food in his mouth, he realised just how hungry he truly was and started to wolf the spaghettis down.

“So, you like them.”

Glancing up at Dom, he realised that the other smirked amused and blushed fiercely. “Well, I didn’t eat today. Am rather hungry, I have to admit.”

“Go on, don’t let me stop you from eating. I am glad you like the food I made.” And with these words Dom joined Billy and ate his own helping. The time the two of them were eating, was spent in silence, only the sound of cutlery and munching to be heard.

After a second helping, Billy was finally content and he sat back rubbing his stomach and taking a gulp of red wine. “Thank you, Dom that was delicious.”

“You are welcome.” Dom got up and carried the empty plates to the kitchen sink, putting them into it. “Let’s got to the living room. Much more comfortable there.”

And so Billy took his glass and followed him to the living room, flapping down onto the steel grey suede couch. The same colour as Dom’s eyes.

“Billy…”

“Hmm?” He looked up at Dom and realised that the other had kept standing and was nervously fidgeting with his hands. Now, that was odd. Dom never got nervous and he never fidgeted. Sitting straight up, Billy looked concerned at his friend. “What?”

“Billy, I …um… I really don’t know how to say this.” There was a defeated tone to his voice as he plopped down on the chair opposite Billy.

“Dom what is the matter? You have been acting very odd today? Please, tell me what the problem is.” He put the wine glass away on the small couch table and got up. Slowly and cautiously he approached the chair Dom was sitting in and crouched down next to it. “Please.” His hand came to rest on Dom’s arm.

The pleading tone made Dom wince and he stared at the hand on his arm. “Billy, I can’t. What if you are going to hate me for this?”

“Dom, Just tell me! Why should I hate you?” His friend’s uncommon behaviour worried him greatly and he wished there was anything he could do to make this easier on Dom. “Trust me, please.”

“Trust ….” A shaky nod. “Okay, I, Billy, what do you feel about me?” The question was asked hesitantly and silently.

“Feel?”

“Yeah, what do you feel about me?” The steel grey eyes locked with his own and waited patiently for the answer to the question.

“Well, you are my friend. My best friend at the moment.”

“And besides that?”

“Besides, what?” Billy just didn’t understand what this question was supposed to mean. What did he feel besides Dom being his best friend? What else was there to feel? What was stronger than being best friends? And suddenly he understood the question all too well.

Dom saw the recognition flicker in Billy’s eyes but he also saw the shock in them thereafter. And he had the answer to his question. “You don’t have to stay. You are tired after all.” He got up and headed for the kitchen. “See you tomorrow on set.”

Billy watched his friend disappear and he felt like the world had come to an end. Why did Dom have to feel like this about him? Why couldn’t Billy feel the same about Dom?

And this was exactly how the evening had ended all these years ago. Billy had left and the next day Dom had pretended that nothing had happened. The other had simply refused to talk about the whole incident, never giving his friend a second chance. Over the years Billy had discovered that he felt for Dom as well and that he could have returned the feelings if he had been given the time to get used to the concept of loving a man. But now it was too late, too late to make amends.

The clock ticked again but before it could tock, the doorbell rang shrilly in the silence. Billy groaned as he got up from the couch he had been sitting on the last three days and trotted out of the living room, through the corridor to the entrance. Unlocking and opening the door he faced the person he least expected to see.

“You know, I was a little bit hasty that night.”

He could only nod, his voice having left him.

“Will we give each other a second chance?” Dom reached out to Billy and his hand stroked over the trembling arm.

“Yes.” Billy’s voice almost broke as he answered. Stepping back, he let Dom inside into his life.


-The End-