"Do you ever wonder what would happen if the Earth just stopped spinning?"

Viggo turned his head to the side, clearly puzzled at his lover's odd question. "That's a deep line of thought for you, isn't it?" he teased lightly.

Half of Orlando's mouth quirked into a grin but his serene gaze never left the clouded sky above them. "I know nothing extreme would happen. We'd weigh a bit more, but that's about it. I was going for the more philosophical view."

Pivoting his hips backward, Viggo turned on his side and stared down at the dark skinned man. Night may have been falling, but light was clearly dancing in Orlando's eyes. It seemed his lover was out to have a bit of fun with him.

"You mean like some grand change in the universe? Some explosive bit of information being released like the existence of life on other planets?"

Orlando considered Viggo's words and nodded. "Something along those lines, yeah."

Viggo leaned back against the inside of the boat they floated in and contemplated the question as he stared at the sky. The waves lapping at the hull were a gentle reminder of everything their lives weren't: calm, peaceful, relaxing. Their lives were more like the open sea nowadays; rough waters churning up unexpectedly, storms brewing on the horizon, maelstroms of activity.

Only now, lying side by side in the bottom of the small seafaring craft, did they have the rare chance to unwind and forget about the nightmarish activities of their daily lives. Only out here could they let loose and be who they really were, without barriers and boundaries confining and defining them. Viggo released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

"I guess we'd all go on as we usually do. I'm sure there would be fallout for someone, somewhere, but as a civilization we'd adapt as humans always do."

Orlando's eyes fell from the grayed sky, the loss of color seeming to have drained the life from his face as well. Propping up on his elbow and turning so that he faced his lover, a serious expression worried his handsome features.

"But what if this information affected you directly and the rest of the world were the spectators?"

Brows furrowing, Viggo answered the question in a roundabout fashion. "But they do that on a daily basis, love. We're scrutinized from the time we leave our houses in the morning until we climb in our beds at night. It's the price of being a celebrity."

Orlando began to bite his bottom lip and Viggo's stomach fell. It was never a good sign when his lover began to torture his own flesh, whether that was biting his fingernails or his lips or the pad of his thumb like he'd caught him doing a few times.

Reaching out, Viggo ran his fingers over Orlando's forehead before combing the riotous brown curls back, his palm coming to rest at his lover's nape. "What's on your mind, Elf-boy?"

Orlando sighed heavily at the endearment, his eyes closing in relief. He knew by that signal alone that everything was going to be all right. "I've done something, and I can't take it back."

Viggo's stomach lurched, but his face radiated a calmness he didn't feel. Praying his voice wouldn't betray him, he asked, "What have you done?"

Orlando's eyes found the dimple in Viggo's chin and fixed on it. "Now that the play is over and was moderately successful, my life feels empty. Like I have no direction any more. I want to do more plays, but that's not going to fulfill me emotionally."

It was becoming difficult to see Orlando's face in the diminished light, but Viggo couldn't have missed the hopeful look if it had been pitch black outside. He swallowed hard, knowing it had to be audible as close in proximity as they were.

A nervous laugh escaped the otherwise abnormally calm man. "I guess it's asking a lot, and I was assuming a lot when I did this, but I didn't want to second guess myself this time. It felt too right. I couldn't let-"

Viggo's lips pressed firmly onto Orlando's, suppressing his next words. When he pulled back Orlando was relaxed again, his eyes a bit glazed over as they opened. "What precisely did you do?" Viggo asked again.

"I gave Aleen a press release for People Magazine."

"Okay," Viggo nodded, his tone suggesting he expected there to be more information forthcoming.

A grin spread across Orlando's face when he realized his lover wasn't going to understand the relevance. "Viggo, People is a respected magazine. One that celebrities have recently entrusted with certain 'revelations'."

"Okay, and…?"

Orlando couldn't contain his laughter when the light finally appeared over Viggo's head.

"Oh!"

"Yeah… oh," he smiled.

"So what does this mean, exactly?" Viggo would never deny his love for the other man, but he didn't want to get his hopes up too soon.

"It means that I want some 'me' time. Which, in effect, means I want some 'us' time. If you have the time, that is."

Viggo let loose a whoop that carried along the shoreline, his eyes shining with love. "I predict within a month you'll be tired of me, Elf-boy." Leaning in, he kissed his lover with impassioned hunger.

Orlando's grin turned mischievous. "And I predict in a month you'll just be very, very tired." ~END~

Read the sequel Contemplating the Universe - 1 Month Later by Tularia