it's been awhile...

[subtle-dusk.livejournal.com]

title: research
summary: Dom mentally chooses between Elijah and Billy.
rating: G
pairing: monaboyd
disclaimer: I don't know them, this never happened. No disrespect is intended.
notes: For so_much_to_say, for her icon meme, based on this icon. Kind of weird?



There were few intricacies about The Lord of the Rings that Dom failed to understand.

Example: Arwen may have once held Aragorn’s heart, but how the hell couldn’t he see that Eowyn was far better suited for him? They were both mortal, for one, and while Arwen had the flawless beauty Elven blood graced her with, Eowyn was real, and that made her more beautiful. She wasn’t an ethereal being who had eternity in her blood and stars in her eyes, a voice like the wind and a touch like a dream—she was a human.

Dirt festered beneath her nails, which Dom was sure were chipped to the quick. Her lips were chapped and the skin on her hands was certainly far from flawless. She was desperate to go to battle, not for her own glory but for her people, because she knew she was one more able body.

In all fairness, Dom felt Arwen would go to battle for her kind too, if the need desperately arose. But Eowyn faced battle without any fear, only purpose, and she was mortal.

Dom scoffed, frowning at the book in his hands. It was obvious to him that Eowyn was more perfect for Aragorn. She was real, for christ’s sake—she was born from the same mold as Aragorn and she would die of old age, just as Aragorn…though his time was slightly delayed.

The door to the trailer creaked, revealing Elijah and Billy mid-conversation over what Sam and Frodo’s relationship really was, and Dom shifted in his chair, for all appearances looking absorbed in The Return of the King.

“He’s reading it again?” he heard Elijah stage-whisper to Billy, who chuckled at Elijah’s idiocy.

“Evidently.”

“He’s read it at least three times already, and we’re only two months into filming.”

“He’s English. I can’t explain it. It’s beyond me.” At this Dom raised his eyes above the page he’d been staring at since their arrival, sending a glare Billy’s way.

“He’s Scottish. He’s obviously too simple-minded to comprehend what it is I’m doing,” Dom said, speaking directly to Elijah as if Billy wasn't even there. Elijah giggled in that strange, odd-for-a-boy way he had that the cast were mostly accustomed to, and said nothing, waiting for Billy’s response.

Billy leaned back against the small counter in their trailer, bracing his hands against it and fixing Dom with an unreadable gaze.

“What, Dom, is it that you are doing?” he asked and something in the room shifted. Dom only noticed because the way Billy was looking at him and the something in his voice sent a not-entirely-unpleasant shiver up his spine.

Dom tore his eyes away from Billy’s, briefly glancing at Elijah.

Elijah, who looked as though he could have traces of Elven blood in himself; whose eyes were the purest blue and whose skin was porcelain and smooth; who would be the envy of any Elf from Middle Earth…

And then he let his eyes drift back to Billy, allowing them to scan over him, well aware of Elijah’s slightly startled expression and Billy’s raised eyebrow.

Billy’s hands were rough and calloused and Dom could see the first of laugh lines around that mouth, but Dom also thought that if he looked hard enough maybe he could see stars in Billy’s eyes as well.

Dom cleared his throat, glancing at the book that lay forgotten in his lap, his page lost.

“Research. I was doing research.”

“Aye? And what’ve you come up with, then?” Billy asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

With one last glance at Elijah, Dom met Billy’s eyes and grinned cheekily.

“Aragorn is a mighty git for choosing Arwen over Eowyn. Humans are far more beautiful than Elves could ever hope to be.”