The Gift

Posted: December 2002
Title: The Gift
Series: Manmade
Sequel to: Manmade
Author: Alex
Fandom: Real Person Fiction
Genre: RPS
Characters: David/Orlando
Rating: Pg-13
Disclaimer: This is fiction.

Summary: This is AU with the same David and Orlando that were in my Halloween Fiction, the manmade boys. It is Orlando's first Christmas.

*****

Orli had not heard of Christmas before. Maybe he had not been alive long enough. He wasn't sure. He really hated the cold weather. It made his joints hurt. David said people gave each other gifts for Christmas. He had nothing to give. He had nothing but David.

David. The name brought a smile to his lips.

David had taught him how to be a human. Dr. Frank had never bothered with that. Lab rat... that's what he had been. Now he was a person. He had a life. He was trying to learn to live in this world he had escaped to. Sometimes he thought that being a lab rat was much easier than being a person.

He had no gift for David. He had escaped from Dr. Frank with nothing but a bit of cash he had stolen. He had used most of it to buy clothes and given the rest to David to help with the rent and food. He had found a job clearing tables and washing dishes at a local restaurant. The pay wasn't much, but he got food and was able to take leftovers home to David. It was all a person with no identity could get in the way of work.

Orlando loved David. He was the only person he had ever loved, the only thing of any kind that he had ever loved. Dr. Frank had made sure that he had no real attachments. Anyway, tomorrow was Christmas Day, and he had nothing to give to David.

**

The day dawned cold and clear. Orlando was up early. He folded the bedding from the sofa and tucked it into the closet. He washed the dishes from last night's dinner and made coffee. He had to work a little later, but only for a couple of hours. David was off for the day.

David was still asleep, when he left for work. He had sat beside the bed for an hour and watched him sleep. He thought about love. He wished that he had enough money to buy David anything his heart desired. He wished he had enough money to buy David anything at all.

David had been cooking, when he got home. He had made turkey and stuffing. Orlando ate until he thought he'd be sick. He had never enjoyed anything more.

"It's not as good as Mom's, but since we neither one had a mom.... It'll have to do." David teased him gently. He made jokes about what they were, Orlando thought, to keep from crying. "I have something for you."

Orlando panicked. He hadn't gotten David anything. He looked at the blond.

"But I-"

"Shhh." David put his finger over Orlando's lips. "Don't say anything yet. Wait here."

He left the room and came back a few minutes later with a folder. He handed it to Orlando. Inside were papers: a birth certificate, a passport, a Social Security card. There was also a transcript from a high school and a diploma. Each one had a name on them: Orlando Bloom.

Orlando cried. David had given him an identity. He was not just a nameless monster now. He was a person with a name.

"I have nothing for you. Nothing." He sobbed.

David moved over to the sofa where Orlando sat and pulled him into his arms.

"Now, now. It's okay. Please don't cry." David smoothed his hair back and kissed his cheek. "I used the money you gave me and a little I had tucked back, so you really paid for this yourself. I wish I could give you more."

They watched It's a Wonderful Life on television and David finally tucked a weepy, tired Orlando into his snug sofa bed.

**

Orlando awoke late in the night. He thought he heard something. He listened, and all he heard was the soft snoring of David in his bedroom. He walked softly to the bedroom. Maybe he could just lie down beside David and sleep tonight. If he woke early enough, David would never know he was there.

When he sat on the side of the bed, he could tell that David was awake by his breathing. He decided to say what was in his heart here with the darkness as his cover.

"I have little to give you, David. You have given me everything, including who I am. The only thing I can think of to offer you is my love, though I'm not sure how much it's worth. I don't seemed to have gotten the knack of being a human very well yet. But I'm trying. I only hope to be half the man you are someday."

"Your love is all I've wanted since I saw you on the bridge," came a quiet voice from the bed. He felt the mattress shift and David sat beside him. He felt strong arms encircle him. Lips whispered close to his ear. "You are my heart's desire, Orlando. I wake every morning and thank the maker that Dr. Frank saw fit to make one more man." He kissed Orlando and pulled him down to lie beside him.

Orlando smiled in the dark, a rare smile from the boy made of parts and pieces. Perhaps Christmas wasn't so bad, after all.

*****

THE END

Go to the next story in the series: Made for Me

If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to: Alex