The Little One
24/7/25 12:45![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vamp_ressTitle: The Little One
Author: Michelle
Email: michelle [at] waking-vision.com
Summary: It’s a universal truth that every girl should have a pony.
Series: Library-AU
Pairing: Viggo/Orlando
Genre: slash, fluff
Warnings: AU
Rating: Teen
Disclaimer: Viggo and Orlando belong to themselves. It’s only in my deranged mind that they belong to each other.
Author’s Note: Written for the Year of the OTP challenge. For July I chose the prompt kidfic. This is as fluffy as it gets. Dedicated to all the Shetlands out there who spend their time bored out of their mind as lawnmowers and kids’ ponies. I hope someone finds you and sees your potential!
~*~
“Take another slice, cariño,” Rosa said while she put a huge slice of chocolate cake onto Orlando’s plate before he could get a word in edgewise.
Orlando looked at the cake and panicked. It was delicious – everything Rosa produced in the kitchen was an absolute delight. But it was chock-full of cream and chocolate and he’d already had two slices. If he ate one more bite this afternoon would end in desaster. Viggo noticed his predicament and came to the rescue. “Care to share?” he asked in Orlando’s direction who shot him a thankful look. “You’ve really outdone yourself, Rosa,” Viggo praised the woman who was officially his housekeeper, but who unofficially doubled as his mom.
Rosa beamed, she suddenly seemed twice as tall.
The kitchen was pretty much a mess. Isabel, Rosa’s granddaughter, was on the ground playing with her stuffed animals and her little plastic race cars. From time to time, she drew herself up on one of the chairs to show something to Viggo and squeal delightedly at him with all kinds of adorable baby noises.
Viggo and Isabel had hit it off from the moment they had laid eyes on each other, something neither Rosa nor Orlando could have foreseen. Viggo – reserved, reclusive Viggo, who had bought a ranch twenty minutes away from the nearest civilisation to avoid any and all contact with people – had fallen head over heels in love with Isabel when Rosa had brought her along for the first time half a year ago. Isabel was bubbly like any child, endlessly curious and interested in even the littlest thing. She was also affectionate and gentle and loved to hold on to Viggo with her chubby little hands. In her mind, Viggo was the one with the dog and the horses and the cats and she adored all things furry and cute. To that effect Isabel had taken an instant liking to Viggo and no one had been as surprised as Orlando to see it returned. Viggo was open, loving and affectionate with Isabel in a natural and uncomplicated fashion that was absolutely unique to their relationship.
Isabel’s first birthday had been two weeks ago. Her parents hadn’t really felt like making a big party out of it. It had been a small family gathering with good food and easy banter. Viggo and Orlando had been there for about two hours, but Viggo had invited Isabel over to the ranch, claiming he had a special birthday surprise for her. Isabel was mildly interested, not truly understanding the concept of presents and surprises yet, but she always loved accompanying Rosa when she came to the ranch.
The problem was that Viggo hadn’t let Orlando in on the birthday surprise. He had no idea what Viggo had planned and while Isabel simply enjoyed her stay Orlando was at the edge of his seat, barely able to contain his excitement. As Rosa had pointed out so fittingly in the past: Viggo had an evil streak. But as Orlando had found out only later Viggo could also be mad as fuck if he was in the right mood. If those two character traits coincided for some reason the consequences could be absolutely unpredictable. Which was why Orlando could not even guess what the surprise might be. And that had him at the edge of his seat.
Or he would be if he had the strength to move. He definitely had eaten too much cake. He noticed Viggo looking at his wristwatch.
“Are we waiting for something?” Orlando asked, very unsubtly fishing for information.
“Patience,” Viggo said and he put his spoon down when Isabel started brabbling excitedly which Viggo obviously took to mean that she wanted him to share in her game.
Viggo went over to her to sit down on the ground with her. She instantly held out her favourite toy to him, laughing in delight. “Thank you, Izzy,” Viggo said. He gave the plushie an exaggerated kiss.
Isabel’s face lit up and she clapped her hands.
Before the trading of stuffed animals could go into the second round, they were interrupted by the sound of a car coming down the driveway. Viggo jumped up. He picked up Isabel and swung her around excitedly. She giggled. “That will be your surprise, Izzy!”
Orlando was doing a quick estimation of what kind of surprise a car could bring for a one year old. He came to a frightening conclusion. Following Viggo to the front door he asked: “You didn’t invite a clown, did you? Please tell me you won’t traumatise little Izzy with a clown!”
Viggo laughed, loud and hard, and opened the front door.
Outside, a pick-up truck was just stopping. A horse trailer had been hooked up to it. Something heavy dropped into Orlando’s stomach that was equal parts trepidation and excitement. Rosa came up next to him, her eyes were as big as saucers. She was wringing her hands. “You know what Viggo planned?”
“No, Rosa, I don’t. But if I had to take a wild guess I’d say Viggo bought a horse for Izzy.”
“Dios mío,” Rosa exclaimed. She clutched her hands to her chest.
A young woman exited the car and Viggo greeted her, introducing Isabel. “Okay, Izzy. Want to see your surprise?”
Isabel wiggled in Viggo’s arms and beamed up at him, picking up on the air of excitement.
“Well,” the young woman said. “Let’s!” She went to the back of the trailer, opened it and disappeared inside. A moment later she came out again with the tiniest horse Orlando had ever seen. It probably didn’t even reach up to his hip.
The pony had a big red ribbon around its neck and Isabel clapped her hands in delight, bouncing up and down in Viggo’s arms. Viggo leant down and she grabbed the ribbon, tugging at it. The pony turned its head and sniffed the new humans. When its nose pushed into Isabel’s hip she was taken aback for one moment, afraid of the big head coming in her direction. But then the pony blew air at her and her little hands grabbed its nose. The pony didn’t mind, sniffing Isabel curiously.
“This is Muffin,” Viggo said to Isabel while she buried her hand in the pony’s mane, tugging fiercely. “She’s going to live with us from now on. And whenever you’re here, you can play with her.”
Next to Orlando, Rosa muttered “Dios mío” again and Orlando silently agreed. Dios mío, indeed.
Once the afternoon turned into evening and Rosa left with an over-sugared and over-excited Isabel in the hope that she’d fall asleep in the car, Viggo and Orlando went to the barn again where Muffin had been put into one of the four stalls that Viggo practically never used because Cody and Rascal usually stayed outside where they had food, water and a shelter. When Muffin had arrived the two geldings had neighed and pranced, running up and down the fence while Muffin pretended not to notice the attention.
Orlando looked into the stall where Muffin was happily munching on some hay. The pony wasn’t even tall enough to look out of the stall. He shook his head. He had not yet quite accepted the outcome of this day. “You crazy bastard! How could you buy Izzy a horse!?”
Viggo shrugged as he stood next to Orlando and watched Muffin eat. “Izzy loves our horses. I thought she should have something more tailored to her own height.”
“She’s one year old, Viggo. She doesn’t need a horse.”
“No, she doesn’t. But I wanted to give her one anyway.”
Orlando put an arm around Viggo’s shoulders and drew him near to kiss his cheek. “You spoil her rotten.”
Viggo beamed. “Yeah, and it’s so much fun.”
Orlando laughed. “Tell me that this isn’t your not-so-secret revenge for the kitten situation.”
Viggo looked like he genuinely hadn’t considered this. “You know, actually it is. It is my not-so-secret revenge. I had a pony similar to this one when I was about five or six. She was a bit taller, but had the attitude of something three times as big. I used to ride her bareback, fell off every second day or so. I loved her to bits. A while later we moved and she was sold. I missed her so much. When I browsed the website of the shelter and saw Muffin, I couldn’t resist.”
“You bought her for yourself,” Orlando said, surprised.
“Yes,” Viggo nodded. “And no. I bought her for Izzy. But as you say she’s only one. And even though Muffin might look like it, she’s no toy. She’s small, but she’s a horse like any other. She’ll carry Izzy around on her back when she’s here and she’ll endure having her mane braided and stuff. But she’ll need something to do. This breed was used to pull lorries in coal mines until the 1970s. They’re the strongest horse breed in relation to their size. They go stir-crazy and develop an obnoxious attitude if they don’t get anything worthwile to do.”
Orlando looked at Muffin. She was a little more reddish than Rascal and looked like a bowling ball on four legs. Her front end didn’t seem to fit her hind end and her belly looked like she, too, had eaten three slices of Rosa’ cake today. She certainly looked like she needed something to do. She just didn’t look like she’d enjoy doing it.
“Yes, she’s fat,” Viggo agreed as if he’d read Orlando’s mind. “Before Muffin ended up at the shelter, she lived in a family’s backyard. They put their kids on her and fed her potato peels. Muffin needs a real home and some real work. I have a few things in mind. You’ll see, it’ll be fun!”
Orlando turned into Viggo and kissed him. “What’s that for?” Viggo asked once Orlando let go of him.
In truth, the kiss was for the fact that Viggo had so much love to give. It was for the fact that after all these years he had decided to give it freely. But Orlando wouldn’t say that out loud. “Just because,” he said instead. He kissed Viggo again. “Just because I can.”
In her stall, Muffin gave a snort and then munched on some more hay.
- The End
(May 2025)
(no subject)
25/7/25 12:03 (UTC)(no subject)
25/7/25 17:39 (UTC)Muffin is heavily inspired by my own Shetlands. They're an awesome breed that most people don't take seriously. My team of two does sessions of 10-20km two to three times a week - and they get cranky if that doesn't happen for any length of time. We've done tours with 30km in a day and the ponies came home fresh and ready to do even more. They've got spirit and strength. And they bring the fun because they're so tiny :)
(no subject)
26/7/25 16:51 (UTC)(no subject)
26/7/25 20:58 (UTC)All the animal characters in this universe are based on personal experience - some more, some less. The same is true for the riding lessons Viggo gives Orlando and his fear of finding dead mice in his bed. All of this happened in my life at some point or other *winks*.
Even though I do know how to stay atop a horse, I prefer driving nowadays. If anything, it's way easier to share this with friends. If you have a horse and you ride - what to do if your friends come to the barn with you? But if you have a horse and a carriage you just take them along for a nice drive through the forest. I love it!