Walking slowly around the bed, Viggo smiled. Long fingers slid over the leather belt, letting it dangle carelessly from one hand.
It was close to perfect. Not too hard, not too soft, just right. The only thing that gave away that he had been carried away a little too much at one point, was the cut that was dripping blood onto pale, damp skin. Otherwise...it was perfect. The belt fell to the floor as Viggo sat down in the bed. Kneeling, he placed one knee on each side of Sean's slender hips, and leaned forward. Silently he touched the younger man's back, feeling heavy, forced breaths. Like strokes from a paint brush, angry red velts marred the smooth skin. Ten in number, only one of them actually breaking the skin. Viggo was in fact quite proud of himself.
"It's too bad we don't have time for anything else," he breathed into Sean's ear, letting his lips touch his neck. "My God, you are magnificent..." Gently kissing the blonde's shoulder, he let his hand flutter down Sean's back. The younger man hadn't uttered a sound ever since Viggo had pushed him down in the bed. Keeping his face pressed against his arms, he didn't acknowledgde Viggo's words at all.
Sitting back, Viggo reached up to untie Sean's hands. He moved away, watching Sean push himself up on his elbows with a look of mild interest. Wordlessly he took hold of Sean's arms and dragged the shorter man to his feet. Feeling the other fight to stay upright, he smiled, allowing Sean to lean against him.
"It's ok," he murmured, running his hand over soft, blonde hair. "I got you."
Slowly Sean lifted his head, locking eyes with Viggo. The colour of his eyes, normally somewhere in the middle of blue and green, was now emerald. His voice a little more than a whisper.
"You're mad... And what's worst I don't think you even know it."
"You think so? Maybe I do know, pet... Sanity is quite overrated, you see. Oh it's practical, of course, at least at times... But letting go, completely, not worrying about anything anymore, just act... It's much more rewarding." Pulling Sean closer, Viggo held his gaze. "You have thought about it yourself, I know you have. Giving yourself to someone without worrying about the consequences, just for the moment... You had a taste of it last night, hadn't you... And you enjoyed it."
He captured the smaller man's lips in a ravenous kiss, balancing on the egde of brutality. Mindful of the wounds on Sean's back, he placed his arms around the other's waist. It was a shame they had to get to the set, really.
The wizard's staff was indeed rather cool, Ian decided. It would make a great hallway decoration back home. Or maybe he should put it in a corner of the livingroom. Come to think if it, this could be the perfect opportunity to actually redo the entire house... He had to look into that when he got back. Tucking the staff under his arm and getting his hat, he started walking for the mobile canteen, feeling a sudden urge for coffee.
Relaxing in the chairs outside the canteen he found Sean and Orlando, both with a bottle of chosen beverage in front of them on the table. After getting himself a cup of coffee, Ian joined them. Orlando was animatedly describing his latest adventure, bungee jumping of something ridiculously high up in the air, with Sean as an amused audience. His fear of flying and heights in general was well known of and Orli had taken it on himself to cure him.
Orli leaned back in his chair, grinning broadely at Sean. "One day, my friend... I am going to drag you into a plane with me and we're going sky diving. That should rid you of any fear of planes right away."
"Probably," Sean agreed, leaning his elbows on the table, slightly crouched forward. "But no thanks. I already have all the maniacs I need to keep me busy."
"Wimp," Orlando goodnaturally teased him. "Well, I have to go." Throwing his long, blonde elvish hair back in a dramatic gesture, he lifted his chin. "My favours are needed else where."
"Yeah, yeah," Ian sighed, smilingly. "Off you go, Goldilocks."
"Goldilocks? Hah." Orli draped part of his cape around his arm and lifted it to cover the lower half of his face. One eyebrow lifted, giving him a mock menacing look. "I am Count Legolas, the vampire elf. Beware or I shall suck the blood from your throbbing veins..." Sauntering around the table, he bent down and bit Sean's neck. "Getting the hair out of the way first would be a good idea... Ah, much better!" He kept his arms around the older man's shoulders, attacking his neck.
"Would you stop!" Sean managed to gasp out in the end, laughing. "That tickles!"
Smiling widely Orli let go of his victim and stood up. "Noone can resist the mighty Count Orlandula! Now I will go seek other victims!" Gathering his cape around him again, he strode determinedly off.
"It's a shame, really," Ian very seriously said. "That boy's mad as a hatter."
Sean nodded. "So he is. But he's quite fun too though."
Ian took a drink of the hot coffee. "It's nice to see you smile again, Sean. You've been awfully serious the last days." He thought he could see a shadow pass over the ususally bright green eyes, but it disappeared quickly.
"It's nothing, Ian. Just feeling a little homesick."
Deciding to continue when he first had started, Ian studied the man in front of him. "Feel free to ask me to mind my own business, Sean...but I am a little worried about you." The dark circles under the younger man's eyes was a dead giveaway. "Are you sleeping ok?"
He got a light shrug in return. "I sleep."
When Sean looked away from him, fingers nervously toying with the bottle, Ian's suspicions gained new certainty.
"Look. I've got a few hours off before the night shoot. Come back to my place with me and I'll make you a decent cup of tea." A smile lightened the words. "God bless the rest of the world, but it takes an Englishman to know how to make a good cup of tea," he joked. Sensing Sean's hesitation, he pushed a little. "It'll give us a chance to catch up some, I've missed our talks."
Sean gave in. "Ok. I was going to wait for... It doesn't matter."
Ian hooked his arm in Sean's, leading the other man towards the houses. "Just tell him that I used my terrifying, special powers to abduct you. I have been told I do a convincing evil mutant."
He loved playing the role of Gandalf, he really did. Doing this movie was definetly one of the biggest, most fun things he had ever done. But Ian had to admit, he was secretly happy whenever he could hang the costume away. Wondering what a modern day version of The Fellowship Of The Ring would look like, he trotted about in the kitchen, filling the kettle and preparing the tea. With entertaining mental images of hobbits in leather coats and ringwraiths on Harleys in his mind, he re-entered the livingroom again.
His guest was in the corner of the couch, one arm over the backrest, leaning sideways against the back. "Tea's done in a minute," Ian announced, taking a seat in the couch himself.
"Good," Sean smiled, rubbing a hand over his neck. Following the movement with interest, Ian cocked his head.
"Sore muscles?"
"A bit," Sean admitted. "Every now and then they act up, give me a bit of a headache..."
"Leave that to my magic fingers," Ian said, waggling his fingers at Sean who smiled. "It's another one of my many hidden talents. I give a rather wicked massage." Chuckling, he added: "Don't worry, my dear, I won't jump you. I'm just going to put my hands all over you..." Standing behind Sean now, he slid his hands over the blonde's neck, fingers digging into the muscles in his shoulders.
"God, you're really tense," Ian commented, letting his hands knead the muscles. Expertly he worked his hands over the tight muscles, loosening them a little by a little. The younger man arched his back like a cat, Ian nearly expected him to start purring.
"Let's do this properly," he decided. When he started to pull Sean's light jacket down, the other froze. "Wait," he started, reaching to pull the jacket back up, but it was too late. Ian had gone quiet.
"Oh my God," Ian softly said, not even knowing he was speaking. Carefully removing the jacket, he placed it on the table, keeping his eyes on Sean's back. In the fabric of the light T-shirt there was a crimson stripe from shoulder halfway down to the small of Sean's back, warm liquid still seeping through. With shaking hands Ian pushed the T-shirt up. Silently studying what he found, he eased the shirt back down and moved to the front of the couch and sat down again.
"Sean, look at me." The calm words made Sean look up, meeting Ian's worried gaze. Keeping silent, he waited for the older man to speak.
"Did he do this to you?"
Well knowing who Ian was talking about, Sean nodded. Unable to look Ian in the eye anymore, he looked down at his own hands.
"And you didn't...want him to do this. Excuse me for being painfully blunt here, but over the years I've encountered some pretty strange sexual preferences." By the rising colour in the other man's cheeks, Ian gathered he knew the answer. "Not consentually then, I kinda had a feeling it wasn't. Why did he do it?"
Feeling extremely embarrased, Sean shook his head. "I can't tell you." He sat up, looking for his jacket. "I have to go."
"No." Ian's hand on his arm stopped him. "Stay, Sean, please. I'm not going to ask anymore. But stay. At least let me clean up that cut on your back, it's still bleeding."
Bluegreen eyes studied him warily. A few seconds later Sean nodded. "Allright. But no more questions."
"No more questions," Ian promised. "Why don't you go lay down on the bed, and I'll get the stuff I need?" Fighting to keep his voice like usual, he knew he was babbling. He wasn't sure of what he had been expecting to find about Viggo and Sean, but this was definetly trouble. Deep in thoughts he walked to the bathroom, getting the firstaid kit he always kept with him on sets. He had never thought he would need it for an occasion like this though.
Sean still had his T-shirt on when Ian entered the bedroom. Laying on his stomach in the bed, he looked small and vulnerable. Without saying anything Ian sat down and helped him remove the T-shirt. Carefully he touched the swollen skin, feeling Sean flinch slightly.
"What did he use?" Ian quietly asked. He busied himself with cleaning the blood away.
At first he didn't think Sean would answer, until he heard the whispered reply.
"His belt."
Ian bit his lip to physically restrain himself from speaking. If he didn't choose his words very carefully, he could just as well make an even bigger mess of the whole situation. He needed to know more first, but the problem was that Sean didn't seem like he was intending to talk about it all.
"I wish you would trust me enough to talk to me," he said without thinking. "I'm sorry, Sean, but you can't expect me to sit back and do nothing while he's hurting you like this."
Sean rested his head on his arms, staring out of the large windows in the bedroom. "It's not that I don't trust you, Ian." His voice was alarmingly calm and even. "It's just that I don't like to talk about this. It's something personal. Something between me and..." A small sigh escaped him. "Viggo."
"I don't know just what has happened between you two," Ian commented, the sight of the wounds on Sean's back still scared him. "Well, I guess it involves some physical aspect of some kind, but you need to end this, Sean."
"I'm not sure if I want it to be over. Sometimes it's actually...quite nice. It's not like he doesn't care about me"
Ian was frowning. "No, Sean. Don't do that to yourself. What Viggo is doing to you isn't normal, he is abusing you, for God's sake! You can't be talking about...love." Frustration creeping into his voice, he supressed an urge to shake the younger man, demand that he would see what was really happening and get away from Viggo before it was to late.
Sean didn't agree. "There is something there, Ian... Just what it is, I don't know...but I owe Viggo, I owe myself, to find out what it is."
Placing his hand on Sean's shoulder, Ian's voice was soft. "You don't owe him anything, Sean. If it was up to me, you wouldn't be going near him ever again." Pausing, he gently squeezed Sean's shoulder. "At least stay here until we have to get back, ok? Get some sleep, you look exhausted." When Sean didn't answer, Ian gently continued. "Viggo's going to be busy for the rest of the day, he'll never know."
Sean still didn't look convinced.
"It's quite ok," Ian assured him. "You sleep for a few hours, and I'll get you a clean shirt from your place. I'll wake you in good time before the night shoot."
Curling up a little, Sean gave in. The lack of sleep combined with the night and morning's events were taking their toll on him, even getting up and out of the bed seemed like too great a task. Finally letting go of the worries he was out like a light.
Ian placed a blanket over the younger man and turned the lights down low. Then he exited the room.
The hours went by a little too quickly for Ian's liking. After having spent the time trying to figure out how to approach the whole thing, he wasn't any closer to satisfying answers. Sighing he got up, heading for the bedroom. In the doorway he stopped, just watching the younger man for a minute. He really hated to wake him when he looked so peaceful, Ian was sure he needed the rest he could get. Approaching the other carefully, he touched Sean's shoulder, saying his name.
Sean woke with a start, moving out of Ian's reach. Looking around, he looked confused for a second, then relaxed. "Ian?"
"Right here." Ian sat down on the bed. "I didn't mean to scare you. But we need to get back soon." He placed a clean T-shirt next to them on the bed. "I put the other in the hamper at your house."
Pulling the T-shirt on, Sean gave a small smile. "Thanks, Ian."
Ian returned the smile. "Don't mention it." He was starting to feel terribly protective when it came to the other man. The new sensations made him a little uneasy, caused by the feelings that accompagnied the need to shelter the blonde. Especially at a time like this, with Sean in his bed, looking sleepy and adorably cute.
"You know," he helplessly started. "It's not always like that, with another man... I know, I know...I have no idea what you have done before, but... Call it pride or whatever, I'd hate to think you would associate every time a man touches you with violence and pain."
He missed the uncertain look on Sean's face. "Ian, I'm not sure..." Before he could stop himself, Ian closed the short distance between them and covering Sean's lips with his own. Gently pressing, he nudged the other's lips apart with his tongue, deepening the kiss. The tentative reply made passion flare up in him, like setting a match to paper. The painfully clear sense of want, made Ian pull back, breaking the kiss. Meeting Sean's eyes, he knew he had just broken a trust that wasn't going to be easily replaced.
Sean moved away from him. "I have to go now. I need to read up on my lines before the scene."
Wanting to explain, tell him that he was sorry, the way Sean turned his back to him, made Ian feel defeated, powerless. "I have my copy of the script here," he said in the end. "I don't need it tonight. You take it." Looking around, he was hoping to find something that would keep Sean there at least a little longer so he could try and explain.
"Are you looking for this?" a smooth voice asked, making them both jump. Seeing Sean pale, Ian turned to find Viggo standing in the door, holding a stack of papers in his hand.
The darkhaired man placed the script on the dresser, then turned away from Ian. "Sean, come here." Very slowly Sean walked up to him, never taking his eyes of Viggo's face.
"Are you mad at me?"
To Ian's surprise, Viggo smiled, fondly touching his fingers to Sean's cheek. "Not at all. Now you run along, sweetheart." Blue eyes found Ian's. "I need to talk to Ian for a second." Silently watching Sean hurry out of the room, the smile faded.
"I suspected you had a thing for my boy." Viggo's voice was calm when he spoke, moving around the room. "If you'd asked nicely, I might even have let you borrow him."
Ian's voice was cold. "He's not your toy, Viggo."
The younger man had stopped. "Isn't he? I suggest you ask Sean about that. You might be surprised over the answer though." There was a pause before Viggo continued, this time with a clear warning in his voice.
"I would advice you to think very carefully through this before you go and do anything...rash. It would be too bad if I had to make a phone call home to boyfriend dearest and tell him about what I saw tonight." The smile was back. "I'd hate to ruin domestic bliss like that..."
Normally a peaceful man, Ian had never in his life felt such an urge to hit somebody before. "Do as you want, you bastard" he sneered in return. "And why don't I tell Peter about your little on-set fling...I'm sure he'd be most interested in hearing about what you've been up to lately."
Viggo was still smiling. "And you would end up hurting Sean in the process of getting to me. Which I am pretty sure," he chuckled," you don't want to. It's actually quite sweet how you're bringing the lost art of chivalry back. It's a shame, really, that I am, as you so elequently put it, a bastard."
Now the blue eyes were cold, calculated. "Stay away from Sean, Ian. If you don't, I'll be very mad. And I'll need to take that anger out on someone..." As an afterthought, he added: "Oh did I forget to mention it? Sean is staying with me at my place now."
"If you hurt him..." Ian's words were low, coated with anger.
"That's up to you really, isn't it? See you around, Ian." Viggo left the room, leaving Ian in his own company.
Watching the empty doorway, Ian was silent. He had to do something about this, only question was what. Walking towards the livingroom, he started to make a few plans.