The tiny noises were becoming impossible to ignore anymore. There was a certain pattern to them; soft, scratcy sounds for a few seconds, then a small pause followed. Reaching out his arm, Sean discovered that he was alone in the bed. And that he had a hangover the size of Wales. Giving a small groan he turned a little, blinking against the bright light. His head was pounding and every fibre in him was protesting vehemently against the movement.
"Don't move," a voice said, making Sean freeze immediately.
"I'm drawing you, sweetheart," Viggo continued. "Please lay back down again?"
"If you insist," Sean replied, burrowing back underneath the blankets. In fact, he was rather pleased that he was asked to remain immobile. The room was moving enough without his help and nausea had claimed hold of his stomach and didn't seem to want to let go easily. And the bright light was making his eyes hurt.
"Would you please turn off that infernal light, Viggo?"
He could hear a low chuckle. "That's the sun, precious. Shutting it off would have some very disastrous side effects." The younger man's heavy sigh made him laugh again. "Should make you think twice about drinking so much the next time. You're a scrawny, little thing, Sean. You're not made to deal with that much alcohol."
"Well, it sure made you a whole lot easier to deal with." As soon as the words were out Sean nearly bit his tongue. Turning carefully he snuck a look at Viggo who was busy with his sketchbook. Blue eyes lifted and found his.
"Don't worry. I like you even if you're cranky."
"You'd be cranky too if you had the entire Riverdance troupe inside your head." Laying back down Sean made himself comfortable. "And if you don't mind, I will now go back to sleep. And hopefully when I wake I won't feel like going outside and lay down infront of a speeding truck."
Viggo had lowered his pencil, looking amused. "You do that, precious. I want to finish this sketch of you before we have to get up, and while I still have the right light." He went back to his drawing, the sounds of the pencil moving over the white sheet of paper becoming a soft background noise as Sean fell asleep again.
The next time he woke up, the sun had moved in the sky. The sunlight was gone from the windows, leaving the room darker. Pleased to find that his head and he was on more agreable turns, Sean looked around for Viggo. The chair that the darkhaired man had occupied earlier was empty, the sketch book neatly folded next to it and with two pencils on top. He could hear the shower running in the bathroom and smiled. Languidly stretching, the blond exhaled deeply. An image of the other man in the shower, underneath the heavy spray of warm water brought a blush to his face. They had enjoyed frequent showers together, but Sean was usually too shy to admire Viggo's stronger build in the open. He loved to watch him in secret though, when Viggo wasn't aware that he was being watched.
In the bathroom next door the shower was turned off. Sean's thoughts turned to the night before. He wasn't sure just what he had expected when he had returned to the house half an hour before midnight. He had purchased the bottle of Scotch without really thinking, knowing deep down that he wouldn't have the courage to return without the help of the alcohol. But once again, Viggo had managed to completely surprise him; and pull the ground out from right under him in one swift motion. The older man had been gentle and caring, extremely cautious to not cause Sean any pain. While the younger man still had been too sore to fully enjoy the attention, he treasured the closeness and tenderness.
"Good morning, darling," Viggo's voice made him open his eyes. "Feeling better?"
Looking up at him, Sean had a puzzled expression on his face. "How did you know I was awake?"
"Of course I know. Besides you never sleep on your back."
"Oh." Sean sat up, gathering the blankets around him. He watched Viggo move around the bed and sit down next to him. The brunet was only clad in a white towel tied around his narrow hips, drops of water were making glistening paths of moisture over his tanned skin.
Pushing the blankets out of the way Viggo pulled Sean closer, ignoring the small squeal of protest.
"Viggo, you're wet!"
"So? You'll be wet too, when I'm done with you."
Sean leaned back a little, in order to meet Viggo's blue eyes. "You know you're incorrigible, right?" Keeping a completely innocent look on his face he bent his head to taste a skiny drop of water on Viggo's shoulder. Letting the tip of his tongue follow the trail downwards, he noted with satisfaction the small tremble passing through the other.
He leaned back, creating a little distance between them. "You oughta get dressed, Viggo. You seem to feel cold."
"Of all the things I might be, cold is definetely not one of them, you little tease." Viggo closed the sentence by hauling Sean into his lap. "As you probably can feel for yourself..." He was pleasantly surprised to find Sean's hands undoing the towel. The younger man rarely took the initiative between them, besides the light teasing and sweet, chaste kisses.
"Well..." Sean started, letting the towel fall to the floor to be forgotten about. "You seem to be in this...state a lot lately..."
Placing a kiss on Sean's nose, Viggo smiled. "Only around you, my dear." Moving down a bit he captured the smaller man's lips, bringing them even closer together. "You're beautiful, sweetheart."
The words made Sean pause in his current exploration of the older man's neck. Green eyes held a shine that mesmerized Viggo, making him raise his hand to trail careful fingertips down Sean's cheek. Then Sean's mouth was on his and he was kissed so thoroughly that it made his head spin.
"I had planned that we'd get to this in the shower," Viggo panted, coming up for air. "But I guess we can start in here."
One and an half hour later they still hadn't made it further than the bed.
Sean was playing with Viggo's hair, twining the long, dark locks around his fingers. He was laying halfway on top of the other man, Viggo's arms securely attached around his waist. Large hands were stroking his back in a lazy pattern. Sean was too occupied with what he was doing to notice that Viggo was attentively studying him. He startled a little as the older man traced the old scar right above his left eye.
"What made this?" Viggo asked running the tip of his finger over the scar tissue.
"A boat hook. Harrison Ford has a lousy aim."
Viggo chuckled. "Ah yes, I remember now. He must have felt terrible."
The other shrugged. "He did." Sean folded his hands on Viggo's naked chest, looking down at the darker man. "You know, that guy has to be the world's biggest bore. The only time I ever did see him react was when we did the boat scene."
"Guess you both learned to play nice after that."
"I did learn one thing though," Sean smiled. "And that was to never ever let someone film me wearing a wet suit again." The smile grew as Viggo started laughing. "It's true."
The look on the darkhaired man's face was gentle as he continued to explore the blond's face with his fingers. Finding another scar, this one over a smooth forehead, he paused. "This one's from one of the Sharpe movies, right? Sweetie, you have to be the most accident prone man I know of."
"I am not!"
"Honey, you got a horse in the head."
"Not all of it."
"Well, it's a good thing that you're got me to take care of you now then. I can't have you going and getting yourself hurt, sweetheart. What on earth would I do without you?"
Laying down, resting comfortably against Viggo's broad chest, Sean nodded. A small, dreamy smile passed over his features. "I'm not going anywhere."
The next weeks passed quickly, all of them being busy and having little or no time to think about more than work. As the time had passed, the rumours concerning certain couples within the group of actors had moved into assumed, but still common knowledge.
The night before Orli had approached Sean and Viggo who was sharing a table at their favourite bar. As matter of factly as ever, he had perched himself in the chair on the other side of the table. Leaning forward, he smiled. "I hope the two of you don't think you're being discreet." He caught Viggo lift his hand from between Sean's and his chair. They had been holding hands, Orlando couldn't help but to find that incredibly cute.
A dark eyebrow lifted and Viggo looked completely unknowing of what Orlando was taking about.
"Discreet? What ever could you be talking about, Bloom?"
Orlando resisted making a face at him and sent Sean a glance instead. The blond hadn't said anything, just sent Viggo a little look. It appeared that he was waiting for an answer as well. Gleefully rubbing his hands together, Orli grinned. This was going to be fun.
"I'm talking about you," he pointed out. "And Sean."
Viggo turned to Sean. "He's talking about us, Sean."
Green eyes locked with blue ones. "So I hear, Viggo." A powerful look passed beetween them, then they both turned back to Orli. Viggo smiled.
"You were saying?"
The younger man had to take a minute to collect him thoughts again. "Yes. I was talking about the two of you. You know, the two of you..." He sent them both a meaningful glance.
"The two of us," Viggo repeated, staring back at the younger brunet. "At least he can count," he directed at Sean, who nodded.
"That's always useful."
"That it is. Allright, Orli, we've established that Sean and I make out two people..."
"That's what I am talking about!"
Viggo looked down to see a determined finger pointing squarely at his chest. "I beg your pardon?" At his side Sean had to look away to hide his smile.
"The two of you. Making out." Orli looked pleased with himself. "I saw you. In the forest on the night of the thunder storm. Don't even think about trying to deny it."
Now Viggo was looking uncommonly innocent. "Wasn't thinking anything like it, elfboy."
For a second Orli's finger wawered. "So... Hey, wait, you didn't deny it!"
Laughing out loud by now, Viggo shook his head. "How very observant of you, Orlando." Nodding his head at Sean, he added: "And they say he's the blonde one."
The distinctively blond man next to him swatted him playfully on the arm. "Be nice, Vig," he admonished. Sending Orli a sympatizing look, he chuckled. "It's ok, Orli. Viggo's just teasing you." A large, warm hand found its way into his again, the thumb rubbing slowly over his skin.
"So you were spying on us, were you, Orli?" Viggo couldn't help himself. "Well, I hope you enjoyed the show."
"I didn't see that!" Orli was blushing fiercely. "I just saw you come back, looking like the winning pair of a mud wrestling contest."
A shadow fell over the table, saving Orli from further embarrasment.
"Heya," the voice of Harry greeted them. "I seem to find myself without any competition at the pool table. Any of you gentlemen care to join me?"
"Sure." Sean got up, then turned back to Viggo. "You mind?"
Smiling up at him, Viggo placed his hand at the leaner man's hip. "Not at all. As long as you come right back to me."
"I will."
Hearing the promise, Viggo slowly removed his hand with a brief look of regret. Then he caught Orlando's smirk. "What?"
"Oh nothing..." A helpless giggle. "You two are just too cute."
"I've seen the way you're looking at him. Beautiful, isn't he?" Viggo leaned against the wall next to Ian. For a moment they were standing in silence, simply watching the two men playing pool. Ian was a little disturbed by the fact that Viggo had an uncanny ability to sneak up on him. Keeping a neutral look on his face, he concentrated on Sean instead.
It may not be visible to anyone who didn't know just what was going on. But Ian spotted several disturbing signs. Harry didn't notice anything out of the ordinairy either. He never took notice of that Sean was always two steps away from him, averting as much eye contact as possible. Every once in a while he would seek out Viggo who was undoubtedly keeping an eye on him.
Ian watched the blond lean forward over the table, the pool cue sliding between his fingers. By his side he could hear Viggo give a slow, lustful sigh. The sound was just a little more than a deep exhalation.
"You ever think of what he's like in bed? You have, haven't you, Ian. I bet you have. I bet you fantasize about him, about my pretty angel...." Viggo crossed his arms over his chest. "Normally I would beat the shit out of anyone even dreaming about touching him, but..." Blue eyes glittered in mischief. "In your case, my friend...I think it bugs you more that I have the real deal and all you can do is wish you had it."
Ian didn't reply, didn't do anything to even let on that he had heard what Viggo was saying. Determined to not let the younger man know what his words were doing to him, he kept looking straight ahead.
"Tell you what," Viggo started, his voice casual. "I'm feeling generous tonight... I'll even tell you what you're missing."
He kept telling himself to walk away, but his body didn't seem to want to listen. Keeping his silence, Ian remained where he was.
"He's inexperienced, of course." Viggo was watching Sean with a fond expression on his face. "But my, is he a fast learner... And such an eager student...you'd be amazed. Oh, you'd be amazed...knocked off your feet is more like it."
Viggo leaned a little closer to Ian. "Just look at that mouth of his. It's perfect. And the things my angel is capable of doing with that mouth... Oh my Lord." He chuckled lightly. Taking a step closer he rested a hand on the older man's shoulder.
Now Viggo was so near that Ian could actually feel his breath on his skin as the darkhaired man whispered the next words in his ear.
"You ever imagined what it feels like to be inside of him? Feeling him tremble underneath you, being able to put your hands on his body... To feel his hands on your body. Taste those lips... Oh wait," Viggo pretended to think about it. "You have done that, haven't you." The fingers of his hand dug into Ian's shoulder. "Better take good care of that memory, because it's never going to happen again. Sean is mine." The teasing tone in Viggo's low voice was gone in favour of a clear warning. He left as easily and quietly as he had arrived.
Ian looked up to see that the game was over. Sean handed over the pool cue to Harry, giving him a brief smile in parting. Looking around, he found what he was searching for. Ian decided to take a chance. Things were rapidly getting out of hand, even more so than he had imagined.
"Sean, we have to talk about this." Ian stepped in front of the other man to make him stay. "This has gone too far. The other night, when I kissed you..."
"It doesn't matter. Not anymore. I'm not letting anyone come between Viggo and me anymore." Green eyes were directed at someone standing behind Ian. Slowly the older man turned around.
A half suppressed smile played over Sean's features, his eyes glowing in the dim light. Getting a suggestive wink in return from Viggo, the smile deepened. "I love him, you see. He's perfect."