Smack the Dog

Smack the Dog 23: A Bug’s Life
Author: Foofy
Rating: NC17
Summary: Life goes on. Or does it?

*

The photographs.

Here.

Now.

Time had obviously decided to stand still whilst its occupants managed to get their heads in gear. Orlando seemed unconcerned by the lack of movement from either Viggo in front of him or Sean still sitting in the bed, and laughed to himself as though enjoying a private joke. Viggo finally held out his hand for the white envelope which Orli promptly handed him.

Viggo looked impassively at the envelope, and then back at Orli almost in question.

“ It’s the whole lot, and the negatives as well,” the younger man was eager to confirm.

Viggo finally found his tongue. “ He gave them to you?” he queried. Orli laughed again.

” Well, in a manner of speaking,” he began cheerfully, then paused as he took in the expression that was currently gracing Viggo’s features. Orli spoke again, although slightly more hesitantly. “ he told me where they were and I took them when he was sleeping. Couldn’t be sure whether he’d go through with giving them back,”

“ And you’re certain that there were none that he might not have told you about?” Viggo’s voice was the pleasant yet cold tone that both Sean and Orli recognised from days gone by. Orli whitened slightly.

“ He wouldn’t have separated them,” he shook his head decisively. Viggo raised an eyebrow.

” Why? Against his religion or something?”

“ Well, he just wouldn’t have. Honest, Vig. He said so.” Orlando’s big brown eyes were turned up to Viggo in appeal. Viggo simply watched him, the envelope still grasped tightly in one hand. Sean shifted slightly in bed, not that either of them noticed.

At this point the telephone broke the silence, its call echoing through the hallway. The blonde slipped out of bed and padded towards the door, giving a nod to Viggo in confirmation. The older man’s vision slid to him briefly before returning to study Orlando. And study he was doing; it was dedicated and precise. Slipping through the door and getting to the lounge, Sean picked up the phone on what must have been around the seventh ring.

“ Yeah.”

“ Sean.”

Sean hissed silently through his teeth and glanced towards the door as though he could see x-ray style through the wooden door to the bedroom. “ Karl,” he acknowledged, grudgingly.

” Is he there?”

” Orli? Yeah, he’s here. Soaked to the skin, but in one piece.” Sean’s voice made sure there was no misunderstandings on how little he wanted to speak to him. There was an audible sigh of relief on the other line.

“ Thank god. I thought he had done something stupid or gone off somewhere,”

Sean’s grip tightened on the phone. “ And exactly,” he said, and his voice was almost polite. “ what did you do to him that might mean he would go off and do something stupid?”

” Fuck you, Sean. I didn’t touch him.” There was no mistaking the aggression in Karl’s voice.

“ The question still stands,” growled back Sean. There was the briefest of pauses on the other end of the phone. When Karl did return his voice was slightly rushed, as though anxious to go somewhere else.

“ Look, I didn’t touch him. I swear. And that was fucking difficult considering he practically threw himself at me.”

“ Really,” drawled Sean.

” Really,” snapped Karl. “ And now he’s run back so Viggo can abuse him some more. It’s insane, Sean. You must realise that.”

“ And you’re a picture of sanity, aren’t you?” Sean’s voice was drier than a martini, shaken or stirred.

” Well, I’m not about to start carving him up,” retorted Karl. “ Unlike other people I could mention. Christ Sean, have you seen that cut he’s got on the side of his leg?”

There was a long pause. Sean could almost hear the penny drop on the other end of the line.

” But what am I saying?” Karl continued slowly. “ Of course you have. You probably held him down.”

“ I’m curious how you managed to see the side of his leg. Television watching has changed since I was a lad.” Sean decided to complete ignore the conversation and attack on a different front. There was a snort of laughter from the other end of the line.

“ I told you, he practically threw himself at me. It was like he was on a mission or something. And I guess he was. Viggo tell him to steal the photos I assume?”

“ He worked that one out by himself.”

“ Cute,” commented Karl. “ And bloody convenient.”

“ Yeah, well,” Sean’s hand itched to put the phone down. “ Did you actually want something, or shall I just hang up now?”

“ I thought you actually wanted to help Orli,” Karl spat.

“ Yeah, yeah, bye.”

” Sean!” the urgency in the voice made Sean hesitate briefly. There was a sigh on the other end, then a grudging voice continued. “ You still there?”

“ Only just. Make it quick.” Sean was in no mood to start fannying about with Public Enemy Number One, some of which being he was beginning to dread the thought of leaving those two alone in the room. Viggo had the type of look that normally promised fireworks, and Orlando just .. well, didn’t seem to be able to read him properly. And that was stupid. Orlando could glance at Viggo for a mere second and work out what he was feeling and what he wanted for dinner.

“ I need to talk to you.”

“ I hate to break it to you but we are talking. It’s not a whole heap of fun for me.”

“ Face to face,” pressed Karl, ignoring Sean’s sarcasm skilfully. Sean snorted in genuine amusement.

“ You have to be fucking kidding me, right? What the hell-“ Sean broke off as he noticed Viggo standing by the door watching him. He felt his heart rate increase briefly before calming himself down and turning back to the phone.

“ Sean? You okay?” Obviously the sharp cut off point had alarmed the other party.

“ Yeah,” muttered Sean. “ Look, I have to go.”

“ Come round to mine at some point. Please. It’s urgent.”

“ Yeah, we’ll see,” The phone was hung up. Sean looked at it for a few moments longer before raising his eyes to study Viggo who was still making a passable attempt at a hat stand by the door. Sean could feel the question even before it was asked. He could feel the annoyance even more.

“ He wanted to make sure Orli got home okay,” he sighed. A faint frown appeared on Viggo’s face. Sean tried to look nonchalant, but it was hard with an unexploded Viggo in front of you.

“ It doesn’t take that long to say he’s fine,” Viggo’s voice was low. Sean shrugged, and regretted it as soon as he had done it. Viggo’s frown darkened. It was like watching a monsoon rushing towards you, knowing you were powerless to resist.

“ Sorry Vig. I’m just tired, I guess.” Apologises normally worked wonders with Viggo. Normally anyway. Viggo hadn’t moved, apart from possibly a few muscles had got tighter.

“ So what else did he want?”

“ The usual. Orlando shouldn’t be here, can’t look after himself, that sort of thing,” Sean scratched an arm and tried to look completely at ease with the situation. He stopped when it was blatantly obvious that only an idiot or a bloody good fighter would look at ease with the current situation. Viggo grunted once, then stepped out the way of the door. Sean sighed in relief privately, and went to step through it.

Viggo’s hand rested on Sean’s shoulder as he passed. “ If at all possible, keep our little .. discussion away from Orli. At least for tonight.”

Sean nodded uncertainly. Viggo released him again and they walked back to the bedroom where Orlando had already hung up his wet clothes to dry and had disappeared into the shower. The sound of running water was clear, as was …

The blonde slammed on the brakes. “ He’s *singing*?”

Viggo shrugged. “ Obviously not as affected as I might have considered. Or he’s hiding it well.” His hand found its way back to Sean’s shoulder and gave him a gentle push in the right direction. Sean allowed himself to be pushed towards the bed, another look towards the door.

Orlando turned up after about five minutes of shower duty, squeaky clean and incredibly chirpy considering the time of night. He slipped into bed and curled up by Viggo with a happy sigh, a dog returning to his master’s side, pausing only to lean over Viggo and kiss Sean. Viggo took his task as a fence between the two remarkably well, considering, and merely sighed.

“ When you have finished squashing me, perhaps we can get some sleep?” he queried. There was a twinkle in Orlando’s eyes. Viggo sighed again and settled back on the bed, closing his eyes. “ No.” There was no room for argument in his tone.

Orlando almost unperked. His eyes flickered to Sean who didn’t manage to look away in time. He shook his head. Orli pouted, and stroked Viggo’s thigh. Sean knew this was probably an automatic gesture by the young man rather than pestering, but both of them were still startled by Viggo’s reaction. Moving like a striking cobra, Viggo seized hold of Orlando’s wrist and rolled him onto his back, cold blue eyes staring at him from inches away.

“ Was there some part of no you did not understand, Orlando?” he asked softly and dangerously. Orli stared at him before shaking his head softly, eyes huge. “ The pair of you have gotten away with a lot in the past few days. I do not mean for this to continue. When I say something, I expect you to do it. Clear?”

It was.

Viggo slid his gaze to Sean who was watching him in shock. Hastily, Sean nodded his agreement to this rule. Satisfied, Viggo released Orlando’s wrist and pulled him closer to him, laying a kiss on Orlando’s curls. Orlando snuggled closer to him, graceful in defeat, and yawned widely and closing his eyes. Sean watched him for at least ten minutes, almost hypnotised by the obviously laid back young man.

Viggo’s eyes found his own again.

“ He didn’t touch him,” he murmured in a very low voice. “ Apparently. Orli says they just watched television,”

Sean made sure his expression didn’t slip in the slightest. Just watched television, eh? Unless Karl was the type of man to watch television in the nude, there was definitely parts that weren’t adding up. Mind you, he could hardly discount Karl *not* watching television in the nude. Karl was an odd cookie indeed.

“ You disagree?” asked Viggo softly. Sean cursed privately to himself. Damn and blast! Even Viggo’s truth radar should have a day off once in a while, although it was unlikely to have a union fighting for it. He shook his head and considered the possibility whether he would get away with feigning sleep. He was aware of Viggo’s thoughtful gaze on him.

Sean shrugged lightly, and braved shutting his own eyes. He was undisturbed in his sleep performance, which was just as well. He really didn’t want to start thinking about things again. His mind was already disturbed enough as it was for one night.

*

Filming took up a lot of the next few days, and Sean doubted whether any of them had a problem with this. Orli seemed none the worse for his Karl experience. However, Orlando was not commenting on it either, and for him to be able to control his mouth for that long normally signified something. It could simply be focusing on the job in hand, argued Sean to himself. Just because someone manages to pay more attention to the film they were actually brought here to make does not automatically mean they’re running away from something.

Unless they were Sean himself of course. There was now a significant list of things not to think about and it was extremely hard to find things that had nothing to do with it. Football helped. Well, football always helped. It was one of those few things in life that always promised you a good time no matter how grumpy you got or whether you forgot to feed the cat or whether you were sleeping with people you really really shouldn’t be.

Viggo was not his usual self either. His sternness had managed to come back however, which was both relieving and annoying at the same time. He had even brought forward a few ‘lessons’ for which Sean was not happy about in the slightest. However, Orlando lapped them up. Given a new obvious structure, the young man was in his element. Eyes shining, tail bushy, Orli bounced from instruction to instruction without pausing to consider what he was asked to do. Thankfully Viggo hadn’t been too cruel in exploiting this, although the bathroom incident was certainly entertaining for the audience.

The Two Towers cast were also miles away. And thank the fuck for that, too. Sean didn’t want to see either Karl or Dave at this point in time, and certainly had been walking around in nervous apprehension in case Karl had gone through with his threat and had a quiet chat with him.

“ Sean.”

Yes, it was incredibly difficult to even walk around the sets nowadays. So many people managed to travel long distances in such a short period of time, which meant that even if they had been over the other side of the island at the beginning of the day, it didn’t necessarily mean they would still be there by the end of it. Another good reason to hate helicopters, he thought. Not that any sane person needed more than the fact that they left the ground.

“ Sean,”

He had been particularly surprised that Dave hadn’t bothered to phone him. God, that made him sound like he was hoping for it. The subject of David Wenham was a headache from start to finish. What the hell did the man want? He both joined forces with Viggo Enemy No. 1 and then started giving Viggo hints and tips how to treat Sean, as though Sean was some sort of exotic pet that needed specialist housekeeping and training. He was sure that one of the suggestions that Viggo had made last night had originated from the Wenham school of thought, although thankfully Viggo hadn’t gone through with it. Only bloody Dave would have worked out exactly how you could punish Sean without going anywhere near his dislike of serious bondage. It was humiliating, it was painful after a fashion and it certainly wasn’t going anywhere near him thank you very much-

“ SEAN!!”

Sean snapped back into the present and stared at Dom who was looking at him with an exasperated look on his face which told of several minutes trying to attract his attention. Billy was also watching him but with a vague interest, as though hoping for a bit of entertainment whilst he finished his crisps.

“ Sorry, what?”

Dom sighed wearily. “ I said you’re needed on set,”

“ I am?”

” Well, it’s not as though you’re playing one of the characters or anything,”

Dom was getting far too sarky in his old age, and was obviously getting his own tips from Viggo in how to stand in a pointed way, folding his arms and raising an eyebrow. Sean managed to get out of the chair he had almost fallen asleep in, and even managed to make sure his feet didn’t stumble underneath him. Billy was obviously impressed; he had paused in eating his crisps.

“ Long night last night?” he enquired cheerfully. Sean gave him a look of sheer annoyance, and stretched slightly. Two cracks greeted this little movement, pointing out how very unwise it had been.

Viggo glanced towards him as he approached the set, his costume looking more haphazard than it normally did. The shirt had been artistically parted to show off the top of his chest, managing to make him look so very fuckable. Not that he wouldn’t anyway. Viggo was like Orlando in that respect. He could wear a bin-bag and still have people swooning at his feet.

“ So there you are,” he commented, slightly unnecessarily. Sean shrugged in what he hoped was an apologetic manner.

“ Almost fell asleep,” he admitted. Viggo looked at him sternly.

” Perhaps you should consider getting more sleep at night,”

” That’s a little unfair considering the reasons *why* I didn’t get any sleep last night,” protested Sean, completely forgetting that other people were still about. Elijah pricked up his ears.

“ Oh? What were they?”

Sean had a sudden feeling the whole damn island was suddenly listening to what he said next. He coughed in embarrassment and waved a hand expressively.

“ Music being played too loudly,” he improvised. Lij looked faintly disappointed by this, but nodded anyway like the good little hobbit he was. Sean vowed to buy him a drink next time they were in the pub. He gave a little sigh of relief and made the mistake of looking back at Viggo who was watching him with an unreadable but cool expression. The shark had returned and this time Sean wasn’t sure whether it was hungry.

“ Shall we get on with it?” he suggested in a wild moment of optimism. Viggo gave him another long calculating look before finally moving on. Sean let out a sigh of relief.

It was a further two hours before he was a free man yet again and was so for the rest of the day. After changing, home seemed too far away. The pub made an excellent substitute, and once that Sean was happy to embrace. Heaven alone knew how long Viggo was likely to take, and in his current mood Sean really didn’t want to put his arse on the line to ask. Orlando was sticking to Viggo like a limpet to a rock, although thankfully without the incredible physical contact otherwise that certainly would start attracting attention.

Drink in one hand, background murmur in his ears, warmth through his body, Sean settled down to doze. He hadn’t had much sleep at all last night, mostly through one of Viggo’s new and improved lessons that took up most of the night. Orli had been in his element, all willing submission, watching Viggo constantly like a sheepdog awaiting a command to herd up some sheep. Sean had resisted the urge to bleat.

However, life obviously had it in for him today. Or at least someone had anyway.

THUD!

The sound of the glass hitting the wooden table managed to grab Sean out of the nice doze he was currently engaged with. He blinked round, trying to regain his bearings. A face focused.

“ Dave!?!”

” Well, at least you’re vaguely alert. I should be glad I suppose,” David slid onto the nearby bench and studied the older man in front of him. The older man had a definite bewildered expression on his face as though having suddenly seen little grey aliens walk through the door of the pub and order two pints of Carling Black Label.

Dave waited politely for Sean’s mind to adjust to the world surrounding him. However, the look on his face was not as polite as his actions. There was a distinct frown already formed, and this was at a time when Sean had only really spoken one word. The conversation promised to be bad.

Not that there was going to be any conversation, for that matter.

Sean shook his head, and stuck on a stubborn expression on his own. Two could play at that game.

” I hope you haven’t come back all this way just for me because whatever you have to say I’m not interested,” Sean took a gulp of ale and tried to look disinterested. Dave’s frown darkened a little more.

“ Thankfully my life doesn’t revolve around you, Sean,” he replied in a dry voice. “ However, since I’m here I was asked to give you a message,”

“ Got you well trained hasn’t he?” Sean wasn’t even bothering to be polite.

” I was about to say the same thing,” replied David, and his own politeness was beginning to slip. That was worrying. Dave never seemed to get annoyed about anything. Sean took another gulp of the drink as though this would in some way assist his problem. It didn’t.

“ Well, go on then,” he sighed finally. The younger man raised an eyebrow.

” Thought you didn’t want to know,” he said pointedly.

” I don’t. But if it gets you off my back, it might be worth it,” Obviously good manners and charm were absent at the moment. But, sod it, after being dragged back and forth for so long and his sleep being constantly denied, he was allowed a little bad temper. All he seemed to be getting from this was some elaborately named pretty smelling shampoo and that really wasn’t worth it.

“ You need to speak to Karl.”

“ Actually, I rather think I don’t. Wait a minute… no, I *definitely* think I don’t. Karl can go fuck himself for all I care,” Sean scowled. David sighed as though dealing with the world’s most idiotic man and suddenly grabbed him, the speed of which only Viggo had managed to beat. Sean suddenly found himself pulled towards the younger man by a fist that was suddenly balled up in his shirt. Splashes of alcohol littered the table as he was yanked over it. David’s eyes were only a few inches away.

“ If it was just Karl fucking himself I wouldn’t have a problem,” Dave spoke, and good god he was *growling*. Sean was unable to do anything except stare back in honest surprise. “ He is not happy, Sean.”

“ That’s nice. Neither am I. Neither is Viggo.” Sean’s eyes darkened in anger. “ I think if it came down to it, we’d win,”

“ God, are you always this arrogant Sean? Has it ever occurred to you that people just might not play the game the way you expect them to?”

“ Dave, fuck off now before I hit you.” The blonde was actually surprised how level his voice was. Obviously it made a better impression as David released him and seemed to calm down a little, although there was a distinct lack of anything resembling fucking off.

“ He kept his word to you, incidentally. Your little bargain,” cold blue eyes were on him as though accusing him of some crime Sean wasn’t aware of. Sean frowned.

” That was a deal between us. I don’t see your involvement and, quite frankly, I don’t see what you have to get pissed off about either.”

“ What, whoring yourself out?” Dave’s voice could have cut diamonds.

“ Firstly, it’s my decision. Secondly, you’re not my lover and therefore it wouldn’t affect you in the slightest whether I fucked the entirety of the cast and crew. And thirdly, it’s my decision.”

” You already said that,” David was inspecting the glass in front of him idly, his voice returning to a much more sedate role.

“ I thought it was so important it was worth another mention,” snapped Sean, his hand so tight around his own glass that it was a wonder it didn’t shatter. David shrugged.

” So what did Viggo say when he found out you fucked Karl?” his voice was light. Sean’s hand tightened even further, his knuckles turning white under the pressure of it. Dave glanced at him and nodded in understanding. “ I see. You haven’t told him. Let me guess, it was your decision? Or do you have another few arguments to add in here?” David shrugged. “ I use the term ‘argument’ very loosely here, I might add.”

Sean studied him for a few more moments, the hand loosening slightly. “ You’re upset because I took Karl once during the night?” he asked slowly, the words almost being hissed over the table like a cat spying a very persistent canine.

“ I believed that you really didn’t want to be there. I shouldn’t have bothered, should I? Is this the game you play with Viggo all the time?” And, good lord above, there was actually a hint of hurt in the younger man’s voice. Sean really didn’t know how to take it.

“ Of course I didn’t want to be there!”

“ Hmmmm,” agreed David, his eyes on the glass he was twirling in his hand. Sean growled and slammed his hand on David’s wrist, stopping the movement. This also conveniently made sure his face was extremely close to the annoying bastard sitting opposite to him.

“ I didn’t. I was trying to make the best out of a bad situation. I appreciate all you tried to do, but it was hardly storming the castle and setting the prisoners free was it?”

“ There’s no point in setting things free if they’re only going to die slowly in the wilderness,” replied Dave mildly. Sean frowned at him.

“ What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

“ It doesn’t matter. You had, incidentally made a good impression with Karl, by the way,” David allowed his eyes to rest on Sean’s. Despite Sean’s obvious anger and the fact that there was no question who was likely to win if things got physical, David sat there as though on a relaxing cruise. Flickers of nervousness failed to enter his eyes. He was the human equivalent of the pink panther, although he might have to work on being a little more rinky-dink.

“ Great,” growled Sean.” The thief and blackmailer likes me,”

Dave carried on as though Sean hadn’t spoken. “ He commented if it hadn’t been for one thing you’d b a pretty decent guy,” Dave paused here to drink a little more of his well shaken beer. Sean paused for a few moments, then was unable to resist.

“ That one thing being..?” he queried. Curiosity may not have killed the cat but the damn thing certainly didn’t get away without bruises.

“ He seems to believe that you might be stuck in an unwise situation but you were so close to it you couldn’t see the problems,” Dave shrugged lightly. Sean gave him an incredulous look.

“ *Karl* said that?”

Dave sighed. “ What he actually said was you had your head shoved so far up your arse you were able to inspect your own tonsils,” There was a faintly apologetic smile inserted here. “ It was along the same lines anyway.”

Sean snorted in amusement, then leaned back. There was no indication that this had improved David’s sense of well being, but certainly the tension relaxed back to mere agonising.

“ So did he say how he managed to see Orli naked whilst watching television?” Sean leaned back and watched him thoughtfully. There was another flicker of something across Dave’s expression, although it could have been anything. The glass was twiddled again.

“ I understand Orlando had some … targets he was aiming for,” he said carefully. Sean raised an eyebrow.

“ Uh-huh. Just walked through the room and stripped, did he?”

David’s eyes flickered to him, then back at his glass. Sean stared at him incredulously, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

“ No, wait. He’s not actually saying that, is he?”

“ Apparently,” David’s voice was clipped. The glass was twiddled some more. Sean shook his head.

“ Orli might be a little impulsive, but I doubt even he would do that,”

“ Hmmm. Know Orli well, do you?” David’s eyes were on his still twiddled glass, as though fascinated by it. Sean’s smile faltered a little. The typical frown was re-inserted.

“ In case it slipped your notice, it’s not as if I don’t see much of him.”

“ Yeah? What’s his favourite colour?” Dave’s eyes rested on him. Sean hesitated. Orlando was annoying in the fact that he wore damn near every colour under the sun, including a rather shocking version of Barbie Pink on occasion.

“ Knowing what someone’s favourite colour is does not make a relationship,” he replied coldly. Dave shrugged.

“ Yeah, well, knowing something about the person you’re fucking does,” David shrugged. “ And it’s also beneficial for the person you’re fucking over as well, incidentally. I bet you don’t even know what music Orlando likes,”

“ Loud stuff,” replied Sean dryly, having not bothered to keep up with music since he was twenty nine. “ And this is still none of your business, Dave. Thanks for your assistance. Oh, and thank you *very* much for the suggestions you made to Viggo,”

Dave brightened slightly. “ Oh, he’s trying them out is he?”

Sean smiled coldly back at him. “ Give me one reason why I don’t kick you hard for that,” he said pleasantly. Dave laughed.

“ Because, you daft bugger,” he said cheerfully. “ you like it like that.”

*

“ Sean, could I have a word?”

Fuck. Not more than two steps into the house and he was already in trouble. That was almost a personal best. He knew he should have left when Viggo did, but the prospect of home had not been as appealing at the bar in any shape or form. This, apparently, might have been a mistake.

Sean glanced towards the lounge briefly and tried not to think about how much Viggo had been focusing on the sound of the door opening to be able to speak out so quickly.

He was faintly surprised to see Orlando already back and sitting in Viggo’s usual chair, watching him steadily as Sean walked through the door. Sean’s heart sank. Orli’s blank expression really needed some work. The excitement showing in his eyes was all too clear. Sean turned his attention to Viggo who was sat on the sofa, his eyes on the television. The television was switched off delicately.

Sean hated standing up. It made him feel like he was just waiting for something to happen. Which he was, it was true, but you didn’t have to advertise it. However, to get away from that would be to sit on the sofa and he wasn’t sure if his nerves were likely to be able to handle that.

“ Yeah?”

“ Yeah?” echoed Viggo finally looking at him. Sean felt his heart sink even further. Any more of this and it was going to be mining through the floor. “ I thought you could speak properly?”

“ How about sir, yes, sir?” Sean raised an eyebrow. He was not going to be putting up with this prior to coffee. No chance. No how. No way. Viggo looked at him curiously as though faced with something quite unexpected, and smiled briefly.

” I’m not sure the backbone suits you,” Viggo’s eyes flickered behind Sean at Orlando, then back again. Sean resisted the urge to immediately keep an eye on whatever Orli was doing. On the plus side, at least he wasn’t likely to-

Okay, perhaps he might.

Sean glanced over his shoulder at Orli, who had simply come behind him and pulled Sean’s arms behind him. Seeming there was no contest who was going to win over brute strength Sean returned his gaze back to Viggo almost casually.

” More lessons? Already?”

“ Sean, forgive me if I am incorrect but are you not talking back to me at this present moment?” Viggo’s eyes were darker than Sean had ever seen them before. Sean opened his mouth to retaliate and hesitated. Viggo waited patiently.

“ There’s a good boy. See? The lessons do work with a little persuasion,”

Sean’s eyes slid to his current human restraint system, then back at Viggo with an almost weary expression. Not again. Was he ever going to get any sleep? Was there ever going to be a part of his body that didn’t ache through extreme stretching or random exercise? Viggo, however, didn’t seem to care. Again. However, this was a game he was beginning to learn the rules of.

“ With your permission, could I have a break beforehand?” carefully pitiful green eyes stared balefully at Viggo. “ Only half an hour. Then I’d be much more ready,”

There was a flicker of a smile at the corner of Viggo’s mouth. He glanced over Sean’s shoulder at Orlando, and nodded once. Sean felt his arms be released and sighed internally. He could almost feel the agitation of the young man behind him as though being able to read it through some Orli radar. Whatever batteries kept Orlando going were impressive to say the least.

He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see a mutinous expression on Orlando’s face disappear carefully. Sean’s eyes drifted to Orlando’s shirt, which seemed a little lop-sided for some reason. The penny suddenly dropped.

” You’ve already started?” Heaven knew why he was surprised about this. The day something managed to stop Orli from sexual activities was the day that the world was taken over by penguins. There was the faintest of scowls across Orlando’s face, which surprised him further.

” It doesn’t matter,” However, there was something in those dark brown eyes that made it very clear that actually it mattered a great deal. Sean stared at him, tiredness and hunger beginning to do nasty things to his patience.

“ Not everyone can be as energetic as you, Orlando,” Damn. There was a definite edge to his voice. He could sense Viggo looking at him in a hard way already.

Orli shrugged, his eyes fixed firmly on Sean as though about to challenge him to a duel. Sean’s irritance began to overtake his usual caution of an un-exploded Viggo in the room. He shook his head.

“ You carry on like this and no wonder Karl says you jumped on him as soon as you got through the door,”

There was a flicker in Orlando’s eyes. Just a flicker. Sean’s stomach crashed to his feet, which was never a nice sensation after six pints of beer.

” You bloody well did, didn’t you!” he managed. The silent fury in Orli’s eyes was fast approaching Viggo level. Sean was too busy staring at him in vague moral outrage to notice the clenched fists, the sheer tension in the younger man’s body.

” Sean!” snapped Viggo loudly from behind him. “ Drop it.”

However, Sean was cruising in an area where Common Sense need not apply. Apparently Orli had also bought a ticket as he stepped forward until there were seemingly a few inches between them, voice deliberately low and god, such a dangerous voice really shouldn’t belong to such angelic features.

” And what about you? You complain about being bothered, act as though you’re some type of god and then it turns out you fucked Karl anyway! What’s that all about, *Sean*?” his name was almost hissed at him like a hurt cat. Sean stood his ground, not that he had much choice in the matter. Viggo was lurking behind him. An icy wash had gone over Sean as soon as Orli had finished, his mind only managing to pick up the additional point when he stopped panicking.

The presence of alcohol on Orli’s breath was almost unheard of. And yet it was there. At six o’clock in the bloody evening.

“ What-“ he began to say when Orli beat him to it. The younger man glared at him in genuine hatred, shoved him hard and stalked towards the door. Sean stumbled backwards, his eyes wide and shocked on the rapidly closing door. Sean swallowed, and was about to comment to himself when he suddenly realised that he was hardly alone in the room.

There were so many swear words to choose from, but so few actually had enough strength…

Sean was saved having to force himself to turn round as Viggo’s hand slammed onto his shoulder and shoved him towards the sofa. After a quick risk assessment glance, Sean’s heart managed to sink even further. His friend had gone. His lover had gone. Just pure rage stared back at him.

“ What the hell did you think you were doing?” Low, dangerous. Eyes fixed on him like a tiger on a zebra.

“ Well, he was …,” Sean waved a hand towards the closed door, and realised he was coming up with very few reasons indeed. Shit again. Viggo glared at him once more, turned on his heel and walked through the door.

“ You stay put. Understand?” the growl was thrown at him.

” Yeah.” Sean sighed.

The slamming door was his only answer as Viggo left, presumably to go and comfort Orlando although the young man certainly didn’t look like he needed much in the way of it. Sean slumped back on the sofa, glanced at it and groaned to himself. Okay, so to beat a phobia, you have to add something else more scary into the equation and then you forget it. Marvellous.

He eyed the door, which, in the manner that doors tended to have, had managed to open slightly due to the force of the slam managing to avoid the lock from catching. He could hear low murmurs, then the sound of the doors opening and shutting. Sean debated whether to attempt to eavesdrop when the sound of heavy footsteps in the hallway made him freeze like a rabbit in headlights.

Knowing he looked like a guilty schoolboy and knowing he was unable to do anything about it, Sean simply looked up at Viggo as he stood at the door of the room, cold eyes looking at him. Nothing resembling human emotion presented itself to be appealed to. Sean’s eyes were suddenly drawn to the familiar riding crop that Viggo held in his right hand.

Words failed to come to him. His gaze went back to Viggo’s urgently. Just the emptiness stared back at him.

Sean struggled to form words again and this time was more successful.

“ Vig, please. I’m sorry,” the words were ragged but at least they were out and breaking the silence like a hammer on plates.

“ You’re sorry?” echoed Viggo. “ You decide to start throwing accusations and you’re *sorry*? There is no fucking excuse for-“

The sound of a door shutting again stopped him in his tracks. Viggo stared back at the door, then glared at Sean as though the sounds were his fault, and spun on the ball of a foot, heading back to the hallway. The blonde considered his options. His options were obviously on an away day.

Sliding from the sofa, knowing he was in trouble no matter what he did, Sean padded to the door where he could hear quite a loud argument already occurring. Well, it was loud on Viggo’s side anyway. Orlando didn’t say anything, although there were pauses in the conversation where Sean could only assume a gesture was inserted.

“ Orli, I am not having you wandering around in that state. Sulk if you must but do it in the bedroom, preferably with a lot of coffee. I will only tolerate one drunk in this relationship, and you know Sean’s been trying to give it up,”

Drunk? Him? Sean forgot to be scared, the pinpricks of annoyance already working on him. Okay, so he liked a few drinks, and he tended to reach for the bottle if he was upset about something, but that didn’t make him a drunk! He had been very careful not to go overboard recently.

Careful…

Hmmm.

Sean crept closer to the door, able to look through the gap. Viggo’s back covered most of it, but sound was certainly perfect.

” Orlando, I am not asking you again,” the low dangerous growl that was a staple of Viggo speak. Sean could feel himself shiver automatically. However, Orlando obviously wasn’t budging on his opinion as the front door suddenly opened, Viggo stepping forward urgently. Sean moved towards the hallway, unable to hold himself back, and was just in time to see Orlando stare back at Viggo with a steady expression before turning to run.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion. He saw Viggo shout something and dart his hand out to grab hold of Orlando. However, he was just a split second too late. Orlando’s expression changed dramatically as he lost his footing on the concrete steps he had forgotten entirely about, his arms cart wheeling slightly before the young man fell down the steps. There weren’t many, but he seemingly managed to hit every single one in one way or another.

Viggo had already sworn and moved outside swiftly, crouching by Orli. Sean hurried through the front doorway himself, stopping on the porch and looking down at the bleeding young man with horror in his eyes. God, not again! Perhaps he was bad for Orlando’s health. Viggo was murmuring something to him, and checking him for injuries.

His eyes met Sean's.

“ We need to get him to hospital,” he said, and Sean had never been so happy to hear that tone of authority re-enter his voice. He nodded and darted back inside to grab the car keys from the hallway hook.

” I don’t want to go to hospital,” he heard as he stepped out again, strong words which were said hesitantly as though their owner wasn’t entirely certain of the order that they should be said. Viggo didn’t bother to reply to this and simply nodded to Sean. The blonde carefully made his way past them and hurriedly unlocked the car, opening the back door and walking back to help Viggo.

“ You sure we’re not going to do more damage moving him?” he asked urgently in a low voice. However, Orlando was already struggling to get himself up. It was like seeing a tortoise trying to right itself. Viggo placed a hand on Orlando’s shoulder, the younger man quietening and looking up at him with wide, scared brown eyes. Viggo murmured something else, and touched his cheek. Orlando looked at him trustingly and nodded.

“ Sean, help me lift him,”

Sean obliged, carefully making sure the young man was securely snug in Viggo’s arms before stepping away and staring at the stone steps that led to the porch. A blood stain now decorated the bottom step from where he had ripped a gash in his arm.

” How can he get so much damage from so few steps?!” he appealed to Viggo who had already moved towards the car.

” It’s not the height, it’s how you fall,” replied Viggo shortly. “ You coming, Sean?”

“ Sorry,” Sean hurried to the driver’s side and slid in, glancing at the back briefly before starting the car. There had been a few whimpers of pain from Orlando but that was it. Soon they were off towards the hospital and, indeed, the questions that this would inevitably bring.

Sean couldn’t wait.

TBC