Smack the Dog

Smack the Dog 28: Innocent Eyes
Author: Foofy
Rating: NC17
Summary: Occasionally, just occasionally, it's nice being ignorant.

*

There seemed to be a hell of a lot of driving and not so much of the talking. After Sean had remembered exactly where it was they were having their heated debate, the argument got relocated to Dave’s vehicle as soon as humanly possible. There had been little protest from Dave, who had taken the opportunity to start driving towards the address.

Sean watched as yet another lamp-post went by before finally glancing towards Dave grudgingly.

“ Weren’t you supposed to be talking to me?” it was the voice he always used whenever he didn’t really want to hear the answers and one he could never seem to get rid of. David eyed him briefly before returning his gaze to the albeit mostly empty road ahead.

“ Worked out what you wanted to know yet?” he asked mildly, his previous bad humour apparently having caught the taxi instead.

Sean hesitated. He had no idea how much David actually knew. He liked the guy, of course he did, but being the one that told him about secrets within the relationship, well… he had more than enough guilt for this century alone without adding to it. He focused on the one person that he knew Dave had a hell of a lot of information on and clung onto the thought like a shipwrecked sailor to a piece of wood.

“ You spoke to Orli?”

Dave wasn’t quick enough to smother a flicker of surprise that crossed his face. Sean realised that the younger man had been expecting a Viggo question rather than Orlando, and resisted the urge to grin. Ha! Not so knowledgeable as he made out!

“ I spoke to him, although occasionally the problem is getting him to shush afterwards,” Dave slowed as he approached red traffic lights, and took the opportunity to glance sideways at Sean. “ He’s very anxious to have you back, you know,” he added softly. “ Although heaven knows why, grumpy bastard like you,”

Sean was silent, remembering the eagerness of Orli’s kisses, his determination to get Sean’s clothes off as soon as possible. However, the memories of Orli’s sulking, his emotional states whilst Viggo was spending time with Sean also crept in for a mention. Sean sighed softly to himself.

“ He’d be better off without me,” he said quietly. Dave gave him an interested look.

“ Really? Why?”

“ Viggo belongs to Orli. Without me messing things up, they can spend more time together, do the things they want to do but I .. well, can’t.” Sean still felt the guilt of slowing them up. The majority of the equipment in the gym remained unused since he had entered their sex life, and he doubted whether their presence had been a fashion statement. Equipment like that was there to be used, to be appreciated - in a manner of speaking, anyway. Timid first timers need not apply. Heaven alone knew why they had accepted him in the first place.

Dave, however, had been musing on what Sean had said. “ Theorically, I suppose they do have more time together,” he replied. “ Apart from day to day things getting in the way. However, I have noticed practically speaking they both seem to be extremely upset and doing very little together. Or haven’t you noticed?”

There was a pause. Dave sighed.

” What did Viggo say to you to get you so upset?” he asked quietly. Sean stared out the window, looking at the passing landscapes as though this offered an escape route. However, he couldn’t do this forever. Dave was probably in his rights to start poking him.

“ He suggested that he might reconsider the break-up,” Sean’s voice was low. He could see Dave’s reflection in the glass of the car window staring at him before David had to look back to the road in front before he started becoming more of a menace to innocent passer-bys.

“ Well, that’s good isn’t it?” There was honest bafflement in his voice.

“ Yeah.” Sean said quietly. “ I guess it is.”

There was a pause broken only by the noise of the car engine.

“ But…?” prompted Dave.

“ But apparently I’m only good at being a whore at night. I can’t do relationships, he said.” Sean stared out of the window angrily. There was silence from David’s side of the car.

“ Exactly how can’t you do relationships? You seem to be going well to me. Okay, so you could have done without the whole Karl factor admittedly, but that’s hardly your fault,” Dave’s voice was gentle. Sean snorted angrily.

“ That’s just it! I don’t know. I tried to do everything he wanted. I know I’m not great at the games they normally do, but at least I was getting better. I even –“ he suddenly remembered who he was talking to and broke off in embarrassment. “ Well, that doesn’t matter now.”

“ I take it he didn’t say what the problem was?” Dave’s voice was softer than kitten soft toilet paper. Sean realised that the car was travelling even slower. It was just as well the traffic was minimal.

“ No. Just said if I had to ask then I’d never know,” he said bitterly. Sean gave him a side glance. “ Okay, what do you normally do in a relationship?”

“ The usual.” David shrugged, a baffled expression still on his face. “ Talk. Sex. The occasional romantic gesture. Letting them know I don’t take them for granted,” Sean noted the non-specific gender part there but chose to say nothing. “ Letting them know I love them.”

There was a longer silence. Sean considered it.

Letting them know he loved them. When had Sean last told them he loved them? In fact, had he ever told them he loved them? Sean scanned his memory hurriedly. No. He must have done. Viggo gave himself to Sean, for heaven’s sake, why would he do that if he didn’t think Sean truly loved him, that he would take care of him?

His memory pointed out the fact that Viggo certainly wasn’t himself that night. In fact, he was downright guilty.

What unusual things had Sean done to be able to rid himself of the guilt before now? Was it really that implausible?

David was giving him a concerned look, intermixed with driving.

“ That helped?” his voice was cautious.

“ Yeah.” Sean said dully. “ That helped.”

No, it couldn’t be, Sean told himself furiously. Viggo was hardly the sort of person you’d expect to need constant reassurance that he was wanted. After all, Sean did everything he asked .. well, okay, there were a few lapses admittedly, and occasionally he did disobey orders, but hell, he wasn’t in the military here was he? It was hardly as though he went on his knees for every Tom, Dick and Harry. In fact, for his wives either, thinking about it.

Sean shook his head, trying to clear it. Viggo as some sort of wronged romantic hero was getting a little far fetched even for his mind, and his mind had a hell of a lot of imagination stored up. Try to go back to more useful topics, like Orlando and his current state of mind. It seemed to change every few moments, as though he had a severe lack of attention.

“ Do you know if Orlando has been seeing Karl recently?” he asked finally. Dave shrugged.

” As far as I know, no. Orli’s not stupid, Sean. He might push his luck a bit, but hell, he does that all the time doesn’t he? I keep hearing about his latest death wish whenever he goes off to do some sport with the hobbits. Some people like playing with fire. Keeps life interesting, apparently,” There was a side glance again, then Dave put his gaze back on the road where it belonged. “ Why? You suspicious again?”

“ No, of course not.” Sean struggled to find exactly what he was asking. There was a pause. “ You honestly think he wants me back?” He was embarrassed that he was even going back to it. However, he had to be sure, had to believe otherwise Sean’s paranoia was going to take hold and shake him. There was a snort from Dave.

” You think he just shags anyone he meets?” he replied idly. Sean paused, and looked out the window. Well, according to certain sources…

“ I suppose you know Orlando wanted to seduce Karl on that evening, don’t you?” he said quietly, appalled at himself for even saying it. David frowned but nodded.

“ Yes,” his voice was cautious. Sean didn’t blame him.

“ And that doesn’t seem odd to you? A desperate act?” Sean stared at his hands which were clasped in his lap. “ Like he was trying to prove himself to Viggo because he was worried I was taking up his lover’s time?”

Dave snorted as he turned a corner. “ This would be the same man who likes having initials carved into him? The same man who obtains bruises and welts daily? The man who wanted to persuade a rape victim to essentially re-live his past but in the driving seat?”

Sean stared at him, shocked at the reference to Viggo’s past. “ Who told you-“ he began in a strangled voice, but Dave was too quick for him.

“ My point is that Orlando is a nicely complicated individual, Sean. Don’t start judging his behaviour on your own standards, otherwise you’re just going to get confused. Orli was upset about the Karl incident, but he was upset about your and Viggo’s reactions to it, not that he had to do it. Besides which,” Dave trailed off slightly and eyed him. “ he was hardly the only person to use seduction to benefit himself, was he?”

“ I did that to protect Orlando!” snapped Sean hotly, flushing slightly at the memory of what he and Karl actually did get up to in the comfort of Karl’s double bed.

“ And when you offered yourself to me?” replied David softly. Sean growled and looked away. David nodded, almost in satisfaction. The car came to a stop.

“ We’re here,”

Sean watched him as he started to open the door. There had been the faintest amount of concern on his face but apart from that Dave’s expression was as it normally was; quiet, thoughtful, relaxed. It was as though the bad things in the world seemed to pass him by.

” Dave,” he asked, and the younger man seemed to note the change of pace in Sean’s voice as he stopped and glanced back at him in question. Sean studied him a little longer. “ Why *are* you doing this?”

“ I told you. To help.” Almost perfectly calm. A little *too* perfectly calm, for that matter.

” But why? All we’ve really done for you is fuck things up with Karl. Sure, we’re colleagues but that shouldn’t make you feel obligated to help.” Sean watched him carefully. Noted the careful bafflement on Dave’s face, recognised the fact that David was carefully ensuring that his opinions, whatever they were, were masked. It was like sitting with a less violent Viggo. Dave shrugged, an easy casual grin appearing on his face.

“ I like you. And I don’t want to see you lot broken up by Karl’s world views, okay?” The last part was tossed over his shoulder as Dave glanced towards the pub/club/general watering hole, his fingers tapping on the steering wheel. “ You okay to go yet?”

“ Yeah. I guess,” Sean was unconvinced, but this wasn’t the place to get into that.

That was the problem about actually listening to people, Sean reflected as they got out the car. Occasionally you had a happier life with your assumptions. Reality was such a harsh mistress.

*

If Dave hadn’t said that it was one of the rougher elements of the town, Sean probably wouldn’t have noticed. Outside it was remarkably peaceful; no graffiti messed up the walls, no litter apart from the butts of cigarettes, which, Sean had to confess, were quite a few. There weren’t so many of the usual welcome signs that normally frequented such places, but then again that could be simply a matter of taste.

However, once he walked through the door, it was a little harder to ignore the specialities of the house. The bar was large, wooden, and looked like it had been built to withstand several world wars. There were scratch marks all over it which the bar carried off like battle scars on an old and extremely experienced veteran.

It was also a bar that appeared as though it served nothing but strong spirits. The likihood that the bar had even known such concepts as ‘light beer’ and/or ‘soft drinks’ was limited. There were a few draughts lined up however, all with interesting and extremely tough names. This was beer you didn’t want to look in the eye.

The clientele was also difficult to ignore. Said clientele was certainly not ignoring them either. A man that looked as though he ate puppies for breakfast was eying David up with what probably classified as a thoughtful expression. Two other men were in the middle of a conversation that seemed to consist entirely of swearing, which just proved how versatile it was. Occasionally the man on the left gave a look towards Sean and narrowed his eyes. Sean attempted to ignore this, but it was remarkably difficult when said man was wearing clothes that looked like they had gone twelve rounds with a wolverine.

“ Should we sit down or can we get out of here yet?” he murmured to Dave. However, the younger man didn’t seem to be paying him any attention. Sean followed his gaze.

The room had many different tables, most of which being of different sizes, shapes and occasionally heights as well. At the back was a table that appeared to have been stolen from a casino, although a sheet of plywood had been shoved onto it to provide a flat surface. Three chairs were occupied around it. Sean frowned. Karl was one of the occupants.

Dave caught hold of his wrist before Sean managed to take a step towards them. Even now Karl hadn’t noticed the little party by the door, although this was probably due to the fact that there were several pillars masking a lot of it. He was also clearly involved in a heated argument with another of the table’s occupants.

“ Calm down and wait,” murmured Dave, giving Sean a tug towards a nearby table. Sean growled something that even he couldn’t understand, but obeyed orders. After all, what choice did he have?

“ What exactly are we waiting for? A standing ovation?” he muttered back. Dave gave him an amused look and returned his gaze onto Karl and his companions. Their argument was fierce but unfortunately not as noisy as Sean could have hoped for, especially as suddenly they had a new distraction to deal with. Sean was aware of a very large creature suddenly blocking out a lot of the light from the nearby window and looked at it uncertainly.

The creature, which bore a great resemblance to a shaved wookee, had his own gaze fixed firmly on David. A hand that could have happily knocked over mountains slammed onto the table in front of him. Dave, in the usual manner, casually moved his attention from Karl onto the man that stood at the opposite side of the table. Sean was more than a little grateful that he himself had elected to take the side chair instead of his usual position.

“ You’ve got some nerve, Daisy,” came the growl. Sean had a suspicion the growl simply was the man’s normal way of speaking rather than any annoyance, especially with the half grin on the monster’s face. Dave seemed more unruffled than usual, his innocent blue eyes falling on the visitor.

“ Kurt,” he acknowledged.

” Daisy?” hissed Sean to one side of him. David ignored him. The Monster Known as Kurt eyed Sean suspiciously, as though finding a frog in his beer.

“ Who’s he? The new boyfriend?” Dark brown eyes drifted down Sean’s body idly. Sean resisted the urge to growl, his self preservation was obviously still working. Kurt finished his assessment and moved back to Dave. “ You know Karl’s over there, don’t you? And you come swanning in here with your new pet and expect no one to comment?”

“ I’m aware where Karl is, thanks. And this is not my boyfriend, pet, bitch, or any other name you care to mention. He’s a friend,” David shrugged. Kurt’s eyes narrowed. Sean was aware of a more assessing look being aimed at him. Oh no. There had to be a mistake here. The blonde aimed a stern glare back at him in attempt to make it clear he wasn’t on the romantic market to be picked up. All this seemed to do was produce a grin from the Kurt-Monster, who had a look in his eyes that suggested he wanted to ruffle Sean’s hair affectionately if somewhat roughly. Sean’s stomach turned at the thought.

“ So what’s your name?” Apparently this was probably what classified as the chat up line in Kurt’s universe.

“ Was there something you wanted?” David managed to cut in here. Kurt gave him a brief scowl.

“ Don’t get too pissy, Daisy. I’m being nice. I can easily change my mind,” Ah, now *that* was the appropriate growl. Apparently Viggo had competition in this area. However, the threat seemed to fall on deaf ears. Dave gave a grin of honest amusement at this little threat. Sean noticed that Dave’s gaze kept flickering back to Karl’s table every so often, presumably to make sure nothing had developed.

“ Heaven forbid I stop you doing anything nice, Kurt. However, let’s have a little more focus on the conversation and a little less on my friend.” The tone was perfectly clipped, a little bored. Kurt snorted and began eying Sean yet again. So this was what the lobsters felt like before they got chosen for the pot…

“ How long have they been there for?” Dave nodded towards Karl’s table. Kurt glanced at him, then at Karl’s table as though he had never seen it before. A look of obvious thought crossed Kurt’s expression as though trying to calculate complicated algebra.

“ About ten minutes, I suppose,” a grin inserted itself here. “ Mal had to get involved at the start. The talk was more like a shout for ages.”

“ Karl was shouting?” Sean interrupted here, and glanced towards the now quite peaceful table. True, there was a very dedicated conversation occurring, and Karl’s body posture looked like someone who was about to leave swiftly, but it all looked rather civilised for this sort of place. The furniture was intact, for a start.

“ Yeah. Mostly curses,” Kurt’s attention was back on him. Sean cursed his mouth. By the look Dave shot him, apparently this particular curse was very popular today.

“ That’s Mackenzie, yes?” Dave glanced over to the man that Karl was talking at. Kurt lifted his head and surveyed him quietly, then nodded.

“ That’s him. Although he didn’t have that cut to his face last time I saw him,”

Sean focused a little more on the man that Karl was talking to. A vivid red gash was indeed clear on the man’s face, as though he had managed to catch the side of a door badly. There were dark patches on his neck which could have either been bruises or simply shadows from the pub’s poor lighting. Mackenzie was one of those men who could easily have evolved from the weasel line of the mammals; his nose was sharp and dominated most of his face. His hair was short and unruly. His skin was ruddy, and Sean was sure if he got closer he would see sharp bright eyes which never stopped on one thing longer than a second.

His eyes flickered onto the other member of the table, who wasn’t being paid any attention. A brick wall with sunglasses, essentially. The man might as well have ‘hired muscle’ scrawled on his chest. After all, there was plenty of room.

Sean glanced back at the other two.

“ Who’s he?”

“ Mike,” replied Dave quietly. “ Just Mike.” The younger man raised his voice slightly. “ When did you see them last, Kurt?”

This apparently was a poser. Kurt scratched his head and thought about it for a while. They could almost hear the cogs turning.

“ Well, not for several days. Think they had a bit of business to sort out.”

“ Whose business? Karl’s?” Dave was quietly and relentlessly persistent. Kurt hesitated.

“ S’pose. They had another argument that day anyway,”

“ Dave, they’re moving,” Sean glanced over to the table. David turned his head, his expression suddenly all business like. It was the type of expression Sean expected on a hit man when his target had just stepped out for a quick cigarette, all the more scary for being on Dave Wenham. Sean managed to get his eagerness to confront Karl under control. After all, he knew damn well who was running this show and it really wasn’t him.

“ Thanks, Kurt. You’ve been a real help,”

Kurt nodded, a look of bafflement in his eyes. Sean could imagine why. When someone was obviously an employee of the ‘doorman’ approach to life, being told that you’ve been a real help was probably something that didn’t turn up that often. Sean felt Kurt’s eyes move onto himself again briefly, before the man all but lumbered towards the bar again, occasionally looking over his shoulder as Karl approached the doorway, intending to exit.

It only took Karl a few seconds to work out what was wrong with this particular picture. A frown that had similarities to the Grand Canyon was suddenly formed on his face, his eyes hostile on Dave who simply sat in his chair and looked back at him. There was a hint of a half smile in the air, although there was nothing but sincerity on Dave’s face. Careful, calculated sincerity. Not for the first time, Sean began to feel a little more nervous of Mr Wenham and his motivations.

“ You are not supposed to be here,” Karl growled. His posture looked ready for a fight. In fact, replace Viggo for Dave and Sean had seen this scene so many times before.

“ Am I not?” Dave looked innocent. In fact, Dave always looked innocent. Sean had a suspicion that even if they found him covered in blood, standing over a body with a knife in his hand, he would still look innocent. “ I have a few questions, Karl. Some of which involve your friends over there,”

Karl didn’t even bother to glance back at them. Dark hazel eyes glared hard at David. Sean had to keep reminding himself that, until recently, these two were close friends. The sudden change seemed another thing to be mildly concerned about, although not quite as concerned as the fact that the two men that had been sitting with Karl had decided to come over to see what the fuss was about.

Karl’s eyes slid to where Sean stood, narrowing slightly.

“ And what’s he doing here?” It wasn’t quite a demand but it was getting very close. It was the type of reaction that a dog would do when another was found prowling on their territory. Dave glanced towards Sean as though having forgotten his existence then back again.

“ He has the same questions. Although he probably has more of a reason to kick your head in, I have to confess,” Dave smiled politely. Karl hesitated, and Sean didn’t blame him. A threat from Dave was like being savaged by a sheep. Most unusual but painful nevertheless. There was another look aimed at Sean, who glared at him back.

“ I haven’t got time for this,” snapped Karl, finally. David shrugged.

“ We do,” Another smile was aimed in his direction.

” Yeah? Sean to the rescue again, eh?” Karl had a half smug look on his face. There was movement from Mackenzie who had been watching avidly from where he had sat to watch the argument fireworks. The man stared at Sean carefully, as though memorising his face.

“ Sean? As in the other one?” he queried. Karl glanced towards him carelessly and nodded once. There was a flicker of amusement in Mackenzie’s eyes before the man settled back in his chair, his fingers together, a look of contentment on his face. Sean felt his paranoia step up a pace, which wasn’t helped by the fact that Dave also had a look of suspicion. Dave was the paranoia canary. When he looked suspicious, they *were*out to get you.

However, now was not the time to start worrying about how dead you were going to be in five minutes. Or at least, you could worry but only on the basis that you already knew that the point where a decision could have been made that could have got you out of this situation occurred at least ten minutes earlier.

“ What the hell did you do to Viggo?” Sean snapped, ignoring the look that crossed Mackenzie’s eyes. It had almost been as though Sean’s outburst was expected, although Sean supposed you probably didn’t need a physics degree to work that one out.

There was the faintest flicker of hesitation from Karl at this.

“ Look, I had nothing to do with it. You’re wasting your time,” Karl certainly looked anxious, but the type of anxious that involved relieving the frustrations physically on someone. His fists were already clenched. However, so were Sean’s.

“ You want me to believe that after all that talk about how bad Viggo is, you weren’t behind the attacks?” spat Sean.

“ If you could grasp the concept,” snapped Karl. “ It’s nothing to do with me,”

“ Bollocks,” Sean stepped forward, a half smile on his lips, sheer murder in his eyes. “ You did it. You and your friends, because you were so very careful to get yourself an alibi, weren’t you?”

“ Glad to be of service,” murmured David in the background. “ Sean, calm down,”

“ Am I being slandered?” Mackenzie spoke up again, and it was the wrong voice, so very wrong. The normal response of anyone would have been to ask what the accusation was, who this ‘Viggo’ was. Not to use a voice that suggested that they were faintly amused, that the angry man in front of them was a mere inconvenience. Sean stared openly at him, disgust and anger clear. He hadn’t a clue whether this was one of the ‘friends’ involved, but, bloody hell, he was there to be glared at. Let’s have a bit of random accusation.

Karl had also paused at this. He glanced towards the weasel. “ It’s okay. I’ll handle this,” he said in a low voice.

There was an eyebrow raise from Mackenzie to suggest that he was really going nowhere. It was unlikely that anyone missed the irritation that flashed across Karl’s face.

“ Did you hear nothing I spoke to you about?” he growled towards him. Mackenzie looked at him in faint surprise.

“ Oh, I heard you. I just disagreed with your opinion.”

Karl suddenly remembered that they were not alone. Sean had the benefit of a furious glare aimed back at him, as though he was the sole reason behind Karl’s bad humour.

“ I told you. I don’t know anything. So, if it’s not too much bother, *fuck off*,” he snarled.

“ Karl,” Dave’s voice held a warning. Karl subsided, although his furious glare was still on Sean as though his anger was his one last hope of retaining his sanity. Karl pushed past him to go, Sean suddenly aware of Dave’s hand on his arm holding him back as the younger man left. Sean stared after Karl angrily, then looked back suspiciously at the other two ‘friends’ who were returning his gaze with interest.

“ Sean. Come on,” Dave’s voice somewhere in the background.

“ I thought you wanted to stay?” Sean replied back at Dave, his eyes not leaving the weaselly ones of Mackenzie. There was another tug on his arm followed by a hard squeeze that pinched his skin painfully. Dave was obviously learning persistence from Orli. Sean sighed through his teeth in irritation. “ Fine. Let’s go,”

Sean was a little startled to work out exactly how quickly David actually got them out into the sunlight of the road, blinking a little to readjust. Without saying anything further, David started to make for the car, Sean trailing along behind him, now and again giving hard looks back at the pub.

” What the hell was that all about? I thought you said this was Karl’s haunt, not yours, *Daisy*?” Sean had to trot a few steps just to keep up. David continued like a man possessed, not bothering to look around at him. Finally Sean cleared the few steps and seized hold of his arm, yanking him to a stop and pulling him around. “ David, what the fuck-“

He stopped at the expression he found in those eyes, eyes that normally only contained sweet natured thoughts and consideration. Annoyance burned in them, but thankfully half of it didn’t seem to be for Sean.

“ Just get in the car, Sean,”

“ Fuck you, Dave. You drive me out here for your own special investigations then you can’t be bothered to tell me what’s going on? Who were those guys anyway? Social acquaintances? Cause I really can’t see them as being the type to come round for a dinner party!”

Dave surveyed him silently, then shrugged and turned again. “ Please yourself,”

Not wanting a long walk back or trying to find a taxi, Sean hurried after him, although a loud sigh of exasperation could be heard by the neighbourhood.

“ Dave, I’m getting sick to death of people messing around in my life and not even having the decency to tell me when I’m getting screwed. You want to tell me what you know now? Or, come to think of it, *how* you know of it? Because it wasn’t in Viggo’s notebook that’s for sure, and I seriously doubt either Orlando or Viggo would tell you about this sort of place in your little ‘chats’.” Sean was working up on his theme. Dave continued without even a look back. It was as though the anger was completely silent to his ears. “ Hell, they even had a nickname for you, *Daisy*,”

There was a momentary pause as they got in the car. However, Dave didn’t even try to start the ignition, just sat with his fingers on the steering wheel and his gaze straight forward, his index finger tapping lightly on the wheel. Sean looked at him in silence for a moment, and decided to change tact.

“ David, please. What’s going on?”

The younger man sighed finally. “ I don’t know anything. I can only suspect. It’s just that Karl has a few .. drinking friends he spends a lot of time with. They tend to be the type who hit first and ask questions later, if you understand my meaning,” David’s finger tapped a little faster. “ If Karl didn’t hit Viggo – and we both know he didn’t – then I believe it’s quite probable that his ‘friends’ took matters into their own hands. Heaven knows I’ve wanted to do it on a couple of occasions when he’s whined about something for weeks on end. Not with Viggo, obviously. I have more sense, and to be honest I’d be no match for him unless I had a baseball bat or something similar. Fuck, I should have know this was going to happen.”

Throughout this Dave hadn’t looked in Sean’s direction once. He simply stared straight ahead as though his neck was fused at the shoulders, just the tap, tap, tap of the finger on the steering wheel. It was clearly obvious the man was stressed, and Dave didn’t do clearly obvious anything. Sean put his hand on David’s shoulder cautiously.

“ It’s okay,” he said softly. “ It’s hardly your fault if people go nuts behind your back. And you didn’t know what Karl was saying, did you,”

David was silent for a moment. “ Guess not,” he said finally.

“ Why Daisy, incidentally?”

There was a flicker of a smile. “ They assumed I was Karl’s bit of fluff when he brought me in there one time. Bit like you did, thinking about it. Thought it was safer to play along,”

“ They didn’t look like particularly tolerant people for .. that sort of thing,” Sean felt extremely uncomfortable. David laughed quietly.

” For fuck’s sake Sean, you’re gay and you can’t even say it properly. No, even people who do ‘that sort of thing’, as you put it, have their assholes in the community. Just because someone happens to be gay doesn’t mean they can’t be any less of a tosser than a straight man. Equal opportunities and all that,”

Sean sat back and looked out the windscreen. It wasn’t particularly exciting by any means.

“ So now what?” he asked. David sighed.

” I suppose I have to try and find Karl and sort this matter out, although I’m not even going to bother to find him whilst he’s in that sort of mood. Just check what they know and what they’re planning to do, although I can’t see Karl wanting Viggo worked over any more than he does. So at least that bit’s done. Then I suppose we can pay more attention to you and your situation.” David finally glanced in his direction. “ You decided what you’re doing yet?”

“ Home, dinner and playstation, I thought,”

“ Thank you for proving me right,” sighed David.

“ What?”

“ There is a tosser in every community. And you happen to be ours. When are you going to talk to Viggo and Orlando?” David said the last part extremely patiently, as though talking to someone who was half asleep. Sean glared at him.

“ I can’t see that would help-“

“ I can. And so would you if you didn’t have such a phobia about actually addressing emotional issues verbally. Good god, you can’t go around life showing your emotional state through actions alone! If nothing else it gets extremely painful after a while,”

Sean scowled at him. This was obviously a new David, one who wasn’t quite as sweet and nice as the one Sean had curled up to sleep with. Times had changed, and probably not for the better.

“ Just because you’re annoyed with Karl at the moment doesn’t mean you have to take it out on me,” Sean said coldly. David glanced at him then sighed again

” Yeah, you’re right. Sorry. I probably should have said all of that in a slightly less aggressive tone, but I have to confess you do frustrate me sometimes,” his finger started tapping faster again, having slowed slightly during the conversation. “ Anyway, you have to go see Orlando anyway. I couldn’t get him at the house or on his mobile earlier and you know what he’s like with that thing being on continually,”

Sean straightened, his eyes fixed on Dave. A cold feeling crept into the pit of his stomach. Little Orli.. already bruised and battered. Bloody hell, if anything happened to him because of this fucking affair Sean could expect to feel guilty for the next century. Or if anything happened to him full stop for that matter.

“ Why didn’t you say this before?” he asked in a strange forced voice.

“ We went to the set to find him. I thought I would take the opportunity to investigate while I was there. He might be at the hospital, you never know. They normally force you to switch mobiles off there, remember?” Tap tap tap went the finger.

“ But Viggo said he was at the house, Dom said,” Sean’s sick feeling wasn’t going away. David sighed.

“ Yeah, I remember.”

“ So why the fuck isn’t he answering the phone?” Sean suddenly realised he was staring at David as though the younger man held all these answers, and had to look away again. He realised his fists were clenched again and forced himself to relax. There was probably an innocent explanation. He was in the shower. He popped out for milk. Hell, he could be mediating for all Sean knew.

However, he knew something damn well. That house was getting a visit.

*

The door was left off the latch. With just a push of his hand, the door slowly swung open as though they had been subjected to a burglary. Sean swallowed and carefully entered, glancing up the hall to the bedroom first before glancing to the lounge. Most normal people would have called out by now, he scolded himself. Open your mouth and ask if anyone’s home.

Mouth refused to open. Sean decided not to press it. He could already sense the fact that the words wouldn’t have been said with anything more than a squeak anyway.

He would have liked to have said he walked calmly in. Or indeed, prowl. What he actually did was sneak in, heart beating fast in his chest, wishing that he actually did have eyes in the back of his head. Jaws had nothing on Viggo for the whole ‘arrrrggghh!’ factor. The man could appear from anywhere. The laws of physics were obviously considered to be guidelines.

There was a noise coming from the living room. Sean’s heart decided to go a little bit faster so that it was now hammering in his ears. However, the noise really didn’t sound like Viggo. Trusting his gut instinct, Sean pushed open the door. Orlando stared up at him, startled.

“ Sean?!” he hissed. Ah. That was probably bad. Hissing and whispering in general normally suggested that there was someone around that really shouldn’t be listening. Sean’s heart was proud in the fact that it got it right. So much for guts, which were always an overrated organ.

However, Sean’s fear was put to one side as he took in the actual state of the young man. Sean dropped to one knee in front of him and gently cupped Orli’s face with his hand. Orlando stared back miserably, the tear tracks drying but not entirely gone.

“ What happened?” he whispered back. Orli gave a sad little laugh.

“ Viggo found out,”

Sean’s eyes immediately lowered as though he could see through material to the skin beneath. There was an annoyed sigh from Orlando.

“ He didn’t do what you think he did, for a start,” he said reproachfully. Sean’s eyes returned guiltily to Orli’s eyes. The younger man sighed. “ He’s not happy, Sean.”

Well, that was the understatement of the century. There were many things Viggo could have been, but happy bunny was really not going to be at the top of the list. Sean glanced nervously to the doorway, as though expecting to see the older man standing behind him brandishing a chainsaw. Sean forced himself to relax. If his imagination got any worse he just wasn’t going to invite it along anymore.

“ Where is he?” he murmured.

“ Bedroom,” Orli smiled sadly. “ Just told me he knew what we had been up to, walked there and shut the door after him. No slam. No nothing.”

Sean paused. “ Perhaps he was just tired?” he suggested hopefully. Orlando gave him a look.

“ Sean, I know Viggo. He’s really upset.” The younger man’s voice wobbled.

The blonde hesitated. Well, what in all honesty did they expect from Viggo? A slap on the back and a wink? He sighed to himself, and nodded slowly. Orlando could read Viggo much better than he could. If Orli didn’t want to go into the bedroom, Sean probably would simply be inviting his own murder.

“ What did he say?” he asked softly. Orli snorted a sad little laugh.

“ He just came in, made himself a cup of tea but didn’t drink it, just looked at it. Then he said… he said he knew that I’d been seeing you behind his back,” Orlando’s eyes were bright again. “ It was so *clinical*, Sean! I should have been more careful, I knew he’d find out eventually, but I was just hoping…,”

Sean was silent. He knew only too well about the ‘just hoping’ factor. That little spark that managed to speak up over all the doubts, that little burst of optimism that seemed to believe that everyone was a character from It’s A Wonderful Life, living in a place where dreams did come true and everything turned out for the best. He blamed the children’s books that were forced upon him at an early age.

“ Was that all he said? Didn’t say what he was going to do?” Sean pressed forward reluctantly, knowing that he was causing more upset to Orlando but the question was like a wobbly tooth. It just had to be poked and explored, regardless of any pain.

“ No, he didn’t,”

The voice came from behind him. Sean almost had another heart attack. Orli’s head jerked up, his eyes staring at Viggo in what appeared to be either stunned disbelief or horror. Sean was praying it was the first one, otherwise the images of chainsaws was going to make another appearance. He slowly stood and turned round.

“ You really like to sneak up on people, don’t you,” he sighed. Viggo looked at him.

“ It’s my house. I assume you were invited in,” Cold and hard. Was there any other tone available?

“ I’m not a vampire, Vig,” Sean resisted the urge to back up and get his hands into defensive positions. However, Viggo didn’t seem in the mood to start being aggressive. In fact, Viggo looked decidedly.. odd. Raw hurt showed in his eyes as though the usual Viggo Defence System was on the blink.

“ Sucking the life out of people? I wouldn’t be too sure,” Viggo folded his arms, glaring at him. “ What do you want? Or are you just here to collect Orlando for another one of your little ‘sessions’?”

“ I only saw Orli once and that was because I wanted to see if he was okay from the fall,” Sean tried to keep his voice level. Viggo raised an eyebrow.

“ Really,”

“ Yes,” it was forced through gritted teeth. However, it was bloody clear that Viggo wasn’t buying it. There hadn’t been even a flicker of indecision. Sean sighed and glanced towards Orli, who looked so young and vulnerable huddling on the sofa, blinking at Viggo with huge brown eyes.

“ Okay, Vig.” Change of plan. Well, vaguely. That would suggest that a plan had been made in the first place. “ We did get .. carried away when we saw each other. But that was it. Nothing else. Just saying goodbye I suppose,”

“ Is that supposed to make me feel guilty in some way?” Viggo’s voice was beginning to approach the growl level, his eyes fixed on Sean in a manner that was entirely uncomfortable.

“ Well, no. Not really,” Sean hadn’t really thought about it. The idea that someone else might like to have a nod to the guilt fairy was a new concept to him. In fact, he hadn’t really considered Viggo would be affected by it, although that sounded silly even to him. Viggo was the type of man that was very certain of his actions. To be guilty would suggest that actions were taken without considering the full affect of the consequences. Now that was a thought and no mistake…

“ So how was this going to continue? You two meeting up in secret? Getting Dave to lie for you?” It was clear that a slow rage had been burning in Viggo for some time, and that was the most disturbing factor. Slow rages needed more than a bunch of flowers and some chocolates to get out of. Sean had enough practise on that, certainly.

“ We hadn’t really discussed it,” Sean wasn’t entirely sure what to say, but the opportunist answers were likely to simply make matters worse. Viggo’s glare intensified. Even volcanoes didn’t have this sort of destructive power.

“ Had you not? You surprise me. Or perhaps you were too busy fucking to care?”

“ Oh, for fuck’s sake Viggo! Stop making this into some elaborate conspiracy! It happened, we’re sorry, but stop making us out to be carefully calculating behind your back! I don’t carefully do *anything* as you well know!” Sean paused for a well needed gasp of oxygen. Viggo’s eyes managed to get darker, if that was possible. However, Sean’s rant button was very well pushed in at this point.

“ So you weren’t getting your own back?” Viggo’s voice displayed the sincere doubts he had in this field.

“ Of course I bloody well wasn’t! And what the hell am I supposed to be getting my own back for, exactly? You dumping me?” Sean snorted. “ It was bloody clear you didn’t trust me anyway,”

“ I didn’t trust you? You’re the one who consistently breaks whatever promise he’s just made! You’re like the fucking FBI with all your little investigations! Just once, *just once*, could you actually do what you’re asked to do?” Viggo snapped with the ferocity of a poorly fed guard dog. Sean was taken aback by the raw anger that was being thrown at him.

“ You won’t trust either of us to help you!” he countered angrily. Viggo growled.

” That’s because neither of you can help! I cannot fight this thing if I’m continually concerned about your safety!”

“ You’ve never been concerned about our safety before!” Sean’s voice was reaching levels that neighbours start calling police, but he was too angry to care. Viggo had almost gone white in his anger.

“ That is not true,” such a low, dangerous growl.

“ How do I know it’s not true? You don’t tell me anything, unless I have to force it from you! We were both just here for your amusement!”

There was a silence that seemed to go beyond silence. Sean rewound exactly what he had just said in his mind and blanched slightly. Viggo himself looked as though he had been carved from marble. Even the white tinge to his skin was the right effect. Sean opened his mouth to say something – although, at this present moment in time, something was still to be determined – when Viggo ruined this mini plan. He glared towards the blonde once more, before turning on his heel and disappearing through the door. Seconds later they could hear the front door bang.

Orlando stared at him.

“ What the hell did you do that for?!”

“ I …,” Sean felt weak. “ I don’t know.”

The younger man jumped to his feet and was about to disappear after him when Sean caught hold of his good arm. Orli stared back at him, a stubborn little spark in the back of his eyes.

“ I’ll go,”

“ You say that as though it’s of some comfort to me. Sean, you …,” Orli paused and shook his head slowly. “ I cannot believe you just did that.”

Wretched wasn’t a strong enough word at this point in time. Sean growled to himself, trying to fight the guilt. This, after all, was Viggo they were talking about. He of the leather straps, the collars, the whips that sought out the sensitive skin. He of the slow and dangerous words, being able to emphasise the dangers and coldness in less than three words.

But, over all of this, he was his friend.

“ I’ll go,” he repeated, and his voice was shaky. “ You speak to Dave. Get his opinion on how to handle him,”

“ For god’s sake-,”

“ You got any better ideas?” Sean rounded on him. Orli hesitated. The blonde nodded.

“ Right,” he said.

*

He had half expected Viggo to have completely vanished in this time, but the streets were long and flat and Viggo was still able to be seen making his way down the road. However, he was not hanging about. Completely disregarding any dignity he might have left, Sean started off at a jog, knowing that to sprint would simply leave him panting for breath by the time he reached him. And, with Viggo in this mood, he would like to say something other than ‘arrrgghh!!’.

Not that he any idea on what to say. Goddammnit, how many more failed marriages must he go through before the world worked out that Sean Bean, actor, Blades Supporter and All Round Fuckwit, was completely hopeless at the whole romantic gesture? Words came, certainly, but they were always the wrong words to say. You would have thought after all this time he’d have learnt a little something, but oh no, that would be too easy. A bunch of flowers was the best he had worked out and he really didn’t want to try that with Viggo unless his main desire in life was to walk around missing his front teeth from here on.

Sean raced through all the possibilities he could think of to help the situation. This took him all of two seconds. Obviously there was a bonus to those actors lucky enough to play romantic heroes all the time. They were used to the script. He was normally either the rough n ready hero or the sod who was out to blow up the world, and neither of them tended to be great with the whole prose. Welcome to my secret lair to Take Over the World my dear, can I get you a drink? Yes, I’m mostly crazy and my romantic rose has been genetically modified to blow up should a secret phrase be uttered, but don’t let that put you off…

He growled to himself. Oh, sod this. Since the very first time Viggo had entered his love life… if you could call it that … there’d be nothing but fears and panicking and wondering what the hell was going on. Normally all he had to worry about was what was for dinner, and occasionally remembering bra-sizes correctly at Christmas. As soon as a man turned up, suddenly he was constantly trying to work out what was in someone else’s head and he had enough trouble with his own.

No. His non-thought out rant was right. He shouldn’t have to put up with this. Not constantly trying to please someone. Not constantly worrying that he wasn’t ‘following orders correctly’. Not constantly trying to find a way of sitting that wasn’t going to start private areas aching again. Sean slowed slightly, but his feet seemed to be on automatic pilot, apparently unconcerned that his mind was working faster than it liked at this time of day.

But, whispered the little part of his mind that was a right bastard, didn’t you like pleasing them?

Sean told that little part of his mind to fuck off. He had enough problems without his own mind having a go. Sure, there were parts he liked. Enjoyed even. Having Orli share his bed again was like coming back to cigarettes after a week’s break. You knew it was naughty, that it was bad for you and with a high probability of killing you – messing around with Orli more than the cigarettes there – but god did it feel good. A deep sense of satisfaction mixed with a hell of a lot of lust and desire. The look on the younger man’s face as he came –

No. Change thought. Think about .. er.. little flowers in a field, fluffy bunnies skipping merrily along…

Orlando was happy with Viggo, and Viggo had to be satisfied with Orli. For god’s sake, look what Orli had managed to persuade him to do. No one does that unless it either appeals or they really trust the other person not to screw them over.

And back to trust again.

By this time Sean had slowed even further. Viggo was in front of him, he could see him, but still a good distance away. Sean doubted whether he would hear him even if he shouted. And, throughout the time, he never once looked back.

The blonde stared at the figure doubtfully. He had to do this. He promised Orli he would, and the younger man would be well in his rights to shout, scream and hit him if he just stopped without good reason. Besides which, he knew damn well he couldn’t let the poor boy down again. After all, all he’d done right so far was the occasional fuck. His list of doing things wrong would probably fill up the average library.

But what to say, what to say? Even if he managed to speak, to get words out before Viggo did whatever he was going to do, those cold blue-grey eyes normally managed to rid him of anything logical that was hovering in his mind. Those blue eyes that seemed to look through you to glance at your soul as easily as reading the font headlines of a newspaper. Goddammit, Viggo knew Sean’s perversions better than Sean did himself. Where the hell did that come from? Did he, at some point through their friendship, look at him and decide that yep, that was a man who would enjoy being tied up and punished on a regular basis?

As for the whole gay thing itself, Sean still prayed that this was just correct wishful thinking on their part rather than some gay-radar. Of course it would have been. It would have been dragged into divorce proceedings long before had ‘homosexual’ been metaphorically written on his chest for all to see.

Sean sighed to himself, or at least he would have had he not been out of breath. Okay, Viggo was an unmistakeable bastard. He could be downright cruel. He could find pleasure in making both of his ‘pets’ squirm. So why the hell did he miss him quite so badly?

Bastard. Utter, utter bastard.

Okay, saying that probably wasn’t going to help things either. Fuck.

Of course, whispered his mind again, there was probably a very simple phrase that might assist. Sure, he might not believe you at first-

Sean cut this thought off immediately. Of course Viggo would never believe him. All he would do is make a fool of himself and confirm Viggo’s suspicions that Sean would really try anything to get a screw. There were a few rules about declarations of .. the L word … but doing it straight after a fight only screamed desperation and poor imagination. Would he believe Viggo should the roles be reversed? Of course Viggo had the added bonus of being a poet of course, for whom love was a little easier to phrase. But a suspicious mind was hard to shift.

His speed picked up a little as Viggo crossed a side street, not even bothering to glance for any oncoming cars. Not that there were any; the streets were pretty much deserted, apart from one dark vehicle that was travelling slowly along the same side of the street as Sean was making his way up. People lost again. There had been a little spate of people stopping and asking directions from this area, as though they were all attracted to it like iron fillings to a magnet.

Regardless, the car was still going faster than he was. And that, as it turned out, was a great pity.

First of all Sean wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, his vision not assisted by the pounding of his feet on the pavement, the natural movement of his body as he ran. And then he didn’t believe what he saw, in the manner of characters in the middle of a sci-fi show where the aliens had turned up for the first time. And then he was just simply running, flat out, his breathing hard and fast, his fury providing extra speed to his legs as though it was some type of fuel.

Karl. Fucking Karl again. Could the man not stay away?

Said man seemed not to have seen his approach, although this was obviously simply him not caring. The car, after all, had passed Sean. Sean was hardly difficult to notice, even without the fact that the driver must have been carefully assessing the people on the road before Karl had parked up, got out swiftly and walked over to Viggo with powerful and fast strides. Viggo had stopped completely, looking towards the approaching figure, but Sean wasn’t surprised about this. Viggo left with an anger so pure it would take a hell of a time trying to calm down without physically punching someone. And there Karl was, a perfect target for Viggo’s fury.

What perfect, perfect timing. If Karl wasn’t sure about Viggo’s violent tendencies before, a fist in the mouth certainly would confirm this for him.

Sean picked up speed a little more, ignoring the protest in his legs at this stage. Finally, with the pair no less than twenty foot away, did Karl bother to glance over Viggo’s shoulder at him briefly, before returning his gaze to Viggo. Sean could suddenly hear them a lot better as he slowed down, the wind noise dropping in his ears.

“- so you see it was all a misunderstanding,” There was a faint rapid speed to Karl’s speech as though the man had worked out that he was probably going to get twenty seconds of talk time maximum before Viggo’s patience ran out entirely.

Viggo didn’t move, didn’t speak. Sean dropped his speed again and jogged towards them, slowing to a walk in order to move to Viggo’s side, puffing a little. The older man didn’t bother to look towards him. Karl gave Sean another side glance, as though assessing the blonde’s temper. However, his attention was back on Viggo as the man spoke.

” A misunderstanding,” it was very low in volume, but the words seemed to travel nicely to both Karl and Sean. Sean glanced towards Karl, who was looking a little white around the gills. Shock? Fear? Anger? Who knew. Not Sean, certainly. In fact, he could win awards for it.

“ Yeah. I know this won’t mean much to you, but for what it’s worth I’m sorry,”

Sorry? Sean blinked. Obviously the word would have been somewhere in Karl’s vocabulary, but certainly Sean hadn’t been expecting to hear it and certainly not with it being addressed to Viggo, who was, of course, Evil Bastard of the World in the Karl universe. Viggo seemed less moved by this sudden proposal of treating each other like normal people, and simply stayed still. Obviously taking being less moved literally.

“ Do you have any idea how much trouble and distress you’ve actually caused?” Viggo’s voice was polite. Sean recognised the lull before the storm and straightened his back. After all, Viggo hadn’t actually objected to his presence, although a brief acknowledgement would have been nice. However, Viggo was obviously more concerned about keeping his voice level to Karl. “ You steal personal items from me and then blackmail us to settle your personal desires. You try to turn Orlando against me, accuse me of abusing him, and then I hear you’re also trying to turn Sean here onto your side. You don’t listen to the person you’re trying to save, and I say save extremely loosely, and you don’t even listen to your friends. And now, after all this, I understand you’ve been building up further difficulties in the background. What did you say to these friends of yours, Karl? That I was evil? That I keep Orli as a personal sex slave? That he cries himself to sleep each night?”

Sean couldn’t see Viggo’s expression at this stage but he thought he could probably have a damn good guess about what it looked like. Karl looked a strange mixture between anger and fear. The man shook his head.

” I was drunk at the time and they took it the wrong way,” he started but Viggo held up a hand to quieten him.

“ Exactly how did they take it?”

There was not a small amount of hesitation. Karl looked down the street as though hoping for some sort of interruption, then looked back at Viggo. Sean could see the anger returning.

” You know I didn’t have to come here. I could have just let you found out the hard way,” there was anger in there but there was something else driving it. Fear, embarrassment or guilt? Sean, veteran of many guilt situation, thought it was probably the latter.

“ I know. How did they take it, Karl?” Viggo’s voice was still patient. It was quite amazing how he managed it. There was another hesitation that was worthy of a World Record, then Karl dropped his gaze slightly.

“ I might have emphasised the age gap between you and Orlando a little too much,” he said finally. “ Well, he is young, after all. And-“

“ Please tell me they know he’s over the age of consent,” Viggo broke into this hurried dialogue carefully. There was another hesitation from Karl.

“ Well, yeah, they do, but … well, it might have come in a little late in the conversation. I never said he was a child, Vig. Well, not with that sort of meaning, I swear to God. But….,”

“ But they took it badly at the start, and by that time they had wound themselves up to the extent that they think anything’s possible?” Viggo was beginning to worry Sean with his patience. No one should be able to be told they were a suspected paedophile without having a little of the tension in his voice. Karl glanced at him once but didn’t answer.

“ These were the men who attacked you?” Sean had found his voice and was staring at Viggo in shock. Viggo finally glanced towards him briefly, then returned his gaze onto Karl. Karl noticed the shortness and narrowed his eyes slightly, looking between them.

“ Yes, they were,” Karl confirmed when it was obvious to both of them that Viggo wasn’t answering. “ But I swear they won’t again. I’ve fixed it,”

“ You mean this afternoon at the bar? When you swore you had nothing to do with it?” Sean’s eyes were hard, but not as hard as Viggo’s as he suddenly looked back at him.

“ You went to the bar?” the tension was too obvious in his voice. Sean’s eyes widened slightly, and he resisted the urge to back away. Ah yes, the lack of investigation thing. … shit….

“ Well, I went there with Dave and … it just happened that Karl was there … and … uh,” Sean could see a dead end when he was facing one. Viggo slowly closed his eyes with a pained expression, before glancing towards Karl.

“ They know who Sean is?”

Karl nodded mutely. There was a soft sound from Viggo.

“ Well, that’s that then,” he said almost to himself. Sean suddenly found another hard glare being aimed at him and managed not to cringe automatically.

“ Viggo, I-“ he started, and just didn’t know how to continue. Luckily Viggo wasn’t giving him time to make a speech as he rounded on him. However, his voice was still as low as the one he used with Karl, although Sean could now hear the stress in it.

“ Sean, has it even entered your mind that you might be considered partly responsible for this so called abuse on Orlando?” Viggo scanned his eyes. “ You don’t tend to get people watching in this type of game, not unless you have other people helping you. As far as these men will be concerned, you’re as guilty as I would be,”

Sean hadn’t. He looked back at him, slightly aghast. “ But when I saw them they didn’t want to kill me or attack me or anything. Okay, so they paid a little more attention, but that was it,” However, even as he was speaking, Sean could see it all in his mind’s eye. The attention. The interest. The little spark in the eyes.

Great.

“ I send you away from Orli and you still get yourself in shit. You are incredible, Sean,” sighed Viggo. “ Where’s Dave? You’re not going back to your place alone tonight,”

Karl looked back at Sean in interest. “ Dave’s still at yours?”

“ He should be, yes,” Sean felt a little uncomfortable with the interest. Viggo made a noise in the back of his throat and turned away on his heel to walk back towards the house.

“ We need to discuss this further.”

The other two exchanged glances in confusion, but followed willingly enough. That was the thing about Viggo. When he said follow him, you followed.

*