Seilschaft

Chapter 3: Bergnot
Author: Foofy
Rating; NC17
Summary: The retaliation – WARNING: DARK THEMES

*

The bivouac, or snow cave, had been dug again, and this time Viggo was able to put a little more effort into it. The idea of using the damn thing again was up there with tap-dancing on the hatred list, but they didn’t have many choices. They couldn’t go back up to the hut. They couldn’t continue to the cabin. They were stuck with each other and the snow. On the plus side, at least the going was easier; being able to see a little more than a few feet in front of you always helped a great deal, and the fact that you weren’t freezing to death also assisted dramatically. Time could be taken to consider the finer points in life. And, of course, try to ignore the other parts of life that weren’t so pleasant.

Viggo could feel Sean’s grin on his back through his work. It was like having your own personal Cheshire Cat, except there was no wishing he was going to disappear on you just leaving a grin and a creepy feeling. Sean was obviously biding his time with his revenge, which was a bloody pain. Mind you, he couldn’t afford to have Sean vanish on him even if it was possible. His ankle had died down a little but still screamed in agony whenever any sort of significant weight or tension was put on it, and this wasn’t going to be something that went away overnight with a few tablets of painkiller.

The paddles were finally put down. Well, at least he was being kept warm through all of this. Sean wasn’t helping in the slightest, although this was probably due to inexperience rather than any desire to use slave labour. Or so Viggo hoped. He had given the younger man a couple of side glances as he worked, but of course mountain gear being as it was, it was very difficult to gage exactly what emotional beliefs floated under the surface.

Blast it.

Okay, bad phrase to use in a mountainous area. Fuck him, instead. Much more pleasurable and unlikely to start causing difficulties with avalanches, unless Sean was more vocal than usual.

“ Is it ready?” Sean took a step forward, eying the hole suspiciously. “ Looks different to the other one,”

“ Yes, well the other one was a little hurried,” replied Viggo dryly, carefully getting up onto his feet. Sean grabbed hold of his arm as Viggo wobbled slightly, trying to find his balance. The older man nodded at him. “ Thanks,”

“ No problem,” Sean released him and looked towards the hole again. Now that he felt in charge, Sean’s whole attitude had changed. Gone were the mutters, the sulks, the periods of silence. Now Viggo could almost feel the restraint of the man in front of him. Not that he still couldn’t feel the hatred as well. That wasn’t going away any time soon either.

“ You sure this thing’s not going to collapse on us?” he asked, glancing back at Viggo. Viggo shook his head.

“ Not unless you’re really unlucky,” Viggo watched Sean as he shifted his body through the entrance at the bottom of the snow cave. The sleeping area inside was at a higher level, the majority of it almost entirely covered by the carved snow roof. At least they might have a little more room this time, although what Sean would use it for was another matter entirely.

“ There’s holes in the roof. Isn’t that going to be draughty?” Sean’s voice was muffled by the snow.

” It’s for air circulation. Wouldn’t want you dying on me or anything,” Viggo replied dryly. He glanced up at the sky as he felt the first few flakes of snow settle on him slowly. Ah. Death by Christmas card again. He pulled himself into the bivouac and glanced towards Sean, who was settling himself comfortably. Green eyes looked over the little snow hole again.

” I feel like a hobbit,” he remarked.

“ Well, you don’t look like one. And I doubt whether we’d have found the boots to fit,” This was a surreal conversation. It was as though the arguments had never happened. Sean was almost ridiculously relaxed, although there was something, a little flicker in his eyes, that showed that everything was not as cosy as Sean’s manner suggested.

Viggo sighed and pulled out a chocolate bar, ripping open the packaging with his teeth and staring at the entrance where he could just see the snow settling down. Hopefully this was going to be minor. Please, mountain gods, let this be minor. Even with Sean’s help, getting down the damn thing was going to be agony enough without Nature’s secret traps.

On the second section of chocolate, Viggo suddenly realised that Sean was studying him with all the intensity of a chocolate lover. He paused, teeth about to bite, looking at him. Viggo moved the chocolate bar to one side.

“ Did you want some?” he asked slowly.

“ No, I’m fine. I just like to watch you eat,” Sean smiled at him. Viggo narrowed his eyes at this peculiar fancy, but he was too hungry to start worrying about Sean’s odd tastes. No doubt he was going to see most of them tonight. Chewing carefully, he watched as Sean shifted his position and pulled Viggo’s rucksack towards him. Chocolate bar lowered again.

“ Hey!”

“ First rule, Vig,” Sean’s voice had suddenly completely lost the cheerfulness of before. Now it was cold, level and businesslike. His hands rooted through the side pockets, obviously searching for something. “ Don’t complain about anything. Not the snow, not the temperature, not the rules. Got it?”

“ What are you looking for?” Viggo’s frown had already reached a dramatic proportion. Sean paused as he pulled out some sun cream and looked at it thoughtfully, before tossing it to one side of him.

“ Where’s that camera of yours?” he asked as he searched. Viggo growled to himself, but pulled himself over to the bag and unzipped a side pocket. The camera was pulled out and passed over.

“ There,” Viggo attempted to keep his voice at a suitable level, but it was hard. Sean glanced at it, and checked the remaining pictures. From memory, there were at least seven left.

Brilliant. Well done his imagination for thinking of it in the first place.

“ Thanks,” Sean commented, still studying the camera. He held it up to his eye as though checking the viewfinder, before resting it on his thigh with a careful display of balance. Viggo was aware of one of the most calculating looks he had ever seen being aimed at him. Oh, Sean was putting a lot of thought into this one. A lot of thought indeed.

“ I assume this is some sort of petty revenge,” Viggo said coldly. Sean raised an eyebrow and shrugged lightly.

“ You can probably call it a lot of things,” he replied. “ Why, are you *complaining*?” Soft peat voice. Viggo ground his teeth at the memory of rule one and kept his tongue under control. Sean looked almost disappointed that Viggo remembered, and simply shrugged again. The calculating look crossed his face again.

“ Tonight we do as I say. My rules, my say so, my *games*. And won’t that be fun?” A cold smile at the corner of his mouth. Viggo was suddenly treated to the evil, cold, psychotic look that entered many of Sean’s villain expressions at some point or other, and resisted the urge to shiver. Shivering suggested that he was in some way afraid of him, and that was .. well, that really shouldn’t be admitted to.

“ Thought you didn’t do this sort of thing. You’re straight, remember?” Viggo growled after a pause.

“ I’m hurt. You have no idea what I want to do. I could merely wish to sing camping songs around a fire. Or a torch, in this case,” Sean seemed completely at ease with Viggo’s anger. Viggo looked at him steadily.

“ And do you?” his voice held no secret about how doubtful he was about this. Sean snorted.

” Of course not. But that doesn’t mean you have to assume anything,” Amused green eyes met his own. “ Probably safest if you don’t.” he added softly.

“ You haven’t answered my question, Sean. Thought you were straight,” Viggo watched him carefully. Sean had quite an imagination on him. The blonde yawned and leaned back on his arms, watching him.

“ Second rule, Vig. No questions.”

Viggo gave an annoyed snort of anger, and was about to turn away when Sean grabbed hold of his arm. The camera, which had been so carefully balanced on Sean’s leg, finally fell off where it bounced onto Sean’s scarf, lying innocently. Viggo was aware of angry and intense eyes inches away from his own.

” I’ll let you into a little secret, Viggo,” Sean stared at him, and there was no trace of the old friend, the old mate down the pub. God, there wasn’t even any trace of humanity in that glare. “ I’m not that happy. In fact, I’m fucking furious, but I shouldn’t let that get me down, should I? No. Because I’ve got you here to make it all better,” Sean’s voice lowered a little further, his eyes scanning Viggo’s. “ Because you will make it better, believe me. All the concerns of these past few days will just fly past us, won’t they Vig?”

Viggo was searching for a response that wasn’t going to break rule two.

“ You’re only going to make it worse, you know,” he said quietly. Sean stared at him incredulously, and then let out a roar of laughter, dropping his hold.

“ Make it worse? Make it worse! You force me to do whatever you want for an evening on pain of death – yes, that’s what it was, Vig, you threatened to leave me up there – you rape me, you force me on you, and then you have the gall to say *anything* I do will only make it worse?!”

“ You’d already accused me of forcing you! You said our friendship was over! What the hell difference did it make to you, Sean? Unless, of course, you’ve been over exaggerating your claims!” Viggo snapped back, angry defiance making a welcome comeback. Sean laughed again although his eyes showed pure murder.

“ Think that broke rule two, Viggo,” he said softly. Green cat’s eyes stared at him in appraisal.

“ Oh, fuck rule two!” growled Viggo, then gasped as Sean’s hand grabbed hold of his arm again, harder, tighter. If a padded jacket hadn’t separated his skin from Sean’s grasp, Viggo could recognise the fact that he would be looking at a new experience in pain at the moment.

“ Nah, we don’t want to do that, do we,” Polite. Almost evil. Sean ran his tongue across his bottom lip before continuing. “ But I think you might partly have had a damn good idea there,” Sean’s eyes lazily ran down Viggo’s body before returning to his eyes. “ Think the jacket needs to come off, don’t you?”

“ Sean-“

“ Take off the jacket, Vig,” It wasn’t necessarily loud. The force of the emphasis however, could have caused landslides although thankfully sudden white death failed to come to them. Viggo scowled at him and shrugged off the jacket, lying it on the floor. He had a sneaking suspicion he was probably going to need it. Sean noticed the careful positioning and laughed softly to himself again. Viggo was glad to know someone was enjoying himself.

“ What sort of pervert d’you take me for?” Sean asked finally.

” A persistent one,” growled Viggo. “ Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

Sean raised an eyebrow and looked thoughtful, rubbing his chin with a hand and briefly studying the ceiling.

“ I seem to remember making that sort of sentence before myself. And, you know,” the hand dropped. “ I seem to remember you ignoring me. In fact, I seem to remember you making the whole thing last a hell of a long time, and trust me, even a minute is a hell of a long time up here, Vig. I also seem to remember you insisting I beg and plead for your mercy,” Sean scratched his arm idly. “ Good times, eh?”

“ So, what? You’re going to talk at me?” Viggo snorted. There was a flicker of irritation that crossed Sean’s face before the younger man managed to control himself.

” Not quite,” he smiled grimly.

Viggo studied him but remained quiet. Sean nodded and slid his eyes to the remainder of Viggo’s clothes. The older man stiffened his back.

“ Take it all off,”

“ It’s bloody freezing, Sean,” warned Viggo, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. Sean shrugged.

” Yes, it is somewhat nippy isn’t it? And was that a breach of rule one I just heard?” green eyes scanned Viggo’s. Viggo sighed angrily through his teeth.

” I was merely commenting,”

” Well, don’t,” Sean’s voice was sharper suddenly, more predatory. “ Get them off.”

With steady reluctance, Viggo carefully removed his kit, keeping his eyes away from Sean. He didn’t know whether he would be able to look at him without wanting to hit him, but the way things were going it was likely to be a slim possibility. And, when it was all said and done, there was fuck all he could do about it anyway. He was as vulnerable as Sean had been, although at least it would take more than simply whispering about heights in his ear before he would start allowing the fear to take over.

By the look in Sean’s eyes, however, the blonde might have a slight idea on how to tackle that. Viggo sincerely hoped he was misreading him.

With willpower of steel Viggo remained still as Sean looked at him, that same half smile playing on his face as though Sean hadn’t actually expected the instruction to work. Of course Sean’s hand had already drifted towards the camera. Viggo sighed inwardly as Sean idly fiddled with the camera as though completely unaware that there was a naked man freezing himself nearby.

“ Sean,” growled Viggo in warning after what he felt was far too long. His camera was also not a toy to be messed about with. An innocent expression was turned to him, Sean deliberately stretching out the tension in the air.

“ Sorry? Did you want something?” Sean’s eyes drifted to Viggo’s chest again then back again. “ I think you know the positions I might like,”

“ Can’t think of anything original?” sighed Viggo, then frowned at him as Sean’s eyes narrowed. “ That was a rhetorical question rather than a breach, as you damn well know.”

Sean’s fingers drummed on the top of the camera idly before the blonde shrugged. “ Fine. Get on with it,”

And yes, that was the plan. Had been the plan ever since Viggo had accepted the fact that a great escape wasn’t going to happen. As he settled himself on his hands and knees, his only real sign of relief was the fact that Sean seemed to be willing just to do a pay back, tit for tat. Nothing Viggo hadn’t done before. Nothing he would have refused to do with Sean under other conditions either, thinking about it. But such was life. Take what you want and pay for it.

However, Sean was not that easy. The camera was lowered again.

“ You know, I think you’re right,” mused Sean idly. Viggo cursed himself and began to sit down, when Sean’s growl stopped him. And it was a growl as well. Not a ‘halt’, or a ‘stop’ or a ‘don’t you care’. A full on growl, as though they were back to being caveman, or at least the caveman’s dog. He glanced towards him cautiously.

Sean slid his body towards Viggo until his legs were touching Viggo’s almost entirely along their full length. Viggo could feel the warmth of the other man, and pressed against him, hoping for any additional warmth whatsoever. He could already feel a chill in his bones and they hadn’t even taken a fucking photograph yet. Any more of this and ankle or no, Sean was going to die.

Painfully.

Viggo’s mind was still on exactly what evil tortures he was planning to do to Sean if he had the chance when the hand on his upper thigh suddenly caught his attention. Sean scooted forward, his hand still pressed on Viggo’s rapidly cooling skin, closing the limited distance between them.

“ You are cold,” Sean’s voice was almost at a wonder. Viggo swore inwardly again. What the fuck did the man think being naked in the snow was going to do to you? It was normally cool inside the average house, for god’s sake. Nails raked across sensitive skin as Sean moved around him, smoothing his hands over Viggo’s body as though assessing him through touch alone.

“ Much as I would like to increase my time just spending time with you,” the voice had progressed to a dry sarcasm, coming from directly behind him. Viggo continued to silently plot the tortures grimly as Sean stroked his hip with a hand tenderly. “ I suppose we’d better just move onto the main course. Don’t you think, Viggo?”

Viggo had gotten onto castration in his mind and didn’t answer. Next came the thumbscrews, he thought with not a small amount of satisfaction. There was a hard slap on his right buttock that stung his attention from these more pleasant thoughts.

” What?”

” I *said*,” continued Sean with exaggerated patience. “ what do you think about moving onto the main course?”

“ You’ve hardly done a starter yet-“ Viggo had to suddenly clamp down on his yell as Sean pushed into him, desperately trying to find a thought that wasn’t focused on the burning ripping as the blonde forced his way through unprepared muscles. Did the man have an allergy to lubrication or something? Or, in fact, any foreplay at all for that matter. And when the hell did he manage to to drag down his pants bottoms too? Viggo’s hands curled in his jacket so tightly that he had to concentration on relaxing them slightly, trying to make sure he didn’t rip it.

“ Sean, you’re *hurting*,” he half growled, half gasped. Sean slammed into him a little harder.

“ Deal with it,” And the amusement had gone entirely. Suddenly the anger was all to the surface, and Viggo knew damn well there wasn’t any way of getting away from this, no possible way of persuading Sean to have a quiet talk and a friendly fumble. There was a possible way of getting out of this with his arse still in one piece, but that was so unpleasant a thought that he could barely focus on it.

Five more thrusts from Sean and Viggo was more prepared to consider it before blood started to ooze down his legs. It felt as though the man was trying to rip him to pieces from the inside out.

Viggo closed his eyes and tried to persuade himself that it would be worth it. Sean slammed in again. Viggo bit back a sob. His mind was more open to persuasion.

“ Sean!” the decision had been made. He all but howled out the younger man’s name, having to find inner strength to stop from collapsing as Sean paused, his length buried deep inside Viggo. Viggo attempted to find his breath, panting harshly, feeling his heart thud so very fast in his chest.

” What?” There was still an element of suspicion in Sean’s voice as though the man was expecting one last trick. Viggo took another gulp of air.

“ Please. A little slower. A little gentler,” Was that pitched right enough? A little bit of humility, a bit of fear and a whole lot of desperation. There was a large element of pain in there too, but that was already present. “ I’m begging you,”

“ You’re begging me?” Sean repeated slowly, with obvious dubiousness. However, despite his tone, despite everything, he didn’t move. It was as though someone had switched him off at the mains. Viggo didn’t bother to hide the further whimper, and added a sob-moan for good measure. Everyone had a weakness. Sean had morals, he knew he had. He’d seen Sean help people, be thoughtful and sweet natured. It was definitely in him somewhere. All he had to do was dig underneath the layer of anger and appeal to it.

Sean’s fingers drummed on Viggo’s backside impatiently, as though their owner was in two minds in what to do next. Obviously the script hadn’t had the begging part in it yet.

“ You know,” he said slowly. “ I’m not sure that’s enough,”

Not enough? Did the man want blood? Viggo resisted the urge to growl angrily, although the risk to his jacket suddenly increased tenfold as his fists clenched a little tighter. Sean gave a little laugh.

” You know, you get any tenser and I’m not going to be able to get back out again,”

“ What else did you want?” asked Viggo dully. Sean made a tutting noise.

“ Rule two,” he reminded him.

“ For fuck’s sake!” Viggo exploded, then suddenly realised that Sean was patting him in a comradely fashion, if you could ignore the fact that his cock was shoved deep inside him. Sean sighed.

” You know, if I didn’t know you so well, I could have thought you were actually begging. But, since I do know you,” Sean leant across him and lowered his voice. “ you’re going to have to try harder.”

Viggo almost winced at the thought of Sean moving again. “ Can you believe you’re hurting me?” he pleaded, and that was an honest plea, heart felt and bloody painful. Sean sighed.

“ Yes. That I can believe,” his voice was reluctant and quiet.

Well, at least he wasn’t a complete idiot. However, there were definitely elements of idiocy in Sean that Viggo wasn’t sure about. Viggo waited for Sean’s movement gingerly. There was a long, long pause.

” Can you believe you were hurting me last night? I didn’t see you stop,” Sean’s soft voice was beginning to get a hard edge. “ You just kept going, then essentially rubbed my nose in it. Give me one good reason why I should even listen to this,”

“ I did try to use some sort of lubrication. You were aroused, for god’s sake. You liked it,” protested Viggo.

Viggo had to bit back another yell as Sean moved deliberately backwards and slammed into him again. Sean leant over Viggo’s back, the warmth of his body the only welcome aspect of the whole damn thing. Viggo tried to regain his breath as the blonde made a thoughtful noise near his ear.

” You know,” Sean said softly, but Viggo could hear the strength in it, the anger. “ I have a sneaking suspicion that was the wrong answer.”

Viggo groaned again as Sean moved inside him. “ Please,” his voice was ragged, his hope limited as he felt Sean stop. This was going to go on for ages. Sean would consider the matter thoughtfully, then thrust again, lengthening the whole business and probably making it hurt even more. Viggo could see it now.

” If you’d said you were hurting, I would have stopped,” Viggo tried, and he prayed he would have. If it hadn’t been for Sean’s constant whining, he would have done things so much different. Fuck, if it hadn’t been for Sean’s accusations and free for all loving, nothing would have happened at all. They would have been back home sharing a drink and arranging the next time they would meet up for a social occasion. Now all they had to look forward to was the silences and glares at the film premiers; Boromir’s scenes were already filmed, although there had been talk that Sean was being brought back for an extra ‘flashback’ scene at Minas Tirith with Dave Wenham and John Noble.

Sean was quiet. Viggo took the opportunity to try and get his ransacked body in better order, but god it was difficult. He didn’t feel that cold any more, but his body obviously had other ideas; he could feel himself shivering lightly. No matter what he did, or how hard he clenched his body, it didn’t stop.

Shit.

“ Sean, I’m getting really cold,” Viggo said quietly. “ And that’s not an accusation or a complaint or anything else. It’s a fact, and a fact I’d really like you to consider if that’s okay,”

“ If that’s okay?” echoed Sean. There was a soft chuckle. “ I see.”

Viggo wasn’t sure whether Sean would do anything. Or, in fact, even care. It was only discomfort at this stage, and both of them knew it. However, Sean’s weight shifted off him. Viggo gasped as Sean slid out of him, not particularly carefully but then again at this stage he didn’t really care. Sean was out of him. The stabbing pain of the thrusts was over. Or at least for five minutes, anyway.

There was a strange click sound, which took Viggo a moment to place. The sound of the camera clicking. He had probably missed the flash due to his eyes being closed in relief at the time.

“ Get into your sleeping bag,” Sean instructed briskly. Viggo didn’t pause for this instruction. Ah, blessed warmth, blessed material. Viggo didn’t bother to do up the zip, knowing that this would be for a limited time only, like the CDs you saw advertised on television.

The lack of zip was obviously noted by Sean’s odd little smile.

“ So, you are willing then,” he said finally. “ I thought as much,” Viggo glanced at him, slightly confused but in all honesty not really caring.

“ Willing about what, exactly?” he thought about it a little more, and a frown briefly creased his brow. “ What, about this? Fuck off!”

“ I thought you liked it this way. Quick, fast,” Sean’s eyes found his. “ rough,” he added softly. “ I have to confess, I hadn’t put you down for one of those freaks. Amusingly enough, I thought you were all sweetness and light. How cute is that?”

“ Well, if it helps I hadn’t put you down for the sort of person who’d turn on a friend,” countered Viggo, annoyed. Sean raised an eyebrow.

“ And I deserved the sort of treatment you dished out to me, did I? Even if what you said was true, that’s a bloody large leap of logic there, *Viggo*,” Viggo’s name was emphasised sarcastically. Sean shook his head and looked at the camera idly. “ Now, enough talking. You’re boring me,”

“ Heaven forbid,” muttered Viggo to himself.

Green eyes surveyed him in faint interest.

” Warmer yet?” came the enquiry. And no, as it happened. Viggo’s bones were still complaining at him. But that really wasn’t something to start admitting to Sean, just in case he wanted to use it against him. Viggo simply allowed himself a hard and sullen stare towards Sean, who entirely ignored it as Viggo knew he would. The blonde simply pushed his own sleeping bag next to where Viggo lay and sat down, his eyes fixed on Viggo in what could only be considered hunger.

Unless you were feeling paranoid, that was. If you were paranoid, you could also see the glimpses of evil amusement in the background.

Viggo resisted a shiver, and simply looked back at him. His arse was killing him but the aching and stinging was shoved to the rear of his mind with a mental push the size of the Empire State building. He was going to be sitting funny for the next three thousand years, he could see it now.

“ Tell me when you feel ready to go again,” purred Sean, his eyes gleaming like a cat’s would when it spied a mouse. Viggo had to resist another shiver and tried a pitiful look on Sean. By the fact that Sean’s frown suddenly deepened, apparently he was having none of it.

Okay. Time for Plan B.

“ Sean,” Viggo deliberately kept his voice neutral, trying to hide from him exactly how much he was pinning his hopes on this. “ I could pleasure you a different way,”

An eyebrow raised as though in query. Encouraged, Viggo pressed on.

“ I could do everything. You wouldn’t need to have to move, or get cold, or anything.” Viggo scanned the green eyes in front of him. “ Anything you wanted,”

“ Anything?” queried Sean after a noticeable pause. Viggo nodded.

“ Anything,” he confirmed.

There was a long pause as the blonde studied him. Viggo was quite happy to let Sean take as long as he wanted. The night could only last so long, and the more time Sean took to consider matters was the less time spent actually doing his threats and taking his ‘revenge’. Viggo still didn’t like the look of Sean’s expression however. That was still dark as a storm in a summer sky, and just as lethal.

“ So that’s it, is it?” Sean asked finally. “ You take what you want, then manage to escape the penalty?”

Viggo shook his head. “ It’s not like that, Sean-“

“ It’s exactly like that,” The deadly nature had returned to Sean’s voice, his voice sharp and clipped. “ Or did you believe that last night was an enjoyable walk in the park for me? Did you expect me to enjoy it?”

“ It’s hardly-“ Viggo began again but he was obviously not destined to finish a sentence as Sean leant forward again, his green eyes blazing with a power that Viggo hadn’t even considered.

“ *Did you expect me to enjoy it?*” he snapped. Viggo stilled, simply watching him. However, Sean wasn’t backing down. His eyes were fixed on the older man as though watching a poisonous snake move closer.

“ You might have done,” he said quietly. “ I didn’t mean to hurt you, Sean,”

“ Yeah? So what was your aim then? To use me as much as possible while you still had the chance?” Obviously something else had managed to grab hold of Sean’s temperament whilst Viggo hadn’t been looking. Intense concentration was written across Sean’s expression, mixed with .. what, fear? Whatever it was, Viggo could do with it off his case. It simply spoke of problems.

“ I was angry with you. I just struck out,”

Sean stared at him incredulously. “ Struck out? A normal person would simply grab the other side and beat seven types of shit out of them, but oh no, not you. You have to use your fucking artistic temperament and force them to do things they never wished to do and THEN,” he raised his voice as Viggo opened his mouth to speak angrily. “ THEN you have the nerve to say it wasn’t calculated! You *normally* take a belt to people, Viggo?”

“ Not commonly, no,” Viggo managed to bite back his retort, realising that Sean was deadly serious and definitely upset. But not with fear, oh no. There was something else in that look, just as upset but certainly not stopping him from coming closer to Viggo. His physical safety, apparently, was okay. It was just his mental one that seemed to have been whipped.

“ So it was just me, was it? Lucky me?” Sean’s eyes looked back at the sleeping bag with a calculating look of his own. Viggo resisted the urge to curl up and simply returned Sean’s gaze. It was like a dangerous animal. Never let them know you’re nervous. And besides which, he doubted whether his anger would let him escape its hold.

“ In case it escaped your notice, you took me without any preparation or lubrication not once but *twice* in the past few days,” A growl of his own. “ Where’s that placed in your ‘usual’ scheme of revenge, eh? You started first, Sean,”

“ And I intend to finish it, Viggo,” spat back Sean. “ And, in case you’ve forgotten, this is *my* time. You want to get down that mountain, Vig? You want my help? Then you do exactly what I tell you *immediately*,”

“ And what, exactly, do you want me to do?” Viggo felt suddenly weary. His foot still throbbed, but it had been throbbing for so long that it was more a background agony. His bones were beginning to warm up, and of course this meant that the nerves were complaining about the change in temperature. And there was Sean, looking angry but uncertain, as though knowing what he wanted but not having the faintest idea of how to get there. All theory, no practical skills. Typical.

“ How many other men have you done that to?” Sean was back to the questions as though to hide his own lack of knowledge. Viggo frowned at him.

“ Well… ,” he thought about it. Well, there had been a few times where he had done some of the things, taken a few steps up the bondage path, but the few men he had been with had been happy to take it only a short distance, liking pain but only if it didn’t hurt too much. Dominating someone to the extent that he had wanted to take Sean, well…

Viggo shrugged. “ Not many,” he lied. He couldn’t think of one.

Sean also seemed less convinced of this and gave a snort. “ Yeah? Funny that. Perhaps it’s time you had a little of your own medicine, eh?”

Blue eyes suddenly narrowed further. “ Exactly what does that mean, Sean?” His lower regions decided to let him know exactly how ransacked they were feeling at this point in time. God, he couldn’t cope with another ‘session’. Not if he wanted to sit down in the next century.

Obviously Sean wasn’t sure himself, but that didn’t mean anything. Sean had imagination. Sean had muscle. There was certainly enough light left for time to do anything that the blonde wished to do, and hell, he was sure to think of something.

Not unless Viggo gave him some suggestions first.

“ Do you promise if I do as you want you’ll help me down?” he tried to keep his voice as angry as he could.

“ I hardly think you’re in the position to start making demands, Viggo,” Sean’s voice was deadly but curious, as Viggo was aiming for. Viggo frowned harder and looked away.

“ I’ll do as you want. Just get on with it,” he growled. There was an amused laugh.

” Ah, Viggo. How stupid do you think I am?” Genuine amusement. “ I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to get me thinking that something mild is a punishment for you. And it won’t work. For fuck’s sake, you enjoy this sort of thing, don’t you,”

Viggo stared back at him in honest outrage. “ Enjoy it? Fuck you, Sean. I can think of much better things to be doing with my time, and much nicer people to be doing it to!” he exploded.

“ Like Orlando?” Sean pressed. Viggo stared at him.

” Orlando? How did he get into this?”

“ Come on, don’t be stupid. I know you’re fucking him.” Sean laughed again. “ The way he’s always tagging around you. You two kiss far too much, you know that?”

“ He was being affectionate!” snapped Viggo.

“ I’m affectionate to my friends. I don’t try and get my tongue down their throats,” Sean shrugged.

“ Sean, get this through your thick skull. I am *NOT* fucking Orli. Or anyone else on the set for that matter. You stupid bastard-“

And then it was time to stop as Sean punched him. By the slightly stunned expression on Sean’s face, apparently this was not entirely planned, but when the world was spinning slightly it didn’t tend to matter. Viggo shook his head and focused back on Sean who was watching him suspiciously.

” You’re really not getting this whole punishment aspect, are you?” Sean shook his head and sighed, leaning forward as though discussing a secret. “ I’m in control here. Me. Not you. Me. Unless you want me to leave. I can do. Just say the word,”

Viggo watched him for a moment, then shook his head. “ No,” he said quietly.

“ No?” Sean had a gleam of amusement in his eyes. “ Fine. Get out of that sleeping bag of yours. Time to work,”

There was a long, long pause. Viggo could already feel the cold air hit him, and shivered accordingly. Reluctantly, he moved out, crouching on his knees. Sean’s eyes fell on him again as though still wondering what to do. And Viggo really, really hoped he would make up his mind soon.

“ Turn around,” Sean ordered. Viggo sighed inwardly, and obeyed this order like a good little slave. Suddenly not being able to see Sean caused his paranoia to make a mighty leap back into his conscious. A hand on his smooth back didn’t help matters, a finger tracing down his backbone.

“ Why didn’t you beat me?” Sean asked softly.

“ I didn’t need to,” growled Viggo.

“ No?” pressed Sean. “ Did you want to? You didn’t enjoy having me at your mercy..?” his voice had moved into the purr, soft, seductive, and sounding like it came from an animal that enjoyed playing with its helpless prey before killing it.

“ Of course I wanted to,” muttered Viggo. “ you were being an idiot. You still *are* being an idiot,”

There was a weary sigh from Sean. And then just burning pain.

*

In the end Sean hadn’t done much. He hadn’t needed to, Viggo made sure of that. At the first blow from the item Sean had discovered in his bag Viggo had done everything in his power to speed up this little encounter of what felt like one of the thicker ropes in the pack against his back.

The key was punishment. This, apparently, was a big thing in Sean’s To-Do-List, and Viggo played on this as much as possible. Nothing was held back in the world of apology. Nothing was needed to be held back either for that matter. Sean had a damn strong arm on him, and after the third strike Viggo was prepared to apologise for anything and everything, even the weather, the steepness of the mountain, the carpet colour in the cabin, *anything*.

And what made it worse was the feeling that cold green eyes were resting on him. Sean had a smirk that often found its way into his daily life, and hell, Viggo could really feel its presence on his back tonight.

After a while, Sean had demanded some type of satisfaction from him, as Viggo had known he would.

Every trick he knew, every lick, every suck, had been played. Not that this wasn’t with a lot of caution. Sean had stiffened his muscles on a few occasions, the blonde’s own paranoia making itself known. However, he had soon realised that Viggo had given up any hope of trying to get out of this. All it was now was to make it as painless as possible.

Viggo pushed to the back of his mind the fact that under other circumstances these actions would have been incredibly enjoyable. Don’t think about that. Just do it. Just lick and caress and do whatever breathy instruction was thrown at him without question. Get through the night.

And he did.

The next morning and additional agonies had re-emerged to scream at him. His ankle. Once they had gotten on their way, the going had been tough. Viggo had been careful not to groan, not to show too much of the pain he was currently going through, but goddamnit was the pain persistent. His ankle had been bound as much as he had dared and it was offering a little more support, but was hardly resembling anything like normality. Sean had had to help him along, and he did that with a look of irritation, as though this was all put on to spite him.

On the other hand he was still there. He could easily not have been. Viggo had kept quiet about his fear that Sean would just pack up and vanish in the early morning, his revenge already obtained. He hadn’t thought it likely, but hell, what was likely in these days of rough sexual play and forced lovemaking? If anyone had told him he’d have done what he’d found himself doing, he would have either laughed at them or been insulted. Sure, he’d been known to like that sort of thing but in the limits of a sexual relationship.

A *safe* sexual relationship too, where avalanches were simply a strong description of feeling rather than sounded in the late of the night. Where your partner didn’t look as though their main desire in life was to gut you slowly.

Mind you, would it have felt quite so good had Sean fluttered his eyelashes and gave in to whatever Viggo desired? He doubted it. On the other hand, he doubted whether he would be counting quite so many bruises or be walking slightly stiffer than normal either.

Sean was definitely getting impatient.

” For fuck’s sake, Viggo!” he snapped, pronouncing it ‘fook’ in his annoyance. “ It’s hardly a difficult route back. We’ve got through the main problems, stop messing around!”

But had they? Viggo had found himself growing ever more uneasy about their path. The snowfall seemed to be light, but there were several areas that he had seen that should have been easy but hadn’t. The fresh snow, so white, so innocent, hid the few monsters that were left effortlessly. Sean’s haste was not improving his perception.

“ Sean, slow down,” They were approaching one of the last crevasses, a large, wide one that had caused little problem when they had started. Now it looked sly and malevolent, a jackal hiding in the undergrowth to spring out and attack.

Just a little over melodramatic there. For fuck’s sake, get a grip. On Sean, preferably.

Sean stared back at him, registering the fact that Viggo’s hand on him was dragging him back even harder. “ Slow down? *Slow down?* We’ve been nothing but slow since we started!”

However, Viggo was relentless. Sean narrowed his eyes as though honestly considering fighting himself out of Viggo’s hold, then looked back at the snow bridge in front of them. A deep abyss was at one side of it, the blues and green seeping away to the blacks, the depths. An icy coffin fit for a king. Viggo looked at the snow bridge and stopped. Sean was not happy.

” What the bloody hell is the matter with you now?” Obviously Sean’s patience was on a holiday at the moment. “ Scared?” There was a snort of laughter.

“ I don’t like the look of the bridge,” replied Viggo steadily. Sean looked at him, then looked at the bridge. Viggo could almost see the thoughts in Sean’s mind; it was there. It was white. And more importantly, it was the one they crossed easily enough on the way up. Viggo knew that Sean hadn’t heard the soft thud of small avalanches last night, had merely stirred and muttered something when Viggo had sat up in shock and fear. And even if he had, Viggo could hear the objections. Miles away. Wouldn’t affect us.

It was always impressive how the closeness of warmth and safety ruins the best of your caution. It was though people assumed the mountain wouldn’t dream of doing anything when you were so close. After all, it wasn’t *fair*.

However, Sean was proving himself less of an idiot with each moment. He took another look at the snow bridge, and then back again, irritation showing clearly on his face but at least he wasn’t moving out any further.

” You’re really dragging this out, aren’t you Vig?” his voice was bitter. “ So what do you want to do now? Just wait here until you sense it’s safe?”

“ I don’t want to belay you, Sean. My ankle .. it probably wouldn’t help hold you should you drop,” Viggo noticed the sudden sick expression on Sean’s face as the word drop was used. “ There was another route down just a little way back. Just a bit of abseiling, then it’s done. I know you’re not that fond of them, but at least it’ll be secure,”

Sean stared at him for a moment or two, simply considering it. Finally, and with a sigh that spoke of impatience, he nodded.

” Fine. Whatever. Let’s just get this over with and get going, okay?”

Viggo couldn’t agree more with him.

*

They had parted company again nearer the abseiling point. Viggo wasn’t entirely unhappy to see the back of the blonde, despite the additional risk involved. The way was certainly smoother, and even Sean was getting to the point where the drops no longer caused him to recoil from the edges. Confidences had returned. The ankle was warming up and was simply threatening severe pain as soon as the exercise finished, although the steady background ache was still present, as though giving him company in the lonely mountains.

By the time Viggo had hobbled to a suitable spot, it was clear that Sean was already working his way down. The familiar rope was secured to a rock on the ridge, the rope moving as though alive, indicating the shifting weight that was Sean. Not that Viggo could see the bastard, mind you. He might not be terrified of heights like Sean, but it was another thing to balance on the edge trying to look down the damn thing.

Nope, that’s what you had equipment for. The belt was on, suitable cracks were located for the nuts, and the carabiner was soon attached. Viggo idly tested the strength with his weight, finding it suitable for his needs.

Sean was making steady progress, using that one rope that normally acted for the pair of them. However, tensions being as they were, Viggo had decided not to press the matter. Better than the grumpy sod that was Sean disappear out the way. After all, there was only a short distance between the foot of this wall and the cabin, ah, the warm, *cosy* cabin. The rope was tied around the rock-nose firmly, the rope occasionally making little twitches as Sean abseiled his way down.

Little twitches… Viggo frowned and stared a little harder. Okay, the rope was supposed to be moving slightly. The rock itself, however, was certainly not supposed to get into the act. In fact, it wasn’t supposed to be loose at all. Now that he was focused on it he could hear the little crunches that suggested that the rock was slowly but surely being dragged towards the edge, each movement steadily drawing the rock to the drop like honey drew flies.

Crunch. Roll. Jerk. Crumble. The boulder moved steadily onwards, called by the lure of the deep.

Sean’s fear of heights was suddenly going to take on a whole new meaning.

Viggo didn’t have time to consider it. Grabbing hold of two carabiners, knowing that his window of opportunity was almost too small to consider, Viggo attached the first to Sean’s rope and the second to his own with hands that almost felt as though they belonged to someone else. Come on, come on, get on with it-

It was secure. Finally, thankfully, it was secure on his belt, allowing him to take the strain off the boulder and onto his own body, much to said body’s disgust. However…

That was it, Viggo thought to himself grimly. If I had any say in this, the man will be on a diet from now.

Sean wasn’t just heavy, he was *fucking* heavy, not assisted by the fact that he had gained extra muscle weight with all the fighting and training. And it wasn’t just difficult to keep on the cliff face, it was *fucking* difficult. Viggo found himself hanging on with more grim determination than he had ever used in his life. His ankle screamed at him. His body screamed at him. His head was screaming at him for making such a fucking decision – yes, let’s try and save the man who hated him, why not – Viggo desperately trying not to focus on the fact that if his own protection failed, Sean’s body weight would just pluck him off the cliff face like ridding a body of a well fed leech. Probably with the same amount of blood being splattered everywhere as well.

Idiot, fucker, asshole-

His teeth gritted, his muscles straining, his ankle promising long term damage although this was probably just a threat, Viggo clung on harder and tried to back away from that hungry edge that promised a world of entertainment for a few brief and peaceful seconds. His fingers were beginning to feel as though they were about to be ripped off from his hands, which was a pleasant thought indeed.

Stupid fucking idiot, why the hell hadn’t he *checked* before using the fucking boulder-?

And now muscles were screaming at him. He could almost feel the inevitable pull of the rope towards the edge, slowly teasing his resistance. *Don’t worry*, whispered the mountain. * One drop and it’s all over. Everything.*

Viggo felt his heart race in his chest, the sweat build on his body. His breath was no longer controlled, just a desperate race for oxygen. Fucking hell, he wasn’t going to make this, and it was too late, far too late, to try anything else.

And then suddenly the weight lifted.

It took Viggo a few moments to work out what had happened. Then it cleared in his mind; Sean was down. He was safe. No messy death for him, or at least not in the next few seconds anyway, and it wasn’t going to weigh on Viggo’s conscience for the rest of eternity. Viggo gave a sigh of relief and simply took the time to unhook himself and watch Sean at the bottom, his body still screaming its agony towards him in so many places it was hard to locate them all.

Said man had been standing around, looking up at him. Finally, and with obvious annoyance, Sean turned and started to pad towards the cabins which they could both see clearly in the distance, the smoke rising from the chimneys in a manner that spoke of warmth and comfort. Viggo’s ankle called out for a hot bath. Mind you, the ankle had been calling out a lot recently, mostly rude words.

Viggo watched the little figure pad off for a few moments. He didn’t blame him, really. The last stretch was extremely easy and hell, Viggo was much more experienced than he was. If Viggo fell, there wasn’t much Sean would have been able to do anyway apart from possibly pick up the pieces. And there were clips to ensure he didn’t end up decorating the snow with his blood, after all. There was no point in falling at the last fence in order to get to a hot bath quicker.

Before he continued down, Viggo paused to take a shot of the rock. He didn’t know entirely why he bothered. It wasn’t a particularly ascetically pleasing rock by any means, but the angle of the shot, coupled with the stark beauty of the mountains behind, seemed to speak of the hidden dangers of the mountains. This was probably aided by the fact that the damn thing almost killed one of his best friends – no, scratch that, one of his *ex*-best friends – but even without this knowledge the damn thing almost looked creepy.

And ten minutes later, he was down. Ten long minutes. Now that the excitement was over his ankle was beginning to freeze up on him, and he had to readjust his line every few feet, or so it seemed. He almost didn’t believe the solidness of the ground when he finally stood on it, stilling his movements as though expecting the damn thing to crumble and vanish, as though a mirage on his whole being. However, the floor remained a floor. Physics did not desert him at this late stage, and he was able, finally, to stumble back to the cabin.

Thank god they had separate rooms.

TBC