Smack the Dog

Smack the Dog Act III: Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing
Author: Foofy
Rating: NC17
Pairing: SB/VM/OB
Summary: When Viggo starts acting strangely, Sean finally gears himself for a showdown.

*

They had to talk.

They *really* had to talk.

However, regardless of how often Sean told himself that, how forceful he was with his conscious, the fact remained that he was more than a little scared of the prospect. When you talked, you had to start admitting to things, you had to consider what was going on and what wasn’t and what really should be, and then suddenly you were in a whole world of complications.

Mind you, nothing could be as bad as this insecurity. Nothing. Not even being kidnapped and tortured with unhygienic cooking utensils. Not even having to eat one of Billy’s culinary masterpieces. Not even flying.

Sean shuddered to himself and focused a little more on the situation he found himself in. Their last lovemaking session had occurred not more than three hours ago, and the after-effects were still so vivid in his memory that it was like looking at a photograph. It hadn’t been like that memorable evening which had almost gone so very badly. It hadn’t been horrific at all, mild in comparison. But the strangeness of it all managed to cause more shock to his system than if he managed to land in the middle of the X-Files and had Mulder and Scully on the doorstep asking questions.

The sex just hadn’t been kinky. Well, it wasn’t kinky in the way he was used to anyway, seeming he doubted whether he would be able to classify three men in a bed as anything but a nod on the kinky side, but after Viggo’s normal appreciation for the leather arts the session had seemed as safe and as dull as the missionary position day in, day out. Sean hadn’t realised Viggo could do normal humdrum sex. It was all becoming a little more of a shock than he had planned.

The shock was increased by the fact that the whole sex session itself had been suggested by Viggo, not by his usual strength of character that the older man employed to get people to do what he wanted but an all together sneakier route of relying on the personality of his lovers. Not one trace of command aimed itself at either of his two pets, not one threat, not one order. Just a smile and a nod. The sexual version of the Masons almost. All they needed now was a stupid handshake and they were there.

Sean sighed and swilled the coffee in the coffee cup, staring at it dejectedly whilst running through the events in his mind.

Unsurprisingly it had been Orlando who had finally instigated the seduction. Sean had a suspicion this was probably due to the fact that the younger man was the most desperate out of them, the one used to having sex on tap and taking a huge mouthful at least once a day. The one who was as addicted to the games as he was to oxygen and, more the point, the one who suddenly had his hands running over Viggo’s chest.

Viggo hadn’t seemed to mind this breach of protocol in the same way that Viggo hadn’t minded much for the past couple of days, his mild expression very rarely slipping off his face with the steady dedication of a monk to a vow of silence. More than once Sean had an eerie feeling that someone had been slipping the older man a drug in his coffee when he wasn’t looking.

Not one instruction had been barked at Orlando since the younger man’s hands started on their little trip over Viggoland. Not one.

Sean had been sat on the sofa with one leg tucked underneath him when Orlando finally took the plunge and kissed Viggo hungrily, the blonde’s eyes fixed to the scene in front of him. He had felt his heart beat begin to increase slightly, his breathing quicken as Viggo’s hands slid around Orli’s lean body and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss.

Well, obviously Viggo’s sex drive was still happily in place by the caress that Orli’s buttocks were receiving. Sean hadn’t been entirely sure which part of the body to be focusing on but that was always the problem with the live shows; what you really needed was the director’s cut.

It had been at this point that his jeans had started to become a serious problem. Sean’s groin, missing the attention, had already started to gently throb as though in reminder that it was still there and was still working if Sean would only start needing it. Sean had shifted uncomfortably on the sofa and kept his hands firmly on his leg and his eyes on the little porn show in front of him, managing to resist the urge to slide his hand into his trousers and stroke himself in time with Orli’s little moans and groans.

Despite such frustrations Sean remembered he had been pleased at the initial developments. Now this was more like it. Sod the little kisses and cuddles Sean and Orlando had been receiving recently as though the pair of them were some over stuffed teddy bears with bows round their neck. Sean really didn’t do the cute thing, felt like an absolute pillock afterwards although he was willing to forgive this factor when he had either Viggo or Orlando curled around him at night, their breath soft in his ear, their body heat soothing his normally aching muscles. In the middle of the night when the demons came out to play a soft touch here and a light kiss there managed to soothe his mind into a peaceful sleep. However, what was good for relaxing was certainly not great for the great smut-fest that Sean had grown accustomed to.

Not that the great smut-fest had looked like it was going to make a speedy appearance, mind you. Despite his willingness to fondle Orlando and despite the fact that Viggo was quite happy to kiss and bite down Orlando’s neck and shoulders, there had still been no orders. And when Viggo’s orders normally formed Sean and Orli’s own personal step by step sex manual this was going to be alarming as soon as the scene moved onto something that guaranteed an X rating.

Orlando moaned again, a deep and satisfied moan that suggested that a well oiled hand had slid over his waiting erection although Sean was damned sure none had yet made an appearance. The boy always was an optimist. Sean had managed to resist the urge to get off the sofa and had continued to simply watch them, his hand now having to be sat on to avoid it creeping to the Land of Sexual Release. No. Patience. Calm. If this was going the way it looked like it was going, there would be time. Viggo was nothing if not a connoisseur of the fine arts, and arts didn’t get much finer than a naked and sweaty Orlando with his shiny brown eyes and his lean muscles quivering to be touched-

The hand had been sat on even harder. The groin throbbed in annoyance. Sean had tried to keep the most neutral expression on his face, but hell even that was hard when Viggo’s hand slipped underneath the waistband of Orlando’s trousers, the younger man arching against Viggo’s body with a groan.

Sean had been brought up short as grey-blue eyes opened and stared at him over Orlando’s shoulder in what could only be a purposeful manner. This consideration didn’t stop either Viggo or Orli from moving, the younger man shifting position more often than a belly dancer. However the stare at least managed to stop Sean’s hand from desperately moving position.

Ordinarily, Sean would have taken the stare as an order to stand up and get ready for a full blown instruction. However, the last time he had responded in that manner a dark frown had crossed Viggo’s expression and therefore Sean had been quite happy to sit back and allow Viggo to bodily yank him off the sofa if he wanted him, even if his body screamed at him to stop being an idiot and get over there.

Viggo’s eyes had never wavered, just as his hands had never stopped moving over Orlando’s skin. The younger man had been moaning openly, obviously not expecting an immediate order in the face of such sensation.

And that was the problem, Sean found. Orders. It all came back to orders. Without the orders his confidence had taken a battering before they had even begun, and there was no indication that this was going to change any time soon. A growing suspicion had been forming in Sean’s mind which certainly hadn’t been a pleasant one. In stopping the belief that he was only a victim in this, the blonde had a horrible feeling it had progressed into stealing the Whip of Power from the ruling alpha male. The thought that he might be stuck giving orders constantly filled Sean with more than a little dread.

No. He wasn’t going to do it. Least of all because he hadn’t the faintest idea about where to start.

The blue-grey eyes narrowed slightly as though Viggo had access to Sean’s thoughts and was idly flicking through them. Sean hoped he was only flicking to get to the comics, although knowing his own mind the comics probably took up fifty percent of the space. He was thankful that Orlando’s back was still turned to him, otherwise no doubt he would be subject to Orlando consideration as well. People thought far too much.

Slowly, lazily, Viggo dropped his gaze and began to work on Orlando’s neck in earnest, as though a starving man offered a set of juicy and succulent rib-bones. Orli arched his back a little more and groaned in approval, the vocal aspect obviously only making an appearance in order to encourage. Sean was a little surprised that Orlando hadn’t stripped and dropped to his hands and knees yet, knowing the younger man’s frustrations. But of course that came later.

Obviously later wasn’t soon enough.

“ Bedroom?” murmured Orlando, loud enough for Sean to hear but low enough not to be considered any sort of order. Viggo licked the end of Orli’s nose like a dog greeting its pup, and smiled gently at him. And that was it. No confirmation, no nothing. Sean was tempted to stamp on Viggo’s foot and damn well get an answer to whether the man had lost his voice, regardless of whether this would mean some sort of retaliation. However, he had a sneaking suspicion the reasons behind Viggo’s silence were less to do with medical concerns and more to do with the prospect of being merely annoying.

The vote for merely annoying increased dramatically as it turned out; having waited for a few moments Orlando’s impatience kicked him into taking more serious action. Seizing hold of Viggo’s hand in a bold move that ordinarily would have managed to get him at least three days punishment Orlando gave Viggo a little tug.

And it worked. It actually worked. Sean realised his eyes were wide at the implications but he didn’t really care. Viggo was obeying an order – albeit silent and non-aggressive – from Orlando. Without a murmur. Without any type of amendment. Just .. doing it.

Fucking hell…

Orli seemed to realise that the other member of the team hadn’t quite got his arse into gear by the time they reached the door, as a surprised mocha gaze turned itself to him. Sean hadn’t shifted from the sofa at all, almost worried he was going to jinx it. He was aware of Viggo’s gaze falling thoughtfully on him and had to swallow a couple of times to get his voice to work through the burning desire.

Okay, now the groin had *really* started to become uncomfortable, to the extent that a kick in the balls would be considered a light relief.

There had been a hard glare from Orli for some sort of support from Sean in the movement category. The blonde had nodded finally and pushed himself smoothly from the sofa to follow them, his eyes finding their gaze sliding down Viggo’s muscular back and fixed on the smooth roundness of the man’s hindquarters. God, he was tempting. Far too tempting. Tempting in a way that super triple chocolate ice-cream plus sprinkles, whipped cream, chocolate flakes and a mound of hot fudge sauce was tempting, gorgeous but blatantly bad for you. Heaven alone knew what would happen if Sean took him again. Bones might be broken. Mental health might be damaged. The point had been made, and really shouldn’t be done again, regardless of how much this particular point would love to get back into the action. Sean could feel it throbbing already, trying to change his mind on the subject, making his trousers feel even tighter than they once were.

The youngest member of the team led the way, Orli avoiding the gym in his logistical considerations and this was probably a damn good idea. The gym managed to magnify everything, good, bad or the ugly, and Sean really hadn’t been willing to take that gamble. As soon as they had taken one step into the bedroom, Orlando had already started to strip, the clothing being thrown haphazardly onto the floor in a blatant disregard for Viggo’s household rules.

Green eyes slid towards Viggo for his reaction and were pleased to note that a narrowing of the eyes had occurred. Obviously not everything had been mislaid in the mind of the Viggo, although the objection remained unspoken, a missing piece of the Viggo Puzzle that had obviously fallen down the back of the sofa of life. On the other hand, Sean couldn’t really blame him after nude, quivering and desperate Orlando suddenly pressed himself to Viggo’s body like a limpet to a rock and refused point blank to allow any sort of space to interrupt them, his mouth seeking Viggo’s.

Grinning to himself, Sean sought the solitude of the bed, stripping his own clothes off and lying on his stomach, his chin propped up on his arms as he watched his own personal porn channel. His cock throbbed even more persistently, demanding his hips at least shift a little on the blanket.

It wasn’t long before Viggo’s eyes sought him out over Orlando’s shoulder. Sean snuggled a little further into the bedding and simply looked back at him, knowing that Viggo had a damn good view of his arse and more than willing for him to come to whatever decision he wanted. His body was less willing with this prospect, already considering the delays and giving Orlando a few good internal curses about keeping all the attention away from the bed.

Sean coughed pointedly. Orli glanced across at him, a look of comprehension crossing his face as he took in the scene which was accompanied by a grin so wide it was in danger of taking off the top of his head. Leaving Viggo, the younger man sauntered towards the bed, his hips rocking in a suggestive manner which was purely for the man he was leaving behind. Sean was impressed that Viggo didn’t simply grab him back, bend him over the bed and fuck him silly, but then again Viggo always did have the greater willpower.

The fact that Orlando also had just physically jumped on Sean made any consideration of Viggo’s willpower disappear from the blonde’s mind in a mixture of pain and pleasure.

“ Did your elbow *really* have to get shoved into my back?” grumbled Sean. Orlando, who had scrambled to sit astride Sean’s naked back like a cowboy riding bareback, chuckled to himself and gave Sean’s backside a friendly slap.

“ You know you love it like that,” he commented idly, before squeezing Sean’s waist with his thighs. “ Giddup!”

Sean contented himself with a low growl. Orlando sighed.

“ You’re no fun,” he protested. “ Vig, tell him to be more fun!”

Viggo merely satisfied himself with a knowing smile and an amused expression. Sean once again considered the possibility that the little green men of the kitchen had stolen the older man’s vocal chords earlier in the day. Orlando squeezed with his thighs again.

” Come on, Sean. Do something,” A hand drummed a beat on the rise of Sean’s right buttock.

“ And exactly what is it that you think I can do?” protested Sean. “ You’re no light weight!”

“ Wuss,” commented Orlando cheerfully.

“ Wanker,” countered Sean with a sigh. The weight shifted on his back. Suspicions formed. “ Orlando, that was not a request-“

The rest of that sentence suddenly managed to get higher pitched and urgent as Orlando’s hand investigated the sensitive areas between Sean’s legs. The blonde squirmed and tried to buck the younger man off. However, he hadn’t entirely taken on board the new and improved inner thigh muscles that Orli had developed and were putting to good use. It was like trying to shake off a clamp.

On the other hand, clamps weren’t ticklish. A trail of fingers across naked thigh and Orlando squeaked, his grip loosening enough for Sean to make his escape and pretty much fall off the bed as he ran out of bed space. There was a thud, a pained groan, and suddenly Sean found tanned feet in front of his nose. He slowly looked up.

Viggo frowned back down at him.

“ Last time I looked you were supposed to be on that bed,” he remarked, but it was the relaxed tones of one who was just being helpful rather than the drill master that Viggo had once been. Sean shrugged and slid into a more comfortable position, his green eyes thoughtful on the older man in front of him. Well, he was pretty much on his knees in front of him. If that didn’t tempt the dominator inside of Viggo, very little else would.

Sure enough, there was a long pause. Sean looked up at him through his eyelashes, simply waiting.

And waiting.

And hadn’t he done this before? Bloody hell, he was becoming predictable.

On the other hand, Viggo’s hand scooping underneath his arm and pulling him to his feet was certainly an unusual situation. Normally it was trying to push him back down again. Sean would have commented further on this but the fact that Viggo’s mouth was suddenly pressed to his own managed to knock any thoughts of conversation from his active mind and back onto his pants. And then, just as quickly, he suddenly found his balance had a new problem in Viggo pushing him back onto the bed.

Orlando, who hadn’t moved quickly enough, suddenly found himself with Sean landing on his legs. There was another squeak of protest and a quick scramble to get legs back under control.

“ Ow!” complained Orlando.

“ Well, if you will sprawl yourself over the bedding,” grumbled back Sean. Viggo sighed.

“ You two going to bicker at each other for the rest of the night?” he asked pointedly. Sean shrugged.

” Why change a habit of a lifetime?”

Viggo sighed again wearily and folded his arms. Orli had rid himself of his bad mood and was looking at Viggo thoughtfully, dark brown eyes flickering over the clothing that was still plastered to the older man’s body. Sean could see the indecision in Orlando’s eyes, the younger man’s desire to rid Viggo of his clothing battling with the desire not to bark out anything that might be considered an order, and was only too happy to sit back and watch which one managed to win. A coward’s life might not be glorious but at least it was easier.

On the other hand, if Sean could read the instruction in Orlando’s eyes then the poet had a damn good chance of working it out as well. Green eyes were drawn back to Viggo in shock as his clothing was taken off slowly and casually, not so much of a strip-tease as an absent-minded activity. Orlando squirmed eagerly, his own eyes trained on the obviously rock hard erection that Viggo displayed. Evidentially Viggo’s groin was unlikely to be listed within the absent-minded category.

Sean leant forward a little, his own eyes dark and hungry.

“ Vig,” he said softly, realising that Viggo had managed to lure him into a position where an instruction might be necessary but not really caring. “ You want to get on the bed now or do we have to come down there and get you?”

Grey-blue eyes slid towards him curiously. Sean couldn’t entirely work out whether that expression on Viggo’s face was annoyance or surprise, the usual neutrality turning up in full force to muffle any sighting of the true emotion that fluttered in the background. Anticipation and apprehension built in Sean’s muscles, a fine sheen of sweat building. Either way Viggo took it, they might actually start getting past the foreplay which was about bloody time. The throbbing was beginning to drive Sean up the wall, across the ceiling and down the other side again.

Sean felt his back stiffen automatically as Viggo stepped a little closer towards the bed, his eyes fixed on the blonde in front of him. Viggo’s hand moved to gently stroke down Sean’s cheekbone, grey-blue eyes once again misty in thought.

” Vig?” Sean asked softly, aware that Orlando was tense and silent beside him. Viggo paused, then smiled lopsidedly.

And then he pounced.

Sean suddenly found himself forced onto his back, the breath pounded from his body at the impact although more through surprise than anything. He opened his mouth to comment when suddenly every single word vanished from his mind, every scrap of air from his lungs, as Viggo’s mouth closed over his arousal.

Fuck. Just …. *Fuck*…

Sean managed a shaky groan, his head falling back on the bed, his eyes drifting closed. There was no messing around, no teasing, no playing with him. Viggo was all but devouring him, the occasional hardness of the older man’s teeth grazing against the head of Sean’s cock, making him jump slightly. His body tense, Sean expected to feel cold slippery fingers slide between his legs at any moment, almost sub-consciously spreading them wider as the expectation grew.

And just at the point where Sean knew he was about to come down Viggo’s throat, suddenly everything stopped. The cold air suddenly replaced warm mouth with such a dramatic change of temperature that Sean whimpered in confusion and opened his eyes.

Viggo smiled at him with a wolf’s expression before slowly gazing at Orlando who was watching them wild eyed, a red flush on his face already. Chocolate brown eyes moved from Sean’s still salvia covered cock to Viggo’s hungry stare, the bemused expression slowly ridding itself at the look.

And yet still no instruction made itself known other than those which were transmitted via gaze. Gag the Master; the New And Improved Game.

Sean pushed himself up, his breathing still shaking and unsteady, his muscles threatening to abandon him to a mouthful of blanket. On the other hand, his breathing was still giving him some oxygen – at the point where Viggo’s tongue suddenly applied itself to Orlando’s innermost secret areas, even this was robbed from him.

Holy fuck on a stick, Viggo was actually *rimming* him. Where the hell had that come from?! Sean pulled his stare away from Viggo’s lapping tongue between Orlando’s legs and glanced towards Orli to check his reaction. One glance told him this was a really bad time; by the look on Orli’s face, he really didn’t give a toss what was happening as long as it *still continued*.

At least it gave Sean a good reason why Viggo wasn’t employing his vocal chords at the moment. His mother always said you should never speak with your mouth full, and when you had a squirming Orli in your lap this was probably as full as you were ever going to get it.

Sean’s previous considerations on who was doing what was also being answered; Viggo slowly started to insert his finger with his tongue, Orlando’s moans getting louder as the finger penetrated him, stretching, demanding things from his body. The blonde desperately tried to keep his eyes under his own control, but it was sodding difficult, not least because Viggo was kneeling on the bed, his head low and busy, his arse high up in the air for balance. The fact that smooth tanned buttocks were turned to him in an appealing way obviously had nothing to do with it.

Sean fought against the rising tide of lust. Viggo was so inviting it was as though they had gilded the edges of his backside and someone had scrawled calligraphy all over it.

No! That wasn’t what was happening. They had done that bit. It was *finished*, over, and just because Viggo still hadn’t taken revenge for it didn’t mean anything. Assumptions couldn’t be made, *shouldn’t* be made. Revenge was apparently a dish best served cold, although currently in Sean’s body anything that was cold was a foreign thought. Sean’s body raged with heat and lust, sweat clinging to almost every square centimetre of flesh, his skin flushed and wanting-

No. Ye gods and little boarlets, *no*!

His denial was good. It was solid. It was going to work. And it was subsequently completely shattered on the alter of lust as Viggo turned round and gave him a thoughtful look and a few words.

“ You ever going to do anything or are you just going to sit there all day and look at it?” he asked idly.

Sean shut his mouth with a little click of teeth on teeth and a wide eyed expression that was breaching Disney’s copyright again. Manga cartoons had nothing on him in the big eyed department.

Viggo looked at him with a part kind, part frustrated expression.

“ Well?” he demanded.

“ Viggo, I can’t-“ Sean began weakly, but Viggo cut him off mid-way.

“ Crap.”

Well, yes. Yes it was, but that didn’t mean that he *should* be doing it. He would be taking advantage. He could be harking back to days gone past, to times when-

Oh, sod it. The frustrated sexual body could only put up with five minutes of consideration per day and Sean was definitely overdrawn already.

The blonde felt Viggo tense underneath him at the first touch of his hands on the upturned rear, but Viggo hadn’t stopped his own work. Orli seemed to be oblivious to everything around him, his eyes firmed shut, hands gripping hold of the blanket underneath him with such a tight grip that Sean felt certain they were going to have to patch up a huge hole in it. His own hands trembling with need and tension, Sean carefully inserted a finger.

Sudden death failed to come to him, although Orlando scared the living daylights out of him by choosing this moment to moan even louder. A quick glance told Sean that Viggo’s hand had started to stroke Orli’s length, the younger man squirming on the bed.

Almost too quickly Sean found himself considering whether to take the plunge and just go for it; three fingers slid easily in and out of Viggo’s body, occasionally corkscrewing inside the older man whenever Sean desperately needed to hear Viggo’s gasp of pleasure. Every so often, his fingers would bend, flickering over the bundle of sensitive nerves and causing a growl of contentment.

He couldn’t stop now. He was too far in, the damage – whatever that would be – would have been done. To stop now would be simply unfair to Viggo and, more the point, a really quick way to an early grave. Sean had visions of his tombstone already: here lies Sean Bean. Failed to do as he had promised. Was suffocated when a vibrating pair of panties was shoved down his throat.

Viggo had moved his tongue onto Orli’s length, obviously waiting for the blonde to start behind. Sean felt the cold hand of responsibility press down on his shoulder, his hands trembling as he pressed the head of his cock against Viggo and waited for someone to answer the metaphorical doorbell.

“ You’re *still* waiting?” Viggo was exasperated.

Well, that could probably be counted as a “come in” although by the tone it probably also had the “take your shoes off” as well. Sean seized hold of his determination, shoved the guilt to the back of his mind for an extended visit and plunged in.

It wasn’t fair to say that Viggo roared at the sensation but it was just as unfair to say that he accepted Sean’s length without a murmur. There was a growl-bark that didn’t quite speak of anger just as it didn’t quite speak of pure pleasure, Viggo’s head dipping lower as the man tried to get used to the still unusual feeling of being invaded. It was hardly as though they had allowed Viggo a great amount of time for his arse to have gotten over the other session; old strains were probably getting re-strained, memories would be replayed, Viggo would hate him for life, the world would explode around them-

For fuck sake Sean, get a *grip*!

There was another growl, angrier.

Okay, not *there*. Grip somewhere else.

There was less of a growl and more of a groan. Yes. That would do, which was just as well as Sean’s mind was screaming at him to move, harder, faster, seek out your fortune brave knight-

He was *really* going to have to get off the metaphors before they drowned him. Sean bit his lip, focusing. Regardless of how much he thought about that evening, he had still forgotten how tight Viggo was, how hot, almost thrusting into the organic equivalent of a burning volcano. Hard, worked muscles bunched under his hands with every thrust, whilst low, deep groans accompanied each stroke until Sean was all but overcome with accompaniments.

And then, as a wonderful contrast to the protracted entrance, it was all over. Sean howled out his release, his body apparently choosing to go from 1 – 10 in a matter of seconds. If he hadn’t been a panting, sweaty mess he might have been embarrassed. As it was he was just glad his body hadn’t given up on him to the extent that Viggo would have been the only thing holding him up.

Almost immediately Orlando sprung into action, apparently realising that all bets were off with Viggo’s usual reactions and clearly wanting his own satisfaction before the world slipped into procrastination again. Viggo was suddenly flat on his back, Orlando leaning over him, a kiss being shared that was almost X rated by itself. Sean didn’t want to think of how desperate Orli must have been to be able to manoeuvre a man of Viggo’s relative size, although the fact that the younger man had pretty much impaled himself on the older man’s erection in a matter of moments probably spoke for itself.

His head tipped back, exposing his throat, Orlando growled his approval as the two men moved together, Viggo’s groans mixing with Orlando’s.

Still out of breath, his body feeling as though it had run a marathon, Sean watched them with almost envious eyes. Bloody hell, they were beautiful, both lovers in such connection with each other that their lovemaking was almost on level with a ballet. A kinky version of ballet, but ballet nevertheless. Sean always assumed his own was probably closer to wrestling, except without the brightly coloured costumes.

If he didn’t want to take over control he was seriously going the wrong way about it. There had been few times when Viggo hadn’t physically taken him, and pretty much all of them had been on that rare one-on-one situation where a few discrepancies could be brushed under the carpet. This was an “official” session, and Sean had been the one who had taken people. No handcuffs. No gags. Just pure sex.

Damn.

Fuck.

Shit.

And this mode of thought hadn’t shifted even at the point of three hours later.

*

“ Sean?”

The voice had barely broken into the blonde’s memories. Here he was, coffee in one hand, mug in the other, kitchen window by his side, worrying himself silly over a situation that for everyone else in the universe would probably have ranked up there as a Good Thing. Sean’s memory kept flashing to the sight of Viggo’s contented, sleeping face after they had finished, too tired to do anything but roll over and snuggle into the blankets, ignoring the possibility of a shower despite the fact that Orlando’s seed was still trickled over Viggo’s stomach.

“ Sean?” the voice was a little louder but still Sean only really half heard it, still seeing that relaxed expression clearly in his face.

A hand landed on his shoulder and refused to shift. The memories were rudely interrupted.

Sean sighed heavily and looked gloomily at his cup, not bothering to move or speak. After a moment Orli had obviously worked out he was going to have to do all the work in the conversation – again – as there was an irritated sigh behind him, the hand dropping off him like an overfed leech from bare skin.

“ Sean, you can’t hide in the kitchen forever,” Orlando said crossly.

“ I’m not hiding,” Sean tapped his finger on the coffee mug idly, still not looking around at him. There was another huff of exasperation.

“ And I’m the queen of Sheba.” Using a voice that could cut steel, Orlando was obviously not bothering to mess around. Sean snorted to himself.

“ That’s nice. Hope that works out for you,” Sean refused point blank to turn around. Hints. People really should start taking the hint more often and then he wouldn’t *have* to start having conversations left right and centre.

Orlando huffed once more in a manner that suggested that three little piggies were going to get seriously worried. However, nothing else appeared as a conversation starter. Sean was just beginning to relax when Orlando’s voice, low and sad, managed to cut to his emotional core as though a hot knife through butter.

“ You’re worried about him too, aren’t you,”

Sean stared at the coffee mug in his hand. Yes. Yes he was. Without real reason for it either.

“ He’s fine,” the blonde said finally, regretfully. “ You saw him. How he was. How he looked.”

“ And how he acted,” continued Orlando, a little more aggressively. “ You’re telling me you weren’t concerned?”

“ I’m not telling you anything. I’m merely commenting,” countered Sean, his grip tightening on the mug like a lifeline. Silence from behind him. It was as though Orlando was simply a figment of his imagination to be ignored whenever his mind felt like it, a rent-a-ghost of the moral world.

“ On the other hand I guess he’s got over treating you as a victim,” Orlando made his own comment from behind him, although he didn’t sound overly enthusiastic about this particular factor. Sean sighed again, and finally turned to look at him.

“ Yeah. I got that impression,” he said. “ Well, that’s what we wanted wasn’t it?”

There was a long pause. The younger man stepped a little further into the room, his arms already folded as though forming some type of protection against the outside world, his eyes fixed on Sean. There was an element of exhaustion in that gaze although Orlando held himself as though he could run a full sized marathon and then go out for takeaway. It would be easy to ignore the wariness within Orlando which, Sean realised, was the main reason the youngster was doing it.

He didn’t blame him. Viggo as a Master provided controlled fear. Reality provided something much more scary in its unpredictability, made all the more vicious for its rarity in Orli’s life.

“ I guess so,” Orli’s voice was cautious, his expression not one of a person who was convinced in what he was saying. In fact, he had the look of someone who was desperate to return the world to the time he understood things, away from the fear of the uncertainty that hovered between them.

The young man perched on the kitchen counter and watched him prepare the cup of coffee. Sean was suddenly struck hard by déjà vu and sighed once more.

“ You want him back to the way he was, don’t you?” he said slowly.

” No,” The firmness cut to an extremely long pause. Finally there was the softest of sighs, a noise that could almost have originated from a puppy.

“ Yes,” Orlando whispered. Sean had to stop to properly hear him, his hand still resting on the mug. After a long pause Orli began again in a wretched voice for which the previous aggression had completely abandoned it.

“ I know I shouldn’t,” Orlando sighed. “ and I know he’s better than he was, but he’s not Viggo. He’s not *my* Viggo.” There was another little noise of regret. “ My Viggo’s gone, and I can’t bring him back again.”

Sean stared at the kettle for a long while, feeling the silence build behind him, a wall of misery forming.

Damn this.

” Why not?” he asked finally, his voice determined. In the reflection of the kettle he could see Orlando stare at him incredulously, as though Sean had wondered why they didn’t resurrect Gandhi. The young man shook his head.

“ Because he’d be going backwards.” Orlando spoke patiently as though talking to an idiot. “ I can’t do that to him. He’s happier now,”

” You know, I’m finding it hard to believe that someone who did half of those things did it purely because of what he was used to in his history,” Sean lifted his head and turned around, staring back at Orlando steadily. “ Think about it, Orlando. All we got to do is reintroduce him carefully. Hell, thousands of people do this type of thing each day without abuse getting involved, right?”

Chocolate brown eyes were on him doubtfully, uncertain of where the conversation was leading them.

“ So now you *don’t* think he’s alright?” he asked slowly. “ Despite everything.”

” Despite what? That act in the bedroom?” Sean shook his head. Orlando frowned.

“ What happens,” he asked slowly. “ if that ‘act’, as you call it, turns out to be the natural one? What happens if we’re just going back-“

“ I’m not going *back*, I’m going *forwards*. Just with … hints of the past. Call it a revival.” Sean suggested. Orli looked at him as though he was mad.

“ A revival,” he echoed slowly. Sean nodded. They stayed like that for some time, simply looking at each other. Sean could see the hope in Orli’s eyes suddenly cloud over as his mind reintroduced more paranoia in his life, more possible conclusions, *thinking too much*.

“ Exactly how are you planning to do this?” Orlando said finally, then growled to himself. “ No, wait, wait, I don’t want to know. I asked this last time, and now look where we are!” Brown eyes stared out angrily towards the hall, before looking back at him as though a memory had just struck. “ Incidentally, what happened before?”

“ Before? Before what?” Sean was too busy in his plans to fully grasp what the younger man was talking about. Orli shrugged, his eyes nevertheless ruining this little demonstration of casual living by their steady gaze.

” When you were washing the blood off your face in the bathroom. When you didn’t want to talk about things. What was that?” there was a distinct element in Orlando’s voice that suggested vague answers were not going to be good enough. However, two could play at this little game.

” That was me not wanting to talk about things,” Sean’s voice had become further clipped with each word, emphasising the fact that this was a conversation that was about to be cut short. “ And this is me *still* not wanting to talk about things.”

By the look on Orlando’s face this was obviously not a wanted sentence. A dark look settled itself comfortably over the young man’s features in a way that suggested that it was there for the long term.

“ Yeah? You want Viggo to come round to your way of thinking you’re going to have to consider actually giving him something to work with,” replied Orlando angrily, sliding off the counter. The slap of his shoes hitting the floor echoed in the kitchen. “ What the fuck happened, Sean? If you don’t want to talk, fine. Just don’t expect me to help you. I’m not some skivvy to order around, and I’m not a third wheel in this relationship. I expect the same sort of respect as you give Viggo, and if you require me to pick up a whip and fucking well show you, so be it,”

Sean looked at him, startled by the ferocity. Orlando’s hands were clenched into fists, his eyes flashing with an anger that Sean really hated being aimed at him. The blonde began to automatically shake his head, then stopped again. They wanted to get through this, they were seriously going to have to change.

All of them.

And that meant…

Fuck.

Shit.

Fine…

“ I was upset, okay?” Sean felt embarrassed already, and that always made him grumpy. He turned to face the kitchen worktop, finding the cup and, more the point, something to focus on which didn’t involve demanding chocolate brown eyes. Mind you, this seemed to help dramatically. Obviously his embarrassment wasn’t too bothered about talking as long as you didn’t have to take on board someone else’s reaction at the time.

There was a pause behind him as obviously minds had to reset to the concept of Sean speaking.

“ Because of Karl?” Orlando’s voice had returned to his usual soft tones although now a curiosity lurked around the edges like an emotional stalker. Sean snorted amusement, the memory of Dave the boss still remarkably fresh in his mind. At certain points it was the one thing that was guaranteed to cheer him up.

” I can deal with Karl. No,” the blonde paused a little longer, unhappy with certain aspects which had flashed in his head for answers. “ Because of Viggo,” he said reluctantly. “ I couldn’t… well, I doubt it matters now,”

“ It does,” insisted Orli. “ You couldn’t what?”

Sean paused, trying to work it out in his own mind before opening his mouth again. The trouble with not thinking it through, he reflected, was the fact that your mouth tended to land you in more trouble than your fists. There were enough cans of worms open in this sordid little tale without him adding to them. Currently he had enough bait to open a fishing store.

A quick glance to the side made him aware of Orlando watching him patiently, his usual bounciness curbed as though he had simply forgotten to switch it on. It was almost as though being studied by an entirely different person, some sort of Orlando hybrid. The aliens were alive and well and causing more paranoia in the kitchen of the Viggo. Sean was sure there was a B movie in there somewhere.

However, Orlando still required an answer. Jaw muscles were loosened. Counter tops were scanned in case of emergency escape routes. And to be able to speak would require an admission of truth, of liability, of having to face something head on and cope. And Sean really wasn’t sure he could do that yet.

But he had to. For them.

God, he was cheesier than a deep pan pizza. No doubt a Meat Feast as well.

“ I couldn’t do what I set out to do. Viggo’s changed, and I’m not sure it’s for the better,” Sean hunched his shoulders a little more, hating himself for saying it and hating himself even more for needing to say it in the first place. “ I failed,” he mumbled.

However, sympathy was apparently out of the office and on an extended lunch.

“ You didn’t fail, you just found out it was more complicated than you realised,” replied Orli briskly. “ Which is *why* we’re not giving up now. *Are we*?”

There was more threat in those last two words than in the entirety of the British Army. Sean suddenly rediscovered his anger.

“ If you’re suggesting that you’re expecting me to go running out that door-“ he began.

” You don’t run, Sean. You saunter through the door. You’re like a stray cat who can’t make up its mind whether to go or stay. But you’re not like that any more, which is why I *know* you’re not going to run out on us just because your plans didn’t go the way you hoped they would. Hell, at least they went somewhere! We could have been looking at a very disturbed man should you have cocked that one up completely,” Orlando paused, possibly for oxygen. When he started again, his voice was soft, low and encouraging. “ Viggo’ll be fine. We’re doing this in his best interests,”

“ I would be interested to know,” said Sean slowly. “ how many people in the history of the world ended up doing destructive and terrible things because they thought they were doing it in other people’s best interests?”

Orlando paused, his eyes narrowed. “ What are you saying?” he asked finally.

“ I’m saying let’s ask him,” Sean finally turned round, resting his back against the kitchen counter top and staring at Orlando. “ Let’s see what he wants to do.”

The younger man was silent, as though Sean had suddenly pulled a string of handkerchiefs out of his sleeve. Confused brown eyes studied him carefully, a hint of anger for being confused in the first place making itself known.

“ I didn’t think you went in for the talking,” he began slowly. “ Thought you preferred actions to speak louder than words-“

“ And look where it got me,” interrupted Sean. “ God knows how many months down the line and we’re *still* at each other’s throats. I’m all up for trying something different, cause fuck knows I’m just flogging a dead horse with my version of events at the moment,”

Orlando was still giving him a suspicious look.

“ You do realise that you’re going to have to talk about your emotions, aren’t you?” he asked finally. Sean sighed regretfully. Might take some practise, but he really had to do it. He nodded silently. Orlando reflected his silence, deep and thoughtfully brown eyes that looked almost black radiating concern back at him. Finally he shrugged and looked away.

“ When?”

“ Where is he now?”

The head snapped back. Wide eyes stared at him incredulously.

“ You don’t mean to do it *now* do you?” Orlando whispered. “ But you… I… I thought…,”

“ If I wait too long I’m not going to be able to pluck up the courage to do it again. I know you and Dave think I’ve got my head shoved so far into the sandbox that it looks like I’ve got chronic dandruff, and to the greater extent I think you’re right. So let’s put the sandbox away and get on with it,” Sean attempted to put the noblest and bravest expression on his face that he could possibly find. His heart quailed inside him, begging him to reconsider.

The doubtful expression hadn’t changed much on Orlando’s face apart from a new element of scepticism. Sean knew damn well what he was thinking. He hadn’t done it this far, gone out of his way to avoid speaking about it. Personalities didn’t change that much without a firm outside influence. Sean straightened his back and set his lip level to ‘stiff upper’. He was English, God damn it. Let’s get the traditions working for him this time.

The blonde pushed himself from the kitchen top and started to walk towards the exit, feeling as though each step was one closer to his place of execution. If he could keep going, he would be okay. The pull of alcohol to numb this was excruciating, the concept pulling at his mind as he kept walking. All it took was one glass. That was all. And then he could face the world.

But he couldn’t. He knew that. One glass would lead to another glass and soon he was going to have a bigger glass collection than the British Museum. And, just on occasion, Sean felt he owed it to the world to have a peek out without the mask that alcohol provided.

His feet were still moving. This was a miracle in itself. After an incredulous pause, Orlando had followed him which at least made things easier. There was no going back, no way he could stop and take in the smell of the roses without feeling pressurised or, indeed, having a young man suddenly collide with his rear.

A quick exploration discovered that Viggo was in the bedroom reading, his back propped against the headboard. Grey-blue eyes slid up from the page as they entered, before drifting back down to the written line.

There was a pause.

“ Yes?” Viggo asked idly, turning a page. “ You want something?”

Sean glanced towards Orlando once for moral support then looked back at Viggo. Obviously the movement had attracted more attention; as soon as his eyes sought Viggo’s, Sean realised that the level gaze was aimed at him over the top of his book by someone who had realised that conversation was going to be more complicated than what was for dinner.

“ We want to talk,” It was Orlando who finally spoke, possibly realising that Sean’s words had dried up in his throat, that the sweat had formed on his back. There was a snort of amusement from Viggo, who returned his gaze to the book.

“ Oh yes?” his voice was calm yet closed, a statement in itself. Orli glanced towards Sean helplessly, before moving to perch on the end of the bed. Sean elected to remain standing, not least because trying to sit down would entail working out how his legs moved.

“ Vig,” Sean said finally, and the words had to fight to get through a narrowing throat. “ Could you put the book down, please?”

Sean was half obeyed. The book lowered but was not released, Viggo looking at him with a guarded expression. The older man glanced towards Orlando at the end of the end, before returning his gaze to Sean. Eyebrows lowered slightly, a thin line appearing on Viggo’s forehead that indicated that calm and goodwill were being stretched.

“ Go on then,” said Viggo after another moment passed. “ Talk,”

Yes, it was that easy wasn’t it. Seize the moment, regardless of how much a slippery bastard it actually was. Moments should be banned by law. Sean resisted another look at Orlando and simply stared back at Viggo, releasing as he did so that the older man was actually looking a little uncomfortable by this. Well, uncomfortable in Viggo terms anyway. This mostly meant the gaze progressed into a hard glare as Viggo tried to share the uncomfortable nature of the conversation to his partner.

“ I .. *We* want to know what you want to do next,” Sean said finally.

” Read a book. Thought that was blatantly obvious,” There was an edge to Viggo’s words that could cut wood.

“ Not next in the sense of *now*. Next in the sense of … well, us,” Sean pressed forward. He was aware of silence being aimed at him. Viggo was a master of silence. He could use it in so many different ways, mostly to get the speaker to feel so uncomfortable that they continued speaking and normally dropped themselves in it. Not this time. Sean was sticking to his guns so hard it was like he had discovered the metaphorical super glue.

“ Us,” repeated Viggo flatly.

“ Our relationship. Us,” confirmed Sean, who even threw in a sweeping hand gesture to make his point a little better. However, hand gestures apparently were not assisting. Viggo simply stared back at him, his expression now drifting into the land of Curiosity and Fascination, passport being stamped. Sean’s heart sank a little further at the continuing silence.

“ Viggo, you going to say anything at all or are we just going to stand here in silence?” the blonde finally said crossly, feeling some relief in the anger. Anger was solid. Anger was familiar. Anger was almost a shield in itself.

Anger, of course, didn’t seem to affect Viggo any more than a fly might affect a volcano. He still sat on the bed staring back at him as though Sean was a brand new species.

“ I’m not entirely sure what you want me to say, Sean. I haven’t had the luxury of time to think about this. You obviously have. So give me what you’ve got and I’ll come back to you,” One eyebrow raised.

“ I’m not a business proposal,” growled Sean.

“ Just as well. You’d be bankrupt before you started,” Viggo sighed, and finally put down the book. “ What’s brought this on? And this is a question to the pair of you as well,”

“ You’ve changed,” Sean straightened his back. “ We want to know how much and what to do,”

Viggo stared back at him curiously. “ People don’t change that much,” he replied slowly. “ There’s variations, sure, but the underlying aspect of what makes you ‘you’ manages to get through it all. I assume you’re referring to the sex. You normally only focus on that part,”

Sean was taken aback. “ I don’t!” he protested.

“ Ah, your underlying aspect, Sean. Denial.” Viggo smiled sadly to himself and looked thoughtfully towards Orlando. He wasn’t, however, angry. This was becoming a little more disturbing. “ And you, Orli? You want to add anything?”

Chocolate brown eyes surveyed Viggo thoughtfully. Finally Orlando shrugged, a little weakly.

“ I want to reset the boundaries,” he said finally. Viggo nodded as though this was a recognisable statement rather than a poor man’s version of a riddle that it appeared to be for Sean. Sean looked from one to the other and sighed to himself. Obviously past times were being referred to and he hadn’t inherited the phrase book yet.

“ Well?” he prompted, breaking up this little trip down memory lane. Viggo looked at him patiently, or at least a little reluctantly.

“ Well what?” there was a flicker of a weary smile at the corner of Viggo’s mouth. “ You’re expecting me to give you two lines of what’s going on and that’ll be it? Life’s more complicated than that, Sean. Hell, if I knew what was going on I’d be a lot happier. But I don’t. So get off my case, as an angry submissive once said to me,”

“ You must know what you want!” protested Sean.

“ Why? *You* didn’t,” snapped Viggo. “ You still don’t. Why should I have to know what’s going on? These aren’t my games, this wasn’t my idea. You need creative genius, speak to Mr Bloom who’s sitting at the end of this bed looking like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s always had a much better idea of what was going on since the start, except when he thought he’d lost control and went on his little anti-Sean crusade.”

Sean glanced towards Orlando, surprised. Orli hadn’t reacted apart from a faint narrowing of his eyes. No denial. No outrage. Just… nothing. The blonde turned to face him a little more, making sure he was obviously looking like he awaited an answer. Obviously Orlando’s voice box was out of the office as the only acknowledgement Sean received was the flickering of Orli’s eyes in his direction.

“ Orli?” Sean prompted. “ Want to comment at this point?”

Viggo snorted. “ You say that as though you’re honestly surprised. Wasn’t it his little scheme to get you all masterful and dominant that night?”

Sean looked startled. “ No. It was my idea,”

There were always points in history where you just wished you had a camera to memorize it. The current look on Viggo’s face was going to be one of them. Viggo wasn’t just stunned, he was knocked for six. Grey-blue eyes slid to Orlando in confirmation of this little statement, which Orli gave to him with a faint nod of his head.

Viggo sat back a little heavier against the headboard.

“ Good god,” he murmured to himself. “ I knew you were doing that thing with Dave but I assumed that it was Wenham’s little ploy.” A fresh new attention was aimed at him. Sean was suddenly aware of the contrast for the attention he normally received. Obviously he had been treated like an annoying child before.

The blonde folded his arms stubbornly.

“ Dave’s not interfering in our relationship and I am capable of making decisions for myself,”

“ Then why are you standing in front of my bed demanding answers I don’t have on what I want to do next?” snapped back Viggo. “ Go make a couple of decisions and send me the memo when you’re done!”

“ How can I do that if I don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours?!” Sean’s voice raised dramatically. “ Viggo, you avoided anything even remotely dubious yesterday and you changed the rules so radically that I wasn’t sure it was still you! Do you even *like* bondage?”

Viggo watched him for a few moments, which allowed Sean to calm down a little more. However, his heart rate was still racing in his chest and he could still feel a shiver in his muscles from the tension. Finally the older man sighed and glanced at Orli.

“ Well? You want to answer that one?” he asked idly. Orlando looked shifty.

” I don’t know. You’ve changed from the man I know,”

Viggo growled in his throat and stared at the ceiling for a brief moment, before finally looking back down at the other two.

“ So let me get this straight. I have to be masterful and dominant at all times otherwise I’ve ‘changed’?” the iron strength in Viggo was beginning to emerge again, the usual irritancy that Sean normally tried to avoid. However, he welcomed it now, realising exactly how much he had missed it. If you could hug flaws Sean would be doing so.

“ Compared to what you were doing-“ began Orlando, when Viggo held up a hand to stop him, glaring at him.

“ Compared to what I was doing? Exactly how far back are you going, Orlando? You know *damn* well I had to step up the dominance to bring in Sean. Has it even occurred to you that I might simply be going back to the place that I was at before the additional pressures turned up? Sean’s disobedience which required further and further punishments. Karl’s interference. Dave’s little handy hints which made Sean worse, let alone Wenham’s little love affair with the idea of Sean. Mackenzie. All it took was one more thing and I would have exploded,” Viggo snapped. “ For once, just for once, I tried a scene where I didn’t feel pressurized into playing a part for your amusement. And now I’ve ‘changed’. Fucking marvellous,”

Sean was silent, remembering his own difficulties in continuing to be Master for a day. If Viggo had put up with that from day one, he was surprised he didn’t come off worse.

“ I thought you liked being the dominant one,” he said slowly.

“ I did. I do.” Viggo grumbled, looking back at his book. “ I also like pizza. This does not mean I like it every day without fail. And besides which, it’s not the dominance that’s the important part. It is… *was* the submissive angle. I don’t do it. In case you haven’t noticed Sean, there’s not many roles in a bondage relationship.”

Sean could see his point. Random Passer-by just wasn’t in the schedule. Viggo’s eyes flickered to him in annoyance.

“ And quite frankly I’m getting fed up of this constant analysis of my life. Leave me alone. The pair of you. Can’t you just let a relationship be a relationship without getting complicated?” Viggo shook his head and glanced down at his book. “ The whole damn thing’s getting far too political,” he muttered.

“ What about Daniel?” Sean pressed then immediately wished he hadn’t. The fiery pits of hell were only amateurs compared to the fires that suddenly burnt in Viggo’s eyes.

“ What about your alcoholism?” snapped Viggo, slamming the book back onto the bed. “ You want us to consider flaws, Sean? Fine! I’m not going to bother to address the ridiculous amount of times you tried to leave us at the start, just focus on this fucking habit of yours to retreat behind a bottle of alcohol and pretend it sorts out all your problems! It’s not a fucking bandage, Sean.”

“ I only drank because you tried to throw me out!” retorted Sean angrily. “ In fact, you *did* throw me out. If it wasn’t for Dave-“

“ Ah yes, I was wondering when we’d come back to Mr Wenham. And don’t give me that glare, Sean, I’m not going to accuse you of having some elaborate affair behind my back. Incidentally, why *didn’t* you?” Viggo raised an eyebrow. Sean, who hadn’t been expecting the question put quite like that had to hesitate.

“ Probably because I was too wrapped up in you two to think properly?” he spat. Viggo raised an eyebrow.

“ You didn’t think properly before you were *with* us,” he commented dryly. “ and I appreciate the sentiment. Now give me the proper reason. From my various sources I understand you offered yourself to Dave on one occasion, but didn’t follow it up when he didn’t accept immediately. You knew damn well he wanted you, and as far as I can see you like him in return. Perfect opportunity for a rebound relationship.”

Sean growled in the back of his throat.

“ Because,” he said finally. “ I don’t know! It just happened like that. And Orli did turn up quite quickly anyway, so there wasn’t really a chance for anything to develop even if we wanted it to. Dave knew I was desperate to get back with you two, after all,”

“ What, you think he’s some sort of monk?” snorted Viggo. “ Dave’s only human, Sean. If you had pestered him enough his token resistance would have completely collapsed. That Saturday night, how long did it take you to convince him to let you use him?”

“ I didn’t *use* him!” protested Sean.

“ Bless. Fine, we’ll do it your way. How long did it take you to convince him to let you *make love* to him?” Viggo’s eyebrow was raised and waiting. Sean scowled, not wanting to answer that one. Not long. Not long at all. There was a noise of understanding from Viggo, who simply picked up his book again and started to flick irritably through it.

“ I don’t want to hear Daniel’s name mentioned again,” he added. “ Ever.”

“ You can’t hide away from it forever, Vig,”

” Not if you two have your way, no, I can’t. You two are the ones raking it up, not me,” Viggo was back to snarling again. Orli raised his head.

” And when you were worried you were abusing Sean the same way as Daniel did you? I assume you’re saying that was Sean’s fault for making you think like that, despite the fact-“

“ Orlando, shut up,” There was no mistaking the order in that voice. And equally there was no mistaking the slight tremble of his words. Even Viggo wasn’t strong enough to defend against his own emotions for too long. Orlando shushed for a moment, his eyes studying Viggo carefully as though a crocodile hunter assessing whether the reptile in front of them was waiting to strike or simply lazy.

“ How many times have you hit Sean because of Daniel?” he asked softly.

“ That’s not fair,” Viggo glared at him. “ For fuck’s sake, Sean *deserved* -“

The voice suddenly cut off as though someone had cut Viggo’s vocal chords. Viggo looked stunned, his mouth still slightly open, his eyes briefly wide and shocked before the man retreated behind his neutral mask again. Sean noticed the fact that Viggo didn’t look at him, carefully avoiding his gaze.

” I probably did deserve it,” Sean sighed. “ But…. ,” The blonde had to trail off there as suddenly he regained Viggo’s gaze, and the look that was currently within it spoke volumes about something. Now all he had to do was work out what it was. Whatever it was, apparently it was extremely intense.

“ He deserved it did he?” Orlando spoke quietly, and with emphasis on the second word. Viggo flushed – actually flushed, Sean didn’t realise he had it in him – and dropped the intense look immediately. Obviously yet another phrase of Daniel’s had cropped up into the conversation, although it would make sense. If Viggo had needed hospital care for a great deal of time, obviously ‘deserved’ punishments were a regular occurrence.

Orlando relented about this topic, which was just as well for everyone.

“ Anyway, the point I’m making is that *he* is still a big influence in our relationship. You never treated me like that. Just Sean. And that was only because he reminded you of yourself, so you thought that the only way to control him was to lower his defences-“

” That’s a lie,” growled Viggo in a low voice but obviously Orli didn’t notice or didn’t care.

“ – and when you found that you were dragging him into situations that were so clearly linked to situations you saw with Daniel, well then you desperately tried to make him leave, to escape to Dave. Dave’s safe, isn’t he Viggo? He might be a little sharper than you want on occasion but he’d never hurt the man he loves,” Orlando’s chocolate brown eyes were fixed on Viggo. “ Unlike you,” he added softly.

“ Orlando, shut up now or I swear to god you will suffer,” the older man snarled. Orli shrugged offhandedly, and glanced at Sean who was watching him open mouthed. A quick swallow told Sean his throat had almost completely dried out at the same time. However, he really had to get it working quickly otherwise apparently Orli was going to be suffering big time.

“ So what exactly do you two want me to do?” snapped Viggo. “ I’m a monster, I got it.”

“ Bloody hell, Vig, that’s not what he’s saying!” protested Sean. “ You didn’t mean for any of that to happen. Did you ask Daniel to do those things to you?”

There was a pause. Viggo looked shifty, but shifty was good, shifty at least wasn’t a positive. Sean heaved a sigh of relief as Viggo shook his head once, his fingers playing on the spine of the book.

“ I believe the point of this exercise was to work out what was going to happen next?” Viggo’s eyes were attracted to the book as though drawn with a magnet. Sean hissed through his teeth and glanced at Orlando, who had apparently been thinking things over in the confines of his mind far too much recently. Orli merely looked back at him. Hissing through his teeth, Sean finally looked back at Viggo.

“ What do you feel happy with?” he asked simply. Viggo snorted amusement.

“ Bit late to ask that now,” he commented dryly.

“ To be fair, I don’t believe you’ve ever really asked me either,” Sean defended his position. Viggo eyed him thoughtfully, then shrugged, his gaze returning to the book.

” I was happy to let it work itself out, although no doubt Orlando will be the first to point out you have to work at relationships to make them happen,”

“ Not happen. Happen the way you want them to happen,” pointed out Orli. “ And Dave said exactly the same thing to you, cause he was the one who told me.”

“ He might have mentioned something along those lines,” Viggo mused lightly, still playing with the book. “ along with a few other ideas.” There was a grin. “ On occasion I felt he was just supplying me with ideas he was too afraid to try out for himself,”

“ Don’t remind me,” groaned Sean. “ Karl is still angry with you about that,”

“ Is he? Good,” There was a flash of satisfaction in Viggo’s eyes. “ He definitely deserved it, the little bastard. Lucky I didn’t do more. Still might, if Dave goes through with his little scheme.”

“ Little scheme?” Sean frowned. Viggo shrugged.

” Completely drawing board. And likely to stay there for the immediate future as well,” Viggo’s eyes flickered towards Sean. “ Might tell you later, if you can promise to keep your mouth shut,”

“ Makes a change from you wanting my mouth *open*,” mused Sean lightly. Viggo snorted laughter again, and continued to pick at the book idly.

“ So?” he prompted. “ I’m not doing all the work here. I know what Orlando wants, unless he’s ‘changed’ recently. So that leaves…,”

Sean was aware of two eyes trained on him. Obviously Orli hadn’t changed in the slightest. Sean paused, trying to sort his mind out. God, he had had plenty of time to consider what he wanted from this relationship. One thing was certain; he didn’t want to be the one holding the whip. He always felt incredibly guilty, and guilt did funny things to you in the middle of the night. His was especially active, as though it had felt neglected at some point and was desperate to make up for it.

The roles were small in this sort of thing, Viggo had said. Was he happy taking on the other position? Hand on heart, swear to god…

Sean finally looked up, feeling the calmest he had felt for some time. Viggo raised an eyebrow, simply waiting for him. Orli leaned a little closer as though expecting Sean to start whispering.

“ I want for us to go on as we have been. I never realised how much I would miss being threatened during sex,” Sean smiled slightly, his eyes still cautious. “ And I want you to hurt me,” he said added finally.

For a long while Viggo didn’t move, didn’t speak. Not a muscle twitched. Orlando looked a little surprised, then glanced back at Viggo as well, waiting for his response. Feeling as though he had trampled on more feelings, Sean hurried to add to his statement.

“ I’m not drunk. I’m not worried. I’m not pressurised. This is what I want, Vig. I want to be part of this, be with you and Orli. If you want to take on your old role, of course,” Sean looked back at him steadily, feeling his heart rate creep up in the traitorous manner that it did.

Viggo was still watching him.

“ When you say hurt,” Viggo said finally. “ what exactly do you mean?”

“ Whatever takes your fancy. But I want a knife to be involved,” Sean’s eyes slid to Orlando then back again steadily. “ Like Orli’s. Permanent.”

Sean wasn’t sure what he was expecting at this stage. Viggo could explode with anger. He could refuse. He could simply do it without a flicker of emotion. Or he could simply sit there, looking at him as though Sean was a teenager who had declared to his conservative parents that he wanted to get a large tattoo of a declaration of love shoved over his bicep. By the look on Viggo’s face, this analogy might also stretch for the vicar to be present as well.

“ Why do you want that?” Viggo said slowly, his eyes almost showing concern. Sean smiled ruefully.

“ The collars come off at night,” he said simply.

There was another long pause. Viggo sat back against the headboard once again, his eyes distant in thought. Sean shot another look at Orlando who was giving him a proud grin, then back at the older man, waiting for his decision. Blue-grey eyes moved back to him slowly.

“ This isn’t from some sort of fear that I’m going to leave you again,” he began, when Sean cut him off.

“ No,” his eyes pleaded with Viggo to understand. “ It’s something I want. Please,”

Viggo sighed. “ I’ve been here before,” he murmured to himself. “ And I’ve already heard the arguments.”

“ Vig, I’m yours. If you need something to label it under, label it under some sort of symbol to trust me not to take over, not to hurt you,” Sean was babbling now, he knew damn well he was, but hell, sentence structure was far too difficult at this point in time. Viggo looked more than a little unconvinced.

” By me hurting you?” Viggo snorted. Sean shrugged.

“ Works for me,” Green eyes flickered towards Orlando and then back again. “ Worked for Orlando,”

There was a heavy sigh. Viggo settled back against the headboard, his eyes fixed on Sean warily. Sean could feel the unwillingness from here, had a sneaking suspicion no amount of words would be able to push through that barrier. How did Orli manage it? Sneaky soul that he was.

“ But we don’t have to focus on that part now,” Sean added quickly. Viggo’s eyes narrowed but he didn’t bother to contradict him. Fingers moved towards the book once again as though desperate for some sort of shield, even if it was paper backed. Orlando had also noticed this movement as he leant forward.

“ Viggo,” he said softly. “ We need to know what you want in this. You can’t just keep quiet about it all,” there was a brief hesitation. “ Well, you *can*,” he amended. “ But it’s just going to get more frustrating than it already is, and to be honest I’m at that stage where I’m very tempted to just grab hold of the pair of you and…,”

He was aware of two pairs of hard eyes being aimed at him. Words paused, possibly out of self preservation.

“ You get the idea,” Orlando shrugged. Viggo growled softly in his throat.

” I don’t know what you want me to say,” he replied.

” Good. I don’t want you saying what I want you to say. I want you saying what needs to be said,”

Viggo looked at him briefly, and smiled to himself. “ You’ve been having more philosophical conversations with Mr Wenham again, haven’t you?” he mused to himself. “ Cute,”

“ You’re not answering the question, Vig,”

” I’m well aware of what I am and what I am not doing, Orlando Bloom. You use that tone on me again and I’m going to get extremely tetchy,” Viggo stared back at Orli, then glanced at Sean who was watching him silently. He sighed through his teeth. “ Fine. I’ll think about it.”

“ But-“

“ *I said I’d think about it.*,” growled Viggo. “ I am not going to get browbeaten into giving some sort of impromptu speech just because Sean’s managed to start speaking to me,”

“ Excuse me? You don’t speak to me either!” Sean was stung by this injustice.

“ The pair of you are as crap as each other,” Orlando folded his arms. “ But I can’t see it being any worse being left until tonight. Okay?”

Sean looked at him angrily. He didn’t like this idea. Tonight was many many hours away and that meant many many hours of having to keep up his courage to speak, not to mention keep his thoughts in order. Orli completely ignored him, although there was a frown of his own forming.

Viggo retreated into his book, although Sean was certain those blue-grey eyes followed him until he was safely out of the room and left to worry about what that night would bring.

TBC