In the Dark for j_flattermann

[vbmods.livejournal.com]

Title: In The Dark
Author: rubyelf
Rating: NC17
Warnings: None
Beta: beccatheeditor
Request: any genre, any rating
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. It's make believe and completely untrue.
Summary: Four hobbits and an elf decide to play matchmaker by putting Sean and Viggo in an unusual situation



"I'll just have to kill the whole lot of them," Sean said, kicking a pile of spare orc costumes.

"Maybe it was an accident," Viggo suggested.

"It wasn't a fucking accident. Those little bastards know perfectly well that the doors on the prop rooms don't open from the inside when they're locked, and they knew everybody would be off the set by this time of evening so there'd be no one to hear us shouting until tomorrow morning!"

Viggo shrugged. "Possible. You know how hobbits are."

"They'd better be fast runners when I get out of here. Tricked me into coming in here..."

"Well, they tricked me into it too..."

Sean frowned. "Did they? I thought you were just in here looking for something."

"There's nothing in this prop room except pieces of the Moria sets and a bunch of orc gear. They sent me in here to look for you."

"Hmph," Sean muttered, puzzled. "Why the hell would they want to shut both of us in here?"

"I don't know. You could read the note."

"What note?"

"The one on the box over there."

"Fuck! Why didn't you read it?"

"Was waiting for you to get done shouting," Viggo said, sitting down on a pile of drop cloths with his bare feet outstretched.

"What are you doing with your shoes off again?"

"Getting comfortable. What's the note say?"

Sean read aloud. "Dear Sean and Viggo... this is for your own good. Drastic measures were necessary. Tired of watching you two pretend you're not attracted to each other. It's ruining Viggo's sense of humor and making Sean's even worse than usual. Figure it out by morning or we'll be forced to tie you together. Love, four hobbits and an elf. P.S. There's bottled water and a case of beer in the cooler under the orc heads. Leave some for us."

He crumpled the note into a ball and tossed it, looking everywhere but at Viggo. "Fucking idiots! They're out of their minds... and Orlando, too!"

"Sean."

"What?"

"It's going to be a long night if you keep shouting."

"Well, what else am I going to do?"

"You could get us a beer."

Sean glanced at him. "You're an odd one, Vigs."

"So they say."

Sean shoved aside some orc heads to find the cooler and dragged it over to where Viggo was sitting. He looked around, trying to decide where to sit so as not to make him think the hobbits were right about any of this nonsense, but also not to make him think Sean was worried about him thinking that...

Viggo pointed to a pile of orc cloaks nearby, close enough for two men who'd gotten to know each other very well over the last few months, but not close enough to be disturbing under the circumstances. Viggo took the beer Sean offered him, then flicked his beer cap across the room.

"It's going to be dark soon," he observed, nodding toward the small windows set high on the walls.

"Mm-hmm," Sean muttered.

"Did you notice the light switch?"

"No... fuck! The little bastards took it apart!"

Viggo shrugged. "I can handle it being pitch black, as long as we don't run out of beer."

They sat quietly for a few minutes, looking up at the gray light filtering through the windows.

"I'm going to strangle all four of those hobbits. And the elf, too," Sean said. "They can't possibly think this little scheme of theirs is supposed to accomplish anything. They can't really think you just lock two men up in a room together in the dark and by morning they'll be... well, you know."

"I don't know what they think. You can ask them before you kill them, if you want."

Sean glanced at Viggo again; the other man was watching him with those inscrutable gray eyes that could hold so many quiet unsaid things.

"You're not even the least bit irritated about all of this?" he asked.

"Doesn't seem to be much point in being irritated about it. There won't be anyone around till morning, so I'm just making the best of it."

Sean couldn't argue with that, so he sat back and finished his beer, then took two more out of the cooler. Viggo tipped his back emptied it, and then rolled the bottle across the floor and took the new one Sean offered him.

"Keep it up at this rate and you'll be sloshed," Sean said.

Viggo raised an eyebrow. "And you won't?"

"Didn't say that."

"You lost the drinking contest we had in Wellington..."

"You cheated."

"How the hell do you cheat at a drinking contest?"

"You were slipping your drinks to the hobbits on the side."

"What? I was... you're just giving me a hard time, aren't you, asshole."

A smile touched the corners of Viggo's mouth. "Just a little."

"What for?"

"You got something else to do for ten hours or so?"

The hobbits had something in mind, Sean thought, but said nothing. The last thing he wanted was for Viggo to think he was some kind of sick horny weirdo. There was no doubt Viggo was a good-looking man, with those angular features and changeable eyes and the lean muscles built up from months of sword practice and horseback riding and trudging all over New Zealand. But that was hardly the point; the hobbits were crazy if they thought Sean was going to jump all over another guy just because they were locked in a prop room together. And Viggo was an odd fellow; Sean liked him, but it was impossible to tell what he was thinking, with that hint of a smile that said everything and nothing.

"I suppose we probably ought to arrange whatever we'll need before it gets completely dark," Viggo said.

"Arrange things?"

"Well, we've got our beer within reach, but I was thinking of making myself something to sleep on besides the floor, and unless you're planning on pissing all over the orc costumes, we should probably designate something for that purpose."

Sean laughed. "I suppose that might not go over well with the folks who have to wear the orc costumes. Here... these cloaks I'm sitting on aren't too bad."

By the time they had each set up a pile of drop cloths with several of the orc cloaks on top for a makeshift bed, the light outside had faded to a pale gray twilight, and Viggo had become a dark shadow moving against the strange shapes looming around them. Sean settled down in his spot and watched as the shadow slipped out of the dimness and settled down, facing him over the cooler.

"You all right, there, Sean?"

"Bloody fantastic. Fucking hobbits."

"Relax. If you're going to be pissed at them, save it for when you can do something about it. For now, relax and enjoy your beer."

Viggo could have been talking nonsense, but his steady, even tone would still have calmed Sean's frustration. Often he would find that when he felt frustration gnawing through him, whether he was on set or in his trailer or standing around waiting for something to happen, Viggo would drift over and say something unimportant, random, but in that low voice that seemed to uncoil Sean's tense muscles and make everything suddenly more bearable. Was that why the hobbits thought the two of them had a thing for each other? That was silly. Viggo was his friend. There was nothing wrong with having a friend who understood when you were having a bad day, or when you were just about to lose your temper, a friend who seemed to always know exactly when to be there...

Except that he'd never had a friend quite like that before. Then again, he'd never met anyone quite like Viggo before. The man never left the set in the evening without looking in on his horse and having a quick chat with him. He would turn into Aragorn for hours at a time, refusing to break character even between scenes, sitting and watching the others with the weight of the future king on his shoulders. Then suddenly and without warning he would be grinning wildly and kissing some random cast member, or tackling an unsuspecting associate into the grass. Definitely an odd fellow.

He realized from Viggo's stance that he was waiting for a response.

"All right, then. I'll wait till tomorrow when I've got my hands around hobbit necks. No point in growling at you. This wasn't your idea."

"No," Viggo said, laughing softly. "I would have been a little more subtle about it."

Sean froze. "Subtle about what?"

"If I happened to be playing matchmaker. I would come up with something a bit more romantic than locking people in a prop room and expecting nature to take its course."

"Oh."

A few more beers gradually but steadily disappeared, and Sean could hear Viggo's bottle caps clinking off in the darkness. By the time Sean had finished his fourth beer, he could no longer see the bottle when he held it up to his face; the only breaks in the blackness were the slightly paler rectangles of the windows high up on the walls.

"Properly dark now," he observed.

Viggo chuckled. "I'm glad to have your company, at least... somebody could get a bit twitchy sitting here in the pitch blackness all night with no one to talk to."

"Mm-hmm," Sean agreed, trying to hear in Viggo's voice what he couldn't see on his face.

"Orlando would be climbing the walls," Viggo went on. "And the hobbits... they'd have finished all the beer and started making vulgar comments to each other."

"If not worse," Sean agreed. "I'm not sure it would take much to get Billy and Dominic off in a corner together feeling each other up."

"I suspect it wouldn't be the first time."

Sean snorted. "You would know, wouldn't you? You'll kiss anyone, as far as I can tell."

"Haven't kissed you," Viggo noted.

Sean swallowed hard, realizing that Viggo could probably hear it, and made his voice light and joking when he spoke. "No, you haven't. I'm probably the only one. Why is that?"

"Didn't think you'd appreciate it."

Sean had no answer to this, but he decided to grab a bottle of water instead of another beer; he was starting to worry that a loose tongue might make him say something he'd regret. They sat for a while, listening to the darkness, listening to each other breathing, shifting on their piles of cloaks. Sean realized that in the blackness his ears were tuned with almost painful acuity to every sound that might hint at what Viggo was doing, or even thinking; only feet away, he could have been on another continent for all Sean could tell what was going on in his head. Eventually, though, the blunt demand of his full bladder distracted him, and he cautiously stood up and fumbled for the bucket Viggo had found in a corner, full of arrows. He tried to put some distance between him and Viggo, embarrassed to realize that obviously he would know what he was up to anyway, then set the bucket down and
tried to pretend that nobody was listening to him pissing.

He realized when he turned to return to his spot that he had no idea where he was in the room, or which direction he was facing. The feeling was disorienting and alarming, and he put his hands out, hoping to find some guidance.

"Sean," came the familiar, quiet voice. "You lost?"

"A bit."

"Over this way. You're not far. Just don't stub your toes on something. Keep walking... there you are, right?"

Sean felt his feet brush against a pile of drop cloths and cloaks, and he flopped down on it in relief. It took him a long second to realize that there was a warm body next to him.

"Shit! Sorry, Vigs! I thought this was my..."

Viggo put a hand on his knee to still him. "Sit down. Relax. It's all right."

Sean was certain he'd heard Viggo talking in the same voice to startled horses, but that didn't change the way it brushed over him and calmed him again. Unable to take any cues from Viggo's face or his shoulders or his eyes, he found himself listening anxiously for anything that might give him a hint. Finally he heard it; a soft in-drawn breath as the hand on his knee shifted slightly, then a hesitation, even Viggo's breath paused, waiting. Suddenly the blackness was a blessing; he would have been terrified to look Viggo in the face at the moment, afraid of what he would see there, but right now he could see nothing, and his other senses did not lie to him the way his eyes might. He could hear the shift of Viggo's muscles, taste the closeness of him, smell the odd clash of Viggo's scent of earth and the outdoors with a whiff of the cleanser the makeup ladies used to clean their faces at the end of the day. Every nerve ending in his body seemed to connect to his knee and the hand that rested on it, fingers twitching just slightly, sending electrical shocks through him.

He heard Viggo lick his lips nervously, and that made him shiver.

"You asked me why you're the only cast member that never gets kissed."

"I... yeah..."

"Because you're the only one that would have bothered me if you'd called me an asshole and pushed me off and laughed at me."

Sean could hear his own breath, as uneven as Viggo's in the darkness.

"Isn't that what you would have done?"

"Probably," Sean admitted, his voice sounding strange and tight.

Another breathless hesitation. "Sean?"

"Yes?"

Whatever Viggo wanted to say caught in his throat, and he could not answer. Sean was suddenly hit by a need to do something, anything, to ease the silence. He lifted his hand and placed it carefully over Viggo's. A sharp hiss of breath escaped both of them at the contact; Viggo had not expected it and his entire body shivered at the touch. His fingers shifted between Sean's, interlocking their hands.

"Vigs?"

Viggo breathed again. "Yeah?"

"What were you going to say?"

"Oh... I was going to ask..."

"What I'd do if you kissed me now?" Sean asked, wondering where the hell those words had come from.

"Yeah. That."

"I'm not sure. I think..."

Viggo leaned forward, and his free hand came up, finding Sean's face in the darkness, tracing up the line of his jaw for just a moment to get its bearings before he leaned in and his mouth met Sean's.

He was warm and solid and real, filling Sean's senses with the smell and taste of him, the details of the roughly chapped and softly yielding lips, the brush of Viggo's fingers over the stubble of his cheek and along his jaw, sliding gently down his neck, fingertips on the soft skin. His hand found Viggo's shoulder and pulled him closer, until Viggo's arms came up and wrapped around him, and a tongue flicked across his lips, tasting.

With no vision there was only his body to trust, and Sean's body was demanding that he get Viggo as close to him as possible immediately. He leaned back, pulling Viggo with him, and they fell back together on the makeshift bed, legs tangled, hands clutching, both of them breathing roughly against each other's skin, Sean's mouth on Viggo's throat. Viggo made a soft, desperate sound and his arms curled around Sean's back, pulling him against his body. Sean was startled at the feeling of a hard bulge pressing up into his groin, but Viggo's skin was so warm, and his body so yielding under Sean's hands, that he didn't care. For long, breathless moments they grasped at each other, hands sliding under shirts, finding the tight muscles of an abdomen stretched tight and trembling. Sean realized eventually that the tangle of their bodies had resolved, with Viggo's legs now wrapped around Sean's, hooked behind his knees, pulling him against Sean, and he realized he was thrusting himself against the wiry body beneath him.

"Sean," Viggo gasped, and his hand found Sean's belt, fumbling with the buckle. Sean heard himself groan as he arched up into Viggo's hand, desperate for contact, as his belt buckle surrendered and his buttons and zipper were close behind. Viggo's hand slid over his cock, just brushing it with his fingers, but the muffled cry this drew from Sean encouraged him, and he wrapped his hand around the length and stroked firmly. Sean's hands fell to clutch at the drop cloths as he rolled to the side, giving Viggo more room to work. Unable to see anything but the windows above him, all his attention and all his senses focused on Viggo's hand, Viggo's body pressed against him. The newness of it all, the shock, and the painfully intense focus of his sense of touch overwhelmed him, and his hands twisted in the drop cloth as he came, hips jerking up into Viggo's hand.

He slumped back, heart pounding, stars dancing in front of his eyes for a moment. Eventually he became aware of Viggo laying next to him, his cock still pressing against Sean's hip, silently waiting.

"Viggo..." he mumbled, rolling toward him and pulling him into his arms, kissing him. Viggo was still breathing hard, and somehow Sean knew that his gray eyes were wide and dark in excitement, even if he could not see them. He reached down and tugged at the ties of the loose pants, wondering to himself whether the man ever wore normal clothes, and slid his hand down Viggo's stomach to reach into his pants and close his hand around Viggo's cock. It jumped at the touch, and Viggo inhaled sharply. Then Sean was pulling him close with one hand, stroking him with the other, kissing him until Viggo's head fell back to gasp for breath. He rocked against Sean, almost shaking, until Sean stroked harder and faster, and then Viggo was gasping, gripping Sean's shirt as he came.

They lay together for a while, tangled with each other, wrapped in blackness, listening to each other as their breathing evened out and their pulses slowed. Sean could almost hear the almost-spoken words running through Viggo's head, and he realized that Viggo was waiting, waiting for Sean to do something, either speak words of acceptance of what had just happened or push him away and begin building walls.

"Viggo..."

"Yes?" There was anxiousness in his voice, but also hope.

"Those fucking hobbits must never know anything about this, you know. We'll never hear the end of it."

Viggo laughed. "Smug little bastards. I won't tell them if you don't."

Sean laid his head back on Viggo's shoulder, surprised at how easily it fit there.

"I suppose we'd better tidy ourselves up and find our own little rag-piles to sleep in, then," he said.

"Unfortunately," Viggo said. "I could quite happily fall asleep right here."

Sean frowned, not sure what to say, whether Viggo expected everything to go back to normal when the doors opened in the morning.

"Sean?" Viggo asked, as if he knew. "Is this... it? Do we pretend this didn't happen?"

"I don't know," Sean said, his arm draped over Viggo's chest. "Maybe we should try it again when we can actually see each other before we make any decisions."

Viggo chuckled, then yawned. "That sounds like a good plan to me."

"All right," Sean said, fixing his jeans and buckling his belt. "I say we lay here for five more minutes, and then we'll go to our own beds."

"I agree."


"Holy fuck, Billy!" Dominic whispered, peering through the door. "Look at this!"

Billy elbowed him out of the way and looked in. "Oh, shit! You don't mean that actually worked, do you?"

"Well, look at them!" Elijah said. "All draped all over each other and snoring away..."

"I think they're fucking with us," Dominic said, frowning. "There's no way that really worked."

"I told you it would," Orlando said smugly.

"Shut up, elf-boy. You had no idea either."

"They do look cozy together," Billy observed.

"Till they wake up," Elijah reminded them. "At which point Sean is going to kick all of our asses into next week. And I think he just rolled over, so I suggest we start running."

Comments

[j-flattermann.livejournal.com]

I love the way the cheeky bastards managed to tricks Sean and Viggo and that the plan actually worked.
But the end had me laughing out loud for they better run before Sean wakes. Hee Hee good fun this. Thank you so much I entirely enjoyed that.

[rubyelf.livejournal.com]

As long as you liked it, my dear, I am happy!

[clocks.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to butt in and say that I really loved this, and I think you've especially gotten Viggo spot on. WONDERFUL! I'm always a fan of hobbits (and the occasional Elf) springing nasty surprises on the poor filthy humans....

[rubyelf.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I am just catching up with comments here and I'm glad you enjoyed it and even more glad you think I got the characters right.

[splix.livejournal.com]

Heh, such clever hobbits and elf. Love how the darkness and isolation released their inhibitions. Oh, to be a fly on the wall. Very nice!

[rubyelf.livejournal.com]

A fly with night vision, I'd be... and I was thinking about how much more tuned in your other senses become when you can't see. It's disorienting, but not necessarily a bad thing...

[mooms.livejournal.com]

I like the sneaky Hobbit matchmaking and of course it worked, but I agree that they had better run befoire Sean wakes up! Great fun! :D

[rubyelf.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm catching up with comments and I'm glad you liked it. And I wouldn't want to be them when Sean catches up with them...

[bluegerl.livejournal.com]

I do love a really soppy love story and these two are IT - and the Hobbits and Orlando fairy godmothers or something. Its gorgeous - can just see them Viggo hoping like crazy but not pushing it, just praying, and Sean - great coward but thank god for full bladders!!! How deliciously original. Love on an Orc cloak.

[rubyelf.livejournal.com]

Heehee. Now I'm imagining a little winged Orlando with a magic wand flittering around the LoTR set sprinkling pixie dust on folks...

[bluegerl.livejournal.com]

Beany says YES!!!! Naked of course!

[govi20.livejournal.com]

Ohh.. Sean will be dangerous. Big fun!

[rubyelf.livejournal.com]

Hopefully they'll manage to hide until he settles down. Thanks for reading!

[j-flattermann.livejournal.com]

Had to revisit and need to put this into my memories. Still giggling over the cheeky Hobbits and the sly Viggo who seem to know that “good things will come to whom who waits.” Glorious.

[foxrafer.livejournal.com]

This was delightful and fun, and such a wonderful picture to have of them, sitting in the dark, finding their way to each other. Lovely.

[rubyelf.livejournal.com]

Aww... thanks! Glad you liked it!

[vjezkova.livejournal.com]

This is really a stunnig study of Sean´s mind,oh so him, and Viggo, so real.
I enjoyed the development of the situation, and yes, they just needed a proper chance. Of course I giggled at the end, what else. Thanks, Ruby!

[rubyelf.livejournal.com]

Most welcome, my dear. I'm glad the characters and the situation worked... and the hobbits succeeded with their plan.

[shegollum.livejournal.com]

this is so much fun! i love the whole premise, of course, and you do it so well! smart-ass hobbits, angry sean, mellow-but-i-love-you,-you stupid-sexy-brit-viggo...all present and accounted for. you did a great job of balancing the sexy and the funny. i thoroughly enjoyed myself (only a little less than viggo and sean, i think!). thank you!

[rubyelf.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I try to make sure there's always some funny in there somewhere... I prefer my smut well-blended with humor.

[blonddemon.livejournal.com]

The bloody Hobbits plan worked. That was a naughty thing to do but it got the desired results. Maybe Viggo and Sean will be in too good a mood to get even with the little bastards. Hmmm, what are all of those stains on the orc costumes?

[rubyelf.livejournal.com]

Hehe... I would not want to be the person who had to wear those costumes the next day. I imagine they smelled a little funny. Oh, well. Thanks for reading!

[lyndz-kins.livejournal.com]

Damn it, get the night vision goggles out. Have to laugh at how long it took them to get together...not long at all! Got to love those Hobbits. Thank you :)

[rubyelf.livejournal.com]

Nope, didn't take too long... hobbits knew they had a thing for each other. Bit of a risky plan, though, since if it didn't work it was likely to be an extremely pissed-off Sean they found in the morning...

[noalinnea.livejournal.com]

This is awesome! Love how they are coming to terms with their "imprisonment" :) Thanks for the great read!