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rugbytackleTITLE: The Orange Grove (22/32): Mirror
AUTHOR: Cinzia and Gloria
Full headers here
The night was getting colder; by the time Sean had calmed down and decided to go back to the car, Viggo was nowhere to be seen. Of course, he told himself: he'd been staring out at the sea for almost an hour. It was unlikely that Viggo would still be there, waiting...
Waiting for what? Sean snorted to himself, feeling the vague disappointment wash over him and cursing himself for it. Viggo had probably gone back to P-- to that boy, or maybe he was already home; in any case, Sean didn't have to face him just now, and that suited him fine.
When he finally got home, all the lights were out. Viggo's car was parked in its usual spot, so he had to be inside; but Sean made his way towards his room, resolutely not looking outside on the terrace or in the lounge or anywhere else. When he found himself in front of his bathroom mirror he stopped, and took a good, hard look at himself.
There were bright red flecks on his lips, brilliant droplets dried up at the corner of his mouth.
"Tosser," he murmured, idly scraping at them with his thumbnail. He was referring to Viggo, obviously -- though the darkened eyes looking back at him from the mirror didn't seem to be aware of that.
His fingers paused on his chin, went back to lightly trace his mouth. His lips felt different, when he licked them.
Not much like oranges, after all, he thought. Viggo had tasted like... well, blood, and... and he didn't really have a term of comparison here, did he? He vaguely wondered whether he'd tasted that lad mixed up with Viggo, but the thought made him feel more than a little sick, so he switched it off.
He should brush his teeth, and go to bed.
In a minute, he would.
He stared at his own reflection until he heard a faint, distant noise inside the house: the French doors, opening downstairs. He heard the floorboards creaking quietly at the top of the stairs, then a moment of silence, a pause -- then footsteps fading away along the corridor, and the muted click of Viggo's bedroom door closing.
His forehead touched the cool, smooth surface of the mirror and, after a minute, he heard the pipes working. Viggo was taking a shower. He could almost see him -- see him naked under the hot spray, water running down his shoulders, his back, his chest... almost scalding...
Did Viggo feel dirty? Did he want to get clean again? Was he scrubbing the feeling of that dark pretty boy off him -- or was it Sean's touch, that Viggo was getting rid of? After the way Sean had just walked out on him... After how angry Viggo had sounded...
Sean closed his eyes for a second, then brushed his teeth -- and washed his face -- and went to bed.
And as it turned out, he needn't have worried about getting up so early to sneak off to the set the next day, because Viggo's scenes were only scheduled for the afternoon. Still, it felt funny that he should be the one doing the avoiding now. He felt bad -- as if he was hiding, somehow.
He was wondering if Viggo had felt this way all last week.
Still, it was a fine morning, and the clear light of day made him feel more relaxed. He didn't need to avoid Viggo: they'd been stupid last night, both of them. He was sure they could find an explanation for...
He was sure they could go back to the way things had been before, if they both wanted it.
His stomach clenched when he thought that, but he ignored it. It was the only sensible thing, seeing how hard it was for Viggo to get over Orlando, apparently -- and seeing how Sean couldn't give Viggo what he needed, of course. Of course he couldn't.
"You look a little peaky today."
Sean jumped at the words: he had forgotten he'd been sitting in Makeup waiting for Valeria to arrive, but there she was now, already fitted in her costume -- a light, see-through lacy nightgown, over which she'd thrown a shawl to walk around the set -- looking down at him from where she stood, leaning against the makeup table.
"Eh, it's nothing. 'M fine," he said, but could see she was calling his bluff. Maybe it'd been a mistake trying for bright and cheerful when he actually felt like shite. He wasn't looking forward to hearing Dave, the makeup guy, grumble about covering up the black shadows under his eyes.
"I hope it's not the thought of having to kiss me again," she only said, looking all put out. Sean recalled they needed to take a few more angles of their screen kiss today, before going on to a new scene.
It actually managed to make him smile. "That's the only thing that could brighten my day -- if my day needed brightening," he added quickly, flirting back without much thought. It was habit by now, especially with her.
"Which it doesn't," Valeria conceded, but on her lips it sounded like a question. Sean ignored this, and just looked back at her.
She looked damn fine in white, her unruly dark curls held back in a loose ponytail, waiting to be fixed. There were faint lines of laughter and age around her eyes and mouth, but looking into the huge grey-green eyes it was hard to believe she was actually a full decade older than Athina, her character.
"Maybe," he heard himself say, his voice suddenly lowered, his eyes on her red, full mouth, "I could do with a bit of brightening, after all."
"Oh?" He saw her lips curve in a slow smile. "Is that a come-hither, Mr Bean?"
"It's..." Sean hesitated. It was, wasn't it? They'd been flirting since day one, so what was wrong with it? Not Sarah: they'd hardly dated, and it'd never been serious anyway. And surely not...
"Aye, it is," he said, firmly, lowering his voice even more. They were still undisturbed in the trailer. He reached out, feeling the smooth fabric of her costume under his fingers, the rounded shape of her waist just above the hip, lean but not so much that he'd feel like she could break in his hands. Yes -- just how he liked it. Solid, strong, substantial. His kind of woman.
He pulled, gently, and she went without resistance, sliding her arms around his neck, so that Sean's eyes were level with the graceful curve of her shoulders, naked under the cream-coloured shawl. He put his other hand there, feeling the smoothness of the skin on her nape, wisps of hair brushing his fingers.
"Rehearsal?" Valeria murmured, her eyes glinting mischievously under her lowered eyelashes.
"Yes, of course," Sean smiled, and he didn't need to tug her head down, because she leaned in willingly, her mouth opening against his, soft and pliant, so smooth against his skin. Her scent enveloped him like a cloud, something sweet, flowery, no bitterness here -- nothing as salty as the sea breeze that had chilled him to the bones on the harbour last night, while the taste of blood blended with the ghostly taste of unripe oranges in his mouth, while his body still ached with hunger for it -- that angry, desperate hunger...
"Fuck," he cursed under his breath, pulling away. His throat felt suddenly dry. He let go of Valeria, as though he hadn't realised he was holding her.
No bitterness here. No aching. No fear. No... no jealousy.
No hunger.
There was nothing, but that wasn't the worst of it.
The worst of it was that he knew he should want this, because it was what he'd always wanted -- the sweetness and the softness and...
And he didn't.
It felt different. Everything felt different -- and it wasn't, he realised, a sudden thing.
Not sudden at all.
He felt Valeria take a step back, muttering something he couldn't make out, then sighing loudly. He couldn't look up at her right now, but he had no choice when her fingers tapped the side of his face, demanding to see his eyes.
"Briefest on-set fling I've ever had," she said, matter-of-factly, and though Sean could tell she was annoyed, it didn't look too bad. She didn't look actually mad at him.
"I'm sorry," he said, meaning it.
"Sorry," she repeated, in a curious tone of voice. She let him go then, making a 'doesn't matter' kind of gesture with her hands. "Yeah, whatever. Just, you know, try to do better than that for the cameras."
Sean winced. "Valeria..."
"So, did Viggo see his friend, last night?"
The abrupt change of topic made him freeze. "I -- how would I know?"
She made a point of staring at the shadows under his eyes. "That's right, you wouldn't -- would you?" she said, her voice pleasant enough, the smile curving her lips not quite so. She looked... smug, and Sean winced again: he knew that look. His ex-wives had used it on him often enough.
Valeria looked like a woman who's just been proven right on something.
But then the trailer door opened, and suddenly they weren't alone any more. While the makeup crew fussed over them, Sean caught Valeria's eyes in the mirror.
She smiled her little smug smile again, and blew him a kiss.
AUTHOR: Cinzia and Gloria
Full headers here
The night was getting colder; by the time Sean had calmed down and decided to go back to the car, Viggo was nowhere to be seen. Of course, he told himself: he'd been staring out at the sea for almost an hour. It was unlikely that Viggo would still be there, waiting...
Waiting for what? Sean snorted to himself, feeling the vague disappointment wash over him and cursing himself for it. Viggo had probably gone back to P-- to that boy, or maybe he was already home; in any case, Sean didn't have to face him just now, and that suited him fine.
When he finally got home, all the lights were out. Viggo's car was parked in its usual spot, so he had to be inside; but Sean made his way towards his room, resolutely not looking outside on the terrace or in the lounge or anywhere else. When he found himself in front of his bathroom mirror he stopped, and took a good, hard look at himself.
There were bright red flecks on his lips, brilliant droplets dried up at the corner of his mouth.
"Tosser," he murmured, idly scraping at them with his thumbnail. He was referring to Viggo, obviously -- though the darkened eyes looking back at him from the mirror didn't seem to be aware of that.
His fingers paused on his chin, went back to lightly trace his mouth. His lips felt different, when he licked them.
Not much like oranges, after all, he thought. Viggo had tasted like... well, blood, and... and he didn't really have a term of comparison here, did he? He vaguely wondered whether he'd tasted that lad mixed up with Viggo, but the thought made him feel more than a little sick, so he switched it off.
He should brush his teeth, and go to bed.
In a minute, he would.
He stared at his own reflection until he heard a faint, distant noise inside the house: the French doors, opening downstairs. He heard the floorboards creaking quietly at the top of the stairs, then a moment of silence, a pause -- then footsteps fading away along the corridor, and the muted click of Viggo's bedroom door closing.
His forehead touched the cool, smooth surface of the mirror and, after a minute, he heard the pipes working. Viggo was taking a shower. He could almost see him -- see him naked under the hot spray, water running down his shoulders, his back, his chest... almost scalding...
Did Viggo feel dirty? Did he want to get clean again? Was he scrubbing the feeling of that dark pretty boy off him -- or was it Sean's touch, that Viggo was getting rid of? After the way Sean had just walked out on him... After how angry Viggo had sounded...
Sean closed his eyes for a second, then brushed his teeth -- and washed his face -- and went to bed.
And as it turned out, he needn't have worried about getting up so early to sneak off to the set the next day, because Viggo's scenes were only scheduled for the afternoon. Still, it felt funny that he should be the one doing the avoiding now. He felt bad -- as if he was hiding, somehow.
He was wondering if Viggo had felt this way all last week.
Still, it was a fine morning, and the clear light of day made him feel more relaxed. He didn't need to avoid Viggo: they'd been stupid last night, both of them. He was sure they could find an explanation for...
He was sure they could go back to the way things had been before, if they both wanted it.
His stomach clenched when he thought that, but he ignored it. It was the only sensible thing, seeing how hard it was for Viggo to get over Orlando, apparently -- and seeing how Sean couldn't give Viggo what he needed, of course. Of course he couldn't.
"You look a little peaky today."
Sean jumped at the words: he had forgotten he'd been sitting in Makeup waiting for Valeria to arrive, but there she was now, already fitted in her costume -- a light, see-through lacy nightgown, over which she'd thrown a shawl to walk around the set -- looking down at him from where she stood, leaning against the makeup table.
"Eh, it's nothing. 'M fine," he said, but could see she was calling his bluff. Maybe it'd been a mistake trying for bright and cheerful when he actually felt like shite. He wasn't looking forward to hearing Dave, the makeup guy, grumble about covering up the black shadows under his eyes.
"I hope it's not the thought of having to kiss me again," she only said, looking all put out. Sean recalled they needed to take a few more angles of their screen kiss today, before going on to a new scene.
It actually managed to make him smile. "That's the only thing that could brighten my day -- if my day needed brightening," he added quickly, flirting back without much thought. It was habit by now, especially with her.
"Which it doesn't," Valeria conceded, but on her lips it sounded like a question. Sean ignored this, and just looked back at her.
She looked damn fine in white, her unruly dark curls held back in a loose ponytail, waiting to be fixed. There were faint lines of laughter and age around her eyes and mouth, but looking into the huge grey-green eyes it was hard to believe she was actually a full decade older than Athina, her character.
"Maybe," he heard himself say, his voice suddenly lowered, his eyes on her red, full mouth, "I could do with a bit of brightening, after all."
"Oh?" He saw her lips curve in a slow smile. "Is that a come-hither, Mr Bean?"
"It's..." Sean hesitated. It was, wasn't it? They'd been flirting since day one, so what was wrong with it? Not Sarah: they'd hardly dated, and it'd never been serious anyway. And surely not...
"Aye, it is," he said, firmly, lowering his voice even more. They were still undisturbed in the trailer. He reached out, feeling the smooth fabric of her costume under his fingers, the rounded shape of her waist just above the hip, lean but not so much that he'd feel like she could break in his hands. Yes -- just how he liked it. Solid, strong, substantial. His kind of woman.
He pulled, gently, and she went without resistance, sliding her arms around his neck, so that Sean's eyes were level with the graceful curve of her shoulders, naked under the cream-coloured shawl. He put his other hand there, feeling the smoothness of the skin on her nape, wisps of hair brushing his fingers.
"Rehearsal?" Valeria murmured, her eyes glinting mischievously under her lowered eyelashes.
"Yes, of course," Sean smiled, and he didn't need to tug her head down, because she leaned in willingly, her mouth opening against his, soft and pliant, so smooth against his skin. Her scent enveloped him like a cloud, something sweet, flowery, no bitterness here -- nothing as salty as the sea breeze that had chilled him to the bones on the harbour last night, while the taste of blood blended with the ghostly taste of unripe oranges in his mouth, while his body still ached with hunger for it -- that angry, desperate hunger...
"Fuck," he cursed under his breath, pulling away. His throat felt suddenly dry. He let go of Valeria, as though he hadn't realised he was holding her.
No bitterness here. No aching. No fear. No... no jealousy.
No hunger.
There was nothing, but that wasn't the worst of it.
The worst of it was that he knew he should want this, because it was what he'd always wanted -- the sweetness and the softness and...
And he didn't.
It felt different. Everything felt different -- and it wasn't, he realised, a sudden thing.
Not sudden at all.
He felt Valeria take a step back, muttering something he couldn't make out, then sighing loudly. He couldn't look up at her right now, but he had no choice when her fingers tapped the side of his face, demanding to see his eyes.
"Briefest on-set fling I've ever had," she said, matter-of-factly, and though Sean could tell she was annoyed, it didn't look too bad. She didn't look actually mad at him.
"I'm sorry," he said, meaning it.
"Sorry," she repeated, in a curious tone of voice. She let him go then, making a 'doesn't matter' kind of gesture with her hands. "Yeah, whatever. Just, you know, try to do better than that for the cameras."
Sean winced. "Valeria..."
"So, did Viggo see his friend, last night?"
The abrupt change of topic made him freeze. "I -- how would I know?"
She made a point of staring at the shadows under his eyes. "That's right, you wouldn't -- would you?" she said, her voice pleasant enough, the smile curving her lips not quite so. She looked... smug, and Sean winced again: he knew that look. His ex-wives had used it on him often enough.
Valeria looked like a woman who's just been proven right on something.
But then the trailer door opened, and suddenly they weren't alone any more. While the makeup crew fussed over them, Sean caught Valeria's eyes in the mirror.
She smiled her little smug smile again, and blew him a kiss.
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no subject
Date: 2003-11-05 01:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-11-06 12:34 pm (UTC)And Friday is tomorrow, so, have a little more patience? *hug* So pleased you like Valeria, btw. Thank you! :)
no subject
Date: 2003-11-05 03:39 pm (UTC)and I love the fact that Valeria is not a deus-ex-machina bringing them together, but more like a quiet observer, a minor participant.
I am worried about Vig now ~bites nails~ how he's doing, what he's thinking...I wuld like to know more about his and Orli's story as well...
no subject
Date: 2003-11-06 12:37 pm (UTC)And you'll get to hear about Viggo, don't worry... ;)
no subject
Date: 2003-11-05 04:10 pm (UTC)Viggo'sthe right direction, I would rather see him coming to that conclusion himself.Well, 22 down, 10 to go. And I'm going slightly mad - but in a good way:-)
Wonderful chapter and wonderfully written *applauds*
no subject
Date: 2003-11-06 12:40 pm (UTC)As much as I would like Valeria to push Sean into
Viggo'sthe right direction, I would rather see him coming to that conclusion himself.*tries hard not to give away spoilers* Nnngh! Heh. ;)
Thank you for commenting! :D
no subject
Date: 2003-11-05 05:13 pm (UTC)But Sean, Sean Sean.... Honey, wake up!!
no subject
Date: 2003-11-06 12:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-11-05 08:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-11-06 12:44 pm (UTC)*squishes* :)
Just letting you know...
Date: 2003-11-06 02:28 am (UTC)Thank you for first class Sean/Vig angsty goodness. Love it.
mormegil.
Re: Just letting you know...
Date: 2003-11-06 12:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-11-06 03:50 am (UTC)It's a tribute to both your talents that I never feel like my chain is being yanked, but it's all a natural evolution of the characters. And I love Valeria; her smugness is far too much fun.
no subject
Date: 2003-11-06 12:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-20 09:42 am (UTC)