Author's Note: Why hello there! And would ya lookee what we have here...the second part of the Tongue Tied 'verse! YAY! I know, I know...it's been FOREVER. But, my life just kept getting crazier and crazier and my muse for this story just flat out abandoned me in my time of need. All that aside, I finally found some inspiration amongst all the insane shite that's been happening to me and somehow, by the grace of God, I have finished.
Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own anyone. You should've figured that out by now.
Warnings: Slash, angst, and some fluff at the end.
Rating: I'd say...PG...15? Yeah that sounds good.
A/N-2: I was going to post this as "Chapter 2" of Tongue Tied, but it's supposed to be a series of oneshots so I did this instead. Also, I strongly suggest you read that one first, otherwise you'll be extremely lost and confused.
Wrong.
Two months was definitely not enough time to get over someone. Especially if that someone is Sean Patrick Flanery. But somehow, Norman was dealing with it. Not well, but dealing none the less.
Filming went rather smoothly for the first couple of days. They got a lot of work done with Willem and the three detectives, which Troy was happy with. Sean and Norman had shot a few of their scenes with Rocco, but they still had yet to do something with just the two brothers.
Norm had managed to avoid running into Sean on set during time when they weren't shooting together. And speaking of, shooting with his costar actually wasn't as bad as Norman expected. Troy seemed to be happy with how they were portraying his characters, and that was good enough for Norm. Though things did get a little bit uncomfortable when Troy commented on how well Murphy's accent had improved since they last saw each other. Norman's heart had sunk to the pit of his stomach, but he still managed to give Troy an appreciative smile. And with that the subject was dropped.
That is until the next day, when Troy announced they would be shooting both the scenes in the twins's loft and, the thing that started it all. The shtupid fuckin' rope scene.
Norman was tense for the rest of the morning after Troy's announcement. He barely touched his breakfast and was unusually quiet and spacey during make-up. Not that he was really much of a chatterbox anyway, which is more than he could say for Sean, but his silence was strange enough to the point where the make-up artist asked him if he was feeling ok.
A fake smile and a quick lie took care of the make-up girl's concerns, and Norman was finished and sent off to wardrobe.
Getting into costume helped somewhat to calm Norman's frazzled nerves. The pea coat, worn dark grey t-shirt, and tattered jeans made him feel more like Murphy and less like himself, which was a good thing seeing as Murphy wasn't mad at Sean and he definitely wasn't mad at Conner.
With a deep breath, Norman reassured himself that he could do this. He just needed to focus on staying in character, becoming Murphy MacManus, a young Irishmen bringing justice to the world with a brother who had a weird obsession with rope, and making sure he stayed away from Norman Reedus, a timid actor who never thought he was good enough for anything and had major feelings for someone who would never return them because he was too afraid of what other people thought.
When Norman arrived on the armory set, Sean was already there chatting it up with Troy and C.B.( one of the producers and good friend of Troy). Luckily, they seemed too engrossed in whatever Sean was babbling on about to notice Norman's entrance and he was able to slip quietly into the shadows to mentally prepare himself for the hell that would ensue once they starting shooting.
However, Norman's moment of sanctuary was short lived as Troy Duffy was on a very tight schedule and was determined to stick to it.
"Reedus, there you fucking are," Was Troy's way of greeting. "You're late, and that's just fucking unacceptable."
Norman looked horrified and scrambled to come up with some sort of excuse/apology when Troy's angry glare quirked up into a smile.
"Just messin' with ya, buddy," Troy patted him on the shoulder and Norm breathed an inward sigh of relief. "You and Flanery are right on time. Alright people, let's get this train a'rollin. I don't have all fuckin day!" Troy was gone before Norman could even utter a response, already on the other side of the room talking with his camera guys. C.B. was also with him, so that meant that Sean was…
"Hey man."
Every organ in Norman's body flip-flopped as the sound of those two little words coming from a mouth that he had to consciously stop himself from thinking about on a daily basis hit his ears. His body refused turn around to come face to face with Sean. Norman took a breath and, shutting his eyes, told himself that he wasn't Norman and that wasn't Sean. He was Murphy and that was his brother talking to him, and Murphy wouldn't ignore his own twin brother. That seemed to trick his body long enough to face Sean—er Conner's, gaze.
"Hey yerself." The Irish brogue was an automatic response, which Norman was grateful for.
Sean appeared slightly taken aback, furrowing his brow in confusion. "Whoa, getting into character already, huh?"
Murphy nodded. "Aye."
Sean looked down, seeming disappointed. "Well, is there any chance Norman's still in there? I really need to talk to him."
"Wha' make yeh think he wants ta be talkin' ta yeh?" Murphy was handling this situation a lot better than Norman ever could.
But Sean didn't look amused. "Oh, c'mon Norman. Cut the crap. You can't avoid me forever and you know it."
Of course Norman knew that. He wasn't stupid. He was just too afraid to face his problems like a man. But then again, Sean didn't exactly have balls of steel either. If he did, they wouldn't be in this mess right now and Norman would be able to go to work without being completely on edge all the time or having people question his well-being.
Despite his better judgment, Norman started to slip out of character with the intent of shooting a fiery gripe Sean's way. However, his plan was foiled when Troy called them over so they could start blocking the scene.
A wave of relief washed over Norman. Now he could be Murphy and Sean could be Conner and, at least for a little while, they could pretend like nothing was wrong.
The blocking that Troy was going over was similar to that on the set of the screen test. Though, that was a much smaller venue so all Troy really needed to go over was spacing issues and other movements that he wanted to add in to enhance the scene.
Focusing on what Troy was saying put Norman at ease, much like the way getting into character did. Just for a time, all thoughts of Sean were pushed from his brain.
Or at least until Troy started adding a few more "brotherly-touchy-feely" moments into the scene.
"Ok so Murphy, after you and Conner get the go-ahead from the gun dealer, you're gunna follow him through the doorway. Then, Conner, you're gunna say something in awe of all this beautiful weaponry and after he does that, Murph, you're gunna just pat him gently on the back before going to your designated sides of the armory and start picking out your guns and shit," Troy finally paused for a breath. "You got all that?"
Sean nodded, or at least Norman assumed he did because now he felt Troy's eyes on him, waiting for a similar response. Though Norman wasn't sure he wanted to give it to him. Normally he liked having a director that was very black and white with his instructions; there was no guessing what he wanted because he told you.
However, Norman wasn't sure that he could trust himself with touching Sean, even if it was very minimal. But the touching coupled with the fact that they were doing the very scene that started it all was enough to make Norman want to run and hide in his trailer.
"Reedus," Troy snapped pointedly in his face to bring him back to the real world. "Did you get all that, or not?"
Norman nervously cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah. I-I got it."
"Good," Troy then turned to the rest of the crew. "Kay people, we don't have a lot of time. Let's run it once for practice then it's the real deal."
Sean and Norman got to their places, sitting down at the table in front of the gun dealer ready to hand over the Russian's guns and money and other collateral. Troy called action and like clockwork, Norman and Sean began going through the motions of the scene.
It was all running smoothly, and Norman was just starting to think that maybe he could get through this without totally breaking down. Well, at least until…
"Ok Norm, this is where I want you to touch Sean. Right as you're walking through the doorway." Troy's shouted direction completely threw Norman out of character. Normally it wouldn't have affected him as much, but between Troy actually calling him 'Norm' instead of Murphy and Sean being well, Sean, Norman was thrown for a loop and froze where he stood.
He tried many times to pull himself together. You're not Norman, he repeated over and over in his mind. You're Murphy. And that's not Sean, that's you're twin brother Conner. C'mon. Get it together, Reedus.
Distress must have been prevalent on his features because Sean and Troy and pretty much the entire crew were looking at Norman with very concerned expressions on their faces. That or they figured he was just going insane.
"Norm?" He couldn't tell if the voice belonged to Sean or Troy, and frankly he didn't give a shit. He just wanted to evaporate into thin air. "Are you alright?"
Say something Reedus, Norman heard the words in his head. Or else they'll think you're having a stroke.
"I'm fine." Norman muttered the first two words he could think of. Even though he was definitely not fine by any means.
"Actually, no. I'm not fine." He was surprised he even said that. But he went with it anyway. "I just…I can't do this right now. I thought I could, but I can't. This is just way too much for me to deal with, especially after—" Norman left that sentence hanging in the air as he picked his eyes off the floor and looked pointedly at Sean. Troy still looked confused, but his co-star clearly got the message.
They stood there in silence for a few awkward moments before Troy gave up and with a defeated sigh, he told everyone to "take five."
The crew dispersed in almost no time and soon it was just Troy, Sean and Norman that remained on the set of the secret underground armory.
"Alright, what the hell is going on with you two?" Troy wasted no time in getting down to business. "You're acting like a couple of pansies for Christ sakes. And, not to sound insensitive or anything, but we have a movie to shoot, and a schedule to follow and this," He made an abstract gesture in the air between them with his hands. "Isn't helping."
Norman felt like he was six years old again getting yelled at by his dad. He knew the way he was behaving was anything but professional, but his emotions just got the best of him and he couldn't help it.
"I want both of you to go and work this out, whatever the fuck it is." Troy continued and now Norman really did feel like he was getting sent to a time-out. "And it better be fixed by the time you come back to set. Or else." And with that, Troy stormed off set.
There was a long pause that left Norman shuffling his feet awkwardly back and forth and Sean just staring at the ground chewing on his bottom lip. They both knew what needed to be said, though this probably wasn't the most appropriate place to say it.
"We should, uh, probably continue this some place more, uhm, private," Sean sounded like he was walking a very fine line, as if anything he said was going to be the wrong thing. But Norman agreed with a nod.
"Yeah." The response was quick, icy almost. Norman still had yet to look at Sean since they were left to themselves. Not wanting to make the first move, he waited for Sean to start towards said private place, and after a few more seconds, Sean sighed and walked off, assuming that Norman would just follow.
They wound up in Sean's trailer. A place Norman would've liked very much to have avoided since it was virtually like being in his condo again. But he didn't have a choice in the matter seeing as Troy wasn't giving them much time to resolve this. Whatever it was.
Norman wasn't sure what to do once they got inside. Sean closed the door behind them and Norm couldn't help but notice the slight look of hesitation that flashed across his face before he shut out the outside world completely.
Quietly, Sean then made his way over to the small kitchen area of the temporary space but instead of going to the fridge and grabbing beers, he walked to the counter. Facing away from Norman, he placed his hands on the edge and just stood there. Norm remained where he was for just a few moments longer before giving in and going to take a seat on the couch because somehow sitting felt less awkward.
"So," Hearing Sean's voice after such a period of silence made Norman jump a little. "Are we just gunna sit here or are we actually going to talk about what happened that day?"
Norman looked up to see Sean had changed his stature and was now resting his back on the counter, arms crossed and facing him, glaring expectantly.
"Don't look at me like that," Norman went from being nervous to pissed in no time at all. "I'm not the one who—well, you know."
"Wow," Sean chuckled darkly and shook his head in disbelief. "You can't even say it? Duffy's right. You are a pansy, Reedus."
"Oh yeah. Right. I'm the pansy," Norman got to his feet, squaring his position with Sean's. "At least I—"
"You what?" Sean cut him off, taking a single step forward. "You haven't been able to look me in the eye the entire time we've been here. Not to mention the way you flipped when Duffy told you to touch me!"
"Ok fine, so I lost it a bit." Norman gave in and threw his hands up in a fit of frustration. "But none of this would be happening right now if you weren't such a fucking pussy!"
Sean looked taken aback, obviously not expecting such an outburst from Norman. He appeared to be racking his brain for something to say next. Only Norm didn't give him the chance. Without warning, he charged forward, and before he could come to his senses, Norman grabbed Sean by the back of the neck and mashed their lips together in a bruising kiss.
Sean gasped in surprised and that allowed Norman to deepen the kiss by violently shoving his tongue past Sean's lips and into his mouth. This drew out a strangled moan from Sean as he gripped Norman's waist, struggling to regain some control.
Norman ended the kiss as quickly as it was initiated. He stepped back, slightly distancing himself from Sean. They were both breathing heavily, and Sean's eyes were as wide as saucers.
"Now, look me in the eye and tell me that wasn't what you've been wanting since that day at your condo," Norman's stare was intense as he waited for Sean's answer. "And don't gimme that bullshit about not wanted to piss off Troy, because no one would've ever—"
This time the tables were turned. Sean didn't even let Norman finish his sentence before all but lunging forward and kissing Norman like it was his fucking job. Reedus, however, didn't even miss a beat, kissing Sean back hard and initiating a battle for control.
While that was going on, Sean had went to work removing the heavy pea coat from Norman's body before doing the same to his own. They were tossed haphazardly on the floor behind them and forgotten.
"You're right," Sean managed breathlessly in between kisses. Their hands were everywhere as Sean slowly pushed Norman to the couch. "I've wanted this for a long time." Sean let his hands slip under the grey fabric of his co-star's shirt, running his fingers over the heated skin. "Since the first fucking day I met you."
Norman was about to utter a reply when he felt the arm of the couch on the back of his legs. The offending object had his just the right spot and, before Norm could catch himself on anything, he fell back onto the sofa, pulling Sean down on top of him.
Their lips had broken contact and Sean took this opportunity to lift the shirt over Reedus's head all the while strategically straddling Norman's hips. Sean rolled his body seductively, the friction eliciting a moan from the other man.
"Fuckin' tease," He growled out and Sean chuckled before leaning down for another taste of Norm's beautiful mouth.
Norman allowed himself to get lost in Sean. This is what he had been dreaming of ever since he left Sean's condo angry and hurting like he had never hurt before. But all those feelings were long forgotten as he and Sean devoured each other like two wild animals in heat.
Yeah, Norm could pretty much have stayed in that moment forever. Only, they didn't have forever. They had five minutes before a very livid, very inpatient director came banging on the door.
Reluctantly (very reluctantly), Norman wriggled out from under Sean's body, and sat up next to him on the couch.
"We should probably get back to set," He answered Sean's puzzled gaze. Even though shooting a movie was the absolute furthest thing from his mind right now.
But, Sean understood, nodding his head and reaching down to retrieve Norman's (well Murphy's) coat from the floor along with his own.
"Alright," he sighed, standing up and stuffing his arms into the sleeves of the pea-coat. "Wouldn't want Troy to get the wrong idea, now would we?" Sean added with a wink.
Norman felt himself blush, feeling happier than he's felt in months."Well, we could always tell him you were giving me another 'accent lesson'." Beaming, he also slipped his coat on and joined Sean at the door, who wore an expression on his face opposite of Norman's cheery grin.
Norman frowned, thinking Oh not this again…just when we were making some progress. But of course, he didn't say that. "What's the matter?"
Sean feigned a smile. "Nothin'," he said, but Norm wasn't buying it.
"Sean," Norman's voice was warning, as if to say "You better not do this to me again, asshole."
"I'm just—I'm scared, Norman. I wanna do this, believe me I do. I just have this horrible feeling like something's going to go—"
Norman quickly cut off that thought with a firm, yet assuring kiss. "Everything's gunna be fine."
Sean still wasn't convinced. But, unfortunately, now was not the right time to have this conversation. They had to get back before Troy went on an all-out rampage, so, to appease Norman, Sean just smiled and said "You're right, Norm. I was just being paranoid, I guess."
That seemed to get the job done, because Norman no longer looked like he wanted to rip his balls off. Instead, Norman affectionately touched his arm and, without another word on the subject, they exited the trailer and headed back to set.
Troy was pleased to see that his two stars were no longer in a tiff, and they went on with shooting as scheduled.
However, Sean still was unable to shake the feeling that somewhere down the road, things were going to go terribly wrong…
A/N: Yeah so, uh, I guess this implies that there's going to be a third part in the future...so now I guess that means I gotta come up with an idea, huh? Unless of course, you all have any suggestions of what you want to happen? I'd seriously welcome the help. Just leave an ideas in a review and I'll catch you on the flip side!