The cleaning crew was just finishing the main soundstage when Jim arrived. He greeted them cheerfully and then went to the dressing room. The script didn't call for many clothes, but he saw no need to be naked for a rehearsal, so he changed into shorts and a tight t-shirt.

Sebastian was already there when Jim returned to the stage. He was sitting on the foot of the bed in only his pants, typing on his phone.

"Hey. Good to see you." He smiled as he looked up and patted the mattress next to him, quickly finishing whatever he was doing on his phone before he threw it into his backpack.

Jim frowned. "You should put on a shirt," he said. "It can get quite chilly here when the lights aren't on." He went to sit down too, keeping an appropriate distance to Sebastian. "Do you want to go over the lines?"

"I was actually thinking we'd ignore the lines for now," Sebastian said. "This is about your experience as an actor. You see, when people take on their role as a sub for the first time... It's a bit unpredictable. Some people come into the club all confident but safeword before we're five minutes in. And others are really nervous but manage to keep it together all the way through. So... I feel we should do this so there won't be any surprises for you while we're filming. Because yes, you know the script, but... I think you need to know how it feels in order to act it convincingly."

"Sticking to the script isn't really our thing anyway," Jim agreed. He would have preferred to stay in character, but he knew Sebastian was right. Doing something for the first time in front of the camera was not a good idea. "Right. So what should I do?"

"First of all, you need to pick a safeword," Sebastian said. "I know there is one in the script, but it should be yours. Something you will remember when you need me to stop. And no, 'stop' won't do." He smiled.

"What? Like lemon or something?"

"Uhm... If that's what you want to go with... But it may not be the easiest word to hear if you're, you know, moaning. Maybe something clearer?"

"I don't know... Colonel?" Jim suggested, remembering an article he'd been reading on the tube about difficult English words.

"Okay..." Sebastian said, frowning. "It's not a lot clearer, but whatever."

Jim shrugged. "It's not important. I won't need it. It's not like we're really doing this."

"The point rather is that we are doing this." Sebastian was looking uncharacteristically serious. "That even though we're practising for a film, you can stop me at all times. You say the magic word and this is over."

"Okay, so we've got the word. Can we get started?"

"I didn't know you were that eager." Sebastian smiled. "Okay. So from this point on, you're going to follow my every order. I'm not going to ask anything beyond what the characters do in the script, so you know what to expect. And if you need to stop me, at any point, I won't judge you. I don't care that you're a professional and all that. Enough is enough and then we're done. Alright?"

Jim just nodded. He wanted to get this over with so they could do the bloody film. Then maybe Angelo would believe that Jim had more to offer than a hole for Sherlock to fill.

"Okay." There was some hesitation in Sebastian's eyes as he looked him up and down, but finally he nodded. "I want you to take off your clothes and then kneel on the bed."

"Is that really necessary?" Jim protested. "I don't want to catch a chill."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Which part of 'following my every order' did you not understand? There is no need to think or question anything. I'll take care of all that for you. You just obey and sit there and I'll warm you up soon enough."

Jim rolled his eyes but stripped anyway and sat down on the bed.

"I said 'kneel'," Sebastian snapped, grabbing Jim's arm and pulling him up on his knees. "Geez, you're not going to make this easy, are you? I was going to leave out punishments because you're new to this, but..."

"You're not doing anything that's not in the script," Jim taunted. "So you can't 'punish' me." He laughed. Sebastian was growing frustrated, which meant Jim's lack of cooperation was getting to him. This might be fun after all.

Sebastian bent over to growl in Jim's ear. "You're forgetting that the character in the script is a really good boy. If he wasn't, my character would also do what's necessary." Then he straightened and went over to the backpack to pick up a length of soft rope. "Don't move."

Jim hardly noticed the rope, being a lot more focused on convincing his body that there had been nothing arousing about what had just happened.

"That's better," Sebastian said, standing close again. "Just trust me." He pulled Jim's hands back and started tying the rope around his wrists. Then he put both ends over Jim's shoulders, letting them fall down his chest, and turned so he could see Jim's face. He reached out, moving his hand very slowly in the direction of Jim's cock.

"It's too tight," Jim said quickly, not wanting Sebastian's attention down there just yet.

Sebastian frowned and reached around to test the loop around Jim's wrist, pushing a finger between the rope and his skin. "No, it's not," he said. And his hand started approaching its goal again. "This will be easier if you're hard." On the last word, he stroked a single fingertip down Jim's cock.

Jim trembled and bit back a moan. "Fine," he huffed and stopped holding back, starting to swell almost instantly.

Sebastian smirked. "That's better." He took the ends of the rope again and loosely looped it around the base of his erection.

"You're not going to tie anything to that, are you?" Jim asked, looking down sceptically. He squirmed a little, testing the feel of the rope.

Sebastian just smirked and crossed the ropes, laying them past Jim's hips. Then he bound his ankles together, tightening it enough that Jim had to lean back just a little.

"How long am I supposed to stay like this?" Jim whined. "It's not exactly comfortable." He found that he had to focus to maintain his erection. That might not be a bad thing. Maybe it would deflate Sebastian a bit more. With a silent giggle he relaxed.

"That's it. Relax," Sebastian said. "It's not like you can do anything else now, anyway." He leaned in and slid his hands down from Jim's collarbone to his lower stomach and then back up. He repeated the movement a few times and then suddenly, on his way back up, he pinched both of Jim's nipples hard.

"What the hell?" Jim cried, trying to pull away. "That fucking hurts!"

Sebastian chuckled. "See, that's why we have to do this now. Imagine this reaction on film." He continued rubbing Jim's nipples with his thumbs as he spoke.

"Can't you just pretend to pinch them?" Jim snarled. "Nobody's going to know the difference. Except me..."

"Nope." Sebastian pinched them again. "Your reaction wouldn't be the same."

"Ouch..." Jim whined. "It bloody hell won't. Stop doing that or I swear to god I'll punch you. As soon as I'm free of this crap." He began struggling in earnest, wincing as the rope tightened. He took a deep breath, calming himself. "According to your script my character is supposed to like this. The only genuine reaction you'll get is me is getting pissed off, so how about cutting that shit out?"

"Fine." Sebastian took his hands away from Jim's chest. And let one of them come down hard on his right arse cheek. "But you don't get to talk to me like that. From now on you're calling me Sir. And you keep still when I tell you to." He slapped his arse again.

Jim squeaked. "That's not in the script. Stop that!" He felt his face grow hot. Sebastian couldn't be serious. Could he? Just in case, he added a reluctant: "Sir..."

"There, that's better." Sebastian stroked the sore spot on Jim's bum gently and then tipped his fingers under his chin, turning his face so he could kiss him softly.

Jim was more surprised by the kiss than anything that had gone before. "Wh... What?" he stammered when Sebastian pulled away. "That's all it takes?" Why was his voice trembling?

Sebastian chuckled. "That's all it takes, Sir." He trailed his fingers down Jim's chest again, but this time he didn't stop before he was holding Jim's cock.

Jim moaned and closed his eyes. "You don't have to do this... The sex bit. I already know how that feels."

"I know I don't have to do anything," Sebastian said, stroking him slowly. "I'm not the one in that position." He kissed him again, harder this time.

Jim let himself grin. "Well, I can't do much as long as I'm trussed up like this."

"You can do what I ask of you," Sebastian reminded him, stepping back and looking down at him. "Look at you. You're so gorgeous like this. I think some viewers will have come from seeing you all tied up even before we've gotten to this part of the film."

Jim stuck his tongue out at Sebastian, but he was still smiling. "Flattery will get you nowhere," he said. "Unless you buy me a couple of drinks first. Then my judgement tends to falter…"

"Interesting," Sebastian said. "But I can't remember ordering you to chat… Or telling you that you could drop the 'Sir'..."

"Sorry… Sir…" Jim giggled. This was actually fun.

He pushed Jim's shoulder hard, sending him backwards and making the rope strain.

"Ow!" Jim cried out, surprised at the unexpected pain. "What the hell?"

"Shut the fuck up," Sebastian growled, looming over him.

That was one thing Jim was not capable of. "You are taking this way too serious, you know. You're not my actual Dom or any such shit. You're just an amateur actor trying to get a break. We are practising and if you don't stop being a dick, I'm going to end this thing. And the film!"

Sebastian smirked. "And yet I haven't heard your safeword. The whole point is me being a dick and making you do stuff. Because, as you have noticed, that means I get to reward you when you're a good boy. You're the only one making this so hard on yourself. You keep struggling while you should just let me handle things. Let me make you feel good. Better than you would ever allow yourself to feel. But no… It won't work if you keep telling yourself that you should hate this." He put a hand on Jim's shoulder and steadied him on his knees again.

Jim stared up at him. A swarm of thoughts and emotions were fighting for dominance inside of him, but none of them could assert themselves over the din. So he was quite surprised that the words that made it out of his mouth were: "Maybe I don't want to feel good."

Sebastian sighed and nodded. "Yes. It sure looks like you don't. That's why you need this."

"I don't want to feel good with you," Jim clarified, surprising himself again. "This is a job. I do this to make money. If anyone is going to make me feel good, I want it to be my lover. Not some random whore-gone-actor who happens to be the only one who'll work with me right now."

"So you won't allow yourself to get any pleasure out of your work?" Sebastian asked. "In that case, are you sure you've chosen the right profession?"

"I get pleasure from my work. When I see a film turning out the way I wanted it to. When people watch it and like it." He huffed. "I already told you, I took no pleasure from our last film. I was just desperate, wanting Angelo to see what I can do."

Sebastian gave him a look. "Yes, you were desperate. But if it was about pleasing Angelo, you'd have done what he asked of us. You'd have followed the script. And yet you didn't."

"If I had followed the script, it would have been just another movie. Just something to stick in the last half of a compilation, where no one will ever watch it unless they wank themselves to sleep and happens to wake up when it's on."

Sebastian actually looked worried now and squeezed his shoulder gently. "No one in their right mind would put you in the last half of a compilation. Why would you think that? Don't you know your own talents?"

"What talents?" Jim's eyes were stinging and his voice sounded suspiciously like a scream. "Getting fucked and then being fucked over in front of the camera. Again and again and again. How many times does he want to record my heart b…" He stopped himself with a gasp that was almost a sob.

Sebastian wrapped his arms around him and pulled him against his chest, the rope still holding him at an unnatural angle. "I don't know what happened to you," he said softly against Jim's hair before dropping a kiss on it. "But I know that you are a beautiful man. Probably the best actor in this whole company. Why would you care about the people who make you feel like you're less than that?" He squeezed Jim gently and stroked his hair.

"Because he said he loved me," Jim whispered. He wasn't sure Sebastian even heard him, but it didn't matter. Just having said it was like pushing a button. The tears began to flow and Jim buried his face in Sebastian's shoulder.

Sebastian rocked him gently. "I've got you. It's okay. You can let it all go."

They stayed like this for a long time and Jim was vaguely aware that his arms and shoulders were starting to ache. But when Sebastian offered to untie him, he shook his head. "Not yet," he whispered. "If it's okay… Sir?"

Sebastian smiled. "You really don't have to call me that anymore. We can just stop."

"Now?" Jim asked, smiling too. "When I'm ready to be a good boy? When I am ready to feel good?"

Sebastian laughed. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Sir!" And then for good measure he added a purring: "Please?"

Sebastian grinned and crushed his lips against Jim's, messily licking and biting him until he was so turned on he feared he might pass out if he got any harder.

"Will your shoulders hold out longer?" Sebastian asked as he pulled back.

Jim considered for a moment. "Probably not," he said, honestly. "It's going to hurt like hell when you untie them, isn't it?"

Sebastian nodded. "So… maybe we should delay that just a little longer? Just to see how good a boy you can really be?"

Jim tried to pout. "I was hoping you'd suck my cock to distract me from the pain…"

"I was hoping that, who?" Sebastian asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Jim laughed at this. "Suck my cock… Sir?"

"No, not like that. Not when it's an order," Sebastian said. "Try again."

"Will you please suck my cock, Sir?" Jim asked, making his very best puppy eyes.

"That's how you ask me something," Sebastian said. He pulled Jim to the edge of the bed and then stood in front of him. "Now let me hear if you've learned your lesson. Beg."

Jim wondered if Sebastian was taking this seriously or knew that Jim was just playing along as he smiled sweetly and whispered another: "Please… Sir…"

Sebastian nodded and bent over. But he didn't sink to his knees and instead stretched his arms past Jim, plucking at the knot that held Jim's ankles.

"No… Not that…" But it was too late. Apparently that one knot had been holding it all together and as the strain on his shoulders disappeared, Jim doubled over, whining at the pain that was now tearing through his limbs.

Sebastian grabbed his shoulder and pushed him onto his back again. "None of that," he said sternly. "I can't reach you like that." And he put his hands on Jim's hips, pinning him down, and swallowed his cock.

The pain was intense, but so was the pleasure. It was as if his aching muscles were serving as an amplifier, making every press of Sebastian's lips, every swirl of his tongue send electric shocks through Jim's body. "I hate you…" he gasped, trying to fight Sebastian off. It was too much. The turmoil he was barely recovering from mixed with the pain and the pleasure became something new. Something he couldn't handle. His hands, which had been pulling at Sebastian's hair to get him off, now pushed him down as his hips bucked and he came, harder and fiercer than he ever had before.

Sebastian kept licking and sucking him through his orgasm, softly stroking his hips. Finally he sat back and wiped his mouth, smiling down at Jim. "Told you I'd make you feel good."

Jim couldn't move. He could hardly breathe. But at least he wasn't in pain anymore. As far as he could tell, anyway. All he could manage was a breathy: "Right..."

"However," Sebastian said, lying down next to him, "I didn't actually tell you that you were allowed to come yet."

"You didn't say I wasn't allowed," Jim pointed out.

"True." Sebastian grinned and kissed his nose. "But if we want to go through the script, we're actually not done..."

Jim groaned. "I'm tired. Do we have to?"

"No," Sebastian said. "We can do it another time. If you want to."

Jim sighed. "Fine..." he groaned. He doubted he'd be able to get in the right frame of mind again. "What's left?"

"You know what's left," Sebastian said, eyes twinkling as he stroked the length of Jim's arm. "But I'm not doing it for a 'fine'. You'll have to beg for it..."

"Right." Jim shrugged. "I really don't think we need to practice that bit."

"Alright." Sebastian put an arm around him and pulled him closer. "You've been very good. You'll do great in the film."

Jim snuggled against him and yawned. "Of course I will.."

Sebastian kissed his hair. "Don't fall asleep. I don't think it's a good idea if we lie here when they come in tomorrow."

Sighing, Jim forced his eyes open. "I guess you're right. But shouldn't you do that care thing? It seemed like a pretty big deal in the script."

Sebastian chuckled. "I'm not saying you have to get up right now. Just taking care you don't doze off." He nuzzled his temple. "Would you like a massage? Your muscles must be sore..."

"... 'nds nice..." Jim muttered against Sebastian's chest. "In a moment... So comfy..."

"You still can't fall asleep." Sebastian sounded amused but started threading his fingers through Jim's hair, which really wasn't very helpful. However, after a couple of minutes he gently rolled Jim onto his back and pushed himself up on his knees. He lifted Jim's right foot and after flexing and stretching it a few times, started rubbing the sole, and then slowly moved up to his ankle and then his calf.

Jim managed to stay awake. But just barely. Sebastian's hands on him felt so good. That man clearly knew a thing or two about how a body worked and how to treat it. At some point he was flipped over and Sebastian got to work on his shoulders and back, forcing a very rude moan from Jim.

Sebastian chuckled. "You can still change your mind, you know." He pressed his thumbs into the sides of Jim's lower back, tension melting away under his touch.

"Can I just lie here?" Jim muttered into the pillow.

"Of course," Sebastian answered, his hands lowering to the cheeks of Jim's arse.

"Then I'd like you to fuck me. Please. Sir..." Jim was glad Sebastian couldn't see his grin.

Sebastian continued massaging his arse a moment longer, spreading him open. He dropped a kiss on his lower back and then finally produced lube from - somewhere - and pushed in two fingers.

"Oh," he said. "You've been preparing..."

"Of course," Jim moaned. "I'm a professional."

Sebastian started thrusting his fingers, twisting them in just the right spot. With his other hand he slowly stroked Jim's back.

Jim let himself enjoy it, though the memory of how Sebastian had stretched him last time made him squirm with anticipation.

"No," Sebastian chided, giving him a rather soft slap with his free hand. "You said you wanted to just lie here, so you'll lie still."

Jim yelped playfully and then wiggled deliberately.

Immediately Sebastian's hand came down again, this time much harder. "What did I just tell you?" he growled.

"Oww...Sorry." Jim pouted into the pillow. It had felt kind of good when they were just playing. But this time it bloody hurt. He would have protested, but then Sebastian might change his plans, and Jim so wanted to be fucked. Right now, preferably.

"Sorry, who?" Sebastian demanded, his fingers moving more slowly.

"Sir..." Jim added petulantly. "Now would you please fuck me?"

"Hell yes." Sebastian pulled out his fingers and seemed to fumble for a few seconds before Jim heard a condom foil being ripped. A moment later, Sebastian was pushing into him.

A thought had been creeping into his mind, but was effectively crushed as the pain/pleasure was even better than last time.

As soon as he was completely in, Sebastian didn't hold back and fucked Jim hard and fast, pushing him into the pillow with each thrust.

Jim had never been fucked like that. He had never imagined being fucked like that. It was rough, humiliating, a little painful. And absolutely, mind-blowingly hot! He cried out, pushing up against Sebastian, wanting him to go even deeper. That probably wasn't possible, but Jim still had to try. Never in his life had he felt so... owned…

In answer to his movements, Sebastian grabbed his hips and pushed him up a little, his rhythm never faltering.

"Fuck…" he panted. "Oh, fuck, you're good… Such a good boy…"

Jim whined at the words. Why were they such a turn on? He should be insulted, but instead he felt himself wanting to hear them again. To earn them. "Fuck..." he groaned into the bed. "Don't stop..."

"You're not… giving the orders…" Sebastian groaned, giving a couple more hard thrusts, and then he stilled and came.

Jim whimpered in frustration. Had Sebastian come out of spite? Just because Jim had told him not to? He wouldn't put it past him.

But then Sebastian planted his knees in the mattress, pulled Jim back against his chest and kissed his neck. "Tell me what you want," he ordered.

Jim gasped, leaning back against him. "I... I don't know..." he whined. He was hard, but not close to climax. He didn't want it to stop. He didn't want Sebastian to let go. But he couldn't say that. He couldn't beg Sebastian to hold him. So he just shook his head, whimpering.

"Then I'll just do what I want with you, hmm?" Jim felt Sebastian's smile against his neck as he lowered his right hand to his cock and started stroking fast.

Jim leaned back, letting himself be held up by Sebastian. The man seemed to be everywhere. Inside him. Around him. Closing his eyes, Jim felt the sensations wash over him and drown him until his climax made him curl up, sobbing from mental exhaustion.

He felt a twinge when Sebastian pulled out and let out a sigh of relief as he was allowed to collapse onto the bed. Sebastian might have touched him. Gently. He couldn't say for sure.

"Wake up." The whisper was followed by a kiss just under his ear. And something heavy was curled around his back. An arm.

"Wake up, Jim. It's getting late. We should move."

"No..." Jim mumbled. "Sleep..."

"I know." The arm tightened around him. "But we don't want them to find us here in the morning. I can get you home and then return to clean up."

"No..." Jim sat up, his head finally starting to clear. "I'll help... It's my mess too..." He giggled weakly.

"No." Sebastian sat up too and kissed Jim's shoulder. "Don't you worry about a thing. I'll take care of it. You've done enough for tonight."

"I didn't do anything," Jim said. "I just sat there and complained. Or lay there... That part was pretty good..." He smiled at Sebastian. "This time I did enjoy it. A lot."

"Me too." Sebastian returned the smile. "Thank you. I must admit... There was a moment when I didn't think you'd go through with this."

"Only one? I think I contemplated killing you at least twice." Jim stretched lazily and winced. "It was a clever thing you did. Getting me off like that. It will make it easier pretending I actually like that stuff when we're filming."

Sebastian chuckled. "Right..." He got up and picked up the condom wrapper he'd thrown to the ground, a flannel Jim hadn't seen before but explained why he wasn't as sticky as he'd expected, and the bottle of lube. "The rope didn't cut you, did it?" he asked as he walked to the nearest bin. "I checked but sometimes things only start aching afterwards..."

"Wait a minute!" Jim frowned. "Only one condom?" He tried thinking back. He had definitely heard him putting one on before... Then he remembered the heat of Sebastian's mouth. "You didn't...? You idiot!"

"What?" Sebastian turned to him. "Oh... That. Yeah... I kinda forgot. But we both get tested all the time, right?" He shrugged.

"That's not the point!" Jim yelled at him, stand up on the bed. "You never do it without a condom! Never!"

"Yeah, okay, calm down..." Sebastian looked a bit uncomfortable. "I'll remember in the future, but it's not like we can change anything about it now. I was a bit... caught in the moment."

Jim huffed and jumped to the floor, looking for his clothes. "Well, at least you didn't stick anything in me, so I guess it could be worse."

Sebastian quickly got dressed too and then started stripping the bed. "How did you get here? Would you like a lift home?"

"I took the tube, but I guess I'll have to get a taxi now. I'll be fine." Jim pulled on his pants. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I've got my motorcycle here, though... It would really get you home quicker. So you can sleep. And so I can make sure you get home safe." Sebastian looked at him over the bunch of blankets.

Jim grinned. "It's good of you to offer, but I don't really feel like straddling anything tonight. Maybe some other time?" He blew Sebastian a kiss, and then hurried off to the dressing room.