Forest and TreesPairing: Sean Bean
/ Philippa Boyens - LOTR RPS |
WARNING:
this story may have explicit depictions of sex between men and women,
men and men, and women and women. It is LOTR
RPS -- it uses the names of real people involved in making the Lord
of the Rings movies. |
Forest and Trees
Sean wasn't used to rejection. Especially from someone who'd been enthusiastically kissing him back, running her hands up his back, and making interested noises. Lovely kisser, she was; not too shy or forward, sexy and quite delicious.
It was the end of one of Pete and Fran's parties and everyone was tossed. Maybe it was the chocolate liqueur that made this one wilder than most. It snuck up on a person, he'd drunk quite a lot without noticing. A fair number of people were exploring the more intimate details of their fellow cast and crew members, Sean and Philippa among them.
Then, as he stroked her face, he could tell when Philippa noticed his wedding ring and that was that. "No", she said, "I never get involved with married men."
"You know that it's over, I'm getting a divorce, luv."
She tapped the ring, "Then why are you wearing this?"
He didn't know how to answer.
She said, "I like you, but I'm not making that mistake. Let me know when you're really free," and walked away.
He took the ring off and put it in his pocket. Rings cause trouble, and not just in the film.
~~
After that, he spent a fair amount of time and money on the phone to his solicitor, going through the baroque legal processes of getting divorced when there was money involved. Viggo couldn't believe the hoops he had to go through -- it was apparently easier in LA -- but harmonizing three divorce agreements turned out to be an 'interesting legal challenge'. Luckily, that he and Abby were still on good terms, both wanting the best for the girls.
But he wanted to be released, ready to get on and spend time with new people. New person. Philippa. They were friendly enough, she was receptive to his suggestions, both of them always wanting to make that Boromir's lines rang true. But no more of those fiery kisses, though he hinted that he was getting freer by the day.
~~
Philippa came to the pub fairly often, enjoying the camaraderie and enduring the constant demands for script changes. She seemed to know all the locals; New Zealand was as familiar as a village. He liked to watch her giving suggestions, teasing old friends, and even matchmaking. But not for him.
"My divorce is almost final and I'm not wearing the ring anymore," Sean said.
She smiled, "That's promising."
"Abby's great about it," he went on, "she's not letting her lawyer get in the way, and giving me plenty of time with the girls."
"How nice."
He started telling her some of the details when he noticed that she was very quiet. "Oh, is that why you don't date blokes who are getting divorced?"
She nodded.
"Because they talk about their ex-wives?"
Another nod.
He felt like a prat, "I'm sorry."
She said, "Relationships on the rebound are doomed anyway. Cheers, eh." and walked away again.
~~
Next day, he talked to Viggo about it. He needed perspective. Telling the story, he sounded like a boy again, talking about asking a girl to dance.
Viggo grinned and said, "You're not seeing the forest for the trees."
He had no idea what that meant, "What the hell are you going on about?"
Another grin, "She's right about the rebound, the first affair after a breakup is usually a disaster."
Sean thought about that for a minute. Had to admit, the evidence was there.
"So where's the damned forest?" he said, realizing that he was being as pouty as a child in that moment.
"She thinks you two might have something more than just a roll in the hay, and she doesn't want to waste it," answered Viggo.
Sean had never thought of it that way before. It was surprising and somewhat cheering
.~~
In the next month, Sean tried to clear his mind. He worked his scenes intently, read a lot, took long hikes with Viggo, went to the beach with the Hobbits and Orli. He had an affair with a woman he met in a bar and let it fade away. His solicitor in London was finally making progress, so he made plans.
~~
On the day his divorce papers were filed, he invited the cast and crew to help him mark the occasion. They crowded into a corner of the Weta workshop and his new friend the blacksmith gave him the crucible. He dropped his wedding ring in and watched as it was swung over the fire and slowly melted into a lump. Everyone was riveted, thinking of the film and the fate of the One Ring. The blacksmith tipped the crucible and poured the melted metal into the water bath next to him. The gold swirled into strange shapes and the water steamed a little.
Everyone started talking at once and the room cleared. Sean stayed until the metal was cool enough to touch, and picked it up. He noticed that Philippa was among the last to leave, and followed her.
When they were alone outside, he said, "I'm free, I think."
And she said, "Yes."
~~~
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