Fic: Free Your Mind Part 3 (VM/SB, PG-13)
Title: Free Your Mind Part 3
Pairing: Sean Bean/Viggo Mortensen
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Totally not true, only entertaining myself.
Warnings: This is a complete and utter AU. Will feature other cast members, but only in supporting roles.
“What on earth are those?” Ian asked, leaning over Viggo’s shoulder, squinting his eyes in an attempt to make some sense out of the drawing that Viggo was currently looking at.
“Those would be stick figures, Ian, surely you have seen them before?”
Ian seated himself on the edge of Viggo's desk and said, “Of course, but somehow I expected something more from anyone who’s attending your class, Viggo.”
Viggo shrugged and ran a hand through his hair as he thought of a way to explain his views on teaching to the other man, something he had been trying to do on numerous occasions, but somehow he never seemed to be able to make a convincing enough plea. “I try not to, you know, expect anything. I mean, just because I do things a certain way, that doesn’t mean that’s how it should be done, you know.”
Ian nodded. “I see your point, Viggo, but that,” and he pointed at Dominic’s drawing, “Is not how it should be done no matter who’s teaching the class.”
“Maybe not,” he said, grinning a little when he added, “But there could be a market for obscene stick figures, you know. And it’s not like there’s an enormous demand for people who can actually draw or paint anyways.”
Ian got up gracefully and patted Viggo’s shoulder. “You’re still young, Viggo. Your time will come, I have no doubt about that.”
Viggo wasn’t sure he agreed, especially the part about being young, maybe compared to Ian he was, but that was not saying a whole lot. “Maybe,” he said hesitantly.
The door opened and both men looked up to see Sean entering the teacher’s lounge, looking a little agitated, but then again, it was Sean and lately he often seemed annoyed or irritated. More than usual even. Something that hadn’t gone unnoticed throughout the school.
“Good morning Sean,” Ian said and Sean mumbled something that with some effort could be interpreted as a polite response, “I heard you’re tackling Macbeth this year?”
Sean immediately glared at Viggo, who shook his head and just said, “Good morning to you too, Sean.”
Sean ignored him, turning towards Ian instead, eyeing him suspiciously before nodding. “Yes. Why do you ask?”
“Merely an attempt at making conversation, Sean. No need to question my intentions,” Ian shrugged lightly and waved at Viggo before leaving the room without saying another word.
“What’s wrong with you, Sean?” Viggo said, not for the first time wondering why he even bothered talking to the guy.
Sean didn’t respond and walked towards the coffee maker, glancing at the drawings in front of Viggo in passing and, with a smug smile, said, “Well, I can certainly see that making the effort is enough for you.”
“You make it sound like a bad thing, Sean.”
Sean turned around and Viggo noticed the already familiar look of annoyance on the other man's face and Viggo briefly wondered if he himself was one of the reasons for Sean's annoyance, and he tried to remember if Sean had had that look before they started having these little weird conversations.
“Your goal should be to achieve something, strive for the best, not settle for mediocrity,” Sean said in a grave tone of voice.
Viggo nodded, trying very hard not to laugh because Sean obviously felt strongly about this. He nodded again, as he gathered the drawings that were all over his desk. Thought about leaving without saying anything but Sean would probably think he was agreeing with him then. So when he reached the door he stopped, turning around to be able to look into Sean's eyes and ask, “And what have you achieved lately, Sean?”
~
Dominic wasn’t sure which subject he hated more, math or English literature. Maybe math because he just didn’t get it, a problem he did not have with english. His own problem there was its teacher. So definitely English lit, because Mr. Weaving was always patient with him, even if he did need everything explained to him at least twice. Beanie on the other hand lost his patience the moment he caught sight of Dominic.
“Hey, Dom.”
Dom looked up to find his former ‘big brother’ Billy standing in front of him, although with Billy, the term ‘big’ should be used loosely.
“Goodmorning, Bill. Got a second?”
“For you always,” Billy said and sat down next to Dominic and looked at the book in Dominic’s hand. “Ah, failing math already, I take it?”
“After one day? That would be a stretch even for me,” Dominic said, although he secretly thought he would be failing it by the end of the week, since Mr. Weaving had been dropping hints of giving them a test at the end of the week.
“Need help?” Billy asked.
“Always,” Dominic said, reaching down for his bag and searching for his English assignment, “Not math this time though. Although my struggle with math is probably responsible for this,” he said and he handed Billy his essay.
“You had to write an essay already?” Billy said, clearly surprised, as they all had been when Beanie had given them the assignment yesterday.
“Well, we had to do a draft,” Dominic sighed deeply before he continued, “But you know that that actually means writing the damn thing.”
“Yeah, I know.” Billy scanned the pages of writing and then frowned.
“What?”
“First of all, he’s gonna kick your arse for not typing these out, and secondly,” Billy paused, a thing he always did when he wanted to reach a certain dramatic effect, “It’s the biggest load of crap I’ve ever seen.”
“I seriously doubt that,” Orlando’s voice interrupted their conversation and he waved a stack of papers in front of the two boys. “Because this,” he said, pointing at the pages, “is the biggest load of crap in history.”
Billy grinned, “In that case, it has been nice knowing the both of you.” Billy returned Dom’s essay and got up, wiping the back of his pants with his hands, smacking Dominic when he tried to assist.
“Good morning fellows,” Sean said as he approached them, a weary looking Elijah following in his tracks.
Dominic mumbled a greeting for Sean before asking Elijah, “Don’t tell me; the essay?”
“Hell, yeah,” Elijah sighed, “I’ve been working on it all night and it’s just really bad.”
Orlando now waved his papers in front of Elijah. “Bad is still good, dude. Because what I have here is a far beyond bad.”
Dom glanced at the neat stack of typed out pages in Orlando’s hand and groaned, “You both typed them, didn’t you?
”Of course, Dom, “ Orlando said, sounding surprised, “Beanie ordered us to do that, right?” He asked looking at Elijah for confirmation.
“I don’t know,” Elijah said, “I wasn’t really paying attention. It just seemed like the kind of thing that Mr. Bean would expect, you know.”
”Teacher’s pet,” Dominic said.
“Come on, Dom,” Sean said, both him and Billy grinning at the boys shared misery of having to endure Bean’s classes, “You know Beanie doesn’t have any favorite students.”
Billy nodded. “He hates all of you just as much.”
The bell rang and they all headed for their respective classes, which in Dominic’s case was math, and suddenly he couldn’t remember why he had ever thought he hated math the most.
~
Sean glanced at his watch and then got out of his seat and said, “Right, you can all leave your drafts on my desk. I will return them to you on Thursday, and your completed essay will be due on monday.” He ignored the collective groan that sounded at his words and continued, “However, you will be pleased to know that this draft will make up half of your final grade.”
The expected protests were cut short by the ringing of the bell and even if they hadn’t been, Sean never responded to questions or suggestions that weren’t proceeded by a raised hand. He watched his students turn in their work and frowned when he noticed someone trying to turn in a hand written assignment, he looked up to find Monaghan just about to make a run for it, undoubtedly thinking he had gotten away with it. “Mr. Monaghan?”
“Yes, sir?” The boy turned around slowly, but didn’t meet his eyes.
“That,” and Sean waved towards the pieces of paper, “is not acceptable.”
“But, sir...”
The attempt at protest was weak at best and Sean merely shook his head in response. “You can not turn those in, Mr. Monaghan. You know the rules.”
The boy’s shoulders slumped, but Sean presumed the boy had probably written this last minute during one of his previous classes, so he didn’t see the need to feel sorry for the boy. And if he started accepting this now, then pretty soon he’d been settling for people drawing bloody stick figures like Viggo. He waited for the last of his students to leave the room and started rubbing his neck while he waited, apparently last night’s bath hadn’t done the trick. What had he expected any way, it had been Viggo's suggestion and after this morning's talk he now knew it was very clear that Viggo had no idea what he was talking about.
~
“I think I’m setting a new record,” Dom said as he tried to wipe some of the paint from his pants, “Failing two classes within the first week.”
“Bean’s an asshole.” Orlando stated, never taking his eyes off the canvas in front of him.
“No shit,” Dominic said, “That, however, will not save me.”
Elijah was standing behind Orlando, admiring the subtle nuances Orlando was creating with just a few strokes of his brush. “Maybe you should talk to someone about this, Dom,” he said, “Because it’s impossible for you to get a passing grade now, you know.”
“No shit,” Dominic said once again, “I’m happy to learn that my friends are top of the class when it comes to stating the obvious.”
Elijah scowled at that, but smiled at the the same time at hearing Dominic describe him as a friend. “Really, Dom, talk to someone.”
Dominic shrugged, studying his pants before saying, “Maybe.”
“Guys,” Viggo popped up behind Dominic, “Is this going to be a regular thing? You not working and me having to...” Viggo gestured vaguely and seemed to have lost his train of thought already.
“Act like a teacher?” Orlando suggested innocently.
“Right.” Viggo nodded, his voice sounding a little resigned, “Imagine that.”
“Sorry, Viggo,” Dominic mumbled, “I’m just a little distracted, that’s all.”
Viggo gave him a sympathetic look then said, “I’m sorry to hear that, Dominic, but this is still an actual class and you do need to work if you expect to pass.”
Orlando grinned, “You’re getting the hang of this acting like a teacher thing, Viggo.”
“Maybe that’s because I am teaching this class, Orlando,” Viggo said, and to Elijah it seemed like the entire class suddenly went silent, the stern tone of voice apparently not something they’d ever heard from this particular teacher before.
Viggo seemed to notice the change as well, and shrugged, grinning almost apologetically before saying, “Not that that means anything, though.”
He shrugged once more and then walked away, heading for his desk, leaving the three boys standing there, exchanging surprised looks. Finally, Dominic shrugged and said, “Let’s just paint, okay, I’m not looking for another class to fail.”
To Be Continued
Pairing: Sean Bean/Viggo Mortensen
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Totally not true, only entertaining myself.
Warnings: This is a complete and utter AU. Will feature other cast members, but only in supporting roles.
“What on earth are those?” Ian asked, leaning over Viggo’s shoulder, squinting his eyes in an attempt to make some sense out of the drawing that Viggo was currently looking at.
“Those would be stick figures, Ian, surely you have seen them before?”
Ian seated himself on the edge of Viggo's desk and said, “Of course, but somehow I expected something more from anyone who’s attending your class, Viggo.”
Viggo shrugged and ran a hand through his hair as he thought of a way to explain his views on teaching to the other man, something he had been trying to do on numerous occasions, but somehow he never seemed to be able to make a convincing enough plea. “I try not to, you know, expect anything. I mean, just because I do things a certain way, that doesn’t mean that’s how it should be done, you know.”
Ian nodded. “I see your point, Viggo, but that,” and he pointed at Dominic’s drawing, “Is not how it should be done no matter who’s teaching the class.”
“Maybe not,” he said, grinning a little when he added, “But there could be a market for obscene stick figures, you know. And it’s not like there’s an enormous demand for people who can actually draw or paint anyways.”
Ian got up gracefully and patted Viggo’s shoulder. “You’re still young, Viggo. Your time will come, I have no doubt about that.”
Viggo wasn’t sure he agreed, especially the part about being young, maybe compared to Ian he was, but that was not saying a whole lot. “Maybe,” he said hesitantly.
The door opened and both men looked up to see Sean entering the teacher’s lounge, looking a little agitated, but then again, it was Sean and lately he often seemed annoyed or irritated. More than usual even. Something that hadn’t gone unnoticed throughout the school.
“Good morning Sean,” Ian said and Sean mumbled something that with some effort could be interpreted as a polite response, “I heard you’re tackling Macbeth this year?”
Sean immediately glared at Viggo, who shook his head and just said, “Good morning to you too, Sean.”
Sean ignored him, turning towards Ian instead, eyeing him suspiciously before nodding. “Yes. Why do you ask?”
“Merely an attempt at making conversation, Sean. No need to question my intentions,” Ian shrugged lightly and waved at Viggo before leaving the room without saying another word.
“What’s wrong with you, Sean?” Viggo said, not for the first time wondering why he even bothered talking to the guy.
Sean didn’t respond and walked towards the coffee maker, glancing at the drawings in front of Viggo in passing and, with a smug smile, said, “Well, I can certainly see that making the effort is enough for you.”
“You make it sound like a bad thing, Sean.”
Sean turned around and Viggo noticed the already familiar look of annoyance on the other man's face and Viggo briefly wondered if he himself was one of the reasons for Sean's annoyance, and he tried to remember if Sean had had that look before they started having these little weird conversations.
“Your goal should be to achieve something, strive for the best, not settle for mediocrity,” Sean said in a grave tone of voice.
Viggo nodded, trying very hard not to laugh because Sean obviously felt strongly about this. He nodded again, as he gathered the drawings that were all over his desk. Thought about leaving without saying anything but Sean would probably think he was agreeing with him then. So when he reached the door he stopped, turning around to be able to look into Sean's eyes and ask, “And what have you achieved lately, Sean?”
~
Dominic wasn’t sure which subject he hated more, math or English literature. Maybe math because he just didn’t get it, a problem he did not have with english. His own problem there was its teacher. So definitely English lit, because Mr. Weaving was always patient with him, even if he did need everything explained to him at least twice. Beanie on the other hand lost his patience the moment he caught sight of Dominic.
“Hey, Dom.”
Dom looked up to find his former ‘big brother’ Billy standing in front of him, although with Billy, the term ‘big’ should be used loosely.
“Goodmorning, Bill. Got a second?”
“For you always,” Billy said and sat down next to Dominic and looked at the book in Dominic’s hand. “Ah, failing math already, I take it?”
“After one day? That would be a stretch even for me,” Dominic said, although he secretly thought he would be failing it by the end of the week, since Mr. Weaving had been dropping hints of giving them a test at the end of the week.
“Need help?” Billy asked.
“Always,” Dominic said, reaching down for his bag and searching for his English assignment, “Not math this time though. Although my struggle with math is probably responsible for this,” he said and he handed Billy his essay.
“You had to write an essay already?” Billy said, clearly surprised, as they all had been when Beanie had given them the assignment yesterday.
“Well, we had to do a draft,” Dominic sighed deeply before he continued, “But you know that that actually means writing the damn thing.”
“Yeah, I know.” Billy scanned the pages of writing and then frowned.
“What?”
“First of all, he’s gonna kick your arse for not typing these out, and secondly,” Billy paused, a thing he always did when he wanted to reach a certain dramatic effect, “It’s the biggest load of crap I’ve ever seen.”
“I seriously doubt that,” Orlando’s voice interrupted their conversation and he waved a stack of papers in front of the two boys. “Because this,” he said, pointing at the pages, “is the biggest load of crap in history.”
Billy grinned, “In that case, it has been nice knowing the both of you.” Billy returned Dom’s essay and got up, wiping the back of his pants with his hands, smacking Dominic when he tried to assist.
“Good morning fellows,” Sean said as he approached them, a weary looking Elijah following in his tracks.
Dominic mumbled a greeting for Sean before asking Elijah, “Don’t tell me; the essay?”
“Hell, yeah,” Elijah sighed, “I’ve been working on it all night and it’s just really bad.”
Orlando now waved his papers in front of Elijah. “Bad is still good, dude. Because what I have here is a far beyond bad.”
Dom glanced at the neat stack of typed out pages in Orlando’s hand and groaned, “You both typed them, didn’t you?
”Of course, Dom, “ Orlando said, sounding surprised, “Beanie ordered us to do that, right?” He asked looking at Elijah for confirmation.
“I don’t know,” Elijah said, “I wasn’t really paying attention. It just seemed like the kind of thing that Mr. Bean would expect, you know.”
”Teacher’s pet,” Dominic said.
“Come on, Dom,” Sean said, both him and Billy grinning at the boys shared misery of having to endure Bean’s classes, “You know Beanie doesn’t have any favorite students.”
Billy nodded. “He hates all of you just as much.”
The bell rang and they all headed for their respective classes, which in Dominic’s case was math, and suddenly he couldn’t remember why he had ever thought he hated math the most.
~
Sean glanced at his watch and then got out of his seat and said, “Right, you can all leave your drafts on my desk. I will return them to you on Thursday, and your completed essay will be due on monday.” He ignored the collective groan that sounded at his words and continued, “However, you will be pleased to know that this draft will make up half of your final grade.”
The expected protests were cut short by the ringing of the bell and even if they hadn’t been, Sean never responded to questions or suggestions that weren’t proceeded by a raised hand. He watched his students turn in their work and frowned when he noticed someone trying to turn in a hand written assignment, he looked up to find Monaghan just about to make a run for it, undoubtedly thinking he had gotten away with it. “Mr. Monaghan?”
“Yes, sir?” The boy turned around slowly, but didn’t meet his eyes.
“That,” and Sean waved towards the pieces of paper, “is not acceptable.”
“But, sir...”
The attempt at protest was weak at best and Sean merely shook his head in response. “You can not turn those in, Mr. Monaghan. You know the rules.”
The boy’s shoulders slumped, but Sean presumed the boy had probably written this last minute during one of his previous classes, so he didn’t see the need to feel sorry for the boy. And if he started accepting this now, then pretty soon he’d been settling for people drawing bloody stick figures like Viggo. He waited for the last of his students to leave the room and started rubbing his neck while he waited, apparently last night’s bath hadn’t done the trick. What had he expected any way, it had been Viggo's suggestion and after this morning's talk he now knew it was very clear that Viggo had no idea what he was talking about.
~
“I think I’m setting a new record,” Dom said as he tried to wipe some of the paint from his pants, “Failing two classes within the first week.”
“Bean’s an asshole.” Orlando stated, never taking his eyes off the canvas in front of him.
“No shit,” Dominic said, “That, however, will not save me.”
Elijah was standing behind Orlando, admiring the subtle nuances Orlando was creating with just a few strokes of his brush. “Maybe you should talk to someone about this, Dom,” he said, “Because it’s impossible for you to get a passing grade now, you know.”
“No shit,” Dominic said once again, “I’m happy to learn that my friends are top of the class when it comes to stating the obvious.”
Elijah scowled at that, but smiled at the the same time at hearing Dominic describe him as a friend. “Really, Dom, talk to someone.”
Dominic shrugged, studying his pants before saying, “Maybe.”
“Guys,” Viggo popped up behind Dominic, “Is this going to be a regular thing? You not working and me having to...” Viggo gestured vaguely and seemed to have lost his train of thought already.
“Act like a teacher?” Orlando suggested innocently.
“Right.” Viggo nodded, his voice sounding a little resigned, “Imagine that.”
“Sorry, Viggo,” Dominic mumbled, “I’m just a little distracted, that’s all.”
Viggo gave him a sympathetic look then said, “I’m sorry to hear that, Dominic, but this is still an actual class and you do need to work if you expect to pass.”
Orlando grinned, “You’re getting the hang of this acting like a teacher thing, Viggo.”
“Maybe that’s because I am teaching this class, Orlando,” Viggo said, and to Elijah it seemed like the entire class suddenly went silent, the stern tone of voice apparently not something they’d ever heard from this particular teacher before.
Viggo seemed to notice the change as well, and shrugged, grinning almost apologetically before saying, “Not that that means anything, though.”
He shrugged once more and then walked away, heading for his desk, leaving the three boys standing there, exchanging surprised looks. Finally, Dominic shrugged and said, “Let’s just paint, okay, I’m not looking for another class to fail.”
To Be Continued