Engineering Love, Part Five: Karl/Eric fic
Title: Engineering Love, Part Five
Characters: Karl Urban/Eric Bana, Hugh Jackman, several of my own characters representing family and friends of Eric in Australia.
Rating: M
Beta: The always generous siluria
Word Count: 2068 words this part
Disclaimer: I've used real people's names to write this story, but just assume I am giving each of them an acting job using their own name; I have no knowledge of their real lives or family, and this story is a fiction I created for love not money.
Warnings: Use of homophobic language used by less than tolerant characters; this does not reflect my own attitudes.
Summary: This is a follow-up to The Mechanics of Love, set a few years later, when Eric and Karl, now well into their 20's, have been in an established relationship for some time. In this story, they go to Australia to visit Eric's family when his father turns sixty, and unexpectedly run into someone Eric knew years ago, before he was sent to NZ...
Author's Notes: In this part, Eric convinces Terry to have a word with Hugh; later, Eric finds himself remembering things from his past in a slightly different way.
Can also be read here on AO3
Previous chapters on LJ: Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four
"Me?" Terry 's eyes were full of mistrust. "Why would I talk to him? He's an idiot."
Eric sighed and leaned forward over the table. After Karl had convinced him this morning how many lives could be ruined by one foolish decision, he hadn't been sure Terry was the right person to talk to Hugh, but he couldn't think of any other way to get through to him.
"Because I can't do it; he won't listen to me after what I said to him, and as I already said, because if he ends up marrying Kate…" Eric paused, noting the look of alarm in Terry's eyes. "…not only could it mean he's miserable for the rest of his life, but Kate and her kids could suffer for it too."
Terry huffed something indecipherable and stood up, turning towards the electric jug so that Eric could no longer see his expression. Terry lifted the jug to put hot water in it at the sink, and then fussed around finding mugs and teabags.
"What are you thinking?" Eric exchanged a querying look with Karl, who just shrugged.
Terry turned at last, his thick brows furrowed. "Maybe that's all she deserves."
Shaking his head, Eric just looked at Terry for a moment. "You say that like you know her."
"Maybe," Terry muttered and started pouring hot water into the mugs.
Eric scowled. "You do, don't you? How do you know her?"
Terry flicked him an angry look, and plonked a mug in front of him and then one in front of Karl before sitting down again with his own. "I went to school with her."
Blinking in surprise, Eric gestured unevenly. He knew Kate was older than Hugh, but he'd never stopped to think that she was probably around Terry's age and that could mean there was a possibility of something like this.
At forty-one, Terry was a lot younger than Eric's father, who had been born soon after their parents married, while Terry had been the unexpected baby at the end of their reproductive lives. If Kate had stayed as near to where she grew up as Terry had - it wasn't that big an area - the chances they knew each other were fairly high.
"You did? Was she always…" He thought about how to put it.
"Batty?" Terry put in, and took a gulp of his hot tea. "Pretty much."
"That's not what I was going to say."
Terry snorted. "Well, she is."
"Religious then," Karl offered.
"I suppose so," Terry replied. "If that's what you call chasing every guy in our class until one of them agreed to marry her."
"Did she chase you?" Eric could help asking.
"Of course, but I wasn't going near. I wouldn't touch her with a barge pole."
Karl gave Eric a lifted eyebrow at that, but Eric didn't think Terry was suggesting anything about himself with the comment. However, it did make him wonder how familiar Terry was with her situation now. "Did you know she was dating Hugh before I told you?"
"Might have," Terry mumbled, shooting Karl an odd look.
Eric narrowed his eyes and glanced at Karl himself, but his expression seemed fairly neutral. "How often do you see Hugh around, anyway?"
"His parents are good friends of your mum and dad; he's around and about from time to time. I guess they probably said something somewhere along the line."
Eric could hardly argue the logic. He sighed again, and then drank some of his own tea. Lowering the cup, he tried again. "Could you at least try to have a word with Hugh? I mean… you're the only one around here who seems to think what Karl and I have is okay, and even if Hugh’s not too keen to talk about it, you could at least give him something to think about."
"You're not going to let up until I bloody-well agree, are you?" Terry asked over the top of his mug.
Karl started to smile, and Eric felt the weight on his own shoulders start to lift just a little. "Not really, no. After Karl pointed out how it wasn't just him affected, I've been feeling a bit guilty about not being more… I don't know…"
"Understanding," Karl put in, looking into his mug like he was avoiding Eric's eyes.
"Okay, yeah, understanding."
"Well, I won't guarantee the results," Terry warned.
"That's okay; I just think we should try." Eric managed not to smile too hard. He had always been one of the only people who could convince Terry to do something he didn't really want to do; it was good to know he hadn't lost his touch.
Terry didn't look happy, but he nodded. "I'll look him up at the market tomorrow before I head into work."
"How early does he start?" Karl asked.
"The market opens at nine, but it takes a while for the stallholders to get everything set up, so most of them are there at seven-thirty or so," Terry said. "I don't have to be at work till eight-thirty, so I'll see if I can catch him before he gets too busy."
Eric nodded. "Thanks, Terry. I appreciate your help."
Terry just nodded, his face giving nothing further away.
~//~
The next day, Karl and Eric were getting their breakfast as Terry was about to leave. Karl thought Terry looked nervous; not an expression he'd seen on the big man before, but he dismissed the notion, and carried on eating. Why would Terry be nervous about talking to Hugh? He certainly hadn't seemed nervous about anything else this week. Karl assumed he was reluctant to get involved, and put it down to that.
After he'd left, Karl looked at Eric expectantly.
"What?" Eric said, checking behind himself as if expecting someone standing there.
"You said you were going to show me around some more. Yesterday we didn't see much apart from the supermarket and the local park, and the day before we only got to the market where Hugh works. Nice as they were, I was hoping maybe you'd show me some places you used to hang out; your old school and that kind of thing."
Eric smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You really want to see things like that? I didn't like school all that much. Was good at footie, but not much else."
Karl huffed. "So show me the football field; I don't care. I just thought it'd be fun to see the places young Eric used to frequent."
"Sure," Eric agreed.
~//~
Much as Eric had been reluctant to show Karl around any of his main childhood haunts, they had a good day checking out the old school grounds and some other places where he had memories of spending time with Hugh.
While in New Zealand, he'd almost convinced himself he and Hugh hadn't been so inseparable, but seeing all the familiar places from his childhood and especially his teenage years, he was feeling distinctly nostalgic now. Every place he showed Karl reminded him exactly why Hugh had been someone special to him once upon a time. Of course he couldn't say that to Karl, but it was hard to talk about anywhere without thoughts of Hugh surfacing.
By the time they got back to Terry's, he was thoughtful, but he didn't realise how long it had been since he'd spoken until Karl disturbed his thoughts.
"He was a big part of your life, wasn't he?"
Eric blinked, and turned a guilty expression towards his lover. "Sorry."
Karl shook his head. "Don't be sorry. It was a long time ago, and you reassure me constantly that I'm all you want now."
"Thanks, love. I feel bad that all this reminds me of what he and I had, though. I mean… things could have been quite different if Dad hadn't caught us that day. I might never have gone to New Zealand; never have met you."
Karl moved into his arms, holding him tight. "But you did."
Eric closed his eyes, returning the embrace gratefully. "Thank God."
Karl laughed as drew back slowly.
"What's so funny?"
"You said 'Thank God', which seems a little ironic in the circumstances."
Eric huffed a laugh too as they walked into the kitchen. "True. Hey Terry."
Terry was bent over inside the open door of the fridge. He straightened up and shut the fridge door as they stood there expectantly.
"Karl, Eric. How'd your day go?" Terry nodded at them and carried the meat he'd pulled out of the fridge over to the stove. "Spaghetti Bolognaise okay for tonight?"
"Sounds great," Eric told him, "and our day was…"
"Great," Karl put in. "Eric showed me his childhood haunts. How'd you get on with Hugh?"
Terry frowned and busied himself pulling things out of cupboards before answering. "Uh…. He didn't really have time to talk this morning, but uh… he invited me over to his place tomorrow night."
Eric snorted. "Really? Like… for a beer?"
Terry nodded. "Yeah, I guess. I said I needed to talk to him about you, and he suggested it. I might not be back at tea time, so… will you be okay to make yourselves something?"
"Of course," Karl answered, and Eric shook his head. "What?"
Eric let out a chuckle. "Like it'll be you cooking?" he asked.
Karl had the good grace to blush - he looked so cute when he did that - but he didn't say anything.
"Right; all good then," Terry said, his eyes moving back and forth between them like he was amused by the exchange. "Help yourselves to a beer now and head outside while I get to making this; it's easier when you two aren't in here in my way."
"All right, all right," Eric said, holding up his hands. He grabbed a couple of bottles from the fridge and handed one to Karl before pushing him out the door.
~//~
"Was that the door?"
Eric's shifting around as he spoke brought Karl to full wakefulness. He glanced at the clock by the bed; its glowing numbers read a little after 2 am. "Terry?" he mumbled sleepily.
Eric was sitting up in the bed in the dark, his head cocked as though he was listening intently. "Yeah. That was his bedroom door closing, I think. I can't believe he's only just getting back from Hugh's now."
Karl rolled over, yawning. "He's a big boy, Eric. I'm sure he can take care of himself."
"Hmm. What would have kept him there this long? He went straight from work, and it's been hours. I wonder what they talked about all this time?"
"Go to sleep, Eric. It's Saturday tomorrow, so I’m sure Terry will tell you all about it then."
"Yeah."
Karl must have drifted off at that point. When he woke again, light was streaming in the room and Eric was snoring softly next to him. The clock read 8.48 am. He rolled onto his side and leaned his head on his elbow, watching Eric sleep with what was surely a very dopey grin on his face. He couldn't imagine loving anyone as much as he loved Eric; feeling daft as he watched the man sleep definitely said that, no matter what else he liked to think about their relationship.
As he watched, Eric slowly blinked to wakefulness, like he knew Karl was watching. Eric smiled and stretched out deliciously. "Morning, love."
"Morning yourself. You finally managed to sleep once Terry was home, then?"
Eric sat up abruptly. "Terry! Hugh! I've got to find out how that all went." He was out of bed and hopping into trousers almost before Karl could blink.
"Give him a chance, Eric. Terry didn't get in till the wee small hours. He's probably still asleep."
"He doesn't usually sleep in… well, he didn't used to," Eric amended as he sank to the side of the bed and looked over his shoulder at Karl, who was sitting up by now.
"It's the weekend, babe… you could come back to bed?"
A crash from the other end of the house had Eric standing up again, and all Karl could do was snort as his invitation went unanswered. Eric pulled a t-shirt over his head, and padded out of the room barefooted.
"Yeah, cheers; thanks a lot," Karl said to the empty air behind him. He sighed heavily, then got out of bed himself.
~//~//~
Part Six
Characters: Karl Urban/Eric Bana, Hugh Jackman, several of my own characters representing family and friends of Eric in Australia.
Rating: M
Beta: The always generous siluria
Word Count: 2068 words this part
Disclaimer: I've used real people's names to write this story, but just assume I am giving each of them an acting job using their own name; I have no knowledge of their real lives or family, and this story is a fiction I created for love not money.
Warnings: Use of homophobic language used by less than tolerant characters; this does not reflect my own attitudes.
Summary: This is a follow-up to The Mechanics of Love, set a few years later, when Eric and Karl, now well into their 20's, have been in an established relationship for some time. In this story, they go to Australia to visit Eric's family when his father turns sixty, and unexpectedly run into someone Eric knew years ago, before he was sent to NZ...
Author's Notes: In this part, Eric convinces Terry to have a word with Hugh; later, Eric finds himself remembering things from his past in a slightly different way.
Can also be read here on AO3
Previous chapters on LJ: Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four
"Me?" Terry 's eyes were full of mistrust. "Why would I talk to him? He's an idiot."
Eric sighed and leaned forward over the table. After Karl had convinced him this morning how many lives could be ruined by one foolish decision, he hadn't been sure Terry was the right person to talk to Hugh, but he couldn't think of any other way to get through to him.
"Because I can't do it; he won't listen to me after what I said to him, and as I already said, because if he ends up marrying Kate…" Eric paused, noting the look of alarm in Terry's eyes. "…not only could it mean he's miserable for the rest of his life, but Kate and her kids could suffer for it too."
Terry huffed something indecipherable and stood up, turning towards the electric jug so that Eric could no longer see his expression. Terry lifted the jug to put hot water in it at the sink, and then fussed around finding mugs and teabags.
"What are you thinking?" Eric exchanged a querying look with Karl, who just shrugged.
Terry turned at last, his thick brows furrowed. "Maybe that's all she deserves."
Shaking his head, Eric just looked at Terry for a moment. "You say that like you know her."
"Maybe," Terry muttered and started pouring hot water into the mugs.
Eric scowled. "You do, don't you? How do you know her?"
Terry flicked him an angry look, and plonked a mug in front of him and then one in front of Karl before sitting down again with his own. "I went to school with her."
Blinking in surprise, Eric gestured unevenly. He knew Kate was older than Hugh, but he'd never stopped to think that she was probably around Terry's age and that could mean there was a possibility of something like this.
At forty-one, Terry was a lot younger than Eric's father, who had been born soon after their parents married, while Terry had been the unexpected baby at the end of their reproductive lives. If Kate had stayed as near to where she grew up as Terry had - it wasn't that big an area - the chances they knew each other were fairly high.
"You did? Was she always…" He thought about how to put it.
"Batty?" Terry put in, and took a gulp of his hot tea. "Pretty much."
"That's not what I was going to say."
Terry snorted. "Well, she is."
"Religious then," Karl offered.
"I suppose so," Terry replied. "If that's what you call chasing every guy in our class until one of them agreed to marry her."
"Did she chase you?" Eric could help asking.
"Of course, but I wasn't going near. I wouldn't touch her with a barge pole."
Karl gave Eric a lifted eyebrow at that, but Eric didn't think Terry was suggesting anything about himself with the comment. However, it did make him wonder how familiar Terry was with her situation now. "Did you know she was dating Hugh before I told you?"
"Might have," Terry mumbled, shooting Karl an odd look.
Eric narrowed his eyes and glanced at Karl himself, but his expression seemed fairly neutral. "How often do you see Hugh around, anyway?"
"His parents are good friends of your mum and dad; he's around and about from time to time. I guess they probably said something somewhere along the line."
Eric could hardly argue the logic. He sighed again, and then drank some of his own tea. Lowering the cup, he tried again. "Could you at least try to have a word with Hugh? I mean… you're the only one around here who seems to think what Karl and I have is okay, and even if Hugh’s not too keen to talk about it, you could at least give him something to think about."
"You're not going to let up until I bloody-well agree, are you?" Terry asked over the top of his mug.
Karl started to smile, and Eric felt the weight on his own shoulders start to lift just a little. "Not really, no. After Karl pointed out how it wasn't just him affected, I've been feeling a bit guilty about not being more… I don't know…"
"Understanding," Karl put in, looking into his mug like he was avoiding Eric's eyes.
"Okay, yeah, understanding."
"Well, I won't guarantee the results," Terry warned.
"That's okay; I just think we should try." Eric managed not to smile too hard. He had always been one of the only people who could convince Terry to do something he didn't really want to do; it was good to know he hadn't lost his touch.
Terry didn't look happy, but he nodded. "I'll look him up at the market tomorrow before I head into work."
"How early does he start?" Karl asked.
"The market opens at nine, but it takes a while for the stallholders to get everything set up, so most of them are there at seven-thirty or so," Terry said. "I don't have to be at work till eight-thirty, so I'll see if I can catch him before he gets too busy."
Eric nodded. "Thanks, Terry. I appreciate your help."
Terry just nodded, his face giving nothing further away.
~//~
The next day, Karl and Eric were getting their breakfast as Terry was about to leave. Karl thought Terry looked nervous; not an expression he'd seen on the big man before, but he dismissed the notion, and carried on eating. Why would Terry be nervous about talking to Hugh? He certainly hadn't seemed nervous about anything else this week. Karl assumed he was reluctant to get involved, and put it down to that.
After he'd left, Karl looked at Eric expectantly.
"What?" Eric said, checking behind himself as if expecting someone standing there.
"You said you were going to show me around some more. Yesterday we didn't see much apart from the supermarket and the local park, and the day before we only got to the market where Hugh works. Nice as they were, I was hoping maybe you'd show me some places you used to hang out; your old school and that kind of thing."
Eric smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You really want to see things like that? I didn't like school all that much. Was good at footie, but not much else."
Karl huffed. "So show me the football field; I don't care. I just thought it'd be fun to see the places young Eric used to frequent."
"Sure," Eric agreed.
~//~
Much as Eric had been reluctant to show Karl around any of his main childhood haunts, they had a good day checking out the old school grounds and some other places where he had memories of spending time with Hugh.
While in New Zealand, he'd almost convinced himself he and Hugh hadn't been so inseparable, but seeing all the familiar places from his childhood and especially his teenage years, he was feeling distinctly nostalgic now. Every place he showed Karl reminded him exactly why Hugh had been someone special to him once upon a time. Of course he couldn't say that to Karl, but it was hard to talk about anywhere without thoughts of Hugh surfacing.
By the time they got back to Terry's, he was thoughtful, but he didn't realise how long it had been since he'd spoken until Karl disturbed his thoughts.
"He was a big part of your life, wasn't he?"
Eric blinked, and turned a guilty expression towards his lover. "Sorry."
Karl shook his head. "Don't be sorry. It was a long time ago, and you reassure me constantly that I'm all you want now."
"Thanks, love. I feel bad that all this reminds me of what he and I had, though. I mean… things could have been quite different if Dad hadn't caught us that day. I might never have gone to New Zealand; never have met you."
Karl moved into his arms, holding him tight. "But you did."
Eric closed his eyes, returning the embrace gratefully. "Thank God."
Karl laughed as drew back slowly.
"What's so funny?"
"You said 'Thank God', which seems a little ironic in the circumstances."
Eric huffed a laugh too as they walked into the kitchen. "True. Hey Terry."
Terry was bent over inside the open door of the fridge. He straightened up and shut the fridge door as they stood there expectantly.
"Karl, Eric. How'd your day go?" Terry nodded at them and carried the meat he'd pulled out of the fridge over to the stove. "Spaghetti Bolognaise okay for tonight?"
"Sounds great," Eric told him, "and our day was…"
"Great," Karl put in. "Eric showed me his childhood haunts. How'd you get on with Hugh?"
Terry frowned and busied himself pulling things out of cupboards before answering. "Uh…. He didn't really have time to talk this morning, but uh… he invited me over to his place tomorrow night."
Eric snorted. "Really? Like… for a beer?"
Terry nodded. "Yeah, I guess. I said I needed to talk to him about you, and he suggested it. I might not be back at tea time, so… will you be okay to make yourselves something?"
"Of course," Karl answered, and Eric shook his head. "What?"
Eric let out a chuckle. "Like it'll be you cooking?" he asked.
Karl had the good grace to blush - he looked so cute when he did that - but he didn't say anything.
"Right; all good then," Terry said, his eyes moving back and forth between them like he was amused by the exchange. "Help yourselves to a beer now and head outside while I get to making this; it's easier when you two aren't in here in my way."
"All right, all right," Eric said, holding up his hands. He grabbed a couple of bottles from the fridge and handed one to Karl before pushing him out the door.
~//~
"Was that the door?"
Eric's shifting around as he spoke brought Karl to full wakefulness. He glanced at the clock by the bed; its glowing numbers read a little after 2 am. "Terry?" he mumbled sleepily.
Eric was sitting up in the bed in the dark, his head cocked as though he was listening intently. "Yeah. That was his bedroom door closing, I think. I can't believe he's only just getting back from Hugh's now."
Karl rolled over, yawning. "He's a big boy, Eric. I'm sure he can take care of himself."
"Hmm. What would have kept him there this long? He went straight from work, and it's been hours. I wonder what they talked about all this time?"
"Go to sleep, Eric. It's Saturday tomorrow, so I’m sure Terry will tell you all about it then."
"Yeah."
Karl must have drifted off at that point. When he woke again, light was streaming in the room and Eric was snoring softly next to him. The clock read 8.48 am. He rolled onto his side and leaned his head on his elbow, watching Eric sleep with what was surely a very dopey grin on his face. He couldn't imagine loving anyone as much as he loved Eric; feeling daft as he watched the man sleep definitely said that, no matter what else he liked to think about their relationship.
As he watched, Eric slowly blinked to wakefulness, like he knew Karl was watching. Eric smiled and stretched out deliciously. "Morning, love."
"Morning yourself. You finally managed to sleep once Terry was home, then?"
Eric sat up abruptly. "Terry! Hugh! I've got to find out how that all went." He was out of bed and hopping into trousers almost before Karl could blink.
"Give him a chance, Eric. Terry didn't get in till the wee small hours. He's probably still asleep."
"He doesn't usually sleep in… well, he didn't used to," Eric amended as he sank to the side of the bed and looked over his shoulder at Karl, who was sitting up by now.
"It's the weekend, babe… you could come back to bed?"
A crash from the other end of the house had Eric standing up again, and all Karl could do was snort as his invitation went unanswered. Eric pulled a t-shirt over his head, and padded out of the room barefooted.
"Yeah, cheers; thanks a lot," Karl said to the empty air behind him. He sighed heavily, then got out of bed himself.
~//~//~
Part Six