Engineering Love, Part Four: Karl/Eric fic
Title: Engineering Love, Part Four
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: 2310 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: Apologies for the delay on this chapter; I had a busy week last week so haven’t had time to update until now. In this part, Eric and Karl talk about Hugh and Kate, and whether there's a problem to be addressed in their relationship.
Can also be read here on AO3
Previous chapters on LJ: Part One | Part Two | Part Three
In the morning, Eric blinked awake and lay looking at the still sleeping Karl for some time before moving. It had taken him a while to get to sleep last night, thinking on the Hugh issue. He wondered if Hugh had had a sexual relationship with anyone after Eric had left the picture, or if maybe it was only women he'd been avoiding - or getting into similar 'relationships' with as the one he had with Kate. Or was it the conversion that made him think he was straight?
And Kate seemed so unlikely. She had children for Christ's sake! Eric had nothing against kids himself - nor did he think Hugh did - but the man was so much younger than Kate, and children were a lot of responsibility to take on. Did he really think he was ready for that?
Eric had to admit he barely knew Hugh any more, and that was a major reason he felt better about the idea of not staying in touch after he and Karl went back to New Zealand.
But… he cared about Hugh, he had to admit, and seeing him in this unlikely situation had Eric worried. What if he was biting off more than he could chew? Was he really intending to marry Kate, or was the whole 'no sex until married' thing the perfect way for him to avoid a 'proper' relationship?
He sighed, staring absently into space and away from Karl's peacefully asleep face. Maybe he was over-reacting, and Hugh knew exactly what he was doing.
A movement at the corner of his eye caught his attention; Karl was waking up. Eric let go of thoughts of Hugh in favour of watching his lover come to his senses. He'd never tire of the sight. Reaching out a hand, Eric brushed the hair away from Karl's brow and smiled down into the deep hazel eyes.
"Morning, mate," Karl managed hoarsely.
Eric just grinned at him.
Karl frowned suspiciously. "How long have you been watching me sleep?"
"Not long. You look so sweet and innocent when you're out of it."
Karl grunted and moved up into a sitting position. "Try saying that when I'm more awake."
"What? You going to punch me for telling the truth?"
"Sweet and innocent is not exactly the way I want to be seen. Not if I want people to take me seriously."
Eric ruffled his hair and laughed. "Yeah, but I love you, sweet and innocent as you are."
Karl pushed his hand away as he slid to the side of the bed, and put his feet on the floor. "Sod off, ya idiot."
"Admit it, you love it."
Karl turned back, catching Eric by the chin with one hand and drawing him near enough to kiss. "I love you, anyway."
Eric opened his mouth, allowing Karl's tongue to pulse inside. Morning breath or not, he could stir Eric up with just a kiss like no-one else ever had.
But before it could turn to anything near what Eric would have liked to happen at this point, Karl drew back and stood up, yawning and stretching. "I need to piss," he announced.
Eric couldn't help but laugh. "Look at you: one minute it's all romance; the next you're talking shit."
"Piss, actually," Karl laughed, leaving the room before Eric could say any more.
Despite the grin on his face, Eric's thoughts immediately turned back to Hugh. He had Karl now; Hugh was his past. What was it about the man that still managed to tie him up in doubt, even after all these years? He shook himself and moved to follow Karl to the bathroom.
~//~
Once they were up and dressed, Karl and Eric headed for the kitchen to get breakfast. Terry was just putting his packed lunch into his backpack as they entered the room.
"Morning, boys," He smiled at them. "I'm just off to work. Back around five. Lock up if you go out, and while I'm gone, think about what you want to eat for dinner. If you text me what you want, I'll go to the supermarket on the way home."
Karl was still more than a little amazed to see the burly builder with such a gentle expression on his face. He hadn't done much other than frown for the first day or two - especially at his brother's birthday, Karl now realised - but since that was over with, he'd done more smiling in their company, which by all accounts was fairly rare.
Eric nodded in reply. "Thanks, Terry, but it must be our turn to buy you dinner."
"Not a word of it," Terry insisted, his frown returning - and Karl certainly understood why people were so frightened of him when that expression was on his face. "I'm the host, and I say who buys dinner." Then his face lightened considerably. "That doesn't mean you two can't cook it. I just hope it'll be edible."
Eric let out an affronted noise. "Of course it'll be edible!"
Karl grinned as Terry winked at him, and left them to it. Eric was proud of how well he could cook these days. It had been something he'd spent a lot of time on since Karl had moved in. He enjoyed cooking and found it relaxing after a stressful day at the garage - once he'd scrubbed himself clean, of course. Karl was more than happy to be on clean-up duty. Cooking wasn't something he'd ever mastered much more than the basics of, despite his mum's best intentions.
"Edible, he says!" Eric turned back to Karl. "Shows how much he knows."
"Don't take it so seriously." Karl smiled at Eric as he filled the electric jug with water for a cuppa. "He's only teasing."
"Terry? Not something he's known for." Eric reached into the cupboard for cereal as he spoke.
"Well, maybe people just don't know him well enough to judge."
Eric laughed. "And you do?"
Karl grabbed a couple of mugs off the shelf and put teabags in them. "To be honest, he scared me a little at first too; he seemed so gruff, but since we've been staying with him… I think he's a pretty good guy. I think you may just be his favourite nephew, too."
Eric nodded. "You're right, actually. He's always had my best interests at heart, and of all the family, he's the least judgmental about me being gay."
"You don't think…?" Karl couldn't quite make himself say it.
"What? Terry? Nah… well... I mean, I did wonder, but… no, I don’t think so." Eric didn't look so sure, suddenly. "Could he?"
Karl shrugged. "It's not like I know him that well, like you say, but…" He raised his hands questioningly. "There's no way to tell just from looking at someone. We both know that well enough."
"Anyway," sniffed Eric," I'm hungry. What kind of cereal d'ya want?"
"Cornflakes," Karl said decisively, and watched Eric pour a couple of bowls while he waited for the jug to boil. He wished he could be as decisive about broaching the subject of Hugh again, but he wanted to give Eric a chance to bring him up first. If Eric didn't take too long getting around to it, that was.
By the time they were sitting at the table with their cereal and tea in front of them, he was already contemplating saying something.
Eric looked at him over the food and cocked a querying eyebrow.
"What?" said Karl and shoved another spoonful into his mouth.
"You've got that thoughtful look on again."
"What look?"
"The one that says you've got some kind of question to ask me, or you're waiting for me to say something first."
"I have a 'thoughtful look'?" Karl tried stalling.
"How long have we been together now?" Eric sat back, lifting his mug, and gazed knowingly at Karl.
"Three years… no, it'll be four years next month," Karl decided, not sure where Eric was going with this line of thought.
"And you don't think I would know what that look means by now?"
Karl snorted. "That you even notice my so-called 'looks' is a complete surprise to me, actually."
Eric took a gulp of his tea, and gave Karl an 'I'm offended' look of his own; one that Karl knew pretty well by now. "Is it about Hugh?"
Karl blinked in surprise. Eric wasn't usually so good at guessing what he was thinking about. "Actually, yeah." He smiled briefly, and checking Eric's face for disapproval, decided he was better to just say it. "Do you think Hugh is deliberately dating someone who doesn't sleep with him?"
"That's not really our business, Karl." Eric got up from the table as he spoke, so it was hard to judge what expression he was hiding as he plonked his empty mug in the sink. "Besides, we won't be seeing him again, so it doesn't matter."
Karl had finished his breakfast by now, and he stood up too, carrying his dishes to hand them to Eric, who had started filling the sink with water. Karl grabbed a tea-towel and waited for Eric to start washing. "You don't wonder, though?" he couldn't help asking.
Eric shrugged, appearing fascinated by squeezing dishwashing liquid into the hot water. "He chose not to get involved in my life any further, so it's not for me to speculate."
Karl snorted as he reached for the first clean dish to dry. "It wasn't quite as deliberately 'chosen' as you're suggesting though. What if… what if he felt both abandoned by you and so guilty for not standing up to your dad, that somehow he felt he owed you to stay well away from what - who - he really wanted?"
Eric looked up, a stunned look on his face. "Did he say something?"
"No, but…" Karl hesitated. "Is that something he would do?"
Eric tilted his head, staring into space, and then looked back into the sink. "I don't know, but it isn't something I'd considered. I mean… I'm only just getting my head around the idea that he didn't abandon me."
"I get that, babe. But… he had to be hurting too after you left. Maybe - and I'm only guessing here, because I don't know him like you did back then - but maybe that's exactly what happened, and he's still so traumatised by the whole situation that he hasn't really admitted what he wants."
Karl had received some free counselling through a domestic violence programme in NZ after his father died. He'd finally worked up the courage to look for help when the reality of his father's behaviour when he was younger had continued to interfere with his night-time sleep. He'd learned a thing or two about suppressed thoughts and behaviours through that.
Eric looked at him briefly, and then went back to washing dishes. He was silent so long that Karl thought he'd given up on the conversation. He didn't speak again himself; sometimes it was better not to.
"There might be something in that," Eric finally said as he pulled the plug and started wiping the bench. "But is it up to me to point that out?"
Karl tipped his head, thinking. "Perhaps not, but it's going to make for a pretty sad life for him if we ignore it."
Eric nodded slowly as he dried his hands. "It'd mean if he married Kate… both of them could end up miserable. And if that affects her kids… so it's not just him we're talking about here."
Karl finished drying the last dish and hung up the tea-towel. It was what he'd been thinking all along but hadn't wanted to point out to Eric so bluntly. "Yeah."
Stepping closer to Karl, Eric reached out a hand which Karl took and squeezed lightly. "I don't want to get involved for my own sake, but… It feels like my responsibility to do something now. Dammit!"
"You know it's the right thing to do," Karl said gently, drawing Eric close enough to kiss.
Eric kissed him back, but didn't take it further. He moved away. "What can I do? I can't say anything to Kate. And Hugh…" he sighed, pushing a hand through his dark hair. "I don't know that I can tell him what he's thinking. That's… he won't listen to me anyway."
"Why not?"
Eric blinked at him as if Karl should know. "I abandoned him, Karl. I know, I didn't realise that at the time, but I could just as easily have made the effort to contact him once I was settled in New Zealand. And I didn't. And now… after what I said when we left him, he's got to think I don't care, especially now I have you. Anything I say won't mean anything; he'll never believe I'm trying to help him - he'll just think it's some sort of payback or something."
"What about me? What if I talk to him?"
"You shouldn't have to do that, Karl. And he might just think I sent you as part of my revenge."
"I feel like I should help though. Besides, that's not who you are, Eric. And I wouldn't do that even if you were."
"But Hugh doesn't know that."
"True." Karl rubbed his chin, thinking. "What about Terry?"
"Terry?" Eric had a 'you're crazy' expression on his face. "Why would he help?"
"Why not? We could ask him, at least. Who else is there?"
Eric shook his head as he headed back down the hallway. "No one that knows about what happened, and would be willing to help me."
Karl followed him. "Well, then?"
"I guess we could ask him tonight. I don't know that he would, but…"
"It's worth a try."
"Yeah," Eric said as he stepped into the bathroom and reached for his toothbrush. "There's nothing else that I can think of at the moment."
~//~//~
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: 2310 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: Apologies for the delay on this chapter; I had a busy week last week so haven’t had time to update until now. In this part, Eric and Karl talk about Hugh and Kate, and whether there's a problem to be addressed in their relationship.
Can also be read here on AO3
Previous chapters on LJ: Part One | Part Two | Part Three
In the morning, Eric blinked awake and lay looking at the still sleeping Karl for some time before moving. It had taken him a while to get to sleep last night, thinking on the Hugh issue. He wondered if Hugh had had a sexual relationship with anyone after Eric had left the picture, or if maybe it was only women he'd been avoiding - or getting into similar 'relationships' with as the one he had with Kate. Or was it the conversion that made him think he was straight?
And Kate seemed so unlikely. She had children for Christ's sake! Eric had nothing against kids himself - nor did he think Hugh did - but the man was so much younger than Kate, and children were a lot of responsibility to take on. Did he really think he was ready for that?
Eric had to admit he barely knew Hugh any more, and that was a major reason he felt better about the idea of not staying in touch after he and Karl went back to New Zealand.
But… he cared about Hugh, he had to admit, and seeing him in this unlikely situation had Eric worried. What if he was biting off more than he could chew? Was he really intending to marry Kate, or was the whole 'no sex until married' thing the perfect way for him to avoid a 'proper' relationship?
He sighed, staring absently into space and away from Karl's peacefully asleep face. Maybe he was over-reacting, and Hugh knew exactly what he was doing.
A movement at the corner of his eye caught his attention; Karl was waking up. Eric let go of thoughts of Hugh in favour of watching his lover come to his senses. He'd never tire of the sight. Reaching out a hand, Eric brushed the hair away from Karl's brow and smiled down into the deep hazel eyes.
"Morning, mate," Karl managed hoarsely.
Eric just grinned at him.
Karl frowned suspiciously. "How long have you been watching me sleep?"
"Not long. You look so sweet and innocent when you're out of it."
Karl grunted and moved up into a sitting position. "Try saying that when I'm more awake."
"What? You going to punch me for telling the truth?"
"Sweet and innocent is not exactly the way I want to be seen. Not if I want people to take me seriously."
Eric ruffled his hair and laughed. "Yeah, but I love you, sweet and innocent as you are."
Karl pushed his hand away as he slid to the side of the bed, and put his feet on the floor. "Sod off, ya idiot."
"Admit it, you love it."
Karl turned back, catching Eric by the chin with one hand and drawing him near enough to kiss. "I love you, anyway."
Eric opened his mouth, allowing Karl's tongue to pulse inside. Morning breath or not, he could stir Eric up with just a kiss like no-one else ever had.
But before it could turn to anything near what Eric would have liked to happen at this point, Karl drew back and stood up, yawning and stretching. "I need to piss," he announced.
Eric couldn't help but laugh. "Look at you: one minute it's all romance; the next you're talking shit."
"Piss, actually," Karl laughed, leaving the room before Eric could say any more.
Despite the grin on his face, Eric's thoughts immediately turned back to Hugh. He had Karl now; Hugh was his past. What was it about the man that still managed to tie him up in doubt, even after all these years? He shook himself and moved to follow Karl to the bathroom.
~//~
Once they were up and dressed, Karl and Eric headed for the kitchen to get breakfast. Terry was just putting his packed lunch into his backpack as they entered the room.
"Morning, boys," He smiled at them. "I'm just off to work. Back around five. Lock up if you go out, and while I'm gone, think about what you want to eat for dinner. If you text me what you want, I'll go to the supermarket on the way home."
Karl was still more than a little amazed to see the burly builder with such a gentle expression on his face. He hadn't done much other than frown for the first day or two - especially at his brother's birthday, Karl now realised - but since that was over with, he'd done more smiling in their company, which by all accounts was fairly rare.
Eric nodded in reply. "Thanks, Terry, but it must be our turn to buy you dinner."
"Not a word of it," Terry insisted, his frown returning - and Karl certainly understood why people were so frightened of him when that expression was on his face. "I'm the host, and I say who buys dinner." Then his face lightened considerably. "That doesn't mean you two can't cook it. I just hope it'll be edible."
Eric let out an affronted noise. "Of course it'll be edible!"
Karl grinned as Terry winked at him, and left them to it. Eric was proud of how well he could cook these days. It had been something he'd spent a lot of time on since Karl had moved in. He enjoyed cooking and found it relaxing after a stressful day at the garage - once he'd scrubbed himself clean, of course. Karl was more than happy to be on clean-up duty. Cooking wasn't something he'd ever mastered much more than the basics of, despite his mum's best intentions.
"Edible, he says!" Eric turned back to Karl. "Shows how much he knows."
"Don't take it so seriously." Karl smiled at Eric as he filled the electric jug with water for a cuppa. "He's only teasing."
"Terry? Not something he's known for." Eric reached into the cupboard for cereal as he spoke.
"Well, maybe people just don't know him well enough to judge."
Eric laughed. "And you do?"
Karl grabbed a couple of mugs off the shelf and put teabags in them. "To be honest, he scared me a little at first too; he seemed so gruff, but since we've been staying with him… I think he's a pretty good guy. I think you may just be his favourite nephew, too."
Eric nodded. "You're right, actually. He's always had my best interests at heart, and of all the family, he's the least judgmental about me being gay."
"You don't think…?" Karl couldn't quite make himself say it.
"What? Terry? Nah… well... I mean, I did wonder, but… no, I don’t think so." Eric didn't look so sure, suddenly. "Could he?"
Karl shrugged. "It's not like I know him that well, like you say, but…" He raised his hands questioningly. "There's no way to tell just from looking at someone. We both know that well enough."
"Anyway," sniffed Eric," I'm hungry. What kind of cereal d'ya want?"
"Cornflakes," Karl said decisively, and watched Eric pour a couple of bowls while he waited for the jug to boil. He wished he could be as decisive about broaching the subject of Hugh again, but he wanted to give Eric a chance to bring him up first. If Eric didn't take too long getting around to it, that was.
By the time they were sitting at the table with their cereal and tea in front of them, he was already contemplating saying something.
Eric looked at him over the food and cocked a querying eyebrow.
"What?" said Karl and shoved another spoonful into his mouth.
"You've got that thoughtful look on again."
"What look?"
"The one that says you've got some kind of question to ask me, or you're waiting for me to say something first."
"I have a 'thoughtful look'?" Karl tried stalling.
"How long have we been together now?" Eric sat back, lifting his mug, and gazed knowingly at Karl.
"Three years… no, it'll be four years next month," Karl decided, not sure where Eric was going with this line of thought.
"And you don't think I would know what that look means by now?"
Karl snorted. "That you even notice my so-called 'looks' is a complete surprise to me, actually."
Eric took a gulp of his tea, and gave Karl an 'I'm offended' look of his own; one that Karl knew pretty well by now. "Is it about Hugh?"
Karl blinked in surprise. Eric wasn't usually so good at guessing what he was thinking about. "Actually, yeah." He smiled briefly, and checking Eric's face for disapproval, decided he was better to just say it. "Do you think Hugh is deliberately dating someone who doesn't sleep with him?"
"That's not really our business, Karl." Eric got up from the table as he spoke, so it was hard to judge what expression he was hiding as he plonked his empty mug in the sink. "Besides, we won't be seeing him again, so it doesn't matter."
Karl had finished his breakfast by now, and he stood up too, carrying his dishes to hand them to Eric, who had started filling the sink with water. Karl grabbed a tea-towel and waited for Eric to start washing. "You don't wonder, though?" he couldn't help asking.
Eric shrugged, appearing fascinated by squeezing dishwashing liquid into the hot water. "He chose not to get involved in my life any further, so it's not for me to speculate."
Karl snorted as he reached for the first clean dish to dry. "It wasn't quite as deliberately 'chosen' as you're suggesting though. What if… what if he felt both abandoned by you and so guilty for not standing up to your dad, that somehow he felt he owed you to stay well away from what - who - he really wanted?"
Eric looked up, a stunned look on his face. "Did he say something?"
"No, but…" Karl hesitated. "Is that something he would do?"
Eric tilted his head, staring into space, and then looked back into the sink. "I don't know, but it isn't something I'd considered. I mean… I'm only just getting my head around the idea that he didn't abandon me."
"I get that, babe. But… he had to be hurting too after you left. Maybe - and I'm only guessing here, because I don't know him like you did back then - but maybe that's exactly what happened, and he's still so traumatised by the whole situation that he hasn't really admitted what he wants."
Karl had received some free counselling through a domestic violence programme in NZ after his father died. He'd finally worked up the courage to look for help when the reality of his father's behaviour when he was younger had continued to interfere with his night-time sleep. He'd learned a thing or two about suppressed thoughts and behaviours through that.
Eric looked at him briefly, and then went back to washing dishes. He was silent so long that Karl thought he'd given up on the conversation. He didn't speak again himself; sometimes it was better not to.
"There might be something in that," Eric finally said as he pulled the plug and started wiping the bench. "But is it up to me to point that out?"
Karl tipped his head, thinking. "Perhaps not, but it's going to make for a pretty sad life for him if we ignore it."
Eric nodded slowly as he dried his hands. "It'd mean if he married Kate… both of them could end up miserable. And if that affects her kids… so it's not just him we're talking about here."
Karl finished drying the last dish and hung up the tea-towel. It was what he'd been thinking all along but hadn't wanted to point out to Eric so bluntly. "Yeah."
Stepping closer to Karl, Eric reached out a hand which Karl took and squeezed lightly. "I don't want to get involved for my own sake, but… It feels like my responsibility to do something now. Dammit!"
"You know it's the right thing to do," Karl said gently, drawing Eric close enough to kiss.
Eric kissed him back, but didn't take it further. He moved away. "What can I do? I can't say anything to Kate. And Hugh…" he sighed, pushing a hand through his dark hair. "I don't know that I can tell him what he's thinking. That's… he won't listen to me anyway."
"Why not?"
Eric blinked at him as if Karl should know. "I abandoned him, Karl. I know, I didn't realise that at the time, but I could just as easily have made the effort to contact him once I was settled in New Zealand. And I didn't. And now… after what I said when we left him, he's got to think I don't care, especially now I have you. Anything I say won't mean anything; he'll never believe I'm trying to help him - he'll just think it's some sort of payback or something."
"What about me? What if I talk to him?"
"You shouldn't have to do that, Karl. And he might just think I sent you as part of my revenge."
"I feel like I should help though. Besides, that's not who you are, Eric. And I wouldn't do that even if you were."
"But Hugh doesn't know that."
"True." Karl rubbed his chin, thinking. "What about Terry?"
"Terry?" Eric had a 'you're crazy' expression on his face. "Why would he help?"
"Why not? We could ask him, at least. Who else is there?"
Eric shook his head as he headed back down the hallway. "No one that knows about what happened, and would be willing to help me."
Karl followed him. "Well, then?"
"I guess we could ask him tonight. I don't know that he would, but…"
"It's worth a try."
"Yeah," Eric said as he stepped into the bathroom and reached for his toothbrush. "There's nothing else that I can think of at the moment."
~//~//~
Part Five