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horseboykarlÉomer: We go back to the elf man’s house, Hugo, and he calls a friend of his, a discreet doctor, I am told. After a time, a woman shows up and inspects our wounds. She places a poultice on my arm and tells me it is second degree, but not deep, as she bandages it. I just nod even though I do not know what she means, but I do not know if she knows who I truly am.
She wants to give me some medicine, but I refuse until my uncle uses his authority as King and First Marshal and orders me to do it. I am not a child to be dosed when the pain is acute, but I do as he asks and swallow the tablets. A strange lethargy wells over me and before I realize what is happening, I have fallen asleep on Hugo’s couch.
Later I seem to wake up, but Karl is there and I know I must be dreaming. He is stroking the hair out of my face.
“The evil is defeated.”
“I know,” he whispers.
I raise my arm. “I am sorry I was not fast enough to avoid this. It will hurt you, will it not?”
“Yes, when you get injured in Wellie, I suffer for it when you return to Rohan. But it’s alright, you did good.”
I smile and pull him closer, burrowing my nose into his neck. He squirms but I hold him tightly. I had been saddened when I thought our link was gone forever. And not just because he is the doorway to the man I love.
“What happened? I have not been able to find you. And it is not like when you blocked me. It was as if you did not exist.”
“The bowl was moved and it cut off the shifts somehow, I don’t understand it exactly myself. And moving it made it vulnerable to Morgoth as well.”
“I thought I had lost you.” I nuzzle him again, and he tries to move away. I do not understand why I feel such affection for him, but I do.
“Well, you did, but just temporarily, it seems.”
He struggles a bit more and then relaxes in my arms. I sigh contentedly, but . . .
“I think it is time for me to leave, is that not why you are here?”
He nods and I close my eyes and when I open them again, his arm is the one with the bandage. I want to talk to him though so I stay.
Karl: We change bodies within his dream and I feel the stinging pain from the burn on his, no, my arm. He is still holding me, he hasn’t gone back to Middle Earth. I’m starting to feel like his teddy bear, but I want to talk to him, to mend things between us. I don’t tell him how relieved I was when I thought he was gone for good, even if he is nothing but a fictional creation, it seems that he has feelings.
“I need to ask you something.”
“Anything, Karl, you know I would help you however I could.” Then he frowns. “Except Théodred, I will not give him up.”
“No, it’s not like that . . . “ I hesitate. “Tell me, when you have visited my world, did you ever watch the movies? The ones that I portrayed you in. Or read the books the movies where based on?”
He stares at me for a moment. “No, I have never had any desire to know my fate. That would be . . . a burden . . . and one that I do not choose to bear.”
I’m surprised. “You never wondered whether you won or lost?”
He gives a rich chuckle. “I assumed that we defeated Sauron in the end, else your world would not exist, would it? My part in the conflict is immaterial, the fate of the world does not hinge on the life or death of one Rider of Rohan.”
So he doesn’t know about Théodred, or Théoden for that matter. It’s not my place to tell him, if he has rejected the knowledge of his future on his own.
I still need to know. “How old are you? Or . . . what is the date in your world?”
He is puzzled but he answers me readily enough. “I am twenty-seven and I believe it is June third, in the year 3018 of the Third Age.”
All right, Théodred must be alive and well then. Can I ask him this? Is it my business whether he feels some sort of soul-scorching love for his cousin? I have no doubt that he would answer me honestly, he’s never seemed to be the type to hide any of his feelings, or so I thought when I played him so out there emotionally. I sigh. He doesn’t seem to know that he is a fictional creation . . . he lives and breathes and fucks and loves just like anyone else. I’ll respect his privacy. It doesn’t matter in the end whether my dream was the truth or not. He and Théodred are both incredibly strong-willed men and if they’ve decided they want each other . . . I need to get this situation under control.
I gesture to my chest. “When I shifted back the last time and found this . . . piercing . . . I was infuriated. Théodred had promised that he would prevent you from getting me into any more trouble.”
He bristles. “Are you questioning his honor?”
“No, no,” I say hastily. “But I don’t share existence with Théodred, I share it with you. What I should have done is made agreements with you instead of him, so you would know how I feel about things. If we had talked beforehand, I would have told you that I don’t want to be pierced . . . and I hope that you would respect my wishes enough to not have it done. I know that Théodred’s shift, Paris, has a nipple ring, but you don’t have to match him.”
“I noticed that you kept it.” His voice has gone husky.
“I had reasons . . . “ I don’t go into the fact that it’s a reminder to never trust his fucking cousin again, among other things.
“Good,” he purrs and I am suddenly alarmed by the look on his face, sort of . . . hungry . . . and expectant. I sweat nervously, remembering that he is not civilized and he’s bloody dangerous. Get a grip, Urban, you’ve got to do this.
“Look, I’m not sure exactly what it is that we share, I’ve been told that we don’t look alike, so it’s not a matter of you just taking over my body, like Théodred does to Paris, but the things you do while you’re here affect me. It bothers me that I have no control over what happens when you are here.” I raise my arm. “I know that you had no way to prevent this, but you need to be careful. I think maybe you could survive injuries that I couldn’t.”
“So . . . you do not want me to fight? Not to defend myself?”
I struggle with it, and then sigh again. “No, I can’t ask that of you, if you are attacked or someone we care about . . . you have to help. But other things . . . things that you have a choice about . . . ask me first, please?” I don’t mention the fact that he has seemingly turned into a bottom since he’s been around Théodred, although a small part of me regrets that I wasn’t around the first time my body did it.
He considers. “Agreed, I will discuss such things with you.” He holds out his hand and we shake. I wonder if he knows about sealing things with spit, no, probably blood though, but I’m not into that.
“And, Éomer, one more thing, please?” He smiles and I continue. “There’s a man, named Eric Dalton . . . I care about him. Don’t mess with him, please, but . . . if he’s ever in trouble, would you help him?”
“Of course, Karl. And now . . . my cousin? Where is he?” He looks determined now.
“Uh, I don’t know, I assume that he’s come back to Paris, just like you have. I’ll call Paris and we’ll make some sort of arrangement, hopefully in a day or two. Please . . . I’ll talk to him and I’ll call you, but let us figure it out.”
He nods. “All right, I will trust you, Karl. And you will not try to prevent us from being together any longer?”
I smile ruefully, “Would it do me any good?”
He laughs. “Not a bit.”
I’m not going to ask him to explain himself and his feelings, but . . . “And as for the club kids, just make sure you use a condom. You’re not . . . I mean . . . you don’t have other attachments here, do you?”
“Well, there’s Faramir.”
Oh god, not him. Dave . . . I swallow. “Is there any way you could . . . not? Not with him?”
“I have known him for years and he has proven a true friend of mine,” he says sternly. But then his expression turns into a smirk. “And he is very pretty and very . . . accommodating.”
I boggle at that . . . Faramir’s a slut? That’s hard to wrap my mind around. Never mind, I don’t want to know. I groan in frustration. “All right, just promise me you won’t go to sleep around him. Please. I think I’d rather wake up next to Paris again than Dave.”
His smirk turns into a happy grin. “Agreed.” He pulls me close again and brings a hand up to cup my face, sweeps his lips lightly over mine and then turns and is gone. And I wake up on Hugo’s couch as the sun is coming up on a gorgeous clear day. I get in my truck wearily and drive home. I have enough energy to call Eric to tell him I’m alright and to stuff some food in my mouth, before I collapse into bed again.
She wants to give me some medicine, but I refuse until my uncle uses his authority as King and First Marshal and orders me to do it. I am not a child to be dosed when the pain is acute, but I do as he asks and swallow the tablets. A strange lethargy wells over me and before I realize what is happening, I have fallen asleep on Hugo’s couch.
Later I seem to wake up, but Karl is there and I know I must be dreaming. He is stroking the hair out of my face.
“The evil is defeated.”
“I know,” he whispers.
I raise my arm. “I am sorry I was not fast enough to avoid this. It will hurt you, will it not?”
“Yes, when you get injured in Wellie, I suffer for it when you return to Rohan. But it’s alright, you did good.”
I smile and pull him closer, burrowing my nose into his neck. He squirms but I hold him tightly. I had been saddened when I thought our link was gone forever. And not just because he is the doorway to the man I love.
“What happened? I have not been able to find you. And it is not like when you blocked me. It was as if you did not exist.”
“The bowl was moved and it cut off the shifts somehow, I don’t understand it exactly myself. And moving it made it vulnerable to Morgoth as well.”
“I thought I had lost you.” I nuzzle him again, and he tries to move away. I do not understand why I feel such affection for him, but I do.
“Well, you did, but just temporarily, it seems.”
He struggles a bit more and then relaxes in my arms. I sigh contentedly, but . . .
“I think it is time for me to leave, is that not why you are here?”
He nods and I close my eyes and when I open them again, his arm is the one with the bandage. I want to talk to him though so I stay.
Karl: We change bodies within his dream and I feel the stinging pain from the burn on his, no, my arm. He is still holding me, he hasn’t gone back to Middle Earth. I’m starting to feel like his teddy bear, but I want to talk to him, to mend things between us. I don’t tell him how relieved I was when I thought he was gone for good, even if he is nothing but a fictional creation, it seems that he has feelings.
“I need to ask you something.”
“Anything, Karl, you know I would help you however I could.” Then he frowns. “Except Théodred, I will not give him up.”
“No, it’s not like that . . . “ I hesitate. “Tell me, when you have visited my world, did you ever watch the movies? The ones that I portrayed you in. Or read the books the movies where based on?”
He stares at me for a moment. “No, I have never had any desire to know my fate. That would be . . . a burden . . . and one that I do not choose to bear.”
I’m surprised. “You never wondered whether you won or lost?”
He gives a rich chuckle. “I assumed that we defeated Sauron in the end, else your world would not exist, would it? My part in the conflict is immaterial, the fate of the world does not hinge on the life or death of one Rider of Rohan.”
So he doesn’t know about Théodred, or Théoden for that matter. It’s not my place to tell him, if he has rejected the knowledge of his future on his own.
I still need to know. “How old are you? Or . . . what is the date in your world?”
He is puzzled but he answers me readily enough. “I am twenty-seven and I believe it is June third, in the year 3018 of the Third Age.”
All right, Théodred must be alive and well then. Can I ask him this? Is it my business whether he feels some sort of soul-scorching love for his cousin? I have no doubt that he would answer me honestly, he’s never seemed to be the type to hide any of his feelings, or so I thought when I played him so out there emotionally. I sigh. He doesn’t seem to know that he is a fictional creation . . . he lives and breathes and fucks and loves just like anyone else. I’ll respect his privacy. It doesn’t matter in the end whether my dream was the truth or not. He and Théodred are both incredibly strong-willed men and if they’ve decided they want each other . . . I need to get this situation under control.
I gesture to my chest. “When I shifted back the last time and found this . . . piercing . . . I was infuriated. Théodred had promised that he would prevent you from getting me into any more trouble.”
He bristles. “Are you questioning his honor?”
“No, no,” I say hastily. “But I don’t share existence with Théodred, I share it with you. What I should have done is made agreements with you instead of him, so you would know how I feel about things. If we had talked beforehand, I would have told you that I don’t want to be pierced . . . and I hope that you would respect my wishes enough to not have it done. I know that Théodred’s shift, Paris, has a nipple ring, but you don’t have to match him.”
“I noticed that you kept it.” His voice has gone husky.
“I had reasons . . . “ I don’t go into the fact that it’s a reminder to never trust his fucking cousin again, among other things.
“Good,” he purrs and I am suddenly alarmed by the look on his face, sort of . . . hungry . . . and expectant. I sweat nervously, remembering that he is not civilized and he’s bloody dangerous. Get a grip, Urban, you’ve got to do this.
“Look, I’m not sure exactly what it is that we share, I’ve been told that we don’t look alike, so it’s not a matter of you just taking over my body, like Théodred does to Paris, but the things you do while you’re here affect me. It bothers me that I have no control over what happens when you are here.” I raise my arm. “I know that you had no way to prevent this, but you need to be careful. I think maybe you could survive injuries that I couldn’t.”
“So . . . you do not want me to fight? Not to defend myself?”
I struggle with it, and then sigh again. “No, I can’t ask that of you, if you are attacked or someone we care about . . . you have to help. But other things . . . things that you have a choice about . . . ask me first, please?” I don’t mention the fact that he has seemingly turned into a bottom since he’s been around Théodred, although a small part of me regrets that I wasn’t around the first time my body did it.
He considers. “Agreed, I will discuss such things with you.” He holds out his hand and we shake. I wonder if he knows about sealing things with spit, no, probably blood though, but I’m not into that.
“And, Éomer, one more thing, please?” He smiles and I continue. “There’s a man, named Eric Dalton . . . I care about him. Don’t mess with him, please, but . . . if he’s ever in trouble, would you help him?”
“Of course, Karl. And now . . . my cousin? Where is he?” He looks determined now.
“Uh, I don’t know, I assume that he’s come back to Paris, just like you have. I’ll call Paris and we’ll make some sort of arrangement, hopefully in a day or two. Please . . . I’ll talk to him and I’ll call you, but let us figure it out.”
He nods. “All right, I will trust you, Karl. And you will not try to prevent us from being together any longer?”
I smile ruefully, “Would it do me any good?”
He laughs. “Not a bit.”
I’m not going to ask him to explain himself and his feelings, but . . . “And as for the club kids, just make sure you use a condom. You’re not . . . I mean . . . you don’t have other attachments here, do you?”
“Well, there’s Faramir.”
Oh god, not him. Dave . . . I swallow. “Is there any way you could . . . not? Not with him?”
“I have known him for years and he has proven a true friend of mine,” he says sternly. But then his expression turns into a smirk. “And he is very pretty and very . . . accommodating.”
I boggle at that . . . Faramir’s a slut? That’s hard to wrap my mind around. Never mind, I don’t want to know. I groan in frustration. “All right, just promise me you won’t go to sleep around him. Please. I think I’d rather wake up next to Paris again than Dave.”
His smirk turns into a happy grin. “Agreed.” He pulls me close again and brings a hand up to cup my face, sweeps his lips lightly over mine and then turns and is gone. And I wake up on Hugo’s couch as the sun is coming up on a gorgeous clear day. I get in my truck wearily and drive home. I have enough energy to call Eric to tell him I’m alright and to stuff some food in my mouth, before I collapse into bed again.
