horseboykarl

Backdated: takes place after Karl finished the red carpet premieres of Star Trek 2009

Rating: PG

Karl I wave off the cabbie’s offer to help me with my bags and trudge across the bridge from the car park. I’m mildly surprised when my key actually opens the door. After so much time, I don’t feel like I live here anymore.

( I feel disconnected from my own life )

We finally pull ourselves out of bed. I'm still feeling out there, hard to explain. But my skin is still tingling and I feel a little disconnected from myself. Your hands never leave me and you seem to understand how much I need you to keep touching me. As we're getting out of bed, I feel a small moment of fear, that I've let you in too much, and shame at my lack of control, but then you're there again, surrounding me. You wrap an arm around me as we stand up and I'm glad you know what I need, because ( I never imagined I'd feel this off-balance. )
NC-17

We've left the town, heading up into the hills for some privacy and to try out the gloves I just bought.
Until a phone call interrupts everything

After a lazy morning loving each other, we finally make it to the winery.

It was Sean's idea, and I'm with him on it. The papers from the solicitor just showing how much we belong to each other.

After getting some interesting vintages out of the wine cellar, including one of the bottles of Camigliano, I bring my finds to the kitchen. Sean's got his hands in something for dinner, the sleeves of his jumper pushed up to his elbows. I whinged enough that he agreed to come up with something for Paris.

Seeing him at work in the kitchen does things to me, probably because that's where our first, never-to-be-forgotten kiss took place, but it lights a warm fire low in my belly, a mixture of lust and love. And I fit myself behind him, nosing the scent at the back of his neck, smiling when he turns around for a quick kiss.

I leave him alone and get out the stuff for the marinade for the lamb chops. I whisk that together and get the chops soaking before I wander outside to get the outdoor hearth lit and pull the cushions for the chairs out of their storage. It's cold tonight, but we've got
plenty of wine, good food, and friends coming around in a little while so it should be fun to sit out here at least for a bit.

( Have trouble finding the place? )

After being gone so long, and deciding that I’m going to move somewhere with Sean, I look around my house and see that it need a lot of work. So when I get a free day, I start to work, Sean leaving to get things done at his own house.

Once I get some basic repairs done, there's lots of work in my garden. Things are ready to be picked so I spend some time on that and clearing out the weeds. I stand back, looking at what I've accomplished today and feel a quiver of nerves. About the decision we made, maybe. I call Sean, but he's not answering his phone, so I saddle Smokey and ride along my borders.

The air is nippy compared to the warm breezes of our tropical paradise, and I feel cold, wanting Sean with me, to share his heat.

I leave him a voice mail, "Tahu, I've finished here, and I'm going to throw something on the grill. See you soon, I hope."

( I'll get a shower and then fire the grill. )

NC-17

I get our remaining gear out of the boat while Sean is inside, calling for some dinner. We're gonna have guests, to I told him to get enough for several people. He gave me an odd look, but I think he'll see what I mean soon enough.

We spent the day on one of the private motus owned by the resort. It was hardly more than a sandbar with palm trees, barely 3000 square meters. We had snorkeling equipment and the resort sent along plenty of food in a picnic basket that's part of the package for the motu.

So we snorkeled for hours, Sean proving to be a very good teacher and we explored the reef, stunned at the beauty and complexity of the life under the water. We would take breaks, lying in the sun, doing other sorts of exploration. And talking. We talked a lot, about all sorts of things, but the conversation veered around to shifting and the troubles they’ve caused.

I told him everything, finding that there's nothing I can't tell him, no secrets that I need to keep. The painful parts . . . what Paris and I did accidentally, the arrests. The bruises that weren't mine. He told me about Boromir's fighting, seems to be a common thing with this crew from Middle Earth. I told him about Dave and Théodred's first meeting and my own scraps with Théodred. But I didn't leave out the good things that Éomer has done, including taking on the Balrog which left the scar on my arm.

But we decided to avoid any misunderstandings and pull our shifts in now, tonight. Let them know what the situation is, make sure there's no mistakes. I don't think Éomer would shift in without permission, not now, but he's capable of it and I don't want him doing anything to Sean if he does.

So Sean is getting enough food to keep that horseboy content, and we're going to let them have dinner together. Sean walks out to the deck.

"Ready?"

( We decided to call Éomer first. )

NC-17

After dinner, Sean and I took a ride to the sunset, and he let me have my weirdest fantasy.