| Title: Consorted Authors: Jo & Brenda Series: Claimed, part 3 Pairings: Karl Urban/Orlando Bloom/Harry Sinclair/David Wenham; (Sean Bean/Dominic Monaghan; Viggo Mortensen/??) Rating: NC17 Summary: New vamps, new pets...and, yeah. All of the old fave vamps & pets, too. Plus, Elijah goes on a date. *grins* Disclaimer: Vampires still don't exist. And we doubt any of these things ever happened. But, you never know. Author's Notes: As ever, you guys all rock. We are humbled & thankful that so many of you love these guys as much as we do. We hope this last part entertains. *mwah*
Harry shrugged, slouching in his favorite chair. "They're going," he said. "We've been talking." "This has still got to be the most fucked up arrangement I've ever heard," Sean stated, pouring himself another glass of wine. "I mean, the two of you," he waved at Harry and Karl, "what the fuck? When did you get so bored with each other?" "I'm not bored with Harry." Karl leaned down and gave Harry a thorough kiss to prove his point. "This isn't about us." "Then would you mind telling us," Viggo said as he settled into a chair, "just what this is about?" He watched Karl and Harry with a bored expression that fooled neither of them. "Last week, the three of you couldn't be in the same room without seeing who could draw first blood. And now..." "And now," Sean picked up, leaning against the bar and sipping his wine. "Now, young David comes to Council meetings with a dazed look on his face and follows Harry around like a puppy." He paused, studying Harry's face. "You're fucking him, aren't you?" "No, actually, I'm not." Harry couldn't quite contain his grin. "You're not?" Sean blinked, clearly not expecting that answer. Viggo watched them silently, sipping his brandy. Harry's words didn't quite match his past actions. The Harry that Viggo knew would have already had Dave in bed. But Viggo knew that Harry didn't lie. So that left him with...what? "So what are you doing then? Because I have to be honest, none of this is making much sense." Harry and Karl shared a small smile that had Viggo narrowing his eyes even further. Oh yes, he knew that look. "I'm..." Harry licked his lips, tucked his tongue between his teeth. "I've claimed him," he stated. Viggo choked on his brandy, coughing and sputtering, trying to breath as the liquid burned a path of fire down his throat. Sean had been in the process of resting his elbows on the bar when Harry spoke. He missed slightly, one elbow slipping and throwing him off balance. When he regained his composure, he stared at Harry. "Beg pardon? I thought you just said..." "You're what?!" Viggo managed to ask, voice raspy from the alcohol. Karl obligingly walked over and tapped Viggo's back, ignoring the glare the other vampire gave him. "Careful there, Gramps, wouldn't want you to pass out." "I was hoping you'd officiate the ceremony." Harry was definitely laughing now, body practically shaking with mirth. "I'd also like you to be a witness, Sean. If you're free on Sunday." "Sunday?" Sean looked more than a little dazed. "But you can't do that. I'm sure of it. It's in the rulebook somewhere. Right, Vig?" Viggo continued to glare at Karl for a moment before transferring it to Harry. "Since when have the rules applied to these two? They burned their rulebooks and then pissed on them to put the fire out." He watched in exasperation as Harry continued to laugh, Karl joining him. "I don't suppose you'd care to tell me how this happened, would you?" Harry chuckles subsided. He patted his arm of his chair, and Karl walked over and sat down, leaning on Harry's shoulder. "You should know. You were there the day I decided to do it." "At Council," Karl supplied helpfully, noting Viggo and Sean's blank looks. "Last week, when we all saw Harry and Dave in that rather lengthy kiss. Remember?" "You decided to claim him after one kiss?" Sean went from looking dazed to looking almost scandalized. "You fight with the child for what? 80 years? And one kiss convinces you to claim him?" "You know you owe them a bit more of an explanation than that, love," Karl said, twirling his wine glass in elegant fingers. "I know." Harry continued to regard both Viggo and Sean with what could only be termed unholy glee. "It's just fun to watch the two of them fall over each other trying to figure this out. They look like I felt when Dave first told me." "Told you what?" The words were out before Sean could stop them. He made a sound of disgust. "Next question...do I even want to know?" "Doubtful, but he'll probably tell us anyway," Viggo murmured. "I think you need to start from the beginning." Harry grazed his lips across Karl's knuckles and shrugged. "Pretty fucking simple, actually. Dave kissed me, and I knew him." He directed his gaze to Sean. "You know what I'm talking about." Sean nodded. "Kinda hard to disguise that." He glanced at Viggo, a smile dancing around the corners of his mouth. "And, of course, since Vig hasn't kissed anyone in three centuries, he's got no clue." "Your wit never ceases to amaze me," Viggo said, rolling his eyes. He looked directly at Harry. "And Dave is agreeable to this?" "Wouldn't have even mentioned it if he weren't." "I think the more important question is how did you get around Dave's dislike of Karl?" Sean asked, strolling across the room to drop onto the sofa. Three sets of eyes followed him. "What? Dave's made no secret of that." "He saw me as competition." Again, Karl and Harry shared a secretive look. "Now, he doesn't." "And why is that?" Viggo ran a finger around the rim of his glass, eyes narrowed as he waited for their answer. Sean blinked and sat up straight. "Oh, Jesus...you didn't seduce him, did you?" "I didn't have to," Karl answered, looking at Sean through lowered lashes. "The child pretty much fell willingly into my arms." "Well, there was the small matter of him watching the two of us with Orli," Harry added, curling his hand around Karl's hip. "He still talks about how hot that was." "Fell...Orli...what?" Sean sank back onto the sofa, slumping down, looking as if someone had just dropped something heavy on his head. "He watched? I take it back. This doesn't have to be the most fucked up arrangement I've ever heard of...it is the most fucked up." "You're sharing him?" Viggo looked stunned. A bit more than stunned. "Are you telling me that you actually found another one like Orlando?" Karl shrugged. "Orli seems just fine with it." "Orli is fine with it. And it's not the same...not quite the same," Harry amended. Karl merely lifted an eyebrow. "It's not?" "Not exactly, you know that." "Close enough," Karl muttered, draining his glass. "Dissension in the ranks." Sean grinned. "You two are more entertaining than a damn soap opera." "And about half as intelligent," Viggo muttered. "Are you sharing the child, or not?" The two other vampires looked at each other, then Viggo, and shrugged. "Yes." They said it almost simultaneously. Viggo gave them a patient look. "Then how is it different from the situation you have with young Orlando?" Sean laughed and slid down to sprawl on the sofa. "So does this mean we can have more than one pet? Because if so..." He grinned, but shut up when Viggo looked at him. "Dom would fucking kill you, Sean," Karl joked. "And I don't think it's different. Harry does." "It is different. I think. Isn't it?" Suddenly Harry didn't look so sure. "There can't be more than one of them, right?" "You didn't think there could be one of them, period," Viggo pointed out. "Otherwise, the two of you would have never made that stupid pact that had Orlando in knots for a while. If there's one that's bonded to one of you and still wants the other, it stands to reason that the reverse is true as well." He sighed and rubbed his eyes before giving them a dark look. "Simple way to answer it...Harry, have you bonded to Dave in any way?" "Yes." Harry sighed the word. "And, yeah, he told me he loved me." "So the bond is there on both parts." Viggo nodded. "But he still...slept with Karl for lack of a better word?" "Yes, yes, we did. Made vows as well." Karl winced at Harry's double-take. "What?" "You made a vow with him?" "Yeah, in Council that night I talked to him." "Christ, Karl, you think you might have mentioned it to me?" Harry asked, his voice a low growl. "I...uh...guess I forgot." Karl looked a bit sheepish as he kissed the top of Harry's head. "Sorry." "Damn, I should have brought popcorn," Sean said, thoroughly enjoying the show. Viggo just looked at him, then back at Harry and Karl. "I think that answers your question." Viggo grinned, delighted at Harry's expression. "You've got a soon-to-be pet with bonds to two vampires and who is, it seems, sleeping with two vampires. Can't see how it's any different than Orlando." "Christ." Harry slumped down in his chair, covered his eyes. "I just want my simple, boring life back." "When has your life ever been simple?" Karl asked, sinking down into Harry's lap. "Before you." "You know," Sean said, a wicked gleam in his eyes, "I'd say I feel sorry for you, but I don't. But God help us all if you," he pointed at Karl, "ever decide to bring Orli over." "Speaking of Orlando," Viggo said, sounding faintly concerned. "Is there any chance of...no." He shook his head. "I'd ask, but I'm just afraid you'd say yes and then I'd have to go home and leave you to figure this out by yourselves." "Go on," Harry said, as he nuzzled Karl's cheek. "I can tell you're dying to say it." "There's no chance of...well..." Viggo looked as if he wasn't sure of what, exactly, he wanted to say. Sean snorted quietly in amusement. "I think what Gramps wants to know is are your pets sleeping together as well or is there any possibility of that happening." Viggo nodded. "What he said." He gave them a suspicious look. "Or have you even bothered to find out?" "No spark," Karl stated, looking absolutely certain. "Just a friendly glimmer," Harry added. "And they've both been in situations to take advantage of any sexual sparks." "I'm not sure if that's reassuring or not," Viggo said, frowning. "So...you've managed to find probably the only two people in existence who are willing to put up with both of you," Sean stated, still grinning madly, "but they're not in the least attracted to each other? That may be the most fucked up part of it all." "Would it make you feel better if they were fucking like rabbits?" Karl asked, peering at Viggo. "Harry, I think we've managed to completely unhinge the old man." "Actually, I think it would." Viggo looked at them for a moment, eyes wary. "You're sure there's no spark between them?" "You could always ask them later on tonight," Harry suggested. "I may have to," Viggo murmured. Sean got up to pour himself another glass of wine. He glanced over his shoulder at the two vampires. "You have to admit, it is rather odd." Karl looked a bit mystified. "How's that? Why do they need to be attracted to each other?" "It's not that they need to," Sean explained, returning to his seat on the sofa. "It's just that...following everything else...one would expect them to be attracted to each other. I'm not saying they are or they have to be, just...okay, here. Why was it so easy for the both of you to fall in love so fast with Orli?" "Why do I get the feeling that Sean knows something we don't?" Karl asked, glancing up at Harry. "Dunno. Enlighten us, Sean. Why?" Viggo's left eye twitched. He looked at Sean, understanding dawning on his face. "I think I know what he means." "And?" Karl asked. "Orlando and I had a similar conversation." Viggo looked directly at Karl. "You had Harry, yet you claimed Orlando. Why?" Sean nodded, looking much like a teacher with a prize-winning student. "Exactly!" "I must be having a blond moment." "No, Karl, I think they're onto something." Harry ran his fingers through Karl's hair, glanced down at him. "Orli's reckless like you, stubborn like me, passionate like the both of us...if you made us mortal and took away the last eight or nine hundred years of life experience, we'd be him. Pretty much." "Precisely!" Sean was practically beaming at Harry. "In Orli, the two of you see what attracted you to the other to begin with." Viggo nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. "And what about Dave?" "Orli -- only blond, older and with a much keener wit." Karl supplied the words automatically, blinked. "Jesus..." "Yeah." Harry look shell-shocked. Karl dropped his head on Harry's shoulder, started laughing. "God." Sean set his glass down before falling over on the sofa, laughing. "I can't believe..." Viggo smirked, trying not to laugh. "The two of you are each attracted to the other's pet, yet you never considered the fact that the same might possibly be true for your pets?" "Well, it's certainly never occurred to them either," Harry retorted, shaking his head and smiling. "I refuse to take the rap for this. We gave them opportunities to act on anything." "We really did." Karl continued to shake with laughter, head buried in Harry's chest. Viggo lounged in his chair, looking highly amused. "Is that so? Young Dave says that you've been taking up most of his free time, Harry. If he's always with you...or Karl...how does that give him opportunity to act on something with Orlando?" "And," Sean said as he sat up, still laughing, "Orli knows the two of you would kill him if he so much as flirted with someone else, so there's no way he'd ever start something." "That's not true." "It's not?" Harry tipped Karl's chin up, covered the smile there with his own. "I know you're not possessive, but Orli has a hard time thinking that way. We've talked about that." "He's right," Viggo stated, trying not to laugh again at Karl's expression. "Now, can either one of you honestly say again that you've given them 'opportunities'?" Sean took one look at Karl's face and fell over laughing again. "I'm telling you, Karl," he managed to say, "just ask the boy what he thinks will happen if he so much as winks at someone other than you or Harry." "This is fucking ridiculous." Karl threw up his hands, stalked to the bar. "I don't fucking get it. Orli is..." "He's fucking mortal," Harry stated, calmly watching Karl. "And Dave had a hard enough time wrapping his brain around you. They're right. That night on the sofa was more about the four of us as a unit rather than the two of them as individuals." "Night on the sofa?" Sean sat up, laughter dying as his interest was piqued. Viggo was grinning and making no effort to hide his amusement. "Once again, Karl, you've managed to reassure me that my universe is indeed working as it always has. Have you even thought to talk to Orli about this? Really talk to him?" He paused, debated something silently, then smirked at them both. "Though I suppose you might be okay as long as you don't let them make any vows to each other." "Dave's not stupid, Vig," Harry replied. "He wouldn't make a vow to a mortal pet without permission." "Perhaps he wouldn't consider it as such," he said, lifting his hand to hide his broadening smile. "After all, he and Karl made vows that neither one remembered to tell you about." "Fuck off, Vig, it's different and you know it." Karl stalked back to Harry's chair, full glass of wine in hand. "Stop acting like you fucking planned this. Orli stunned you, Dave stunned you. Hell, Harry and I fucking stunned you when I first...claimed him, for lack of a better term." "You are absolutely gorgeous when you're mad, you know that?" Harry kissed the back of Karl's hand, grinned at Viggo. "And he's right, Gramps." "Oh, I'm not denying that you managed to catch me off-guard," Viggo stated, still looking entirely too smug. "But this isn't about me or your constant tweaking of me. Nor is it about the two of you any longer. Or rather, just the two of you. You've got two more people to think about now, and I'm beginning to believe that, like usual, there's been a lot more doing than thinking." Sean snickered softly, covering it by lifting his glass to his lips. He refused to look at either Harry or Karl, choosing instead to study a painting that hung on the opposite wall. "Which is why the ceremony isn't until Sunday," Harry smiled, looking a bit smug himself. "I wanted time for any surprises." "You're acting like the two of them are a given," Karl said, having decided to ignore Viggo for the moment. "What if there isn't anything there? Just because they're attracted to us doesn't mean they're attracted to each other." "It's still something we need to bring up." Harry stood himself, gave Karl a tight hug. "Look at it this way, old man...can't you just imagine watching the two of them together?" Karl took a moment, considered it. And grinned. "Lovely thought, that. Viggo can distract his 'date' while we get them alone and ask." "Date?" Viggo looked at them suspiciously. "Haven't we had this discussion before? You two are not setting me up." "But you'd make such a cute couple," Harry replied, eyes alight with mischief. "Besides, he's got bigger balls than you." "You're not talking about...." Sean trailed off and burst out laughing, almost rolling off the couch. When he calmed down, only an occasional snort of laughter escaping, he flashed Viggo an innocent smile. "Does this mean we're leaving to pick up the children?" "Yes, it does," Harry said, helping Sean up with his free hand. "And Vig can worry about distracting the young Elijah the Fierce so Harry, Orli, Dave and I can talk." Karl's smile was particularly sly. "Lij...Orlando's friend?" Viggo's eyes narrowed. "Tell me you two are joking." "Well, yeah," Karl grinned. "But we had you going for a second." "Sides, boy's as straight as they come." Harry's grin was no less wide. "Even if you begged, he wouldn't touch you." "Comforting thought." "Christ, you two are evil," Sean remarked. "How did I get stuck with diaper changing detail, anyway?" Viggo asked no one in particular as he finished off his brandy and stood. "Aw, you'll like him, Vig," Sean said, slinging an arm around Viggo's neck. "He'll tell you to fuck off just like the rest of us." Viggo just rolled his eyes. "I can't wait." |