He laughed, remembering the looks on Viggo and Sean's faces when they'd turned around and saw Harry kissing Dave. Or Dave kissing Harry. Whichever. Either way, Karl couldn't remember the last time a Council session had been that much fun. And where the hell was Harry? //Puppy?// "Jesus, old man, give me a chance to walk through the fucking door." Harry tossed his helmet on the coffee table, raised an eyebrow at Karl. "You're in my chair." "Why, so I am." Karl made no effort to move. "So how'd it go?" "It went." Harry poured himself a drink, walked to the chair. "You planning on scooting over, or do I have to move you?" Karl grinned, but resisted taunting him. He shifted around, tried to make room. "It went. You shocked both Vig and Sean into speechlessness by kissing the whelp and then you go over to talk to him, and all you can say is 'it went'?" He shook his head sadly. "When did we stop talking to each other?" "You know, the guilt trip doesn't work on me," Harry observed, sitting. "Fuck this, put down your drink." Karl did, and Harry immediately set Karl mostly on his lap. "Much better. What do you want to know?" Karl twisted around until he was comfortable and could see Harry. "Everything." "Fine. We'll start with you," Harry said. "Why didn't you tell me?" "Would you have believed me if I had?" Karl leaned in to capture Harry's lips in a slow, thorough kiss. "I didn't believe it myself when Orlando said it." Harry framed Karl's head, deepened the next kiss, sighing heavily when they parted. "Christ, I needed that. And how the fuck did Orlando find out anyway?" "I have no idea. He just looked at us all at Sean and Dom's party, and told us. We thought he was crazy." "All this time, and I never had a goddamn clue." Harry sighed, swallowed a mouthful of scotch. "He's been in love with me since the day we met." "That long?" Karl blinked and stared at Harry. "Damn, the kid hid it well." "I know. Amazing what one can hide behind a biting wit and quick smile." "What do you expect from Vig's protégé?" Karl snorted softly and drained his glass. "So what now? Did the two of you get it all out of your system?" "No, we...um..." Harry tightened his arms around Karl. "I'm going to claim him." "You what? Did I miss something here?" "No. I did," Harry said, sighing. "I missed him." Karl cocked his head and studied Harry for several heartbeats. Then he sighed and leaned his forehead against Harry's. "It's like that, is it?" "Yeah, it's like that." Harry wrapped his hand around Karl's chin, kissed him again. "But, I'm going to do this the right way. I don't...I don't want to fuck this up." "I don't think Dave will let you." He looked at Harry. "So." "Yeah." Harry thumped his head back on the chair. "We never talked about this." "No, we didn't. Orlando was...planned. This...this isn't." Karl touched Harry's jaw, traced Harry's cheek with light fingers. "Dave changes things even more." "So...what are we going to do? I don't think he's going to be like Orlando." "I don't think anyone could be like Orlando." Karl's lips touched Harry's forehead. "Dave, though...you claiming him adds a whole new dimension that I never even imagined." "Well, I sure as fuck never thought of it." Karl could only smile at the statement. "I'm not going to bind myself to him until we know what we're doing. I owe him, you, everyone...Christ..." Harry ran his hand down to Karl's shoulder, his arm, placed his hand over Karl's. "I owe us more than that." "We need to sit down and talk." Karl lifted their joined hands to his lips, kissed Harry's fingers. "All of us, including Orlando. You're bound to him as well, so this affects him." A slight pause, then Karl looked directly at Harry. "Have you told Dave you intend to claim him?" Harry nodded. "He's in shock that a vampire can claim another vampire. Like it should shock anyone who knows about us." "I think they're all still recovering from Orlando binding himself to two of us." Karl grinned. "So...I take it he seemed to want it? Or could you tell?" "What do you think?" "As if he could say no." This was...odd. One pet had always been a possibility, but this.... "Please tell me you're going to ask Vig to do the honors." "I can't imagine anyone else doing it." Harry picked his glass back up with his free hand, studied the liquid. "This is..." Karl waited patiently for Harry to finish. He wasn't sure he was entirely comfortable with the idea of Dave, but if that was what Harry wanted, then Karl would accept it and be happy. Harry was the important thing. //Harry?// "Sorry." Harry kissed the spot behind Karl's ear that always made Karl shiver. "I love you. Nothing will ever change that. And I'm not losing you again. Ever." Karl leaned against Harry, closed his eyes, and breathed in Harry's scent. "I'm not going anywhere." He opened his eyes. "But it might not be a bad idea for us to sit down and talk to Dave as well. The child doesn't like me much, and he's going to have to get used to me." "He was jealous of you," Harry stated, shrugging. "You had me." "I still do." "Yes, but now he's got me as well." Karl smiled, and kissed the side of Harry's neck. "As long as he understands how things are." Harry shivered, tilting his head. "I've already mentioned it to him. The sooner we can get through this, the happier I'll be." "Then don't put it off." Karl didn't want to, but he knew it had to be said. And after the mess he'd made of things with Orlando, he was damned if he was going to let Harry do the same thing. But Christ...he wasn't sure he'd ever get used to the idea of having to share Harry with someone completely outside their relationship. "Spend as much time with him as you can, strengthen what you've already got, and then claim and bind him." Harry nodded, let out a slow breath, let his head drop to Karl's shoulder. "Promise me you'll spend some time getting to know him. What worked for Orli has to be somewhat true for Dave. If he loves me, liking you can't be far behind." "I'll try. And Orli will help. He already adores Dave for some reason." The corner of Karl's mouth lifted in a faintly amused smile. "Something tells me you're going to have to keep a close eye on those two. But," he said, kissing Harry's cheek, "I will try. For you." "It's all I ask." Karl felt Harry's hand drift up along his thigh, felt lips, delicate and wet, on his neck. "That's all, hmmm?" The hand on his thigh moved upwards, settled on his crotch. "It's all I'm asking, yeah." Karl lifted his head, smiled, the tips of his fangs just peeking out from between full lips. "So are we done talking about your new soon-to-be pet?" Harry flicked the buttons of Karl's jeans open. //Yeah, I think we are.// Karl let his head fall back. //Good.// His hands slid under Harry's shirt, skimming across warm skin. //Because I can think of a better use for your mouth.// * * * It had been, Dave decided, quite possibly the best night of his entire life. First dinner with Harry -- and Dave was still in knots from that. Spending time with Harry, having Harry touch and kiss him, talk to him as a friend...and then the first half of the Council meeting. Dave had smiled every time he caught Viggo looking from him to Harry and back again. Old man didn't know what to think, and Dave could tell it was driving him nuts. Good. Dave leaned back in his chair and surveyed the room, trying not to be obvious that he was looking for Harry. Ah, right there, in the corner talking to Sean. Dave watched as Harry's hands made broad gestures in the air, emphasizing some point or other. He loved Harry's hands. Among other things. He wondered how long it would take him to maneuver Harry out of his clothes and into a bed. "You got a minute, Dave?" Turning, he saw Karl standing next to him, gesturing with his head toward the empty briefing room next door. "Sure." Dave stood, followed Karl through the door. Only one reason why Karl would want to talk to him. Karl leaned against the table, hands shoved in the pockets of his slacks, elegant as always. Dave still couldn't quite see what Harry saw in him. "How'd the date go?" Karl asked. Definitely not the first question he'd been expecting. "Fine," Dave said, warily. "We had dinner, talked. No time for much else." Karl's lips curved. "Only because Harry is going slowly with you. If he'd wanted, the two of you would have been very late tonight." "Yes, well," Dave looked away, "Shy is the last thing I expected from you." Karl's soft words brought Dave's head whipping back around. "If you intend to be his pet, you're going to need to lose that." "If? You know how I feel about him, and you say 'if'?" Karl stepped forward, ran a light finger over Dave's jaw. "It's one thing to indulge in pleasure. It's entirely another to bind yourself to someone for eternity." His voice dropped, intimate depths wrapping around Dave in a blanket of sensuality. "This isn't an iuctum ceremony. You're not just getting Harry here. By bonding with him, you'll be linked to me, to Orlando. Be sure you're ready for all of us." Dave lifted his chin. "Harry is the only one I want. But if I have to accept you two to get him, I will. Orli and I are already friends, and you're...well, you're you." He took a step back, just enough to put a little space between them. Karl's eyes roamed across Dave's face. "I make you nervous. Why?" "Because I don't know you." Dave shoved his hands in his pockets. His tongue flashed out, swept across his bottom lip. "And I'm not Orlando. I don't want you." "You sure about that?" Karl shook his head when Dave tried to sputter out a sharp retort. "You say you want only Harry. And I believe you love him. And I think it's wonderful." Dave stiffened just slightly when Karl took his hand, but relaxed when all Karl did was trace the veins on his palm. "But you can't want Harry the way you do and not feel anything for me. It's not possible. Our souls are too bound up in each other." Dave looked down at Karl's fingers moving across his palm. He didn't want Karl, not like that, not like he wanted Harry. "So what? You're saying that I have to..." "No, you don't." Karl brushed his lips quickly across Dave's surprised mouth, stepped back before Dave even fully registered the embrace. "But you do know the pet bond will spill over onto me somewhat. I just want you to be prepared for that. I want us to be friends." "Harry wants us to be friends and..." Dave shrugged. "I'd like to be. For him. Always got the impression you didn't much care for me." Karl put his hands back in his pockets, regarded Dave through lowered lashes, and the familiarity of the gesture made Dave think that Karl might be right. He really was a lot like Harry sometimes. "I tend not to care too much for people who make Harry's life miserable, child," Karl replied. "Nor did I ever care for the snide remarks you were always leveling at me. Jealousy is not something I'm familiar with." "That was something I had to learn to deal with." Another shrug, eyes dancing away to study the room. "And by the time I was over the whole mortal jealousy issue...it was too late. You'd already made up your mind, and so had Harry." Dave looked back at Karl. "But can you really blame me? The man walked in, smiled at me, and that was it." Karl's instant, wide smile made already perfect features even more beautiful. "I fell in love with him the first time I ever saw him. And he was 14. Imagine having to wait for him to grow up." Dave stared. For the first time, he thought that maybe, just maybe, he could see a glimpse of the Karl that Harry knew. And that glimpse made him feel...he wasn't sure what. "Glad I didn't have to deal with that," he said, voice quiet. Karl's response was just as quiet. "I only want his happiness. If you can help me and Orlando give that to him, I will give you my unending loyalty and trust." It was a vow freely given, a vow made from love. "And you have mine as long as you do the same. All I want is for him to be happy." Dave smiled, laughed. "Christ, I sound like Orlando now." "God help the both of us with you two," Karl answered, shaking his head a bit. "Has Harry talked to you about the four of us getting together yet?" "He mentioned it briefly at dinner, but didn't go into details." Karl nodded. "If you're free after Council, I'd like you to come by the house," he said, and made a move to leave the room. Dave reached out, grabbed Karl's arm. "Listen...I know we've spent a lot of years sniping at each other, but..." He released Karl's arm and ran his hand through his hair. "If Harry's serious about making me his pet, I don't want to start off like we've been, so I'd like to...well, apologize and start over." Karl turned, looked at Dave, his eyes gentle. "Apology accepted." For the second time, he tilted Dave's chin up, covered Dave's lips with warm ones for the briefest of moments. "I'll see you later tonight." "Yeah, guess so." Dave watched Karl turn and walk out of the room. Onto Part Nine
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