Title: Without A Word
Author: Elandae
Pairing: KU/HS
Rating: PG-13
Feedback: Always welcome.
Author’s Notes: This is the sequel to ‘Voices’
Dedication: This one is for Kerry, cause I never would have thought of it if not for something she said!
Karl pushed open the door to the pub, the noise within a relief after the silence of the house. He moved through the crowd around the bar, holding up his hand to catch the bartender’s attention. Placing his order, he waited until a glass was set before him, the outsides slick with condensation. He is surprised to feel a hand on his shoulder just as he is taking a drink. He turned and almost choked on his drink as he saw who was standing behind him. Harry casts him an amused smile at the reaction, but thankfully says nothing.
Harry motions for Karl to follow him, doesn’t say anything, just leads him to the small table in the corner where he had been sitting, watching the people in the bar. He had watched Karl come in, noticed the distracted air. They sit across from each other, and Karl searches desperately for something to say. He finally mumbles something; he doesn’t even really know what. Harry can’t hear his voice over the sound in the bar, but knows what Karl has said. He has been watching him, watching his eyes dart around the bar, watching the way his throat muscle work when he swallows, watching his mouth when he finally speaks. Harry smiles at him, but still says nothing. He likes watching Karl squirm, knowing that he is making him uncomfortable.
Karl can’t quite look at Harry, can’t make his eyes focus on him, and stay the there, though he wants them to. But those little words are weighing heavy on his mind, and he knows that if he looks up, finds Harry’s eyes on him, then it will all be over. He won’t be able to stop himself from blurting it out. And Karl is scared; he is fucking terrified of what Harry will say then, or what he might not say. He looks down into the amber depths of his drink, not seeing an answer there, but that doesn’t stop him from looking. And then he feels Harry’s hands, strong and cool against his face, tilting his head up until Karl is looking directly into unreadable hazel eyes.
Harry’s speaks softly, but with his hands on Karl, all the other sounds in the bar fade away, and he can hear what Harry says so clearly, though he wished he hadn’t.
‘Just say it,’ Harry says. And Karl wonders how Harry knows, wonders if there is anyway he can get out of this, but the voice in his head is screaming so loud he can’t think of a lie, can’t think of anything but Harry, and he blurts it out, the words fall one by one from his mouth. He cannot believe that he said that, berates himself for his own stupidity.
Harry’s expression is still unreadable, and Karl finds it difficult to breathe in the smoky bar, wants to run, but he can’t. He can’t look away from those eyes, he can’t move. So he stays there. And Harry says nothing. Karl’s words hang in the air, and still Harry says nothing. He gets to his feet, and Karl feels sick, he knew he shouldn’t have done this; it was all a huge mistake. But no, Harry is pulling Karl to his feet, and there in the middle of the noisy crowded bar, Harry kisses him. Pulls Karl’s body so close to him that Karl can feel every line, every muscle in Harry’s body and kisses him until Karl can barely breathe and this time it has nothing to with the smoky air. And then Harry leads Karl out of the bar into the night air, and still he says nothing. Everything is silent around them, that little voice in his mind had stopped the moment he felt Harry’s lips on his. Karl smiles at Harry and follows him away from the bar, and doesn’t say a word, and it occurs to him then that not hearing what you wanted isn’t always bad.
The End.