Title: Rumor Author: Jo Pairing: Karl Urban/Brad Dourif Rating: PG13 Summary: An idle talk under the trees. Disclaimer: You know the drill. This didn't happen. I made up the whole thing. And if you believe it's real, I'm fucking Orlando Bloom on a nightly basis. Notes: For the Furor Scribendi Pretty Tree challenge. Wasn't the pairing I was originally going to write, but the bunny bit, so I went with it. Brad leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes. He didn't plan on moving for at least a week. Longer if possible. After all, why should he? The sun was warm on his thigh through his shorts; the breeze was cool as it ruffled his hair. A bottle of beer, half full and just starting to get warm, nestled securely against his hip. No reason at all to move. In fact, he didn't even open his eyes when he heard the faint thud of a body hitting the ground beside him. Didn't need to look to know who it was. The faint scent of citrus and evergreen clued him in. "They all think you're crazy, you know," he murmured, shifting a bit as something pressed against his knee. Not shifting away from it. Just…shifting. "They do?" "Yeah." Brad smiled at the curiosity in Karl's voice. Sometimes Karl acted as if he hadn't a clue as to what was going on around him. "Spending all this time with an old man like me." "You're not old," was Karl's instant, almost indignant reply. Brad just continued to smile, cracking one eye open to peer at Karl. "Old enough." "'Sides, I like spending time with you," Karl continued as if Brad hadn't said anything at all. That just made Brad smile even more. "You're interesting." Interesting. Karl certainly had a unique way of looking at the world. Brad chuckled and shifted again. Both eyes opened completely so he could look at Karl. Amazing the way the sunlight through the leaves overhead dappled his skin, caressed the angles of his face. "Nice way of saying I'm odd." Brad grinned when Karl frowned and tipped his head back. "Stop that," Karl said, still frowning. Lovely the way his forehead puckered into those little triangle wrinkles when he frowned. Brad almost couldn't resist the urge to rub his thumb over them, smooth them away. Instead, he simply said, "It's true." "Not at all what I meant, and you know it," Karl said, gaze steady as it rested on Brad. Did he have any idea how ridiculous he looked, lying there like that, head upside down, peering at Brad like a petulant child? Probably not. Which was, when Brad really thought about it, a good thing. He had to stifle a chuckle. "Fair enough." Brad sobered up as Karl returned his head to a somewhat normal (for him, anyway) position. "You know what they're all saying, though, right?" "Mmm…that I'm your boy toy and you're fucking me through the mattress every night," Karl answered, cheeky grin curving his lips. Brat. "Rather crude way of putting it," Brad laugh, fondly tugging on Karl's hair when the breeze slid it into his face. Karl just shrugged. "S'what they're saying, though. Right?" "Well, yes." A bit cavalier, but…there you go. It was, indeed, what 'they' were saying. Brad knew it. Karl knew it. And 'they' knew that Brad and Karl knew it. The fact that Brad and Karl had never denied it simply fueled the rumor. Brad just wished he knew how it had started. "Eh," Karl said with another shrug, squirming around until his head was pillowed just above Brad's knee. Very cheeky. "Let 'em talk. Keeps 'em busy." "So you don't mind them thinking…?" Taking a long sip of his now thoroughly warm beer, Brad watched Karl. It was more than a bit intriguing that he didn't particularly care what the others thought. "Nah. We know the truth," Karl murmured, closing his eyes. Pretty obvious he was intending to enjoy the afternoon and the warmth of the sun. "I see." Brad continued to sip his beer, letting his mind mull over the entire idea. Granted, he didn't really care what the rest of the cast said or thought, but still…. If he was going to be…well…basically accused of something, he felt he ought to at least be guilty of it. But this was Karl. And Brad had never looked at Karl that way. Not really. Now, though…. "So, um…out of curiosity…" Brad said after a long lull in the conversation. "Yeah?" Karl didn't even bother to open his eyes. He just continued to lay there, head pillowed on Brad's knee, hands laced together on his stomach. Brad took another long swallow of beer, finishing it off. Nothing like liquid courage. But now that he thought about it, he hadn't had nearly enough to drink to even be contemplating this next question. "Would you let me?" Karl didn't answer. At first, Brad thought he hadn't heard him. Should he ask again? Probably not a good idea. Then Karl shifted, teeth working his bottom lip as his eyes opened. He didn't look up at Brad, but stared at the leaves above them. The silence continued to drag out until Brad thought he was going to scream. Then, "Would you want to?" Well. That was a very good question. Would he? Brad sort of thought that he would. If Karl was agreeable. Anyway, Brad was already in it up to his neck, so he might as well go ahead and finishing burying himself. He took a deep breath and looked across the yard at the rest of the cast, assembled near Peter's deck. "I might." "Well, then." Karl lay there for another few minutes, staring up at the leaves. Then he shifted, rolled to his stomach. Great. Conversation's over. Brad just watched as Karl pushed up to his hands and knees. He started to say something and stopped, frozen in place by the look in Karl's hazel eyes. Amazing that Brad had never noticed the tiny green and gold flecks in them before. Then Karl smiled, and the expression was so slow, so sinful, that all of Brad's blood immediately pooled in his groin. The blood decided to stay there when Karl leaned forward and, voice husky and intimate, murmured, "I might, too." ~fin~