we would love not to care [Rhi]

[Tally]

"If y—"

Roman shook his head free of Gabriel's wet hands and started again.

"If you wanted to get out of here so fast you should have just cleaned up after yourself."

Now he just sounded petulant, but it was hard not to when Gabriel had an answer for everything. Literally, everything.  There was no logic or line of reasoning Roman could take in these arguments that Gabriel couldn't parry with a few lines of bullshit—didn't matter if they made sense or not—and then manage to sound oh so satisfied with himself. Sort of the way he sounded now!

"I said you were banned," Roman added, snagging their coffee cups off the counter after he'd wiped his face off on his sleeves.  Blank weaved around his legs as he moved; it was a dance they'd perfected at this point.  Step on a cat's tail a few times and she started to learn how to move with you.  "And I meant banned.  Forbidden.  Prohibited. Banished."

He was exaggerating, of course.  He didn't possess the sheer energy it would take to keep Gabriel out of his kitchen forever.  Wasn't prepared to deal with him sneaking into his apartment in the middle of the night to sit on the kitchen floor and refuse to move.  Wasn't going to listen to the griping—and it would be constant.  Was not up to coming home after a day of work to find Gabriel sitting up on the kitchen counter and daring him to do something about it.

But none of that filtered through to his deadpan tone.  If bullshitting was Gabriel's specialty then faux severity was his.

He shouldered Gabriel out of the way of the sink so he could finish washing up.  Good old physical domination.  Never failed him.  "If all you're going to do is leave the place like a tornado ripped through and expect me to clean it all up after you, then this'll just be the last time you're allowed in.  But don't worry.  If you ever need anything out of here you can send Alaric to get it."

Good thing he was facing the sink or Gabriel might have seen his smile.  Yeah, that's right.  Your best friend can come in but you can't.  He was hoping that would peeve him off enough to get some kind of reaction.  After his fit over the spoon he rather wanted to see Gabriel suffer the indignation for once.

Roman placed the clean mugs on the rack to dry and glanced over his shoulder to tag on a trailing thought.  "And don't call me honeybear."

[Rhi-Rhi]

Action first, consequences later.

That was how Gabriel rolled.

Like always, he was kicking himself in the rear for it after the fact because not only had he been banned but now Roman was going to drag his feet. He heard the threat in his words. I made a mess so you're gonna take your sweet time cleaning up because you know I wanna leave. Roman knew that bugged him. He knew that once Gabriel wanted to do something, he wanted to do it now. And what was worse, Roman wasn't responding. He was just standing there, unamused and straight-faced, and Gabriel felt his smugness falter and then fade, replaced instead by concern. Er...this was the part where Roman was supposed to crack a long-suffering grin and refuse to admit that it was funny, even though it clearly was and he knew it, not be all stubborn and serious.

Granted, he shouldn't have torn apart Roman's kitchen--at least not when he wasn't prepared for a long and epic argument--but that had been revenge (and for shits and giggles) and he hadn't stopped to plan much beyond that. He also hadn't been prepared to have the whole thing turned around on him.

Roman snagged their coffee cups off the counter and Gabriel reached for his mug, stopped halfway, and then let his arm drop back down and cleared his throat. The cup was half full, but he decided to let it go since Roman was in rant mode and his impeccable charm was apparently ineffective right now. "Y'know, that's a lot of different ways of saying I'm banned when I'm still here," he said, then grunted and staggered to the side when Roman shouldered him out of the way. Gabriel shot a frown at his back and moved away a few paces, taking that as his cue to steer clear.

And there went his coffee, right down the drain. And it had been good coffee, too. He pursed his lips to keep from saying anything, deciding to behave if it meant they got to get going soon, and turned toward the refrigerator to rearrange the magnets and act like he wasn't bothered. But that all went to hell when Roman spoke next.

"Wha?"

That got his attention and he stiffened. It wasn't like he could think of anything he'd ever need or want out of Roman's kitchen, or any reason why he'd go out of his way to go in it, but that he'd even say that--he didn't even know why it annoyed him so much, and he acknowledged that it was a stupid thing to get defensive over, but...  

He whirled on Roman and shoved him in the shoulder. "Dude! You did not just go there! Don't bring Ally into this. This is between you and me, muffincakes, and you're better than that." Okay, he was freaking talking about a kitchen here. He knew that. He realized that. But still! You did not pull someone's best friend into your argument and argh! Just like the argument over the spoon wasn't really about the spoon, this wasn't really about kitchens.

"'Cause yeah. Using someone's friend like that. That's low, honeybear. And anyway, maybe I'd clean up after myself if you'd be on time." Alright, that was childish and didn't even make any sense, but they were both being ridiculous so he was allowed.

[Rhi-Rhi]

[ooc: Whoo hoo, chat log ahoy!]

Roman paused for a long moment, then turned off the water and slowly, deliberately dried his hands on a dish towel, eyes on Gabriel the whole time.  He tossed the towel aside and took one long step forward into Gabriel's space, got a fist in the kid's shirt and pulled him over.

"Did you just shove me, Gabeykins?"  Serious accusation, but paired with a devilish smirk.

Gabriel stumbled, but straightened up and smacked at Roman's hand. "And what if I did, muffincakes?" he asked, meeting his look dead-on. He tried to stay serious, tried to hold onto irritation, but it was difficult with the pet names flying. "Gonna do something about it? Or you gonna put that towel away, first?"

Roman felt the grin spread across his face.

"Scher?  Start the tub for me would you?"

"You know...I think I will do something about it."  And it was such a fantastic idea he was even willing to let that towel sit there where it lay.  Pushing Gabriel back, Roman leaned down and scooped him up and over his shoulder. He wrapped one arm around Gabriel's legs to keep him from kicking and gripped one of his back pockets with the other and hauled him out of the kitchen and down the hall.
     
Gabriel should have seen the danger in that grin, but he only smiled back, eyes narrowed and back straight as he tried to challenge those extra inches Roman had on him. "Oh yeah? And what're you--what the HELL?!"

That was not the answer he was expecting. Roman pushed him back and then scooped him up, and he yelped--more high pitched than he would have liked--and flailed--less dignified than he would have liked--and it took him a few seconds to register what the freakin' heck happened until he was staring down Roman's back at the floor. He scrabbled at Roman's shirt to hold on, then thrashed as well as he could with the guy pinning his legs, trying to free himself up to get in a kick. "What the--what're you doing?! Roman! Down! Bad!"

"You wouldn't want me to drop you here, these are hardwood floors."  Yep, Roman was feeling mighty pleased about this course of action.  As they approached his bedroom, the roar of running water reached out and into the hall.  "You asked for it, princess."  He kept a tight hold on Gabriel's legs and had to fight to keep his balance as the other Pilot thrashed, but he managed to get them into his room and to the bathroom, where the tub was already half filled with cold water.

"I mean gently! Down--but gently!" Gabriel barked back. "And get your hand off my butt!"

Ohh damn this was embarrassing, how Roman could haul him around like nothing and--was that water? Had Roman forgotten to turn off his shower? No, he didn't do stuff like that. What the hell? He kept on struggling, then struck him a few awkward times on the back--it was difficult from that angle, and it made him feel too damsel-in-distress for his pride--before, in between struggles, he realized they were back in the bedroom. And the roar of water was getting louder. Then tile filled his vision. Bathroom.

He shoved against Roman's back, trying to lift up and twist around to look. Suddenly the water-sound made some sense, and he knotted both hands in Roman's shirt. "Hey! Roman! You're not!"

Roman let out a laugh.  This was doing wonders to improve his mood.  "You're one to complain about getting your butt grabbed at!"  There was an awful lot of that going on this morning.

"You want down?  Here you go.  Let go of my shirt and take it like a Pilot."  Felt like Gabriel had a death grip back there.  Didn't matter.  He was going in that tub, one way or another.

Gabriel jerked and felt his face go hot as that memory came flooding right back full force, and he grimaced. That...was a good point...so good of a point that not even he knew what to say to that...

Except he'd loosened up his grip in the meantime. He quickly corrected that and clung on even tighter, knuckles white. "Ahaha, you first, Romance! I go down, you go down." He...wasn't exactly sure how he'd make that work, but it sounded like a good bluff.

"Mm hm.  Yeah, I don't think so."

Roman had an idea that might work.  He flexed his free shoulder.  Felt like Gabriel had a good grip there.  Seemed he'd forgotten, though, that Roman's shirt was yet unbuttoned.  It wasn't easy to shrug that one sleeve off his shoulder but he did it, and as soon as that arm was free of the shirt Roman dumped Gabriel in the tub and let him take the shirt with him.

Gabriel clung to that shirt the whole way down.

The shock of the water knocked the air right out of his lungs, and all Gabriel could think was, oh holy gods COLD no way he didn't! before his brain kicked in and told him, hey, duh, get out of the cold. Sputtering and splashing and slipping a few times against the smooth bottom, he finally managed to sit up, soaked clear to his skin and shivering from head to toe. His teeth chattered between coughing fits, because instead of holding his breath, the cold had made him gasp and suck water up his nose. He was brilliant like that.

"D-damn y-you, Ro--" He shook his head to whip his bangs out of his eyes, realized he hadn't even been looking at Roman, then turned and fixed a glare on him. "--Roman! H-how did you--why--you are so d-dead!" He moved to get up, but his shoe slipped and he splashed back in.

[Rhi-Rhi]

Roman threw a hand up to shield his face from the resulting splash then shook wet bangs from his eyes.  He'd managed to get fairly wet in dumping Gabriel in the tub.  It was still totally worth it.

"Maybe next time I tell you to clean the spoon, you'll clean the spoon."  He leaned on the edge of the tub and plucked his sodden shirt out of the water.  He tried not to grin too broadly.  No reason to add insult to injury.  Gabriel looked so pitiful sputtering in that tub, he nearly felt sorry for him.  Nearly, but not quite.

Somewhere during Roman's chastising, Gabriel managed to stop flailing around--which made sitting up on his knees that much easier. Duh, Gabriel. Water sloshed over the sides of the tub as he moved--and it served Roman right. He should have thought of that before he dumped him in the bathtub. He glared up at Roman from beneath his dripping bangs, then gave a strained smile to meet Roman's grin. He thought he was getting away with this, didn't he?

"You're still on about the spoon?"

Then Roman leaned against the side of the tub to retrieve his shirt.

Big mistake.

As soon as he grabbed that shirt, Gabriel grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled, hooking one arm under one of Roman's for leverage as he tugged him into the tub with him. Face first no less, but he deserved it.

[Rhi-Rhi]

Roman had a split second to realize he'd messed up in letting his guard down before Gabriel snagged him. Once he lost his balance gravity did the rest of the work and he got a face full of water.  It took a few seconds of flailing and twisting to get his legs under him and his head up out of the water.

As soon as he was through sputtering and wiping water from his eyes, he fixed a glare at Gabriel, though it couldn't have been that intimidating with the wet hair dripping and plastered to his face.  "Ass," he said, a wry smile breaking out on his face because this was /so/ ridiculous.  Absurd.  They were Pilots!  Thanks to all the gods no one could see them acting like this.

And since no one could see them, it wouldn't matter if he exacerbated the problem. Roman aimed a splash right at Gabriel's face.  Kid deserved it.

This, right here, made it all worth it. Gabriel could endure being cold and soaked and miserable if it meant turning Roman's plot against him and getting him just as cold, wet, and miserable as he was. Though granted, he couldn't say he was really miserable--not when he was busy cracking his ass up while Roman flailed and sputtered and splashed water all over his immaculate bathroom floor. He only laughed harder when Roman finally collected himself enough to glare at him, even if it was shivery, teeth-chattery laughter. Gods, he knew he should be using this time to get up and out of the damned freezing water, but he didn't think he could move right then.

"Ahaha! Didn't see that coming, didja? Didn't think your plan through, didja? Man, you look so ridiculous right--"

The splash caught him right in the mouth and nose and any other words came out as gurgle. Sputtering and coughing and wiping at his face, he shot Roman a challenging look--and then promptly put his telekinesis to good use, by scooping up some water and dumping it over the other Pilot's head.

"Ahgh!" Roman growled.  Water /poured/ down over him.  He'd seen the wave of telekinesis but couldn't do a damn thing about it, not against a force of Gabriel's caliber and skill.  He flung the water from his face. "Oh you're dead now."

He couldn't utilize telekinesis like Gabriel could but he had two good hands and he used them to splash even more, a little too energetically, throwing water up to rain down everywhere, all over the place, but mostly in Gabriel's general direction. He lunged forward, sending water sloshing over the side of the tub, and got a hand on the top of Gabriel's head to try and dunk him.

"Ahaha, you're such a girl!" Gabriel laughed, throwing up his hands and ducking his head to shield his face, even though he was already soaked from head to toe so it didn't really matter. Unfortunately, he was too busy ducking and too little busy paying attention, and Roman's lunge caught him off guard. He went down, getting a face full of water and choking as it shot straight up his nose, and he flailed around before he grabbed a hold of Roman's arm with one hand, brought his other hand under him, and lunged off his knees.

If he headbutted Roman just a bit too hard in the gut, well, it was his own fault. That and the tub was slippery and he had water in his face so he could just say he slipped.

Roman enjoyed the brief elation of victory as he shoved Gabriel's head beneath the water, but he was too quickly losing control of the situation.  Gabriel had him by the arm and Roman's knees slid and slipped on the porcelain of the tub.  There were too many lashing arms and legs and too much water splashing in his eyes.

It didn't take a lot of force to send him off balance. Gabriel slipped free and Roman lost his precarious advantage, falling to his elbows in the water and getting another mouthful of it.  He came up coughing and laughing at the same time and trying elbow Gabriel out of the way so he could sit up.  Gods above, he hadn't realized how cold the water was before.

Gabriel came back up, hacking up water and pinching the bridge of his nose, which was stinging after getting water up it. But despite all that, he was grinning. Wet and shivering with his hair hanging in his face and his clothes clinging uncomfortably, but triumphant nonetheless. He wiped his nose off on the back of his hand and settled back on his knees, dodging Roman's arm. "Heh. I win!" he said, leaning forward and ruffling Roman's wet hair and trying to ignore the cold. He hadn't felt it so much when they'd been scuffling, but now he did, goosebumps popping up all over.

He tossed his head to fling his bangs out of his face, sending water droplets at Roman. This had actually been really fun, and while he wanted to splash around some more, he was freakin' freezing. "Well, dunno 'bout you, Romance, but I'm outta here. You keep splashing around now, 'kay? It's adorable," he said with a wink, then started to stand, his clothes heavy and...rubbing in all the wrong places. Eugh...

"You did not win," Roman snapped.  Why oh why did Gabriel have to go and fan the embers again, when they'd just got done making fools of themselves and flooding Roman's bathroom?  Gods above, that kid could not let anything go, ever. More of their fights than Roman cared to count ended much like this one was, with them volleying "I won!" and "No you didn't!" back and forth until Gabriel claimed victory after Roman just couldn't keep it up anymore.

Shivers were starting to shake Roman's limbs.  Gabriel had the right idea there.  Time to get out of this frigid water.  Roman used Gabriel's arm to haul himself up and froze there, arms held out away from his body. "Agh.  Look what you've done."  Now they were done trying to soak each other, there was nothing to distract him from the feel of heavy, wet denim about his legs and the t-shirt clinging to his chest like a second skin.

"I so did, so suck it up!" Gabriel shot back, then jerked and nearly slipped when Roman grabbed onto his arm. He used his other to grip the side of the tub and hold himself steady, and when Roman let go again he straightened and stood. Ugh, it felt worse the more he moved and even colder out of the water. His body had actually started to adjust to that, if only minimally.

"Look what I did? You're the one that tossed me in, and of course I couldn't let you get away with that," he said, pausing to balance on one leg and take off one shoe. He turned it over and let the water pour out, wrinkling his nose. His favorite shoes. Man. "And you're the one that started splashing around like a duck." His other shoe followed, and he dropped both onto the tile. "Nice tub you got, though. Big."

He flashed Roman another chattering, self-satisfied grin and then stepped out of the tub before he could stare too long, water pooling around him.

[Tally]

Roman didn't respond this time. He was done with the whole ordeal now, and just wanted to get the hell out of these clothes and get going.

First he stepped out of the tub, and made a face as his shoes squelched on the tile.  Those had to come off.  He left them there on the rug then peeled his t-shirt off, rung it out of the tub, and tossed it into the sink.  One of the aides would have to get in here and clean it up while he was gone, otherwise it would haunt him the entire time he was out.  He'd just as soon clean it up himself but he'd rather get out of here already.

"Stay there, do not walk on my carpet like that."  Bad enough his jeans were going to drip all the way from the bathroom to his dresser.  "I'll get you something to put on. You'll have to wear my clothes."

[Rhi-Rhi]

"Huh?" Gabriel blinked when Roman spoke, realizing then that he was just sort of standing around in a puddle, shivering, while Roman wrung out his shirt. He snapped out of it with a jolt and quickly sat down on the tub's edge.

"Right! Staying put! No water on the carpet! Got it, boss man sir!" Gabriel answered with a mock salute, then got to peeling off his socks, cringing as his jeans rubbed in all the wrong wet denim ways. Eugh. Naaasty. That'd chafe something if he kept them on long.

He stripped off his socks and tossed them into the sink on top of Roman's shirt, still thoroughly soggy, and his shirt followed after with a wet plop. It felt nicer, a little warmer, without all that cold fabric clinging to him like some freaky second-skin. He leaned forward, arms resting on his knees and hair still dripping water onto the tile, and tried to peer out the door after Roman.

"Aww, sweet, we get to be twins! So, lemme guess! My choices are a white shirt or...a white shirt, right? Or maybe a bleached white shirt to be extra crazy; can't risk any color sneaking in there when you're not looking, amirite?"

[Rhi-Rhi]

Roman rolled his eyes skyward.  "I should make him wear a uniform," he muttered.  And in spite of himself, he ended up rooting through his closet for something with some color in it.

When he returned to the bathroom, it was in dry clothes once again, his wet jeans over one arm and some clothes for Gabriel over the other.  "Here.  I found you something blue.  Happy?"

"Thrilled," Gabriel said, standing to take the clothes and set them on the toilet seat. He picked up the shirt and shook it out, looking it over, then let out an impressed whistle. "And shocked. You're just full of surprises, muffincakes. Next thing I know, you're gonna be wearing like...multi-colored stuff. Maybe even logos."

He slipped the shirt over his head, basking in the warmth, and started to undo his soggy jeans when he abruptly realized Roman was still there. He froze, hand on the zipper, then glanced over his shoulder at him and cleared his throat. "Do you mind?"

"Logos?"  He tried to picture himself wearing a loud t-shirt advertising some concert or band or other.  "No."

It baffled him sometimes what kind of logic Gabriel's sense of modesty operated on, but it did occur to him that Gabriel's more slender hips weren't going to work with his jeans.  "I think you're going to need a belt.  And shoes."

His bathroom looked horrid.  On his way out, he tossed his jeans onto the pile in the sink and rather cringed to think how ridiculous this would look to whatever cleaning crew got in here while they were gone, what with water everywhere and a sink full of drenched clothes, some of it not his own.

Gabriel checked once to make sure Roman was out of eyesight, then moved fast, peeling off his jeans and and wrestling on Roman's, which was a pain to do with wet skin. They were loose on him and sagged low and he had to keep pulling them back up, so Roman was right about the belt. Dang. For some reason, it had never occurred to him just how buff the guy was.

"Nice jeans!" he called out when he was all zipped up and decent and his own jeans had been plopped atop the sink-pile. "Very roomy and breezy, if y'know what I mean!"

"That's what this is for."  Roman produced a belt and a pair of flipflops that would do to get Gabriel from here to the flight deck.  The belt was, to Gabriel's inevitable lament he was sure, plain brown.  "Unless you want to hold them up the whole way?"

The blue shirt looked a little big in the chest, but it didn't look bad.  Just...very different from what he was used to seeing Gabriel in.

He held the belt out.  "Are we ready finally?"

Gabriel wrinkled his nose at the belt and made a face. "Aw, man, a poop-colored belt? Really?" he groaned, but then sighed and snatched it up with a roll of his eyes. If it were a choice between support or potential accidental exposure, yeah, fine, he'd take the ugly belt.

"Eugh, fine, it'll do," he said, threading it through the belt loops and finally buckling it. "But I gotta say, I feel like a giant walking bruise."

He plopped the flipflops onto the carpet, then grabbed a hand towel by the sink to dry of his feet before slipping them on. Didn't want to squeak the whole way there. "Finally ready? Oh, c'mon, it was you who threw me in the tub! I'm innocent. But yeah, sure, all ready unless you got something else you gotta go all neurotic on," he said, tossing the towel at Roman.

Roman's eyes narrowed as the belt was snatched out of his hand with accompanied complaints.  And after he was thoughtful enough to find Gabriel a blue shirt.  Ingrate.  He should have gone with his uniform idea.

"Y'know princess, if the belt is soooo offensive to your obviously evolved sense of fashion..."  He returned the towel to Gabriel by sending it right at his face, "...I can just take it back."

Unprepared, the towel smacked Gabriel in the face with an "oof", and he quickly clawed it off. Oh, Roman wanted to play that way, huh? He smirked and started winding it up. "Tch, too late. It's already on, sugarpie," he said, sticking out his tongue. "You want it? You're gonna have to take it."

And then he promptly snapped the towel out and smacked Roman on the ass, which would have worked way better if it was a regular towel and not a hand towel. Worked well enough, though! The deed done, he dropped the towel and bolted out into Roman's bedroom and made a beeline for the living room door.

"Yeah, yeah.  Keep talking and I just might."  Roman turned away.  "Don't press your—"

Something smacked him in the ass and he whipped around just as Gabriel darted past him.  He made a grab for him and missed, then took off after him as fast as he could manage in the confines of the apartment.  "Oh, you're losing that belt now!"

"Don't suppose I could get you to lock the door," he said to Scheherezade.  

"It's cute that you're asking even though you know it won't happen," she replied.

Laughing, Gabriel dodged around furniture and tore through the living room, using his head start to his advantage. He was fast, but Roman had the longer stride and for all Gabriel's instigating, well, he didn't really want to lose the belt. And he knew Roman too well to know he would follow through, and that would be a pain. But dammit, it had been too good to pass up! He couldn't help it!

He made it to the door and mentally cursed when he had to stop to wrench it open. Crap, crap, crap! "What, you wanna pants me that bad?" he shot back, then shoved the door open and ducked out into the hall.

Roman was most definitely not laughing along with Gabriel, but he couldn't help a predatory smile as he sprinted into the living room and jumped clear over his coffee table in an effort to get to Gabriel before he could get that door open.  For a second he thought he might make it, then Gabriel made it into the hallway and out of his reach.

Roman didn't even stop.  He ran through the doorway and took off after Gabriel down the corridor.  "Tierney, you're giving that belt up if I have to chase you around the entire Citadel!"

And if Gabriel didn't like it then by the gods he shouldn't go starting shit he wasn't prepared to finish.

Whoa, shit just got real, Gabriel thought with a triumphant grin. Roman had used his last name. That meant serious business. However, like hell he was gonna stop, and if he played his cards right he miiight even be able to make it to the flight deck. Which, to him, would be as good as winning this round.

If only running in freakin' flipflops wasn't so annoying, especially Roman's. Those were not a proper fit and he'd almost stumbled a few times.

He took a sharp turn down a corner into another hall and kept on running, going the roundabout way in the hopes of throwing Roman off his tail. "Ahaha, chase away, it's totally worth it! You realize how ridiculous you sound right now, right?" And look.

[Tally]

Oh sure. He realized it.  He just didn't care.  He saw the dazed looks as he raced past people in the hallway, people who leapt out of Gabriel's way and flattened themselves up against the wall, staring first at Gabriel then at Roman as he pursued.

And he didn't care.  He was seeing red at this point and the gods damn him but he was going to catch Gabriel no matter how stupid he looked!

"I'm gaining on you, princess."  Wouldn't want to waste his breath on vocal words.

He was gaining too, what with Gabriel stumbling in those flipflops and Roman wearing sneakers that actually fit.

[Rhi-Rhi]

Crapcrapcrapcrap!

Gabriel didn't need the announcement; he could hear Roman hot on his tail and he knew he wasn't going to be able to keep this up much longer. Fatal mistake, overestimating his ability to run while handicapped. Alright, alright, think, think...it wasn't so much losing the belt that was an issue at this point, it was just the principal of the matter. He liked keeping up his winning streak and could not give Roman the satisfaction of beating him.

Aha! Elevator!

He took a sharp turn to the left, and then it was a straight line to the elevator at the end of the hall, and the doors were open. Now if he just didn't lose a shoe...

"Siren! Elevator! Hold it open!" he 'pathed, taking a deep breath and pouring on the speed.

"Mmm...?" came the groggy reply, followed by the strange mental sensation of a yawn. "You want me to what now?"

"Keep the elevator open! Ah! No! What're you doing? Siren!"

"...You woke me up for this and you couldn't even say 'please'?" The doors were sliding shut.

"Please! Please! Sireeeen!"

"Too late, sorry. It's more fun this way, anyway."

The doors had almost closed when Gabriel practically slammed into them, thrusting an arm through the gap to trigger the sensors. They started to open again and he fought to squeeze through before they even had.

[Tally]

Roman skidded taking the turn, but caught the corner and launched himself down the hall.  Beyond Gabriel a pair of elevator doors began to close.  Yes! This could be it.  If Gabriel didn't make the doors in time Roman would have him cornered.

He pressed himself for more speed, able to run flat out in his tennis shoes.  The timing was so close.  Gabriel made it, but only just.  It held him for a few seconds, long enough for Roman to close the distance between them.  He barely slowed, barreling into Gabriel and letting his momentum send them both tumbling into the elevator as the doors opened.

[Rhi-Rhi]

"Oof!"

Roman hit him from behind, and Gabriel went tumbling into the elevator, and by some stroke of dumb luck he only just managed to keep from doing a face plant. He caught himself against the far wall and then tried to twist around, both hands holding onto his belt. You know. Just in case.  

"Hold on! Hold on! Time out! We gotta hit the button! Hit the button!" The doors had closed, and there was no telling where they'd end up if they didn't. And the Citadel was one tall building.

...And Gabriel oh-so-hated elevators.

[Tally]

Roman picked himself up and tensed, ready for anything.  Pilots at play could get rough.  What started in fun was always just on the verge of tipping over into a genuine brawl, which was still fun, at least for them.  He just wasn't going to be caught by surprise with it.

Gabriel called a momentary truce though. Roman  straightened and punched in the right number for their floor, the one that would take them to the flight deck.  He was still going to get that belt back, but they did need to get going.

"All right."  He put a hand flat to Gabriel's chest and pressed him back against the wall of the elevator.  "Hand it over.  Or I'm taking it."

[Rhi-Rhi]

The elevator lurched in that awful floor-dropping way and Gabriel grimaced, but his mind was taken off of it when Roman picked up where they left off. He smiled sweetly at the other Pilot and grabbed onto the belt with both hands.

"Aww, sugar-cheeks. In the elevator? But there's cameras!" He risked letting go briefly so he could pat Roman's cheek. "You've gotten so adventurous in your old age!"

[Tally]

Roman returned Gabriel's smile—just as sweetly.  He didn't give any warning, and he was done talking.  He grabbed Gabriel's wrist and wrenched him around, twisting his arm behind his back and trying to get the belt buckle upon with his other hand.  He was getting that belt back and he didn't care what it looked like on the cameras!

[Rhi-Rhi]

Gabriel grunted as he was wrenched around and pinned against the wall, and whoa there was Roman's hand. Crap. Alright. So that had been a stupid move. But it wasn't over until it was over and dammit, he never started something he wasn't sure he couldn't win!

Okay, scratch that. He never started something he didn't want to win.

Twisting as much as the wall and his twisted arm would allow, he did his best to fend Roman off single-handedly and grabbed onto his wrist in an attempt to pry him off or slow him down. "Oh yeah, baby! Take me now! Unf unf!" he laughed. "Didn't know belts got you so hot!"

[Anonymous]

The doors of the elevator slid open and Bart paused in his sip of coffee.

And stared.

"Well. Looks like I'm inturuptin' somethin'. Just gonna point out, there are camera's in there. Perverts."

Reaching over, Bart smacked the elevator button, hoping to hurry it along, the doors closing back over the pair...wrestling inside. He would take the next one.

[Rhi-Rhi]

Roman froze as the elevator doors slid open, but only for a moment.  He endured just an instant of mortification then went right back to wrestling the belt away from Gabriel.  Bart could think whatever the hell he wanted. He considered it worth it.  He risked releasing Gabriel's other arm so he could use both hands to get at the belt buckle.

Gabriel froze in mid-sentence as a wave of horror washed over him, face darkening. Bart. Of all people. It had to be Bart. Roman recovered before he did and, in a frantic bid for freedom, planted his hands against the elevator wall and shoved back hard against him to try and shake him off. "Aw, man! Dude, you realize what the footage's gonna look like, right?" He laughed. "People are gonna talk!"

Roman grunted and was forced to release his grip on the belt so he could keep his footing. Damn it. He was not losing this one, even if it meant resorting to drastic means. He grabbed Gabriel again, but one hand traveled slowly up the front of his shirt instead.  Roman breathed into Gabriel's ear.  "Oh, I know, and I don't care.  But I think you do, so let's get that belt off unless you want security to get even more of a show. They're watching you right now."

Shiiiit.    

Gabriel meant to say something, something witty or teasing or goading, but all that came out was air. He also meant to keep on fighting the good fight, but instead he went stock still as everything seemed to hyperfocus on the hand feeling him up and Roman's breath on his ear--which sent an unexpected shiver clear through his body and made his face burn. What. The. Hell. Suddenly, he was very glad he was facing the wall because holy what the fuck  was up with this day. It was the day of gropage, apparently.

Finally, he found his voice and gave a laugh, though he didn't intend it to come out so nervous. "Ahaha, wow, didn't take you for a voyeur!" he said, grabbing Roman's hand and trying to pry it off. "Cameras get your motor revvin'? Good to know! I'll remember that! Cameras and public spaces. Awesome!"

In the moment that Gabriel froze, Roman was able to get the metal tooth of the belt buckle out of its hole.  Progress!  Of course it wouldn't be all that easy.  Roman kept firm against the hand that tried to fend him off, and pulled Gabriel back flush against him.  This was one contest he felt confident in winning, given Gabriel's odd prudish streak. He would call Gabriel's bluff before Gabriel called his.

He almost had that belt.  He just needed one more distraction, one more opportunity to get it the rest of the way off. "Oh you didn't know that?  Well now you do. I'm just dying to ravish you in public view."

He pressed his lips to Gabriel's neck, then again, trailing a slow line of kisses along his skin.

Just kill him. Just strike him dead right now.

He didn't even notice the whole belt issue. That no longer mattered. As soon as Roman pulled him back against him and started kissing along his neck, Gabriel's mind was a giant blank. No, that was a lie. It was racing, but it couldn't quite settle on any one thing, torn between panic and other thoughts he didn't dare linger on.

Gabriel squirmed, breath catching in his throat and pulse spiking, and he tried to tilt his head away but just wound up giving Roman more room. Shit, shit, shit! Roman was kissing him. Roman was kissing him. "Whoa. Whoa. Uhhh, uh, Roman?" he gasped, goosebumps rising as those kisses drew shivers. What? Ravishing him? He wanted to call his bluff and laugh it off, but this was so random and his mind was a mess of confusion.

"Uhh, ah, Roman, what're you doing?"

Gabriel's squirming only made Roman hold him tighter, only made him go for another kiss on his neck.  He didn't lose sight of his goal though.  Gabriel had stopped struggling and he was able to get the belt end out of the buckle at last.

In answer to Gabriel's question, Roman whipped the belt out of its loops in one motion and held it up to Gabriel's vision. Then he gave Gabriel a shove away from him.

"I ought to beat you with this," he said, wrapping the belt around his hand.  All this over a freakin' belt.

Oh. Right. The belt.

Gabriel slumped against the wall and let his breath out in a loud whoosh. He felt jittery all over and he could swear his neck was still tingling, but right. Hah. Distraction. Well played, Roman, he hadn't seen that one coming.

And now his pants were hanging half off his ass.

Grabbing his jeans and yanking them back up, he tried to shove away his embarrassment and take back control of the situation, though it was hard when it was written all over his flushed face. "Oooh, kinky, Roman," he said, and held onto his pants with one hand before making a swipe at the belt with the other, right as the elevator came to a shuddering halt. With a pleasant ding, the doors slid open.

Roman wrapped the length of the belt around his hand, watching Gabriel and wishing he'd snap at him with some sarcastic pet name already. Or something.  He had to catch his breath, too.  He'd won, but for that moment it felt like it didn't really matter anymore.

"Ah ah!" He pulled the belt out of Gabriel's reach.  "You really want to go through that again?"  He raised an eyebrow at Gabriel, and the elevator finally saved them from themselves and deposited them on the flight deck.

"Come on. Let's get this over with?"

Did he want to go through that again? Gabriel cleared his throat awkwardly and let his hand drop. The attempt at normalcy had been rather half-hearted, his mind distracted by what had just happened. He couldn't quite get rid of it, and every time he thought back to it, he felt more and more...he didn't even know. Confused? Yeah, that was the word. They did crap like that a lot.

Well, not like that, but finger-licking and accidental ass-grabbing and sitting on each other in bed and stuff. Wrestling in a bath tub. Things like that. Gabriel felt comfortable around Roman like that, and their hi-jinks had a tendency to escalate. It was just how they worked.

Getting pinned and felt up and kissed all along his neck? That...that was a new one. That went above and beyond all the other craziness.

"Uh...yeah! To the wastes, eh?" he said, rubbing his neck absently. Pushing off of the wall, still a little shaky, he stepped out of the elevator and onto the deck. "Keep the belt. You, um...you earned it. Heh."

Roman was quiet as he followed Gabriel out onto the flight deck.  The wind was high up here and whipped at his hair and shirt. The noise of it gave him a good excuse not to talk as he crossed over to the prep rooms where the flight suits were kept.  They could both use a moment after...that.  Whatever that had been.

He disappeared into one of the prep rooms and emerged a minute later in the flight suit with his helmet under his arm.  "Ready to do this?"  A shadow crossed over him as Scheherazade circled lower to land.

The break was well needed. Gabriel took a little longer than usual in the prep room, working on composing himself and getting his head back on straight, but he returned after Roman and even managed to flash him a chipper grin. Think normal thoughts! They were just one-upping each other! It was just what they did, nothing to it!

"You know it. What about you, sugar-pie?" he called over the sound of the wind. "I know this is cutting in on your beauty sleep. You got the coordinates and all that? You know where the place is. I don't."

Siren had been sunbathing nearby as he waited for the two to finally make it up here, and seeing that Gabriel was ready, he gave a languid stretch and rose to his feet, loping over. He stretched his long neck out and butted Gabriel with his head lightly, like an over-sized cat (and 'lightly' was only so far as dragons were concerned; it still made Gabriel grunt and stumble sideways), and then stepped forward and did the same to Roman. "You took long enough."

[Tally]

"Damn right.  So let's get me back here so I can get back to sleep."  Hollow words.  He likely wouldn't sleep again until late tomorrow evening.  This was going to take up most of his morning, then he'd be in the ATC late into the night, then back to the Citadel. If he was lucky he'd find time to get away sometime tomorrow afternoon and steal a couple hours of sleep.  "Don't worry, I know the place."

Scheherazade's wings swept gusts of wind over them as she landed. She fairly radiated a smug amusement. "Couldn't wake me up, could you?"

"Pilot Tierney did a fine job of it I think."

"Would've been here sooner," he said, giving Siren a hearty pat on the head, "but your Pilot there decided we should play tag in the Citadel."

[Rhi-Rhi]

Siren gave one of his creepy, face-eating grins that Gabriel recognized as a look of friendly amusement. His sharp teeth gleamed. "Oh? So that's how tag is played?, is it?" he asked, a too-innocent note in his voice that signaled that he was anything but innocent. His grin broadened as his blue eyes flicked from Gabriel to Roman. "Who's 'it' now?"

Gabriel grimaced and turned his body toward Siren, feeling his face heat up but not wanting to let it show. Riiiiiight. Cameras. Dammit.

"Pretty sure that'd be me. Alright! Hurry up, let's get goin'!" he said, grabbing onto Siren's harness. He hauled himself up onto his back and strapped himself in. Game-face time!