Welcome to Gaia! ::

Lotor smiled a little and nodded when Gabe noticed there was more seasoning on his steak, "Yeah, I hope it's ok."

At the question of why he frowned, "Sure, the alien that's been kidnapping you regularly when you get close to the company waltzing on into the hospital where you are being cared for after being tortured by said company to pay you a visit. They would have probably shot me on sight, thinking I was coming to kill you." He shook his head and stabbed his steak a little harder than he meant to, "You yourself thought I was working for them. And I tried to hack into their system. They had a team ready and waiting for someone to try and look at your info. It took me half an hour to get them off my track and sent their locators off to some island near Fiji. It took too much time away from my research, time that I thought I didn't have." He sighed, "Sorry. I don't mean to be annoyed. I was just frustrated that I couldn't check on you."

He was surprised to have a fork pointed at him and managed to smile a little when Gabe told him no more of the knock out spray. The smile fell when the human told him how the hospital had reminded him of the torture room. "I'm sorry. I didn't think-" but Gabe cut him off, asking more about the soul bonding.

"Well," he thought of how to word it when that self doubt washed over him again. "Gabriel?" he asked softly, reaching over to slip his hand into the other's, "What's wrong? Why are you doubting yourself?" He gave the man's hand a little squeeze, "Tell me?"

Lotor sat back in shock when Gabe confessed why he'd been so doubtful of himself. "Oh, Gabriel," Lotor said softly with a small smile, "I did get to choose." He reached out and took Gabe's left hand. He lifted his shirt and then pressed the mark over his heart. He then did the same with Gabe, placing his own mark over the man's heart. The connection was like a surge of electricity, but gentle and warm. Lotor closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling for a moment before he opened them and looked straight into Gabe's eyes. "Like this it is impossible to lie, Gabriel. I did choose you. Ever since we first met three years ago, I've been obsessed with you. I've watched over you, made sure you were safe and helped you where i could." Lotor laughed a little, "That sounds like a stalker, and I guess that's fairly accurate. I'm sorry." He tilted his head to the side a little, "But I needed to know you were safe. I think my subconscious recognized you as my mate and spurred my actions. When you started going after the company-" He shivered, "I nearly lost my mind." He sighed, "I kidnapped you when you were getting close because they were going to act out against you. I'd keep you until your lead went cold because it was the only way I could think of to protect you."

He pulled Gabe's hand from his chest and kissed the man's mark, "I haven't had a desire to know any other human the way I do you. I would never had shared scent with you if I didn't trust you with my everything." He looked up into Gabe's eyes once more, "I have been so worried that I took your choice from you. You are human, you should be with your fellow humans, not a snol alien freak like me."

Lotor shrugged, "Had to keep up appearances. And I told you I didn't work for the company, but you didn't believe me. I didn't want to scare you by saying I was keeping an eye on you." He was suprised by the sharp anger that flooded him from Gabe. He watched the human push him back and sit across his lap. His eyes widened at Gabe's words and he felt his face starting to flush. As Gabe spoke, he blushed deeper and deeper. No one had ever spoken to him like that before. The kisses were like lightning and he gasped at each one, moaning softly. He opened his eyes when the kisses stopped and met Gabe's.

He leaned in and gently kissed the human, his hands coming up to card through the soft black hair. He deepened the kiss, holding Gabriel close to himself until he had to break the kiss to breathe. "Gabriel," he murmured against the man's lips, "if you want this, want me, take me to bed. Share scent with me and seal the bond." he kissed his way down Gabe's neck and nuzzled the soft column, "Make me your mate."

((time skip?))

~Time skip 3~

Gabriel groaned softly when Lotor picked him up out of the warm water and started to move him into a different room. He kept his eyes closed, pressed against the curve of Lotor’s neck as they moved. “Where are we going?” he asked softly, unwilling to open his eyes to see exactly what had happening. He blindly waved his hand when Lotor apologized. “Don’t apologize... It’s-“ he almost said it wasn’t his fault… technically he was his fault, but not in a malicious way. The bond was what was hurting, which Lotor’s biology caused…but Gabriel had participated in the mind blowing sex that had caused his head to feel like it was splitting… so it was both of their faults. “It’s alright, ni miri… I’m sure it’ll go away.”

Gabe groaned, hissing softly when Lotor set him down on the bed and pulled away, exposing his eyes to the bright lights of the room. He immediately covered his eyes with his hand, the other wrapped around his midsection. He felt like he had a killer migraine, splitting, light sensitive, nauseating… Gabe remained still as Lotor put something on his temples… felt like little stick pads. Then another was placed on the base of his skull; he nodded softly, barely even a full nod… moving sounded like a horrible idea… Within a couple of moments, Gabe could already feel the relief. It started at the back of his skull and slowly started to make its way forward. The blanket felt warm and comforting as the pain slowly receded.

He tempted to open his eyes when the machine peeped. Through barely cracked eyes, Gabe watched the rather adorable look of concentration on Lotor’s face as he read the analysis from his machine. Lotor was really handsome when he was focused on something. Even the slight frown that played on his lips was adorable… it made Gabe want to kiss him. Gabe tilted his head a bit when Lotor explained the results. He smirked at the light blush on Lotor cheeks… did he blush blue because his blood was blue? Humans blushed red because blood rushes to the cheeks right? So it worked the same way with Lotor? He was pulled from his thoughts as Lotor leaned in and pulled up to other brain scans. Based on the difference in the scans, Gabriel guessed one was a scan of another human, and one was of Lotor’s brain. He wasn’t a doctor, so brain scans made little sense to him, but he could see what Lotor was talking about. Gabriel chuckled at Lotor pun, shaking his head in good humor. “Okay, Dr. Tori.” He said, teasingly. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to rid his head of the last bit of pressure he was feeling. The medication was working marvels.

“How do I not use them if… I can still feel you, your emotions… does that not count as using them?” he asked, a bit confused. His hand reached for the blanket, keeping it from slipping off his shoulder. Lotor removed the pads on his temples and Gabe stared at them for a moment before his brain got side tracked. “Wait, you took a scan of my whole brain with two little pads?” he asked, pointing at the pads, brows furrowed. “I spent hours in a huge machine…” He frowned and huffed a bit. If Lotor didn’t have to hide, he could have come to the hospital and saved Gabe a lot of discomfort… he really needed to find a way to have Lotor pardoned… Gabriel looked away from the pads and up at Lotor’s worried gaze. He smiled and nodded. “Yes, thank you, ni miri” He reached out and grabbed Lotor by his hips. He pulled the male in between his legs and wrapped his arms and the blanket around him. He leaned his head against Lotor’s stomach and closed his eyes for a moment, just enjoying the direct touch of his mate. He sighed against the warmth.

His head felt much better, just a soft pain that reminded him to take things easy. “I feel better.” He said as he leaned back and looked up at Lotor, his hands rested on the male’s hips. He smiled softly, “Let’s get you dried off and dressed before you catch a cold.” He said, reaching behind his head to touch the pad. He gently pulled it off and handed it to Lotor. He looked around the medical room for a moment and recognized the hallway he needed to take to get back to Lotor’s room. Once it his room, Gabriel made sure Lotor dried off before he started to get dressed in the clothes he came in with. He ran his hand through his short hair and looked over at Lotor as he dressed. “Let me braid your hair?” he asked.

Gabriel looked from the pads to Lotor as he spoke, then back. “St. Judes?” he asked, brows furrowing. It wasn’t surprising that Lotor had found a positive outlet for his genius, but he was surprised he was helping children. Wait… “You’ve been experimenting on children?” he asked. “And I’m guessing the parents weren’t informed? Or did you find a way to convince them to consent to your treatments?” he asked, a bit worried now. He could just see the lawsuits Lotor would have to deal with if this got out… even though it was a good thing, even if the children fully recovered… someone out there was going to try and sue Lotor within an inch on his life… he leaned his forehead against Lotor’s chest, sighing a bit. They’d find a way to deal with it… “How exactly do you disguise… you… as a human doctor?” he asked. ‘And why didn’t you disguise yourself to come see me.’ He kept that to himself… maybe his room was too well guarded, maybe Lotor didn’t want to waste any time when he thought Gabe was dying, maybe Lotor didn’t want to be close to him at first…

In Lotor’s bedroom, Gabe gave Lotor a blank, slightly disbelieving look. “Would I have offered if I didn’t know how?” he asked as he climbed onto the bed, behind Lotor. He placed his legs on either side of Lotor’s shoulder and carefully pulled the hair tie out that held his messy bun up. He slipped the tie onto his wrist and began to run his hands through Lotor’s hair, carefully removing any knots or tangles. “I might not have long hair but… I guess you can say I grew up with a lot of little sisters.” He said softly. He racked his fingers across Lotor’s scalp gently, gather all of his locks, then started the braid. “Growing up in an orphanage teaches you some random skills.” He muttered softly. Skillfully, he braided Lotor’s hair, tying it off at the end. He petted the braid down Lotor’s spine, pulling at the weaves to give them more volume. “There. It’s not too tight is it, miri?” he asked, tracing his finger over Lotor’s ear before he kissed the male back.

Gabriel was working his way off the bed when Lotor turned to his closet. He had never seen Lotor dressed so casually… okay once before… it was still strange to see him not armored. It made Gabe’s heart surge knowing Lotor trusted him enough to be ‘vulnerable’ around him. Gabriel smirked when Lotor frowned at his closet. His pose was too cute. Then he laughed a bit at Lotor’s annoyance. He now had an image of Lotor, bent over a sewing machine… why hadn’t he realized how cute Lotor was before? “Why do they have such a hard time with sewing? They can break through metal and build an underground apartment but can’t sew clothes?” he asked amused.

“Do you have anything that is lightly armored?” He asked, crossing his arms across his chest. “You might not have to worry about cops, but it might be handy to have some protection from the general public… there’s a measureable percentage of people who fear you, and what you represent… Intelligent life amongst the stars that has spacecrafts that can transport people? Ya, there are people who think you’re just a spy sent ahead to gather intelligence for your planet’s invasion of earth…” His tone was only half serious, because he knew that the notion was ridiculous. He shrugged one shoulder, “You have access to the internet, surely you’ve seen the topic forums centered around you… ‘Aliens amongst us: friendly or deadly?’ s**t like that… some are good, some aren’t… We’ll just... have to be careful.” He said. Gabe completely glossed over the fact that he was aware of these forums, hoping Lotor wouldn’t catch on that he had browsed these forums before.

Gabriel smiled back at Lotor, but internally he wondered… was he really worth it? Lotor was going to have to go through a lot of s**t to be public with Gabriel… not to mention the scrutiny and bad publicity they would both receive after coming forward about their relationship. He internally sighed and squashed the emotion, hoping Lotor wouldn’t feel it and ask about it again. He kissed the male gladly, enjoying the warmth he felt whenever they touched. Gabe wrapped his arm around the male’s waist and leaned into him. “It’s not fair you’re taller than me…” he glared at the male, but he couldn’t help the smirk on his lips.

They walked into the kitchen and immediately, Gabe pushed his sleeves up so he could help. They had cooked together a few times now, and it was nice. He thought about the other times they had cooked together, ate together… he frowned slightly when he remembered the explosion and the Company kidnapping. “Tori… How did we get out? From… I can’t really remember much after the explosion… your blood is blue…” he had been cutting something when the question presented itself. He paused, staring down at the knife for a moment, trying to remember before he looked over at Lotor for an answer.

Gabriel sighed a bit, nodding when Lotor explained again why he hadn’t visited him in the hospital. “How do your cloaking devices work?” he asked, seeking a distraction. But maybe Lotor wouldn’t want to discuss his designs so openly? He could understand Lotor being protective of his tech… and Gabe probably wouldn’t be able to understand most of his explanation… though Gabe wasn’t stupid… He frowned at the thought… compared to Lotor, he was stupid, and small, and weak… How do you exactly compare with the smartest, and strongest person on earth?

“Ya, it’s not exactly something I write on my CV… Not many people know.” He said with a shrug. He didn’t like to talk about his childhood much, mostly because he didn’t have much of one. Maybe eventually he’d tell Lotor about it… not tonight though. Luckily the conversation shifted to Lotor again, and Gabriel laughed when the alien told him about the fan club contacts he had to deal with. “So it would completely kill the mood if I said that in bed?” he asked, still laughing a bit. He suddenly wanted to read these propositions for sex… those letters were probably hilarious.

Gabe felt the sadness, uncertainty, and anger coming from Lotor at his question. He shook his head when Lotor apologized again, but he remained silent, waiting for Lotor to go on. The anger just continued to grow as Lotor explained. He found himself white knuckling his own knife before he forced himself to breath and drop it. It wasn’t going to help Lotor if Gabe allowed the anger to bleed to him and feedback into Lotor. He set everything down and took a few steps closer to Lotor. Gabe flinched when Lotor growl, filling the room with a low rumble. Small pieces of memory flashed into Gabe’s mind, but for the most part, he just remembered being terrified and in pain. Gabe wasn’t sure how he felt about Lotor murdering all those people… the cop part of him was upset… but another part of him, a larger part of him, was happy Lotor had done it… more than happy… it was a primal feeling, Lotor had fought for him, killed for him, protected him. Gabriel felt something warm in his chest grow, but he couldn’t explain what it was… arousal? Love? Maybe a bit of both… He reached out and wrapped his hand around Lotor’s hand, the one that had been gripping the counter. He intertwined their fingers, smiling softly as he felt Lotor clam and relax. He leaned into Lotor’s touch, humming softly at the touch. He wasn’t sure if he was ‘sending comfort’ like Lotor said he could, but he was trying. He leaned into his mate, his hand tentatively touching Lotor’s chest. “Acceptable huh?” he asked, he licked his bottom lip, then pulled in between his teeth, eyes trained on Lotor’s lips. His eyes flicked up, and it looked like he was going to lean in and kiss him. But instead he smirked, a playful glint in his eyes, and stepped away, back to his station. “That’s good to hear.” His voice teasing, but that nagging voice was whispering again. He ignored it as he returned to his task.

“Do you have any cultural notebooks? I want to learn more about soul bonds… unless you wrote those kinds of notes in medical texts?” he asked, curious as to how much reading he had available to him. He still had a ton of questions… and he just wanted to have time to digest and figure some things out without Lotor mother henning him.

Gabe looked back at Lotor as he walked over to the computer panel in the wall. Multitasking, Gabriel finished his cutting, moving the ingredients to the dish, while also watching Lotor and nodding his conformation about the nanobots brings the notebooks. He however was not expecting the notebooks to start to just ‘float’ into the room. He blinked, staring for a couple of moments as his head wrapped around the floating notebooks. Would he ever get used to Lotor’s tech? Probably… probably not.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts at the mention for Lotor’s starship, he turned his attention towards his mate in time to hear Lotor call the ship a coffin. He frowned a bit at the image. But it didn’t seem to bother Lotor, at the moment. Probably because he wasn’t thinking about it too hard. He didn’t want to bring attention to it, but he was still curious about the ship that brought Lotor to earth. Maybe one day he could ask Lotor to show it to him. For now, he didn’t want Lotor to have to be around the ship that was supposed to be his deathbed.

Reaching out, Gabriel put his hand on Lotor’s shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. “I’m sure you have better things to do that tear through old tech. I’ll just ask you all my medical questions.” He said the last part with a smile. He grabbed his plate and moved to sit next to Lotor at the table. He set his plate down and opened the first notebook, thumbing through a couple of pages. Was it weird he was excited to read Lotor’s handwritten notes? Like, he was going to see how Lotor looped his ‘L’s’ and crossed his ‘T’s’ … okay, maybe that was a little weird. But Gabriel was allowed his weaknesses, every once in a while. “You know, exprets say you can learn a lot about a person by studying their handwriting… he said distracted. “I took a hand writing analysis class… it was really interesting.” He was obviously distracted, as he opened a random page and leaned in to study the handwriting.

He closed the book and looked back at Lotor, just now realizing Lotor had still been talking. His eyes widened a bit, trying to remember what he heard and he quickly nodded his head when it came back to him. “Questions! Right, ya. If I find any, I’ll ask you.” He said quickly. He took a few bites of his food to keep himself from rambling. He couldn’t resist the urge to look at the notebooks again, though he did force himself not to touch him. He really had a one track mind sometimes. He was dying to emerge himself in his reading and research. “What are you going to do? While I read…” he asked after he swallowed his first bite.

(Sorry, I didn't progress us much. But in my next reply, Gabe is going to find a comfy reading corner and zone out lol)