Welcome to Gaia! ::

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After grunts, thrusts, and everything in between, Reed found himself zipping up his pants. He couldn't believe he had done that himself, to be honest. In a classroom! Where good, clean kids sat and learned! It was a horrible feeling... but not unwanted. There was something about the sin of it all that was enticing. Shirtless Reed looked down at Alan, blushing at the si-

"Knock, knock, dearie, we're coming in!" announced Nikolai as he swung the door open and waltzed right in. He turned his head to look at the two blushing figures and, with the click of his tongue, folded his arms and clicked his head. "Goodness me, it seems they went and celebrated without us." he pouted, though his sleepy eyes were laughing.

Reed was a mess, trying to put his shirt on when Nikolai tossed a set of keys at him. "Why, we conned Luciano dear out of that precious lab of yours, dearie." he explained as he looked at the naked scientist. "It was all Reed dear's plan, really. Such a smart man~"

"Yeah." Reed gushed while rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, handing Alan the keys with the other. "I asked for their help, and they managed to get a one-up over Luciano, I guess."
"Oh hush, dearie, it was all your plan." said Nikolai with an "endearing" look on his face. It was more an expression that read, "Shut up and take the credit so you can owe me one later". "It was all his idea, to be honest. He told use what to do, and we played our parts. Isn't that right, darling?" he asked while elbowing Kiyaka.

Reed didn't get to smile as long as he wanted, because he was kissed quickly. He reacted quickly, wrapping his arms around Alan's thin waist (one he was very familiar with earlier) and kept him close as he happily returned the kiss. Before that happened he recognized the glint in Alan's eyes, that happiness that was quickly returning. It was a wonderful feeling, knowing that his precious brat of a scientist was happy again.

"Oh my." Nikolai blinked. Well, he supposed he shouldn't have expected this. Still, he could see that his lessons on the two were being put to use. As a teacher, he supposed he should've felt proud, still... "Dear me, this makes me miss my darling husband." sighed the Sin as he tilted his head and rested it against the palm of his hand. "I'm going to go see him and remind him about our honeymoon. Cancel your schedule tomorrow, dearie, I want to dish about everything then." he grinned at Kiyaka and vanished in a poof of purple smoke.

Completely ignoring the two, Reed later pulled out of the kiss and smiled down at Alan. "I guess this counts as an early Christmas present, huh?" he joked, although with his salary like this he just might have to hope that works.

☸ Alan Brandt ☸

Alan sniffed as he stood at the end of his massive chalkboard, chalkdust on his nose and forehead. The room was cold, but you wouldn't have been able to tell upon looking at the scientist. His sleeves were rolled up and shirt was untucked, lab coat forgotten on his desk and hair mussed from being repeatedly pushed back, perspiration on his ruddy cheeks. He looked like he'd just run a marathon. Giving that his entire chalkboard was covered from top to bottom with equations, it wasn't surprising. He texted Reed, checking to make sure that he was going to come by for lunch like he did every day. What a surprise! Reed was going to love this!
The scientist had never worked harder on a present in his entire life. "And it'll be such a shock that he'll forget all about his gift for me!" Alan said to himself, pausing in his work as he was reminded of what Reed had done, getting him his lab back. He didn't even expect a Christmas call, he was so completely content. Then again, it wasn't like he could take it, what with dealing so much with his father that day.

☸ Alan Brandt ☸

Alan was right in the middle of adjusting his clothes when the door opened, the young man excitedly shoving his shirtends into his pants choosing to leave his top two buttons undone. Of course, he'd ordered food for them, but the darn delivery boy was late, so it looked like a sandwich would do. Oh, but that wasn't important! Clearing his throat, Alan walked over to Reed and took his arm, tugging him to the very beginning of the equation.
"Two beings at rest," he started, pointing to the top equation and slowly tracing his finger down. "Until suddenly, they begin to gravitate towards each other and circle into motion.
"Look, that's music." He gestured to a wide area, the numbers furiously scrawled and, if Reed remembered anything from Alan's scribblings, he'd know that it was the symphony he was teaching when they first met. "Then right here, that's one being being dragged by the other." Of course this was their first lunch together.
Alan happily explained each equation, and a picture formed: it was their relationship. There was drinking, cab rides, an explosion (which he seemed to liken their first kiss to), running through the rain, hiding in each other arms, even their first sexual act. He took great care not to go into great specifics, but when they reached the end of the board, he reached for the piece of chalk and drew a box around one last equation. "And finally," he said, "the two beings join together and create one universe, one incredible, new universe that will continue moving forever, and never fail." He set down the piece of chalk, looking down at his and Reed's feet. "I'm not good at gifts, I once gave my sister a cactus for Christmas, so you can imagine how difficult it was for me to find something worthy of giving to you. However, I soon realized that there was nothing I could ever give you that would measure up to what you've given me: real, honest, wonderful love. So I gave it back to you in the only way I know how." He looked back to the board, a small smile on his face. "This is us, Reed."

☸ Alan Brandt ☸

He sniffed again, reaching for a tissue on his desk to wipe his nose. The cold had given him a runny nose, but he hardly cared. Tossing the used tissue into the trash can, he looked back to the massive chalkboard that bore the fruit of his labor. "A month or so," he admitted. "It's why I haven't been talking to you much. I thought I'd have it done by Christmas, but a couple of the equations were harder than I thought. Bassoons are very difficult to articulate in a numerical sequence." He reached to his head, his hair a mess as he tried and failed to smooth it down.
"It's probably just gibberish to most people, but when I look at the world, I see this. Even with you, I see this, from the way that you walk," he pointed to an area near the bottom of the chalkboard, "to the way that you push my hair from my eyes before you kiss me." Alan pointed to another part of the equation. "This is my world, Reed. It's complicated and cold, but with you, there's a warmth that I can't explain, no matter what equation I use. I don't believe in magic, Santa, not even God, but I'm learning to believe in love."