Welcome to Gaia! ::

Gabe was tempted to read while he ate, but he didn’t. He would rather talk with Lotor. He felt reading at the table would be considered rude. Gabriel trained his attention on Lotor and food. But he had to pause when Lotor explained his plans for the afternoon. At first, Gabe though Lotor was trying to be funny… but he kept going… and looking at the playful determination in Lotor’s eyes, you could tell he was serious. “Seriously, Tori, only you would think talking to the president and the Queen of England as boring plans.” He said shaking his head a bit, smiling. He couldn’t even imagine casually talking with the president… let alone the queen… Sometimes it seemed Lotor lived in a different world…

Once lunch was finished and cleaned up, Lotor left to make his calls. Gabe grabbed the first notebook. He paused and glanced at the larger stack of books… “Umm, follow me?” he asked… Lotor said the nanobots would respond to voice commands… did he have to say something first to get their attention like the Alexa thing? Nope! The books started to float again and Gabe grinned. He walked out of the kitchen, looking around a bit to find a comfortable place to read, checking behind him to make sure his books were following. He figured Lotor would lock any rooms he didn’t want Gabe to be in. Eventually he found what looked like a library and smiled. There was a couch and a lamp for easy reading. Gabe slipped onto the couch, tucking his feet under him. “Um… set those down right here…” he padded the couch to indicate his desired location.

Once settled in, Gabriel propped up one leg and balanced the spine of the book against it. He started to glance over the first few pages. This had to be Lotor’s first notebook. The writing was chicken scratch, like a child wrote it. The messy writing was hard to read, but Gabe took as much pleasure in examining Lotor’s motor coordination improvement as he would reading about Lotor’s culture. It took about one notebook before Lotor’s writing really started to get consistent. This second notebook was much neater. Most of the writing was small and organized… every once in a while, there was an attempted cursive slant to the letters. Gabriel read with a smile on his lips.

He started to notice little shorthand above certain words as he continued to read. It didn’t look like words… at least not English words… it reminded him of Japanese or Vietnamese writing… Wait, was this Lotor’s written language? Gabe brushed his finger over the writing, feeling the gentle imprint with his finger. He smiled softly to himself, then looked up, searching for something. He smirked when he found what he wanted. He jumped up and walked over to a little desk. He stole a pen and a pad of paper from the table top and returned to his couch. Balancing the notebook and pad of paper on each leg, he tried to replicate the alien word, multiple times, until he felt it looked exactly like Lotor’s writing… He smiled to himself again, slipping the pad to the couch, under his bent leg. He continued to read, taking breaks every now and again to try and write in Lotor’s language.

Gabriel wasn’t sure how long he had sat there reading, writing, smirking to himself… but his back was starting to hurt from sitting as he was. He tore a page out of the pad and book marked his page before he set the book on the stack and rose up, stretching. He needed a break… he wondered of Lotor was doing. Gabriel left the library to go explore, and hopefully find Lotor. He wondered around a bit, tracing his steps back to the kitchen, bedroom, and medical room. Eventually he found his way back to Lotor’s lab and he paused in the entry way… He wasn’t sure he was allowed in here… but he was curious about what Lotor was working on… He bit his lip nervously and walked in. The space was still mostly a mess from Lotor’s frantic attempts to find a ‘cure’ for their bond. He walked over to Lotor’s chair, which sat in front of a large console… a very, very large computer. He sat in the chair and tucked one leg under him as he glanced at the different controls and key pads. He was tempted to touch… but he knew better, so he just looked with his eyes, like a curious boy at the zoo.

It started as a soft presence, then soft sounds of something approaching, then a shift in the chair… Gabriel wasn’t surprised when Lotor found him. He tilted his head back and looked up at Lotor with a smile. “Ya, I recognize it… though I’ve never been this close…” He looked back at the control center with a soft smirk. He shook his head a bit. “You stopped bring me here a couple of months ago… afraid I’d find your hideout?” he asked with a smirk, looking up to gauge Lotor’s reaction before turning back to the screens. “Is this how you stalked me? Seriously… It was sometimes freaky how you always knew where I was…” he reached out and gently touched what looked like a touch pad. He opened his mouth to ask why Lotor called his computer a ‘her’. But Lotor activated Anna, and Gabriel jerked his head back to the computer, mouth now open partially in surprise. A British voice spoke and Gabriel couldn’t help a small gasp as Anna turned on. “Oh s**t… you have a JARVIS…” he whispered, then a smile broke his shocked features and he sat up straighter. “You have a JARVIS? Seriously?” he asked, chuckling in his excitement… then he realized Lotor might not get the connection. “Please tell me you’ve seen the Iron Man movies?” he asked, looking between Lotor and Anna’s screen. “If you haven’t, we need a movie night, like immediately.” Gabe was a bit of an Iron Man fan.

He ran a hand through his hair and propped his leg up on the seat of the chair, holding his knee to his chest. He wrapped one arm around his leg, keeping it in place as he leaned forward a bit. His whole form was practically bouncing with excitement. “Is she restricted to this computer? Do you have her wired throughout the lair? Can she update her own programming? How long has she been online? Does ANNA stand for something?” His question butted up against one another in his excitement, not giving Lotor a chance to answer any of them. Some of his words even bled into each other. “You should seriously be careful giving me access to everything Lotor. I’m your mate, but I’m a detective too. I’ll find out all your secrets if you’re not careful.” He teased, still talking too quickly. Though his mind did seem to slow, just a tad, when Lotor ran his hand over his head and through his hair. He looked from the screen, down to the control panel and thought about Lotor’s words.

‘The world’s at your fingertips’. Gabriel froze for a moment… he could ask anything, learn about anything, find anyone (given enough time)… the cop in him told him that this was illegal… hacking into computers, surveillance cameras, and private servers… the curious part of himself wanted to explore, see how far into some classified server he could get before Lotor had to safe him (because he definitely was not an engineer or a computer science expert)… the child in him wanted to look into the questions he had asked as a child, and never got answers for (who were his parents? Why didn’t they want him?)… all three of those options were dark… darkish… ridged, misguided, or just sad… So he choose a fourth option… it was a safer option… it kept his heart safe and out of reach… the option was humor. “Anna? Can you pull up the fan letters that propositioned Lotor for sex, and also got the best reaction out of Lotor when he read them?” he asked, laughing at himself before he looked back at Lotor, which started another fit of laughter. He covered his mouth with his hand, trying to stifle his laugh, as he turned back to the screen to see if Anna responded.

Just two weeks ago, Lotor had a slew of secrets he didn’t want Gabriel to learn. He didn’t want his hideout to be found, he didn’t want to expose too much of himself to Gabe, he hadn’t wanted to explain his tech to the curious detective… but now, Lotor was willing to give up all those secrets? Just because they were bonded… they were mates? Gabriel couldn’t understand how Lotor could just switch like that… sure they could feel each other’s feelings, but that wasn’t the same as knowing the other. They still knew very little of each other, how could Lotor be so sure Gabe wouldn’t break his heart or use his tech against him? There were things Gabriel wanted to keep secret… obviously anything dealing with his cases were off limits, but besides that, he still wasn’t comfortable talking about aspects of his past… was that wrong? Was he supposed to want to and be willing to lay himself bare before his mate? …was he broken?

Gabriel shook the thoughts out of his head and focused on Lotor again. “I still think we should have a movie night. You can tell me all the things wrong with the Iron man suit, and how you’d make it better.” He said happily. It actually sounded like an amazing idea… He loved those movies, and he loved when Lotor spoke science, even if he couldn’t follow along for most of it. “And I could introduce you to Star Trek.”

Gabe laughed at Lotor’s groan, but his eyes were glued to the screen. He chuckled at the few that made Lotor blush. He didn’t realize it, but he was watching screen Lotor’s face with a look of affection. The video letter had Gabriel’s eyes wide, mouth slightly agape before he started to crack up laughing. He leaned into Lotor’s leg as he sat on the arm of the chair. He laughed into Lotor, shifting to hide his face into the bend of Lotor’s waist. His shoulders shook and he couldn’t get enough oxygen into his lungs, but every time he turned back to the screen, he was laughing again. “Oh my god, I think I’m going to die.” He managed, still laughing. It took his a few more minutes before he got the laughing under control. “Oh god…” he leaned back into the chair and rested a hand on his chest. “I haven’t laughed that hard in a really long time…” He wiped tears out of his eyes, still smiling brightly at Lotor.

“How’d your talks with the president and the queen go?” he asked, trying to be casual, but he was nervous. He figured he could have felt if something had gone bad… so hopefully Lotor was about to tell him good news. He had said the queen had already offered a pardon… “We don’t have to move to England, do we? I don’t think Scotland Yard is going to accept my transfer…” he tried to joke, hoping it would mask the small panic he felt.

Gabriel wasn’t sure how he felt about the news that the queen wanted to meet him… flattered? Honored? Worried? But he did know how he felt when Lotor called the president an idiot: amused. He shook his head, laughing softly as Lotor explained what happened. Then Lotor explained his plans for the next couple of days and Gabriel couldn’t help but feel a bit sad… Lotor was going to leave. Well, obviously… he couldn’t expect the male to stick around all the time… Gabriel needed to go back to his own apartment anyways… but the thought of being separate… hurt… must be the bond’s doing, damn it. He felt weak… he hadn’t feeling weak. Luckily, Lotor’s question distracted him from the feeling. “Well, I would expect the president to make a public announcement about your pardon… and law enforcement offices throughout the country will have to be notified of your new status… but that will take a little while…” He said, then sighed softly.

He could hear the undertone of Lotor’s words and he could feel the male’s dislike. And he found himself getting a bit upset. He didn’t like how Lotor was talking about himself like he was already dead. “I’m not mated to ‘Dr. Lorri.’ I don’t want to ‘go out’ with him.” His words sounded a bit bitter. He pulled back so he could look up at Lotor, still frowning. “If the hospitals are expecting Dr. Lorri tomorrow, you should go disguised… but once the President has his announcement and the law enforcement departs have been notified, you should start appearing as yourself. There’s no need for you to hide.” He said. “We’ll just have to be careful…” he added. He reached out and wrapped his fingers around Lotor’s wrist, pressing his skin against lilac. “Don’t talk about yourself like that… like you can just… delete yourself… I don’t like it.” he said seriously. He ignored that venomous voice that screamed at him that he was being too possessive, too demanding, too controlling.

Gabe stood up, out of the chair, careful to not throw Lotor off by the change in weight. He stood in front of Lotor, hand on his knee, pushing his legs apart until he stood between them. He wrapped his arms around Lotor’s shoulders and gazed into his eyes. “Look, we may have started… strangely… but I don’t want to hide you. I would like some time for the world to get to know you before we announce our bond, but I’m not going to lie about you. I’m not embarrassed or ashamed or, whatever negative emotion you can think of, about being mated to you. Okay?” he looked straight into Lotor’s eyes, looking for something, a sign of recognition, or a glimmer of doubt. He smiled softly before he leaned in and kissed his mate. The kiss was chaste, but sweet. “Now, maybe we should do something about your lab… it’s a mess.” He said when he pulled back, looking around at the clutter and disorder.

Gabe smiled at his mate but rolled his eyes a bit. “We have to be strong at something, I guess.” He teased, stealing another quick kiss before he pulled away and headed over to a messy desk. He picked up some strange contraption… what the heck? He pushed a button and the end lit up with blue electricity and a loud buzz. He only jumped a little. Over powered taser? Okay then. He turned the button off and laughed at Lotor’s comment. “Maybe it is!” he set the taser down and picked up a few loss screws, nuts, and wires. There was an organizer on this table, so he opened the different drawers and matched the screws and such. Lotor was at another table, picking up his notes before he spoke again. “Yes, you should have.” He said, his voice emotionless. He wasn’t angry anymore, but it was still a topic he didn’t want to go back to. They needed to communicate… hopefully that wouldn’t be as large of a problem from now on. He continued to clean his table, organizing spare parts and notes. He knew he wouldn’t make much of a dent in the cleaning, since he didn’t know what was important or where things went. But Lotor seemed to be making progress, which was the main point.

Gabriel paused when Lotor mentioned going out after this. “Do you have a disguise that’s you, just human?” he asked. He hated he idea of Lotor hiding himself… but until the president announced his pardon… the closer to Lotor’s actual appearance the better. Really, he’d just need to disguise his ears, skin color and hair color… there was another pause and Gabe frowned softly. He could feel Lotor’s dislike for him leaving, and he shared the feeling. But he couldn’t stay here all the time… right? Being apart was still an unpleasant feeling and Gabe wasn’t sure how long that feeling would linger. But he did need to visit his apartment… he hadn’t been there in weeks at this point. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed softly. “I do need to go to my apartment… but I don’t have to stay there… Aren’t you worried about leaving me here alone?” he asked, trying to tease, but his words sounded more vulnerable that he had originally planned. It made more sense, for now, to stay with Lotor… He didn’t even have any food to fed Lotor if they stayed the night there… But he also wasn’t willing to give up his space, move in with Lotor permanently… that was moving a bit fast, wasn’t it? Lotor probably didn’t see it like that but… he bit the inside of his cheek. “Let’s run by my apartment, I’ll take care of a few things, pack a go bag, then we can come back here?” he suggested. He hoped this would satisfy Lotor, and prevent him from asking Gabe to move in… he wasn’t ready for that discussion yet and it would probably end in a fight. He didn’t want to fight right now.

They finished cleaning up, while Gabe thought about things they could do while Lotor wore his disguise. Then an idea popped into his head. “Oh!” he froze. “What day is it? Anna, what day is it?” he looked up at the ceiling, waiting for an answer. He smiled brightly when she responded. “The fair is open. We should go to the fair!” he smiled at Lotor. “Have you ever been to the county fair?” he asked, excited and hopeful. “There’s food and rides and carnival games. And they hold competitions for local livestock herders, so there’s cows and pigs and other farm animals you can pet.” He sounded a bit like an excited child.

Gabriel listened quietly, and he could feel Lotor meant it. And he understood… really he did. But at the same time, he was afraid to fall into the feeling, afraid that their mating bond was changing him… he never was this clingy before… Gabe leaned into Lotor’s hand as it cupped his cheek. He closed his eyes for a moment and just reveled in the simple touch, in Lotor’s warmth. Gabriel took a sharp breath when Lotor spoke and leaned his forehead against his. When they pulled apart, he nodded gently and opened his eyes. “I will have to… eventually… when I return by to work… it won’t be easy for me to come back here every day… especially days I have to work late.” He said, sounding sad and a bit anxious. They didn’t have to be separated now… and maybe after a couple of days of being together it wouldn’t feel so horrible to be apart… Gabriel couldn’t help but feel like he wasn’t living up to Lotor’s standards… but he pushed the negative emotion away, hoping Lotor hadn’t picked up on it.

Gabe just learned something knew about his mate. Lotor liked animals. He already knew Lotor got a kick out of making people scream, all in good fun of course. But he hadn’t known Lotor to have such a soft side, until recently. And it was a side Gabriel really liked. He walked over with Lotor and stood off to the side, leaning against one of the table, arms across his chest, as Lotor scanned himself and typed a few things into the computer. Lotor clicked the hologram into place and Gabe stared at him, blinking for a few seconds. Black hair instead of white, human looking eyes, rosy colored skin, human ears… He looked human… but also like himself… but not. Gabe found himself frowning slightly as his mind tried to wrap around the image… “You definitely will pass as human… and I don’t think anyone will recognize you…” he said, but he was still frowning. His eyes flicked down to Lotor’s wrist and his frown softened. He walked over and took Lotor’s hand, examining the watch that was portraying the hologram. “How does his work exactly? I mean… you actually look shorter… how?” he looked back up to Lotor’s face and his frown returned. “You look weird. Like, I can see the parts that are really you, and it…” his frowned deepened. “I like you better the other way… I can’t wait until we don’t need this anymore…” He would blush at his sudden honesty, if he wasn’t still baffled by the mixed information his eyes were sending to his brain.

Eventually, he stopped frowning, though he still found the hologram tricking his mind. “Want to go to the fair first, then we can stop by my apartment after?” he asked, slipping his hand down to Lotor’s before he slotted their fingers together. He wanted to kiss his mate… but he couldn’t kiss him when he looked like that… it felt weird, like he was kissing someone else… Was he over reacting a bit? Probably… he just hoped Lotor wouldn’t confuse his aversion to the hologram as dislike for Lotor himself… he would just rather kiss Lotor, and all his alien-ness, that this fake image before him…

Gabe’s frowned deepened when Lotor brought his hand up to cup his cheek… but to him it looked like he was touching the top of Lotor’s head. The feeling of touch conflicted with the information his brain was receiving and it made him feel weird. He pulled his hand back and rested it on Lotor’s chest/ shoulder… Okay, holographic disguises were not his favorite. He shook his head at Lotor’s apology. “No, its okay… I can’t even imagine what it was like when you first arrived… I’d probably be branded a criminal too if I was dropped off on an unknown planet with no supplies…” He shrugged softly.

Taking Lotor’s hand, they walked to what looked like a garage. He nodded, but rose an eyebrow when Lotor mentioned the ‘modifications’ he had made to his car. Once in the passenger seat, he saw what Lotor meant. He stared, curiously and the care started at the touch of Lotor’s hand. “How…” he paused as the car started to move. “Are you driving, or is Anna?” he asked as they pulled out on the empty street.

Gabriel shifted in his seat, still holding Lotor’s hand in his lap, when he finally got over the revolutionary car. “Hmm? Oh, umm… I don’t know… walk around and see what’s available? Maybe we’ll run into the petting zoo…” he said with a soft smile. His mind was on the fair now. He was excited to go, more so to go with Lotor… this was like a normal date… except for the weird hologram disguise. He scrunched his nose at the thought, looking over at Lotor a moment before he softly sighed. “Are these black out windows?” he asked, ignoring the cop voice in his head that reminded him that heavily tinted windows were illegal. He just wanted to see the real Lotor before going into the fair… Once there, he wouldn’t be able to see the real him, or kiss him, or call him… wait. “What do I call you? When you’re like that?” he looked at Lotor again. Obviously using the alien’s name would give away their cover… “Tori?” Or was that too close to the original?

The drive to the fair wasn’t long. The local businesses were opening their parking lots for people to park close to the fair ground entrance. “Here.” Gabe pulled out his wallet and handed Lotor the ten dollars for parking. It was crowded, but they were luckily enough to find a relatively close spot. Gabe let go of Lotor’s hand to get out of the car and met him at the trunk, smiling softly, hand out for the other male to take again. They walked over to the ticket line, walking side by side. “I love the fair. I go every year.” Gabe said, leaning in so their arms touched from shoulder to elbow.