Welcome to Gaia! ::

Gabe chuckled a bit at Lotor’s protectiveness. He shook his head and leaned up to kiss Lotor’s chin. “It was a long time ago…” he sighed softly. Lotor helped him out of the tub, essentially picking him up and carrying him. The warm water had felt wonderful, but he could already feel the ache in his hips and back, not to mention the bruises scattered along his body. Once in bed, Gabe rolled onto his side and cuddled into Lotor’s side, resting his head on Lotor’s chest. He draped a leg over Lotor’s, pinning him to the bed. He sighed and closed his eyes, relaxing into his mate’s warmth. “I look forward to that…” he mumbled, already half asleep. He was out in a matter of moments, breathing softly.

Gabriel slept like the day. However, morning came and light filtered through the curtain. Slowly he woke, and the first this he registered the ache in his hips and lower back. He shifted and felt more ache in his shoulders and neck from the bite. He blinked his eyes opened slowly… he really wanted to go back to sleep, but Lotor needed to go to the hospitals today. “Lotor?” he spoke softly, his voice thick with sleep.

(mine too!)

Gabriel internally cursed when Lotor shot up. He hadn’t meant to startle the male awake. He reached out to Lotor, trying to get his attention. “Hey, sorry I didn’t mean to---“ He was interrupted when Lotor finally registered what was going on and started to ‘mother hen’ him. He sighed softly, letting his hand fall to the bed. “I don’t like needles.” He said, not even trying to argue with his mate. He knew it would be a useless cause. Gabe rolled onto his stomach and grumbled into the pillow. “I’m fine, babe. Seriously. This is exactly how I wanted to wake up.” He said, but it didn’t seem like his words were registering. The initial tension that occurred at the start of Lotor’s message eased away as firm delicate fingers rubbed circles into the knots and aches of his hips and lower back. Gabe sighed softly and melted into the bed. “Thank you.” He mumbled into the pillows. He could get use to this kind of treatment.

Gabe sat up to take the medication, and then settled back into the pillows, propped by the head board. The sheet covered his lower half. Over the top of the covers, you could see the start of finger-shaped bruises that painted his hips. His shoulder was bruised, dark around the teeth-shaped bruises at the juncture. But beside all of that, he looked happy. He gave Lotor a small smile that was both enduring and annoyed. “Stop chuckling and come here.” He grabbed Lotor’s wrist and pulled him back onto the bed. He wrapped a hand around Lotor’s head and forced him to lie against his chest. He buried one hand into Lotor’s hair and the other moved to his shoulder, pinning Lotor against him. “I’m fine.” He said placing a kiss against Lotor’s head.

They remained like that for a couple of minutes before Gabe spoke again. “I woke you because I wasn’t sure when you would have to leave to go to the hospitals…” he said softly, fingers played with Lotor’s hair as he spoke.

Gabriel hummed in response, but otherwise allowed himself to drift in Lotor’s hold, fingers playing with Lotor’s hair. But this moment couldn’t last and when prompted about the hospitals, Lotor pulled away. The black haired male remained where he was, half-propped up on the bed. He just smiled and watched Lotor as he got up and stretched. Blue eyes followed a trail down Lotor’s body, taking in all his lines and curves. Eyes flicked back up when Lotor spoke to him. “’kay.” He murmured, eyes falling back down to watch Lotor’s a** as he trekked to the bathroom. He yawned and closed his eyes once Lotor was out of view. He must have fallen back asleep because he woke to Lotor serving him breakfast in bed.

He sat up a bit more, noticing the ache in his back, but the pain medication was working wonders. “Take as long as you need, babe. I’ll be here when you get back.” he said as he picked up his fork to take a bite of his breakfast. He nodded at Lotor’s suggestion to stop by his apartment. With the way they rushed home last night, they had forgotten to make that stop. Gabriel looked at the hand held for a moment before setting it on the bed next to him. “I’ll be fine. I’ll ask Anna for help if I get lost.” He smiled softly, reaching over to grab Lotor by the wrist. He rubbed his thumb over their mark and sighed softly. He made a disinterested noise at the mention of the holograms again. “No, I probably won’t.”

Lotor got dressed and Gabe’s eyes followed him in between bites of his breakfast. Finally it seemed Lotor was ready to go, but reluctant to leave. Gabriel gave him a knowing smile. “I’ll be fine, babe.” He reached up to cup the side of Lotor’s face. “Go save some lives.” He leaned in and kissed Lotor softly, trying to express all the happiness, pride, and… well, love, that he could. He pulled back from the kiss with a soft smile. “Now, go. I’ll be fine...” He said, playfully pushing Lotor’s shoulder to try and get the male out of bed.

Once Lotor was out of the room, Gabriel returned to his breakfast. After he was finished, and the rest of the lab seemed to have gone quiet, he moved the tray and stretched out along the bed, enjoying the ache and soreness in his muscles. “Anna, has Lotor left?” he asked. After her reply, he carefully sat up and planted his feet on the ground. He stood slowly, stretching as he went. Everything felt sore, but nothing felt broken. He walked slowly to the bathroom and started the water. He took a long hot shower, which helped loosen his muscles. Afterwards, he was able to walk and move around better. He found his clothes, washed and folded on a dresser. Probably the nanobots doing after they cleaned the car. He blushed at the memory and got dressed. He took the dishes to the kitchen and washed them, absently thinking about Lotor and how quiet the lab was without him.

“Anna, I’d like to go to my apartment. Would you mind driving me?” he asked, drying his hands. Down in the garage, a car was already waiting for him. The slipped into the passenger seat and let Anna do the driving. He watched the city from out the window, mapping the exact location of his mate’s lair. It was rather ingenious, its location… his department would never find it… and now with Lotor’s pardon, they’d never need to. The car pulled up to his apartment. “Thanks, Anna. I won’t be long.” He said before stepping out of the car. He stretched again, wincing as a particular movement pulled a sore muscle. He was fine though as he entered his apartment complex and took the elevator up.

His apartment was dark, and dusty. The air smelled old. It had been a few weeks since he had been home. He turned on the lights and opened a few windows before he went to his bedroom to pack a suit case. Shirts, pants, underwear, socks… he even packed his uniform, just in case he didn’t return before he had to report for duty. Toiletries, and miscellaneous stuff from his bathroom. He pulled out his off duty weapon from its gun safe and packed that as well. Once his bag was packed, he went to his kitchen and threw out almost his entire fridge. He wasn’t sure when he’d be back, and most of the food stuff was expired anyways. He took out the trash afterwards, sending it down the garbage chute. He returned to his place and gave it a once over before closing the windows and locking up. He found the car right where he left it and packed his suitcase in the trunk. “Thanks for waiting for me Anna.” He said as he got back into the passenger seat.

Dealing with his apartment had taken more time than he thought it would. But once he returned to lair, he still had a couple of hours before Lotor would return. He set his suit case in the bedroom and walked out to Lotor’s lab, sitting in his massive ‘evil villain’ chair. His hips were starting to hurt uncomfortably again. “Anna, the medication Lotor gave me this morning… would it be safe to take more?” he asked, having no idea what Lotor had given him… when did he start trusting Lotor so readily? He smiled at the thought though… he trusted Lotor with his life… and that had been a fact before their bond was made…

After he took another dose of medication, readily delivered by the nanos, his attention returned to Lotor… they hadn’t even been separated a day and already he was feeling cold… not like how he felt in the hospital… but comparable. He sighed and pulled his legs into the chair, slipping one under him while he brought the other knee to his chest. “Anna, can you locate Lotor and put him on the screen?” He asked, leaning forward to rest his chin on his knee. Anna was a marvel, somehow finding Lotor and then projecting the nearest video surveillance footage on the screen. Gabe’s nose crinkled at the hologram, but he was smiling none the less. He couldn’t really tell just by looking that it was Lotor under the hologram… but the way Lotor spoke with his hands and interacted with people was enough for Gabe to recognize him. He watched, waiting for a moment when Lotor wasn’t in the middle of a conversation before he asked Anna, “Anna, can you call him for me?” he asked, and listened as the phone rang. He watched Lotor, waiting for him to notice his phone was going off… man, Gabriel was such a stalker!

((Fine by me!))

Gabriel smiled as he watched Lotor answer the phone. “You were right. I don’t like the hologram.” He said in lee of a greeting. He smiled and leaned back in the chair, watching and listening to his mate. “How are things going?” he asked. He rolled his eyes at Lotor’s poorly disguised worry. “Ya, I got out of bed. I ran by my place and picked up a few things.” He looked around the lab before his eyes fell back on Lotor on the screen. “I took some more. I’m fine, ni miri. Just missing you.” He said honestly… there was no point trying to hide that fact… Lotor could feel everything he was feeling after all. He lifted his wrist up and angled his head so he could hold the phone between his neck and shoulder, which hurt slightly but not enough to stop. He used his now free hand to trace his mating mark. “I’ll let you get back to work.” He said softly, looking up at Lotor, wishing he was seeing the real Lotor and not some stupid hologram.

(short, sorry)

Gabriel smirked when Lotor looked up at the camera. Too smart. “Alright.” He said, leaning back into the chair. “I’ll be here.” He closed his eyes when Lotor started to whisper in his own language. Part of him wanted to tell Lotor to stop, say it wasn’t safe, what if someone overheard? But the other part wanted to listen to the voice forever. The call ended and Gabe sighed. He stretched, groaning a bit as his muscles protested. He watched Lotor for a little while longer before he got up and went to the kitchen. He grabbed himself a glass of water and explored the fridge. “Hey, Anna. Does Lotor have a favorite cook book?” he asked. He left his cup by the sink and returned to the main computer. He got lost in looking up recipes.

He heard footsteps behind him before he saw Lotor. His face broke out in a huge smile when the male came into his field of vision. “Hey, babe!” he laughed as Lotor picked him up and took his seat, situating him in his lap. He curled around the male and wrapped his arms around the male’s neck. He tilted his head back a bit to give Lotor more access. “I can tell.” He said, laughing a bit when Lotor’s kisses tickled him. He hummed, then looked at the screen. He rolled his eyes at Lotor’s suggestion of making it look like a kidnapping. “No. You’re supposed to be reformed.” He laughed and kissed Lotor’s cheek. “How about you call, and I’ll go start dinner.” He pulled away, struggling out of Lotor’s gasp. He managed however and planted a chaste kiss on Lotor’s lips before he walked off.

In the kitchen, he asked Anna to pull up the recipe he had been looking over. It displayed on one of the screens in the kitchen and Gabe got started prepping the veggies and meats. He hummed softly to himself as he cooked, eventually asking Anna to play some music in the background as he cooked.

Gabriel looked up from cooking when Lotor walked into the kitchen some time later. Lotor looked excited. “Good news?” he asked, setting down his spoon. He hugged Lotor back, and listened to his rhetorical question, a smile slowly broke his features. “Seriously? Tonight?” he asked, surprised it was all happening so quickly… he had only gotten the pardon a day ago! Gabe was grinning like mad. He kissed Lotor excitedly and danced with him in the kitchen. “That's amazing!” he cheered, practically jumping into Lotor. He wrapped his arms around the male’s shoulders and laughed, hugging him close. “They must have had the pardons already in place… probably waiting for another of your villainous plans to over a truce.” He said absently, still over joyed with the news.

Gabriel pulled away from Lotor, still all smiles and laughs. “I’m so proud of you.” He said happily, intertwining his fingers with Lotor’s. The excited died down, only a little, and attention was brought back to Gabe’s cooking. “Oh, I picked a recipe out of your favorite cook book.” He said, releasing Lotor’s hand to return to the stove. “I’ve never made it before, but I can follow directions so it should be edible.” He teased. “Go clean up. It’ll be ready shortly.” He said, then quickly turned away and kissed the taller male. “Oh my god, I’m so happy!” he said, still bouncing with excitement.

Gabriel giggled when Lotor nibbled on his ear and tried to push him away with his hip. “Maybe, I’m still pretty sore.” He lifted his hand to his neck and pulled at his shirt collar, revealing more of the bite bruise that colored his skin. He returned to the stove and continued to smile while he finished dinner and put it on a serving plate. He carried the food and sides over to the table and set everything in the middle of the table. He took a seat next to Lotor and started to make his own plate. He smiled brightly when his mate complemented his food. “Really? I’m glad.” He said happily before digging into his own food. They ate in silent anticipation until it was six.

His food was nearly forgotten as Gabe watched the news and the president’s announcement. His hand wrapped out Lotor’s absently, keeping the limb close to his chest. The announcement pardoned all of Lotor’s crimes, voided any and all arrest warrants, and even went into detail about Lotor’s doctor hologram and the good works he was doing. Gabe turned to Lotor when the announcement was over; he was smiling madly. “This is great, Lotor. I’m so proud.” He shifted from his seat and moved to straddle the male’s hips. His body protested the position. But he didn’t care.

“Your email is going to be full… the internet is probably exploding.” He said, chuckling slightly at the thought. Just then, Gabe heard his cell phone go off. He had left the device in the bedroom. “Hold on, Lotor. I should check that.” He said, climbing off Lotor’s lap to jog to the bedroom and catch the call. “Chief? … Yes, I was watching the news. … yes, I saw. … Yes, sir. … Of course, sir. … If I see him, I’ll ask him to come to the station. … yes, sir. … thank you, sir. … Good night.” Gabriel hung up the phone after a couple of minutes. “Guess who wants to book a meeting with you, babe.” He said, amused as he returned to the kitchen and started to clean up from their meal. “Apparently, the chief wants me to ask you to come down to the station some time and met with him… he figures, I’ll run into you before anyone else…” he said with a laugh as he turned on the hot water.

He paused and looked over at his mate. “Things are going to be crazy for the next couple of weeks… we don’t know how the public is going to react… and then there’s this between us… that’s going to bring about a whole different set of issues…” he sighed softly. “Just promise me you aren’t going to do anything reckless…” he sounded serious, but through their bond Lotor would probably feel the fear he was feeling too. Come tomorrow, Lotor was going to be a celebrity… and even though Gabe knew Lotor could take care of himself, he still worried.

Gabe sighed softly and nodded. He was relieved, still feeling a bit silly for asking Lotor of all people to be careful but… he returned from his phone call took his seat again. “You do Tumblr. Of course you do.” He said with a teasing smile and a slight shake of his head as he returned to finishing his food. He glanced up between bites to read some of the posts and comments Anna projected on the walls. He laughed with Lotor, enjoying the happy side of this whole thing. Obviously the internet could be rather cruel, and he just hoped to avoid any and all of those kind of comments for a while, ideally forever… He could just imagine the hell announcing their relationship would bring… it would smooth over eventually… but… he didn’t want to think about that for now.

They finished their dinner and Lotor kicked him out of the kitchen since he cooked. He appreciated the gesture, and not just because his back was aching. He studied Lotor’s back as he washed the dishes, stripping his naked with just his eyes. “Hmmm?” he looked up to catch the playful glint in Lotor’s eye. “You said it was your turn to be tied up. How, pray tell, is you ‘putting on a show’ the same as being tied up? Hmmm?” he asked, teasingly. He watched Lotor approach him, like a predator eyeing its prey. He tilted his chin up and angled his head so he could kiss Lotor properly. He moaned softly into the kiss, reaching out to place his hands on Lotor’s hips. “What kind of show were you thinking?” he asked, breathlessly, when the kiss broke. His eyes were playful as he slowly licked his bottom lip, still looking up at Lotor, exposing the entire length of his neck in the process.