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 Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 11:06 pm
Practice Kaleb stood in the middle of one of the large practice arenas at the Shinra office building, idly chewing on his lower lip. He had one of the large shadow creatures trapped and shielded in front of him, the large monster pacing around in the bubble that contained it and kept it from coalescing into shadows. The mage had kept it there for a long time now, but his heart had stopped racing, and his legs had stopped shaking, so he figured it was worth the time spent not practicing his advanced spells.
After having to sit in on a meeting and listen to old men droning on and on about things he didn't give a damn about he headed for the gym. Rude was still hanging around with Rufus so he needed to kill some time and get rid of some energy. When he'd noticed Kaleb and the trapped Shadow Creeper he laughed. "So we're making bubble pets now?"
Kaleb jumped a bit when Reno came in, but then he smiled. "I-I was just getting used to it," he explained. "I'm not as afraid as I was last time." Even with that said, he hastily took a step away from the shielded creature when it suddenly growled at Reno's presence.
"Ya still look jumpy to me." He walked over to the bubble and tapped it with one hand. The creature inside snarled at him and tried to take a swipe at him with one paw. "So ya just gonna stare at it?"
Kaleb blushed a bit and frowned. Just because he was still a little afraid of the thing didn't mean there wasn't any improvement. "I was doing other things with it before you got here," he said, crossing his arms. To demonstrate what he had learned while playing around, he dropped the shield to the ground so the creature could dissolve into a shadow on the floor. It would have slipped through the shield in that form, if the healer hadn't quickly added another weave to his shield, one that cast a bright light on the floor and made it impossible for the shadows to pass through.
He raised his brow and looked what at Kaleb had done. "Tha's cool." He hadn't seen anything like that before so he'd have to ask the scientists if they'd thought of it next time he was down there.
Kaleb practically beamed at the praise. He turned back to his shields and manipulated the light weave so that it slowly constricted. This made an increasingly smaller floor area available for the beast to lurk on, until it went back to it's physical form simply to escape the light. At that point Kaleb hoisted the main shield back up into the air and used it to place the creature back into it's cage.
"... yer putting it back?" He eyed the thing in the cage. "Suppose to get rid of it ya know." He'd always killed them, all of them did, hell the scientists killed them, so why bother putting it back in the cage.
Kaleb blinked, and then he blushed. "I-I c-can't..." he didn't even want to think about killing the thing, he didn't have the desire or nerve to go through with something like that. A white mage like himself was supposed to heal, not hurt.
"Why not? It's a monster." he shrugged. He'd killed enough of the things to stop thinking about it besides if you didn't kill it then it would just kill something else.
Kaleb just shook his head quickly and fidgeted in a very anxious manner. He just couldn't do it, regardless of what arguments Reno gave.
"So ...." He grinned as he tapped his e-mag on his shoulder. "Shall we play then?" Kaleb was fast enough that he could have some fun before he knocked the kid flat. Besdies, Riley was stuck doing grunt work for Tseng so it wasn't like he was going to come in here and complain about him roughing up his partner.
Kaleb grinned and nodded at the unexpected invitation, completely forgetting about his earlier discomfort. He stepped away from the creature in the cage, and readied himself for Reno's first attack.
"This time try not to break my e-man kay?" He tilted his head before he launched himself at Kaleb. He was better at hand-to-hand anyway so he might as well use his advantage.
Kaleb didn't have time to nod before he had to raise an arm to block the first lunge, but he didn't stop grinning. He would be faster this time. Using both hands to direct shields, he blocked or deflected the swings that he couldn't dodge with a duck or sidestep, and occasionally he attempted to get in past Reno's guard to force him backwards and away from taking a direct offense.
At least Kaleb had gotten better. The kid was fast but not as strong as Reno so he had a slight advantage there. He at one point noticed Riley come in but since he stayed by the door he didn't pay it much mind. Maybe the new Turk could learn something if he watched them.
Even though he could match Reno's speed for the most part and avoid any serious harm, he was focused too much on keeping it up to notice his partner enter. He blocked Reno without a single mistake for awhile longer before finally catching sight of Riley standing near the door. The distraction made him pause, and he wouldn't have time to block Reno's next attack even if he did see it coming.
He took the opportunity as it presented itself and jammed the e-mag against Kaleb's ribs before flipping it on. He didn't turn it on high enough to damage Kaleb's heart but it would defiantly knock the wind out of him and probably make him twitch slightly.
Everything had looked fine for a while. It didn't look like anything other than a normal little game and he'd thought Reno knew that Kaleb wouldn't be able to keep up with him.
When Reno hit Kaleb with the e-mag his eyes widened and he stared at the other Turk for a moment. "RENO! You're going to kill him with that thing!"
Kaleb barely had time to squeak in surprise before he found himself on the ground trying to catch his breath. It hadn't been as bad as the first time he was hit with an e-mag, but it was painful, and it irritated the mage that it was the same place he had been hit earlier. He was surprised further when Riley began yelling, and he would have told his partner it was okay if he could only get some air into his lungs.
"Oh come on now. He's not that delicate. Sides, i didn't hit him with the voltage i use on you"
"You knocked him flat!" He stalked across the room so he could hopefully grab Reno's collar. "Aren't suppose to do that to him. He's not built for hand to hand."
Kaleb struggled to his feet and moved to stop Riley from hurting Reno, since he certainly looked angry enough. Unfortunatly he kind of stumbled into his partner rather than simply reaching out to touch his arm like he intended. "Riley, I-I'm okay, really," he insisted in a nervous voice. "I-I know I'm not so good at it yet, b-but th-that's why I'm practicing." The mage offered Riley a smile, hoping it would calm him somewhat.
"I've knocked you flat plenty of times." He shrugged. He wasn't afraid of Riley hurting him since the two were pretty evenly matched.
He tugged Kaleb slightly behind him. "Yer not okay .. yer still twitching." He'd felt Kaleb's muscles still contracting when he'd grabbed his arm. "If yer gonna practice with him then tell him to leave that thing off"
Kaleb yelped as he was tugged, even the slight pull was almost enough to throw off his balance since his muscles weren't working as well as they should have. "I am okay, and I don't care if he uses it," he said, more firmly than the first time. Well, he would rather be knocked down by something that didn't hurt so badly, but he figured that was the price of messing up.
He raised a brow at Riley and laughed. "If ya aren't careful he's gonna catch on." He shook Riley's hand off him and tapped the other red-head with his e-mag.
He glared at Reno as he was tapped. "Go beat up on your own partner. Oh wait .. he's the one that beats on you."
Kaleb huffed, Riley obviously wasn't listening to him. He gave his partner a miserable shove, and then turned around to stalk off and find something better to do than listen to the redheads argue. He got two steps before a particularly bad muscle spasm ran through him, and left him lying flat on his face in a grumpy heap on the floor.
He laughed and headed for the door. "Yea but i let you try to knock me around too. Gotta remember that"
He huffed at Reno before noticing Kaleb had fallen over. Ignoring the other red-head he skurried over to Kaleb and knelt down beside him. "You okay?" He didn't want Kaleb to have been hurt by Reno.
"I said so earlier but you weren't listening, were you." Kaleb said with a huff, carefully shifting into a sitting position. His ribs hurt when he moved or tried to breathe, and he probably shouldn't have gotten up so fast, but there was no helping that now. Once sitting upright, he crossed his arms and glanced at his partner with an almost accusatory expression.
"You shouldn't let him do that. What if his hand slips and you end up getting a letheal shock?" Yea Reno was good but it wouldn't be nice if it happened.
"Then I'd fix it before it killed me." Kaleb said, still irritated. Reno probably wouldn't play with him after this, not if Riley had any say in the matter, and Riley probably wouldn't practice with him because he wouldn't want to hurt him. He would probably have to go back to working on his shields on his own, and that made him both frustrated and miserable.
"if yer dead you can't fix it." He huffed. "If you want someone to practice with ask me. I'll keep my gloves off." he could do plenty of damage with just his hands so that shouldn't be a problem.
"Really? You'll practice with me?" Kaleb asked, all his irritation gone and replaced with a delighted smile. He sat up straighter, even though that made his ribs hurt just a bit more.
"Yea. Go put some ice on your ribs or something, that s**t had to have hurt." He knew getting jammed anywhere by those e-mags hurt.
Kaleb nodded, but it was a quick an distracted nod. It hurt, yes, and he should go put ice on it, but he had more important things to deal with. "You'll practice with me today?" He asked hopefully, fidgeting a bit in eager delight.
"Not until after you've put ice on your ribs .. or healed them yourself." There'd be no point in it if Kaleb started hurting in the middle. You couldn't keep up your best form when you were in pain.
Kaleb's bright smile returned with a quick nod, and he scrambled to his feet and started heading towards the lounge where he knew he could find ice. He barely winced as he moved around, pain was something he was good at ignoring if he had to.
He followed after Kaleb to make sure he actually put ice on his ribs. Since Kaleb didn't listen about food he was worried he wouldn't listen about ice too.
The little healer left the gym in a hurry and practically bounced through the door to the lounge, already opening the freezer and pulling out the icepack before the lounge door banged closed behind him. He wrapped the icepack in a towel and then flopped down in a chair to wait for Riley with the soothing icepack on his injured ribs.
He pushed open the door and looked around for Kaleb before heading in his direction. "Aren't you a little happy for being in pain? Yer not a masochist are you?"
Kaleb shook his head, looking a little taken aback that Riley had to ask such a thing. "I-I'm just happy you'll practice with me. I really enjoy it, and I didn't have anyone at all to practice with before Reno offered."
"Ahh." He flopped down in a chair. "Good. I'd have to worry if you liked getting hurt or somethin" With Kaleb being innocent and all he really would have been forced to rethink things if Kaleb liked things like that.
"How could I like something if it hurts?" Kaleb asked, trying not to fidget and make his ribs ache. He was starting to get a little impatient, and he even thought about just healing the injury so he could play with Riley for awhile.
"Don't know but there are people who like it like that." He tried not to think about Reno and Rufus having a conversation about it being a little better when it hurt slightly. "I'd just rather not hurt"
Kaleb nodded in agreement, pain-free was a much better state to be in. He sat quietly for only a second or two. "So we can go back and practice in a few minutes?"
"Yer gonna leave that ice on there for at least twenty minuets." If Kaleb ended up with a nasty bruise and hurt more than today he'd hurt Reno for it. Damn red-head should know better.
Kaleb nodded as regretfully as a child denied playtime. "It's hard to wait that long," he said, fidgeting.
"Well then you shouldn't have let Reno practice with you and get hurt." He grinned at Kaleb and leaned back in the chair. "Not gonna practice with you if yer hurt"
Kaleb huffed. "I was doing fine until I got distracted. Besides, if I hadn't gotten hurt, you wouldn't have offered to practice with me anyway." He reached out to trace invisible patterns on the chair arm with one finger, not looking in Riley's direction.
"Didn't know you practiced er anything. Thought you just did healing and shielding stuff." Generally an offensive person didn't practice against a defensive one.
"You need to practice to get good at healing and shielding," Kaleb said, glancing up for a second before continuing in a quieter tone. "A lot of mages aren't very dynamic in their shielding, they aren't good at reacting fast and creating small shields to hold off immediate danger until they have the time to construct something stronger. I practice so I'll be ready for anything."
He thought about that for a minuet. "That makes sense. Makes you more useful than your average back up mage too." He grinned at Kaleb.
Kaleb smiled and nodded, glad his partner could see the benefit of him working beyond the traditional limitations of his class. "So, can we go practice now?" He asked quickly, glancing up at the clock.
He eyed the clock and got up. "I guess i can forgive you five minuets. Put the ice pack up and meet me in the gym."
Kaleb's smile brightened into a grin, and he hopped up out of the chair to return the icepack. He did wince a bit as he stood and got moving again, but it didn't stop him from looking enthusiastic and eager to practice again.
He headed for the gym so he could at least stretch for a moment before Kaleb joined him. He took off his jacket and tossed it on a bench. It was easier
The mage didn't take long, he practically bounced back into the gym with an eager grin on his face. "Do you use materia like Reno does sometimes?" He asked, even though information like that would spoil any surprises, he was too excited not to ask about things like that.
"You'll find that out if i throw stuff at you." He grinned as he straightened his gloves. He could use materia just fine, actually probably better than Reno, but Kaleb didn't need to know that.
Kaleb grinned more, if that was even possible, and seemed to twitch with excitement as he waited for Riley to make the first move. Even the ache in his side didn't seem to lower his enthusiasm.
Having been 'raised' in the labs and having been exposed to Mako his whole life he'd gotten rather good at using Materia. Grinning he quietly and carefully sent a combination of an eathquake spell, lightning, and aero at Kaleb.
It was the quality of Riley's grin that first tipped off the healer, and the moment he detected the magic he channeled the energy for his own. A float spell to put him out of range of the earth-based spell, a shield that cut through the aero like a scythe, and then an element which grounded the electricity.
Making note of what Kaleb did to the spells he switched Materia and tried one of the gravity based spells. He knew Reno generally just let spells go but he'd learned how to manipulate them slightly. Using a gravity based spell he wrapped it around Kaleb and instead of letting it run on its own he kept his grip on the spell. That way if Kaleb put any sort of shield under the spell he could force that shield back against Kaleb until he had to either dissolve the shield or get squished buy his own spell.
That level of magical control was certainly not what Kaleb expected, and the sudden pressure and inescapable dilemma made him grin with delight. He did exactly what Riley was trying to prevent, and wove a shield underneith the gravity magic. Then he opened himself up to channel an increasingly large amount of energy and used it to force his shield outward, to directly fight the pressure of his partner's spell.
Raising a brow he dissolved the base level gravity spell and switched to a more powerful one. This spell was made to absorbed whatever was under it and continue on it's inward path.
Kaleb just grinned at Riley's expression. He didn't change his strategy to face the higher level spell, although he had to put even more energy into solidifying his shield, and making it dense enough to resist Riley's magic.
He raised a brow and snapped the spell off. He was curious to see if Kaleb could just blank out his shield without it expanding at the sudden loss of pressure against it.
The shield did swell outward at the sudden release of pressure, but it didn't get very far before Kaleb simply stopped the channeling and dissolved it. He smiled eagerly back at Riley, waiting for the next attack. Riley's gravity magic had put more strain on his own stamina than any of his practices with Reno, but it would still be awhile before he exhausted himself unless he had to use his strongest shields.
Kaleb shields were to damn useful for their own good. Taking step forward he launched himself at Kaleb. If he could get his hands on the mage then his magic would work far better.
Kaleb took a step backwards, but if Riley wasn't careful he'd run head-first into a near-invisible barrier. That in itself would be amusing, the mage thought, but if he could get Riley down on the ground, he figured it was fair game for a binding spell. It wasn't impossible for his partner to get past the barrier, it only covered a small rectangular area at roughly head height, so Riley could simply duck it if he noticed in time. Then he'd have to notice the smaller tripwire placed a mere foot beyond the barrier.
He noticed the barrier just before he hit it and stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't notice the tripwire but with a barrier like that then there had to be another trick. He reached up and tapped the barrier while looking at Kaleb.
The tapping made a soft c***k noise, like tapping on fine crystal. The small mage just grinned. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone stop that fast before," he said in a light tone, but even that amusing exercise told him a fair bit about Riley's close-range fighting skills. He was probably faster than Reno, so it would be wise for Kaleb to keep him at a distance if possible.
eying the place where the small barrier was he sent out a scan spell to see if there was anything else in place around him. Kaleb would probably get how fast he was now so he would have to be able to make sure he didn't step on anything that the little mage used to keep him away.
Unfortunatly Kaleb hadn't been able to come up with a spell to scramble scans, since illusion-based magic wasn't his strong point, otherwise he would have used it in this case. Since he had lost the element of suprise, he simply dissolved his traps and waited for Riley to come at him again.
Seeing the traps disappear he launched himself at Kaleb again. He was almost glad that he could sense magic even if it did make him tingle in ways he didn't like. Hopefully he could get around Kaleb's magic before he ended up glued to the floor. Having to listen to Reno retell that story made him hope it didn't happen.
The moment he felt the scan spell fade, Kaleb threw back up the small barrier and tripline. Usually anyone who knew what they were doing wouldn't make the same mistake twice, but he was curious, and the barrier hadn't exactly been a mistake in the first place. He wanted to see if Riley would catch it the second time, since he probably wouldn't be expecting it.
His nose barely touched the barrier before he stopped. The soles on the boots had wonderful traction and meant he could stop on a dime. "Dirty trick to use twice in a row."
"I was curious," Kaleb admitted with a sheepish smile, and then let go of the weave so the barrier disappeared. He left the tripline in place though. He was still curious.
He remembered the trip line from last time and didn't move. He didn't want to know whatever it was that it could do to him.
Kaleb chewed on his lower lip and fidgeted slightly, but it was obvious Riley wasn't going to do anything. With a small sigh, he conjured another tripline immediately behind his partner's heels and gave him a hard shove with an air-based spell.
"s**t!" He felt the trip line behind him when he hit it and fell over. That was defiantly cheating somehow. He hit the ground and rolled over so he could jump back up. He didn't want to get stuck to the floor.
"You shouldn't just stand around, it makes you an easy target." Kaleb said, only half serious. He often did nothing but stand around in these kinds of practices, but his shields were good enough to give him that luxury. He felt kind of bad for pushing his partner around, so he told himself he'd be good and let Riley get close. Maybe he'd be able to handle his speed, but if not he could always try to regain the distance.
"Shouldn't push people over." He stayed low to the ground so he could feel for more trip lines and launched himself at Kaleb's legs. He could get close to the other and hopefully pull him down with him.
Kaleb danced backwards, but not fast enough to completely avoid Riley's lunge. No amount of flailing could prevent him from falling back with one foot trapped, and he landed hard on his tailbone when he went down. But his partner was also on the ground. Kaleb quickly prepared two spells, the first of which would block Riley's ability to use magic while he was on the ground, within reach, and very vulnerable. That one could be cast immediately, but the second would take a bit longer.
He didn't care much about being able to use magic. He had his hands on Kaleb now and that was much easier. He wrapped one hand around one of Kaleb's ankles to drag him closer. He could easily pin him to the floor and hopefully his grip would be good enough to keep Kaleb from pushing him off.
The tug on his ankle broke his concentration, and Kaleb was just too weak and scrawny to escape Riley's grasp or resist being pulled towards his partner. He had to start his spell preparation over again, hopefully he would have enough time to complete the magic.
With his hand on Kaleb he could feel the other trying to do something and had to think quick about how to break his concentration without hurting him. Crawling over Kaleb he leaned down and licked the other's muzzle.
Reno choose that moment to walk in to see how the two were doing. Without being able to see the magic and with Riley over Kaleb as he was his mind went to one conclusion. "I thought you boys were suppose to be practicing fighting, not making out"
Kaleb was starting to get more edgy the closer Riley got, but he hadn't expected the lick. It certainly had the desired effect. He let go of channeling energy entirely, and blushed brightly as he looked up at Riley with a surprised expression. His blush only got worse when Reno spoke up, but he didn't struggle to get away.
He didn't let go of Kaleb or move back but one of his ears did move in the direction of Reno. "Not making out .... distracting him so he stops with the magic crap." He spoke to the other red-head but he kept most of his attention on Kaleb incase the other tried something while he wasn't paying attention.
"Sure looks close enough of making out." He laughed as he closed the door behind him. "Sure ya just didn't want to get a taste of him?"
Kaleb did start struggling then, attempting to wiggle out of his partner's grasp. He didn't even think to use his magic at that point, he was just too flustered to manage it.
His cheeks turned pink and he let Kaleb go. Sitting up he glared at Reno. "It's just you who wants to get a taste of him"
"Wants? Nah, i've already gotten it." He walked over and looked down at Riley and Kaleb.
His eyes widened at Reno's words. The other red-head had a few seconds before Riley tackled his legs hoping to bring the other down with him.
Once Riley had let him go, Kaleb was able to regain some composure, but only until Reno spoke up again. Then he blushed and fidgeted ineffectually for a bit before scrambling up. "Riley, don't!" he said, attempting to carefully shove the two Turks away from each other with an air spell. He thought Reno was reffering to the kisses, and they weren't that big of a deal, not enough that he would have to be hurt for it.
He growled slightly and tried to get at Reno even though the spell. "He deserves it!"
"Aww .... jealous that i got my hands on your partner and you haven't? Poor Riley." He laughed as he was completely unfazed about being tackled.
Kaleb was rarely ever assertive, but this was as good a time for it as any. "Reno, can you please give us a moment?" He said, giving the redhead a small magical push in the direction of the gym doors. He still held Riley back, and would keep the spell up as long as Reno was in the room.
"Might want to get a leash for him." He got up and snickered. "Don't you worry Riley. I'll tell ya all about it later" He sauntered out of the room before he could hear Riley's reply.
Kaleb frowned as Reno left, resisting the urge to give him another shove out the door. And maybe leave a tripline on the other side for harassing his partner. With a nervous little sigh he turned to Riley and let go of the spell holding him back. "Riley, I-I'm sorry..." he said, after a short silence full of nervous fidgeting.
He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't let him to s**t like that. He's just trouble, and just playing with you." He didn't look at all pleased to have heard any of that and he certinally wouldn't be pleased later when Reno explained things he didn't want to hear
Kaleb seemed to wilt under Riley's disapproving look. "I-it was fair enough, he did me a favour a-and I didn't know how to repay him, a-and h-he asked for a kiss..." He fidgeted, not quite able to look up to meet Riley's eyes.
"You give him kisses for favors?!?!" He stared at Kaleb. That so wasn't right. "He's just using you ya know. Probably cause you blush all the time."
Kaleb blushed. He didn't know what to say, so he just took the scolding with a timid downward glance and a bit of hand wringing. Riley hadn't been his partner when he kissed Reno, so how was he to know the other would be so displeased?
"Just... just don't do it anymore." He shook his head trying to get the thought of Reno kissing Kaleb out of his head. "He's enough of a ho already, don't need you encouraging him"
Kaleb nodded timidly, still looking down at his fidgeting hands. "I-I won't." He finally said in a quiet voice. The mage didn't want his partner to be mad at him, not after disappointing him on that first day for not being a fighter, inconveniencing him with his nightmares, and triggering his odd obsessions with his small appetite. After biting his lip for a bit, he hesitantly glanced up at Riley. "Are you... jealous?"
His cheeks turned pink and his back stiffened. "N-no.... just don't want Reno playing with you." Reno played with everyone but poor little Kaleb could get hurt. Even if it wasn't his business he would still worry about his partner.
Kaleb had glanced back down at his hands, but not without missing Riley's reaction to his question. "I-I won't let Reno play with me," he promised, wondering if his partner really was jealous, or if it was just some kind of posessive partner thing. He liked to think Riley was concerned about him, and that's why he was so insistent on keeping him away from Reno.
"Good." He huffed slightly and tried to make the heat in his cheeks go away. Nope, certinally not jealous that Reno had gotten to touch Kaleb.
Kaleb fidgeted for a bit longer, trying to figure out exactly what his partner's expression ment. Best to cover all the bases though. Before he could lose his nerve, he closed the distance between Riley and himself. Then he leaned up to kiss his partner on the lips, the same way he had kissed Reno in the parking garage.
He was completely still for a moment before he scrambled back away from Kaleb. His face was completely red as he stared at the smaller audio. What had that been for? "Umm ..... I .... you...."
Kaleb immediately started to feel like that had been the wrong thing to do, obviously Riley hadn't liked it since he pulled away so fast. "I-I d-didn't want you to be jealous, because you're my partner, a-and I... I'm glad you care about me." He fidgeted worse than before, and looked down at his feet. "A-and now we're even for the french fries."
"French fri.... on .. yea.." He shook his head and tried to get his brain to work right. Kaleb wasn't suppose to be kissing him, he wasn't suppose to be kissing anyone for that matter, and certinally not kissing him in the gym.
Kaleb was too anxious to handle Riley's awkward words and silences, and he had to concentrate just to keep from biting his thumbnail down to where it became painful. "I-I sh-should go," he stammered weakly, "I-I th-think the fall jarred my ribs, I-I should ice them again..." He turned around and quickly moved towards the gym door.
"Yea .... ice is good." He crawled to his feet. "Should take a shower." A long cold, very cold, shower. That way he wouldn't think about anything he wasn't suppose to and hopefully wouldn't kill Reno later.
Kaleb left without another word, miserably heading to the lounge and getting out that icepack before curling up in one of the chairs to calm his thoughts. He had definitely done something wrong, and he had no idea how to fix things between himself and his partner.
He headed for the shower and after threw himself into a very very cold one. He could cool his head and hopefully he wouldn't have to see Kaleb for the rest of the day and if he was really lucky he'd not have to see Reno either. He didn't think he could take the other red-head talking about his partner.
After a few minutes of sitting around in an anxious mess, he returned the icepack to the freezer and portalled himself back to his apartment. He had ice there as well, and could distract himself with a book before the stress made his stomach hurt.
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Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 11:10 pm
Fighting with the Others Comming into Reno's office to find Tseng and Rude holding him and Riley apart was a rather interesting way to end a meeting. The two red-heads were hissing and growling at each other and it actually seemed like the other two were having a problem holding them apart.
"Reno! Riley!" He snapped after a moment. The two looked at him and went slack in the arms holding them. Neither of the boys looked like they were in good shape. "I'll ask questions later." Flipping his phone open he called Kaleb. One of the two of them probably had enough cuts and bruises to kill a normal person.
Kaleb responded to the phone call in his usual manner, on the third or fourth ring after tripping over a stack or two of books on his way to grab the phone. "Hello?" he said, sitting down and rubbing his shin where he banged it against the coffee table in his hurry.
"It seems that Reno and Riley have decided to try to take each other's heads off. I need you to come patch them back together." In the background the two red-heads had started to bark obscenities at each other again.
"I-I'll be there in just a second," Kaleb said, wearing a worried expression as he hung up and stuck the phone in his pocket. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Riley since that incident earlier, and he was more than a little afraid of having to finally go back and see him again. Despite his nerves he conjured his usual glowing portal to Rufus' office, and stepped through.
"Ahh, there you are" He grinned as he ignored the other two who were still cursing and growling at each other.
Reno noticed Kaleb after a moment and laughed. "There ya go .... little mage come to save us all" He rolled his eyes and slackened in Tseng's grip.
When Reno spoke his head snapped around and he looked at Kaleb. s**t, he'd been caught again fighting about him.
Kaleb went about his healing without a word, keeping his nervous expression directed downwards. He had no idea what to make of the situation, or of Reno's words, but he could only guess the fight had something to do with him. He went to Riley first, carefully healing all the cuts, bruises, and the more serious injuries he would rather not think about, before turning and doing the same for Reno.
He looked at Riley while Reno was being healed. "When i let you go you are going to stand still. If you attack Reno again, and no i do not care what he says, i will throw you back into the labs for a week"
He nodded after a minuet and eventually Rude let him go. He really shouldn't have been trying to kill Reno but he was such a jackass. He'd gone out of his way to poke and prod Kaleb and recounting things that Riley defiantly didn't want to hear.
Once he finished healing Reno, Kaleb stepped away from the two redheads to fidget nervously. "I-is that all?" he asked timidly, hoping Rufus or Tseng would let him know if there was more he should stick around for. He wanted to tell Riley to be careful, so he didn't have to get hurt fighting Reno. The idea of Tseng sending him to the labs also scared him, after hearing about the people and creatures down there, and it made him anxious to think Riley had already been down there for whatever reason.
"Actually yes there is." He smirked. "I have a job for all of you." Motioning for them to follow him he headed into his office and pulled a file off his desk. "I have a need of some ... demolition to be done."
He took the folder and smirked after seeing what was inside it. "Easily done. Rude can handle the explosives while the others deal with those in the building"
He fidgeted himself slightly as he listened. He knew Rude was good with explosives but if they were doing something like that it could get nasty.
Kaleb didn't like Rufus' choice of words for the job, but he didn't really have much of a choice. Besides, he felt like the previous job had been easier now that he had a partner to count on. He glanced over at Riley as the others spoke, feeling anxious about that incident in the gym all over again.
"When are we leaving?" If he thought about the job then he wouldn't have to think about other things.
"Tonight. The building needs to be taken down by noon tomorrow. There shouldn't be much resistance. Perhaps a small crew of guards there."
Kaleb fidgeted a bit. If they were going tonight, it would be best for him to skip his usual practicing so he wouldn't have to worry about exhausting himself or trying to cast too much. He would wait until Rufus had finished giving the details of the mission, before asking exactly what time he should be back at the office and ready to leave.
"Return here around six." He turned to look at Kaleb. "Be ready to leave when you get here." Tseng would have to make a few arrangements before they were ready to leave so Kaleb had time.
"H-how long will it take?" Kaleb asked hesitantly. He would probably grab something to eat before he left, but if it was going to be a late night it would be wise for him to take a nap as well.
"You should be back in less than twenty four hours." The demolition shouldn't take too long and they could come home as soon as they were finished.
Kaleb nodded, it definitely sounded like he would need a nap before returning to the office at 6. "I-if there's nothing else you need me for now, I'll go home and get ready." He said, adjusting his glasses nervously.
"That is all i need. I think i can handle the two of them for now"
Kaleb nodded, and quickly summoned up a portal to take him home and away from the awkwardness. The first item on his agenda was that nap, and after curling up on the couch for a couple hours, he got up and had a small dinner before getting changed. Once he had fought with his tie for awhile, he portalled back to the office on time to leave.
As soon as Kaleb appeared Reno shuffled them all into the chopper. It was slightly awkward with Reno and Riley sitting as far away from each other as they could while Tseng and Rude went over things in the cockpit. It seemed that neither red-head wished to speak to the other.
Kaleb felt miserable in the silence, since he distinctly got the impression the uncomfortable hostility and lack of conversation was his fault. He hadn't known kissing Reno would cause so much trouble, otherwise he wouldn't have agreed to it in the first place.
He leaned against the window and pressed his muzzle to it. The glass stayed cold this high up so it was a good distraction. That way he didn't have to think about Kaleb or think about Kaleb kissing Reno or think about Reno. No wait, he was suppose to not be thinking about that.
Kaleb glanced over at Riley, wanting to say something, but he had no idea what to say. He looked back down at his hands before his partner would notice he had been looking at him. He sighed a bit and hoped the helicopter ride would be over soon.
Sadly they'd be in the chopper for a while so Kaleb and Riley would both be stuck feeling awkward.
Kaleb sat miserable for a bit, since he couldn't help but think about the unpleasant situation. Reno just couldn't help getting on Riley's nerves, and Riley just coudn't help taking the other too seriously and going after him. And somehow Kaleb seemed to trigger the event, and then he had to clean up the mess afterwards. And he was still suffering over it. He began to feel a little irritated, why couldn't they just work things out reasonably instead of beating each other up?
He still wanted to hurt Reno more. The damn b*****d had gotten his hands where he didn't need to get them and he shouldn't have done that with Kaleb. Not since he had Reno, and probably Rufus and Tseng when he wanted, and Kaleb was so innocent.
Kaleb fumed inwardly for only a little longer before channeling a small amount of energy, and smacking both Reno and Riley upside the head with a curl of air magic. It wasn't enough to leave any injury or hurt longer than it would take to get to their destination, but it would certainly get their attention. "Why can't you two just talk like normal people instead of beating each other up?" He said angrily, not really interested in an answer.
"s**t." He reached up and rubbed at his head. "Don't gotta get on me. He's the one who started it."
"I did not! You had to open your mouth." He snapped at the other as he ignored his head. It was all Reno's fault since he couldn't keep his hands to himself or his mouth closed.
"I don't care who started it!" Kaleb snapped back. It wasn't important how it got started, the mage just knew that it ended with both of them needing healing, and it was a completely unnecessary fight to begin with. It was one thing to heal them if they had been hurt on the job, but it was something else entirely when they did it to each other. With an angry and miserable huff, Kaleb just turned away from both of them, not interested in what they had to say on the matter.
"See what you did? Got your partner all huffy. You should treat him better than that." He was still baiting Riley while he could. He knew the other knew better than to try anything in the chopper.
He growled at Reno. "Shut it you ...." He didn't want to hear anymore. They'd made Kaleb huffy and, well he was cute when huffy, and he shouldn't be thinking that. Shaking his head he looked out the window again.
If Kaleb had been listening, he would have smacked Reno with his magic again. He had firmly focused his attention away from the two redheads, and was now irritably staring out one window waiting for the helicopter to finally get to where they were headed.
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Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 11:13 pm
Mission 2 They did get to their destination eventually but not after at least another hour of silence. Rude left the chopper on the roof of a neighboring building.
Once everyone was out Tseng straightened his tie and looked at them all. "Riley and Kaleb will be responsible for clearing out the building. The guards should only be on the first floor. Rude you and Reno will be responsible for placing the charges.
Kaleb felt less irritable even the moment he hopped out of the chopper, but he couldn't be sure if it was the fresh air, moving around, or simply change in scenery that did it. He didn't say anything though, he simply nodded when Tseng told him and Riley what they would be doing, and then glanced up at his partner, ready to follow.
"You've got twenty minuets before the charges go off." He nodded at Riley.
"Right." Grabbing Kaleb he headed for the emergency stairs on the building. He could get rid of everyone in there in twenty minuets.
Kaleb squeaked a bit as he was grabbed, but he picked up his pace to catch up so Riley could let go without worrying about leaving him behind or something. Twenty minutes wasn't a long time, really, and that thought made him move just a bit faster. He wondered how they were going to go about clearing the building, but at least Riley seemed to know what he was doing.
"Umm ... you might want to stay back." He looked over his shoulder at Kaleb. "People are going to die." He knew Kaleb didn't like people getting hurt so he really wouldn't like people dying.
Kaleb stopped dead in his tracks for a second, and then nearly tripped as he tried to catch up again. "Wh-what?" he asked, sounding quite shocked and horrified. "Wh-what do you mean? Y-you're not going to..." The little mage just trailed off, hoping he had just gotten confused.
"Yes. I mean i'm going to kill people." He sighed. They were Turks. That's what they did when they had to. "You don't have to watch if you don't want but i assure you that me stopping their hearts is going to be a lot less painful for them than being crushed by a building"
Kaleb was speechless for a minute. "A-are you sure there's no way to save them?" he asked, his voice almost despairing. He was a healer, his job wasn't to kill people or simply stand by and let them be killed, and yet under his current employment there wasn't much he could do. It broke his heart knowing that there were people he could save, but wasn't allowed to.
"Sure. If you want them coming after us and trying to break into the building and Rufus tossing them to the Shadow Creepers for dinner." He stopped beside their targeted building and peeked into the doors to see if anyone was in the lobby.
Kaleb bit his lower lip, and avoided looking at Riley. It wasn't like he wanted this job, and his partner's answer just reminded him more firmly that he wasn't cut out for this kind of thing. It hurt, the way Riley said it, and the mage couldn't help but think he must still be angry at him. He didn't say another word after that.
He turned and looked at Kaleb. "Sorry .... i can't do anything about it though. Come on. Just, like, don't watch or something. Pretend they're asleep." He opened the door and slid into the building. They'd all die fast at least. His shock would make sure of that.
Kaleb still didn't look up or say anything, but he nodded weakly. He followed a couple steps behind his partner as they entered the building, and although he didn't want to be where Riley was killing people, he didn't want to be left behind either. He could clearly remember Reno saying he would have left the mage behind if he needed to.
He shoved Kaleb beside the reception desk as he saw someone come around a corner. Jumping on the other he sent a shock through their body and let them slump two the floor. That was one. Nine more to go if their information was right. "come on .... the others are back further"
Kaleb honestly didn't want to go any further in, not when he knew that he would only have to listen to more dead bodies hitting the ground. He couldn't even pretend it was something other than it was, someone who was alive just seconds ago, dead for no other reason than because they got scheduled for an unlucky shift. He trembled a bit, but he followed quickly. They only had 20 minutes before the building came down on top of them.
He headed in further, leaving Kaleb behind slightly, as he searched for the other nine people who should have been on duty. As he found them he did away with them and left their bodies where they fell. Kaleb would be alright somehow. Maybe if he didn't look at them then he could pretend something else.
Kaleb's shaking just got worse as they moved inward, and even if he didn't see the guard die or hear them fall to the floor, he still had to walk past them, or step over them. They were still warm, and well within his magic's reach for bringing them back, but that just made it harder to bear.
He'd gotten nine of them and couldn't find the tenth guard. "Damn it ..." He needed to find the b*****d so they could get out of the place. The last thing he wanted to hear was the building cracking about him.
Kaleb was quick to pick up on his partner's feelings, and it only added to his own distress. He glanced down at his watch as he followed Riley through the rooms and hallways, and his eyes widened. "Riley, we don't have much time left," he said anxiously, the first words he had spoken since they first entered the building.
"I know." He tried not to snap at the other. It wasn't Kaleb's fault that he couldn't find the other guard. Looking at his watch he cursed. They didn't even have time to make it back to the door much less to a window to get out of. "Kaleb .... we're about to be in trouble."
Kaleb just looked up at his partner and nodded, wearing the most pathetic 'I'm really scared but I'm going to try to be brave and not panic' expression. "W-where's the closest exit?" he asked, not expecting to actually get out before the explosion. If his shields were strong enough, they just might be able to survive it and get out afterwards.
"The closets exit is too far. We're not going to make it out in time." He looked around trying to remember where the strongest parts of the building were. "I suggest we run and try to get at least hear the edge."
Kaleb nodded, that sounded like their best option. At least he could run pretty fast when he was terrified.
He grabbed Kaleb's arm and started running. They could at least get somewhere. After a moment he heard the first charge go off and winced. The other's followed in succession and the ceiling started to crumble. Grabbing Kaleb he yanked the other against him to keep a ceiling tile from falling on the other
Kaleb yelped loudly as Riley pulled him close, although it was probably barely heard over the growing rumble of the building collapsing above them. He threw up a quick shield to protect them from a rather large chunk of wall support that came crashing down through the weakened ceiling with a force that almost cracked the magical weave.
"s**t." It wasn't nice to be in a building that was falling. Shoving Kaleb aside as another chunk of cement fell he yelped as the rubble scraped along one of his legs and jarked his muscles. "Kaleb .. shield! Now!"
Kaleb nearly panicked, there was too much rubble coming down too fast, and it only seemed to be getting worse. With a frantic tug, he pushed his injured partner down into the closest corner he could find and threw up his strongest shield. The invisible barrier snapped to it's highest density and translucent white appearance a mere half second before the entire roof came down on top of them.
He tried not to hiss as his leg complained. He could feel his pants sticking to his leg which meant he was bleeding. As the building fell against him his mind decided to inform him that he was now stuck somewhere rather small that he couldn't get out of. Covering his mouth with one hand he tried to hide the fact that he was starting to hyperventilate.
Kaleb had problems of his own to deal with, although he was confident his shield could support the weight of the entire building over their heads, he needed to use too much energy to sustain it. He was heating up too fast. By the time the building had stopped rumbling above him, the mage was already starting to breathe heavily. When he opened his eyes to check out the damage, it was almost too dark to see anything. Kaleb found himself sitting half in his partner's lap, with one hand unknowingly on the ground less than an inch away from Riley's wounded leg.
He kept his hand over his muzzle hoping that Kaleb didn't notice how hard he was breathing. It wasn't made any better by how close Kaleb was to him and how the rubble was shifting over them. It would just get smaller and they would be stuck in there for who knows how long and, and oh god he needed to stop thinking. Pain, he could concentrate on the pain in his leg and that would maybe take his mind off being trapped
The mage wiggled out of Riley's lap, he was panting hard now, and his temperature would become uncomfortable soon. "Riley, are you okay?" He asked between nearly gasped breaths. Any other time he would have used his magic to check for injury, but this situation was bad. Ten seconds was his usual limit for this shield, but since he was rested from his nap and hadn't been casting earlier, he could push it farther. He would have to, but using additional energy to look for injury would just drain him faster.
He didn't get much out other than a pathetic whimper. He had wanted to say he was fine but that hadn't worked. He was defiantly far from fine. At least his leg was starting to go numb or at least he was starting to get used to the feeling in his leg. He closed his eyes and tried to pretend they were somewhere safe.
Kaleb knew the whimper wasn't good, but he couldn't spare any magic at that very moment. "Riley, I... I can't hold it much longer..." He said. The energy flowing through him for the shield was uncomfortable, bordering on painful, "I- I have to try letting it go."
"O-okay." His voice cracked as he spoke. He didn't want to think about the building coming down on them or the space getting smaller around them.
Kaleb was about to explain what he was going to attempt so his partner didn't panic, but then he felt something a little wet against his fingertips. He glanced down in the dim light just long enough to see the dark pool of blood spread between Riley's leg and his own fingers. He nearly panicked himself, whimpering as his vision went a little dim around the edges and the shield overhead wavered to let through fine streams of dust. "Riley, y-you're bleeding!"
"Yea ....." He'd been bleeding for a while. He thought it had stopped now, or at least wasn't bleeding as much, but it still hurt like a b***h. "Not that bad .. just a scratch" At least Kaleb hadn't noticed his panicky look yet.
"Y-you're bleeding a lot!" Kaleb said in a terrified voice, forcing his eyes closed before he fainted. If he fainted, the shield would go and they would both be crushed. It was likely the shield would vanish at this rate anyway, he was already starting to burn. Without taking the time to explain what he was doing, he slowly and carefully made the shield shrink around the two of them. The rubble overhead creaked and groaned, but he felt the pressure on the shield let up slightly as the building settled to support itself.
"Not that bad." His voice was still slightly squeaky and the building settling over them wasn't helping any. The space was even smaller now and that defiantly wasn't going to help matters.
"Have you even looked?" Kaleb snapped back in a panicked voice, with his eyes still closed to keep from accidentally looking at it. The energy flowing through him was agony, he had crossed well beyond the threshold for comfortable channeling as he attempted to shrink the shield further while still keeping a firm hold on it. Once he felt the pressure ease up enough, he couldn't bear to hold it any longer. Dissolving the shield sent a cloud of dust and silt falling down on the two of them, and a large pile of concrete and debris did collapse to their left, making the space smaller, but the rubble overhead stayed up.
"Not really my issue right now." He snapped back and winced as the rubble closed off their little space. He was still panting hard and trying not to panic. The space was tiny and he didn't know if their phones would work or ow long it would take the others to dig them out.
Kaleb coughed a bit as the dust settled, every movement sending sharp pain stabbing through him. "I-I'm sorry..." He said weakly, before crawling a bit closer to his partner so he could feel the blood on the ground soaking into the knees of his pants. Riley was right, he was the healer and blood was his problem, so he should fix it. He reached out to place one hand on Riley's leg, it would probably feel almost scalding hot, and channeled some more energy through his already burned body. It felt like liquid fire, but he handled it as deftly as always and healed the injury.
After a second he pulled Kaleb's hands off him. "Stop that before you hurt yourself. It's not that bad." He could deal with his leg bleeding. It would stop soon and he hadn't broken it. If Kaleb got hurt using his magic he'd end up feeling horrible about it.
"It's my job," Kaleb said, managing only a little bite to his words as he finished the healing. He didn't add that he had already hurt himself keeping the shield up, but it would probably be obvious by the way his breathing was laboured and his body felt burning hot to the touch. With a little whimper, the mage let himself tip over to lay on his side next to Riley. He was exhausted, he had never burnt himself so badly with his magic before. "I-I'm sorry I didn't heal you sooner," he whispered from his spot on the ground.
"I said it's not a problem." He leaned back against the rubble and almost curled up into a ball. "It wouldn't'ev killed me." It would take more than a scratch to kill him.
Kaleb didn't reply, it hurt too much for him to draw in more air than strictly required for breathing. He reached up to rub at his eyes, and felt the wet smear of Riley's blood against his cheek. That was too much for the stressed and exhausted healer, and he couldn't avoid just fainting away where he lay.
After a minuet of Kaleb being silent he looked down at him. "K-Kaleb? .. Kaleb?!" Reaching over he shook the other slightly. "Oh ********, don't faint ... wake up. please ...." He started to shake slightly. Now he was stuck in this tiny space with a fainted partner and nothing to take his mind off of how small the area was.
Kaleb was only out for a few minutes, but it probably felt like a lifetime before he stirred slightly, and whimpered again at the pain he found himself in. He was confused and disoriented, and he couldn't help but let out a weak sob as he struggled to put everything together and remember why he was in the small, dark, dusty space with blood on his fingertips.
"Oh god.. you're awake. Don't faint again, please don't faint again." His voice was squeaky and slightly panicky as he spoke to the other. He'd had to clench his hands together to keep himself from trying to shift rubble himself and possibly killing them.
At his partner's panicked tone, Kaleb forced himself to sit up a bit, and then reached out to touch Riley's arm. His skin was still hot, but not horribly so. "I-I'll try n-not to faint... Riley, w-what's wrong?" he asked, sounding scared and nervous himself, but not nearly as frightened as his partner.
He panted for a moment trying to get his breathing under control so he could answer the other. "Small space ... i'm ... i'm claustrophobic." He was shivering slightly while he panicked.
Oh dear. Kaleb had no experience with this kind of panic disorder, but at least he understood panic well enough. "Close your eyes, okay?" Kaleb said weakly, pushing his aching body into an upright sitting position and propping his back up against the wall behind them. If he dared channel he could have used a calming spell, but he hurt too badly to even entertain the thought of using his magic. "I-I'm not sitting too close, a-am I? he asked hesitantly, pulling his hand back a bit.
His eyes closed but that didn't help all that much. He still knew where they were and how small the space was and what was around them. "No ... not too close." He didn't have a problem with people unless it was a large amount of people.
Kaleb shifted a bit closer, so he could rest his head against Riley's shaking shoulders. He was so tired and sore, he needed something to rest against. "A-am I-I too close now?" he asked again, taking Riley's hand in his own.
"n-n-no." It wasn't Kaleb that was bothering him. It was all the rock and concrete and rubble around them. "r-really small space and we could be here for h-hours"
That was good, it meant Kaleb could soothe his own fears by snuggling close without letting Riley know he was so afraid. He nodded against his partner's shoulder, and used his fingers to idly trace patterns onto the palm of his hand to distract both of them just a little. "Think about how you're breathing," he said, not needing to speak in much more than a whisper in the dark and silent hole. "Take a deep breath in, and think about how it expands your stomach."
Taking a deep, rather shuddering, breath he tried that. He could concentrate on how his body moved and how the air felt filling his lungs. It worked, slightly, but he still shivered occasionally.
Kaleb slipped under Riley's arm so he could lie more comfortably against his partner, and rest his head in the hollow of his shoulder. Every movement hurt, even matching his own breathing pattern to Riley's so if the redhead panicked he could quickly pick up the rhythm again. "Try counting to four when you exhale," he suggested quietly, counting would push some of the unpleasant thoughts away if Riley could focus enough to do it.
"Don't .. don't know if i can." It was hard enough concentrating on just the breathing part. Counting might be a little too much or him to handle.
"Okay, just do what you can," Kaleb said. He knew well enough how hard it was to focus on something as silly as counting when you were on the edge of a panic attack. He didn't even know if any of this was even helping is partner, but he only hoped it was better than nothing. After a few minutes he shifted a bit. "Riley... I-I'm really tired. I-if I fall asleep, you'll wake me?"
"Yea, yea ... i'll wake you up." If he noticed when the other fell asleep. Between bits of panic he was listening for the sounds of someone trying to dig them out. Eventually someone would come looking for them. He knew the scientists wouldn't let Rufus just leave his body here.
"Thanks..." Kaleb said, wincing a bit as he shifted some more. He had no idea how long they would be down there, or if they would be rescued at all, but he didn't want to just fall asleep and leave his partner alone with his fear.
He wiggled slightly ever time he thought Kaleb was falling asleep. He didn't want to be left alone and didn't want Kaleb to not be able to answer him. He didn't know how long they were going to be trapped in there but he couldn't take if if Kaleb wasn't at least partially awake.
By the time he heard rubble shifting and what he suspected was Rude's voice he had started to panic again. Kaleb had fallen asleep and he hadn't wanted to wake his partner up again.
Riley's shifting always jarred Kaleb back to a painful semi-awake state, and he would squeeze his partner's hand a bit just to reassure him that he was awake. Each time he would have no idea what time it was, or how long they had been down there, just that it felt like hours and hours of painful, frightening and tense waiting.
It had been getting harder to keep himself awake whenever Riley moved, but he stirred on his own at the new sounds coming from nearby. He squeezed his partner's hand weakly, but didn't move as he tried to figure out what was going on.
"I think ... think they know were down here." He could here Reno and Rude talking now as they shifted things.
Kaleb tried to sit up a bit at the good news, but it was too painful so he stayed where he was. Now he could also recognize the voices, even though he couldn't hear what they were saying, and it cheered him quite a bit. "Should I shield us again? Just in case they disturb something?" He asked, surprised at how weak his voice sounded. He knew using his magic would hurt bad, but the rubble above them might not be supporting itself by very much, and pain was better than being crushed especially now that they were close to being free.
"No .. that'd hurt ya" Reno and Rude were moving stuff on their side so there was little chance they'd disturb the things above them. "Hold on." He shifted slightly and edged toward the voices. "Rude .. Reno! We're down here!"
Kaleb nodded, smiling a bit despite the pain of being moved. He didn't let go, but he shifted a bit so it was easier for Riley to move. His partner was probably really eager to be out, and hopefully he would start feeling better once he was out of their little prison.
"Damn, they live though it." Reno was laughing as he shoved pieces of rubble out of the way.
"Just get us out of here!" He snapped. He wanted out of the damn space and he wanted out now. He couldn't move rubble himself because the space they were in would quickly get filled.
Kaleb looked in the direction Reno's voice had come from, eagerly waiting for the others to dig them out. He was a little afraid though, not being able to use his shields to make sure they were safe as the rubble was pulled away, and he squeezed Riley's hand a bit.
Rude pulled things out of the way and eventually had a hole big enough for the two of them to crawl out of. He looked over his sunglasses at them and straightened up.
"Oh thank god." Scrambling away from Kaleb, not meaning to get away from his partner but needed to get out, he crawled though the hole and out into the sunlight. Never again.
"Thought you'd'a gone insane down there" He laughed and ignored Riley glaring at him.
Kaleb was quick to let Riley go once there was a space large enough for them to crawl through. He tried to follow close afterwards, but he couldn't manage to scramble even half way out before collapsing on to his stomach, shaking slightly with pain. The burn was worse than he thought, he would need at least a couple days to recover from it if he could afford it.
After sitting on his knees for a moment he noticed Reno turning to help Kaleb. Snarling at him he reached back down into the hole and grabbed Kaleb's hand. "Come on .... can't stay in there."
Kaleb would have been glad Riley's tone towards him was much gentler than the snarl he threw in Reno's direction, had he actually noticed that interaction between the two redheads. He let himself be pulled out, while scrambling and helping himself out where he could manage. "Th-thanks, Riley," he said, once he was able to collapse just outside the dark hole.
"Come on you two ... we're already behind having to search for you." He nudged Riley with a boot. "Can rest in the chopper"
He really didn't like the idea of being stuck inside something else but they'd never get home if they didn't leave. "Kaleb .. come on, you can lean on me." He hauled Kaleb to his feet. "We've got to leave" If they stayed there too long they'd end up getting caught by someone and that would mean questions that no one wanted to answer.
Kaleb cried out in pain as he was pulled up, but he didn't protest. Every muscle seemed to sting as he used them, like poking at an open wound. He shouldn't have pressed himself so hard, but what choice did he have?
Eying Kaleb for a minuet he scooped the smaller audio up in his arms. "Okay ... lets go before someone decides to find us." He looked at Rude and Reno and followed after them as they headed for the chopper again.
Kaleb bit his lip to keep from crying out again as he found himself swept up into Riley's arms, but this was better than trying to walk on his own. He wrapped one arm around his partner's neck so he would be easier to carry. "Thanks," he muttered quietly.
"No prob." He could carry Kaleb easily and as long as Rude stayed behind him and made sure he didn't fall down the stairs he made it up to the chopper easily.
He deposited Kaleb on the seat carefully and dropped down beside him. He was tired. He wanted to sleep for a week or maybe two.
Kaleb smiled against Riley's neck, all the way back to the chopper. He was relieved they were finally safe, and he had almost slipped off to sleep despite the pain by the time he was placed gently in the helicopter. "What time is it?" he asked in a quietly drowsy voice, not sure if Riley would even be able to hear him.
"Evening." he didn't have the energy to check his watch to see exactally what time it was. He just wanted to go home and get a shower and curl up in bed and not move. If Rufus expected him to be at work after that he could shove it.
That was hardly a satisfactory answer, but Kaleb was too worn out to make a fuss over it. He stared blankly out the window for a bit before his eyes closed, and he drifted off to a shallow and uneasy sleep.
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Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 11:18 pm
Sleepless nights and more Nightmares By the time they made it back to the Shinra building he was almost asleep himself. He ached from sitting for so long and his chest hurt from panicking. All he could really think about was a shower and bed, well almost all. Once Rude had shut off the chopper he nudged Kaleb. "Hey .... you awake?"
Riley's nudge pulled Kaleb out of his sleep with a terrified yelp, and he sat up straight with a terrified expression until he realized where he was. Not back in the building with the dead bodies, or in a dark hole that only seemed to get darker and smaller, just safely in the helicopter. He started shaking all over, and he closed his eyes to keep back tears of pain and fright.
He looked back at Rude, who had waited for them, and shook his head. "I'll ... I'm gonna take him home." Kaleb wasn't in any condition to stick around the office.
"Kaleb ... it's okay, come'ere" He held his hands out to the other. "Yer not gonna do good on your own. I"ll take you to my place alright?" He wasn't going to let Kaleb go home by himself and end up having another nightmare or end up staying up being scared
The little mage hesitated for a couple seconds before moving to wrap his arms around Riley's neck. "I-I d-don't want to be trouble," he said in an almost tearful voice. He would like having someone nearby, but his body was just so damaged, and he didn't want to force his partner to put up with his nightmares or care for him until he recovered.
"Didn't really give ya a choice." He scooped Kaleb carefully out of the chopper. "Need somethin' from yer place? can stop by there first if ya want?" Kaleb would probably want something to make himself feel more comfortable in a strange apartment. Once Kaleb was out of the chopper he headed for the garage and his car to take the blond home.
Kaleb nodded. "I-I would like that," he said weakly, clinging to Riley until they got to his car. He would need to get cleaned up sometime as well, the dried blood on his hand, cheek and clothing would make him feel faint again if he paid it any attention.
He got into the car and headed for Kaleb's apartment. It didn't take long to get there and he helped the mage walk to his place. "Umm ... i can wait if you want a shower or something? he spoke as he waited for Kaleb to open the door.
Kaleb nearly fell into his apartment once he got the door unlocked and shoved it open, but he was able to keep himself on his feet as he glanced back to smile at his partner. "I-I would like that, if you don't mind," he said timidly. It would feel good to get the dust and blood off, although he purposely tried not to think about the latter.
"Yea .. i'll just wait." He could find somewhere to sit in the maze of books. "Grab anything else ya need too." He'd keep Kaleb with him until the blond felt better just in case something happened.
Kaleb nodded, and stumbled off to go shower. It was some effort keeping himself on his feet despite the pain, but eventually he emerged wearing his usual clothes and a fluffy, cream-coloured towel flopped over his wet hair. He set a small backpack down at his feet, so his hands were free to rub his hair dry. "Should I bring a pillow or anything?" He asked from underneath the towel.
Thanks to being exhausted he could ignore how cute Kaleb looked with the towel on his head. "If you want. I've got extras though." He had a large pile of pillows between his bed and the couch but some people liked their own pillows. He'd flopped on the couch and sat up while he was talking.
Kaleb considered for a minute before staggering back into his room, and returning with his pillow, and minus the towel. Luckily for Riley, it was in just a plain white pillowcase. "I-I think I'm ready," the healer said, not even fidgeting since he was too tired and sore. He wouldn't have minded bringing a book with him, but they were all too large to fit in his backpack, and too heavy for him to simply carry in his current state.
"Sure that's all? Anything else that i can carry for you?" Kaleb looked like he'd probably fall over carrying the backpack so knowing him he was probably leaving things behind that he wanted.
Kaleb hugged his pillow a bit and bit his lip. "I-I should probably bring a book... So I can read if I can't sleep." The book he had been reading through was sitting on the coffee table right in front of Riley, a large leatherbound tome on advanced shields and force magic theorems. He dragged his bag a bit as he stumbled over, rather than pick it up and sling it over his shoulder.
He looked around at the books covering the place. "You mean the bricks? You can actually pick those things up?" He eyed the book on the coffee table. "I ... guess i can carry one or two for you"
"They're not bricks, and I can pick them up fine," Kaleb said, as defensively as he could manage in his current state of pain and exhaustion. "How do you think they got here?" He was tempted to pick one up to show his partner, but he was swaying dangerously on his feet as it was. "You d-don't have to bring one if you don't want," he said, hugging his pillow a bit tighter. Riley was tired too, it wasn't fair to make him carry such a thing.
"They look like bricks and i bet they're just as heavy." He picked up the one on the table just to prove his point. "Yea, feels like a brick. This the one you want?" He was tired but he could carry a book to the car and then to his apartment.
Kaleb nodded, and couldn't help but smile a bit. "Y-yes, thank you. I-I've got everything I need," he said, stumbling back to the door to sway and fall against the wall as he tried to pull his shoes on. He appeared to have some second thoughts once he had gotten both shoes on. "A-are you sure you want me to come with you?"
Taking the book he walked over to the door and wrapped an arm around Kaleb. "Yea .. come on, you look like you need something to lean on." He tugged Kaleb into the hall. "want to get home"
Kaleb had forgotten how much easier it was to move when he had someone to lean on, and he smiled up in thanks. He locked the door to his apartment and threw the keys in a pocket on his bag, where they clinked against his phone. Then he was ready to head back to Riley's car.
He let Kaleb lean on him until the blond was safely tucked away in his car. The drive to his place was uneventful aside for a little traffic so it didn't take long. Once there he left the car in the garage and lugged himself, the book, and Kaleb up to his place. "It's a little messy ...." He unlocked the door and shuffled Kaleb inside.
Kaleb was quiet for most of the trip, hugging the pillow close the entire time and trying not to fall asleep in the car before they finally got out and walked up to his partner's apartment. As Riley was unlocking and opening the door, he didn't think the apartment would be as cluttered as his own. He let himself be nudged inside, and then looked around at the place he would be spending the night in.
Compared to Kaleb's apartment Riley's was spotless. Nice new but comfortable furniture, a few things here and there, and if you looked hard enough some dust. "Uhh ... i guess you can sit on the couch until i get a shower?" Then they could curl up in bed and hopefully he could get some sleep.
Kaleb nodded and gratefully sat on the couch. It felt nice to rest his aching body, and Riley's couch was very comfortable. "A-am I going to sleep on the couch tonight?" he asked, already rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"Not if it means i'm gonna wake up to you screaming again. We'll figure that out after t get a shower." He rubbed at his arm. "I'll come get you in a bit. Once i'm clean and all."
Kaleb nodded, perfectly happy to just sit and rest where he was for the time being. His tired mind wandered for a bit, and his head dropped to rest his chin on the pillow he was still clutching in front of him. He didn't want to lie down though, the couch may have been comfortable, but it also looked pretty new, and Riley might not like him lying around on the furniture.
He got himself clean and checked his leg to make sure it was alright before finding something to sleep in. A pair of soft black pants would do. Shaking his head he ventured back out into the living room to look for Kaleb. "Hey ... " He walked over and tapped the mage on the shoulder.
"come on .. bed's more comfortable than the couch"
Kaleb startled a bit at the tap, even though he hadn't quite fallen asleep yet. "I-I can sleep in your bed?" he asked tiredly, pulling himself to his feet with some effort and a bit of wincing. The healer blushed a bit, unsure if that's what he really wanted, but still remembering how safe and warm he had felt sleeping with Riley in the hotel after that one job.
"Well ya had nightmares last time." He grinned at Kaleb slightly. "So i thought you'd sleep better that way." Besides it had been comfortable last time so why worry about it? He was too tired to think about doing anything so he shouldn't have a problem.
Kaleb managed a very small smile, but it was soon replaced by a nervous and almost lost expression. "I-I should change," he said, still holding onto his pillow with one arm, and holding onto one strap of his backpack with the other. It felt odd being at someone else's apartment instead of his own.
He nodded and held out a hand to help Kaleb up. "You can change in the bathroom." Not that he really cared where Kaleb changed as long as he didn't take too long and he got into bed.
Kaleb was glad for the help, he might not have made it on his own in his current state. He nodded, and hoped Riley would show him where the washroom and bedroom was, because he didn't think he had enough energy to find it on his own.
He led Kaleb back to his room and showed him where the washroom was so he could change. Once he'd left Kaleb to have at that he collapsed into his bed. Sleep would be good and then maybe Kaleb would sleep and wouldn't have nightmares too bad and it would all be good.
Kaleb set his pillow on the bed and dragged his backpack with him to the washroom where he pulled on his starry-patterned pyjamas. Then he dragged his backpack back to Riley's bedroom, and fidgeted a bit at the foot of the bed, hesitant and unsure of himself.
He noticed Kaleb standing there after a minuet and rolled over. "Don'just stand there." He yawned and moved the blankets so there was room for Kaleb. "Lay down... sleepy"
With another nervous fidget, Kaleb crawled onto the bed next to Riley, and settled in with a sigh. His body still ached, so it was nice to just lay down and finally relax. He grabbed his pillow and snuggled against it, knocking his glasses askew.
He pulled Kaleb's glasses off and set them beside his alarm clock. They wouldn't get broken if they were over there. Snuggling up around Kaleb he stuck his muzzle against the other's neck and sighed. Kaleb was better than a pillow, warmer too, so he liked having him there. "No bad nightmares"
Kaleb relaxed back against Riley's chest, feeling safe and warm. "Mnn..." he replied quietly. He remembered that first night after going on a job, when he had nightmares, and then back at the hotel, and felt his throat tighten. Riley was so good to him, by taking him home and keeping him comfortable, even after he had kissed him and made things awkward, and let him bleed when they had been trapped under the building, and all that. He sniffled a bit.
"Don'cry." He nuzzled Kaleb when he heard the other sniffle. "Nuthin to cry about." Kaleb was suppose to be relaxing and not crying or being upset.
"I'm n-not crying." Kaleb said with another sniffle. It was close, but he wasn't crying. He shifted backwards a bit, to press up against his partner's body and feel the rhythm of his breathing. It was comforting, and his sniffles gave way to yawns as he fell asleep.
He almost argued with Kaleb but decided against it. He didn't have the energy to bother. He just wanted to sleep. Eventually the rhythm of Kaleb's breathing lulled him to sleep along with the blond.
Kaleb slept solidly for only a short time before the nightmares crept up on him. He just whimpered a bit at first, but it quickly escalated to thrashing and screaming. Even Riley being next to him wasn't enough, and he struggled against the embrace he had found comfortable before falling asleep.
The struggling and screaming woke him up and he grabbed Kaleb's arms so that he didn't end up getting smacked. "Kaleb..." His voice was still low from sleep. "S'alright .. nothings gonna hurt ya ..... calm down" He didn't want Kaleb hurting him or hurting himself with the way he was thrashing around.
Kaleb woke up with a start, and he only struggled against Riley's grasp for a couple seconds before remembering where he was and going limp. He trembled a bit, and then turned around so he could bury his face against Riley's chest and cry.
He nuzzled Kaleb's ears as the other buried his face against him. He purred softly and murmured things that he hoped would calm the other down. Kaleb really wasn't built for this like of work.
Kaleb sobbed against Riley until he ran out of tears, and then he sniffled and rubbed at his wet eyes and nose as he let his partner's gestures calm him. "I-I'm s-so sorry..." he said between sniffs, hiccups, and stray sobs.
"Quit sayin that. Nothin to be sorry for." He Tilted his head so he could see Kaleb. He didn't see why the little mage was sorry for having nightmares. It wasn't like he could help it.
"I-I'm sorry..." he repeated, wiping his eyes again with the long sleeves of his pyjamas. "I-I d-didn't want to w-wake you, o-or be a b-bother," he said before the tears came back. "I-I w-was just so s-scared, a-and i-it h-hurts so much..."
"I drug you over here so that if you had a nightmare you'd have someone around so don't be sorry for it." He continued to nuzzle the mage as he spoke. "You handled being in that hole better than me and you kept us from dying."
Kaleb sniffled quietly as Riley talked to him, but he was exhausted and his partner's words soothed him until he was able to relax again. He wiped his eyes once more and nuzzled Riley back, his nose leaving a wet and ungraceful trail across Riley's chest. He would have been embarassed if he wasn't already exhausted and falling asleep again.
He'd need another shower later for this but at least Kaleb would sleep. He could at least get more sleep when Kaleb was actually awake again and studying or something so he wasn't all that worried about being woken up.
Kaleb sneezed once in his sleep, adding to the mess on his partner's chest, but at least he looked much more peaceful. For the time being.
He winced when the other sneezed and resigned himself to a nice long hot shower later. The mage would owe him for this later.
Kaleb slept quietly for awhile before he started to whimper again. He twitched slightly and cried out a little, and then suddenly he pulled himself out of Riley's arms with a loud yelp, and toppled right off the edge of the bed.
Being jarred awake again he sniffed for a minuet and then noticed Kaleb had fallen off the bed. Sliding toward the edge he looked down. "You alright?" Kaleb had to be awake after that fall.
Kaleb blinked and looked up at him for a second with a confused and frightened expression before nodding and climbing back into the bed with a wince. "I-I'm sorry..." he said quietly, wiggling back to where he had been at the start of the night, with his back against Riley's messy chest. He only trembled a bit, but it would be noticeable if his partner held onto him.
He did wrap his arms back around Kaleb and was determined to hold onto him until he stopped shaking. "Stop saying sorry." He huffed at the other slightly.
"S-sorry..." He apologised, and then winced again, this time not from pain. He tried to snuggle closer to Riley, wiggling deeper into the covers and burying his face more thorougly in his pillow, but he still trembled.
He sighed and nuzzled Kaleb. He'd make him work on the apologizing thing later. "Jus'go back ta sleep"
Kaleb nodded timidly, almost up to his ears in blankets. He tried to close his eyes to sleep, but whenever he did that all he could think about were those dead men back in the building, and that just made his shaking worse. He opened his eyes and reached up with one hand to chew on a thumbnail.
Eventually he got tired of Kaleb squirming and moving and yawned. "... want to get up and do something? Can go like play games or something." If Kaleb wasn't going to sleep then maybe he could distract the mage with something so he could nap.
Kaleb fidgeted a bit, and then turned his head to look at Riley over his shouder. "N-no, I-I'm tired, I just can't..." He bit his lip as he thought about what he really wanted to say, looking a little worried and a little miserable. "I d-don't want to keep you up." That was probably his biggest reason, but he was also still hurting from burning himself. If he got up, he'd just be hurting worse.
"I'd rather you be able to sleep than worry about me being asleep. I can nap later." He shrugged slightly. "Not like a night of no sleep is gonna kill me or something."
Kaleb wiggled a bit closer and gnawed at his thumb out of nervousness. "Moving hurts," he finally said in a small voice. He didn't want to complain, but he didn't want to get up either.
"I have an idea ..." He slid away from Kaleb and went to open up a cabnite that was against the wall across from his bed. He had a tv and dvd player in his room so he could put something on to keep Kaleb's mind occupied. Digging though his movies he found something that wouldn't remind Kaleb of anything and would hopefully be nice enough for Kaleb to relax. Sticking the dvd in the player he crawled back into bed to grab the remote and turn the tv on. "Movie .... "
Kaleb rolled over when Riley slipped away, and tried to snuggle into the covers in his absence as he watched him curiously. When his partner returned to the bed, he immediately tried to cuddle again. He was still curious about the movie though.
He'd put in Lilo and Stitch. He'd decided he liked the movie and it was cute so Kaleb should like it. Stretching out he let Kaleb cuddle back up against him.
The scrawny healer was only satisfied cuddling until the movie started, and then he climbed over his partner to grab his glasses from where they sat next to the alarm clock. With that done, somehow he managed to find a position where he could curl up next to Riley, snuggle in so the blankets were up to his chin, and still see the TV screen. It wouldn't have mattered much though, he was fast asleep by the time Lilo finished explaining why she was late for her dance practice.
He stayed awake and watched the movie and watched Kaleb sleep. Hopefully he would actually sleep this time and then he'd be able to sleep and they'd both be happy come morning.
Kaleb didn't wake up after that, but he didn't sleep well either. It was a fitful and unrestful sleep, every now and again he would whimper or cry out, or his hands would grasp at the blankets.
Evey time Kaleb whimpered or squirmed he was quick to nuzzle the other and try to say something to calm him down. He wasn't going to get any sleep that night but he supposed that was alright.
Kaleb responded well to Riley's comforting, he usually settled down with a bit of attention and went back to a more peaceful sleep. He did end up drooling a bit at one point, adding more to the mess on his partner's chest.
He grumbled to himself when Kaleb had drooled on him and decided that the mage defiantly owed him for it. Lots of owing. Sighing he curled back up around the smaller audio and settled in to nap between nightmare fits.
The healer seemed to sleep better in the early morning once the sun had just started to rise, but he yawned and woke just before six. He looked around sleepily, sitting up a bit to peer over his partner and look at the alarm clock. Then he flopped back down, debating between crawling out of bed since he had already slept in, or just curling up to sleep more since he was still tired and his aching muscles had gotten stiff and painful since the last time he had stirred.
Feeling Kaleb move he reached up and pulled the other back down onto the bed. Setting his muzzle against the other's neck he huffed and made it clear that he didn't want to wake up yet and wasn't going to let his heated pillow move either.
Kaleb blinked, it looked like his mind had been made up for him. He settled back in against the pillows and pulled the covers back up to his neck, and then went limp against Riley's chest. It only took a minute or two for him to fall asleep, but now that he was committed to staying in bed, he would probably sleep for several hours longer unless he had more nightmares.
Several more hours was perfectly alright with him. He'd been kept awake hours more than he'd wanted to be so if Kaleb would stay asleep then that would be good for him. He nuzzled Kaleb and was back asleep within moments of the mage settling down.
Kaleb slept on for quite awhile, although he did wake up every now and again only to lounge about in a pleasant drowsy state before falling asleep again. The rest would go a long way towards recovering after the strain he had placed on himself the day before, so it was good that his nightmares seemed to settle into minor episodes of twitching and whimpering at their worst.
Eventually he managed to get enough sleep to warrant feeling good enough to get up. Tucking the blankets around Kaleb, hoping that would keep him from thrashing too much, he crawled out of bed and headed for another shower. He needed to get clean badly. Steaming up the bathroom quickly he scrubbed himself clean of everything Kaleb had gotten on him. At least he didn't have to take a cold shower this time. Hot ones were so much better
Kaleb woke up some time after Riley had gotten up, and he tried to curl up a bit more to make up for not having a warm body right next to him. It wasn't uncomfortable, just... less comfortable. With an almost dissatisfied sigh, he snuggled deeper into the blankets that had been tucked carefully around him.
Once he was clean and had relaxed in the hot water for a while he crawled out of the shower and dried himself off. Dragging on a loose pair of jeans he opened the bathroom door to let out some of the steam. He could see the mound of blankets that was Kaleb and snickered.
Kaleb heard Riley's moving around, but he didn't poke his head out of the blankets. He still didn't feel awake enough to get up, so he wiggled a bit deeper and sighed.
Shaking his head he headed out of his bedroom to go forage for food. He had eggs somewhere along with bacon and some English muffins so he could make himself a breakfast sandwich.
Kaleb had been hoping Riley would crawl back into bed again. He sighed a bit more, stole Riley's pillow to rest his head on, hugged his own, and closed his eyes to rest longer. He couldn't remember the last time he had been so tired or sleeping so much, even though his nightmares had disrupted quite a bit of it.
He made his breakfast and scarfed it down along with a large glass of orange juice before he headed back toward his room. Sitting down on the bed he draped himself over Kaleb. Obviously the mage was still tired from all the day before's happenings. At least he was sleeping and not tossing around again.
Kaleb wasn't sleeping as deeply as Riley might have thought, since he wiggled happily when he felt his partner lying over him. He poked his head out from the blankets long enough to give Riley a drowsy smile, and licked his muzzle once before snuggling back into the covers.
His eyes widened slightly as Kaleb licked him. He wasn't suppose to do that. Shaking his head he took a deep breath and shifted slightly so he was comfortable. He'd just not think about Kaleb licking him at all and he'd be perfectly fine.
Kaleb didn't even notice his partner's awkward reaction, he was already cuddled back up against his pillow. The comforting presence was enough for him to relax and drift off to sleep again.
He managed to grab the tv remote without moving too much ontop of Kaleb and flipped the tv on. He kept it low enough that it shouldn't bother Kaleb but high enough that he could have something to listen to. He'd make Kaleb get up and eat breakfast in a few hours if he didn't get up on his own.
Kaleb slept soundly for another hour or so before stirring again. Noticing that Riley was still there with him, he reached up to rub his eyes tiredly before turning his head to glance at his partner. He didn't say anything, just looked for a sign that Riley was irritated with him sleeping in, or wanted him to get up and go home or something.
He was flipping though channels when he noticed Kaleb was awake. "Morning ... well afternoon." He smiled at the mage. "About time you got up. I had breakfast hours ago"
Kaleb blushed a bit. "S-sorry, I-I'm just so tired," he stuttered timidly, taking Riley's smile to mean he wasn't mad or anything, but still feeling bad for missing breakfast and lounging around in bed for so long.
"Ya probably needed the sleep" he reached over and ruffled Kaleb's hair. "Should get up and eat something even if yer gonna lay in bed the rest of the day"
Kaleb smiled at the affectionate gesture. "Y-you don't mind me sleeping in?" He asked, sounding a bit less hesitant as he pushed the covers down a bit. He was about to say he would rather stay in bed since he wasn't feeling too hungry, but his stomach took that opportunity to rumble as if disagreeing with his thoughts.
"If i minded i'd've kicked you out of it." He shrugged and finally found some cartoon show to watch. "What'd'ya want to eat?" He'd go make Kaleb whatever he wanted as long as he had the stuff for it and it was more than a piece of toast.
Kaleb slowly sat up a bit, using the pillows he had been sleeping with to prop up his stiff and aching back. "I-I don't know, maybe just toast?" he asked innocently. He didn't feel like he needed much to eat since he had been doing nothing but sleeping all day.
He groaned slightly and rolled his eyes. "More than just toast. I've got some oranges, you can eat one of those too." He dropped the tv remote down and slid off the side of the bed.
Kaleb frowned a bit, and then extricated himself from the mass of blankets and slowly followed his partner. "Toast is fine, really," he insisted, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck. His body didn't hurt as much as it had the previous night, but now it was stiff and aching like he had overused every last muscle.
He headed into the kitchen mostly ignoring Kaleb following him. Digging out the bread he popped a slice in the toaster and then went for the fridge. "Toast is not breakfast." He dug out an orange and held it out to Kaleb. "Neither is toast and an orange but i'll let that slide"
Kaleb took the orange and looked at it for a second or two. Oranges were such finicky things to eat, but at least they split themselves into nice bite-sized pieces after you went through all the trouble of peeling them. "It's not breakfast anymore, so that doesn't matter anyway." He muttered, ineffectually clawing at the tough skin of the orange with his blunt nails.
"It's breakfast cause you just woke up." After watching Kaleb poke at the orange for a moment he took it back and pulled a small knife out of a block. He carefully sliced the skin off and handed the rest of the orange back to Kaleb. "There"
"I woke up lots of times, so that's a bad indicator of breakfast time. The clock says it's lunch." Kaleb muttered more, before taking the orange back. "Thanks," he said with a smile, and then went to pulling the orange sections apart, and picking all the stringy filaments off one slice to make it edible.
"Breakfast imply's, but it's definition, the first meal you eat of the day to break the fasting of your sleep." He really shouldn't have started quoting dictionary's or anything but that's how it worked for him. First thing you ate, even if it was late in the day, was breakfast. When the toast popped out of the toaster he pulled it out and looked at Kaleb. "Butter?"
Kaleb huffed a bit, but there wasn't a lot of frustration behind it. He couldn't argue that point. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to, even if Riley admitted it was really lunch, he would still insist that toast and an orange wasn't good for that meal either. "That would be nice, thank you," he replied to his partner's question, and then started nibbling on the slice of orange that was now bare of every last visible stringy fibre.
He snagged the butter out of the fridge and slicked some on the toast before setting it on a napkin for Kaleb. "Are you going to pick every one of those slices clean?" Yea the fibers tasted bad but it wasn't like eating a few of them ever heart anyone.
Kaleb nodded. "They irritate me," he said, before temporarily abandoning the orange for the warm slice of toast. He finished the toast faster than he had expected, but then again, he hadn't eaten since his small dinner for the job the night before.
"Next time i'll just buy pre-sliced oranges" He shook his head and dug out a small bottle of juice. "easier than watching you peal them apart to eat."
"I don't mind peeling them," Kaleb said, picking up the orange again and starting on the second slice. Then he paused. "N-next time?" He asked, glancing up with a surprised and hesitant expression.
"Next time i go shopping? So there's sliced ones here for you?" He leaned against the counter as he pulled the top off the bottle. Kaleb was bound to have nightmares every time they went on a job so he might as well stock things for the mage.
Kaleb blushed a bit, and looked down to just fiddle with his orange instead of picking the stringy bits off. "I-I d-didn't think you would want me back," he said in a quiet voice. He knew he wasn't the nicest guest to entertain after a job, between taking up room in Riley's bed and waking him up with nightmares it would be impossible for him to believe he wasn't trouble.
He shrugged and took a drink from his bottle. "It was nice having a self heating pillow." Yea Kaleb's nightmares were a little annoying but he was probably annoying somehow too. After all he had his muzzle on Kaleb most of the night and that had to get annoying.
Kaleb smiled, and went back to picking the stringy bits off the orange slice. "I-I'm glad you like that, I liked having something warm at my back." He said timidly, blushing a bit brighter at the admission. It had been so comforting having someone warm and breathing right there next to him. Riley really hadn't needed to nuzzle him and whisper soft words, the mage would have been soothed just at the closeness of his body.
"Yea... was nice." It was better than just having sheets and extra pillows. It was probably bad of him to think about taking Kaleb on those kinda of jobs just so that he'd have an excuse to bring the mage home.
Kaleb had cleaned up the second orange slice to his satisfaction, and slowly nibbled on it. After he was done he glanced up before starting the tedious task of peeling the third slice. "D-do you think I could finish watching that movie sometime?" He asked hesitantly.
"Yea .. whenever you want." After watching Kaleb picking at the slices he sighed. Taking the rest of the orange from Kaleb he started peeling another slice for him. If he did that then the mage would be able to eat it sooner
"While I finish my orange?" Kaleb asked with a hopeful smile as Riley took the rest of the orange from him, pausing in his own meticulous work. He knew his partner didn't like crumbs in bed, but oranges didn't leave crumbs, and they probably didn't have to watch the movie in bed anyway.
He got down a plate to put the orange on. "Go sit on the couch and i'll being it out here." He waved his hand at the couch. "Do you remember where you fell asleep?"
Kaleb looked thoughtful for a minute before nodding. "I think I remember the girl getting water all over the floor during the dance practice," he said, a little embarassed that he had fallen asleep so early into the movie. "C-can I bring my pillow?" he asked as he wandered towards the couch where Riley had waved him, wanting to have it to rest against while they watched the DVD.
"Didn't get that far into it did you." He laughed as he headed into his room to get the dvd and Kaleb's pillow. Once he got the two things he came back out and tossed the pillow onto the couch beside Kaleb. He stuck the dvd in and turned on the tv so he could find the place where Kaleb was.
The mage smiled and stuck his orange slice into his mouth so he could grab his pillow, hugging it to his chest and resting his chin on it. His bare feet were a bit cold, especially since he was unable to hide his toes within the fabric of his pyjama pants, but he didn't want to bother Riley for a blanket or anything.
Finding the right place on the dvd he flopped down on the couch beside Kaleb. "There .. comfy?" He looked at the mage as he flopped over onto the arm of the couch.
Kaleb nodded, and wiggled his toes a bit. His pyjamas were much more comfortable for lounging around in than his jeans. He briefly glanced around, wondering where Riley put the plate with the rest of the orange, but deciding he wasn't really hungry enough to finish it anyway. It would be easier on his partner if he didn't mention it, that way Riley wouldn't have to stress over him only eating the toast and a part of the orange.
He forgot about the orange for a good long while but eventually he remembered it. "You need to finish that orange." He'd left it on the counter so it was partially his fault that Kaleb hadn't finished it.
Kaleb had put the orange out of his mind completely by that point, so he was a little surprised when Riley brought it up. "I-I'm not really hungry anymore," he said honestly, hoping his partner wouldn't trouble himself by wandering off to find the missing plate
"Should at least finish it." He got up after a moment and went in search of it. Finding the place he stole one of the orange slices as he walked back to the couch. "Here." He set the plate down on the coffee table.
"You shou have some too, I can't eat it all myself." Kaleb said, frowning at the plate of orange slices for a second before reaching out to pick one up, then he began the tedious process of pulling off all the fine stringy bits. Riley had gotten the coarser stuff off, but the mage had to complete the task in a meticulous and agonizingly slow manner.
"Had a piece." He settled back against the couch to watch the movie. "And i had a real breakfast so that's yours"
"You could have another, if you wanted," the mage said as he picked away at the slice in his hands, more than willing to share the orange. He really did want to get it eaten, just to please Riley, but he would certainly not object to any help with it since he probably couldn't finish it himself.
"maybe." He'd probably end up picking up another slice eventually but he wanted Kaleb to eat most of it. Even if Kaleb wasn't hungry the extra energy after all those nightmares would probably be good for him.
Kaleb finally cleaned up the slice to meet his picky standards, and began nibbling on it as he watched the movie. At that rate, it would take him the rest of the movie to finish off the slices on the plate, if he didn't slow down after another piece or two. He glanced over at his partner before leaning forward to nudge the plate in his direction.
He raised his brow as Kaleb nudged the plate toward him. "Oh no ... not gonna work like that" He leaned over and picked up a slice before sliding the plate back toward his partner. "It's your breakfast"
Kaleb smiled brightly, and then went back to nibbling on his own half-finished orange piece. One slice down, only a few more to go.
He set his feet on his coffee table and leaned back to get comfortable. He'd have to find out what it was about Kaleb that made him not want to eat. There was no way that people could eat that little and still be healthy
Kaleb slowly finished off his orange slice, and hesitantly picked up another one and began pulling off all the stringy filaments. He wasn't sure he wanted to actually eat this slice, but he didn't want Riley to worry or anything, so he toyed with it in hopes he would feel up to eating it by the time he finished.
"I swear i'm gonna have to keep poking at you to eat right." He shook his head as he nudged Kaleb slightly. "Gonna have ta like babysit ya"
Kaleb frowned a bit. "I do eat right," he insisted, pulling a couple more strands off his orange slice before just putting it back down on the plate. "I eat until I'm full, and I make sure it's a balanced meal whenever possible. I don't need to be babysat."
"You defiantly don't eat enough. Ten year olds eat more than you" He scrunched his nose. "You'd probably forget breakfast if someone didn't remind you to eat. Or lunch or something"
"Ten year olds run around more than I do." Kaleb said, unconvinced. He didn't comment on the second statement though, since it was usually lunch he accidentally missed once he got studying. And then when he skipped lunch, he'd just have a snack in midafternoon, and that would mean he would miss dinner in favour of another snack before bedtime. He blushed a bit at that, but told himself that he still ate healthy food, and as much of it as it took to make him feel satiated. Even if he was only snacking.
"Ten year olds also know that they cant live off snack food. Or at least they have their parents to tell them that they cant." He eyed Kaleb. "You probably miss meals don't you? For all those books you have in yer place"
Kaleb blushed more. "I-I eat when I'm hungry," he insisted, hugging his pillow and starting to look a little stressed. "A-and I don't eat snack food, too much junk food makes me ill."
"S'not healthy. And a 'snack' of an apple in place of dinner isn't good enough." He shifted on the couch so he could look at Kaleb. "At least have a sandwich or something. "Suprised you haven't waisted away in all those books of yers"
"Apples are healthy enough, and I do eat sandwiches sometimes," Kaleb said in a weak voice, fidgeting with the long sleeves of his pyjama shirt. He didn't know why this conversation was making him so edgy today, since last time it had just made him irritated, but he blamed it on not getting enough rest. He could handle small meals, but he needed his sleep.
"Should just keep you here to baby sit you and make sure you eat." He snorted as he shuffled back into the couch cushions. "Be easier to keep an eye on ya"
"I don't need a babysitter! I'm fine on my own!" Kaleb snapped miserably, and then buried his face in his pillow. He already regretted saying it, because now his partner would be mad, and he wouldn't have someone warm to sleep with when he had nightmares. Riley probably wouldn't want to practice with him either.
"Yer not .... you'd have spent all last night alone crying and being scared if i wasn't here. And ya'd have probably not eaten breakfast." He eyed the pieces of orange that were left. Kaleb hadn't eaten all of the breakfast even with him there.
Riley's words stung because they were completely true. "I-I'd s-survive," Kaleb said quietly, lifting his head up from his pillow, but unable to look at his partner because he was so ashamed. He sniffed a bit before he could stop himself.
Crap, he hadn't meant to make him sniffle. " Sorry ... didn't mean for that to come out like that." He scooted over on the couch and rested his head on Kaleb's shoulder. "Don't sniffle, please"
"S-sorry..." Kaleb said, and then hugged his pillow with one arm and used his other hand to cover his muzzle as his sniffling got a bit worse. He shouldn't have broken down this much, even though it wasn't fair for Riley to take his desire for emotional comfort and use it the way he had. "S-sorry," he stuttered again from under his hand, after unsuccessfully trying to curb his sniffles and inadvertedly just making them worse. "I-I think I-I'm just t-tired..."
He wrapped his arms around Kaleb and nuzzled him. "Sorrrysorrysorry please don't cry." He was suppose to be Kaleb's partner and help him not make him cry. "Do you want to go back to sleep. I don't mind. You wouldn't be tired that way." He didn't care if Kaleb took up his bed or his couch as long as he felt better.
Kaleb leaned into the embrace and rubbed away tears that were threatening to fall. "I-I d-don't want to be s-so pathetic..." he said quietly, clinging tightly to his pillow to keep from completely falling apart. "A-and my feet are c-cold..." He could probably have curled up wherever Riley wanted him and gone back to sleep after some reassurances, but he felt bad for still needing rest after sleeping all morning.
Reaching over he pulled a blanket off a nearby chair and draped it over Kaleb. "Yer not pathetic. Yer really strong and stuff ya just, just don't deal with the aftermath real well." at least Kaleb hadn't panicked when they were trapped. That had to count for something.
Kaleb didn't think he had ever heard anyone say anything like that about him. "Y-you d-don't think I-I'm pathetic?" He asked, glancing up at Riley. He wiggled closer and pulled the blanket tighter, reassured and encouraged by his partner's caring gestures.
"Nah ... yer strong in yer own way." Everyone couldn't be a rock like Rude or seemingly unaffected by anything like Rude or a d**k like Reno. "Like i couldn't keep track of all that magic stuff, i mean i can use materia but there's not really work involved in that."
Kaleb abandoned his pillow and hugged Riley instead. He wanted to say thanks but he was a little too choked up to manage the words, so the hug would have to do.
He was a little startled that Kaleb had hugged him but at least that was better than him crying more. If he hadn't seen Kaleb's skill he'd have to wonder if Rufus had hired the mage simply because he was cute.
Kaleb clung tightly for a bit, but his hold loosened somewhat as he calmed down and relaxed. It would have been hard not to relax, curled up on the couch under a blanket with someone warm. He only sniffled a little more, that fading off as he relaxed as well.
He leaned back against the arm of the couch and shifted his legs a little. "If ya want ta go to sleep ya can." Kaleb still seemed tired and since he'd had all those nightmares it would probably be a good idea for him to get more sleep.
Kaleb shifted a bit himself as Riley moved, so he was still comfortable and still able to hug his partner. "Right here?" He asked hesitantly. He could have slept happily right where he was, but he would be quick to move if Riley didn't want to be slept on.
"Yea, why not." The couch was comfortable and he could still reach the remote for the tv if he got bored of napping himself. Besides Kaleb was warm so he really didn't have anything to complain about. Anyone who complained about someone as cute as Kaleb laying in them had issues.
Kaleb smiled a bit and closed his eyes, curling up to a more comfortable sleeping position. He didn't really want to sleep though, just rest and nap a bit. He promised himself he would be much more careful the next time he was forced into overexerting himself with his magic, this type of exhaustion was troublesome even though Riley was willing to put up with it.
He settled back to stare at the television and let Kaleb sleep on him. Boring days could be useful after all.
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Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 11:23 pm
Parties and Alcohol Straightening his tie he huffed and tried not to look like he didn't want to be there. He may have had the suit and may have been a Turk but he didn't belong at parties. He was just there to make sure no one tried to off Rufus so he should have been able to hide in corners. Sadly his chosen corner was quickly invaded by a gaggle of women who wanted to poke and prod at the newest Turk. Tseng had come to save Kaleb a few minuets ago but now he was worried about Reno getting his hands on the mage.
"Come on, i promise it's not alcoholic. Fake stuff that smells like that so that it tastes better." He wiggled a glass in front of Kaleb. He didn't think he'd be able to get Kaleb away from Riley long enough to get him at least a glass of something to drink but Tseng had, inadvertently, come to the rescue.
Kaleb gave Reno a suspicious look. "I-I don't know, I probably shouldn't drink anything," he said, fidgeting a bit. He wanted to ask Tseng or Riley if the drink was good and alcohol free, but Tseng had left him alone momentarily, and there was no way he was going to go back to Riley while he was surrounded by the upper-class ladies.
"It's fine. And if you have something to drink you can always ignore questions under the pretext that you're busy." Kaleb just needed to not be so suspicious of him and the drink.
"I-I don't understand," Kaleb said, but he found himself taking the glass anyway just to get Reno to stop wiggling it. He couldn't see how having a drink would make anyone 'busy' enough to ignore questions. Not that people were asking him questions tonight, his partner attracted most of the novelty-seekers, and people always seemed more interested in speculating over his head rather than talking to him directly anyway.
"These are scoiety people. If yer drinking they will pass you buy if they had a question to ask." He took a drink from his own glass. "Either that or you can sneek away from conversation by saying you want another drink"
Kaleb frowned a bit more at the glass in his hands, but if Reno said it didn't have alcohol in it, the mage would have to trust him. He took a hesitant sip, and winced slightly as he got used to the taste and sharp feeling of the bubbles in his mouth. "It tastes like alcohol," he said, glancing up at the redhead with an unsure expression.
"That's cause it smells like it. Didn't'cha know that smell is like almost half of taste?" He grinned as he finished off his glass. "Nothin to worry 'bout."
Kaleb took another sip. It really did taste like alcohol, and he still wasn't sure if he should be drinking it, but he didn't believe Reno would outright lie to him.
He grinned at Kaleb and after patting him on the shoulder headed back toward the bar. He didn't have enough of a buzz to deal with all this socializing politely.
Finding himself alone in the crowd of fine suits and dresses made Kaleb really nervous, so he quickly gulped the rest of his drink and set the empty glass on a tray being carried past by a waiter before setting off to find someone he knew. Riley was the first person he saw, and he decided being with him in the midst of that mess would be better than being on his own.
"No. Rufus hired me because i was trained. I'm not anyone's keeper." He was thankful now that Tseng had taken Kaleb off. The women seemed to think that the blond was the most interesting thing and that Riley was there to keep an eye on him for Rufus.
Kaleb slipped through the crowd until he stood next to his partner, feeling a great deal more comfortable even though he knew he had caught some of the ladies' eyes by simply being there. He had no idea what Riley was talking to them about, but hopefully he could continue the conversation and keep the ladies' attention.
He looked down at Kaleb and tried not to wince. That wasn't going to help. When the ladies took notice of Kaleb they were quick to fire questions at him about how Rufus liked having to share the blond. They were curious as to if he was nice about it and if Riley had to ask permission.
Kaleb was immediately confused by the new questions, since he didn't quite clue in that the ladies still believed he was Rufus' plaything. He waited to see how Riley would answer all the questions, hoping that might give him some hints as to what exactly was being discussed.
"Um no, you see i'm his field partner. We're Rufus bodyguards not guarding each other." He really didn't like the questions and it didn't help that Kaleb was there now. "Really. I don't get how you ladies come to those conclusions"
Kaleb remained innocently confused until one of the more vocal ladies exclaimed that he was certainly too small to be any kind of bodyguard, and said there was only one reason she could imagine as to why Rufus would hire such a pretty little thing. Then the mage blushed brightly.
"No no, see he's a mage. So he dosen't have to be, well strong, like the rest of us." Then again they all thought Reno was another of Rufus play things too so that didn't say much. "Can you not talk about those things? Kaleb's right here."
Kaleb blushed a bit more, but he wasn't as disturbed by the conversation as he would have been if the alcohol hadn't just hit him. Still, he didn't want Riley to worry. "I-it's okay," he whispered, touching his partner's arm to get his attention, and leaning in a bit so the ladies wouldn't overhear. "I-I know what they think of me."
He turned his head to look at Kaleb. "And yer alright with that?" The ladies could have probably hear him but he wasn't really paying attention to that. Sadly his words caused the ladies around them to think they were talking about something completely different.
Kaleb nodded, blushing a bit more at the giggles and twitters from the ladies around them, which only added to their misconceptions. "I don't want to stand out. N-not for my magic, at least," he said, still whispering.
"It's a little late for that, and stop blushing it's not helping." He looked at the giggling girls and grabbed Kaleb's arm gently. "Excuse us ladies ... i need to speak to him for a minuet." He tugged Kaleb away from the girls followed by much giggling and twittering.
Kaleb blushed worse as he followed Riley in a docile manner and tried to ignore the ladies. "Sorry... I-I don't think they were convinced anyway," he said regarding the comment about his magic. He felt a little bit off balance all of a sudden, and had to reach out to steady himself against his partner. Now he suspected Reno had been wrong about that drink.
"The only thing they're convinced of is that you're Rufus toy and i was hired to keep everyone else's hands off you." Except maybe his own when Rufus let him, according to them. "Why are you unbal.... you took a drink from Reno didn't you?"
Kaleb was surprised at how quickly Riley figured it out. "He said it would be okay... I... I kind of drank it really fast." And now it was certainly catching up with him, his body couldn't handle the amount that was absorbed into his bloodstream all of a sudden.
"And you trusted him?" He didn't know how Kaleb could have thought that anything Reno gave him would be safe. "Are you okay?"
"I didn't think he would lie to me," Kaleb said, without a trace of bitterness in his voice. Then he smiled up at Riley and nodded, but he had to hold onto Riley's arm to keep from swaying and falling over. "I'm okay. I think."
"It's Reno. He'd lie to Rufus." He shook his head and steadied Kaleb. "I think yer drunk." It was obvious that the alcohol had gotten to the mage quickly. He made a mental note to not let Kaleb hear Reno and liquid anything again.
"Oh." Kaleb said after a second, in response to both of Riley's comments. He barely swayed if he had his partner to cling to and didn't make any sudden movements, but it would be easy to overlook his intoxication if his lousy balance and coordination went unnoticed. The mage still looked completely sober, and the flush to his cheeks could easily be mistaken for his usual blush.
"No more drinks for you" He didn't need to have to watch out for threats to Rufus and keep track of a drunk partner. Maybe they should go sit down. Leading Kaleb toward the door he planned on finding Kaleb a seat somewhere away from the party and anyone's questions.
Kaleb nodded a bit before catching himself, using Riley's arm for balance. "I didn't want the first one," he said, not concerned at all about where his partner was taking him. He trusted Riley a good deal more than he trusted Reno, especially now since Reno had lied to get him to drink. He briefly wondered why the redhead seemed to enjoy getting him drunk, but the thought didn't hang around for too long.
"Next time just don't take anything from him. It's never going to be what he says." Well that really depended. It could be exactally what he said but if he was doing that it would still be something nasty. He found a seat outside where the party was being held and sat Kaleb down.
"I'll try not to, but it's hard." Kaleb said honestly. Reno was manipulative, and the mage was an easy target by virtue of his trust. He smiled once they were away from the noise and closeness of the party, and he smiled more once he found himself sitting down. "Are we allowed to be out here?" He asked hesitantly.
"Just don't take drinks from him unless someone checks it for you." He shook his head as he watched Kaleb.
"We're probably not suppose to be but i think they'll forgive us. It's not like a drunk Turk is much help"
Kaleb nodded, and looked away rather unhappily. "I'm sorry," he said in an equally unhappy voice. He really didn't think Reno was giving him anything alcoholic, and he probably shouldn't have drank it as fast as he had, and now he felt unhelpful.
"Do you have to apologize so much?" He flopped down on the floor in front of Kaleb's chair since there wasn't another in the hall. "It's not yer fault. It's Reno's for giving you the drink. He knows you can't hold yer alcohol"
"Sorry..." Kaleb said, and then abruptly bit the end of his thumb to stop himself from talking more. He slouched a bit in his seat, looking miserable and apologetic.
He rested his arms on Kaleb's knees and his head on his arms. "See you did it again."
"Sorry," Kaleb said again before he was able to stop himself by biting down on his thumb again. He glanced down at Riley as though begging him not to say any more on the matter, just in case he accidentally apologised again.
He shook his head. "Hopeless." At least he was grinning when he said it rather than looking upset.
Sadly Reno took that moment to come looking for the two. Seeing how they were sitting and hearing Riley's words he smirked. "Hey now. I didn't give him that drink so you could take him out here and take advantage of him. That's my job"
He winced when he heard Reno's voice and growled slightly at him.
Kaleb looked up suddenly when he heard Reno's voice, and probably would have fallen over if he had been standing. "He's not taking advantage of me," he said, before biting down on his thumb again.
He ignored Riley's snarling and laughed. "Sure looks like he is from'ere"
"I was making sure Kaleb didn't get hurt after you got him drunk"
"Aww, figured it out did'ja?"
"He's not," Kaleb said, and then he looked down at Riley, not quite understanding how his partner could take advantage of him from down there. He frowned a bit at the bickering, some of it was Reno's fault for giving him the drink, but it was also his own fault for actually drinking it.
"Don't give him drinks Reno. He didn't want to be drunk." He didn't move from where he was but he did pick his head up. "And just cause yer known for goin off to do things in dark rooms with Rude doesn't mean we're gonna do that."
"Like you wouldn't given half the chance." He grinned. "You know you want in his pants just as much as i ... did"
Riley tensed up and looked like he was moments from lunging at Reno.
Kaleb giggled a bit, he didn't think Riley or Reno would be able to fit in his pants. He didn't say that out loud though, and he also managed to keep from telling Riley he could have his pants if he really wanted, when he wasn't wearing them. He was distracted from his giggling when he noticed the way one of his partner's ears flopped over, and he idly reached out to touch it with one hand.
His shoulders drooped when Kaleb touched his ear and he just barely managed to hold back purring. "Yer not allowed in Kaleb's pants anymore." his words didn't have the bite to them that they usually did thanks to Kaleb's hand.
"We'll see." He snickered at the two. "If yer gonna hide out here then warn someone. Tseng was lookin for ya" With that he sauntered back into the party.
Kaleb giggled again noting the way his partner responded to his touch, and he moved his hand to stroke and rub Riley's ear. He liked touching the soft fur with his fingers. "Maybe we should go find Tseng?" Kaleb asked, still petting his partner's ear.
"If he was really worried about were we were he'd'ave found us." He leaned into the touch slightly. So Kaleb had found one of his weak spots. He'd just have to make sure he didn't remember it later when he was trying to get at Reno.
"Okay," Kaleb said simply, and put the thought out of mind. This was more fun than looking for Tseng anyway. He ran his fingers along the edge of his partner's ear before moving them down to rub at the soft spot right behind it. The mage enjoyed how Riley leaned in for more petting, and he was curious to see if there were any spots his partner really liked.
He purred slightly as he rested his head on his arms again. That felt good and he probably should have put a stop to it but he didn't want to. He liked the feel of Kaleb's fingers on his ears. Maybe he could call this payment for putting up with the nightmares.
Kaleb wore a delighted smile as he continued to stroke his partner's ear. "Does it really feel that good?" he asked as he moved his hand so he could rub with his fingers and thumb. He had never had his own ears rubbed like that, or experienced anything nice enough to make him purr, so he really enjoyed being able to please his partner like that.
"Mmhum" His eyes closed as Kaleb petted him. He'd always liked his ears messed with, which is why he'd gotten them pierced so many times, so this was perfect.
Kaleb couldn't help but grin, Riley just looked so happy and comfortable. He moved his hands back up, gently touching the earrings he had been too hesitant to touch earlier. The little mage didn't have any piercings himself, so he wasn't sure if Riley would like it if he touched them. Still, he couldn't resist giving one of the rings a gentle pull.
He grunted slightly when Kaleb tugged on his earring but it didn't seem to be a bad grunt. He really should stop Kaleb but he really didn't want to. He liked the feeling of someone playing with his earrings that wasn't some lab assistant trying to find out if he liked the feeling. Kaleb was much cuter than them.
Kaleb went back to rubbing at his ears a bit more before touching the earrings again, this time running his fingers across them to see what the metal felt like. It was a curiousity brought on by his eagerness to please, and he liked that happy expression on his partner's face.
He continued to purr as Kaleb messed with his earrings again. The rings were warm since they'd been against his body all day. "Mmmnng feels good"
That was encouragement enough, and Kaleb tugged and toyed with the earrings a bit more before going back to rubbing at the base of Riley's ear, smiling in a delighted manner the entire time. All of a sudden his fingers stilled, and an odd look crossed his face.
When Kaleb stopped he frowned slightly and opened one eye to look up at the other. "why stop?" He didn't ask him to stop so why'd he stop? No one came to bother them right?
Kaleb hesitanted, fidgeting instead of rubbing Riley's ear. "I feel kind of... ill." Kaleb said weakly, his odd look turning a little sickly around the edges.
"Damn it." He stood up unwillingly and tugged Kaleb up. "No being sick in the hall ... i'm not getting bitched at cause someone has to clean the floor"
"I'm sorry..." Kaleb said miserably, staggering a bit as he was pulled to his feet. "I'll try not to-" He cut off and made a bit of a choked noise in the back of his throat, and then put one hand over his mouth.
Turning Kaleb around he directed him in the direction of one of the buildings bathrooms. Lord help him if they didn't make it.
Kaleb didn't say a word, but thankfully he also didn't empty his stomach until he found himself safely in a washroom. He did spend a couple minutes leaning over the toilet once they did get there though.
He was going to hurt Reno for this. Not only did he get Kaleb drunk but he made him sick too. He'd have to get him in the gym and kick the s**t out of him where no one could complain. "Kaleb .... you okay?"
Kaleb nodded weakly as he slumped away from the toilet, and wiped his mouth with the back of one hand. "I think... I think I feel better," he said, but he certainly didn't look any better. Maybe a little less green, but still miserable.
He'd snuck out for a moment and gotten a glass of water for the other. "Here." He held the glass out to Kaleb. "Once you can stand i'll go see if Rufus will let us leave. You're in no shape to be here"
Kaleb gratefully took the glass and sipped at it, eager to get the awful taste out of his mouth and soothe the irritation at the back of his throat. After a minute or so he glanced back up at his partner, still looking a bit miserable, but mostly embarassed. "I'm sorry... I think I'm okay now."
"We're still going to make Rufus let you go home." That way Reno couldn't give him anything else and if it got sick again he'd at least be home. "Come on." He took Kaleb's hand and tugged him gently in the direction of the party.
Kaleb stumbled a bit at first, but he held Riley's hand for balance more than anything and was better once he got moving. He didn't want to go back to the party though, and resisted his partner's tugs a bit as they got closer to the main room. The mage was mostly afraid of Rufus' possible reaction to his intoxication and request to leave early.
When he noticed Kaleb tugging at him he turned around. "What? ... oh right. You stay here." He nudged Kaleb back at a chair. "I'll go talk to Rufus, or Tseng, and see what i can do"
Kaleb sat down almost miserably, and wondered if he could distract Riley by offering to rub his ears more. Then he wouldn't have to go talk to anyone, and Kaleb wouldn't have to feel useless and leave the party early. He didn't speak up though, since a part of him thought it would be more comfortable at home. He could even crawl into bed and go to sleep if he wanted to.
He found Tseng, who was with Rufus, and explained things. Rufus didn't seem all to thrilled at the idea but Tseng seemed to notice his concern for his partner and talked Rufus into it. It took more convincing than he wanted but eventually he made his way back out to find Kaleb.
"Rufus said i can take you home" He looked down at the other.
Kaleb had fidgeted a bit while Riley was gone, and he fidgeted a bit worse once Riley was back. "Is he mad at me?" He asked nervously, almost not sure if he wanted to hear the answer. If Rufus was upset with him, it probably would have been easier for him to handle not knowing the answer at all.
"No. Tseng took care of it." He held out a hand to Kaleb. "Nothing to worry about. Do you think yer gonna be alright ... or do you want to stay with me?" Kaleb could end up feeling worse later and he didn't want his partner to be alone if he was going to feel bad.
Kaleb took Riley's hand and carefully got to his feet and hesitated before answering the question. He would have loved to stay with Riley for the night, and in his drunken state the desire to seek warmth and companionship was stronger than usual, but he still couldn't force himself to be a burden. "I think I'll be okay at home," he said, glancing sheepishly at the ground. "I don't want to be more trouble."
He sighed as he led Kaleb toward the front and the valet who could get his car. "Look, for once just tell me what you want and don't worry about what i want. I wouldn't have asked if i had a problem with it."
Kaleb paused, and it was a good thing there was only the valet around to overhear their conversation instead of a crowd of giggling women. "I want to sleep with you," the little healer said, not even considering what might have been suggested by his request for someone to curl up with that night.
His mind screeched to a halt for a moment as the Valet looked at him and he tried to rearrange Kaleb's words into something else. "Okay." When the valet handed him the keys he hustled Kaleb into the car just so he could get away from the valet looking at them.
Kaleb nearly panicked a bit when Riley paused, thinking perhaps he shouldn't have actually told his partner what he wanted despite being told to be honest about it, but he felt better almost immediately when Riley accepted it. He didn't speak much once he was in the car, but he did smile more than he had since throwing up.
It didn't take them long to get to his apartment and he quickly bundled Kaleb out of the car and inside. He was still trying not to think about how Kaleb had worded things, knowing he didn't mean it that way, but it wasn't helping much.
Kaleb smiled at the apartment, and how it was kind of familar at this point, but kind of not familiar at the same time. That kind of fondness wouldn't make nearly as much sense if he were sober. He fidgeted a bit near the front door, waiting for Riley to go tell him what he should do now that he was here.
"Come on." He tugged him toward his room. "I think i have a pair of pajama pants that will not be too loose on you." Everything he had was bound to be too big on the mage but he did have a few things that were almost too small for him. "We can get you tucked into bed."
Kaleb smiled lopsidedly and let himself be pulled around, although he staggered a bit at times. "Thanks," he said, absentmindedly wishing he could make himself a portal to go home and get his own pyjamas, that way he wouldn't have to trouble Riley about finding him something to wear.
Sitting Kaleb down on the bed he rummaged around until he pulled out a pair of blue plaid pants and tossed them at Kaleb. "There ya go .. thoes shouldn't be too big."
He straightened up and pulled his tie off before working on shrugging his jacket and shirt off.
Kaleb paused for a minute before pulling off his own jacket, and then paused a bit longer before starting on the buttons of his shirt. "Riley, can you, uhm... not look while I change?" he asked over his shoulder. The washroom was too far away, and Kaleb didn't want to stagger all the way there and all the way back just to get changed.
"It's not like i haven't seen all the bits you have." It was a little pointless to be modest. It wasn't like Kaleb had stuff he hadn't seen. He dug out a pair of pants for himself while he spoke.
"But... I don't want you to see," Kaleb protested, pulling off his shirt to reveal his scrawny, tattoed back, and carefully folding the expensive article of clothing to place it on top of his jacket.
He looked up just in time to see Kaleb's back and his eyes widened. Kicking the drawer shut he slunk over to the bed and slid one finger down the design on Kaleb's back. "Hey .. i didn't notice that before"
Kaleb's back arched the moment he felt Riley's touch, and he let out a surprised squeak. "Riley! I asked you not to look!" He protested, wrapping his arms around himself for some small amount of cover as he turned to look at his partner.
"But it's cool looking." He squirmed around and turned Kaleb back so he could look at the mark more. "Didn't think ya'd have somethin like that"
"Most people wouldn't, but there's a reason for it. Can I finish getting changed?" He asked, fidgeting a bit and blushing over being looked at so closely. "You can look again after, if you really want."
".. i guess." He turned around and sat on the other side of the bed so he could change into his pajama pants. If Kaleb would let him look at it later then he could make a compromise and let his partner get changed without him staring.
Kaleb glanced over his shoulder to make sure his partner wasn't looking, and then pulled off his pants and slipped into the pair Riley had let him borrow for the night. They were really big on him, and longer in the leg than his own pyjamas, but it was comfortable. He fidgeted a bit more, pulling his feet up onto the bed, but otherwise he sat still and waited so Riley could look at his tattoo more if he wanted.
Once he felt Kaleb still he turned around and nosed Kaleb's back before he slid his hands over the mark again. "When'd you get it? Didn't come like that did ya?"
Kaleb tried not to arch his back again, he wasn't used to other people having their hands on his skin, and it made him a little nervous even though he thought he liked the sensation. "I've had it for a couple years now." He said, not fidgeting nearly as much as he would have been if he hadn't had a drink earlier. "I had it done in my last year at the institute where I learned magic."
"Is it some kinda magic thing?" He'd learned that there were forms of magic that people did that involved symbols so this could have been one of them. It was weird to think of Kaleb having a tattoo since he was so, well innocent, all the time.
Kaleb was pleased Riley caught on and he nodded quickly, getting a little dizzy and placing one hand on the bed to steady himself. "It's a summons. The tattoo acts as a focus point for the magic, it's necessary for the spell to work." He knew many of the oldest mages had several tattoos, and these were usually used for their more complex spells that they used frequently. He was young for having such a mark, but he was young for a lot of things in the magical realm.
"Intresting." Noticing Kaleb wobble slightly he wrapped his arms around the mage and flopped over onto the bed taking the other with him. "I thought usually magic things like that were runes. Didn't know they did symbols too"
Kaleb would have flailed as he suddenly felt lots of skin contact and then tipped over, but his arms were trapped in Riley's embrace so he could only squeak in a surprise and then wait for his head to stop spinning. "Runes are overrated." He said after a second. "It's not so much the symbol itself as the meaning the mage attaches to it. There are some rules that govern these things, but usually the same tattoo won't work for everyone."
He shifted Kaleb around slightly so he could get comfortable and so they could settle down to sleep. "So ..... symbols like that depends on who's got them and who's using them?" He was starting to think it was true that you could learn something new every day
Kaleb nodded before he thought to speak, there was just so much warmth and skin contact, and that combined with the alcohol and relatively late night was making him a little woozy. "Mmhmm, tattoos are very personal..." he yawned, "and it's the personal meaning that allows them to become the focus of a spell."
He almost opened his mouth to ask something else but with Kaleb yawning he decided it would be better just to let the other sleep. He rested his muzzle on the mages neck and tugged the blanket over them. They could talk in the morning over breakfast.
Kaleb made a happy drowsy noise when he felt Riley's muzzle against his neck, it was much easier for him to express his pleasure when his mind was dulled by the effects of alcohol. Wiggling a bit closer to his partner, he reached up to give Riley's ear a small rub before yawing again and drifting off to sleep.
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Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 11:24 pm
Morning After He woke early the next morning, although not nearly as early as he usually did. He panicked a bit at the headache, awful taste in his mouth, and the amount of direct skin contact, until he remembered with some fuzziness what happened the night before. Once reassured this wasn't another case of waking up naked with another guy, he moaned a little and tried to hide his aching head under the covers.
He wasn't ready to wake up when Kaleb started squirming around. Grumbling slightly he tightened his arms around the other and nuzzled against him. He was warm and comfortable and it was far too early to be up. Rufus didn't need to see him until at least late afternoon so that meant plenty of sleeping in time. [/color
"Mnn..." Kaleb struggled a bit against Riley's grasp. Even though he would rather just snuggle and go back to sleep until his headache went away, he really needed a drink. He wanted that horrible taste in his mouth to go away, and he was thirsty enough to brave the headache that would result from getting up.
As Kaleb kept squirming he eventually let him go and wrapped his arms around a pillow instead. If Kaleb wanted to get up then he going get up. He was going to stay in bed and make the other jealous cause he was comfortable.
Kaleb was thrown off balance by Riley finally letting him go, and he fell out of bed with a loud thud before getting to his feet without a complaint and wandering off to the kitchen. After a bit of bleary-eyed poking around in cuboards he was able to find a glass and fill it with water from the tap. He gulped it quickly, the air in the apartment felt too cold on his bare back, and then he wandered back into the bedroom to crawl under the warm covers.
He'd almost gone back to sleep while Kaleb was gone but as soon as the other audio was back in bed he abandoned the pillow and snuggled up to Kaleb again. It was warmer that way and Kaleb was the perfect size to snuggle around.
Kaleb wiggled a bit to get comfortable, and stole the pillow Riley had discarded. It was warm, so he was able to relax easily while lying between the pillow and his partner. The only problem was that he couldn't get back to sleep. His head hurt, and he felt kind of restless just lying there without anything to occupy his mind.[/color
He nuzzled Kaleb's neck and tried to ignore the other shifting. It wasn't time to get up yet damn it. Huffing slightly he yawned "Stop squirmin .. too early."
Kaleb made a disgruntled noise and wiggled around so he was facing Riley. "I'm not tired." He said with a near-pout.
Kaleb's wiggling left his muzzle pressed up against Riley's for a moment. "Don have ta be tired to nap"
Kaleb blushed a bit and pulled back, glancing away from his partner's face. "I-I do, otherwise I feel like I should be doing something." That was his inner workaholic speaking, without that desire to do things he wouldn't ever gotten as far as he had in his magic. He shifted a bit, his nose now close to Riley's collarbone.
"Do somethin in yer head?" His voice was slightly muddle since he was still partially asleep. He didn't want to let Kaleb up again since he was warm and he didn't want to get up yet.
"My head hurts, it's hard to think..." Kaleb said, idly pressing his nose against Riley's neck. If being hungover hadn't affected his magic, he would have portalled home to grab a book while he was up getting a drink. Then he could lounge so Riley could cuddle, and still entertain himself. The healer honestly couldn't think of anything he could do in bed that would be more entertaining than reading a book.
"I've got books somewhere..." he had a few of them lying around. Mostly science books but something might interest Kaleb. "Under'da tv." He waved a hand at the entertainment center that was in his room.
Kaleb's ears perked a bit, and he sat up and crawled to the foot of the bed before slipping off to see what reading material his partner kept. He had to lean real close to read the titles with his nearsightedness, but eventually he selected a book on mako energy and materia since it was the closest he could find to magic. With his prize clutched to his chest and a happy wag to his tail, he crawled back across the bed and slipped under the covers, using the pillow Riley had abandoned to prop up his head so he could read.
Riley waited for the mage to get comfortable before nuzzling back up to him. At least he wouldn't shift around much while reading so he could get comfortable and stay that way. They'd have to get something to eat eventually but that could wait until he felt like getting out of bed.
Kaleb shifted a bit to settle in as Riley snuggled against him, and it took some wiggling before he had enough freedom of movement to hold the book up comfortably and turn pages when he needed to. He wasn't sure if he was close enough for Riley's taste, his partner seemed to get very clingy when he was tired.
His breathing evened out eventually as he went back to napping. The almost rhythmic sound of Kaleb turning pages and the feel of his partners chest moving as he breathed was an easy thing to concentrate on. He could relax that way and forget that he had to go back to work later and that he'd have to see the scientists again in a week or so.
Kaleb was soon completely wrapped up in his reading, he had found a section on how materia and mako reacted with biological organisms and it held his attention almost as strongly as his own books. He probably could have laid there for as long as it took to read the chapter, and although he didn't outright think about how warm and comfortable he was, he felt it.
Riley had read that book three times over and it still made his skin crawl ever time he looked though it. The stuff was too close to home. He could describe each one of the reactions to Mako perfectly and in horrible detail.
He'd much rather just pretend Kaleb wasn't reading that book and that he was reading something else.
Kaleb frowned as the content of the chapter turned from what beneficial effects could be produced through using materia and mako supplementation, to the side-effects resulting from that use. After a few more pages he put the book aside so he could focus on less disturbing things, like wiggling a bit closer to his partner's warm body.
He huffed slightly as Kaleb wiggled but hushed when he realized he was getting closer and not trying to get away. That was better. Kaleb wasn't allowed to go anywhere since he was comfortable.
Kaleb lay still for a few minutes and tried to think about what else he could entertain himself with, having lost enthusiasm for reading. He was getting kind of hungry, but he didn't want to bother Riley about breakfast while he looked so comfortable and determined to stay that way. For lack of anything better to do, he poked Riley's muzzle with his nose. It wasn't a brilliant plan, but it was something to do.
His nose scrunched slightly as he shifted and stick his tongue out enough to lick Kaleb. Some days it was worth it having a long tongue. It meant that people couldn't poke you without worry.
It was Kaleb's turn to scrunch up his nose, he hadn't expected to get his nose licked. But still, it was a reaction, and that prompted him to do it again. This time when he poked Riley, his nose was wet and a bit slimy.
He scrunched his nose again and snorted. He didn't want to get poked with wet slimy things. He reached up and poked Kaleb's nose with one hand and rubbed his own muzzle to try to get the wet off.
Kaleb smiled and licked Riley's finger. It was a wet, slimy lick.
He just drug his finger over Kaleb's cheek to dry it off. Two could play that game.
Kaleb reached up to rub the saliva off his cheek, and paused to consider the situation for a second. Then in one quick motion, he leaned forward to leave one long lick from his partner's collarbone, all the way up his neck to his chin.
His eye snapped open and he was still for a moment before he flailed slightly. That lick had been the wrong idea for Riley's mind. That wasn't something you just did unless you were doing something else.
Kaleb blinked, that certainly wasn't the reaction he was expecting, but at least he didn't end up with more slime on him. He wasn't even sure if his partner was okay, but a lick couldn't mess anyone up that badly... The little mage did know one thing, he probably just won whatever game they had been playing.
"That's cheating .... and now i need a shower." He really needed to get out of bed before Kaleb noticed anything out of place. "Should get breakfast while i'm getting clean. Real breakfast"
Kaleb frowned a bit. "How is that cheating?" He asked, sitting up to look at his partner and pulling the covers up to his chest. He didn't even know there were rules to the game, he had just been reacting to whatever Riley did.
"Cause i said it is." Pausing for a minuet he leaned over and licked Kaleb's muzzle before he slid off the bed to skurry to the shower.
"Go get breakfast!" He shouted back at the other as he turned on the water.
Kaleb rubbed the saliva off his muzzle not unhappily, and then slid out from under the blankets while he didn't have to worry about Riley turning to look at him. As much as he liked wearing Riley's pants, they were a tripping hazard so he changed back into his own and pulled on his shirt. He left his jacket and tie where they were. Wandering back into the kitchen, he stuck a slice of bread in the toaster and poured himself another glass of water.
He scrubbed himself clean in water far colder than he liked and then stood there for a while. At least it had only been a lick and not something worse. Eventually he got out and dried himself off before finding a pair of jeans and a t-shirt to wear.
Heading for the kitchen he yawned. "Did you find something? ... something substantial?"
Kaleb met Riley at the entrance to the kitchen with a sloppy lick across the underside of his jaw. The mage was too short to reach up any higher. "I found something good," he said afterwards, pointing in the direction of the toaster.
He was startled as Kaleb licked him again. "Not toast again." He sighed. "Can't you eat like a normal person?" He slid around Kaleb and went digging in the fridge. He'd picked up some sweet pastries the day before and he wanted one to eat.
So the lick still got him, but it didn't phase him as much as the previous one had. "Toast is normal." Kaleb said, fidgeting a bit as he waited for the toast to be done. "Do you have any jam?" he asked, hoping his partner would protest less if he put something on his toast.
"Toast is normal when it's with eggs or somethin." He pulled out a cream cheese filled pastry and a jar of apricot jam. "So it's not normal when yer just eatin toast"
"I always eat toast. And I like eating it with jam or peanut butter. That makes it normal enough." Kaleb said. Technically it was normal for him, if not the rest of the population, and by Riley's definition, jam and peanut butter both counted as 'something' and thus made it even more normal.
"maybe if you were havin like two or three pieces." He scrunched his nose and took a bite out of his pastry. "One piece doesn't count."
Kaleb blinked. He might be able to eat two pieces if he was absolutely starving, but usually one was more than fine. He decided to change the topic, and ask a question that had been on the edge of his mind since getting changed. "Did you say last night you wanted me in your pants? Is that part of the reason you brought me home with you?"
He choked on the piece of pastry he'd been eating and had to set it down so he could lean on the counter and cough. Kaleb really hadn't said that had he? And if he had he certinally couldn't know what it meant.
"Are you okay?" Kaleb asked, looking a little concerned. He took a hesitant step towards his partner and fidgeted. He still wanted answers though, just because Riley couldn't be careful with what he was eating didn't mean the mage was ready to forget about his questions.
"I'm fine." He coughed out before he managed to get himself under control. Maybe if he just didn't answer Kaleb would forget about that. Kaleb should not be thinking about getting pants.
By the time Riley was done coughing up that bite of pastry, Kaleb was ready with a glass of water for him. He watched his partner expectantly, waiting for an answer of some kind. "So, is that what you said?" He finally asked, verbally poking for information
He almost choked again before he caught himself. "You were in my pants. Wore my pj pants." Yea, that would cover it.
Kaleb huffed a bit. "I know that. I liked being in your pants." The little mage crossed his arms over his chest, and was about to ask his original question again except the toast popped up. He found a butter knife in the drawer he remembered Riley pulling cutlery out of the last time he was there, and then grabbed the jar of jam to put some on his toast. "Was that what you wanted?" he asked over his shoulder.
He picked up his pastry and almost took another bite but thought better of it as Kaleb kept asking questions. "Can we not talk about getting into pants?"
"Fine," Kaleb said, with an expression that said he would be perfectly fine indulging Riley's peculiar and pointless aversion to pants as a conversation topic. Then he took a bite of his jam-covered toast."Why did you bring me here last night?" He asked with a more serious expression, having completely forgotten about asking Riley to sleep with him in front of the valet as they left the party.
"Well i asked you if you wanted to go home or if you wanted to come back here and you said you wanted to ... sleep with me." He had to take a moment to say after thinking about completely wrong things for a moment.
Somehow Kaleb managed to swallow the piece of toast in his mouth without choking on it like Riley did. A brilliant blush streaked across his muzzle, and he bit a jam-sticky thumbnail. "I-I'm sorry, I-I shouldn't have imposed..." Apparently he had also forgotten how Riley asked him to tell the truth about what he wanted.
"I also told you to tell me what you wanted before hand." He sighed and munched on his pastry. "Didn't want you to wake up and feel bad or something without someone to help"
Kaleb didn't stop blushing, but he did look less anxious. "Th-thanks..." He stuttered, looking down at his hands and half-eaten slice of toast. "I-I really do like it here," he added timidly.
"Eat the toast." He finished off his pastry and got a glass of juice for himself. "Yer always welcome here whenever ya want." It would be easier to make sure Kaleb ate if he was here and then Kaleb wouldn't have nightmares as bad.
"Thanks," Kaleb said again, smiling this time. Riley's words made him feel good, and safe, like he had someone to turn to if he needed it. He took another bite of his toast, and found himself wishing he had a glass of chocolate milk to go with his breakfast.
"Anything you want to drink beside water?" Water wasn't nice to have with breakfast since it didn't taste like anything. "I have some juice and stuff"
Kaleb considered the question for a second before answering. He really did want a glass of chocolate milk, but he didn't think Riley would happen to have any in the fridge. "Water's fine," he said with a smile, taking another bite of his toast.
"Sure?" If he didn't have anything he could always get some of whatever it was for Kaleb to have later.
The healer nodded with another smile, and then stuck the last bite of toast in his mouth. "I'm sure," he said, and then began licking and sucking the sticky jam off his fingers.
He shook his head slightly and finished off his drink. "Do you have anywhere to be today? I have to go to work around six and can drip you off if you have to be somewhere."
Kaleb looked around the room until he found a clock, and noted the time. "I'll have to be at the hospital for my shift later, b-but I-I don't need to bother you for a ride..." He took a second to wash his hands and get the rest of the stickiness off. He could always walk or take the bus, and his magic ability would certainly have returned to full strength by that point anyway.
"You sure? Cause it's not a problem" He stretched slightly and yawned. He'd be tired at work but since he probably wasn't doing anything interesting so it wouldn't be a problem
Kaleb nodded, and then paused for a second. "I-if you're going to the office, can you take me with you so I can get home from there?" He asked, fidgeting a bit. He was a little nervous about asking for a ride, because the last time he did Reno had asked for a kiss to return the favour, and then Riley had gotten mad...
"I can take you home if you want. Didn't i just say that?" He didn't have a problem with it and he didn't think Kaleb owned him anything for it. "I mean it's not like it's that much out of my way"
Kaleb blushed a bit. "I-I would like that, b-but I really don't want to be any trouble," he insisted, fidgeting and looking very nervous. He reached for his glass of water sitting on the counter, and then pulled his hand back as though he couldn't decide if he wanted to take a drink or not.
He reached out and tapped Kaleb's muzzle. "I said it's no trouble. So yer getting a ride home."
Kaleb stuck out his tongue and licked Riley's hand as it withdrew before he could stop himself, and he blushed a bit harder. "S-sorry..."
"Wan'a taste of me that bad huh?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop him and he had to turn away before his cheeks turned pink.
Kaleb completely missed the innuendo in his partner's words, but he was happy Riley wasn't angry about being licked outside of their little game earlier. He smiled. "Th-thanks, for the ride..." His smile faltered just a bit. "Y-you're not going to ask me for anything, are you?"
"Why would i ask you for somethin?" He went to go flop on the couch since he had a few hours until he had to get dressed. "i mean i offered. it'd be kinda stupid to ask fer something."
Kaleb didn't want to mention how Reno had wanted a favour for giving him a ride to work, it would probably make Riley mad, and the mage didn't want to be called in from the hospital later that night to heal any brawling injuries. He just fidgeted a bit and went to go sit down next to his partner, before looking up with a 'what now?' sort of expression.
"Sorry i'm not really entertaining." He looked at Kaleb sheepishly. "Not ... use to having company" He wasn't used to much of anything and most of his 'entertainment' he didn't think Kaleb would be entertained by.
"I-I don't mind, I don't have company much myself..." He smiled hesitantly. "A-at least your apartment has somewhere to sit," he offered, his smile turning almost wry. It was hard to find a place for two people to sit in his own apartment without moving books first.
"Thas cause yers is covered in books" He snickered slightly. He didn't know how Kaleb could live with all those books and not hurt himself all the time
Kaleb looked around Riley's apartment for a minute after that comment. "Well, I think your apartment has a distressing lack of books." He said, trying to keep a straight face. It really did look rather empty now that he considered it, there were so many empty corners and bare surfaces...
"Nuh huh. Yer just used to that like .. library ya have." He scrunched his nose and was about to say something else when his phone went off. Groaning he got up and fished around where he'd dropped his yes for the phone. "Yes? .... just cause you want the night off i bet. ... yea, right .... sure." he snapped the phone shut. "Seems like i have to get to work early."
"Now?" Kaleb asked, standing up and getting ready to grab his jacket and tie from the bedroom, where he had folded and set them aside the night before. He hoped Riley didn't have to go in early because they left early last night, since it hadn't been Riley's fault.
"Close to now. I've got to get dressed and all but yea. Reno wants to go home early so that means that i have ta get my a** to work." He headed for his room so he could at least find a few pieces of his suit.
Kaleb took one step, hesitated, and sat back down on the couch. If Riley was going to get dressed, he wasn't about to walk in on him. He would just get his suit jacket and tie once his partner was finished.
He rummaged around in his closet until he found a clean shirt and shrugged it on. S much for lounging around all day before work. Now he had to go in early and do paperwork.
Kaleb fidgeted nervously as he waited for Riley to finish, until he decided to get up and get another glass of water before returning to the couch to sip at it.
Eventually he came back out mostly dressed. "Alright. Ready? Or?"
Kaleb abandoned his glass on the coffee table and hopped to his feet, running to grab his jacket and tie from the other room. "Yeah, I just need to get my shoes on," he said, already slipping them onto his feet.
Once Kaleb had his shoes on he grabbed his keys and opened the door. "Come on then ... i'll get you home then head to work"[/col
Kaleb smiled gratefully at his partner as they left. He wouldn't have been able to portal home just yet, so the ride saved him from a walk he would rather not take.
It didn't take long to get to Kaleb's apartment, at least not with the way he drove. "Don't get into any trouble on yer own." He grinned at Kaleb as he stopped the car.
Kaleb smiled back. "I-I'll try not to," he replied as he opened the door. "Thanks again for the ride," he said, slipping out and shutting the door behind him. He waved a bit as Riley drove off before heading up to his apartment.
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Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 11:27 pm
Reports and Practice Kaleb had been pulled out of his afternoon studying by a call from Rufus, with a request to drop by the office to discuss some things. It didn't take too long before he was dismissed, but now he felt fidgety at the thought of going back to his studies so soon. The mage poked his head into Riley's office to ask if his partner wanted anything while he was there, but he caught his tongue when he noticed Riley asleep at his desk. He quietly padded over to 'his' chair and pulled it up close so he could sit down and rest his arms on the desk. Then he set his head down on his arms, his nose inches from his partner's.
He'd gone to sleep on top of a few reports he'd been working on. His pen was still under his hand and his tongue was just barely hung out of his mouth. Thankfully his tongue hadn't touched or dripped on any of the papers yet. He wasn't really tired but he'd been so bored by the work that he'd given up in pursuit of more entertaining things.
Kaleb studied the scene with some amusement, letting a smile creep across his muzzle. He just watched his partner for a couple seconds before shifting a bit so he could poke Riley's nose.
He grumbled slightly and tried to catch whatever was poking him with his teeth. He had been almost comfortable napping and didn't want to get up.
Kaleb didn't pull his hand away, letting Riley gently bite down on his finger. Since they seemed to be playing that game again, he leaned a bit closer and gave a small lick to his partner's nose.
He chewed on the finger until he felt his nose licked. Frowning he shook his head and licked Kaleb's hand. This was turning into a rather strange yet interesting way to wake up.
Kaleb returned the favour by wiping his slimy hand against Riley's cheek, and then returned to resting his chin on his arms, his own nose close to Riley's wet nose. Okay, so maybe he should have just left his partner alone instead of poking him, but then again, Rufus might have gotten angry to see Riley sleeping on his paperwork.
He shifted and rubbed his wet cheek. Moving his head he licked Kaleb's muzzle before settling back down. Stupid paperwork making him sleepy.
Kaleb scrubbed at his muzzle a bit to get the slime off, and then leaned over to lick Riley's nose again, this time extending the sloppy lick up along the top of his muzzle. Then he pulled back so Riley wouldn't be able to get him back without moving more than he seemed inclined to do at the moment.
"Mmngh .. not fair." It wasn't fair if Kaleb made him move. That defeated the purpose of the whole game. Rubbing off his face he reached out and managed to get it on Kaleb's muzzle
Kaleb managed to get a nice wet lick in as Riley was withdrawing his hand, but then he wrinked his nose as he wiped off his own muzzle. "How so?" he asked in response to his partner's mutter. Last time Riley had said he was cheating, and now the mage was starting to think he was just making up excuses because he couldn't play the game as well. Whatever game it was...
"moved ... can't reach ya." If he couldn't reach Kaleb then he couldn't lick him back. "S'not fair"
"How is that not fair? You can move too, you know," Kaleb said, sighing a bit. He felt kind of bad for the guy, Rufus shouldn't keep his Turks doing paperwork for so long that they forgot they could actually move around every now and again.
"But then i'd have to get up." He opened one eye and grinned at Kaleb. "Didn't want to get up. You should be nice since yer already up and not be so far away"
"You're not doing a good job of convincing me," Kaleb said, sitting back in his chair and kicking his feet a bit. He smiled a bit even though he was trying not to. "Maybe I don't want to move now. Maybe you should be nice and get close to me."
"I didn' wake ya up." He was the one that had gotten up so Kaleb should have to come to him. "Not gonna bite ... unless ya ask." He grin widened slightly. At least Kaleb could have some bite in him when he wasn't apologizing for things.
"You already bit me." Kaleb said simply, giving his muzzle another rub to make sure he had gotten all the saliva off.
"Ya poked me ... ya asked fer it."
Kaleb frowned. "I would have asked you out loud if I wanted to get bit. You should stop being lazy."
"But it's fun." He sat up and stretched. "Sides, i wasn't being lazy ... i was just bored." He eye the paperwork that he'd been sleeping on. "Kinda borring doing paperwork all day"
"You should take a break every now and then." Kaleb said, kicking his feet a bit more. "I-I really came in to ask if there was anything I could do, if you needed help or wanted me to bring you something to eat..." He fidgeted a bit.
"I could use something to do that's not paperwork." He leaned back in his chair. "And a bottle of water." Yawning and stretching again he looked at Kaleb. "You want to go practice in the gym or something?"
Kaleb's fidgeting stilled immediately as his ears perked and a large lopsided smile spread across his muzzle. "You would practice with me?" He asked, his voice full of hope and excitement.
"Yea i guess i could." He got up and shuffled his paperwork. "you wanna go do that"
Kaleb nodded eagerly and jumped to his feet, unknowingly bouncing within grabbing reach of his partner on his way to the door.
Grinning as Kaleb bounced within reach he snatched the smaller one and drug his tongue all the way up Kaleb's cheek. Kaleb wasn't going win that round since he won the first one.
Kaleb squealed in surprise and wiggled in Riley's arms, twisting and writhing until he could get his own tongue agaist his partner's a neck. With that lick accomplished, he squirmed free and bolted for the office door.
Twitching slightly he darted after Kaleb and snatched him before he could get to the door. Tugging Kaleb back against him he licked the back of the other's neck.
Kaleb yelped and giggled at the way Riley's lick tickled his neck, and then he tilted his head back to lick the underside of his partner's jaw. It was much more of a struggle to escape a second time, but he finally got loose and managed to get one hand on the doorknob.
He pressed one hand to the door to shove it back shut should Kaleb try to get out. "No cheating!" He nipped Kaleb's ear before licking his cheek. "Gotta fight not run away"
Kaleb's ears flattened back as he was nipped. He wasn't a fighter, anything he could do that was even remotely offensive was simply a ploy to regain time or distance for his defenses. He considered that for a second, and then wrapped his arms around Riley's neck to give him a deep kiss.
He didn't think for a moment and almost kissed Kaleb back before his brain kicked in. His eyes widened and he stared cross eyed at the blond. He wasn't suppose to do that! That was cheating in the nth degree. He flailed slightly and backed up stuttering.
Kaleb kept his hold, and took that opportunity to lick Riley's neck again before letting go and turning to open the office door.
He sunk to the floor and whined. "You aren't suppose to do that then lick there!"
Sadly Riley choose the wrong moment to say that as with the door open Rufus could hear them. Blinking he turned and looked at the door. Certinally Reno couldn't have been telling the truth.
Kaleb huffed a bit as he stepped out of Riley's office. First his partner told him to fight instead of running away, and then when he did, he got whined at. "You complain too much!" The mage said over his shoulder.
"you cheat! ..... " He sat on the floor pouting.
Rubbing between his eyes he sighed. "I have explained to Reno countless times that the office is not to be used for inappropriate things. Please don't make me explain it to the two of you"
Kaleb frowned. "Then don't tell me to do things if you don't really want it!" he snapped back, before blushing at his boss' words. He didn't even consider what Rufus really meant by inappropriate, or what Reno could have been doing to earn that kind of lecture, he was just embarrassed because he knew licking fights certainly weren't appropriate for offices. "S-sorry," he said, with a timid and apologetic expression.
"I didn't tell you to do that!" He fell over on the floor and hoped that Kaleb didn't look back at him. His partner wasn't suppose to be kissing him. He was suppose to be innocent and not kissing anyone. "m'not moving now" There. He'd just pout and then Kaleb would have to say sorry
"Do i even want to know what the two of you were doing?"
Kaleb huffed, Riley was acting like a sore loser, and it was very unprofessional. The frustrated mage just crossed his arms and glanced over his shoulder at his partner. "I don't feel sorry for you! You were asking for it!" He fumed for a bit before answering Rufus. "I licked him, and now he's just whining because he's not as good at it."
Scrambling up he covered Kaleb's mouth with his hand. "Stop that!" Kaleb saying things like that certinally wasn't going to help their case.
"If he's not as good at it then perhaps you should teach him the proper skills" He smirked slightly as Riley appeared.
Kaleb mumbled something unintelligible behind Riley's hand that could loosely be interpreted as, 'I thought you weren't moving.' He wasn't sure he could teach his partner how to play their little game better, he wasn't even sure what made himself so good at it, and if he taught Riley he'd end up much more... slimy.
"He dosen't need to teach me anything .... i'm good. It's all good" He drug Kaleb with him as he headed for the door so they could go to the gym.
"No worries boss"
Kaleb struggled a bit as Riley pulled at him, until he realized that he was much too small and light for any sort of resistance to work. He was going to get licked the moment they got out that door, he just knew it.
Once they were out of Rufus office he let go of his partner. "We still gonna practice?" Maybe if he could get Kaleb's mind off licking him he'd be safe for the rest of the day.
Well, that was a pleasant surprise. The mage grinned and nodded as he remembered what they had been about to do before Riley ambushed him in the office. "If you still want to, I-I'd really like that."
"Sure" It will get your mind off licking me. He headed down the hall toward the gym and opened the door. Hopefully nothing would happen and they'd get though it without any more dirty jokes or licking.
Kaleb bounced along behind him with a delighted expression on his face, already having forgotten the licking entirely. Although the magic attacks he had faced last time were wonderful practice, he was expecting Riley to try and get close right from the start this time. He was looking forward to it.
He cracked his knuckles and once Kaleb had bounded slightly away from him he charged after him. Materia was good and all but Kaleb was too good at getting around it so this was easierl
Kaleb only barely sensed the change in intent in time, but he had a shield put up even before he finished turning around. It was a rather soft shield though, that way Riley wouldn't hurt his hands if he hit too hard.
The shields were slightly annoying since he couldn't see them but at least he could move pretty fast in reaction to them. He kept at Kaleb hoping to back the other up until he could find an opening.
For this kind of sparring, it wasn't enough for Kaleb to simply stand and block, he had to move to avoid the hits as much as he shielded against them. Riley would eventually figure out where his shields were most of the time, because they were easier to control when using a hand to guide them. Yet even with the shields he found himself gradually being pushed backwards.
He was catching on to where the the shields were and was looking for a good opening. Sadly when he found it he forgot for a moment that Kaleb could miss and that his partner was delicate. His knuckles came into contact with the other's shoulder before he could deaden the power of his arms.
Kaleb's eyes widened when he saw Riley make a move he couldn't block, and even though he tried to back away to lessen the impact he was still sent sprawling by the blow. He winced when he landed hard on the ground, but he scrambled back to his feet and into a ready stance without paying attention to his fresh injury.
He cursed slightly. "s**t .. sorry. Didn't mean to hit you that hard." He had wanted to make sure Kaleb knew that he had left an opening not send him to the floor.
"Don't worry about it," Kaleb replied with a smile. He was pleased Riley didn't hold back, even though he didn't mean to not hold back. "Are we still playing?" he asked, tilting his head a bit. Judging by the pain running through his shoulder, he would probably have to work harder and manipulate his shields without the benefit of his other arm, but he was up for the challenge.
He wasn't aware of how bad Kaleb was hurt and since he was still standing maybe it wasn't so bad. "Yea .. lets go." If he'd hurt Kaleb too bad he'd stop and make the other fix himself
Kaleb grinned and moved his good arm to shield against Riley's next attack. He kept his injured arm close to his body, and that meant his partner would have to adjust to having no cues as to where the second shield would appear.
His nose scrunched as he watched Kaleb's movements as he attacked him. He noted the change in pose but figured that was because it was harder on him that way. Grunting slightly he pushed back against Kaleb's injured harm harder hoping to make him use it more.
"What's that weird face for?" Kaleb asked as he blocked Riley's attacks, refusing to use his injured arm to help in his shielding. It wouldn't do him any good to try, he could barely lift it, and the guidance it would provide might have done more harm than good. That side of his body was certainly a weak point now. Without being able to use his arm, his reaction time to attacks coming from right behind that shoulder would be poor, particularly if he needed to defend the opposite side of his body.
"Yer not using that arm." He back up for a moment before pressing his attacks harder against Kaleb's injured side. "... fix it if you hurt it"
"It's fine," Kaleb insisted, without explaining further. He needed to concentrate or he wouldn't be able to shield properly on his injured side. And Riley was making that a target, so he certainly didn't want to slip up again.
Frowning he jerked Kaleb's good arm out of the way and shoved his shoulder against his partner's injured one. If he went down again he'd have to stop. He didn't want to hurt Kaleb.
Kaleb yelped in pain and was easily knocked off his feet by the blow, but he would have been knocked over even if his shoulder hadn't been hurt earlier. He scrambled back to his feet, clutching his shoulder but otherwise unfazed and ready to continue.
He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Kaleb. "Fix it." He wasn't going to spar with Kaleb if he wasn't going to use all his abilities. That wouldn't make it any fun. He knew he could knock Kaleb on his a** to easily.
Kaleb huffed. "I said it was fine." He let go of his shoulder and stood up straighter, as if to show Riley that he was indeed just fine.
"It's not fine." He wasn't about to keep at it if Kaleb was hurt. "Yer a healer. Fix it or i'm not playing anymore"
Kaleb frowned. "I don't need to fix it, it's fine!" He should have expected this from his partner, if Riley freaked out over his small meals, it only made sense that he would freak out over injuries. "I'll show you, just keep going."
"I'm not gonna keep going until you fix it." He huffed. "Ya can't fight at top form if yer hurt." He didn't want to test Kaleb's pain limits damn it.
"I can fight well enough!" Kaleb said in a frustrated tone. If he had his way, he would keep going until he couldn't get back up right away. Injuries would heal on their own with time, but in the meantime they made excellent reminders of where he had let his guard down, and what forces he should guard against.
"Well enough is not good enough!" He cracked his knuckles since they were starting to stiffen slightly. "If i can knock ya down that easily it's not good"
"You could knock me down easily anyway, you're bigger than me." Kaleb said irritably, crossing his arms with only a slight wince.
"Yea .." That was true. "But it's easier if yer hurt." Why didn't Kaleb get that? It wasn't a hard concept.
"Fine, I'll try harder then." He said with a frown. If Riley wanted more of a challenge, he could've just said so.
"Ya can try harder after ya fix it." He pointed at Kaleb's shoulder. He wasn't going to give up that easily. He got pissed when Reno hurt Kaleb so he wasn't about to start doing it himself.
"I'm not going to fix it!" Kaleb said. "It's not fair, and I don't like doing it! I'll take care of it later, but I'm not going to heal it." He glanced away from his partner, fidgeting irritably and waiting for whatever lecture Riley would give him now.
"Then i'm not playing anymore." He shrugged and crossed his arms. That would get Kaleb to fix it, or something.
Kaleb sighed miserably, and then headed for the gym door. "Okay, I'll see you later then..." He said in a rather dispirited tone. He liked the practice, but this wasn't something he would make compromises on. He never had before, and he didn't intend to now.
"Yer gonna go pout aren't ya." He sighed. He hadn't wanted to upset Kaleb but he didn't want to hurt him either.
"I'm not going to go pout," Kaleb said, not looking back as he replied. "I'm going to get some ice." There was a bit of an edge to his tone, but mostly he just looked disappointed and a little miserable as he left the gym. He debated just going straight home rather than just to the lounge, but then Riley might think he was really just pouting.
Grumbling to himself after a moment he followed Kaleb. Once he found the other he tried not to glare at him. "If you'd just fix your shoulder we could still play. It's not that hard. You've fixed worse"
"The injury isn't a problem," Kaleb said in an exasperated tone as he heard Riley come into the lounge behind him. He pulled the icepack out of the freezer and sat down in one of the chairs, applying the ice to the hardest hit part of his shoulder. "It's principle. Don't ask me to heal this, I won't do it."
"So yer just gonna let it hurt even though you could fix it?" What was the difference between fixing things when you got hurt on the job and when you got hurt in practice? It was all the same right?
"Yes." Kaleb said abruptly, and was silent a bit before continuing. "If I fixed it, I wouldn't learn anything from it, would I? Healing it would be the same as saying it's okay to let attacks get past my guard because I can always just fix the damage and be perfectly fine again. But it wouldn't be perfectly fine if that attack killed me on the spot, or if that attack was directed at someone else. I need to be reminded of these things so I don't get hurt next time."
He sunk into a chair and thought about that for a bit. "Okay ... doesn't mean i have to like it when i hurt you." He wasn't going to like that no matter what.
"I know," Kaleb said, sounding quiet and a little unhappy. His ears drooped a bit as he shifted his arm to a more comfortable position. Maybe he should just not ask Riley to practice since it bothered him, but Riely also didn't want him to practice with Reno, so he was at a bit of a loss.
"We can still practice ... least until you get hurt okay?" He didn't want Kaleb pouting cause he couldn't practice but he still didn't want him hurt. "You'll just'ave to get better at not gettin hurt"
Kaleb still looked a little dejected, with his ears flopped forward a bit and his tail hanging limply. "I'm not going to break if I get hurt... But I will get better at avoiding it," he said, readjusting the icepack.
"But i yelled at Reno for hurting you so i can't do it myself. That wouldn'make sense" He slouched in his chair and looked at Kaleb.
Kaleb bit his thumbnail. "It doesn't have to. But you said you would practice with me until I got hurt anyway. What's the difference between small hurts from short practices, and bigger hurts from longer practices?"
"Does too." He reached up and scratched one ear before shifting an earring. "Can't be a hypocrite." Maybe it was better if he hurt Kaleb a little rather than Reno.
Kaleb huffed a bit, but he didn't really have a reply. It would be rather unfair for Riley to beat up on him after yelling at Reno the way he had. "At least you don't shock me when you hit me." He finally said, looking down at his hands.
"That's cause if i shocked you, you'd die." His gloves didn't have a charge limiter on them so they delivered lethal doses or nothing. "And i think Rufus would fire me for killing my partner." He grinned at Kaleb.
Kaleb looked up and smiled back. "I wouldn't be too pleased with you either." He glanced away, back to fidgeting a bit. "I-it's really not that bad, this injury, not compared to the e-mag's damage..."
"Most things aren't as bad as that." He'd been smacked with that thing a few times and didn't like it any himself. "It's still bad to overwork a sore shoulder."
Kaleb nodded, when he had been hit by Reno's e-mag it felt like it had taken ages for his ribs to heal, but he could already feel his shoulder starting to stiffen up. He glanced in his partner's direction, suddenly a little nervous. "I-I know you had paperwork to do, a-am I keeping you?"
"Nah. I finished most of it." He shrugged. "Nothin important. Rufus won't mind if i don't finish it." He might have been slow in getting paperwork done but at least he didn't let it pile up for weeks like Reno.
Kaleb smiled a bit, but still looked somewhat nervous. "I-I'm okay, if you wanted to go back and finish it..." He didn't want Riley to feel like he needed to hang around just because he was injured.
"So i can fall asleep again?" He chuckled. "I'd rather not." He was perfectly fine having an excuse to not work on boring things.
"What were you going to do instead?" Kaleb asked hesitantly, glancing up at his partner. Surely Riley had better things to do than sit around with him, especially since he was skipping out on work to do it.
"Wanna get rid of me that bad?" He chuckled as he stretched out. "Cause if i'm buggin ya then ya just gotta say so" He was perfectly happy where he was and didn't think anything of moving.
Kaleb looked appalled, and he shook his head quickly while his fidgeting increased. "N-no, th-that's not what I meant! I-I just thought you would be bored sitting with me." He wasn't used to spending time in someone else's company just because, so he couldn't help but feel a little awkward.
"I like the company." After years of being almost alone, he didn't really count the scientists as people half the time, he liked being with people. Kaleb was a little awkward but he was fun to be around usually.
Kaleb blushed a bit, but he smiled. Sometimes Riley could be weird and obssess over silly things, but he could also make the little mage feel happy and wanted. "I-I'm glad, I-I like spending time with you too." He blushed a bit more with that admission, and busied himself by taking off the icepack and returning it to the freezer.
"I'm off in a few hours .. wanna come over for dinner after that? You never did finish watching that movie." He had extra food and it would be nice to have someone over for a while. He liked having Kaleb around after the couple nights he'd been over.
Kaleb was surprised at the invitation, so much that he nearly tripped over his chair when he went to sit back down. "I-I w-would really like that," he stuttered, blushing brightly. Then he offered a timid little smile. "Y-you're not going to try and get me to eat too much, a-are you?"
"Means yer stuck around 'ere for a while, that okay?" He knew Rufus wouldn't let him go home early and he didn't want to have to make Kaleb leave then come back or something.
"I don't mind," Kaleb chirped, smiling brightly. "I can grab a book and read while you finish your paperwork. Or I could help." It wouldn't take him long to portal home and then back to Riley's office, and he was sure he could comfortably flop in 'his' chair for a couple hours.
"You could help if you want but it's not anything fun." He got up and headed for the door. "I'd think getting a book would be more entertaining"
Kaleb nodded cheerfully. "I-I'll go get a book in case I get tired of helping." He said, and then conjured a glowing portal. "I'll meet you up in your office!" With that, he stepped through the portal into his apartment, grabbed the book he had been reading before Rufus had called him in, and was stepping through another portal into Riley's office in mere seconds. He settled into the chair he had sat in earlier and cracked open his book, settling in to wait for Riley to arrive.
He shook his head and headed for his office. He wasn't going to ask how Kaleb got there before him since those portals confused him. Once in his office he headed to his chair and flopped down.
"Can you go over these for me in case i forgot something?" He handed Kaleb the small stack he'd been working on before he fell asleep.
Kaleb nodded and closed his book, then took the pile of paper that was given to him. He shifted a bit to get more comfortable, tucking his legs up on the chair under him and using his injured arm to hold the papers while he flipped through them with the other. Most sheets were pretty good, but the mage picked up a couple omissions where he assumed Riley had started to get drowsy. He put those papers on the desk in front of Riley as he encountered them, but luckily there weren't many.
He glared at the papers like it was their fault he'd messed them up. Finding the places he missed he scribbled in the info and handed the papers back to Kaleb before picking up the ones he hadn't started on yet.
Kaleb replaced the completed forms where they had been in the stack, and then set the entire pile on Riley's desk once they were all finished. He gently rubbed at his shoulder a bit as he waited for his partner to hand him something else to work on, thinking perhaps he should have grabbed an icepack from home as well as the book.
"If yer shoulder still hurts then go get another ice pack from the freezer." He raised a brow at Kaleb and went back to the papers. If he hurt he should make it stop but since Kaleb wasn't going to make it better he should have ice on it.
Kaleb nodded, being sent to fetch ice for himself was as good a request as helping finish paperwork, so he got up and down to the lounge to fish around in the freezer and find a cold icepack. With that mission accomplished, he wandered back up to the office and settled back into his chair. It would be harder for him to help with one hand occupied holding the ice against his shoulder, but he would still do what he could if Riley wanted him to help.
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