ATH Not-So-Temporary Thread

[Felixitous]

Lucy smirked and grabbed him again. "Oh, Mr. Tough Guy, gonna go back to his gang and let them fix him up--how about not?" He pulled him inside and into Clover's room, but instead of waking her up, he rummaged around in her drawers (lawl) and got out the necessary supplies to fix Gabe's eye.

"All right now, sit still or I'm gonna blind you." He got to fixing him up, still shirtless from the rave, and at this quiet, half-dark moment, Gabe could see thin scars trailing down his arms and over his shoulders.  

[Lady Mimicry]

Gabe reached out, fingers tracing the scars down his left shoulder. They didn't look too serious, thankfully. Swatting Lucy's hand from his face, he leaned his forehead against his other shoulder and sighed.

"Someone else do these? Or you?"  

[Felixitous]

Lucy calmly lifted Gabe's face back up and went back to fixing him up. "You hold still and maybe I'll tell you, all right?"  

[Lady Mimicry]

"Fine," he said, folding his arms across his chest, "I'll wait."  

[Felixitous]

Lucy finally got his eye patched up--it needed a few stitches, which he closed with some butterfly bandages and said he'd leave for Clover in the morning--and sighed.

"Fine, since you finally stopped dicking around." He looked at his arms, where they were deeper and whiter, and looked back at Gabe.

"Forearms are self-inflicted. The rest is, for the most part, other people. Now, good night." He walked out, but stopped at the doorway and turned back. "And don't go trying to leave the house, you moron. Don't make me go dragging your sorry a** back here again." With that, he left for his room, slightly irritated. What was that in the back of his mind? Yeah, he wanted him. Kinda badly.

And it pissed him off so much.  

[Lady Mimicry]

"******** that," he grumbled, "drag my a** back." If Lucy wanted him to stick around, he'd need better incentive. Nothing short of pinning him down, which he'd enjoyed very much, could convince him to face the folks.

Swinging open the front door, Gabe popped his collar and left.  

[Felixitous]

Gabe, however, did not expect a small weight to be thrown at the back of his head. Lucy walked over as Gabe fell a little, glaring over him.

"I said, don't leave."

He dragged him back inside and tossed him on the couch, then laid on him. He'd expected not to sleep tonight--which he rarely did anyway--but as soon as he was on him, fatigue swept over him, and he was quickly dozing.  

[Lady Mimicry]

Whenever Lucy decide to wake, Gabe was long gone. A sticky note hung from his forehead, which read, "You're ******** heavy. Nice try, G." He'd successfully escaped The Shop and was home now, snuggled beneath his cold and Lucy-less blankets. Closing his eyes, he thought of the blonde, he hand trailing lower and lower until his fingers brushed the edge of his boxers.  

[Felixitous]

Lucy had actually awoken as soon as Gabe moved, but hadn't bothered to say anything. He's hoped that he would stay put, though less for Gabe and more for himself. He hadn't been able to sleep for quite some time, and for some reason, laying on Gabe seemed to work.

"Smooth, tiger, but you won't win his heart by beating him up," said Trigger, who had walked over and leaned on the back of the couch. "The only person that seems to work on is your father. But hey, you're welcome to see if Gabe's as stupid as all that." She smiled at Zero and blew him a kiss.

Lucy sighed and looked at her. "I don't want to win his affections. I'm not even sure I can stand him."

She smiled and ruffled his hair. "Oh, honey. I've got friends all over this city. I've already gotten at least three calls about you and your mystery partner. He was apparently rather out of place there."

Lucy sighed and flopped backwards. "Okay, so we danced. Doesn't mean anything."

Trigger grabbed him by the hair and brought his face closer to hers. "That isn't the only thing I heard about, but I'll get you for that later." Dropping him, she resumed her semi-cheery face.

Lucy frowned and rolled over. "If this is what love feels like, it's a wonder you haven't killed Dad by now."

Looking back on their history, Trigger snickered. "Oh, honey, you have no idea. Now, go find your man and pester him to death or something. If nothing else, Aramis will follow you and he'll at least know where his sons go all the time. I think he's about to have a heart attack."

And she was right. Aramis spent most of his time either sleeping or trying to figure out where his kids were. Now, he was cuddled up with Froot Loop, half-asleep on his chest. It wouldn't have been a far cry to say he was depressed. If nothing else, Lucy could at least go harass Gabe about that...

Armed with this, he left. They might've thought they were well concealed, but to Lucy, the hunt was the fun part. He'd find them in no time.



Meanwhile, unnoticed, her door had opened and a curious little face peered out. Dietrich blinked as the light hit him, slowly adjusting to the world. He made his way out the door, his mind tinkering away thinking of all the possibilities that surrounded him.  

[Lady Mimicry]

Their home, if you could call it that, was actually built into a giant oak tree, located in the more secluded parts of the forest. Adair was ignoring Justus and Saber, sipping beer merrily and clamoring on about their love affairs, Justus doing most of the talking. Saber, hell, he was holding out for Basil.

"Dude, just ******** somebody, anybody, get it over with." Justus teased.

"Sorry," Saber replied, "If you're offering, I ain't interested."

Gabe, having cleaned himself up, flopped against the couch, bouncing his comrades slightly. Reaching for a beer, he leaned against the sofa and listen to their prattle.

Unexpectedly, Saber tossed a can, unopened at his forehead, breaking him from his reverie. "That's for ditching me last night, ******** off." He mumbled.

Adair sighed, they were ridiculous. Grabbing his cell, he slipped outside and dialed Aramis. He'd been delaying his updates to a point where he hardly called at all these days.  

[Felixitous]

Lucy, now trailed by Dietrich, delighted to see a somewhat familiar face, found them quickly and shook his head. Too simple. They needed to think bigger if they were going to keep hiding from other so-called 'gangs'. He quickly scaled the tree, but Dietrich, who was too busy wondering what this great structure was, entered their dwelling.

"Hello?" he said innocently, blue eyes wide as he looked around him.

Lucy, on the other hand, was lurking. That was more fun.  

[Lady Mimicry]

Justus practically jumped from his skin, so startled by Dietrich's unexpected appearance. "Oh," he said, sighing heavily, "It's--wait, why are you here?"

"Justus, is he another of your toys?"

He grinned and playfully shoved Saber away. "Nah, Trigger's actually." Ushering Dietrich inside, he walked the coin-operated boy to his room, the incense he constantly burned filling the room with the aroma of jasmine.

Several woman, men too, arose from Justus' bed and greeted him with hungry eyes and lingering caresses, but they didn't stay long. They left, leaving he and Dietrich alone.

"Have fun, boy." One whispered.

"So, explain."  

[Felixitous]

Dietrich blinked. "Um...I wanted to know what was outside my room, so I looked. I saw Lucifer leaving, and, well, I wanted to know where he was going, too, so I followed him here. Then he climbed one of these, um...trees, yes, trees, and I can't really climb well, so I came inside." Most of the looks and innuendo were lost on him. His intentions, unlike those of most, were innocent.

One of those ill-intentioned found a way in through the upper boughs, sneaking through the makeshift house and running a hand through his hair. Lucy knew his white locks wouldn't help him hide much, but then again, the encounters were just as entertaining as the rest of it, if not more so. He resigned himself to blatancy and strolled right in. He wasn't too prideful, so he could admit to himself and even his mother that he was 'fond' of Gabe. To Gabe's face, however, he was the same sneering b*****d.

He saw him and crept up silently behind him, stealing the beer out of his hands. "This s**t'll kill your liver, you know." Inspecting it, he took a swig, then dropped the bottle, letting it shatter on the floor, spilling its contents.

"Oh, lookit that. Oops." He couldn't resist a smile.  

[Lady Mimicry]

Justus scratched his scruffy chin, contemplating, then wrapped his arm around Dietrich's shoulders and grinned. "Well, kid," he said, "you're in my room."

"Let's get you more comfortable, okay?"

Elsewhere, Gabriel didn't have an opportunity to act surprised. Instead, aggravation set in and Gabe stood, kicking Lucy's legs out from under him and bringing him to his knees. He took a fistful of Lucy's hair and wrenched his head back.

"Way to go Gabe," Saber chuckled, "now that he's on his knees, what are you gonna do next?"

Gabe blushed then, the sudden realization of Lucy's position flustering the hell out of him. Hot, incredibly ******** hot. He released him and stomped of to his room.

"Clean that s**t up, a*****e."  

[Felixitous]

Dietrich blinked again, confused. "But...I'm already quite comfortable." He liked his clothes, nice and soft, as wer his shoes, and he didn't mind standing. Maybe he meant to sit? He looked around and saw only the bed, and sat on its edge and looked back up at him, his gaze verdant and unassuming. "Do who were those people? he asked suddenly. "There were a lot of them."


Lucy frowned and stood up, rubbing his shins, but then smiled as Gabe told him to clean. "Ha, I don't even do that for people I respect, let alone you." He smiled further as he walked away, shouting, "Red looks good on you, by the way!" He was getting to him. Oh, wouldn't this be fun.

The fun didn't seem to last, though, and shortly, he left. Dietrich, while waiting for an answer from Justus, suddenly jerked upright and pulled a set of die from his pocket, three, but without numbered faces. Instead, there were different symbols and colors, and he rolled them on the bed without giving Justus another glance. He bit his lip and sighed. "Oh, oh oh oh oh, no, something bad is going to happen. Something that might lead to other bad things."

He jumped up and found Gabe. "Um, there's, uh, something you might need to do--you need to help someone. Otherwise, you may never be happy. Ever." He looked as though he was suddenly in deep thought, eyes clenched tightly shut. "Go...go west about eighty-one steps, and then north fourteen. You'll find them there. Please, go, now!" he squeaked, eyes wide and sparkling with the beginnings of tears.