Entry tags:

karma, pulse, recon

the morlocks didn't have Tide
Who: Pulse, Recon & Karma
When: Monday, June 9th, 2008 (mid-day)
Where: Xavier's; basement (laundry room)
What: getting up to speed (hold on now, what?!)
Status: in progress
Rating: PG(-13?)

For as little clothing as Gus had taken along, he was still playing catch up. But it hadn't helped to find that all the guys his size had taken what they'd liked from his room and worn it into the ground. He sat in the basement now fortified behind a semi-circle of four laundry baskets. Sam (his roommate) and Paige were long gone, no doubt having opted to stay with their family during this trying time. 'More room for me!' he thought.

Under his butt was a worn cushion that most everyone in the mansion had sat upon at some point or another, dating back to the time when Jean Grey was washing her black, delicate, goth chick wear. Sometimes, Pulse swore he still found blue hairs on his clothes after coming out of one of the dryers. Atop his chest was a medium sized bag of Cheetos that had long been forgotten, and his fingers lay unmoving at the end of his left hand - he was afraid to use them with fear of spreading the orange. The buzzer began going off on the dryer, but he hadn't used it yet, so he was expecting company.

Joe walked into the room with his shirt off, not expecting to see anyone there.

"Oh, uh hey," he said, while somewhat attempting to cover his naked upper body. He opened the dryer and pulled out a white under shirt and quickly threw it on. Joe wasn't paticularly a show off when it came to his body, especially with all the muscle gods that roamed the mansion.

"Is that your lunch?"

"It's my book," Pulse responded, having been somewhat relieved to see Joe entering the basement retreat instead of someone he wasn't as familiar with. "Or GameBoy, or whatever else people take to do while their clothes are washing." He grinned and held up the bag with his clean, right hand. "You're welcome to some. I think I thieved them, anyway." Guy himself wasn't much more covered - which seemed to be the norm for folks who were experiencing laundry day. A white tank and navy track pants came between him and his ancient throne. "When was the last time you were outside, Joe?" Gus smirked slightly, having full knowledge of the young doctor's important task, but lacking the self control to refrain from teasing him about his fair complexion.

Declining the munchie offer, Joe chuckled while trying to keep the crease in the pair of pants he was folding.

"It's not often I see the light of day, just call me Casper," he replied while giving the lounging lad a wink.

"You are short and friendly," Gus laughed, heartily. His chest rose and fell and he shifted to sit up, then rolled the bag of snacks on his chest up to seal it. "I feel like I'm on vacation being back here, and everyone else is in full swing. Scott hasn't wasted time adding me to the guard list, though." He pulled himself up and used the side of his calf to push through two of the baskets and move closer to Joe so they could hear each other over the machines. "If you medical types need any extra hands, I'm all yours. I spent enough time with murderous sewer dwellers on the road. I wasn't expecting to work side by side with them at Xavier's." He crossed his slender arms over his chest and hopped up with one motion onto the dryer beside Joe's.

It'd been a while since the two had talked so Joe was enthused to play catch up. There were only a few in the mansion that the doctor felt totally comfortable with and Pulse was one of them. "Vacation to me is what I'm doing right now. The laundry room is an escape compared to the confines of the lab. My eyes are literally sore from staring through microscopes so it's nice to focus on other things, like folding," he commented sarcastically. Gus was beginning to smash a pile of folded clothes that rested behind him so Joe reached over to grab them. "You're more than welcome to help out, I could even talk to Scott and maybe get you out of a few of your guard shifts."

"Yeah - I mean," Gus sighed, "I heard about the attack, so I know guard shifts are a necessity, but it's still harsh." And boring. He commended the people who had been doing that work for months. Gus shifted so Joe could get to the articles behind him. "I can offer a steady hand and a range of lenses." But he didn't need to be filming something all the time, of course. It was just more comfortable that way.

Honestly though, Joe looked like he could use a few innings of baseball or a few laps around the school. Pulse began to contemplate a classic game of touch football with all the guys (formerly a Thanksgiving tradition at Xavier's) when he realized a pair of Joe's jockeys were under his ass. He lifted his left side once more and presented the black pair to the doctor. "Kept 'em warm for ya," he chuckled. It didn't come close to any of the awkward situations some of the guys had gotten into. Living in a boarding school situation from an early age wasn't always smooth sailing. "When you have some time, we should get the guys together and go outside. Or I could show you some of my footage. The YouTube generation won't know what it's missing."

Joe grabbed the pair of underwear and blushed a bit. "I would like that. Although if I went outside I would have to remember my sun block, SPF 5000."

"You're not that pale." Gus smirked, "At least you're not as hard up for dark as our 'sapien friends." Poor humans. The effects of the sun on their flesh made Pulse a little queasy. "Speaking of being hard up..." he moved hopped down from his seat and began yanking the wet clothes from the washer and tossing them into Joe's emptied one. "What's up with Will and Troy, right?" Oh-em-gee. "Did we run out of foxy ladies around here?"

"Apparently so, I am just as shocked as you are. I mean, Will is my best friend and I never had even an inclination that he would swing that way." Josiah finished folding his clothes and helped Gus throw his garments into the machine. "They're really happy though and that's what matters most, especially right now when people are looking for the slightest bit of hope and purpose. I wish I had someone myself." He flattened his mouth and thought about the unsuccessful relationship with Jean-Paul. "Sometimes you find romance where you least expect it..."

"Not me," Gus remarked, still in shock and awe about their two ex-classmates. "I never would've believed, either." Such is life. It was true though, Gus had always gone looking for love, and usually found it - but it was a matter of set standards. "And here I thought all this time you were in love with your work." The brunette grinned - fully aware both loved what they did and were prone to forget other aspects of life. Fortunately for Gus, his work helped him get elbows deep in life - Joe's led him to be elbows deep in the living.

"The truth is, I get so lonely sometimes that I feel the only way I can make something of myself is through my work," Joe confessed. "I've always aspired to be the best in my field, but sometimes I get the feeling it's to fill in the gaps of my insecurities." Joe handed him the detergent.

"I'm sorry, I'm sure that's way more than you wanted to hear." He laughed it off.

Gus stared blankly for a moment, feeling a familiar twitch in his hand. Raw emotion - real feelings - sincere issues of the heart and soul. And Joe's eyes told the story, much louder than his words. His heart went out to the other young man, just as deeply as his hand wanted to go out to his camera that was far away upstairs in his room. But Pulse was here, and Joe deserved a reaction other than a blank stare. "No," he cleared his throat and began loading a new load, then added soap. "No, that was crazy." He smiled to himself when he turned away. "I think lots of people can relate to that." When he turned back, he leaned a hip against the washer, "You can't define yourself by your lover, though, you know." He added, conversationally. He was sure Joe understood that fact.

"Bonjour, bitches," Shan entered the laundry room with a basket under her arm and smile on her face. She could tell she'd walked in on a pretty touching moment between the two men, but she was on the last of her clean underwear. All's fair in love and laundry. She was happy to see Gus, the two had always had a lot of fun being bitchy girlfriends. And anytime Joe was out of lab it was a good thing.

Shan dropped her basket on the table next to the washers Gus was emptying. "You done with this, honey?"