ᴀɪɴꜱʟᴇʏ (lightforce) wrote in worldsapart_ic, @ 2019-08-05 23:36:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | ainsley carrow, gabriel erikkson |
WHO: Ainsley Carrow & Koa Ka'uhane & Gabe Erikkson
WHAT: Post-work & search hang outs and check ups.
WHERE: Gabe's Place
WHEN: After this and this.
RATING: PGish
STATUS: Complete
It was frustrating how easily something as small as a ring could be misplaced even in a home that you knew like the back of your hand. He hadn’t been lying when he’d told people he’d taken it off because of working out, he had been, and Gabe hated how the metal felt against his skin as he sweated and burned through what precious calories he’d managed to obtain through his latest container of blood.
Koa had come by earlier and despite their best efforts still no sign which Gabe concluded meant that his ring had gone the way of most things in his house, disappeared into the black hole that apparently existed, and would eventually be spat out in the place he least expected.
It did mean however he was confined indoors until the sun had gone down.
Thankfully his home was full of things to entertain him though currently he was enjoying a shower given that he was certain that whilst Koa might appreciate how he smelt when he’d been working out that Ainsley wouldn’t so he was being considerate of all company involved in this evening’s festivities.
Whatever those might be.
Work wasn’t too bad that day, and it wasn’t like Ainsley was working all the hours. She mostly worked weekends and picked up the occasional shift through the week to cover the other girls who really needed the job. Her dad was off her back about finding something responsible to do for the summer, since she was earning something to cover her own expenses outside of things like rent and bills, so it was a fine job for that.
The problem was not really knowing maybe wolves, outside Koa, and how the push pull of power happened. But luckily she was off until Friday and she was sure Roman would be able to impose a very strong sense of ‘stay away’ towards anyone that messed with her.
She made a point in using her upbeat playlist on the way to Gabe’s place, so that Koa could see she was fine and stop worrying, and so that she didn’t bring down the mood at all and could just enjoy more time with this pair.
Giving the doorbell a push, already sure that both knew she was there from scent or her heartbeat, but choosing to be polite instead, Ainsley put her headphones back into her bag and rocked on the balls of her feet.
Koa lifted his head from the fridge when he heard the doorbell ringing. He’d been feeling itchy since Ainsley had texted him; the idea that someone was rubbing up on her was not a pleasant one and he’d talked to Gabe about it while they’d been looking for his ring. It had both helped settle Koa’s mind (because Gabe knew how Koa felt about his people smelling wrong) and also to delay Gabe’s inevitable trip into the shower which was needed, in Gabe’s opinion, but Koa didn’t much care. It just meant that he’d have to cuddle Gabe again when he got out the shower.
Such a hardship.
Swallowing the mouthful of food that he’d stuffed into his mouth he yelled, “Door’s open, Ains,” before he let the door swing shut and wandered to tap on the bathroom door. “C’mon princess, Ainsley’s here. Get your butt outta the shower and come greet her. With or without clothes, I don’t mind.”
Strolling over to rest against the back of the couch, facing the door in Gabe’s open-plan apartment (which had all the curtains drawn, because duh), he waited for Gabe to join him so they could greet Ainsley properly.
He definitely wasn’t feeling his hackles raising a little. Nope. Not him. Definitely not.
Gabe turned his head at Koa's announcement and snorted quietly at the use of
'princess' before he shut the water off. "Alright, alright," he grumbled as he stepped out and snagged his fingers on the nearby towel using it to first rub at his hair before looping it around his hips.
He opened the door and smirked as he swanned past Koa in all his wet towel glory in the direction of his bedroom. "I'll be back in a minute, gonna make myself decent." Gabe did however lift a hand in greeting as Ainsley opened the door and let herself in. "Be right back."
And with that he headed into his bedroom to rummage out some new underwear along with some dry clean clothes.
She’d poked her head into the area to check she wasn’t letting light in the wrong place before she slipped in, closing the door behind her and shrugging her bag off to settle it at the back of the door, waving back at Gabe as he wandered (mostly naked again) to his room.
The water was really something that Gabe could work, and Ainsley tried not to be weird and stare, but she felt like Gabe could do to walk around without a shirt and just pay someone to follow him and mist him down regularly. Like he’d sell a billion of anything he advertised like that.
“Hey!” But that was enough of those little thoughts, Ainsley crossed the room to meet Koa, aware that there would be some scenting, but not even minding. It wasn’t like the frat wolf had been around so she wasn’t worried she’d smell like anything other than wings, grease and strange people. “Did you guys find the ring?”
“Not yet,” Koa shared as he wrapped his arms around Ainsley, letting her distract him from the way the water ran in sexy rivulets down the muscles of Gabe’s back. “We’re lucky he decided to work out at home and not in a gym where he’d be flooded with sunlight.”
He ducked his head a little to run his nose along the curve of her jaw and snuggled in there for a few long moments, hands on her waist as he hugged her tightly. “You don’t smell too much like anyone else today,” he muttered, “wolf-boy not in?”
Even as he talked, though, he was keyed into where Gabe was and what Gabe was doing, the shuffling of him getting dressed and tugging his clothes on a reassuring sound that he was well acquainted with.
“Come join us when you’re decent, dude.”
If by decent Koa meant with underwear in place, a pair of loose jogging pants, and a dark muscle tee then Gabe was more or less decent. He just needed to dry his hair out a little more and spray a little cologne along with deodorant and once that was done he wandered back out to witness a full on Koa!glomp.
"Do you want anything to drink, Ainsley?"
Yes he might be a vampire now but he always made sure he had food and drink because Koa spent a lot of time at his and that boy could eat and drink with the best of them.
Ainsley’s arms were just looped around Koa’s shoulders, pulling her ponytail to the other side of her head to let him burrow into her throat. “Nope, not in today.” She wasn’t lying about Koa having little to fret about on this particular case, but she got the impression that didn’t stop Koa. Once everyone was settled, she’d check where they’d looked for the ring and maybe poke about.
It wasn’t like they were messy men, Gabe seemed rather particular about his appearance at least, but she was used to small pieces of jewellery going missing too. The couch usually ate her pieces.
“Do you have some fruit juice of any kind?” Orange, pineapple, apple, coconut. Ainsley was really getting into this California craze with fruits.
“Bearing in mind I’m his main houseguest,” Koa rumbled playfully against Ainsley’s throat, pressing a kiss there before he detangled himself and, catching her fingers lightly, tugged her along to drape himself over Gabe’s back affectionately, using his hold on Ainsley to swing her around so that Gabe would have to lift his arm to hug her, too, because now Gabe was clean he needed to be fixed up all over again. And Ainsley needed to smell of a decent mixture of the two of them. That was just How Things Were.
God, it was so much hard work caring about people who were careless with their scents.
“Do you got soda?”
Gabe let out a small "oof" as Koa all but flopped over his back and Ainsley was suddenly at his side and would have hit his arm had he not lifted it in time but thankfully he did so she wound up pressed against his chest, his other hand settled around the back of Koa's neck where it squeezed firmly and reassuringly.
"Didn't you just have your head in my fridge?" Gabe asked, eyebrow lifted in Koa's direction. "And for the record I do have fruit juice." Probably a mixture as he still liked how it tasted even if it no longer did anything for him.
He was definitely relieved he'd taken a shower and added his deodorant and cologne to his skin given that he was getting awfully up close and personal with both Ainsley and Koa.
The smoosh fest made Ainsley laugh, even as her arms were wrapped around Gabe’s waist and stretched around to grab at Koa too. She had no problem with how touchy feely Koa was, and how he liked to have them all smelling like each other, and it didn’t seem like Gabe had a big problem with Ainsley being included in that, since his senses were probably as good as Koa’s, and he’d probably always been used to Koa even before that.
“Why would Koa have checked for soda when he was in there? He didn’t want a soda at the time, it wasn’t important.” God, but the pair of them smelled good. “But I am fine with a glass of juice, when we’re all disentangled and have our arms at our disposal.”
Not that there was a rush.
“See, Ainsley knows,” Koa grumbled good-naturedly. He pressed a kiss to the back of Gabe’s neck and snuck another snuggle from his friends before detangling from the hug he’d initiated (right through the middle, as if there were any other way to go about it) to go and pull open the fridge. “I was eating cheese.” There had been a large block of it in there, just mild stuff since Koa was viciously offended by anything less mild than American cheese.
He ducked into it and pulled out a soda for himself before securing a carton of juice - the nearest one, it had a red label on it which probably meant it was some kind of berry thing - and put it on the counter. “Aaaand juice. Koa provideth all. From Gabe’s fridge.”
“Mmm, good point,” Gabe said with an agreeing nod in Ainsley’s direction before he shut the fridge as Koa had forgotten and it was already starting to beep angrily. It sucked that for the time being he was confined indoors given it was a beautiful day and Gabe’s family home had a nice garden which was kind of perfect for hanging out with friends.
He trailed into the living room where he settled on the end of the fairly plush but super comfortable couch with his arms outstretched across the back.
Koa he knew was worked up by some wolf pushing up on Ainsley which whilst it wasn’t out of the norm for Koa to be possessive over his friends it was unusual for him to be quite this possessive which if you were Gabe told him everything he needed to know.
“Did your thing at work sort itself out or is that still a work in progress?”
Helping herself to the juice that Koa ‘provided’, she pressed a kiss to Koa’s cheek as she moved to follow Gabe into the living room, carefully putting her glass on a table (on a coaster) after she’d taken a few sips. “It’s still a bit of a work in progress, mostly because he doesn’t come in every day.” Or because Ainsley wasn’t in most days that he was in, which was for the best really. “But it’s going to be fine, I’m sure. I’ve got it handled.”
She made sure to exude a degree of confidence there, showing Gabe and Koa that while yes, it was a problem, she had a handle on it. She understood how Koa could be about scents and stuff, and she didn’t want him getting riled up by confronting another wolf about anything, and she didn’t want to put Gabe in a situation he might not be in total control either.
Roman, who was undoubtedly much more intimidating that her two gorgeous friends, could definitely deal with things with little problem at all. “But I think Koa wants to fuss a little more first.”
“Koa wants fusses,” he said, sitting down on the couch next to Gabe, patting the seat beside him for Ainsley to come and join them, smiling a little as she carefully put the glass on the table on top of a coaster. Coasters were a waste of material, if you asked Koa which - probably - is why no one ever asked for his opinion on home decor.
He was trying to work out the best way to get them both up in his space that didn’t involve them sitting on Gabe’s knee (though, he wasn’t sure Gabe would complain all that much at having a lapful of attractive people) when he leaned his head back so it rested on the arm stretched out across the back of the couch. Okay. That was a start.
“You should just let us sort it for you,” he told Ainsley. “We’d fix it.”
“You’d make a scene, and get into trouble, and I don’t want that.” Ainsley knew that Koa meant it from a place of love, he was concerned and wanted to make sure she was okay. It was mostly why she’d asked his dad to help her and why she wasn’t telling either of them that she had done that.
If Roman couldn’t handle it, then it was unhandleable without a scene and then she’d be fine with whatever happened -although she’d probably just quit and go work somewhere else.
Toeing her sandals off, knocking them to the corner of the couch before folding her legs under her and shuffling closer to Koa’s side. “I don’t want either of you in a situation that might go bad.” Like someone taking offence to a wolf posturing scene, or a wolf pushing Gabe’s control too far.
Nuzzling into Koa’s side, she slipped an arm back around his waist to give a squeeze, “I promise it’ll be okay.”
Gabe was having distinct flashbacks. To a time when he’d said something similar and it hadn’t worked out that well, but that was a totally different situation with a totally different kind of supernatural creature so it definitely was not the same. In any shape or form. He wanted to say something along the lines of he was sure that Ainsley had it under control but he found it difficult nigh impossible to actually get the words out. Was it normal for his throat to seize up?
He cleared it after a moment and just gave a smile.
“Nobody wants a scene.”
Koa sensed the sudden shift in Gabe and turned his head, one arm wrapped around Ainsley’s shoulders to keep her close, he reached his other arm across Gabe’s body and pushed his fingers into the vampire’s hair, using the touch to tug him in so their foreheads were touching.
“Just don’t let him get you alone, okay?” It rankled him, more than he wanted to admit, that he was being told to stay out of it; he’d have done the same if someone had been pushing up on Gabe. In fact, he- he’d tried to intervene once before with that vampire but Gabe had told him he could handle it. He didn’t want a repeat of what had happened to Gabe. One of his people losing their abilities was enough for a lifetime.
His fingers gently rubbed in a familiar, massaging way in Gabe’s hair even as the other lifted to card through Ainsley’s.
In an effort to lighten the mood, somewhat, he breathed in deeply and said, “Yeah, now this I could get used to.”
“Hmm,” Ainsley opted to let the conversation move somewhere else, she didn’t mind appeasing Koa again later, she’d even text him on her next shift, but she was confident this would all be handled by the weekend anyway. For now, she was fine burrowing into Koa’s shoulder on the couch and carefully watching Gabe.
“Is this why the couch is so big? For piling on and having cuddle fests?” She couldn’t fault the notion, she had a huge bed that took up most of her bedroom for that exact thinking -because yes, she did wonder if that would be a thing. “Seems like a good use of furniture really.”
It’d be very easy to get used to as well, which could be dangerous, but Ainsley wasn’t sure if Gabe or Koa really knew what boundaries were, never mind having any.
Gabe really didn't mean or want to be that guy but apparently he was. It didn't seem to matter how many years had passed since it had happened the memories and subsequent trauma kept creeping in when he least expected or wanted it. He went willingly with the hand in his hair and reached up to squeeze Koa's wrist as he just rested against him, letting the ever sturdy solid presence of his best friend ground him in ways he'd missed in his time away.
"Yeah, what Koa said," he echoed as he lifted his gaze to rest on Ainsley. Of course then the conversation moved on and he was more than happy to roll with it and go with the flow.
He smirked over at Ainsley. "Not the reason it got bought but apparently that is now its purpose."
“That’s exactly what this couch is for,” Koa agreed with a little grin. “I mean, it’d be better if it was like a massive daybed or something. Y’know when you’re all rich and shit from being an immortal bad-ass you should definitely get like a daybed thing and then we can just pile on.”
His fingers kept idly moving through Ainsley’s hair even as his other hand caught the back of Gabe’s neck and gave it a gentle squeeze. He was having the time of his life right now, surrounded by his people. It felt right.
“Not sure Gabe’s bed’s big enough for the three of us, though,” he added, squinting like he was trying to work it out. “I know mine’s not. Can’t really get away with the three of us at my dad’s anyway. He’d be too-” Curious? Questioning? Teasing? Koa actually had no idea and he didn’t really want to find out, partly because he also didn’t know what to say if his dad questioned him. “Anyway, my bed isn’t big enough.”
She imagined that if Koa got his way, every surface would be big enough for insane cuddle piles all the time, and it might just be a fluke that certain ones were both comfortable and accommodating. “There’s room for both of you in my bed.”
Nestled against Koa, feeling warm and secure, it took Ainsley a moment to figure out what she’d just said, and how it could, maybe, be a little too forward. “I mean, it’s a big bed, it’s a California King. I have a walk in closet in the apartment, so I figured the dressers aren’t needed. And I got a deal on it, so it’s not like it was extravagant or anything.” In a bid to cover up the comment, Ainsley obviously started to ramble.
“Just, y’know, that’s a thing.”
A thing that would, naturally, cross her mind now too and Ainsley didn’t want to get awkward so she took a moment to extract herself from Koa, even as she kept a hand on his thigh, pushing up to take a drink of her juice and try to bury her embarrassment a little.
Gabe’s eyebrows lifted at the admission from Ainsley that a) they’d both be welcome in her bed b) that she had a California king and c) a walk in closet, but then he’d seen the place so he wasn’t as surprised by the two bits of that sentence she’d uttered aloud.
He chuckled faintly and nudged Koa’s temple with his nose before he tipped his head to take a look out of a gap between the curtains. “Looks too bright for me to go anywhere right now.” It was frustrating how he’d misplaced his damn ring but if he found it again he was going to either keep it on his finger permanently or take the stone out and put it in something else.
“So we might have to make do with my couch for the time being.”