Dorian Kasen and Tilly Gelson's Duplex

Gelson's side       ||                                     Kasen's side



There are a few things one notices when one first wakes in the morning. The bright sunlight, birds chirping, and of course the urge to relieve oneself. Dorian's morning had all these things but it was followed by a few other realizations. His back was stiff, he was not in his bed, and whatever was on him was not a blanket. It was heavy, and radiating heat. Oh, it was a person. Almost reflexively his arms tightened around the person, holding them in an affectionate embrace while Dorian inhaled the scent of clean clothes and warm skin. Only then did his dark eyelashes flutter open to let his deep blue eyes meet red hair. Red? His heart slammed against his ribcage so hard it threw the breath from his chest. And impossibly deep ache and equally impossibly thunderous heartbeats rattled around his chest as he stared at the man in his arms. He let everything sluggishly come back to the forefront of his mind, letting the feelings rake over him uncomfortably. Everything with Jade- everything Ate had left him with- ah, but Cash's eyes were closed. He wasn't even sure the man was awake yet. Soothing feelings of what he lay between them, uncertain yet if it was reciprocated, tended to the wounds left by his earlier thoughts as Dorian let an honest smile settle on his lips, somehow both happy and sad. "I love you," he said as quietly as he could, and pressed a kiss to Cash's forehead, distinctly more tender than the playful kisses he usually bestowed. That settled, he switched to debating how long he could linger before he was absolutely going to have to get up to use the restroom.

"Aw..Isn't that sweet!" A voice came from behind them, breaking the surrounding silence. Ate stood, a hand cupping her cheek as she seemed to watching them adoringly before she let out a small laugh and grinned, her hand dropping back to her side. "Good morning! I hope you don't mind, but I let myself in.." She said with a jut of her thumb towards the door. "It seems I should have knocked though." She winked playfully at Dorian.

The red-haired man slumped over Dorian's form was quite accustomed to sleeping through anything that was not blare of his alarm clock or the professional trill of his cell phone. Without either stimuli, Cash merely continued breathing slowly and steadily with the faintest rasp of a snore before unconsciously burying his face farther into the fabric of Dorian's shirt before Ate even spoke.

"Nah..." Dorian replied softly, admiring Cash for a moment longer before he shifted his head slightly and lifted his eyes to look upwards at Ate, who appeared upside down from this angle. His smile was lazy and unperturbed. If an ordinary human had wandered their way into his home, he would be alarmed but this was Ate, the goddess of chaos, and he was far too content this morning to rise to the bait. Instead, he simply switched to rubbing Cash's back as he continued to address the other heavenly creature occupying his living room. "It is a very good morning indeed though. Did you need something? I didn't anticipate going shopping until later today, before the party though of course."

"Not really. I just got bored..as nice as it was lying next to Teos, I needed to find something fun to do. And none of the other occupants of my home were awake so I thought of you!" Ate grinned at Dorian. "We had so much fun yesterday I hoped we could do it again. But it seems you were having fun with someone else." Her grin widened. "Want me to leave you two alone?" She teased.

With his face now directed downward, gravity took advantage of Cash's slightly-parted lips, causing a small puddle of saliva to steadily soak through his curly-haired cushion's shirt.

"Precious," Dorian commented blandly as he felt his shirt become damp, then returned his conversational attention to Ate. "I'm flattered you thought of me, though I can't say I'm much fun at the moment. We were going to hang out later- Weren't there other..." His eyes darted down to Cash, then hesitantly back at Ate. Cash seemed to be well gone still but the man had never stayed the night, so Dorian wasn't sure what might wake him. "People... you needed to meet?"

"Yes probably but until Teos informs me in which order I should visit them, I am without company." Atë sighed deeply. "I plan on visiting Luke at his farm today but I believe he has to wait for Haidee to meet him first. But don't worry, I'll go find someone else to play with, I know when I'm not wanted." She finished dramatically as she turned towards the door.

Very suddenly, all conversation and air about the room halted. One of the stimuli that Cash was so accustomed to waking to--his cell phone--blared from nearby in its usual, shrill ringtone. On the screen was Risk's charming mug, name, and number.

With a weary moan of despair, Cash raised his head just enough to turn it. With his eyes closed, his brow furrowed and his bearded cheek resting in a puddle of drool, he fished out the offending device and raised it to his ear: "Cash Wicker speaking."

"You don't seem the type to let someone tell you where to be or who to talk to, let alone when to do those things," Dorian pointed out, quieting his voice while Cash was on the phone and took a moment to observe the ginger haired man with a touch more sobriety. So that was a noise that woke him up. Dorian made a mental note to silence the phone if Cash stayed in his arms again: distracting the lawyer just wouldn't do. That thought aside he glanced at the cable box and sighed through his nose at the time. That was unfortunate. He needed to stop at the office before they went out on the boat and it was already an hour past dawn.

Cash's expression softened a little with the realization that no, this was not a client with an emergency or a judge needing clarification and he responded with his eyes still closed: "Morning Risk. Personal crisis last night. I'll wake Kay and we'll come pick you up."

"I'm also not the type to hang around in the company of others who do not want me there..which happens to me a lot actually.." Ate replied as she stopped and looked back at Dorian, her brow furrowing slightly at her words. Her playful mood was quickly dissolving into annoyance. "Why is that? Am I no fun? I think I'm fun. Do you think I'm fun?" She asked Dorian then shook her head. "Nevermind..I'm in a bad mood. Best not to answer me. It's probably best I do go..don't want me taking my temper out on your friend." Her eyes flicked to Cash as he continued his call.

Dorian regarded Ate quietly during her little rant, looking up at her making his blue eyes seem even bigger. He frowned when she asked him if she was fun, then immediately ordered him not to answer, the expression Looking more like a pout simply from the structure of his face. "I think you're fun," he offered anyway. "I was looking forward to hanging out this afternoon, but how am I supposed to miss you if you won't go away?" That sounded distinctly less like a question and more like he was simply quoting the phrase. "'Absence makes the heart grow fonder.' You know, I'm not even good with girl clothes... do you think Jade would go with you? I can give you my card. You can surprise me with something distracting." He smiled and the easy expression lit up his face with an ease he wasn't showing as well yesterday. He seemed to be feeling better.

One of Cash's eyes opened as he heard Ate's voice. Once it seemed that Dorian offered a reasonable balm for her ire, he finally answered Risk's question with a faint grin: "The only thing you've interrupted is my sleep. Besides, this trip was supposed to be about the three of us catching up~"

"Something distracting?" Atë repeated with a raised eyebrow as a slow smirk spread across her lips. "If you want me to distract you then that's exactly what I'll do." She turned and stepped back towards him then stopped and held her hand out. "Card. Now. I have shopping to do." She finished with a grin.

That was a good question. Where was his wallet? Dorian carefully lifted his head the little he could and let his eyes scan the home, then patted Cash on the back a bit more pointedly. "Hey, sorry, I need to get up," he muttered, encouraging the lawyer to get off of him. Hands took up Cash's shoulders and guided him to a sitting position. He seemed busy with the phone call anyway. He offered the other man a sweet smile before leaving the couch, disappearing to and returning from his bedroom in only a minute, holding a black bank card out to Ate. "Buy yourself something pretty," he encouraged, giving her a bright smile. Although they weren't the same, knowing they were kindred gave him a great comfort. He had never been close with his family, not really, so having someone he could think of as a cousin felt rather... heartwarming. He relished it, at least for today.

Glancing over at Dorian to give him a pout, Cash pushed himself up into a seated position with Dorian's help. "Now, now, isn't that what your pretty new assistant's for? Kay's already up and walking around, so we'll be there to pick you up in a few minutes."

"Oh don't you worry, I will. I'll buy myself many pretty things." Ate joked with a grin as she took the card from Dorian then planted a large lipsticked kiss on his cheek. "I might even pick you out something." She slid the card into her pocket then turned and headed for the door. "You boys have fun now. Though don't do anything I wouldn't.." She glanced back at Dorian and winked before pulling the door open and with a final wave headed out towards BotO Streets of Athens Harbor.

"Maybe just once or twice," Dorian replied to her last remark with a smile of his own, but he waved as she left, immediately turning to head back into his bedroom. When he came back, he was on a call of his own. "Yes, for the next 24 hours, just put a cap on the account. Yes. Yes, $1500. Thank you." A press of a button and he slid it into the pocket of his shorts before he ducked into the bathroom to brush his teeth, wash his face, and tried to shake the majority of sand out of his hair. When he returned he had redressed in a work tee from a different marina and a pair of swim trunks. He leaned against the back of the couch and leaned forward so his arms came to rest around Cash's shoulders, leaving his chin to settle on the other man's shoulder opposite the phone. A little squeeze indicated he was ready to go. A day out on the ocean with his friends always sounded better than a day in the office. He should go grab his laptop though. There was some consulting work he really needed to get back to before the weekend.

Cash gave a hum of acknowledgement at Dorian's squeeze before wrapping up his own call and straightening out his shirt, just realizing that he should probably change into something more appropriate for a casual fishing trip when they get to his apartment... "Morning, Kay~ Sleep well?"

"Exceptionally," came the easy reply. "I don't have to ask about you I think. You sleep like the dead. You left quite the wet mark on my shirt." He chuckled and gave another little squeeze before releasing him. "We're headed over to your place then? I need to stop in the office when we get to the marina."

With nothing but a brief wince to acknowledge his sleeping habits, Cash instead addressed the other topic that Dorian so graciously provided: "That's the plan. The rest of our little trio of heartthrobs is already waiting~" The redhead made a show of pouting at his friend, "Kay, are you really going to work on a day like this? I'm even turning off my cell phone!"

"Oh, mon frère, when you love what you do, you never work a day in your life," Dorian declared confidently before holding out a hand to help Cash off the couch, but it paused halfway. His hair, not even his beard, was long enough to be mussed. Not really. He had sleep in the corners of his eyes and a red mark on his face where it had held contact with Dorian's chest that had not yet completely faded. His shirt was a little askew. All of that, but it was the pout that finally broke him. As if it had a mind of its own, Dorian's hand shifted midway and instead found itself resting on the side of Cash's head, cradling his cheek just below his thumb where it brushed affectionately against the ginger haired man's temple. The words fell out of him again as effortlessly as breathing, as if now that he realized it he couldn't understand why he hadn't understood before. "I love you, Cash Wicker."

Even after everything they had discussed the day before, Cash's entire face burned. Well, there are worse things than being frank with one's emotions... "I...believe you. I believe you feel that emotion." But an emotion is not enough for a choice. Especially so soon.

"It's easy to believe the truth," Dorian replied easily, but he did remove his hand, if only to clean up the wrappers and now melted items left on his table the night before, thankfully in the cooler. Thawed popsicles were rinsed clean and put in the freezer. Only once he was finished did he return to the couch and lean on the back again, propping his chin on one hand and grinning at Cash next to him. "Just because I feel it, doesn't mean I expect anything," he pointed out with an easy grin. "Except that you continue to tolerate me, of course."

Immediately, Cash's expression softened and the tension of the moment melted away from his mind. "'Tolerate' isn't the word, Kay. It never could be. There should be more people like you... No, wait. Then I'd be out of a job... Nah, I don't feel like standing in front of a camera all day, making a living off my face. You keep the patent. Nothing wrong with 'one of a kind'~"

Dorian chuckled, rolling his eyes. "I would think if there was more people like me you'd wind up with twice as much business, if not more." He sighed dramatically, tilting his head as if in lamentation. "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride."

"There's got to be something wrong with the grooms, then. I don't know how anyone could be so blind." Cash twisted his body to completely face Dorian, propping his elbow on the back of the couch and his head against his palm.

"How ironic you should say that, since I'm quite certain they were only with me for my looks." He lowered his head so his chin rested on his arms and indulged in another moment admiring his friend before he spoke again. "Hey... Cash...." he said quietly, gently, then furrowed his brow a little. "Weren't we doing something?"

"Then my statement holds true in the figurative sense," Cash nodded decisively with a warm smile. At Dorian's question he blinked. Squinted in thought. Then leapt off the couch at his realization: "Risk! Right! Ok, we gotta go, now."

"It's alright if we're late," Dorian assured his companion as he sat up and started for the door. "I'll just tell him you distracted me." He waved a hand easily and stepped outside, waiting for Cash to join him before he locked the door and climbed into the car so they could go.

"Well...It wouldn't be a lie," Cash pointed out with a grin as he grabbed his keys and remote-unlocked his car as he followed Dorian out the door. Completely abandoning the icebox he carried last night and any leftovers of what he brought in it, he sat in the driver's seat and began the drive to BotO Cash's Apartment.








BotO Athens Harbor
Blood of the Olympians