this is trouble, yeah, this is trouble
Aug. 25th, 2020 11:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
paradoxicalrenegadehad a prompt for an indirect kiss on curiouscat which has been sitting around since last november and i just had an idea for it based on thoughts from this morning. firebrands 'verse, reuben/kari, kari/marlowe, probably future reuben/marlowe, and reuben being a disaster twink. too long for curiouscat so y'all get it instead.
when reuben stumbled down the stairs that morning, following coffee by only their nose, it was to find that no one had done the dishes again.
"shit fuck motherfucker," they muttered, nearly tripping over one of jo's shoes (again) and catching themself on the counter. "goddamnit jo, kari can't be the only competent adult in this relationship." or, you know, whatever. reuben kicked at the kitchen island and hissed as pain lanced up their ankle.
the cabinets yielded no mugs left and one very lonely bowl, which would have to do. not like this day was gonna be worth much anyway, if the pain lancing up reuben's leg was anything to go by; but the coffee would help it not be a wash. and besides, reuben knew kari had a little routine, and they would never admit it aloud, but they hated to interrupt it.
"let him sleep in," reuben muttered, trying to make their coffee machine work without making any noise. "give him a break, i say, and what do i get for it? a janked coffeemaker with no other alternative but to bang the pieces back into place."
"have you tried plugging it in?" asked a pleasant voice, and reuben whirled around.
oh, fuck, it was way too early in the morning to be faced with an unfamiliar gorgeous man in their kitchen. reuben could not help but gape for a long moment, unable to find their voice and just wanting to appreciate this person's warm eyes and sharp cheekbones for a moment.
"uh," reuben said, eloquently, before turning around to see that, yeah, they had forgotten to plug the damn thing in. they blushed as they pulled the cord a little too hard. "bad morning. forgot to check. far be it from me to question a gorgeous fellow like you in my house, but i'm going to question the gorgeous fellow in my house. what the fuck?"
oh, jeez, even his laugh was pretty. "you flatter me," he said. "no, i'm marlowe graves." aw fuck. reuben was suddenly, acutely aware of the fact that they were in one of kari's crop tops, their own underwear, one of kari's earrings, and nothing else. "i was told kari might be here, and your front door was open. i thought it would be polite to wait outside, but then i heard you curse so colorfully."
"goddamnit jo," reuben growled. "well, uh, it's nice to meet you, marlowe. i would offer you coffee, but it appears i only have the one bowl."
"thank you for the offer," marlowe said graciously, and reuben thought they'd fallen quick for kari, but this was a whole nother level of falling. "but i had coffee already today. i assume kari is sleeping in, so may i sit?"
"far be it from me to tell you no," reuben said. "do you want, uh, anything?"
"no, thank you," marlowe said, and reuben almost smacked themself. why was it always the polite ones?
it was silent after that, but a comfortable silence. reuben was finding themself infinitely grateful the kitchen just looked like a kitchen today, and not like a laboratory, because despite their best efforts they might have sunk into the floor from embarrassment, and wasn't that a fucking thought. reuben, embarrassed. they almost got the whiskey out at the very notion, but were saved by the sounds of movement on the stairs.
"hi, honey," reuben said, as kari came down the stairs. "you didn't tell me your other partner would be joining us this morning."
kari blinked at reuben, and then his eyes moved past them to marlowe's radiant smile and he lit up. "it's a surprise to me too," he said. reuben took a hurried sip of their coffee, feeling very out of place all of a sudden as kari went to meet marlowe. "when did you make it back to town?"
"just last night," marlowe said, and reuben turned quickly before they could see them kiss. sometimes reuben thought they were above feeling jealous about the easy affection kari had with other people, but they definitely were not above the twinge of longing they felt for the sort of history kari and marlowe shared. "jo told me you were here, i thought i'd see if you and reuben wanted to do breakfast."
oh.
reuben turned at the same time that kari looked at them, one eyebrow raised. "are you up for it?"
"why wouldn't i be?"
kari looked pointedly at the bowl of coffee in reuben's hands and reuben rolled their eyes. "doing dishes is an after-coffee activity, thanks for the judgement. sure, i could do breakfast. give me a second to find my cane."
"it's upstairs," kari said, and leaned over to give reuben a quick peck on the mouth. reuben blinked at him, just a little startled, before looking over at marlowe, who had a considering look on his face. reuben suddenly remembered where kari's lips had just been and knew they were blushing violently. (over a kiss? seriously? they were not fucking alexander, why was this happening.) "i'll go grab it for you. and maybe some pants."
"only a maybe on the pants?" reuben managed, trying to keep their cool despite their flaming face. "saucy, aren't you?" kari just laughed and patted reuben on the butt before heading up the stairs.
okay, so maybe reuben was going to die today. but if they had to go, dying over breakfast with two of the most gorgeous people in existence was almost definitely the way to go.
when reuben stumbled down the stairs that morning, following coffee by only their nose, it was to find that no one had done the dishes again.
"shit fuck motherfucker," they muttered, nearly tripping over one of jo's shoes (again) and catching themself on the counter. "goddamnit jo, kari can't be the only competent adult in this relationship." or, you know, whatever. reuben kicked at the kitchen island and hissed as pain lanced up their ankle.
the cabinets yielded no mugs left and one very lonely bowl, which would have to do. not like this day was gonna be worth much anyway, if the pain lancing up reuben's leg was anything to go by; but the coffee would help it not be a wash. and besides, reuben knew kari had a little routine, and they would never admit it aloud, but they hated to interrupt it.
"let him sleep in," reuben muttered, trying to make their coffee machine work without making any noise. "give him a break, i say, and what do i get for it? a janked coffeemaker with no other alternative but to bang the pieces back into place."
"have you tried plugging it in?" asked a pleasant voice, and reuben whirled around.
oh, fuck, it was way too early in the morning to be faced with an unfamiliar gorgeous man in their kitchen. reuben could not help but gape for a long moment, unable to find their voice and just wanting to appreciate this person's warm eyes and sharp cheekbones for a moment.
"uh," reuben said, eloquently, before turning around to see that, yeah, they had forgotten to plug the damn thing in. they blushed as they pulled the cord a little too hard. "bad morning. forgot to check. far be it from me to question a gorgeous fellow like you in my house, but i'm going to question the gorgeous fellow in my house. what the fuck?"
oh, jeez, even his laugh was pretty. "you flatter me," he said. "no, i'm marlowe graves." aw fuck. reuben was suddenly, acutely aware of the fact that they were in one of kari's crop tops, their own underwear, one of kari's earrings, and nothing else. "i was told kari might be here, and your front door was open. i thought it would be polite to wait outside, but then i heard you curse so colorfully."
"goddamnit jo," reuben growled. "well, uh, it's nice to meet you, marlowe. i would offer you coffee, but it appears i only have the one bowl."
"thank you for the offer," marlowe said graciously, and reuben thought they'd fallen quick for kari, but this was a whole nother level of falling. "but i had coffee already today. i assume kari is sleeping in, so may i sit?"
"far be it from me to tell you no," reuben said. "do you want, uh, anything?"
"no, thank you," marlowe said, and reuben almost smacked themself. why was it always the polite ones?
it was silent after that, but a comfortable silence. reuben was finding themself infinitely grateful the kitchen just looked like a kitchen today, and not like a laboratory, because despite their best efforts they might have sunk into the floor from embarrassment, and wasn't that a fucking thought. reuben, embarrassed. they almost got the whiskey out at the very notion, but were saved by the sounds of movement on the stairs.
"hi, honey," reuben said, as kari came down the stairs. "you didn't tell me your other partner would be joining us this morning."
kari blinked at reuben, and then his eyes moved past them to marlowe's radiant smile and he lit up. "it's a surprise to me too," he said. reuben took a hurried sip of their coffee, feeling very out of place all of a sudden as kari went to meet marlowe. "when did you make it back to town?"
"just last night," marlowe said, and reuben turned quickly before they could see them kiss. sometimes reuben thought they were above feeling jealous about the easy affection kari had with other people, but they definitely were not above the twinge of longing they felt for the sort of history kari and marlowe shared. "jo told me you were here, i thought i'd see if you and reuben wanted to do breakfast."
oh.
reuben turned at the same time that kari looked at them, one eyebrow raised. "are you up for it?"
"why wouldn't i be?"
kari looked pointedly at the bowl of coffee in reuben's hands and reuben rolled their eyes. "doing dishes is an after-coffee activity, thanks for the judgement. sure, i could do breakfast. give me a second to find my cane."
"it's upstairs," kari said, and leaned over to give reuben a quick peck on the mouth. reuben blinked at him, just a little startled, before looking over at marlowe, who had a considering look on his face. reuben suddenly remembered where kari's lips had just been and knew they were blushing violently. (over a kiss? seriously? they were not fucking alexander, why was this happening.) "i'll go grab it for you. and maybe some pants."
"only a maybe on the pants?" reuben managed, trying to keep their cool despite their flaming face. "saucy, aren't you?" kari just laughed and patted reuben on the butt before heading up the stairs.
okay, so maybe reuben was going to die today. but if they had to go, dying over breakfast with two of the most gorgeous people in existence was almost definitely the way to go.
