xp_logs | Gabriel and Alex || Early Sunday Morning (Reply)

Gabriel and Alex meet in the kitchen and talk over food that is definitely not approved breakfast food.

One awesome thing about living in a mansion - Alex never had to go far for a good job. The grounds were huge. He'd just run around the perimeter and it had taken nearly an hour. He stretched as he made his way back inside, draining the last of his water and heading to the kitchen to refill before he went to check out the pool he'd heard about.

He had a lot of energy to burn off.

He didn't immediately notice the other person in the kitchen beyond throwing them a careless, "Morning" as he walked to the sink. But the sight of the food carton in the person's hand stopped him.

"Ooooh, is that lo mein? Is there any more?"

"Oh, uh..." A tank-top clad Gabriel glanced up at the other guy, then back at the carton. "Here, there's like, half a thing left in the thing." He took his chopsticks out of the box and passed it to Alex. A little sweat left over from his workout may have dripped into the box, but with the amount of soy sauce covering the noodles, he doubted anyone would notice.

"Nah, man." Alex waved him off. "I don't wanna take your breakfast, that's just rude. Especially before I know your name."

"Nah, it's cool," Gabriel waved him off in return. "I'm Gabriel. This lo mein's Wade's. It's freely offered." A beat while he considered. "Probably." Unsure what else to say, he put both chopsticks and the takeout box on the table, then hopped off his chair and headed to the fridge. He opened the door, then turned over his shoulder. "Who're you?"

"Oh well if they're someone else's that different." Alex snatched them up, playing with the chopsticks for a moment - it always took him time to remember how to use these things - before finally getting it down and slurping up some noodles. "I'm Alex. Good to meet you."

"Yeah, same." He reached into the fridge, grabbing a bottle of sparkling water and a takeout box, the origins of which were unknown. "Oh nice," he said once he'd opened it and peered inside. "Sesame noodles." He shut the door with his elbow and brought his haul to the counter. "So," he said, looking Alex over, "what's your story?"

Kidnapped by my fiancee's father and held hostage by his goonies, same old same old. Alex shook his head, taking the time to eat some more noodles before he responded. "Eh, same as everyone else's I'm sure. Except for the part where I explode sometimes and that's why I'm here. You?"

"Super speed, more or less." Gabriel opened a drawer, snagging a pair of cheap delivery chopsticks. "I don't think everyone's got the same story here, though. I mean, variations on a theme, maybe, but even then."

"True," Alex conceded, twirling a chopstick between his fingers. "If it was all the same story the world would be pretty boring. Imagine if you were just like everyone else in the world? No fun at all."

"So, what makes you different?" Gabriel opened the carton and fumbled with the chopsticks until he managed to pick up a few noodles. "Besides the whole, like," he waved his free hand around, circling Alex in a gesture, "California surfer bro thing."

"I have two moms and I explode," Alex said dryly, taking another bite of his own noodles. "Oh and I found my long-lost brother after like...twenty-one years. I swear to god it's like a Lifetime movie. What about you?"

"Eh," Gabriel waved the chopsticks around, paying no attention to the noodle that flew off of them and onto the counter. "Left home, moved to New York, estranged from my family. Ended up here because I tried to steal a telepath's wallet. I mean, it's a longer story than that, but that's how it started."

"Not a bad start." Alex twirled his chopsticks around. "Where'd you come from originally? If you don't mind me asking."

"Nah, whatever," Gabriel answered with a mouth half-full of noodles. "Tejas. El Paso. Bit of a journey."

"Jeez." Alex could always appreciate a traveler though. He'd done it enough himself for two years. "Gotta love a good adventure, right?"

"I mean..." Gabriel raised an eyebrow, staring at Alex with something that approached incredulity. "Sure, I guess," he finally relented, after realizing how little he'd actually said. "Should make for some interesting memoirs." He glanced down at his noodles, rifling through them with the chopsticks before looking back up. "Long-lost brother?"

Alex nodded, making a muffled noise through a mouthful of noodles. He took a moment to swallow before saying, "Scott. Quiet, glasses, likes to hide in the garage." He was sort of assuming everyone knew Scott. He seemed to have a reputation.

"Oh." Gabriel nodded as he considered that. His eyes went to Alex's face, and he tilted his head a little. "I guess I kinda see it," he said after a few seconds. "You a Boy Scout too? I mean," he added quickly, "your brother's great, don't get me wrong. Just, you know. Pure."

"I've noticed that." Alex went to fill his water bottle, taking a long sip before he replied. "Don't think I'm a Boy Scout, no. But does a Boy Scout know they're a Boy Scout?"

"Couldn't tell you," Gabriel grinned, "but I'm not one, and I'm pretty sure about it."

"Well I guess if I don't want to be a boy scout I should start acting like you," Alex said with a smirk.

"Oh, careful," Gabriel teased back. "It's a slippery slope from that to dancing half-naked on top of a bar."

"I've danced naked on top of a coffee table, does that count?"

"Well, okay," Gabriel said appreciatively, with a grin on his face. "Not a Boy Scout."

"Ha!" Alex punched the air in mock victory. "I am accomplished!"

"Congrats." A mouthful of noodles muffled Gabriel's response. He devoted some time to chewing and swallowing before he continued to speak. "You just might fit in here yet."

"Oh good." Alex ate another mouthful of noodles before speaking again. "If I stand out in a mansion full of mutants, I might be worried."