Reed & Gabriel | Girl Talk
Aug. 16th, 2017 06:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsGabriel and Reed meet outside and talk about dating and girls and love kind of.
A half-marathon had seemed like a much better idea before Gabriel had started training for it.
He'd started this project with the best intentions. Studying so much had left him feeling idle and antsy. Working to 13.1 miles would force him to make time for multiple-mile runs; things that would take him away from books and screens and the indoors. Plus, this wasn't a race he could cheat his way through; it was about speed, not endurance. And endurance was something that he had in spades.
Or so Gabriel had thought, before today. Before he'd chosen one of the hottest days of the year so far to embark on a 9-mile run. A run that made him feel like his sides were going to split open. A run that left him drenched in sweat.
Now he sat, still breathing a little too hard, on the grass near one of the many meandering paths around Xavier's, halfheartedly attempting to stretch. He reached over for his phone, which he'd tossed on top of the T-shirt he cast aside after he'd stopped running, and checked his pace.
Even Reed couldn't resist the allure of a beautiful, warm day. He'd even donned a t-shirt for the first time all year, exposing his very pale arms. Not that it mattered -- he didn't pay attention to most, if any, physical things. At least, not on him. Maybe Sue minded though.... hmm.
Pondering away, he walked for a while through the grounds until he came upon Gabriel. Reed noticed the sweat and the exhaustion on the other man's face, and he thrust out his water bottle. "A drink? This might rejuvenate you more than your cell phone."
"God, yes." Gabriel leaned over to grab it. "Thank you." He took a healthy sip before handing it back. "Thanks. Clearly, I overdid it." He swiped a few more times on his phone, frowning slightly before looking up to take Reed's appearance in. "Look who's finally out of the lab."
Reed nodded. "I do emerge on occasion. For instance, today, I was reading about prion diseases and the intricacies of protein development, and determined that although proteomoic processes are fascinating, it is a rather somber and humbling study, one which is better pondered upon in the depths of nature."
"Ah, yes, so I've heard," Gabriel said, playfully mocking in a way that he hoped came off in the way it was intended. I don't think I came close to understanding every fourth word of that. But I do believe a nice walk in the woods never hurt anyone." He paused, giving Reed a once-over. "Well, most anyone. You put sunscreen on, right?"
Lifting a hand to the back of his neck, Reed gave a rueful grin. "No, I completely forgot. Strange, considering I, like most of my pigment type, am susceptible to burns from too much sun exposure. I can tell from the look on your face that I have long since passed a comfortable light colour, and have gone into a more scarlet shade." He sighed. "I won't be able to sleep tonight then...you probably don't have to worry about sunburns, do you?"
"I mean, brown people can get sunburn," Gabriel said somewhat flatly. "It doesn't show, and I've never had it, but it's possible. And I still put on sunscreen, because, hello, wrinkles and spots? No. Not cute. Nobody's swiping right on that."
Reed nodded. "Well, of course. That's a common misconception, and I thought I had used the right intonation to show it was joke." he frowned slightly. "I see now that it failed. I apologize. You have every right to exercise a proper skin care regime, especially with the copious amount of dating and sexual encounters you have."
There. That would fix it.
"Well, I wouldn't say copious, exactly, but—" Gabriel pursed his lips and considered for a second. Then he shrugged. "You know what? Apology accepted. I think." He'd forgotten that dealing with Reed required a certain amount of... well, something, whatever it was. "Speaking of dating and fucking," he reached for his T-shirt to wipe sweat off his face, "how's all that going?"
"I have invited Sue to a special conference I have been asked to attend." Reed smiled. "I believe that should signify something to her, as she has accepted. That is as far as I have gotten."
"Uh-huh." Gabriel said, eyeing Reed rather skeptically. "What conference? And what did you say, exactly?"
"An astrophysics conference," Reed said vaguely. "And I asked her to attend and help provide me feedback. Her positive reaction denotes I made the correct decision."
"Hm." Gabriel did his best to keep his face neutral. "Did you — I mean, I don't know, I wasn't there, but that doesn't exactly sound like a date, you know? I mean, again," he tossed his hands up as if to distance himself from his words, "wasn't there. Don't know your whole... situation. I'm just saying."
"It's two minds coming together as one, reaching an intellectual prowess that would be unthinkable by one's self." Reed blinked. "I don't know what else that is other than the ultimate sign of affection."
"I'll have to trust you on that," Gabriel said, since he felt he had to concede something. Or at least act like he was conceding something. "My romantic experiences have gone a bit differently, but you know, I'm not a man of science, so maybe this is just how you all do things."
"Indeed." Reed actually wasn't so sure either, but it sounded right to him. "How does it generally go for you? I mean, we both know you use your apps and your social media, but afterwards. How does it go?"
"Well, I don't—" Gabriel suddenly paused. He'd been about to say that romance wasn't really his area of expertise, but that wasn't entirely true. "My last boyfriend — like, a real boyfriend, not someone I was fucking on the regular. He... we were just friends first." Gabriel smiled, hoping to distract from what he was sure was a kind of wistfulness in his eyes. "And we just got to know each other better, and, you know, I let him know I was interested. But it was little things. Small signals, small gestures. Like, you know, getting him a snack on my way home for the train or, like, grabbing him a book I thought he might like from the library. Nothing you could confuse with... scientific advice or business or anything, you know? And I guess he started doing things for me and it was — I mean, there was a rocky moment or two for sure, but, like, I laid the groundwork and the smaller things got bigger. But our intentions are clear."
He paused. "I'm not — maybe that's a conference for you. I don't know her. I wasn't there. We all of our own stories, so to speak."
Reed nodded thoughtfully. "It's all so very different from one person to the next." He cleared his throat. "Well, I should continue on my way. I think I've resolved my earlier conundrum and I'm eager to head back to the lab to play with it some more. You have a good day, Gabriel." He paused. "And you can keep my water bottle. I think you need it more than I do."
Gabriel, mid-swig, gave Reed a thumbs up with his free hand. "Thanks, Richards." A beat passed as he flicked a mosquito off his arm. "Good luck with your lady friend. Let me know how it goes."
A half-marathon had seemed like a much better idea before Gabriel had started training for it.
He'd started this project with the best intentions. Studying so much had left him feeling idle and antsy. Working to 13.1 miles would force him to make time for multiple-mile runs; things that would take him away from books and screens and the indoors. Plus, this wasn't a race he could cheat his way through; it was about speed, not endurance. And endurance was something that he had in spades.
Or so Gabriel had thought, before today. Before he'd chosen one of the hottest days of the year so far to embark on a 9-mile run. A run that made him feel like his sides were going to split open. A run that left him drenched in sweat.
Now he sat, still breathing a little too hard, on the grass near one of the many meandering paths around Xavier's, halfheartedly attempting to stretch. He reached over for his phone, which he'd tossed on top of the T-shirt he cast aside after he'd stopped running, and checked his pace.
Even Reed couldn't resist the allure of a beautiful, warm day. He'd even donned a t-shirt for the first time all year, exposing his very pale arms. Not that it mattered -- he didn't pay attention to most, if any, physical things. At least, not on him. Maybe Sue minded though.... hmm.
Pondering away, he walked for a while through the grounds until he came upon Gabriel. Reed noticed the sweat and the exhaustion on the other man's face, and he thrust out his water bottle. "A drink? This might rejuvenate you more than your cell phone."
"God, yes." Gabriel leaned over to grab it. "Thank you." He took a healthy sip before handing it back. "Thanks. Clearly, I overdid it." He swiped a few more times on his phone, frowning slightly before looking up to take Reed's appearance in. "Look who's finally out of the lab."
Reed nodded. "I do emerge on occasion. For instance, today, I was reading about prion diseases and the intricacies of protein development, and determined that although proteomoic processes are fascinating, it is a rather somber and humbling study, one which is better pondered upon in the depths of nature."
"Ah, yes, so I've heard," Gabriel said, playfully mocking in a way that he hoped came off in the way it was intended. I don't think I came close to understanding every fourth word of that. But I do believe a nice walk in the woods never hurt anyone." He paused, giving Reed a once-over. "Well, most anyone. You put sunscreen on, right?"
Lifting a hand to the back of his neck, Reed gave a rueful grin. "No, I completely forgot. Strange, considering I, like most of my pigment type, am susceptible to burns from too much sun exposure. I can tell from the look on your face that I have long since passed a comfortable light colour, and have gone into a more scarlet shade." He sighed. "I won't be able to sleep tonight then...you probably don't have to worry about sunburns, do you?"
"I mean, brown people can get sunburn," Gabriel said somewhat flatly. "It doesn't show, and I've never had it, but it's possible. And I still put on sunscreen, because, hello, wrinkles and spots? No. Not cute. Nobody's swiping right on that."
Reed nodded. "Well, of course. That's a common misconception, and I thought I had used the right intonation to show it was joke." he frowned slightly. "I see now that it failed. I apologize. You have every right to exercise a proper skin care regime, especially with the copious amount of dating and sexual encounters you have."
There. That would fix it.
"Well, I wouldn't say copious, exactly, but—" Gabriel pursed his lips and considered for a second. Then he shrugged. "You know what? Apology accepted. I think." He'd forgotten that dealing with Reed required a certain amount of... well, something, whatever it was. "Speaking of dating and fucking," he reached for his T-shirt to wipe sweat off his face, "how's all that going?"
"I have invited Sue to a special conference I have been asked to attend." Reed smiled. "I believe that should signify something to her, as she has accepted. That is as far as I have gotten."
"Uh-huh." Gabriel said, eyeing Reed rather skeptically. "What conference? And what did you say, exactly?"
"An astrophysics conference," Reed said vaguely. "And I asked her to attend and help provide me feedback. Her positive reaction denotes I made the correct decision."
"Hm." Gabriel did his best to keep his face neutral. "Did you — I mean, I don't know, I wasn't there, but that doesn't exactly sound like a date, you know? I mean, again," he tossed his hands up as if to distance himself from his words, "wasn't there. Don't know your whole... situation. I'm just saying."
"It's two minds coming together as one, reaching an intellectual prowess that would be unthinkable by one's self." Reed blinked. "I don't know what else that is other than the ultimate sign of affection."
"I'll have to trust you on that," Gabriel said, since he felt he had to concede something. Or at least act like he was conceding something. "My romantic experiences have gone a bit differently, but you know, I'm not a man of science, so maybe this is just how you all do things."
"Indeed." Reed actually wasn't so sure either, but it sounded right to him. "How does it generally go for you? I mean, we both know you use your apps and your social media, but afterwards. How does it go?"
"Well, I don't—" Gabriel suddenly paused. He'd been about to say that romance wasn't really his area of expertise, but that wasn't entirely true. "My last boyfriend — like, a real boyfriend, not someone I was fucking on the regular. He... we were just friends first." Gabriel smiled, hoping to distract from what he was sure was a kind of wistfulness in his eyes. "And we just got to know each other better, and, you know, I let him know I was interested. But it was little things. Small signals, small gestures. Like, you know, getting him a snack on my way home for the train or, like, grabbing him a book I thought he might like from the library. Nothing you could confuse with... scientific advice or business or anything, you know? And I guess he started doing things for me and it was — I mean, there was a rocky moment or two for sure, but, like, I laid the groundwork and the smaller things got bigger. But our intentions are clear."
He paused. "I'm not — maybe that's a conference for you. I don't know her. I wasn't there. We all of our own stories, so to speak."
Reed nodded thoughtfully. "It's all so very different from one person to the next." He cleared his throat. "Well, I should continue on my way. I think I've resolved my earlier conundrum and I'm eager to head back to the lab to play with it some more. You have a good day, Gabriel." He paused. "And you can keep my water bottle. I think you need it more than I do."
Gabriel, mid-swig, gave Reed a thumbs up with his free hand. "Thanks, Richards." A beat passed as he flicked a mosquito off his arm. "Good luck with your lady friend. Let me know how it goes."
