Free fallin' [Gabe] [M]

[Deleted]

Not a single care in the world could be given the moment both had reached their ultimate pleasure. It did not even dawn upon her that, hey, her brother lived in this apartment as well! The same apartment she was still in when Gabriel’s alarm went off. Kiara happened to be a light sleeper most of the time… except for this moment. It had slightly stirred her from her sleep, yet not enough to completely break through the dream phase. Only when someone shifted next to her, did she start to grow more aware of her surroundings. Kiara was tired though; she didn’t want to open her eyes yet. Jackson would have to let her catch up on sleep. He… Oh fuck. Wait a minute. That was not his voice.

Eyelids flashed open and reality greeted her too eagerly. All memories slowly came back as the blonde reluctantly cast a glance over her shoulder before quite hesitantly turning onto her other side. Under the covers, a hand gripped the fabric to keep it plastered against her body… even though Gabe had clearly seen it all by now. Eventually she pushed herself to sit up as well, holding the covers high enough. Shame was written all over her face, especially since this was not the kind of thing that she usually did.

Now the blonde felt guilty. Gabriel clearly regretted it, based on his reaction. That, or he had some black holes in his memory. “We… Didn’t we?” Perhaps pretending she didn’t remember either was the best way to go. A little nervous and bitter chuckle broke free. “We must have been really drunk…” Or just caught up in lust and in need of some affection. Those were her excuses, but she doubted Gabe’s were mutual.

[Gabriel James]

"Um... yeah we did," Gabriel confirmed awkwardly, unable to make eye contact with Kiara for the time being. "And uh, yeah... qiute drunk." With the pounding in his head Gabe would usually have popped at least 3 advil by now. He had a bottle in his bedside table drawr. However he was too busy gathering sheets up around his person. Sure, she had already seen it all, but between being cold and being sober, Gabe was a little self conscious at the moment. Gabriel was not the type for random acts of sexual intercourse. He was even less of the type to engage in such acts with his best friend's little sister. But it happened.

He finally looked back at Kiara, who had gathered the comforter up to her neck in a similar fashion to how Gabe covered his crotch. He stared at her momentarily, unsure of what to say. Then a fact that should have been weighing on him from the begining dropped down on him like a ton of bricks. "Oh fuck Everett is going to kill me," he noted, shuffling out of bed to try and find a pair of pants as quickly as humanly possible. When he came across a pair of sweatpants, he pulled them on, not worried about underwear for the moment, exposing his butt for only a fraction of a second. He still squirmed to try and hide it though. "Ki I'm... I'm so... I... do you want to borrow a shirt?" Gabriel offered, trying to reestablish some sort of comfort level. He couldn't think straight knowing she was still naked.

[Deleted]

Kiara felt bad as it was. She didn’t necessarily regret it since Gabriel happened to be someone who had faintly been present in her life in the past, and it clearly had helped both of them to deal with the situations at hand, but her emotional state of mind made a little shift the second he brought up her brother. “He… he can’t know”, the blonde decided with a little crack in her voice. She looked over while saying that, effortlessly catching a glimpse of the naked butt. Gabe didn’t have anything to be ashamed off, yet Ki was quick to tear her gaze away and to shuffle to sit at the edge of the bed. The comforter was still held high against her chest while the other hand gave the covers a little tug behind her back to have it gather at her butt, keeping it hidden. The only skin exposed was the girl’s back, but that was the least of her concerns.

The fact that Gabe seemed to freak out didn’t really help. She felt horrible about having allowed it to go as far as it had. Alcohol had spread through her body, as well as lust, but if Ki had really wanted, she could have ended it. The thing was, she had not even considered it. The man, on the other hand, probably had consumed too much to think clearly, which in turn made her feel responsible. Casting a glance over her shoulder, Kiara lightly shook her head. “No… no. My shirt should be here somewhere.” Blue eyes then fell back to the floor, spotting it, along with some other pieces of her outfit. “Could you…” A finger pointed at the clothes as she tried not to look at him.

“I have to go before Everett wakes up.”

[Gabriel James]

"No no Everett definitely can't know," Gabe agreed, going to collect Kiara's clothing from the floor. He picked up the pieces, and handed them to her, managing to make minimal eye contact during the exchange. He couldn't believe he let this all happen. Sure, the alcohol consumed didn't put him in the right state of mind, but that was no excuse. He remembered thinking about how wrong it was briefly, then continuing anyway.

He turned away from Kiara to allow her to clothe herself. Meanwhile Gabe tore through one of his drawers for a shirt, and pulled it on over his head. Looking up into the mirror above his dresser, Gabe made a wry face at the way his hair was standing. It was one of the worst cases of sex hair he'd ever seen. He tried to pat it down the best he could, but without a brush it was hopeless. "I'll be right back," Gabe said, deciding that his best bet would be to go across the hall to the bathroom and brush his hair as to not raise any suspicion.

He stopped in his tracks, though, when he stepped just outside of his room. "Mornin'," Gabe muttered, staring at Everett who was lounging on the couch. Usually Everett wouldn't be up this early, so Gabriel kind of stood confused and nervous. The coffee table still had two open bottles of wine on it. The glasses were empty, but still out. And Kiara's shoes were next to the front door. Along with the mess of hair on the top of Gabe's head, there was no way Everett hadn't put two and two together. Gabe just prayed he didn't know those were his sister's shoes.

[Everett Lilien]

Everett groaned and rubbed his eyes, slowly blinking as the living room of his apartment came into focus around him. He'd stumbled in very late and very drunk and he didn't remember the last time he'd been that wasted. He had several memories of Faye and their conversations at the bar and dancing and comic books. A smile was still on his lips.

As he looked around, his eyes settled on empty wine glasses on the coffee table. He hadn't noticed them when he'd come home and fallen blindly onto the couch at nearly four a.m. It was early, so early. Why the hell was he even awake? A pounding headache plagued him and he tried to find the energy to get up and find some aspirin, but just as he was mulling it over, he heard a door creak open and a messy haired Gabe appeared. "Morning," he replied, half mumbling. "I'd tell you that you missed a wild night, but it looks like you've had one of your own," he said pointedly to his best friend, gesturing to the state of his hair.

[Deleted]

Gabriel’s shirt on the living room floor, the half-finished bag of fish crackers and the fact that the glasses and wine had not been put in the kitchen could also give away that it must indeed have been quite a passionate night for Everett’s roommate. Kiara knew that her brother might be oblivious when it came to recognizing her purse, coat and shoes. She hadn’t heard him come back home either, so he had probably made it a late night out, meaning he must have consumed enough alcohol to be sleeping away at least half of the day. That soothed her nerves some.

Still, the blonde opted to get dressed as quick as possible. After the pink bra, the long sleeved shirt followed. Panties were tugged up while still seated on the edge of the bed, able to keep herself covered up with the comforter. For the jeans, Ki only stood up the second the fabric reached her hips. The only thing required now was a little tug to be completely dressed again. Button, zipper, and done. At that point she couldn’t even care about the mess of blonde locks. Fingers merely racked through them for a couple of seconds as she moved over to where Gabe stood in the hall.

Kiara was more than oblivious to the cues that should have warned her to stay in the bedroom for a couple more minutes. Instead she assumed he was standing on the lookout, making sure she could sneak away without being caught. She hadn’t even heard them converse. “I’ll fin-“ Find my way out. Kiara stepped out of the room, fixing her shirt, before her gaze drifted in the direction Gabriel was looking at. That's where blue eyes landed on her brother. “Shit.” Arms fell by her sides and optics widened slightly, tensing up next to Gabe. Greeting Ev with a good morning did not feel like a great plan.

[Gabriel James]

Gabriel hadn't expected Kiara to come running out of the room like she did. He hadn't expected Everett to be in the living room, either, but apparently this morning was destine to be full of surprises for everyone involved. Gabe's eyes widened as Kiara burst through his bedroom door. And as hard as Gabe tried to tear his eyes away from Everett's he couldn't. His jaw hung loose, like he was trying to come up with some sort of explanation, but his mind was completely blank. If he were asked, he probably wouldn't be able to remember his middle name.

"Crap," Gabe finally managed to mumble to himself as he snapped out of the mini paralysis. He continued to search for words to explain as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck, but there wasn't a good explanation. They were both drunk and in need of affection? That may have been good enough for Gabe and Kiara, but he doubted that Everett would agree. For a moment, Gabriel considered going for the classic cliche 'It's not what it looks like', but decided it would only make things worse, and opted to stick with a nervous slack-jawed stare.

[Everett Lilien]

All congratulatory remarks he'd conjured up faded away as Gabriel no longer deserved them. His eyes shifted from his best friend and his mussed hair to the blonde coming out of his bedroom and standing beside him, adjusting her shirt. He'd never known what it was like to completely lose it, but he was sure that this counted as that time.

His mind connected the dots--quickly before he'd even realized he'd done it. The shoes. The purse. He'd seen them maybe a few times, but now he knew who they belonged to and it all clicked in his mind. Everything clicked and it wasn't an epiphany he was happy to have.

Kiara's word hung in the air. Shit. Everything bubbled up inside of him at once and he wanted to scream. He couldn't believe the nerve! He'd been out at the bar, feeling horrible about how he'd treated his sister, about how he needed to apologize and how maybe he really didn't know what love was. His groggy, hungover state was replaced with immediate rage of which he could not contain in the moment.

"What the hell is your problem?" he shouted at his sister. "I...I..." he stumbled over his words in all of his anger. "Is this your way of getting back at me?" Blue eyes settled on hers, practically the same color as his own. He found he couldn't even look over at Gabe.

[Deleted]

Feet were nailed to the floor as the blonde stood there, growing immensely aware of the changes in her brother’s facial expression. For a second Kiara considered to quickly explain herself and as to why she had been there in the first place, but no word came out. Of course none of this had done on purpose! It wasn’t like she had come here to bed her brother’s roommate. That, however, seemed to be Everett’s conclusion upon shouting at her.

Kiara flinched at the sudden rise in his voice, catching her off guard for her mind had been mulling on an excuse. It only made the girl tense even more, and she subconsciously took a miniscule step closer to Gabe’s side in an attempt to feel more at ease. Ev should know she disliked being shouted at; their stepfather had done that enough for the rest of her life.

“N-no”, Ki stammered with a quick shake of the head. How could he even think that? It made her sound so… cheap. “I… we didn’t mean for this to happen.” Arms protectively wrapped against the girl’s chest as she tried to keep herself strong enough to maintain eye contact. “Why would you think I did it on purpose?” Ever so slightly her head dipped to the side, her voice filled with hurt. He might as well have called her an unpleasant word.

With that, she gathered enough courage to take a couple of steps forward, wanting to reach a hand out on his shoulder to try and calm him down. It used to help… but she feared Everett would not take it with gratitude this time around. “I… sorry.”

[Gabriel James]

Gabriel was almost pissed that Everett seemed more concerned in blaming Kiara than himself. And as tempting as it may have seemed to anyone else to let the girl take the blame, Gabe couldn't possibly consider doing such a thing. He instinctively took a step closer to Kiara when she inched back. They were in this together, after all. He finally managed to find his words, and even though Everett seemed to be generally ignoring Gabe's presence, he spoke up. "It's my fault Ev. So don't even think about blaming Kiara or thinking this is some sick twisted way of 'getting back at you'," Gabe said with more authority than the two had probably ever heard. When Gabriel wanted to get a point across he got it across.

"She didn't even come here for me. She came here for you. To apologize. And... I dunno. Things happened. Alcohol was involved - not that that's ever a good enough reason. But if you're going to be pissed, be pissed at me. Punch me in the face. Kick me out. I don't care. It's not her fault though," Gabe said, mostly in one breath. He didn't know how red his face was, but he felt hot with embarrassment and a twinge of anger. He stared at Everett waiting for some form of acknowledgement - wondering if it would ever come.

[Everett Lilien]

"I don't know, Ki. I don't know what to expect from you right now and apparently I shouldn't act like I know what to expect from my own best friend either," Everett muttered, unable to fully take in all that he'd found out in such a short amount of time. "What do you mean that it's your fault, Gabe? You're both to blame. It takes two people to sleep together. I'm not stupid. I listened in sex ed." He couldn't just shift the blame off of Kiara when they were both to blame. He'd finally come to terms with how he'd acted towards her and knew he owed her an apology. He was harsh, but he meant well and that's what it came down to, but apparently she couldn't make her own decisions if she was going to go and sleep with his best friend right after a break-up with Jackson.

He didn't want to apologize now, he could barely look at either of them. "Well, apparently if I'd been here she wouldn't have slept with you. So it must be my fault then, huh? Just save it. You guys act as if I'm the irresponsible one, but I guess the roles have been reversed. Apparently when I'm not here, Gabe can't be trusted." He eyed the wine glasses on the table. Alcohol was an excuse.

He was so angry, so bitter that he felt as if he could punch a hole in the wall if it weren't for his splitting headache. How could Gabe do this?

[Deleted]

The last thing Kiara had expected was for Gabe to step up for her and for him to try to take the blame. He quite possibly had no idea how much it meant to the girl either. Gratitude filled blue eyes as they momentarily settled on the man. He was too focused on his roommate. If it had been appropriate, the blonde would have reached over to give his hand a confirming squeeze and to wordlessly let him know how much this was being appreciated. Her own attention was soon drawn back to Everett though, feeling another pang of guilt and being hurt. Gabriel tried to defend her, but it was obvious that her brother would not have any of that. One way or another, he would make sure his sister knew this. Of course they were both to blame, but…

“Oh, come one, Everett. None of that makes sense. Gabe didn’t mean it like that, you know this…” Kiara was growing slightly defensive now. It only felt normal to have his back as well. Unintentionally, she rolled her eyes. “Can you for once stop twisting our words to make it all about you? Yes, we made a mistake… but that doesn’t mean he can’t be trusted, okay? I made the move. I was sober enough to end it… and I didn’t. Not out of love because freaking love does not exist, but because for once someone seemed to care for me without judging.” Her voice was filled with emotions and slightly raised, feeling some anger boiling as well because of Ev’s reactions.

“This is progress, isn’t it? Not desperately wanting to commit to someone. Less chance of getting hurt. Great, huh?” Wasn’t that what he had wanted?

[Gabriel James]

"You don't know what to expect?" Gabe asked with a wry face. Who was Everett now? His mother? "Listen, we're all adults here. Yeah, you may not like that it happened. I'm still not sure what to think of the situation. But it happened. And YOU have nothing to do with it Everett. It's our problem. Not yours," Gabe stepped up, suddenly deciding that it wasn't Everett's place to judge. "Ki was right before. She's 19. She's an adult who can make her own decisions and you don't get to have a say. And you sure as hell don't get a say in my life either."

He was starting to see what Kiara had meant the other day. It wasn't that he didn't believe her then. He knew how protective Ev could be. But now that he was seeing it first hand (and was directly involved) he was a little more compelled to take Kiara's side. "So back off, man," Gabe added. This was a problem that shouldn't even involve Everett. He had the right to be bothered by it, but he had no right to hold 'expectations' over either of them.

[Everett Lilien]

Everett was silently fuming and he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold in all of the electricity that he was manifesting with holding in his anger. His hair already stood up on end, but he could feel the electricity in his fingertips.

Of course, he never made sense to Kiara. Nothing he did made sense. He always acted irrational. He was the problem. "Me turning things around on you? I think it's more like you turning things around on me! I have a right to be upset. I have a right to be angry because obviously neither of you thought about how I would feel about this. Which is angry! I don't know if I've communicated that or not, but I'm angry." He ran his hands through his hair, turning away from them both. The electricity coursing through his fingers made his hair stick up even more.

When Gabe spoke, he nearly lost it again. He couldn't take this in. He just couldn't. "Alright then, well then you both can deal with your problem since you're adults and obviously you both are way more responsible than me." His tone was heavily bitter and sarcastic. "And while you're at it, how about you back off as well. Back your dick off of my sister." He turned and walked down the hallway towards him room, the lights flickering around him.

[Deleted]

By now it had begun to dawn upon Kiara that Gabe was going to back her up, but she had not expected him to take it as far. To the extent possible, a soft smile appeared on her lips, if only for a split second. The easy way out had been to just let her take the blame, but instead Gabriel opted to go against his roommate. She could tell Everett was pissed and angry, and perhaps he did have every right to be, but at least his sister has been carefree for that one night. It probably was why the blonde didn’t object, simply letting him fume before Gabriel took the word. It was at that point that Ki actually also felt kind of bad for Ev. Not because of what Gabe said – his brother’s power getting involved often meant that emotions became too strong.

When he turned, a hand reached out to settle on Gabriel’s lower arm, giving it a little squeeze while blue eyes drifted up. “I’m sorry”, she practically whispered, even so slightly pursing lips. “Don’t… don’t risk being kicked out.” It had been incredibly sweet that the man had not cared about that though. He had no idea. "Maybe… I should try talking to him.” A sad tone of voice easily gave away that concerns were rushing over. Everett wouldn’t really hate her, right?

“Or maybe it’s better for me to just leave.” Her hand dropped and arms now folded against her chest in a comforting manner. Like usual, because it was her way to deal with things, she also tried to lighten up the mood. “At least it was kind of worth it?” A weak chuckle rolled past her lips as well before it was followed by a small sigh.