Liquid Courage [Jake]

[Morgan Tonaya]

There was a certain something special about Friday night. If you were young, it meant a break from school and time to party. To cause trouble. To live it up while you were could. If you were older, perhaps even retired, it meant a relaxing change of pace outside of your window. If you, like Morgan, were somewhere in between, it meant relaxing with some beer and steak with your best friend and revisiting old memories.

Except Darryl had stood him up.

Apparently the other man had a date he’d forgotten to mention, and while Morgan had no hard feelings, he did have several steaks and a bit too much alchohol than he was comfortable consuming alone. Sure he could always put it away for some other time, but he was so excited for a night of drinking and nostalgia! He had spent the past few minutes resisting the urge to pout by flipping through an old comic book, but it just depressed him more to be at his dining room table alone. Groaning and flopping melodramatically on the table, Morgan sighed. It was time to pout (mostly because he was jealous of Darryl).

As he wiggled in deep, dramatic pain, his wrist brushed his cell phone, which had earlier been set down carefully on the corner of the table. He perked up slightly. There were more people in the world than Darryl. Perhaps someone else would be down to help him clear his liquor cabinet? He snatched up his cell and flicked it open, immediately scrolling through the contacts. He’d gotten all the way to the ‘K’s when he suddenly stopped and scrolled up several names.

There was a “<3” he did not remember entering into his contacts.

When he looked at the name attached to the goofy heart, he blushed slightly and laughed to himself. Jake. The guy who’d hit on him at the bar a few nights ago. Granted, Morgan hadn’t done much protesting, but thinking back on the night still made him squeamish with embarrassment. Despite Jake’s come-ons, Morgan had really enjoyed his company. It had been nice to meet another meta outside of Hammel, and Jake was easy-going…funny.

Curling and uncurling his bare toes against the hardwood of his dining room floor, he squinted at the number. Both he and Jake had suggested a second meeting, and Morgan had been sincere…but was it really wise to invite the phantom ass-graber to his home? Shaking his head and taking a deep breath, Morgan punched the “send” button.

Too late now, he supposed. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” He muttered to himself as the other line rang and rang. Eventually the machine picked up. He frowned slightly and contemplating just hanging up, but what good would that do? It would still leave him bored and probably feeling even stupider for chickening out. The beep came, and it was do or die.

“Hey! Jake. Its Morgan Tonaya. The harmonica guy.” He chirped, standing up from his chair and pacing with sudden nerves. Apparently he was doing. “I had plans to grill out with an old friend, but he flaked on me. I’ve got some spare food and drinks.” This was the hard part… “If you wanted to come over and help me clear it out, the door is open.” He left his address, and signed off, closing his phone with a heavy sigh.

Holy shit that was difficult! Morgan flopped onto his couch and threw an arm over his eyes. His stomach rolled with awkward butterflies, which only dissipated after several deep breaths. When did he turn into such a nervous ninny?! He looked over at his moderately priced television, then to the small shelf above it, which was home to a few photos and an action figure. Staring down the plastic Hal Jordan, he grimaced as he remembered. That’s right. He turned into a complete stuttering girl when Jake had put his game face on. Feeling like a dork, Morgan sulked back into the kitchen and snatched out a beer. No reason he couldn’t start without company!

[Jacob Lawrence]

Jake had never been one to turn down an afternoon nap, especially with the windows open just enough that a light breeze swept inside. Not to mention the fact that there was Ein, Jake's favorite of Gabriel's dogs, laying across his chest. One hundred plus pounds of sleeping dog was an extremely effective thing to keep one from getting out of bed. Though Jacob had tried to shove the great dane off of him, Ein had refused to budge. That was typical behavior, so Jake decided to close his eyes and join Ein in a nap.

It was said nap that had caused him to miss Morgan's call, as if he'd been awake he would have rushed to answer, but it was the ringing of his phone that managed to rouse Jake from his sleep. Drowsy, he noticed that Ein had taken to using his shoulder as a pillow. "You lardass." He mumbled, albeit fondly, and then began the long struggle to escape from beneath the still sleeping dog. It was only once he was free that he noticed his arm was rather dead asleep itself. He swore under his breath and glared rather ineffectually at Ein, earning only a snore and a twitch in response. Jacob might have acted annoyed with the dane, but he wouldn't trade Ein for anything. He'd adored the little bastard from the very first moment Gabe had brought him home and he'd run headlong into the wall.

Grabbing his phone from the bedside table, Jake noted the voicemail and lifted it to his ear to hear the message. A smile curled his lips as he slid off of the bed and hastily scribbled down the address so he'd remember it. Of course he was going to take Morgan up on his offer, because not only did it mean booze and steaks, but it also meant time with Morgan, which was time he was sure was going to full of making the other man blush like mad. Although with the proper amount of alcohol, Morgan could probably give as good as he got. That is if he can get the butterflies out of his stomach.

Jake dropped his phone back on the bed in favor of changing his clothes - Ein had profusely drooled all over his shirt and that certainly wouldn't have made a good impression on Morgan - and fixed his bed mussed hair. He wouldn't bother Gabe before he left as that would be a terribly poor decision on his part. He need not know that Jake was going to be spending time with a Hammel instructor simply for the sake of a good time. He'd want Jake to try and weasel information out of Morgan for sure and Jake had no interest in doing so. He made sure to grab the scrap of paper he'd jotted Morgan's address on, then quietly made his way out of the house.

Pilot Ridge was small enough that Jake need not bother taking a car to Morgan's house and it was probably for the best. The amount of drinking that they both would be doing would certainly make it dangerous for Jake to attempt a drive home, although the brunette was entertaining the possibility of staying the night. We can let him hope, right?

He strolled lazily down the walk until he reached the proper house, double checking the address one last time before stepping up to the door. It was a nice place, Morgan's house, and before he had even knocked on the door he found himself grinning at the thought of spending more time with the man. Rapping his knuckles on the door, Jake took a step back and waited for an answer, looking just as cool and collected as he always did.

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[Morgan Tonaya]

Surprised at the sudden loud knocking, Morgan nearly choked on the last drink of his first beer. Coughing and punching his chest with a closed fist, Morgan swung his legs off the couch and leaned his head between his knees, trying to coax the beer out of his esophagus. After some more coughing, a ragged “Just-t a sec!” shouted to the door, and a rather painful burp, Morgan leapt up and went to the door. Though his eyes were watering and he was still coughing into the sleeve of his peach, collared shirt, he opened the door.

Big mistake not checking the peep hole first.

He nearly squeaked when he saw who was standing on his stood. “Jake!” He exclaimed, waving him inside after a few more hacks. “Come in.” he croaked, laughing breathlessly. “Quick before I choke to death.” Morgan joked. He stepped aside, making room for Jake to enter. His breath was heavy, and cheeks flushed with the ordeal of almost accidentally drowning himself, but he still managed to grin at Jake. “Welcome, but the way. Glad you could make it.”

Peeking outside past Jake, Morgan blinked. “You walked, yeah?” Morgan inquired, surprised that Jake would live close enough to be able to do that. Thinking back on it, he wasn’t quite sure why he was surprised. Pilot Ridge was not a large place so far as residential areas went. Morgan would often see an occasional co-worker as he made his way to the school. Still, the fact that he’d never seen Jake before that afternoon in the bar was a little surprising. Well…the other man had been in China.

[Jacob Lawrence]

Concerned at the noises coming from behind the door, Jake was relieved when it was opened and Morgan stood there relatively unmarred in front of him. So he may have been coughing, but that wasn't entirely worrying. "Hey Morgan. You alright?" He smiled at the man anyways and then stepped inside, politely toeing off his shoes so as not to track dirt in. "I didn't come at a bad time, did I?" Taking a few more steps into Morgan's home, he turned and waited for him.

"It wasn't far and it's nice out. I could use the exercise!" There was a hint of mischief in Jacob's voice and I'm quite sure we can all guess what sort of exercise he's got in mind. Down boy, down. Maybe Morgan should start carrying a spray bottle around with him so he can give Jake a spritz when he starts getting a little too frisky. "Thanks for having me." This time around his voice was warm and genuine, being that most certainly enjoyed Morgan's company and was eager to spend more time in it.

He had been rather surprised that Morgan had called him and so soon. Considering how thick he'd laid it on the last time they'd met, he would have expected the man to take more time to calm down and give him a call... if at all. At least it was a very pleasant surprise. "Plus I figured there'd be booze and I don't really want to break the law." Snort. As if that ever stopped him before.

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[Morgan Tonaya]

Concerned at the noises coming from behind the door, Jake was relieved when it was opened and Morgan stood there relatively unmarred in front of him. So he may have been coughing, but that wasn't entirely worrying. "Hey Morgan. You alright?" He smiled at the man anyways and then stepped inside, politely toeing off his shoes so as not to track dirt in. "I didn't come at a bad time, did I?" Taking a few more steps into Morgan's home, he turned and waited for him.

Morgan picked up his empty beer bottle off of the carpet in his living room and shook it in Jake’s direction. “Yeah ‘m fine. Just went down the wrong pipe is all.” He said, chucking the bottle in a trash can in the nearby kitchen. “Serves me right for starting without someone here.” Morgan added good-naturedly, clearing his throat one last time. “And no! you’re fine. I mean…” he gestured vaguely around the surprisingly spacious townhome. “There’s nothing going on really. I haven’t even put the food on yet.” He jabbed his thumb toward a set of steaks thawing on the counter.

Following his first instinct, Morgan looked skeptically at Jake. “You don’t need exercise. You need a beer. You’re making me feel inadequate.” Morgan said with a snort, reaching into the fridge and pulling out another bottle from the six pack. He’d slow down for now…let Jake catch up. Surprisingly (in comparison to the flustered mess he had been when previously trying to talk to Jake) the thinly veiled compliment to Jake came easily. It was no secret Morgan worked out, and had the form to prove it, but Jake had a set of natural good looks that went beyond what Morgan considered appropriate for a normal human being.

Jake’s actual meta-human ability? Extra good looking. And yes. Morgan was comfortable with admitting that. In that masculine, ‘I’ve got this friend who is good looking enough to date my sister’ kind of way (right Morgan. Sure).

Morgan laughed slightly and shrugged, uncapping the bottle and handing it to Jake over the bar that separated the kitchen and the dinning room. “Well, that’s good of you I guess.” He said, rounding out of the kitchen and leaning in the opening between the two rooms. “Breaking the law can’t mean anything but trouble.”

[Jacob Lawrence]

"Guess that means you need supervision." Jake followed Morgan into the living room, looking obviously amused. "Don't worry, I've got my eyes on you now." And that's not all he'd like to have on you. Damn, where's that spray bottle when you need it? At Morgan's gesture, Jake took the opportunity to look around his house, grinning at the sight of the action figure above the TV. He didn't know why, but it just seemed appropriate there... at least in Morgan's household. I don't think Gabe would let the action figure look slide.

Leaning against the counter, Jake watched him fetch another beer from the fridge. "You trying to give me a beer belly or something? Sabotage!" He may not have had the perfect six pack (something that Gabe often teased him about) but he certainly wasn't out of shape. Jake's rather unhealthy diet was the cause of that, not a lack of exercise. To put it lightly, nearly everything that went wrong in Jake's life was quickly followed by ice cream. Saying he has a sweet tooth is an understatement.

Had Jake known than Morgan was quite comfortable admitting that he was attractive, he would have smirked his fool head off. Then probably try to use his good looks to wiggle his way into Morgan's bed life.

"I definitely wouldn't say you're inadequate." There he goes with the flattery again, does it even have an off switch? He chuckled, eyes firmly planted on the other man. "Y'know, I was gunna say sorry your friend bailed, but... that'd be a lie. I'm actually kinda glad." Because else Morgan would have called him and Jake would probably still be dozing pinned under Ein who would use him as both a pillow and drool rag. Yeah, it was much preferable spending his time with an attractive man.

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[Morgan Tonaya]

Morgan caught Jake’s line of sight on his figurine and chuckled, waving his hand slightly to brandish the tattoo on his wrist. “I’m kind of a nerd, you’ll discover.” He informed, tucking his hand back in his pockets. “I wouldn’t bring it up. You’ll never get me to shut up.” Morgan admitted easily before grinning mischievously and moving back to the fridge.

“No. The beer is not sabotage.” He said with some boyish laughter, withdrawing a bowl covered in plastic wrap. “but this is!” Morgan retorted with an implied ‘ta-da’ at the end of his sentence as he brandish a large bowl of potato salad. “Home made, sucker.” He teased, setting the bowl on the counter with a heavy thud.

“And steak, obviously.” He said, waving his hand over the food. “Are you hungry? I can throw it on whenever.” Morgan offered, beaming in the most welcoming way. Saying that Morgan was a gracious host was a bit of an understatement. He did his best to make all his guests feel like his home was theirs, just like his momma had taught him! “Or if you’re not up to the sabotage, you can dig through my fridge and cabinets and such.” He offered in a very ‘mi casa es su casa’ kind of deal. Gracious? Yes. Overdoing it? Not quite.

In what was probably the first advent of many for the evening, Morgan blushed. “Thanks, I think.” Morgan said, waiting for Jake to come into some roundabout insult like his other friends would do. Thinking for a moment, Morgan nodded. “Yeah…Me too!” He piped, looking rather like he wasn’t quite sure, but had only just decided.

[Jacob Lawrence]

For a brief moment, Jake's attention was held by the tattoo on Morgan's wrist, then by the man admitting he was a nerd. "At least you're not in denial." He had no problem with this admission, no problem with Morgan being a nerd, it just made him even cuter. Jake would also like Morgan to know that he could go on and on about his comic books and whatever else and he wouldn't mind a bit. In fact, he'd probably get a huge kick out of it.

As Morgan set the bowl of potato salad on the counter, Jake doubled over and acted like he'd just been punched in the gut. "Oh! You got me right in the weak spot!" Straightening back up, he explained while laughing, "My stomach loves you right now." Truly, the way to Jake's heart was his stomach. You feed him, he loves you, much like a puppy. Taking a swig from the bottle, Jake eyed the steaks and his stomach gave a loud rumble. "See? It's trying to flirt with you." Yes, that's a good boy, blame your stomach.

Going quiet for a moment, he looked at Morgan as if he were studying him. Jake could count the number of people he'd met in his entire life who were this warm and welcoming on one hand. He was a criminal, he dealt with the shadier side of life, so couldn't blame anyone but himself for the people he normally associated with, but it was such a nice change of pace to be with Morgan. There was no pressure, no tension, just a relaxed atmosphere that Jake found himself enjoying.

"Yeah? Maybe we should make it a regular occurrence." He could definitely get used to spending his spare time with Morgan. A cocky sort of grin covered his face. "Y'know, if ya don't mind." Because he certainly didn't want to impose himself onto Morgan's life if he didn't want him there, but considering that Morgan had been the one to invite him over, I don't think that's the case.

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[Morgan Tonaya]

Well, Morgan is in denial. Just not about his nerd-ness. Morgan had bigger things to admit to himself than just the fact that he liked comic books. It made him feel better that Jake simply passed off his hobby. Eventually Jake would learn just to what extent Morgan loved his hobby, but that could come later. (The closet in the second bedroom? Overrun by Morgan’s collection…it’s a walk in.)

He jumped slightly when Jake doubled over, shocked, but began laughing when he realized it was a joke. “Well good!” he said triumphantly, nodding and patting the counter. “Have as much as you want. It’ll go bad if we don’t knock it out.” Morgan explained. Heaven forbid his hard work so to waste! What a Suzy Homemaker. Shaking his head, Morgan held up his hands in a helpless gesture. “I have that kind of effect on people.” He replied to Jake’s stomach-flirting. Stomach flirting…that was a new one. But it made him grin widely, so he didn’t care.

Fixing his eyes on Jake, he waved his hands slightly in front of the other man’s eyes. Morgan could tell when he was being studied (as opposed to being checked out), though he couldn’t tell exactly what Jake was thinking. “Hello in there?” Morgan called, moving towards a sliding glass door that lead to a small back yard. “Man…your blood sugar must be really low to have you space like that.” He teased, beckoning Jake into the backyard.

“Throw those steaks on a platter for me?” He asked as he hauled a small circular grill out into the grass from the patio, gathering up the necessities to get it going. Morgan pulled off the lid and let it hand thoughtfully at the end of his arm. “…I don’t mind at all. You’re always welcome.”

[Jacob Lawrence]

Morgan's denial about his sexual orientation is another matter altogether. Jake is just in the process of making it worse (or better? I'm not sure.) As for his little obsession, Jake wouldn't mind at all. If anything, he'd be impressed by the amount of dedication it must have taken to amass such a collection.

Morgan seemed much more relaxed with Jake's forwardness this time around, whether it was because they were in his home or because he knew what to expect from the brunette, Jake didn't know. "You're damn right you do." He made a little bit of a face at Morgan teasingly. "It worked on me." He liked making Morgan laugh, liked making him smile, and if that meant making a fool of himself then he gladly would.

He blinked rapidly a few times when Morgan's hand distracted him, a soft laugh escaping him as he mentioned low blood sugar. "Sorry, had something on my mind." He shook his head, glancing after Morgan as he went outside, then looked through his cupboards until he found a plate, which he then set the steaks on. It was funny, he hadn't expected to be spending his evening with Morgan when the day had begun, but now that he was here, there wasn't anywhere he'd rather be.

"Thanks, Morgan. Really. Ready for these?" He lifted the plate and carried it out to Morgan with a smile. "My name is Jacob and I'll be your waiter today." He snorted as he offered the plate out to Morgan, that charming little grin of his not faltering a bit. Hell, if Jake were my waiter, I'd leave him one hell of a tip.

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[Morgan Tonaya]

Shaking his head with mock uncertainly, Morgan lit up the fresh charcoal on the grill, standing back from the sudden burst of flame. “I dunno. I haven’t even turned on the charm and you’re already following me around. So I guess I’m right.” Morgan said innocently, squinting and the flames and fanning some of the rich smoke away from him. Foolish? Morgan thought not. Playful? Yeah. That was a good word to describe Jake. The fact that Morgan still thought Jake was messing around was a little thick-headed of the blonde, but his hair color betrayed his cluelessness.

“Well, get it off your mind. Because you need to focus on helping me cook.” Morgan said sternly. He managed to hold his stoic face for a good millisecond before he broke back into a grin. “And by help me cook I mean find my flippy thingy somewhere in the kitchen.” He said, miming the motion of turning meat over on the grill, though ‘flippy thingy’ was a really vague description of a set of tongs. They were still hiding in a tall basket that had all manner of wooden spoons and other utensils poking out of it.

He nodded to Jake and took the plate with one hand, his other hovering a few inches above the grill since the flames had died down.”Sure am!” It was hot enough to actually cook something, so he flopped the two steaks onto the grilling surface. Smiling at the satisfying hiss, he crossed his arms. Looking sideways at Jake, Morgan chuckled. “Some waiter. The service in this place is pretty good.” He complimented.

[Jacob Lawrence]

Preoccupied with searching for Morgan's tongs, he almost missed the chance to make another "witty" comment. He'd looked in the drawers and the cupboards and only by chance did he happen on them in the basket. Once he pulled them free, he smirked over at Morgan. "You haven't turned on the charm? Probably for the better, else I couldn't keep my hands off you." Would that be a bad thing, really? I wouldn't complain if I were Morgan.

He passed the tongs to Morgan and stood perhaps a little closer than necessary to the other man. Jake usually tended to hang in the shadows, it was just where he was most comfortable, but he was starting to appreciate the light. Not too much of it, of course, because he was still sensitive, but Morgan was such a bright person that on any normal occasion, Jacob might have avoided him. He found Morgan far too appealing to just ignore him.

"Oh, I could show you some great service." And here comes the mack train with a wink and a chuckle. He lifted his hand and touched at the small of Morgan's back, just a light press and a gently weight against him. This was the second time they'd met, so in Jake's books meant that he could be a little loose with his hands. To say that the brunette had a case of wandering hand syndrom would be an understatement and it's only going to get worse from here on out.

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[Morgan Tonaya]

Morgan’s face lit up in another blush and he shrugged sheepishly. “Well then I’ll just have to keep my mouth shut, since we’re in public.” He managed to stammer, poking at the fire shyly with the tongs that he took from Jake. He swallowed a squeak when Jake’s hand hit his back, making it come out as a throaty, choked sound.

He turned around, which turned out to be a mistake. It put their faces awkwardly close together. Morgan only managed to save himself by putting up the tongs between them, the cold metal pressing against Jake’s nose. “Hey frisky. N-none of that near the fire.” He said sternly, looking at Jake levelly, though the blush was creeping up his face to tinge his ears.

Man was Jake bold. Morgan gave Jake a little push with his tongs, signaling him to back off a bit before her turned back to the grill. Really the steaks didn’t need watching, but it gave Morgy a chance to cool his jets. What on earth was he doing? Why didn’t he just tell Jake to back off? It wasn’t that he didn’t want Jake to back off (lies), he just didn’t want Jake to run off. Because he really did, truly enjoy Jake’s company.

Morgan decided the best way to solve the problem was going with the worst way to solve the problem. Booze. Morgan resigned himself to making himself a rather hard rum and coke when he had managed to get the steaks going strong. He nodded absently to himself. Yeah. There was a good idea. Booze and grilling. Seemed safe.

[Jacob Lawrence]

And there was the blush that Jake liked so much, spreading across the other man's face and making him look even more adorable than normal. "Well, it's less public inside..." He trailed off, fully expecting Morgan to come up with his own ending to that statement. Of course, as Jake has demonstrated about fifty times over, he was going somewhere south of the border with his intentions. Morgan will probably pick up on this, but this isn't that kind of a thread, so keep it in your pants, Jake.

Going crosseyed at the tongs that pressed against his nose, the brunette could only grin. "What, is my breath bad?" He teased, politely taking a half step back to give Morgy his space. The hand that was resting on the other man's back trailied up a little before he pulled it away. And I hate to give away spoilers, but before the end of the night, I'm thinking Morgan will be wishing that a touch to the back was all he'd received.

When Morgan retreated to fetch a drink, Jake helped himself to a chair on the patio. For a brief moment he felt guilty, thinking of how Gabe would react to knowing where and what he was doing. Though their breakup still weighed heavily on him, Jake knew it was unhealthy to think of the other man so much. Nursing his beer, he quickly focused on Morgan as he came back. It was just so easy to forget all of that when he saw the blonde.

Thankfully for all involved, Morgan is a much more competent person around fire than any of his students, so the chance of him setting himself (or Jake) on fire is rather minimal, even with the influence of alcohol. "Hey, I believe you were going to show me a little of your power." He leaned back in the chair, gesturing vaguely at Morgan with his bottle. "Might want to do that before you get drunk."

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[Morgan Tonaya]

South of the border? There was a south of the border between two guys? Lies. Morgan wasn’t going to pick up on anything. Morgan just shook his head and snapped the lid over top of the grill to let the meat cook undisturbed. He hung the tongs on a little hook on the grill and moved to stand with Jake.

He scuttled quickly to the kitchen to pour himself something, to let it sit before he had to go back to the grill, but paused at the liquor cabinet when he heard Jake’s voice from the patio. He’d nearly forgotten. Leaving the cabinet open, he went back to the patio, slinking back out of the sliding door.

“Are you sure? I mean…Thinking about it, isn’t sensitivity to Light a side effect of...”He trailed off and gestured awkwardly to Jake with his palm up, even uncomfortable mentioning darkness. “Y’know. Shadow. Stuff. I don’t wanna hurt you or anything.” Morgan said. He shook his head. What was he thinking? He had enough control not to hurt Jake, but he just wanted to be sure! Not everyone took to the training as well as Morgan had.

Suddenly he frowned. “Hey I hadn’t planned to get drunk. I’d planned to watch Darryl get drunk.” Morgan corrected. “And now I plan to get slightly tipsy.” He pointed out, closing his hand into a fist when he was done. When he opened it again, a flickering white light hovered it his palm, and the light from the indoors dimmed strangely. It wasn’t bright, and it wasn’t sunlight, so Morgan figured it’d be easier for Jake to handle.

“As for…what I can do…” Morgan passed the light into his other hand, spreading his fingers and wiggling them as the light seeped between them like webbing. “Its…mostly parlor tricks.” He said humbly, rubbing his hands together as the lights came back up inside and the glowing in his hands went away. The skin remained red, both slightly irritated and warm to the touch.