Return to Sender [Jake]

[Jacob Lawrence]

He leaned back to study Morgan's face, trying to disguise a laugh with a cough. "You're about as tough as pudding." Jake's smile was lopsided, but quite genuine, as he added "But that's fine with me." Morgan was perfect just the way he was, brilliant and warm and dorky and handsome. There was really nothing else Jacob could ask for, save perhaps for the association with Hammel to go away, but it was getting harder and harder to worry about that more time he spent in the presence of the blonde. Morgan made him feel comfortable... and playful.

"With pompoms too?" He asked as he tilted his head to the side, looking at his hand as it was held to Morgan's chest. The image of him dancing around with pompoms entered his head briefly and he released a small chuckle, his focus returning to Morgan's eyes.

It was in that moment, as he studied Morgan a bit closer, that he realized something a bit odd. The man beside him had caught and held his attentions (and affections) so easily, much the way a young Gabriel had when Jake was still a reckless teenager, even though they were completely different people. The brunette was still pretty reckless now, he'd proven that several times over, and even though he knew better, Jake would still follow emotion over logical thought. Everything about Morgan was so new and exciting and though he knew being with him was wrong, that just made it all the more thrilling.

Add to the mix Morgan's ability to make Jacob's heart beat a little faster and you've got one dangerous concoction.

Blinking rapidly for a moment, Jake noticed that Morgan had been talking and he hadn't heard the first part of his sentence. Thankfully, he was able to figure out what he was saying due to what he did hear, and he shook his head again. "Then I guess you've got plenty to keep you occupied if you did want to resort to... uh... hermit-hood." For Morgan's sake, he would refrain from making a comment about he would be much better at occupying him, but for what it's worth, the thought is there. Grinning, Jake placed his finger between Morgan's eyes. "I think you might have a problem."

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[Morgan Tonaya]

“Tough as rock pudding!” Morgan shot back, crossing his eyes and making a silly face at his stupid retort. He balled his hands into fists, sticking them doggedly up by his chin. “And that’d better be alright, or I might have ta’ smack you around to get you to behave.” He teased, grazing his knuckles under Jake’s chin. “Just kidding.” He whispered affectionately, a moronic smile still plastered on his face. He just couldn’t stop! The situation was so relaxed and he was surrounded by the things he adored: his home, his comic books, and Jake.

Snorting slightly, Morgan laughed. “Oh my, that’s…probably a bit much.” Morgan shook his feet at the heels, his toes wiggling playfully. “I have two left feet. And two right feet. Maybe three. Pompoms entail prancing and such.” He shrugged offhandedly.

Morgan, eternally oblivious, did not notice a single thing. Not the softening of Jake’s eyes as he studied him closely, mulling over his own emotions even as Morgan embraced his own. Not Jake’s lingering gaze on his face, or the (occasional) quickened beats of his heart. Absolutely nothing.

He just.

Kept.

Talking.

Even when Jake stuck his finger between Morgan’s eyes and confessed he thought he might have issues, Morgan continued to blabber at his extensive collection. He listed specific issues and recounted specific plots (including the time Hal Jordan had a threesome with Lady Blackhawk and Huntress), all in what seemed to be one breath.

[Jacob Lawrence]

Jake covered Morgan's fist with his own hand, smiling right back at him. "You should know by now that I'm not very good at behaving." He brushed his thumb over Morgan's fingers, amused like always at his goofy jokes. Jake was honest, though. From phantom-grabbing the teacher's ass when they first met to taking advantage of him when he was drunk, Jake wasn't exactly exercising good behavior. Not that he regrets any of those things, mind you, but at least he admits they weren't exactly... proper.

His focus travelled down to Morgan's wiggling feet as he started talking again, raising his eyebrow at his words. "That's a lot of feet." He commented absently before finally turning his attention back to Morgan, the smile back on his face. "But I think you'd look cute prancing around." He poked at Morgan's cheeks, but it was then that a whole mess of words started spilling out of the blonde's mouth at a rather alarming rate.

For a while Jake just stared at him while he rambled, trying to make sense of what he was saying. And yes, it was entertaining to watch Morgan talk so animatedly, but after a while of watching his mouth move, Jake began to think of other things that Morgan's lips could be doing. (And yes, I'll admit some of them are not appropriate to mention, but you probably assumed that already.) So Jake did the first thing he could think of to stop Morgan from talking.

First he pressed his index finger to Morgan's mouth, in order to earn his attention, and then he kissed him. It was a much more polite method of quieting Morgan than telling him to shut up and much more enjoyable.

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[Morgan Tonaya]

Morgan was surprised when his rant was cut off by a warm set of lips on his own. His heart fluttered a bit, his eye remaining open with the shock of the sudden kiss. Not that he was complaining mind you. He was just sort of surprised. When Jake drew back, he blinked a few times, then gasped.

“Oh man! And his villain is purple!” Morgan continued, in no way deterred or distracted from his rant by Jake’s show of affection. He looked to Jake eagerly, waiting for the brunette to affirm the awesomeness of his comic books. Wait…how old is Morgan again?

[Jacob Lawrence]

For a moment, Jake just stared at Morgan disbelievingly. He'd missed the hint completely once again, but Jake really should have expected that. The number of times that things went over Morgan's pretty head was already high and it's just going to keep increasing. "Morgan..." Jake started, meeting the blonde's eyes, then promptly burst into a fit of laughter. He just couldn't help it, Morgan was just so... so... Morgan. Jake couldn't come up with another word for it.

Slinging an arm around Morgan's shoulders, the brunette touched their foreheads together. "No offense, but I don't understand a thing you're saying." There, that should have been blunt enough for Morgan to comprehend. He'd certainly had a point when he said that if he didn't put the box away, he'd be dragged into the stories. Except this time, he was trying to pull Jake in with him (rather unsuccessfully.) "Maybe you should put that box away now."

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[Morgan Tonaya]

Its been said before and it keeps being proven that Morgan is not the brightest bulb in the box (no light puns intended). Not to say that Morgan was particularly stupid, he just…didn’t really pay attention. As such, flaky moments such as these tended to dominate the scope of his life. “Jake…?” Morgan mimicked as the shadow manipulator began to laugh, looking heartily confused at what humor could be found in the situation.

Morgan’s face broke into a smile when Jake pressed his forehead against his own, his eye lashed brushing against the bridge of Jake’s nose as Morgan turned his head slightly. “Oh…” He said sheepishly. “Sorry. I’m just a huge nerd.” There we go. Finally the synapses are firing in that little blonde head of his. Morgan scooted closer to Jake, nudging the long box with his toe and nodding slightly, finally finding the humor in the situation as he started to laugh. “Yeah maybe I should.”

[Jacob Lawrence]

Morgan may not have been the brightest bulb in the box, but Jake would have picked him above all the other bulbs without a second thought. He wasn't the cleverest, but he had the biggest heart. He'd never known anyone quite like Morgan before, someone who was so completely optimistic, so genuine and open to the whole world, and it astounded him. When Morgan laughed, it was impossible not to laugh with him. When Morgan worried, then Jake worried too.

Jake sighed as Morgan moved, tipping his chin up and kissing between his eyes. "I know you are." It was kind of hard to miss that Morgan was a total nerd, but even though Jake didn't get it at all, he didn't mind. He smiled wider when Morgan moved closer, lifting his hand and letting his knuckles trail against the blonde's cheek. "And I wouldn't change that at all." He chuckled, brushing Morgan's hair over his ear. And he wouldn't give up Morgan's nerdy nature for anything, not even a huge tub of chocolate ice cream.

There was a sudden rush of emotion that left Jake feeling a bit dizzy as he looked at Morgan again, something familiar that normally would have scared him away. He'd run away from it before, but this time he didn't want to screw it up. Instead he just smiled at Morgan and said, "I'm really gald I met you, Morgan."

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[Morgan Tonaya]

Morgan felt a huge girly wave of affection well up in him when Jake kissed him between the eyes and could only stave it off by laughing and tilting his head downward to bump his head under Jake’s chin. He nuzzled at Jake’s chest (very manly. Good job Morgan) and sighed. “I’m glad. I wouldn’t change anything about you either Jake.” Granted, there were just a few things Morgan didn’t know about Jake…but lets not ruin their loving moment.

Squirming a bit to lay his head in Jake’s lap, Morgan smiled distantly, looking directly into Jake’s eyes. Sincerity glimmered in his gaze as he let out a contented sigh. “Me too…me too.”