Breakfast in Bed - Riley Tags Stephen

[Riley Adams]

Last night...had been amazing.

After months of just talking [well, among other things] on the phone, Stephen Gage finally appeared in the flesh last night and things became...just a tad blazing.

And waking up in the morning to find the Scot breathing slowly under a mound of pillows made Riley smile widely, practically splitting his face in two.

Letting the probably jet-lagged younger man rest, Riley took his morning shower before proceeding to make breakfast. For two. It was something he had loved doing before and is now loving doing again. A soft hum was heard over the radio as eggs were cracked and the smell of bacon wafted through the standard sized apartment.

He started a fresh pot of coffee and set everything on a tray for breakfast in bed. Quietly, he tiptoed into the room and set the tray on the bedside table and climbed into bed, pressing his lips against Stephen's impossible jawline.

God, it was good to have his man back.

[Stephen Gage]

Stephen Gage could be a devilish sort of man. Such occasions were rare, scarce, but present nonetheless, and he had certainly been a scheming sort last night. Not viciously so, of course. No, Stephen was rarely hostile. In fact, he consciously made a habit of it. But he was prone to indulging in a bit of mischief every now and again. All in good fun.

His plane had landed at around 9:30 last evening, and rarely before had Stephen moved through an airport so quickly. Those ten minutes awaiting his luggage were easily the worst. The carousel had taken ages to deliver his property unto him and every centimetre gained by the second hand of his watch sent another itch up Stephen's spine, another urge to simply get home. He'd found his car rapidly. Hell, he'd damn near shot like a laser to it, an excited smile wide on his face. That smile lasted for the hour's drive back to Pilot Ridge, but it was at the halfway point where he'd decided to do something... interesting.

Clearly, Riley would want to know that he was back. And, frankly, Stephen was excited to let him know. But a phone call seemed... trite. Earnest, good, sweet, but cliché. Christ, how long had it been since they'd seen each other? Too long, to be sure. The days melded together in his mind, one long progression of instances that took place far from home. Rewarding, to be sure, and Hammel was going to be on the receiving end of a tidal wave of new recruits. But Stephen liked being home, especially now that he had something more than an admittedly beloved job keeping him there. He'd held his phone in one hand while he drove along the highways, then stuffed it back in his pocket as he reached a decision. Riley was in for a surprise.

It wasn't too long before Stephen had seen the familiar edges of town, and he'd guided his car along the streets toward a destination he knew well. Riley's face would be burned into his memory forever. Stephen had nearly bitten his lip off keeping himself from giggling as he'd knocked on his boyfriend's door. The knob turned, the door cracked, then opened, and there was Riley. A blank stare at first. Then an inhale, eyes widening, half of an "Oh my god," and Stephen had forgotten his clever plan and lunged forward. One hand had grabbed the side of Riley's head as the other literally threw his suitcase into the apartment. Then the free hand went to Riley's cheek and pulled him in and the rest of the night was a blur.

Now, he was dead tired. Jet lag finally caught up to him. That mixed with the night's exertion made it quite certain that Stephen didn't feel a single bit of Riley's morning motions. He was well-enveloped in the throes of sleep. Even the scent of bacon and warm food, usually among Stephen's favorite sensations, remained beyond the grasp of his mind. He was warm. He knew that much. And rightly so, buried beneath blankets and pillows as he was. Then he was warmer, as Riley climbed back into bed beside him. There was wetness on his jaw, and Stephen finally roused. He didn't open his eyes, though the smell's proximity made sure that it didn't go unnoticed. He smiled, half-fearful to look at the waking world. "I take it I'm not still in a hotel?"

[Riley Adams]

Riley grinned at Stephen's words, resisting the urge to run his fingers through the other man's hair. "You make it a habit bringing people to your hotel room, Stephen?" The landscape artist adopted an offended tone of voice. "Come on sleepyhead, let's up and at 'em. I have bacon and eggs and coffee. Coffee, Stephen."

The older man grabbed a mug and moved it close to Stephen, sending a whiff of the glorious aroma to the still sleepy man. "Do you smell that?" Riley laughed quietly before setting the mug back down.

He was supposed to get ready for work but the thought of leaving the house and being away from the man he'd been missing for months was a little difficult. Riley could just miss a day off work. He could. He was the boss after all. But then he would set a very bad example on his colleagues. Oh the dilemmas of being the employed.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Riley crawled into the covers and slid a hand over Stephen's back. Had he really made that mark?

[Stephen Gage]

Stephen winced playfully at the wounded tone of Riley's words, doing his best to simultaneously shake his head while keeping himself immovably in the warm spot he'd dug into throughout the night. The shaking increased once Riley made the horrid suggestion that he actually get up, and only lessened in strength once the mention of bacon and eggs were made. The coffee... eh. Not so much. Stephen chuckled, lifting his head from the pillow and looking over his shoulder at Riley. "If they bought me tea, I might've made a habit of it."

The coffee was waved before his nose and Stephen made a show of his indifference toward it, the illusion broken by a grin. He'd always enjoyed the smell of coffee, but rarely the taste. What was it Riley had wafted before him, Colombian? It was dark, rich. The mug clinked lightly against the plate as Riley set it down, and the presence of food (Good food, at that) weighed more heavily against Stephen's desire to remain comfortable. But the scales remained in favor of relaxation, and Stephen conceded only a few degrees' rotation, allowing him to see Riley more easily. The older man probably had to go to work. Hell, that was probably why he sat on the edge of the bed, instead of doing the far more entertaining thing and joining Stephen beneath the sheets. Curse him and his wonderful sense of duty.

Stephen let his head sink into the pillow, closing his eyes. Scarcely a second passed before he felt a hand on his back. He smiled, opening one eye and offering a playful warning. "Don't start what you don't have time to finish." He gave a wink, and surrendered to the presence of food. Stephen sat up, resting his back against the headboard of the bed and the pillow beside it, the fluffy blanket covering all below his waist. He leaned forward, gripped the plate of food in his hands and leaned back. "I promise I'll clean the sheets of the crumbs after."

Stephen brought the first strip of bacon to his mouth and bit off a piece. Oh god, continental breakfasts had nothing on this. His grin grew wider as the taste of bacon filled his mouth. He swallowed, waving the remainder of the strip at Riley as he spoke. "So, now that I'm less... busy. What's new? Been gone for ages; somebody's got to have dirt to shovel."

[Riley Adams]

"Oh you're very funny, Stephen." Riley grinned, resisting the overwhelming urge to ruffle the younger man's hair. His hair was sticking in all kinds of directions and the landscaper just wanted to run his fingers through it. "I wanted you to be awake, hence the coffee." Riley settled for grazing his knuckles against Stephen's chin.

The tone and also the words the recruiter used made Riley almost blush. Almost. Progress right there. In Stephen's absence, Riley had made other friends and opened up to more of his old ones but surely, he wouldn't have done it without Stephen's push. It was a little early into their relationship but Riley felt strongly about the man currently lying quite naked in his bed.

As he got up into a sitting position, Riley didn't even try to hide the fact that his eyes traveled southwards before they snapped back up to meet with Stephen's grin. "You don't have to. It's fine." The cell regenerator shook his head in a daze.

When Stephen asked Riley to engage in gossip, the older man was stunned. Riley had to be the most boring person in Pilot Ridge. The most exciting thing that had happened that he was aware of was the flu epidemic amongst his friends. He hardly thought his boyfriend would want to hear about Josh's upchuck on the restaurant floor, not while he had bacon in his mouth.

"I don't think the dirt I'm shoveling is what you're asking for," Riley gave out a small laugh. Lame, Riley. Why so lame? "Umm, a meta student right from Hammel came over to my office just the other day. I hired her for the secretarial position. I think she'll fit right in. She's such a sweetheart." He smiled, remembering soft-spoken Ann.

"Oh! I didn't know you knew Josh Bernstein." The older man said, suddenly remembering that random fact from when he had lunch with Josh the other day. "I had lunch with him and he said you two had met."

[Stephen Gage]

Stephen remained blissfully ignorant to the state of his hair, far too happy at not needing to impress recruits to allow for any attention to be given to anything other than the warmth of the bed, the bacon in his hand, and the man sitting beside him whose knuckles grazed briefly against his jaw. Riley seemed strangely resistant to Stephen's standard sexual innuendo. He was only a light shade of pink, as opposed to the usual shade of crimson the recruiter had grown accustomed to seeing fill the face of his boyfriend at the hint of anything remotely involving a bed that did not include sleeping alone. Stephen did a minor fist pump at the revelation that cleaning was unnecessary. Of course, he would anyway. But having an out was always a plus.

Stephen's eyebrows rose as the news of the Hammel student was shared, the bacon being chewed in his mouth preventing any immediate vocal acknowledgement. He racked his brain briefly for a hint to the girl's identity. Crap. He'd been away long enough to be well out of the loop on any Hammel students that weren't his. He swallowed the bacon, nodding. "Aw, that was nice of you. Do you know her name? One of mine?"

Riley's sudden recollection elicited more raised eyebrows from Stephen, and the recruiter stared blankly at the older man as he attempted to remember who the hell he'd met who had the name Joshua Bernstein. He shoved the rest of the bacon strip in his mouth, eyes squinted in thought. "Oh! Yeah the, the... lawyer? I think it was? I don't so much know him as... sat at his table in a crowded restaurant." Stephen chuckled. "Nice guy from what I remember. Surprised he remembered me, though."

Stephen picked up the mug of coffee, judged it acceptable enough to drink given the dryness of bacon, and took a healthy swig. A bit strong, but he'd certainly be awake in a bit. He placed the mug down, swiping another strip of bacon from the plate. The recruiter slid down a bit in the bed, resting more comfortably against the headboard. He laid his arm out towards Riley, shaking his head and grinning. "I'm not looking for dirt, you know. Just... anything. Anything that's new. So, what's new in the life of Riley? Didn't do much talking last night."

[Riley Adams]

"Wasn't anything nice, it was a job opportunity you know? For her. Her name's Ann. Hudgins? She's an empath. Dark hair, really blue eyes. Maybe sixteen, seventeen?" Riley described Ann as much as he remembered her. "I don't think she could be yours." He shook his head, unsure of his speculation. He didn't even know how long Stephen's been recruiting so it was a little hard to gauge.

The recognition that hit Stephen made Riley smile and nod. "Yep, that's the one. Oh," Riley laughed a little when Stephen explained the two's connection. "Yeah, nice guy." The landscape artist gave a small smile. "He's the son of two of the residents at the retirement home I worked at a few months ago. That was where I met him." He explained a little. "Well, you're obviously memorable." The older man grinned shyly, adjusting himself on the bed a little so he was right beside Stephen.

Riley leaned against the younger man, resisting the urge to nuzzle him a little. He knew he was going to be late for work but really, he was the boss...he could come in whenever he wanted. "Me?" He asked, wondering what had happened in Stephen's absence that was noteworthy. He chuckled lightly at Stephen's last words, bumping the younger man's shoulder. "Well, work's pretty steady so far. I'm actually raking in new business practically daily. So having Ann would be pretty good for us." He nodded. "And...I made a few new friends at the New Year's party.

"Speaking of which, my sister still wants to meet you. So we should have dinner sometime." Riley turned to look at Stephen, smiling hopefully. He really wanted Janice to like Stephen.

[Stephen Gage]

Stephen combed the depths of his mind for one Ann Hudgins, attempting to remember at least some of his countless recruits to see if she was among them. His eyes stopped focusing on riley briefly as he did so. Empath. No, he'd only had a few of those. Three of them were men. Boys, rather. Men now, of course. But an Ann Hudgins wasn't among the remainder. Stephen shrugged. He might meet her at some point, especially if his plan to surprise Riley at work some day went swimmingly. But that was neither here nor there, and Riley apparently had more to talk about.

Stephen's knowledge of Joshua Bernstein ended at "He exists, and I had lunch with him." So to hear that he was apparently a local came as a bit of a surprise. Sure, Stephen was gone frequently, but he had been certain he knew most of the people in the fairly small town of Pilot Ridge. Oh well; one learns something new every day. He smiled at Riley's compliment, jutting his nose into the air haughtily. "I try."

Riley moved towards him, and after the older man rested his weight against Stephen, the recruiter did the same to him. The innocent question ushered just a chuckle from Stephen, still amazed and amused by the innocence Riley had inexplicably maintained for this long. Really, how does a man get through a long-term relationship and still blush at a dirty text message or be too nervous to walk around in his own house naked? Of course, these might just be generational things. But still. They were valuable skills to have in life, as far as Stephen was concerned.
Yes, you."

Unsurprisingly, the news in Riley's own life was minimal at best. The man had practically no secrets: not a single bit of dirty laundry to air. The only thing he did have was his ex, and he told Stephen that tale long ago. Which did not make it easy for Stephen to keep all of his. He still hadn't told Riley just what it was he could do. That was not a conversation easily held, and not a subject Stephen enjoyed even thinking about, let alone verbalizing. Then, of course, there was the reason he came to America in the first place. It gets easy to keep secrets when there are enough of them to clog a throat.

Stephen rested his head on Riley's shoulder, turning it to look at the man when he mentioned his sister. Janet? Was that her name? No, Janice. Janice. "Yeah, I'll be happy to meet her. Dinner sounds great. Your place or... yeah, your place." he finished with a chuckle, remembering that his own apartment was hardly the space for entertaining. He nuzzled Riley for a moment, pulling away and lying back down flat on the bed. "You need to get to work. Somebody's got to pay for all those groceries you buy to feed me."

[Riley Adams]

Riley simply bumped Stephen's shoulder when the younger man pushed his nose up. "You're so silly." He felt comfortable as Stephen leaned against him. He placed his hand on Stephen's, squeezing it lightly before bringing it up to his lips. Riley hadn't been involved too much in things other than work and his two friends thus far and he was actually at peace with that. He liked the simplicity of his life right now.

He adjusted himself to accommodate the younger man on his shoulder, wishing they could stay in this position a while longer. "My place," Riley nodded with a smile at Stephen's chuckle, his indecisiveness a little adorable to the healer. And Stephen was right. He needed to get to work, much to Riley's chagrin. He loved his job, he didn't mind going to it but who knew having a boyfriend made it hard to go every morning?

"Yeah." He sighed, trying to keep the nuzzling in his mind. He turned when Stephen slid to his back on the bed and smiled. "I guess I should." Leaning down, he pressed his lips against his boyfriends and slid out of bed. "There's tea in the cupboard if you want to make some for yourself instead of the coffee. And there's still some more bacon in the microwave." He quickly bent down and pulled the other man into a kiss longer than the one before. The man was naked, could he really help himself?

"I'll see you later." Riley pressed his forehead against Stephen's with a satisfied smile, running his fingers through the younger man's hair before pulling back and leaving for work.