build me up [closed]

[has_a_horn]

Gabriel has been feeling listless. The days are getting a little bit colder and, with the drop in temperature, the city seems to close in on him incrementally. He's reminded more and more that he's approaching a full year trapped here in this city without making any real progress in fighting the rift. The rift giving him the flu had felt like a jab to let him know how powerless he really is here.

In the week since that, he's kept to himself more often than not. Monday rolls around again and he notices a pattern forming that he doesn't want to let continue. He's got to get out and talk to someone that's not rattling around in his own head.

He pushes himself up and pulls on his jacket, but instead of flying himself out of the apartment, he walks down the stairs. He pauses, momentarily on the landing that leads to Johnny's door before continuing down once again to knock loudly at Mako's door. He hasn't really taken the time to get to know her one-on-one yet, and there's no reason to put it off any longer. He's interested in her, this is a perfect opportunity to found out more about her.

It's fairly early in the morning, but that just means that it's the perfect time to go grab some breakfast. He hasn't gotten breakfast with anyone since Seth disappeared, and he finds that he misses it a lot.

"Mako!" He knocks again, then simply teleports himself into the apartment. "Come to breakfast with me. I need to make up for you seeing me groaning on the floor like a dying yak." He grins at her. "Come on. I'll introduce you to the concept of layering syrups."

Comments

[driftseeker]

It's fortunate that Mako was already awake by the time the knock rattled against her door, though she's never had to, as Raleigh delicately put it: haul ass at balls o' clock in the morning to kill some monsters. She doesn't examine whether her habit of diligently rising stems from a life in the Shatterdome, or Raleigh's stunted circadian rhythms, or something more. She simply heads for the door, then steps back in alarm when she finds that she doesn't have to.

"You seem better," she says with a small, hopeful smile. "Back to normal?"

[has_a_horn]

"Back to awesome." He nudges her towards where her shoes are, hoping to get this moving a little quicker. "And I want to celebrate with large amounts of sugar. Now, are you gonna join me or do I have to go wake up Johnny and have breakfast with a sleep-deprived grump?"

[driftseeker]

After the minor disaster of her first venture into the city proper, she's been consequently hesitant to risk a repeat experience. But this is Gabe - she likes him, and he's making an offer, and she really should be getting out more in any case. It won't be quite so much of a risk if there's someone else with her.

"All right, you've convinced me," she concedes, stooping to retrieve her shoes. "What did you have in mind?"

[has_a_horn]

Gabriel bounces on his heels while Mako puts on her shoes. "I know a good diner. You can order ice cream on your pancakes. Or dinner, if you want it. Burgers, steak, waffles, whatever. It's good, I promise."

He stops bouncing when she stands back up and holds out his hand. "I can take us right there." Usually people freak out if he just goes and teleports then without asking, so this is him asking.

[driftseeker]

Ice cream on your pancakes. She can almost see Raleigh's look, half skeptical, half genuinely impressed. She smiles, regards his hand for a moment, then, with a quick, bracing breath - takes it.

"I can't say no to that." She frowns faintly. "Will it scare anyone if we just show up?"