Room for Two (closed)

[Markise Sterling]

Markise stepped hesitantly into the already steamy bathroom of that dingy room in the Leaky Cauldron. He told himself he shouldn't ask--wouldn't ask--Ariel what had happened. Not right away, at least. Ariel needed to calm down, and Markise needed some assurance that they were all right, that things might be able to go back to where they were.

"Is there room for two in there?" he asked softly, just loud enough to be heard over the water. He was still exhausted, but the excitement had his mind running again, and he knew he wouldn't be able to fall asleep just yet. Not when he was still worried about Ariel.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel really wasn't in the mood to have Markise in the shower with him, not after the night he had had. Besides, he was enjoying his shower, the water hot enough to slowly turn his skin red. He still nodded and called out a yes before rinsing out the tiny dab of cheap shampoo that he had found sitting in the shower. It was plenty big enough for two people, even if he would rather have just stayed in to soak for half an hour.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise hadn't entirely been sure he'd hear an answer, or if he did, that it would be f~ off or a close equivalent. A large part of him relaxed at Ariel's yes, and Markise braced himself, pulling back the slightly tattered shower curtain to step in. He couldn't help the motion of his eyes over Ariel at first, but he gave himself a firm mental no and reached for the soap, lathering his hands in lieu of a washcloth. He didn't say anything, but brought his hands high on Ariel's chest.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel tilted his head back, sweeping his hands back through his hair to pull it away from his face, then dropped his eyes to Markise. His hands moved down to Markise's hair and started silently working through it to get it wet, moving a step backward to pull him into the stream of the water. He tried to let himself be relaxed by the hands on his chest, but it was going to be a long time coming, he knew.

[Markise Sterling]

It felt so good to have the dirt and sweat of the past miserable day rinsed off of him. It felt so good to have Ariel's hands on him again, to feel the way he'd felt this morning when Ariel took such good care of him. The pain and confusion was still there as the water ran, but there was enough comfort in the motions between them that he wasn't so afraid now. He held himself back for the longest time, until they were both clean again, even the glitter and makeup washed away, but for the waterproof mascara Markise wore. By that time, Markise's mind had shifted, and he moved forward, bringing his lips to Ariel's.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel sighed softly at the unexpected pleasure of the kiss. He hadn't realized how much he enjoyed kissing Markise until it had been taken away from the experience the night before. It had been a part before, but with it completely taken from the equation to bring distance he missed it, even if he hadn't realized it before Markise had kissed him. One hand settled on Markise's jaw and the other on his hip as he took a half step forward.

[Markise Sterling]

This was what Markise needed, even if he hadn't realized it until the moment that Ariel had kissed him back. Markise had no clue what had happened last night, and by now, it hardly mattered. They were here alone, and when they were together, the rest of the world disappeared. Markise didn't think past the moment, past the shower curtain as his hands slid up to the sides of Ariel's head and brought their bodies together.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

By the end the room was hot from more than just the water and Ariel pulled his hand from the wall where he had put it to steady himself. He kissed just beneath Markise's jaw and then moved his hands over Markise for one last rinse before they got out. "How is your head?" he asked softly, reaching up and running a hand through Markise's hair, not knowing what else to say.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise had to concentrate to make sense of Ariel's question, and so it took him a moment to form an intelligible answer. "Dizzy," he breathed. He didn't know how much of it was from last night's excess, but he was sure that at least part was from what had just happened between them. Markise doubted that Ariel could know how much he trusted him to let that happen without... It sent a shiver through him to think of it, though, and Markise's hazy eyes couldn't seem to focus past Ariel's face, those amazing lips, and those intense eyes he could see so well with that brown-gold hair slicked back.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel tilted his head down and kissed Markise lightly then reached around him and turned off the water. He ran his hands through his hair to get out the extra water before throwing open the curtain and grabbing two towels. He handed one to Markise and then set to drying himself off, methodically running the rough towel over each stretch of skin in a pattern he had gotten in the habit of doing years before.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise didn't like the feel of the towel in his hands and couldn't imagine it would be any better on the soft skin of his body. He raised it up to tousle his hair, letting the towel absorb what water it could, then stepped past Ariel to stand in front of the mirror. He frowned at the slightly mottled surface of it a moment, then began sifting his fingers through his hair to arrange it a bit better. He was still dizzy, but standing wasn't too much, especially not when there was something he could easily grab onto if it got too bad. His lips were still tingling from that last kiss, and he was entirely too aware of Ariel behind him. He found himself paying less attention to his hair and more attention to what he could see of Ariel in the mirror.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel finished with his slightly obsessive drying and moved up to his hair, running it roughly through it a few times before draping the towel over the edge of the tub and reaching up to run his hands through his hair to smooth it back from his face. He looked down at the small pile of clothes that was his and wrinkled his nose. Too bad he couldn't do-then he remembered, he was seventeen, he could legally do magic. He picked up the clothes and stepped outside to find his wand.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise's eyes followed Ariel's path out of the bathroom and stayed on the empty doorway for a moment before turning back to the mirror. His own towel found its way beside Ariel's on the edge of the tub and after a moment, he followed. "Aren't you going to sleep?" he asked, making a beeline for the bed. His mind was fogged over now, and lack of sleep was quickly catching up with him. Markise didn't have a single thought of the state of his clothes. He could think about that later, after he'd made use of that soft surface calling to him.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

"In just a minute," Ariel said absently, separating his clothes and picking his wand off of the table. He spoke a soft spell over each piece and then folded them and stacked them on the table, wand on top. "They were disgusting," he commented, nose wrinkled slightly as he flipped the light and went over to the bed, then pulled back the blankets to get in.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise's were likely the same, but he didn't particularly care at the moment. His heartbeat had picked up a bit at the thought of sleeping with Ariel, even if it was literally sleeping. In fact, the back of his neck tingled with knowing that soon it could rest and he could sleep for however long he wanted. The air had dried Markise enough not to dampen the sheets now, so he slipped in after Ariel, letting out a low sound of bliss at finally lying down. He didn't even register the condition of the mattress.