Flushing red, Jonah reaches down and yanks up his trousers, fumbling awkwardly to adjust his belt. "Um... uh... it's not... it's not like..."
He hears a cough. Not Boone's deep, chest-rattling cough- a more delicate, polite cough. Looking over his shoulder, he sees Arcade looking at him with wide eyes, now thoroughly distracted from his book.
Arcade looks just as bewildered as Jonah feels, and that only makes Jonah blush harder. His face is so hot, he thinks it might melt away and slosh right off of his skull.
Flustered, he drops the stimpak on to his bed and mumbles some excuse about having to go take Rex outside. As the red-faced courier hurriedly retreats from the bedroom, neither Arcade nor Boone has the heart to remind Jonah that Rex is already outside. The courier had let him out earlier that morning.
There is a beat of silence. Arcade uncrosses his legs and lowers them to the ground.
He dog ears the page of his book and carefully closes it, placing it gently on the couch next to him.
He turns to Boone.
Boone stares back at him wordlessly, nothing but eyes and a beret peering over plush red blankets drawn up to his nose.
"That was-" Arcade starts, and Boone cuts him off.
"Fucking weird?"
"Well, yes, unexpected, but also-"
"Fucking hot?"
"Exactly."
Boone turns his head away, wrought with another wave of coughs. He hacks so powerfully into the blankets that he nearly dry heaves. Arcade wrinkles his nose in disgust and covertly snatches up the stimpak Jonah had carelessly discarded.
Striding purposefully up to Boone's side, he grabs the sniper's wrist and wrestles a sweaty arm above the covers. Before Boone has a chance to protest, he jams the stimpak into his upper shoulder, depressing the plunger.
"Sonofabitch!" Boone actually whimpers, voice cracking comically high. He jerks his arm away from Arcade, but the damage was already done.
"There you go, you giant man-child. I wish I could say I was sorry, but you were being totally unreasonable. And disgusting."
Boone withdraws his arm back under the duvets, glaring. "You didn't have to do it like that."
Arcade rolls his eyes, tossing the empty syringe onto the bedside cabinet. He'd dispose of it properly later.
"There's time for pouting later. Right now, we need to figure out what we're going to do about.... Jonah." And his ridiculously sexy, lacy underwear, he mentally adds.
Boone agrees with the unspoken implication. "Yeah, right. But... what if he just goes and takes them off?"
"Well," Arcade answers, pushing up the sleeve of his doctor's coat and glancing at the watch strapped around his wrist. "We have about sixty seconds before the stimpak kicks in and suppresses that hell-cough of yours. Assuming he realizes that the cyberdog is still outside- probably happily licking its own butt- we should have enough time to catch him on the elevator ride back up." Arcade lowers his sleeve, meeting Boone's gaze. "And then we can make sure he doesn't take them off."
Boone coughs again, but much less harshly- more akin to clearing his throat.
"Or... we could take them off."
"Yes," Arcade agrees with a wicked grin, already making his way towards the door. "We certainly could."
Anything Goes 3/?
He hears a cough. Not Boone's deep, chest-rattling cough- a more delicate, polite cough. Looking over his shoulder, he sees Arcade looking at him with wide eyes, now thoroughly distracted from his book.
Arcade looks just as bewildered as Jonah feels, and that only makes Jonah blush harder. His face is so hot, he thinks it might melt away and slosh right off of his skull.
Flustered, he drops the stimpak on to his bed and mumbles some excuse about having to go take Rex outside. As the red-faced courier hurriedly retreats from the bedroom, neither Arcade nor Boone has the heart to remind Jonah that Rex is already outside. The courier had let him out earlier that morning.
There is a beat of silence. Arcade uncrosses his legs and lowers them to the ground.
He dog ears the page of his book and carefully closes it, placing it gently on the couch next to him.
He turns to Boone.
Boone stares back at him wordlessly, nothing but eyes and a beret peering over plush red blankets drawn up to his nose.
"That was-" Arcade starts, and Boone cuts him off.
"Fucking weird?"
"Well, yes, unexpected, but also-"
"Fucking hot?"
"Exactly."
Boone turns his head away, wrought with another wave of coughs. He hacks so powerfully into the blankets that he nearly dry heaves. Arcade wrinkles his nose in disgust and covertly snatches up the stimpak Jonah had carelessly discarded.
Striding purposefully up to Boone's side, he grabs the sniper's wrist and wrestles a sweaty arm above the covers. Before Boone has a chance to protest, he jams the stimpak into his upper shoulder, depressing the plunger.
"Sonofabitch!" Boone actually whimpers, voice cracking comically high. He jerks his arm away from Arcade, but the damage was already done.
"There you go, you giant man-child. I wish I could say I was sorry, but you were being totally unreasonable. And disgusting."
Boone withdraws his arm back under the duvets, glaring. "You didn't have to do it like that."
Arcade rolls his eyes, tossing the empty syringe onto the bedside cabinet. He'd dispose of it properly later.
"There's time for pouting later. Right now, we need to figure out what we're going to do about.... Jonah." And his ridiculously sexy, lacy underwear, he mentally adds.
Boone agrees with the unspoken implication. "Yeah, right. But... what if he just goes and takes them off?"
"Well," Arcade answers, pushing up the sleeve of his doctor's coat and glancing at the watch strapped around his wrist. "We have about sixty seconds before the stimpak kicks in and suppresses that hell-cough of yours. Assuming he realizes that the cyberdog is still outside- probably happily licking its own butt- we should have enough time to catch him on the elevator ride back up." Arcade lowers his sleeve, meeting Boone's gaze. "And then we can make sure he doesn't take them off."
Boone coughs again, but much less harshly- more akin to clearing his throat.
"Or... we could take them off."
"Yes," Arcade agrees with a wicked grin, already making his way towards the door. "We certainly could."