What's a little paint between friends?

[Riley Grace]

"Its not you." Riley managed softly after a moment or three, feeling his welcome presence intrude on her panic.

Blinking, she glanced up at, pausing in the midst of her hand-washing frenzy. Losing her tenuous grasp on control she looked back down to her hands and kept scrubbing.

"There's a little paint on the front door. Need...need to wash the door. No. Need to wash my hands. Then wash the door." she swallowed hard, as if that was going to help tamp down on the fear that gnawed away in the pit of her stomach.

[Antonio Fernandez]

"Paint on the -" Antonio stalked out of the kitchen and around the corner to the front door. He yanked it open and silently read the message left there. Then he closed the door firmly behind him and walked out onto the concrete landing, eyeing some green spots on the ground. The trail went down the stairs, of course, but ended before the first landing.

He leaned over the railing, staring down to the first floor and looking for movement. "I hope you're proud of yourselves, douchebags!" he shouted, not realizing that he'd triggered his power on the concrete. Then he stomped back into Riley's apartment, careful not to slam the door. "You got a rag? I'll clean that shit off the door for you. You should call the police, make a report - oh."

He looked at his rough grey arm, and narrowed his eyes, concentrating for a moment to turn back to flesh. "Douchebags," he repeated, crossing over to where Riley was. "You okay?"

[Riley Grace]

She didn't stop scrubbing until the door closed. She rinsed her now irritated fingers off and dried them on her shorts as she crouched down. Opening the cabinet, she pulled out a small bucket that had a pile of rags in it. Dumping the rags on the counter as she rose, she added warm water and a cleaning solution to the bucket before setting that up on the counter as well.

Riley's hands were still shaking when Antonio rounded the corner again, gray eyes watching the skin of his arm fade back to skin from the concrete of the landing. Her gaze lifted to meet his and she nodded, her throat working in an effort to speak - an effort at which she failed.

It wasn't that she didn't know about the anti-mutant sentiment...she'd seen that well enough in her four and a half years in LA. The rally was the first time she'd begun to realize just how bad things had gotten in the city. The UCLA campus and the Zoo where she worked were relative safe havens; the former known for its celebration of diversity, and the latter only too pleased to celebrate her unique connection to the animal kingdom.

This was the first time since she'd left her tiny town in Nebraska that such a thing had been directed straight at her. Riley had thought and hoped that she'd left such narrow-mindedness behind. It was a stupid, naïve hope, but she'd clung to it and become comfortable with it.

Fingers reached out absently to brush his arm, distantly wishing she could hide her own ability just as easily. "I'm okay." she finally replied, avoiding his gaze, her fingers lingering.

[Antonio Fernandez]

He instinctively put his hand over hers, and then wrapped her up in a hug. The feathers of her wings tickled his arms, and he was taken out of the moment for a second as he tried to figure out exactly how best to hold her. "It'll be okay, Riley."

Antonio considered that as long as they'd been friends he'd never held her this close before. He hoped the owls didn't decide to swoop down and claw his eyes out for his impertinence.

[Riley Grace]

She was startled for a moment, completely unaccustomed to an embrace from someone who wasn't her parents or her brothers. But eventually, his arms settles just under the base of her wings, where silky feathers met her warm skin. Her own settled quite comfortably around his waist as her slight five foot, five inch frame leaned against him and reveled in the warmth and comfort.

A faint sigh escaped her lips as she gradually stopped shaking and lost herself in the moment. It was...good. Really, really good. And she didn't want to move.

Eventually though, Riley did move, lifting her head from his chest and sliding backwards ever so slightly. Not enough, however, to dislodge his arms. Her head tilted up and her grey eyes caught his gaze, while a smile settled on her lips.

"Thank you." she managed softly, feeling the words inadequate, but finding them the only ones she could manage to say out loud.

[Antonio Fernandez]

She was looking up st him, vulnerable in the moment, lips slightly parted... Antonio knew how easy it would be to kiss her. But it felt weird somehow. They flirted all the time, but he'd had a lot of girlfriends (well, a few anyway) and Riley was his friend. He felt confused, and a part of him was screaming at him to press the advantage and go for it.

He gently let her go, instead. Joaquin would probably laugh at him if he found out. "What are friends for?" Tonio stepped back a little, lips quirking up in a smile. "Do you want to wash it off now, or make a police report? Either way, we should probably take a picture, in case..." he hesitated. "In case it happens again."

[Riley Grace]

"I'll just grab my camera so I can take a picture. Then we can clean it off."

Riley replied with a smile of her own, briefly leaning back against the counter as he let her go. Fingers smoothed out the slight ruffle of her top as she gave herself a moment to remember how to breathe. And to avoid his gaze.

They were friends, of course...but Riley couldn't exactly help herself from thinking he was attractive. She wouldn't have argued if he'd kissed her right then - she would have liked it. Tiana was going to laugh at her for not taking the initiative herself.

As soon as she was positive she wasn't going to disgrace herself by falling over, she walked past him and through the living room. Her camera was perched atop the small dresser where she always tossed her keys and her bag. Fingers grabbed the tiny little contraption, its bright blue metallic body gleaming in the light.

Riley took a deep breath as she turned the camera on and opened the door again, Antonio behind her with the bucket and the rags. She took a picture of the door, and the trail of green splatter that led down the stairs. Shaking her head, she tucked the camera in a back pocket and started wiping the still wet spray paint off the door.

[Antonio Fernandez]

He had some choice words for the hijos de puta responsible for the vandalism, but he kept them to himself. Mostly.

"Real piece of work, whoever did this shit," he said, scrubbing hard. The paint was coming off, but the white door was becoming slightly green as the water ran down it. There was a faint outline of the words left behind, too. Antonio dipped his rag in the now dirty water and went back to work. "And now I'm going to have to buy you a drink, rather than the other way around."

He winked at Riley.

[Riley Grace]

She winked back and bumped him aside with her hip as she picked up the bucket. The water was in dire need of changing, otherwise they'd be putting the paint and grime back on it.

"Well...if you insist...just remember what I'm like when I'm a little tipsy." Riley replied brightly, adding hot water and a touch of bleach to the bucket once more.

She muttered under her breath, eventually dropping her rag back in the bucket and flexing her fingers. They were starting to shake again - whether that was from scrubbing so hard or her emotions taking one more spin on the roller coaster, she wasn't sure.

In an effort to cover, she stuffed her fingers in her pockets and stood up on her toes behind him, her chin on his shoulder. "We could even paint the door beige...or should I just hang JT on there?"

[Antonio Fernandez]

"Oh, definitely JT. Might scare them off if they come back." God, now she was all over his back and he was rethinking his earlier decision. Antonio cocked his head to one side, gently bumping against hers. "But seriously, no on the beige. Your landlord would probably notice, and you need a paint rated for outside."

He added, grinning, "Trust me, I'm an expert. I can run to Home Depot and pick up a can of white right now if you want. Or we can ask the apartment management if they have any?"

[Riley Grace]

She laughed and patted his shoulders as she stepped back. "I have no idea how the hell you became the voice of reason today. But let me run downstairs and see if maintenance has any. Or can at least tell me the precise shade of glorious white the door needs to be."

Instead of taking the stairs and following the green paint, she ambled down the other end of the hall and took the elevator down to the first floor. She sighed in frustration, finding the little security desk empty again. One of the reasons she'd purchased the apartment in the building was for the security that was supposed to be constantly monitoring the doors.

Yet again, there was no one at the desk and the front doors were propped open. Mulling the thought of selling and moving herself and Taya elsewhere, she thankfully bumped into the maintenance man on her way to his office. "Good afternoon, Mister Alden...could I bother you for a moment?" she asked brightly, plastering on her best and most inocent smile.

He was in a better mood than usual, she mused, having secured a small can of the paint to re-do her door, with instructions to return whatever was left over. Back upstairs, she held up the paint. "Ta-da! I'll dry this off and get brushes. You...open that." Riley grinned, handing over the can before using the last of the rags to dry off the door. Inside, she dumped the rags in the washer and the bucket in the sink before grabbing two clean brushes from her pile of supplies.

[Antonio Fernandez]

Antonio, the voice of reason? Alonso would be so proud. He grinned at Riley as he took the paint can from her. "Ordering me around again, I see."

After he popped it open she returned with brushes, and they made short work of what remained of the stains on the door. Antonio stood up and stretched, wiping some white off his hands onto his already ruined shirt. "Man, this is turning into a really long job. What do we have left, five more walls? You're such a slave driver!"

He took her brush from her as they walked inside and dabbed it on her nose before she could stop him.

[Riley Grace]

"A slave driver? Hey now...at least I'm cuter than your brothers..." Riley began, feigning indignance, hands balanced on her hips after he took the brush from her.

Whatever words were about to come out ended up in a jumbled sort of squeak, the bristles of the brush leaving a bit of paint on her nose. Gingerly holding her wings and edging past the wet door, she eyed Antonio's back and wiped away the paint on her skin. She tried not to focus on his backside, but admired it for a moment anyway before turning to dip her hands in the paint tray lying forgotten on a step of the ladder.

The temptation to leave hand-prints where they shouldn't be was strong.

But Riley managed to lift her hands up a little more, instead smearing paint on his sides as she tickled him.

[Antonio Fernandez]

"Oh my God Gracey you are so dead!" Tonio wasn't ticklish but he twisted out of her grasp, laughing. "Now you're just askin' for it." He snagged her slimy paint covered hands and pinned them under one of his arms, dragging her back over to where the tray was.

"I wonder how easy it is to get paint out of feathers?" he teased, angling her dangerously close to the paint tray.

[Riley Grace]

"Sugar, you started this..." she laughed, her accent devolving to include a truckload of the hick she grew up as. Riley struggled to free her hands, and stumbled slightly as he angled her towards the paint.

Her smile grew even as she shifted her wings a bit larger to give herself better balance. "...but ahd guess its easier ta get it out of my feathers than it will be out of your clothes, 'Tonio..." Riley grinned and tried to twist out of his grasp while nudging him towards the rather full tray of paint.

[Antonio Fernandez]

Her wings got bigger and Antonio protested as she regained her balance and fought against him. "Well, if you're gonna play like that," and he stuck his hand in his pocket and grabbed the metal washer he always kept there. Suddenly it was like Riley was trying to move a mountain, as his skin took on a dull metallic gleam. He was very careful with her pinned hands, not wanting to hurt her, but there was no way he was releasing her now, pet owls be dammed!

"Two can play this game," he intoned, keeping her wrists held with one hand while he reached for the can of paint with the other. Later he would swear that he was only planning on threatening her with it, but a loud knock at the door while he had it held over her head caused them both to jump.

Taupe paint sloshed out onto them both, Antonio getting a mouthful of it as it splashed onto her hair.

[Riley Grace]

"Tonio....put the paint can down...no, down...don't you dare! Don't-" Riley grinned in spite of being wide-eyed at the paint being held over her head. Absently, she wondered if her ability had an upper limit for wing size. Likely yes, she mused, considering she had to be able to support and move them.

A moment later, and her musings were in a taupe-drenched stand-still. She freed her hands from his stunned grasp, and tilted her head to the door, wiping the paint from her eyes. Using one of the other dropcloths, she carefully scooted it across the floor with her feet so she wouldn't drip all over her hardwood floor.

Riley opened the door and looked up at the gawky teenager holding two large pizza boxes. "You ordered two pies?" he said with about the same level of enthusiasm as a vegetarian trapped in a steakhouse.

"I did?" Riley blinked and then winced, catching sight of the note she'd left on the fridge for herself. She'd ordered them in advance for lunch and had completely forgotten. "Thanks...I guess I forgot...can you just put them on the counter here? Great."

With very careful fingers, she signed the receipt and closed the door, ignoring his muttering about weird people in LA.

Hands on her hips, she scooted carefully back over to the accident site, blowing a paint-streaked red curl out of her eyes. Gray eyes were lit with amusement as she bit her lip, trying to hold in her laughter and eventually failing.

[Antonio Fernandez]

He was leaning over the sink, trying to rinse his mouth out, and feeling strangely manic. He angled his head around the faucet, eyeing Riley and the two pizza boxes. "Pizza?" Antonio grinned, then spat a slightly painty mouthful of water back into the sink.

He straightened up and pulled his paint soaked shirt off over his head, metal abs flexed just so. Wiping his face off with the inside out shirt, he added, "Two pies? Were you expecting more helpers?"

[Riley Grace]

There was a moment where Riley fell utterly and completely silent. Gray eyes flicked from Antonio to the pizzas and then back again. And there they lingered.

Damn him and his abs of steel.

Hoping she was covered in enough paint to mask the interest that was likely written all over her features, Riley blinked and eventually managed to tear her gaze away from-

Right.

You know, he did ask a question.

"Nah, no more helpers. I just figured Taya and I would keep the leftovers. Best midnight snack in the world, of course." Riley replied a moment later, smoothing her paint soaked hair back as she shuffled around the counter. Her gaze rose just a little bit too slowly from his abs to his face, but eventually it got there, and she smiled. As if she hadn't been staring, in the hopes that he might not notice.

[Antonio Fernandez]

Antonio looked at her, all bedraggled with the paint in her hair and on her clothes, and he threw out all his previous thoughts and stepped toward her, his skin rippling back to warm flesh. He put his hands on either side of her face and kissed her, fully expecting a slap.