Keeping Things Hidden {Tulio}

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Oh, there were definitely a lot of things that could make Tulio think, but there were also a lot of things he shouldn’t be thinking about if he was really going to focus on planning anything, and he was sure that anything Chel suggested would be among these things.

“Yes,” he admitted to her question, taking on a haughty air, “And it would have worked had he actually listened to me.” But it was just like Miguel to not listen and to run off and do his own thing without saying anything or even leaving a note, not that Tulio was still upset about that, nor starting to wonder if his best friend had gone and done that all over again. And he certainly hadn’t started to worry that Miguel had wandered out of town and got mixed up in this whole war thing and gotten himself into trouble... nope, no worries here at all.

“Now can I go back to sleep or do we have to start planning this right now?” Clearly this room seemed the best place to start to gather things, but as useless as his roommate seemed to be Tulio just couldn’t picture Henry Charming riding off into battle despite his name.

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"And what do you think the odds are of me listening to you?" she asked, her eyebrows arched. "Wanna bet on it?"

She wished that she'd had the foresight to pick-pocket his dice again. That had worked brilliantly as a punctuation mark before, and would have made her point clearer now. As it was, she had to settle for shifting in the chair. She managed to get her feet on the floor and rose, stretching in a manner that would make some cats jealous.

"Sure, sure," she said, waving a hand, "go back to nap time, spoil sport," Chel grinned, shifting her stance to jut a hip slightly while her folded arms went directly under her breasts. "Did you want some company? Or are you still all 'girls are icky'?"

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Oh, right, she made a good point. When did anyone listen to Tulio except for when he had to come up with a brilliant plan to save them all? If people listened to him more then he wouldn’t need to many plans to save them because they wouldn’t need saving so often!

“Only if I can bet against you listening,” he grumbled, trying not to stare at all Chel’s stretching, which only made his shirt ride up on her and show off almost more leg than should be possible without showing off a whole lot else. He couldn’t get any relief even when she stopped stretching, because then she had to go and take that stance, the one where she tried to look standoffish, but was really just using her arms to push her breasts up and make them that much more obvious, not that they needed the help.

And now he really was staring.

“I never said girls are icky,” Tulio sniffed as he got to his feet. “I just think mixing business with pleasure is a bad idea.” Somehow he managed to get the words out without stuttering, nor staring at her breasts or her legs or... okay, so he’d closed his eyes completely, so what?

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Chel giggled that. Sadly true; she and Miguel seemed to make a habit of actively ignoring everything that Tulio had to say. Could you blame them, really? Tulio might be quite handsome, with a quick mind and a good heart, but he was also totally uptight and overthought things more often than your average professor.

Which is why making him squirm like this was just so much fun.

"That's weird," she said, tapping her lips with a finger. She didn't shift her stance (and it's entirely likely that she totally knew that she was in a position that invited staring; this was Chel, after all). "Because I don't remember you being so against mixing business and pleasure in El Dorado. Of course," she took a step closer to him, swaying her hips, "I do remember having to give you a little," she reached up to push her fingers against his chest, "push."

Did she mention that he looked really handsome? And was quite witty? And had a good heart? And was handsome? Because that's what she was thinking at the moment...

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Tulio tried to take a step back when Chel gave him that little teasing push, but the backs of his legs were already against the chair he had just vacated so he really didn’t have anywhere to go.

“Right, and remember how that turned out,” he pointed out, his voice squeaking just slightly at the beginning because she was so completely and masterfully violating his space bubble that it was making it very hard to think right now, let alone speak. “We lost all that gold!”

Of course nothing was as sobering as the thought of all the gold that had been in their possession but that he had given up to be all noble and heroic. Never again! He wasn’t the type. Next time he would take the gold.

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Chel rolled her eyes, looking to the ceiling for help. She'd look to the gods, but Chel had already learned that lesson the hard way.

"You and your gold," she said. There was a bit of fondness in her voice, but it was nearly drowning in exasperation. She gestured to the area around them, turning to walk away. "Can't you see where we ended up? This doesn't cost us anything, Tulio! They let us stay here practically for nothing! Oh, sure," she turned and gestured to him, "you have to pretend to be a prince or whatever, and there's classes we're supposed to be paying attention to, but look at us, Tulio! This is making it!"

She gestured again, before going over to the bed she'd more or less claimed as her own. Without any reservation, she plopped onto it, kicking her legs into the air for a moment. She'd naturally forgotten that she was wearing nothing but his shirt, but thankfully it didn't reveal anything. From her new position, Chel shifted to look up at Tulio, giving him a wide smile.

"So relax already. Enjoy yourself," she stretched her arms for a moment, as though inviting him, before bringing them back around her head, cupping as she laid back, eyes closing.

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He had to admit, they did have a pretty good scam going as it was. Maybe they weren’t really building up a nice nest egg or anything, but they had a pretty easy life here. Sure there was the occasional magic spell that made him want to make a run for it, and now there was an encroaching war, but overall it wasn’t a bad set-up.

Relaxing, though, was not something Tulio did well, especially around Chel. With nothing else to distract him from the distraction that was her, he was wound up tighter than a watch that had been wound too tight.

“I am enjoying myself,” he replied, though he sounded more defensive than happy. If he let himself he would definitely be enjoying the view right now...

“Breakfast!” Tulio blurted out suddenly. “That’s what I’d enjoy right now, some breakfast. You want anything? I can bring it back and you can... wait here and put on some clothes.” At the mention of clothes he ran about and grabbed the first article of clothing he could from the floor; it happened to be the skirt he had earlier claimed to wear. Letting out a squeak he tossed the skirt aside and found a pair of trousers instead. “Shirt, shirt, I need a shirt...” though the first one he saw that was his just happened to be occupied. “Not that one! You keep that one, it looks good on you – better on you than... me.”

He should have just walked out before he got all flustered.

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"Clearly," drawled Chel, her eyes never leaving him. She smiled in almost a lazy manner while Tulio bustled about, somehow making himself more and more nervous with each passing moment. Chel mostly just lounged there, though her fingers were near her lips, ready to cover her smile with a moment's notice. Tulio got ever so offended if he actually saw her smirking or smiling at his antics, despite the obvious humor therein.

"I could certainly use some food," she agreed. She shifted again, letting the shirt stretch upward slightly, almost dangerously. "You know what I like," she added, her grin insisting that she knew exactly what the implications of that specific phrase would be.

She watched him pick up her skirt, and raised a brow. He barely held it, but for the short time he did, he would be treated by a look from Chel that suggested that it would be ever so delightful if he actually did. Her hands were lowered too, as she certainly didn't want Tulio to mistake that look for anything but what it was.

"Are you sure?' she asked, rising up and taking a few steps toward him. She tugged at the shirt, even pulling it out and away from her body slightly. not uncovering anything, certainly, but suggesting... "Because it is your shirt. I know how... possessive you can be."