Raison D'etre

Mike: That might be a first time I've been called a 'ball of gentleman'.

Roman: Leave it to me to come up with something you've never been called before. I don't take that honor lightly, I assure you!!

Mike: Interesting. Are you a fortune teller or something? Read tarot?

“Most people are sheep.” Thomas couldn’t care less about the opinion of others. Even surrounded by some of the most powerful and influential men on the planet – he still didn’t care one bit about their opinion. He had always been like that since he was a kid. If he would allow the opinions of others to dictate his future and his journey, he wouldn’t be where he was today. To him… things were simple, really. Either you like it or not. If you did? Kudos for you, there was hope for you yet and if they didn’t? Thomas wouldn’t lose his sleep over that. “I don’t usually give people second chances but…” He gave Mike a shrug but he couldn’t hide the smile that was lingering on his lips. Mike was… persistent when they met and that was something that both annoyed the living shit out of Thomas but also placed Mike on a different level than most people. “Usually when I tell someone to fuck off, they fuck off. But not you. You had more questions to ask and I weighted the pros and cons… and decided to give you a chance.” And he was thankful that he did. They wouldn’t be half-naked in front of each other if they didn’t play that 20 Questions game back at his office. Fingers tapped the table as the words spoken by the former fed rang truth inside Thomas’ mind. They were pretty damn close when it came to score. The only advantage that he had were his shirt – versus Mike who was already showing off his body. And considering how tight the rounds had been, Thomas wouldn’t be surprised if he would be the one naked at the end of it all. Well – if that was the case? So be it. He wouldn’t back down from a challenge. He haven’t before and he definitely wouldn’t now. “Admit it. You want to see me naked just as much as I want to see you.” Thomas could be a flirt when he felt like it but considering how excited Mike was and how casually he just raised his pants into the pot – Thomas knew enough of poker to know that the other man had a good hand. Good enough to collect another piece of his clothes. “Uh.” A pair of Kings and Aces. Defeated by kings against his pair of Jacks. “Not bad, Mr. Reynolds, Not bad at all.” With a chuckle, Thomas leaned down to slip one finger into his socks in order to remove them before standing up and grabbing the hem of his tank top. If he had to undress….? Fuck yes, he was going to put on a show. Thomas took his time peeling the last layer of fabric that concealed his torso, dragging the fabric slowly up his chest so that he could give Mike the best view of the house. Who wouldn’t want to see his toned torso from countless hours at the gym at full display? Thomas finally pulled the shirt off and tossed it to Mike, gently patting his own chest in the process. Might as well give something for Mike to see. “Happy now?” Thomas flexed his arms a bit and licked his lips before wiggling his eyebrows ever so playfully at the other man. “Two items to go for me and three for you – due to your socks. Not for much longer.” He was so damn close that there was no way in hell that he was going to lose this freaking game. His honor was on the line – alongside the chance of seeing Mike butt naked.

Mike wasn't sure if he should feel special or not that Thomas gave him a second chance. Shit, he would even call it a third chance. He knew that he didn't, particularly, make the best first impressions (especially not nowadays) but he was trying to do better at it. He was quickly understanding that people didn't like to be drilled with questions before anything else could be said, which he couldn't blame them for. It wasn't great. But he was glad that Thomas didn't give up. He truly was having a great time and he wanted to spend more time with the owner post the game ending. Just from their game of twenty questions tonight, there was more to unpack there. Mike as well.

When the knock on the window to the balcony echoed inside his cabin, Patrick was already carrying the giant bowl of popcorn to the living room, placing it on top of the small wooden table at the center for the time being. Chances were they would get those between them in the couch but for now – central table was the best. “Welcome to my humble abode, darlin’.” Patrick pushed open the balcony window to grant Mike passage to the interior, greeting the other man not only with his best and most sultry smile… but also with a rather sudden kiss on the cheek – just enough to brush their scruff together before pulling back. Hey – he had shot the damn target to get to kiss Mike on the cheek during the St. Patrick’s night. To hell with everything if he wasn’t going to take full advantage of it now that he could do that. “Make yer’self at home.” The personal trainer took Mike by the hand and guided him to the pristine white couch that they were going to stay in and stretched the other arm to show the whole interior of the cabin. “Bet yer’s look the same as this. I didn’ change anythin’.” He didn’t want to, didn’t have time to and quite honestly… found it a completely waste of time to add a personal touch to it. It wasn’t all that different from living at a hotel. “Ye’ have salty popcorn there… question is – what’cha drinkin’? I got… water, energy drinks, beers…” Not something he drank but on occasion and with the right company, Patrick could indulge. “I didn’ buy any sodas ‘case that shit is nasty to yer’ health.” And he haven’t had a fucking soda in years.

Mike should have expected a kiss on the cheek from Patrick as he guided him inside his home. He had worked hard for it on Saint Patrick's Day, "I was going to make you hit a bullseye for another one of those." He mentioned then quickly smiled, clearly joking. Mike didn't mind. He was gathering that it was just who Patrick was. Naturally flirty. He practically had been from the moment they met. His gaze drifted down towards their hands for a moment before he looked around the cabin, noting it was extremely similar to his... There was just nothing special in there. Like Patrick didn't intend to stay long.

Oh, he had absolute no intention to tell anyone about the slightly wronged tile since he would be using that little tidbit of information to guide his sorry ass inside the Haus – even more so when coming out to eat to Mike’s election of a dinner. The name alone was intriguing. Calypso . A sea nymph often mentioned to be the one representing platonic love and unrequited love. What an odd choice for a name to a restaurant… but Dave could understand the whole concept around the name considering they were in a tropical island. All he could do now was wonder if there were other parts of the island that were also named after Greek myths. That would be a cool concept. And he could always ask Mike or venture for himself around the island… once he had gotten more experience with the whole landmark thing. That… was probably for the best. As Mike accepted his arm, Dave could feel his cheeks burning as they entered the restaurant, a polite smile to the waiters as he merely followed Mike to one of the booths in the corner and once Mike had slid to his own seat – David shortly followed and sat across the table from the other man, quickly thanking him for the menu. “Just because she was used to that and knew that there was a very large chance that you’d follow in their footsteps… doesn’t mean it was easy to hear.” It was already hard to have one son or daughter in the army… let alone joining the ranks in Quantico and being sent lord knew where in the world. “I get the whole dad thing. My dad always wanted for me to follow in his footsteps since I was a kid. I don’t remember wanting to be anything else other than a politician. I was never really… given a choice.” Maybe he could have been a doctor or a teacher or… something else. But now, he would never know.

Hearing Dave's statement, Mike softly chewed on the corner of his lip and he flicked his brows, "I mean...yeah." He admitted softly, "I never really...asked her about it, I guess. It was just how it was." Now he felt bad for not thinking about his mother more in that situation but there was really no changing it now. "My mom is tough. She's been married to my dad for over forty years. She's used to it." He mentioned with a nod. His mom was a great lady. It was a shame that over the past decade, Mike rarely got to see her. And now that he was retired, he was spending all his time on some island in the middle of the ocean. What a shitty fucking son he was.

Considering how many items of clothing the two of them still had left, it made sense for them to play it safe for now – leaving the big bets for the last rounds where the ultimate goal would be to get the other one butt naked. Thomas glanced over his cards as well – nothing extraordinary but the game could go either way – and couldn’t help but chuckle at the concept of losing clothes via a poker game. He usually undressed because he wanted to. He saw an attractive man and wanted to have sex with him so his clothes would come out fairly easily when the time came. To lose item by item in a strip poker game was not something Thomas haven’t done before but it was interesting to admire the concept of… if he wanted to be seen naked or wanted to see Mike naked… they were going to have to finish this game. “You are putting up a fight.” Thomas bite down his bottom lip as he pushed his empty beer away in order to collect a new one. He was going to sweat his ass off tomorrow for drinking those tonight but… the price was worth it. “I’m impressed. Most people would be naked by now and I would be walking right out the door with new items for my closet.” Throwing three cards to the center of the table and collecting three more, Thomas could see that his hand hasn’t improved at all. It was just that pair of Jacks and he would have to do the most of it if he wanted to squeeze as much as he could from this round. “Your normal personality is just fine, from what I am seeing.” Thomas’ gaze turned to Mike and the corner of his lips curled into a half-smile. He had no idea how professional Mike was but he could only assume he was an annoying son of a bitch considering how he had succeeded in annoying him over the course of their first two meetings, all of those questions making Thomas want to strangle him and toss his body into the deep sea. “I was not a fan of you interrogating me when we first met but… it was part of who you are and you can’t kick the fed out of the man, I believe.” And look at how far the two of them had come. From annoyance and slightly homicidal tendencies to sitting across a table, sharing things about their past and wanting to see the other naked. Life truly knew when to throw monumental curveballs their way.

A smirk crossed his lips at Thomas' comment, and he shrugged a shoulder, "I'm a scrapper." He mentioned. It was one of the reasons why he was he was still alive, he believed. If Mike didn't fight, he probably would have been killed on the field five years ago, "It's fun to have some competition, right?" He asked with a cock of his brow. He didn't think he had been reading the whole night wrong, "I would say I would give up but--" He shrugged, "I think I have a good chance." Mike wasn't much for giving up either. Unless it was giving up his career, then apparently, he was fine with it. In most cases, Mike would fight tooth and nail. But maybe he was just tired of fighting for a while.

Location: Patrick’s cabin Closed to: @mreynoldsx Patrick placed his hands on his hips as he looked around his own cabin – checking if he had everything he needed for the first of four movie nights with Mike Reynolds, for he really couldn’t let it slip that the other client had NEVER seen the damn John Wick movies. Those movies were almost like a religion for so many and after watching Mike handle a gun back at the shooting range, Patrick had to admit that… he liked what he saw. Sure, the other client was still very much of a mystery wrapped into an enigma but they were getting somewhere. The light flirting at the end of the night, the fact that he had succeeded in making Mike actually laugh was also something that Patrick considered a victory… and now this. The first of four “dates” where he would introduce Mike to the best franchise there was when it came to movies and pretty much show the other man the reason why he had become aroused when he saw him shoot the target that night. There was just something fucking hot about a man shooting a target with that much confidence.

There was a large part of Mike that didn't actually think Patrick was going to 'ask him out' or whatever they were calling it. Watching a movie with him sounded like a fun night and he was hoping he'd be able to glean a bit more information about the guy as they hung out more. Sure, he saw him a lot at the gym but that was the gym. They weren't really shooting the shit. Well, at least Mike wasn't. He wasn't much for chatting when he was working out because he was there to work and it was honestly his least favorite part of the day. He just did it because it was something he was so used to.

David was relieved that he wasn’t digging himself a much deeper grave than needed – for Mike appeared to read between the lines of his chaotic rant that seemed to become a lot more common right there at the island. It had something to do with the fact that he didn’t usually talked to guys so openly outside the Haus. Always having to keep himself professional, knowing that there was always some paparazzi following him and waiting for some monumental scandal that they could use to destroy his political career. But… nerves aside, it was really easy to talk to Mike. Words were coming up with nothing but honesty and genuine interest and the fact that Dave didn’t have to pretend to be someone that he was not was… it felt so damn good. Not only his mental health was thankful for that but David had the chance to remember the man he was deep down rather than the imagine he had to pass onto the world. “Well, I am always available whenever you need someone to talk. Or not. We can just sit in quiet contemplation of the mysteries of the universe or something.” Hearing Mike mention that he was a rainbow baby made David chuckle – for in a way, he understood that a little bit. Sure, his father had two kids but his mother only had him as far he was aware and she was already over protective of him. He couldn’t imagine how it was for Mike’s mother, having a child so late in life. That must have made her triple concerned about everything he did and didn’t do. “Do you mind if I ask how did she react when you decided what to do with your life? I mean – it’s not exactly a nine to five secure desk job or anything. My mom used to freak over the slightest little thing, so I can’t imagine how yours digested your career choice. My mother never wanted for me to follow politics. She was married to one and she knew what the cost of that was… she often mentioned I was selling my soul and wasn’t that much different from a lawyer.” His mom HATED lawyers. “Did yours… accept it well or took some convincing?” At the little question of if Mike could call him Dave, all David could do at that point was smile and nod toward his friend as he gently nudged Mike yet again as they appeared to come closer to the chosen restaurant for the night. “I’d like that. My friends call me Dave. And… I’d like to believe that we are already becoming friends.” Shit – such a corny thing to say but it did warm David’s heart to hear Mike call him that. It meant that even despite his rambling and tendency for getting lost – Mike was ok with being close to him and spend time together. However, the most fascinating thing was yet to happen. As David was still coming down from the little high of being called Dave, his eyes followed Mike’s indications to the tile that was different from the others. It was placed a little bit too much to the right and it was one of those landmarks that Mike had mentioned before. One not as obvious as a palm tree but still – a landmark.

Mike immediately felt better about calling him Dave when the other agreed it was what he preferred for his friends to call him. That was nice. They were certainly becoming fast friends, in his opinion. The ease of conversation and the somehow familiarity that David brought made everything easier for them, he felt. He smiled a bit as the man questioned about how he found the tile, clearly intrigued by it and Mike shrugged his shoulders, "It's just something I picked up on. Here, you'll see." As the other offered his arm, Mike smiled and softly grabbed it, moving along with Dave to the entrance to the Calypso's.

"I get that," Kane shrugged, "it was always sports I was doin' as a kid, so didn't get chance t'watch movies much. Most of the shit I've seen was when I was travellin' on planes an' stuff travellin' between fights." Some movies captured his interest when advertised, but most of the movies he watched and enjoyed were just luck. "Of course I wanna," he reached across the table to let his hand rest on Mikes, "full honesty, yer like, the first client t'not expect anythin' from me. Not demand anythin' from me. An' if yer gonna stay that way, then fuck yeah I wanna sit an' watch movies with ye fer an entire evenin'. Stops me havin' to..." he stopped, moving his hand from Mike's as he leant back into his seat, "...doesn't matter."

His gaze shifted from Kane's eyes down to their hands for a moment, a bit surprised from the soft touch. It did help settle his worries about everything. Everything was up to Kane, in Mike's opinion. He nodded his head, "I'm not changing." The man stated simply. It wasn't in his interest to do so. His eyes softened a bit when Kane spoke then quickly cut himself off, not wanting to say more, apparently. It would be a lie to say that his curiosity was starting to get the best of him again. It was taking a lot of out of him not to just ask every question under the sun.

Though the other was waving off his attempts at an apology, Theo knew that it wasn’t just quite enough. Some things needed to be said out loud. And after all the things he heard, all the more did he oddly find himself gravitating toward the older male.

He could feel the staff's eyes steady upon him and Mike tried his best to keep his gaze anywhere else...but it felt rude to do so. So, eventually, he turned his blue eyes towards the other, listening to him speak. Mike didn't mind talking about himself...he just wasn't used to it. For the last decade, he just couldn't. For most of the time, Mike wasn't himself. Everything he told those people he infiltrated undercover had a mix of truth and a lie. He didn't want them to know too much about him, but he also didn't want to come off as untruthful. It was a delicate line he toed.

Thomas was definitely enjoying where this night was going. He was learning so many things about the other man – and showing bits of himself as well – that honestly… why didn’t they do this sooner? Mike was actually funny. And flirty. And he didn’t back down from a challenge which was way more than Thomas could say about a large portion of the island. No one would ever want to piss off the Kings and it was that very same fear that kept them all in the role of obedient little sheep. But Mike was… challenging him. Making him work for that win. And now that he was doing that shirtless and distracting Thomas every few seconds or so, even the King had to admit that maybe he didn’t have this game in the bag as he thought he did. And for once? He really wouldn’t mind if he was the one losing. He was already winning in so many other aspects through the night. Bringing his beer to his lips – that one was almost over, so needed to be replaced – he waited for the cards to be dealt and while his hand was not ideal… - a pair of Jacks again – it wasn’t necessarily terrible. And if there was one time for him to go for the throat and attempt to get Mike completely naked… it was going to be now. “I’m just going to go and bet my shirt again.” Thomas patted his chest. He had four garments left. Shirt, pants, socks and underwear. His goal for the round was making Mike lose at least two – since he would be unable to bet all three without going all-in. The all-in saving grace would be for the last round. What better way to end the game then with a spectacular finisher?

His brow raised when Thomas bet his shirt and Mike looked down at what was remaining on him. Not much. Socks and underwear. And he certainly wasn't going to lose those before the socks, "Well, I'll bet the socks then. Save the best for last, I suppose." Mike was pretty confident he'd be keeping the socks this round and then he and Thomas would even keel after that. It was going to really come down the to wire and Mike loved it. He couldn't remember the last time he had a game of poker with so much back and forth. Thomas was a really great player, there was no doubt about that. But even more than the game, Mike was enjoying the company. Even in a place with so many people, he still felt a bit lonely, which was his own fault.

It felt kind of refreshing to actually spend time with a guy that wouldn’t… judge him to harshly over his tendency to get lost in the most casual of environments. Ever since he could remember, David had a knack to get lost. And after a while – he learned how to turn that into some sort of joke because he was a tad tired of the curious looks that people gave him when he shared that bit of information with them. Most people didn’t believe him at all but after hanging out with him a little bit, they eventually learned that he wasn’t exaggerating at all. If he had a business dinner or something, if it wasn’t for his car GPS, chances were that he would need to leave his place almost two hours early just to account on the wrong turns he would make along the way. And Mike seemed ok with that side of him… which was pretty much the first individual that had no qualms with his tendency to get lost. Most people just… didn’t exactly care for that was not their problem.

It wasn't very often that Mike met someone similar to David. Working on the police force, people didn't often wear their heart on their sleeve, so to speak, and he could tell that the man beside was much like that. It was different, but nice. It intrigued Mike. Someone like David could be good for him. It could open him up to new things that he hadn't felt in a long time. He was curious if it was going to happen. He smiled a bit at the others comment before he quickly took it back. That tracked for the man beside him, from what Mike knew. He nodded at his comment, "It is easy." He mentioned, "I need something like that." The easier it was to talk to someone, the more open Mike was.

"Ye don't know what that is?" Kane shouldn't be surprised, not everyone had time to see every single movie, but it was a natural thing to take offense when your all time favourite movie hadn't been seen right? "Okay tell ye what, book me one evenin', an' book out the theatre an' we can watch it. I'm sure they'll have it here. Do a double feature, my favourite movie first, then your favourite movie, deal?" Sure it meant being booked for an evening, but it got him out of other work, away from other clients. "What is yer favourite movie anyway?"

He shook his head as he took another sip of his drink, "Unfortunately, I didn't have a whole lot of time for movies over this past decade. There's a lot I have to catch up on." He chuckled, "I mostly only had time for quick TV shows, you know? Like those...thirty minute sitcoms." They weren't great but they were enough to take his mind off work when he finally had a little down time. His brow raised a bit when the staff member suggested renting the theater and watching their favorite movies. It didn't sound like a bad time, "Only if you want." Mike mentioned. He was sticking firmly to his plan of only doing what the staff wanted when he was with them. He hummed quietly at the next question, "Hm...probably Cool Hand Luke." He shrugged, "Old movie. But I would use Luke a lot when I was undercover as my name." He admitted with a shake of his head.

He smiled a bit as Patrick came over to admire his handiwork on the target as well and he released soft laugh at his question. It was a fair one, “Mostly that you asked.” Mike mentioned. It would be a lie to say to that he wasn’t having fun knowing how worked up Patrick got about it. It was entertaining for him and a first, he was fairly certain. Mike didn’t typically go out of his way to make people ‘hot and bothered’ and, really, it wasn’t his intention with Patrick… It was just a side effect. “I did want to shoot again though.” He added in, “That was why I came here.” He chuckled.

It was not exactly how Patrick was planning to spend his namesake’s day party but he couldn’t deny that there was so excitement building from it. It definitely beat walking around exchanging golden coins for a kiss or a touch – or having people offer him coins for a glance of his junk or a chance to get a feel of his body against their own. The personal trainer did love to tease, in the end. To actually get aroused by watching a man shoot a gun was definitely a first but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. He did like guys with oozing confidence that knew how good they were at doing something and weren’t necessarily shy about it. Little by little, step by step… Patrick was slowly getting to understand the sort of individual that was Michael Reynolds. And it was fascinating to have a challenge for once. Someone who would keep him on his toes, someone who was definitely going to force him to think twice before speaking. And like every other challenge – Patrick was more than ready for it. A smile formed on his lips as he realized that Mike didn’t do anything to pull his hand back from his own. They remained like that for a little bit, their fingers intertwined and feeling each other’s warmth due to such a simple – and yet so important – action. “I can be blunt if ye’ wan’ me too, darlin’.” Patrick wiggled his eyebrows and bite down on his bottom lip, entertained with the concept that Mike would actually agree with dropping by his cabin and go for a John Wick marathon. “Would ye’ said yes if I just came out of the woodworks and asked ye’ out? I mean – I had to hit a target to manage to get to kiss ye’ on the cheek. I wonder what sort of loops and tricks ye’d have me do in order to ask ye’ out.” A clear joke but Patrick did want to present his point. “Yer’ only considerin’ it now because we came ‘ere, ye’ had fun and ye’ see I’m not that bad of a guy. If I just came out to ye’ in the party and asked ye’ out… chances ‘ere that ye’d say no.” But Mike wasn’t say no now.