When they reach an intersection, someone speaks up from the other hall. 

"Hey Leco, that sounds like that guy from earlier," says a vaguely familiar voice. "He's being pushy again. Looks like he didn't learn anything from the last time." 

The guy bolts. And Fernando looks where the voices come from. "Oh, You're the Barreira Anes triplets, right?"

"One of them," Angél agrees under his laughter as he comes around the corner, "He didn't even wait to check! It's Angél," he adds, grinning, "My brothers are elsewhere at the moment.

"Based on the nagging, you must be the one with the telekinesis? Fernando, right?"

"Yes, though he did try to convince Thor to hold still while he hit him with a stick. I don't know what his deal is. You're the water controller?"

"Yeah, he jumped into the fountain and then followed me for like ten minutes trying to convince me to dry him off. I mean, I did it the first time, but then he did it again? I'll only save a random person from their own idiotic decisions so many times, you know?" 

He nods. "In my case he needed me to pick up his keys from weird places. He also was... rude to Felix? It's weird to say he was rude because he just didn't pay any attention to Felix and that's a blessing in disguise. So you enrolled here as well?"

He nods along to the explanation. 

"Yeah! This is pretty crazy, actually, we figured we'd just never see you guys again after the multiples study. I can't believe we didn't even think to exchange numbers. You're studying magic engineering, right? Gabriel mentioned the three of you were interested in working on medicine." 

"It was a lapse between all parts involved. And then we got busy enough with studying that we simply didn’t have the time. We are interested in medical research, yes. At the very least we would want the model of having one covenmate doing research and the others cover different areas."

Nodnod, "Well, it might be a little harder than before, but we could still introduce you to Bia - our cousin with the bio-gift. We told her about the immortality bit and she was definitely interested." 

"Excellent, even if we don't turn out compatible it can't hurt to network. Does she live here in São Paulo?"

"Yeah, but she lives with... her great-uncle, and he hates us now, so it'll take a bit of maneuvering to get her here to meet you." 

"Hates you? Why?"

He waves a hand airily, "Oh, we disowned ourselves, basically, took our parents' money and cut ties as soon as we hit 18. He's all offended because we're not under his control anymore. Also because we all told him to his face that we're bi." The look on his face was pretty great, no matter how scary the idea of actually doing it was in the lead-up. 

"Oh, congratulations. On behalf of another set of bi triplets to another."

"Thanks!" He grins, "What, all three of you? What are the chances," he says, voice laden with irony - and also interest. 

Shrug. "I am sure yet another scientific journal would be interested in finding out, but it's not like we can argue with reality. Not when it gives favorable results."

"Definitely not," he agrees. 

"So, why did our mutual nuisance was so scared of just the mention of Leco?"

"Well, see, over the course of that ten minutes I led him over to where Leco - Aleixo - was waiting for me. And when we got there pushy guy demanded a demonstration of his gift. And called me a few unflattering names in the process."

He pauses. Smiles brightly. 

"He may have gotten a little more than he bargained for. Leco's a little overprotective, sometimes." 

(He doesn't look like he minds this fact at all.)

"I see." Fernando says neutrally. "Hopefully he is careful enough with his gift. I take that all three of you enrolled here?"

"It wasn't that much. He's always careful with it. Anyway, the guy literally asked for it." He shrugs, moves on to the other question. 

"Yeah, we are. Gabriel's still at the registrar's office, sorting something out. Leco went to grab something to eat. Left me all alone, so I decided to do some exploring. Are your brothers here, too?" 

"Yup. They are more amenable to joint applications - coven applications - than most places. Not that the place isn't otherwise great. We have been here a couple of days already, if you want me to show you around."

"Oo, yeah, that'd be great! I bet you've had the chance to find all sorts of interesting little spots." 

Fernando eyes him up and down. "Maybe a few."

"How about you give me a tour of the best ones, then." 

"Well, aren't you forward?" Fernando says guiding him. "Anything in particular that you are looking for?"

He grins at the comment.

"Find any good spots high up?" He asks, following after Fernando happily. 

"Have not investigated everything. But I know some places. Most spots are more ground level, actually." He is taking him outdoors.

Outside! 

"I guess I could settle for ground level if I had to," he says with a melodramatic sigh. 

"Why? Are you tired of being on the floor?"

It takes Angél moment to process that. He reddens just a little bit.

"I'm always eager to get off the ground," he replies after a second's delay. 

There are a some benches in a garden area. It's actually not that secluded, in fact there are some windows turned their way just over there. Fernando sits on one of the benches.

Angél pauses in front of the bench, giving Fernando a curious head tilt for his choice of location. 

"Classes have not started and the area is otherwise not very well traficked." He points out.

"Oh, I see." He takes a few steps closer, glancing up at a nearby window, "But what if someone were to happen to look outside?" He comes to a stop just a few centimeters in front of Fernando, folding his hands together behind his back and smiling down at him. "They might see something." 

"See what? By the angle of those windows, plus the bushes on the way. I am sure they won't see anything more than two healthy young men passing time together."

"Oh? Is that all we'll be doing?" 

"Dunno. Any ideas?"

He hums, eyes flicking down to glance at Fernando's lips, and then back up at his eyes, "A few."

He leans down towards him, just a little bit. 

"Good. Care to share them with the class?"

He leans back again, tilting his head. Alright, then. He sits on the bench. 

"...Well, I hate to sound like our mutual acquaintance, but maybe you could give me a little demonstration of your gift? The description you gave at the study was... intriguing. I've been waiting eagerly for months to learn more."

Something seems to caress Angèl's face, making the way down to the side of his neck, then chest, hovering there. A soft pressure with shape hard to describe, not quite going through his shirt. "Like so?"

He leans into it, eyelashes fluttering. 

"...Yeah," he breathes, "Like that." 

"Oh good." He takes one of Angél's hands and holds it in his. He seems to be examining the hand, but his gift instead dances across the other's skin, making his way down. Not feeling at all like a hand.

He leans in further, resting some of his weight on Fernando's gift. His other hand comes up to press hard against his chest, and he traces the path of the telekinesis over his clothes.

(How far down? Somewhat distracted yet still inquiring minds would like to know.)

Fernando smiles innocently and waits until Angélo is on the verge of making a question before moving downwards. He keeps on smiling, looking for a reaction.

"Ah-!" He flushes, his hand stopping above the waistline of his jeans. The hand in Fernando's squeezes his reflexively, and his eyes flick down to his lips again, and then further down, settling on his chin, half-lidded. Whatever assertiveness was left in his body language flees it. 

"Good, good." Fernando breaks the hand contact to lean on Angélo and kiss his neck. A hand on the other's knee. One hand holding Angélo's back. Which does not prevent Fernando from undoing his zipper.

No, it doesn't, does it. Angél bites his lip, shuddering under Fernando's hands, and tilts his head to the side to give him better access. 

Fernando's telekinesis does not cause further undressing. It causes other things. Sensations that got stronger now that it can more easily slip inside Angélo's pants.

And his mouth is quite busy as well. He gets experimental with both things.

Elsewhere, Thomas is wondering where Fernando went.

Aleixo is wondering something similar about the eldest of his brothers. Not that he had expected to find him where he'd left him, but he'd texted him a few minutes ago, and there's been no answer yet. Hopefully Angél hasn't wrecked his phone again. 

He slips his own back in his pocket, looking around at the buildings nearby - including up at their roofs - to see if he can find any trace of him. Instead, he notices a familiar face approaching. He blinks, stepping away from the wall he was leaning against. 

"Hey, you're one of the," he pauses to search for the name, "Solano triplets? Right?" 

Thomas blinks but doesn't take long to place the face. "Yes, I am? I think we met during that twin triplets research something or other? I am afraid I don't remember your last names. Leco? Gabriel? Or Angélo?"

"Leco Barreira Anes - yeah, that was where we met. They must have herded the three of you out before they let us go, though."

He pauses.

"I'm not great at names. I remember the name Thomas but not the other two." That being the one to stick in his mind the most, for obvious reasons. 

"Lucky you, that's the important one. The other two are Felix and Fernando. We are told to scramble after our tests are done and... we know some people who wanted to take us out for dinner."

"Oh? Someone beat us to it, huh? Lucky them." 

"Yeah..." He makes a face. "Felix and Fernando's mom knows many people and likes to network."

He blinks, "Your brothers have a different mom than you do?" How does that work - oh, "Adoption?" He asks. 

He supposes it sort of makes sense that most people wouldn't want three new kids, but... the idea still makes him deeply uncomfortable. 

"Yeah." Thomas says neutrally with a shrug. "Anyway, great luck running into you. Are you enrolled as well?"

He nods, happy enough to leave the topic behind them, "Yeah, we're here for the magical engineering department, mostly. All three of you, too?" 

"Yup! On our way to incite a magical revolution. Or at least try."

"Sounds exciting. What kind of magical revolution?" 

"Aw, man. The other two want all kinds. Meanwhile, I modestly settle for just enough that they will build a statue of me."

He chuckles, "Modest, sure." His eyes sweep down and then up again, "They'd have to be careful where they put it. Might cause accidents if it's too close to a road."

"Ooh, fair point. Can't let the people with good taste suffer. How about you? Your statue can definitely cause some car accidents too."

"Hmm, I'm not really one for statues. They'll have to be satisfied with the ones that'll get put up of Gabriel. He'd be too nice to say no."

"Anyway, statues like that have so many layers of clothes on - wouldn't really show either of us off to our best advantage." 

"What? You think that I wouldn't go all greek god with my statue? Maybe with just a tasteful fabric to make it okay for the prudes."

"Definitely have to be careful where they put it, then. No one who passes it'll be able to get anything done all day. They'll have to put up warning signs." 

Snort. Chuckle. "Indeed, can't have people losing their productivity." His eyes Aleixo up and down. "But it doesn't mean they shouldn't have some relaxing fun."

He smirks, takes a few steps closer. "Relaxing fun, huh."

He pauses, looking around. This area is a little too close to the main paths. He hums, turning back to Thomas.

"You wanna find somewhere a little more out of the way to elaborate on that?" He asks intently.

"I might. Oh, I know just the place."

He starts leading to the place Fernando found.

Leco follows. 

When they reach the place in question, he pauses behind a bush, putting a hand on Thomas' arm to stop him from continuing. 

"...I think this spot is occupied," he says. 

Those sure are some familiar noises. He peers around the bush, carefully. 

Those are familiar faces.

!

"Oh, my God." Thor says quietly. 

"Holy shit," he agrees, watching intently. 

"...That's Angél," he adds after a moment, eyes still locked on the scene. "Is that Felix or Fernando?" 

"Fernando. He is the one with telekinesis. Can you see how Angél's pants are moving?"

"Yes I can," he says, drawing the words out. "Was wondering how he'd reduced him to incoherence when he's barely touching him," he muses absently. "That'd do it, though." 

"It sure would." He admires them for a bit. "Want to interrupt them or wait until Felix and Gabriel stumble upon us?"

He snorts, "I dunno about Felix, but Gabriel would just turn right back around and leave again. What kind of interrupting were you thinking?" He asks. "They look like they're having fun. Wouldn't want to ruin that."

"That's fair. Counter proposal: after we interrupted them we can drag the two to a bedroom."

"I like the way you think. Now?" 

"Yes, now."

Then he will step out from behind the bushes and make his way over to the bench. Does Fernando notice him at some point before he reaches them? Because Angél wouldn't notice if the bushes caught on fire around him right now. 

Fernando notices, and is still for a moment. He does not look surprised, but the face becomes very flat. Then he registers the face. "Hello, which brother are you?"

(Angél makes a confused noise when he pulls away.)

"Aleixo," he says, smirking. "Sorry for interrupting, but we thought you might like some company. And maybe a bed," he adds. 

He turns his eyes on Angél, smirk softening a bit. 

He looks between the two. "A bed sounds nice."

"It sure does."

"We're in the new apartments they built here, they're not too far away," he suggests. He steps closer, leaning down to put himself directly in Angél's field of view. 

"Mmmm... Leco?" Angél asks after a moment, blinking rapidly.

"Yeah," he says, "Come on, angel, we're gonna go somewhere more comfortable." 

Fernando helps him stand up. "We can have more fun in private anyway." He zips up Angélo's pants. None of that involves contact. 

"Shit," Angél says quietly, once he's on his feet.

"You weren't kidding about your control, huh," Leco comments, laughing quietly at Angél's reaction.

They can head over to the apartments, now that they're all upright. 

Thor has the advice "think of math" to be more presentable in the way there.

Angél appreciates the advice. He only needs to be tugged along a couple times on the way over.

Their apartment is on the top floor, which necessitates a fairly long elevator ride. Once they're inside, he leans up against the wall and closes his eyes, thinking of math as instructed, while they wait for the only other person in the elevator to leave - they get off on the fourth floor. 

"This is going to take a while," Leco comments, looking between the two Solano triplets and his own brother. 

"Did you have any plans for today?"

"Not really. Unpack, settle in, look around. Nothing that we can't push back a bit. The apartments come furnished." He hums, "Gabriel will show up at some point. Luckily there's two bedrooms." 

"Is he not likely to join? Or maybe he and Felix will want to have privacy."

He snorts, "He won't be willing to join in, no," he says. "And... He's slower about this sort of thing. More cautious. Likes to do a bit of wooing - or be wooed. Felix'll have to take him on at least one date if he wants to get him into bed. He's interested, though." 

"Biel's not super open about people he likes," Angél adds, "but whenever you three were brought up in the past few months he'd get this look. He's adorable like that." 

"Aw, he and Felix sound like a great match. And it's good that you three have good taste."

"Felix is not... slow, but he would appreciate the romance. I think. We should reintroduce them soon."

"I am telling you, they are probably on the way to that private area."

"No better taste than you do," he tells Thor, grinning. "And we really should." 

Leco snorts, "Maybe we should have left a note on the bench." 

"We should have."

"I could just text message."

"Heh, where is the fun in that?"

"I bet if they run into each other Gabriel's gonna guess where we are pretty quick." 

They both snort. "What he will do then?"

"Text us, and when we don't answer-" 

Leco snorts, shrugging, "He'll come up to the apartment, check our bedroom, and then leave again. I guess it depends on what Felix does, too, though." 

"I am not sure. Might decide to keep company to Gabriel."

"I guess we'll see when it happens," he says with a shrug. 

The elevator dings, doors opening to release them into the hallway. Leco leads the group to their door, pulling out a shiny new key to let them in. 

"Welcome to our humble abode," Angél tells the other two grandly as they enter the box-filled apartment. "Don't mind the mess, we haven't finished unpacking yet." He pauses, "Bedroom is that way," he adds, motioning to a door to the left. 

"That's all the direction I need." Thomas says pulling Aleixo towards the bedroom.

"It's a lovely abode. At least it contains two out of its three lovely residents."

Aleixo laughs under his breath, letting himself be pulled. 

The bedroom contains: a bed. Some other things as well, but the bed is the important bit. It has sheets and blankets as well. It's large enough for two to sleep side-by-side without needing to squish together too much. There's also a bunch of pillows and blankets in a pile on the floor, because Angél likes to cover their bed with the things. 

Angél follows after them, walking backwards so he's facing Fernando, "And two lovely guests!" He agrees brightly.

Fernando replies that with a kiss. And some telekinetic undressing.

Thor likes this kissing idea. And the undressing. Maybe Aleixo can help him with that?

Kisses!

Fernando (and his telekinesis) is so great. He cooperates with getting his clothes off without actually touching any of them with his hands, before collapsing to his knees in the pile of pillows and blankets, back to the state he was in before their brothers found them - if not moreso - his eyes wide and almost all pupil-black and fixed on Fernando, entirely ignoring the bed just to the right.

Aleixo, meanwhile, would be delighted to help Thor with that. And also to make use of the walls inside the bedroom, pressing Thor up against one after tugging his shirt over his head, running his hands up his chest and then down to trace the skin just above the waistband of his pants. Which he then begins trying to remove as well. His own shirt vanished at some point, too, but he wasn't exactly paying attention to the when and where of it. 

Thor makes a very pleasantly noise at being manhandled and melts completely, at least insofar one can do that while still standing against the wall. His hands explore Aleixo's back and start weakly pulling down his pants.

Good Angél. More telekinesis starts being applied to Fernando's own clothes and his desire to get rid of them.

However, he takes Angél's hair by hand and uses this leverage for interesting purposes.

Aleixo can help him with that, once he has Thor's pants undone. He can also apply his lips to the other's neck, while his hands are busy relieving both of them of the rest of their clothes. And test out that durability at the same time. Can he bite him (gently)? Can he leave hickeys, at least? 

Angél is extremely on board with any interesting things Fernando might want to do with that leverage. And also with the grip in his hair used to get that leverage. Noises to this effect might be a bit muffled if his mouth is occupied, though. 

Aleixo can bite Thor gently, but there is a point where... his bite appears to just stop getting stronger? He can apply hickeys. Thor appreciates them.

Fernando likes this one. He moves them both to bed with a mix of telekinesis and his own strength, there he will take the opportunity to payback Angél in kind.

Angél appreciates this! A lot!! With his mouth free he can make all the little sounds he couldn't make earlier to prove it! 

Oh good, he would have been disappointed if he couldn't make any marks at all. Once he gets their clothes off he slides Thor up the wall to give himself easier access to his neck and shoulders. And also give him easier access to other parts of Thor's body. He does his best to make Thor as incoherent with his hands and lips as Fernando has made Angél with his telekinesis.

Thor is very incoherent. How someone this incoherent got in a prestigious college like this? Well, he probably was not this distracted during the exam. And, oh, that hits the spot.

Fernando will experiment with a few things and see how Angél reacts. As advertised, his telekinesis is quite versatile and could be used to, say, pin down someone to the bed while Fernando has their way with them.

Angél reacts positively to most things, it turns out! It's very unlikely that anything Fernando tries will produce a negative one, at least.

Hits the spot, does it? How about if Leco does that some more, then? 

Thor would definitely want some more. Yes.

Good, Angél. Now, an entirely innocent question, but where do they keep preservatives and lube. For innocent reasons.

He'll keep that up, then, carefully. They wouldn't want Thor to finish too quickly, after all. Leco has plans. 

It's good of Fernando to want to be prepared! For... entirely innocent things. Which happen to have to do with lube. Angél isn't going to be much help on the topic at the moment, but perhaps there is some in this drawer by the bed - the one Aleixo is rifling through right now, leaning over from his place against the wall next to it.

He'll hand some over to Fernando while he's in there, even, eyes lingering on Angél as he does. 'Incoherent' is a good look on him. 

An excellent look. Also fits Thor really well.

Elsewhere, Felix is enjoying his afternoon preparing things for the incoming year.

Gabriel is not enjoying it quite as much. At the moment, he is exiting the student housing office, an expression of mixed annoyance and satisfaction on his face. 

Felix has taken the opportunity to buy some new books and he is reading one by a bench.

He notices him as he sweeps his eyes over the area outside the office, pausing as he recognizes his face. He steps forward, hesitating a bit given that he's reading - he might not want to be disturbed - but, well. His desire to speak to him overcomes his desire to let him keep reading in peace. 

"Ah, excuse me, you're one of the Solano triplets, aren't you?" 

Felix look up and smiles brightly. "Oh, Hi! I am. I remember you, from a few months back? One of the other triplets... magnetism?"

Oh, he can tell them apart. Not that it's hard if you pay attention, but a lot of people don't. He can't stop himself from smiling. "Yes, that's right. Gabriel."

They didn't get to speak for very long, but that smile is familiar. It's possible the other two smile the same way, but - "Are you Felix?" 

"Ooh, yes. I don't recall your name? Sorry. One of my brothers would. I think. He was pretty upset we didn't get in touch."

"Oh? Which one?" 

"Thor. The one with durability."

He snorts, "Oh yes," he remembers now. "I think we were all disappointed when we learned they'd shuffled you out before we were finished. I meant to introduce you to Bia," he adds the last bit quickly, in explanation. 

"The three of you are attending USP? The magic engineering department, I assume, from our conversation before. It's good that we have a second chance to get to know each other."

"We are. How about you three?"

"Mm, we are. They're around here somewhere, though I have no idea where. Aleixo at least should have shown up by now, he left to get something to eat, but he texted me that he was on his way back a while ago." He frowns, looking around to see if the youngest triplet is loitering around somewhere. No such luck. "You didn't see him while you were reading here?" 

"No. But I was reading, maybe we missed each other. Maybe he understood you two were going to meet somewhere?"

"Hm, maybe he went back to the apartment," he agrees.

Pause.

He has a sudden suspicion, unlikely as it may be.

"Are your brothers wandering around campus, too?"

"Yes? I mean, I am not sure, but they are out and about."

"I know it would be quite the coincidence, but. If, say, Thor and Aleixo had crossed paths..." He pulls out his phone, texting Aleixo. 

(Leco's phone is in his pants which are... somewhere behind him, probably. Anyway, he's a little distracted at the moment. He's not going to answer.)

"...I guess they might, but what are the odds?"

"Hmm... True enough." He sets the thought aside.

"Are you busy?" He asks, "I should find myself something to eat as well, but company would be appreciated, if you'd like." 

"I am not busy at all."

"Oh good. I should stop at the apartment before we go, to see if either of them have ended up there," he adds, "But that will only take about ten minutes." 

He glances down at the book Felix was reading while he moves to lead him towards their building. "What are you reading?"

"A trashy romance about a young woman torn between her duties, her attraction to a man below her station and her coming to terms that she has magical powers. Set in 1800 New England. It's terrible." The last word is said in the tones of the word wonderful.

He laughs, "Trashy romance? I wasn't expecting that," he says. "I've been known to read medieval fantasy. Knights and princesses," he admits, "Or knights and princes, when I can get them." Aleixo would tease him terribly for it, but he's been pretty good about keeping this little guilty pleasure from him, so far. One of his finest accomplishments, that. He's very proud of himself for it.

"Knights and princes are also great. Harder to find the right knight or prince."

"Mm, in novel form or in life. It's a shame. We're suffering from a real lack of princes desiring to be swept off their feet by a dashing knight, or vice-versa, around here." 

"Really a shame, even in this modern world where the prince and knight binary can be blurred. I am sure I would be happy with either role."

"Why not both? Subvert the knight-prince binary entirely." He turns to Felix as they reach the elevator doors, giving an over-fancy bow as they open, "Your carriage awaits, Prince Sir Felix," he adds with a playful smile. 

"Let's hurry Prince Sir Gabriel. Before it strikes the 12th floor."

He chuckles, stepping into the elevator after Felix and pressing the correct button.

"I'm afraid we'll have to face the 12th floor either way, the apartment is on the highest one."  

"At the top of the castle's highest tower?"

"With a guardian dragon and a talking bird as company," he laughs. 

"As long either of those is wise-cracking then we are all set."

"I can't really say that either of them is really a 'wise-cracking' type. I guess we'll just have to go on without a side-kick who's sole purpose is comedic relief! The horror. We'll be laughed out of the trashy romance character convention."  

"Maybe we can get one from a pet store. But comedic reliefs are a huge responsibility."

"Mhm, can't leave them to fend for themself, they'll turn it into a bit. We'll have to feed them a steady diet of perfect joke set-ups and tension-filled conversations to walk in on."

Felix sporfles.

The elevator ride is long-ish, but they do make it to the 20th floor eventually. Gabriel leads Felix down the hall and unlocks and opens the door, continuing inside. 

The main room is filled with half-unpacked boxes and bags, which he routes around as he heads towards a closed door further inside

He knocks, pausing to wait for an answer. 

Inside the room, Aleixo startles at the noise, pulling away from Thor and looking over at the door. He glances at Fernando, "Should I...?" It's probably Gabriel. He probably doesn't need anything urgent, but he might take a look inside if they don't answer.

"Go ahead."

"Hm." His eyes flick over Fernando's body, noting the nudity, but he shrugs.

How cooperative is Thor going to be if he carries him over to the bed and tries to leave him there while he gets the door?

Thor mock pouts but then is distracted by the view of the other two triplets pair.

Gabriel glances over Aleixo's shoulder when the door opens, getting an eyeful he hadn't been expecting. His eyes widen - and then he steps back, half-turning so he's looking elsewhere, and pinches the bridge of his nose. 

"Lê. You texted me thirty minutes ago. How?" 

Leco glances back into the room. He shrugs. "Raw talent, I guess. On all our parts." He glances over at Felix and snorts, "Clearly probability is on our side, anyway. Hey there." 

"Hello, and wow... I wish I was surprised by Thor."

"You're not surprised by Thor, but you are surprised by Fernando?"

(Inside the room, Angél shifts a bit under Fernando's weight, blinking over at the doorway and humming unhappily at the interruption. He reaches up and hooks an arm behind Fernando's neck, tugging gently. If nothing else they could cuddle while they wait? Thor too, Angél would be more than pleased to be middle spoon. Especially if that position continues after the interruption is over.)

"I am, yeah. If I were to stumble upon a familiar face in a situation like this, his would be the obvious candidate."

Angelo is a great middle spoon.

"Aw, you say the nicest things."

Being the middle spoon is great. Angél squirms only a very little bit between them, doing his best to be well-behaved while they're being watched. 

Leco glances back into the room again, "Can't say for sure, but I think they were just as quick about it as we were," he says. Hm, they sure do look comfortable over there. He gives Gabriel an impatient look, "Did you need something?" Or was he just checking up on them?

Gabriel sighs, "No. Sorry for interrupting," he says, wry. "We- I?" He looks to Felix uncertainly, "Will let you... get back to it."

Aleixo pauses to raise an eyebrow at Gabriel for the hesitation, before turning the eyebrow on Felix. He gives him a once-over and smirks, "There's room for more, if you want in," he offers.

Felix blinks and looks at Gabriel. "I think I will stick to him."

"You must. Otherwise, it isn't symmetrical."

Gabriel blinks as well, and then smiles at him. 

Aleixo smiles, too. 

"True. Wouldn't want to leave us uneven." He grabs the edge of the door, "See you later, then." He turns, swinging the door closed behind him as he heads back towards the bed. It might be a bit cramped with all four of them, but he's sure they can make it work. 

...Abrupt. Gabriel can't say he minds, though. 

"So... I guess the odds were higher than we thought." 

"Yeah. Are you okay?"

"...I wouldn't have blamed you if you'd decided to stay. Or if you wanted to leave entirely. That was..." He glances at the door, sighs. "Well, not what I was expecting to walk in on." If he'd been less distracted he would have been more careful about making sure Felix didn't get a look inside the room before he'd made sure Aleixo and Angél weren't getting up to their... usual antics, in there. He supposes it's a good thing they weren't. 

"What? It's really okay. Everyone has their own pace."

Smile. "Yes." 

"On that note... lunch?"

"Lunch! And no worries, okay?"

"Okay." 

Does Felix know any good places to eat around here? Gabriel hasn't spent much time in this part of the city.

Felix has not, but they can figure out.

It'll be an adventure. 

But first, another long trip in an elevator. One of the downsides of the top floor. 

He's not quite sure how to start the conversation again. After a moment, somewhat tentatively, he asks, "Did you live in São Paulo before, or did you just move here for university?" 

"We did, actually. We went to the Paulo Coelho Institute."

"Oh! We would have liked to go there, they're well known for their magic curriculum. It wasn't... prestigious enough, though, in our grandfather's opinion. And he preferred we focus on other areas, though he didn't mind if we took some classes on it as well." 

"Wow. Is he the sort with strong opinions on their descendants' careers?"

"He is, yeah. Our family owns the Anes Group - he wanted us to go into business so we could contribute to the family's fortunes. He also had custody of us, so his opinions were of more relevance to us than they would have been otherwise."

"Yikes. I am sorry."

He smiles at Felix, "It's alright. We're out of his control, now, though he'll still have Beatriz for another year." He shakes his head. "What about your family? What are they like?" 

"I am sorry to hear about Beatriz. And our family is great. We are adopted and both our adoptive mother and aunt are in magic. Our mom basically coordinates all magical public works in the Rio state and has always been supportive of me and Fernando desire to follow her footsteps, and then Thomas when he came along."

"That sounds amazing - ah, 'when he came along'?" What an odd phrasing.

"Oh," Pause. "The three of us were taken by human traffickers when were babies. And separated. We only met Thor when we moved to Sao Paulo, and a classmate recognized him in one of those amateur magical clubs."

He stares for a moment.

"...That's horrible," he begins, once he's determined that Felix is probably not joking, "It also sounds like the plot of a soap opera."

Felix chuckles despite himself. "It sure is. It made the news? I don't think we showed our faces, current gifted protection law enforcement is good enough for that, at least."

"Oh," he thinks back, "That - does sound familiar, now that you mention it." Pause. "What happened to Thor? Obviously he's alright now, but..." He shakes his head, "Sorry, that's probably personal. I'm glad you found him. The idea of having grown up without either of my brothers-" He shakes his head, "I can't even imagine it."

"It's not that personal. The traficking ring got dismantled and he got shuffled around until he ended up with a woman that raised him as an aunt. She was not particularly good, but not particularly bad in his opinion. And yeah, it was a shock. But... we are used to it. The similarities and divergences are sure amazing to behold."

"Huh. What kinds of similarities do you mean?"

"We are all kind of ambitious in a pro-social way? Except, Thor will claim he wants to do that because he wants to have statues of himself. Also, we are all bi. That sort of thing."

He laughs a little, startled, "Really? So are we. Bi, that is. When it comes to pro-social ambitions, I think we vary more. We all want to help. We have different opinions about how to go about doing that, though. I think if Angél were given the option he would prefer to wander off into the wilderness and fix things as he came upon them. And Aleixo gets very frustrated with working within the system. They're both here because I am, more than anything - I convinced them it would be worthwhile to get a formal education." 

"Aha. Meanwhile, I think Thor is the only one of us with a problem with formal education, and that's partially because he wouldn't be able to get into it. Not a lot of money growing up. He is also tempted by the fix things as coming upon them. And so am I. Only Fernando is good at the sort of higher impact thinking, but he is the one that would wander off into the wilderness, or at least the most likely to."

"I am tempted by it as well," he notes, "I just have enough of an eye to the bigger picture to resist where there's no simple way to make things better. At least, usually." He frowns, looking away. 

"Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," he says with a sigh, before offering Felix a rueful smile, "I wouldn't want to unload all my regrets on you in our second conversation." 

The elevator doors open, letting them out on the gound floor. 

"It's a bit of a complicated situation, in any case." He adds as they leave the elevator, "There were good reasons to take each path, and-" he pauses, shakes his head. "Hah. I said I wouldn't talk about it and here I am doing that anyway. Sorry." 

"No worries, and I don't mind to be a listening ear."

"Mn. It's... Well. The Anes Group - it's the sort of soulless corporate group that exists to make billions off the backs of the poor. Grandfather is the chairman." He frowns, "Aleixo and Angél wouldn't have lasted much longer under his expectations - they would have done something too outlandish for him to tolerate sooner or later - but I could have kept it up. And then when I inherited I could have changed it, and actually used some of that absurd amount of money to do something, instead of sitting around collecting more of itself at the expense of others." 

"Yeah, I can see how that would feel bad. But, you can't carry the weight of everything on your shoulders."

"True enough. That was their point as well. That, and they worried about what I'd have to do to stay in his good graces when they left." He shrugs. "I suppose we'll see whether this was the right path when Beatriz leaves next year." 

"Huh, what is the plan then?"

"She'll be doing exactly what we did," he says, wry. "Which will leave him with no palatable heirs at all. He's not literally too old to have another child, but he's unlikely to try at this point. Which means he'll have to pick one of us anyway, unless he wants to pass the chair to one of our distant cousins." He shrugs, "I worry about the uncertainty of it - no matter how unlikely, there is a chance he'll choose one of the cousins - but I can't say I'm not relieved to be able to be myself." 

"Huh, he would at least know the results of picking one of you better. I assume."

"In some ways? It wouldn't be the young cousins he'd pick, it would be one of the more established ones, most likely. He cares about bloodline. The three of us are his only descendants. Beatriz isn't - she's his sister's granddaughter - but he raised her, which makes her a better option than the cousins." 

"It does, it's weird being so foolish to just... pick a stranger for this, not even about the blood relation just the familiarity."

"Not complete strangers. He knows most of them as well as anyone might know their cousins kids, if they didn't like them much. Some of them even work for the Group. If it was just familiarity with their characters that mattered to him, he might pick one of them who had goals close enough to his. Rather than one of us, after we've all 'betrayed' him. The gamble is whether he really does care enough about legacy to choose Beatriz or I despite that." 

Nod. "It's a hard situation all around, honestly, I am glad that you are not under his thumb."

"I am, too," he admits. "It would have been awful without Aleixo and Angél to take the pressure off."

"And I probably wouldn't have run into you again," he adds quietly, looking intently at the signs on the other side of the road. He quickly motions to a chinese place across the street from them, "How about there?" 

Felix breaks into an unfairly good smile. "Yeah, that's great."

"Great!" He glances back at him and then away again, blushing a little as they head across the street. 'Unfair' is right. 

Soon enough they're being seated and ordering food. Gabriel asks about his classes while they wait - what he's looking forward to, what he liked best at the Institute. 

They think the institute is a good stepping stone to get to some more cutting edge research place later on. He is looking forward to the Applied Cultural Symbology, he found the high school equivalent interesting despite the teacher being a bit full of himself.