You're Going to be a Pain (Request to Join; Duke & Duchess - E)

"You're, ah...welcome to come with me," Bentley offered, his tone a shade forward as he offered his words to the wind. "I do keep up with her and she'll want to meet you once she knows I'm paired..."

Some lewd joke danced at the edges of his thoughts, but he made no motion to let it loose, "If that's what you want then sure."

Bentley's eyes lit up, a gleam flashing over them as he offered the most genuine smile he had allowed in a long while. "This will be awesome! I get to see Sophie and I get to introduce her to my partner and..." He found himself on his feet, chest rising and falling erratically as adrenaline pushed through his circulatory system. Spreading his arms, the meister fell backwards into the water, kicking back to propel himself under the water, offering only a muffled whoop beneath the water.

Marc looked down and over at him, brow raised, waiting for him to resurface so that the weapon could offer up his own proposal.

Bentley lingered beneath the surface, eyeing the thin trail of bubbles fleeing towards the surface. Pushing off from the pool floor, he surfaced quietly, eyes and ears just clearing the water as he hovered near Marc.

"Wgat are your plans today?"

"This has been very 'seat of my pants' day," the meister admitted, holding his head above the water as his feet lulled into steady kicks to keep him aloft. "I wasn't expecting to be paired and now that I am, I feel like the dog who caught the car he was chasing...what do I do with it?"

Marc's eyes rolled at the statement, finger brushing back his spiking, multi-colored hair, "Care for dinner at my place? Mom's been waiting for me to have a meister --- or friends even --- and my sister would demand meeting you before I ever got to say I was partnered."

A light flush crossed Bentley's cheeks, prompting the meister to dip beneath the water to allow dissipation. "I'm never going to turn down free food," he quipped, whipping his hair in an arc that scattered beads of water in all directions. "What's the dress code? Business casual? Should I leave my tie slightly loosened like yours?"

Marc raised his brow at him once more, still working on drying his hair. Pausing, he set the towel aside, approaching him as he spoke, "If there are to be any loose ties," he stated, kneeling down, grasping Bentley's shoulder, and pulling him closer, staring him down, "I will be... forced to tighten them for you."

Color retreated from the meister's face as his eyes lingered beneath Marc's fierce gaze. Though the weapon was lean of stature, bordering on wiry, his voice carried a sharp sting of authority to it, one that he guessed was not often questioned. He nodded quietly, lifting himself from the pool to sit at the tiled edge. "Yes, s-yeah," Bentley agreed, pulling a towel from the rack to drape over his head. Small men can make a big shadow, I suppose.

Marc's grin took on a flash of cocky before he stepped back, proceeding back over to his towel and silently leading his new partner back to the locker room.

Bentley followed close in tow, silent except for the near-audible crackle of fire in his cheeks. He had draped the towel over his shoulders, hands sawing the cloth back and forth across his neck. "So where to now, hm? Tempting as it is, I don't think this qualifies as a shower for the day."

He smirked, casting him a sidelong glance over his shoulder, "First you wanna run with me, then you wanna swim with me, now shower? Tsk, tsk, there, Hanlon, moving a little fast, aren't we?"

The meister shot him a scathing glare, pulling the towel up over his head, leaving only a small gap through which to see. "And you're casting with a pretty wide net to find all these advances, aren't you," he mused, the towel offering a sheltered confidence. "Sounds to me like someone hasn't rounded the bases in awhile."

Raising his brow, the man turned to face him, back him into the wall and bracing an arm over his head, icy blue eyes level with the meister's as he leaned in. "Am I? "

Bentley caught the gasp in his throat, smothering it with eyes that returned Marc's gaze with equal intent. Confidence of this caliber was fleeting for the meister and he was keen to capitalise on it whenever it showed. "You are," he admitted, leaning forward until the pair could have held a pin between their noses. "I think you're looking for them. Maybe you're interested and maybe you just want leverage with which to tease me." He smirked a bit, clapping Marc on the shoulder. "Don't dig too deep, Sherlock. When I warm up to someone enough, I practically serve myself up to them on a platter anyways."

"Saying you're easy then? " he breathed, eyes smoldering against his, every inch of his body seeming at ease as he stared him down.

"If that's what you want to call it," Bentley mused with a shrug and a flashing grin. "I would say I'm like a crockpot. It takes awhile to cook whatever is in it, but it's usually worth it at the end." He laughed slightly, eyes crinkling at the corners as they wicked away the last traces of chlorine and water. Without warning, the meister's laugh fell away, brows furrowing as he matched Marc's gaze. "And if I have to hear you call me crockpot, I will throw your ass through the nearest window."

"That requires you getting ahold of my ass, crackpot." He said, pressing his forehead directly against the other man's, eyes not relenting as he stared him down, pinning him in place with his gaze alone.

Bentley raised a brow, letting one hand wander out to Marc's waist as the other laid flat against his stomach. The meister leaned into his partner's forehead, matching his effort. "You would be better off just picking a window than calling the bluff on my inability or my intent."

"So you're admitting that you're bluffing?" He asked, a slight twitch of a smirk passing over his face at the contact. He made no further move, otherwise silent.

"I'm admitting that there is more to this game than just you," Bentley murmured in a low whisper, his eyes glowing like dying embers. "You capitalised on my being nervous with new people, with a new partner, and you think you have a leg up on me. You're digging into your bag of tricks and I haven't even touched mine."