Lust Of Paris

𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐭𝐬

After talking with Èlise, he wanted to find Gabriel and hear him out. Still, he knew better than distract him and give him more things to stress about today. The last thing he needed was to make this day all about him when it was supposed to be about Cece.

So he waited. With very little patience, he somehow managed not to call Gabriel until later in the evening. Like a good boy, he spent the day third-wheeling with Lincoln and Èlise who had somehow gotten so close in such a short time.

At least he got some distraction so he didn't think every minute of Gabriel spent with his ex-husband. Even the thought of them together drove him insane so he tried to keep himself busy.

"Hey," was the first thing he said once Gabriel answered. Did he sound casual enough? Hopefully.

"Hey, Alex. How was your day?" Oh. Alright then. So he wouldn't mention anything about Cece's birthday or meeting Leo again? That was disappointing but after today, Alex couldn't say that he was surprised.

"Fine," Alex answered before realizing that he sounded a bit too cold. "Hang out with Link and Èlise. Do you know that they're together or something?"

Unlike he thought, Gabriel didn't sound surprised or too shocked. Instead, he sounded like he didn't fully even hear what he said. "How nice."

Fuck. He so desperately wanted to ask about Leo and how their day was, if he was alright or was he still too sad about Cece. Then he realized that if Gabriel wanted to talk about them, he would have done that already and Alex didn't have to hear about it from Élise.

So he stayed quiet just like Gabriel did and the silence just continued for minutes. Would their conversations be short and awkward all the time in the future? What happened to their amazing bond where Alex felt like they could talk about everything? Now he had to watch out for his every word and make sure that he didn't say anything wrong.

"Can we meet? I know it's kinda short notice but if you're not too busy, I could use some company," Gabriel mumbled quietly.

Something was off, almost like he was holding back something, didn't want him to hear how sad he was.

God, he was hurting, probably even traumatized after Cece and Leo. Immediately Alex felt bad for only thinking of himself and tried to get rid of his previous thoughts. He was better than that, at least he tried to be.

No matter what their relationship was or wasn't, they were friends and friends were supposed to take care of each other, help in the darkest moments. Now was the time to ignore his feelings and focus on Gabriel. He couldn't let him suffer alone.

"Sure, I'm leaving now. Just tell me, are you okay?" Gabriel mumbled something that might have been a 'yes' but it wasn't enough to convince him.

It took him a while but eventually, he was by Gabriel's familiar apartment, running to his door as if his life depended on it. All he could think about was Gabriel and how much he needed to comfort him, make sure that those beautiful blue eyes wouldn't shed even a single tear.

Still, having no idea how it went with Leo, he was also preparing himself for the worst like Gabriel going back together with Leo and was now only saying goodbye with the usual it's not you, it's me-speech.

As soon as Gabriel opened the door, he hugged him without thinking twice. He could feel him freezing on the spot, too shocked to do anything. After Alex refused to let go after almost a minute, he finally made him smile by hugging him back.

He was probably overreacting and immediately thought about the worst possibility. Maybe Gabriel was alright after all and he was only bored, in need of some company.