Gabriel (Rewritten Version) - LGBT, manXman

27

That weekend, Jordan took Gabriel shopping.

Jordan dragged Gabe into almost every shop in the town, buying him shoes, jeans, shirts and jackets, insisting on getting even more than Gabe said he needed.

He took Gabe out to lunch after their shopping spree, even after Gabe insisted they go home instead, to save money.

"Get it into your head, Gabe," Jordan said sternly. "I'm going to look after you. Until you have some qualifications and a job, I'll pay your way. I can afford to look after you now. I owe you."

"But you shouldn't-" Gabe started to argue when Jordan cut him off.

"I mean it, Gabe," Jordan said firmly. "You can't change my mind."

Gabe nodded shyly and finished his lunch in silence.

"What qualifications?" He asked finally, when they had started towards home.

"Well, I figured you might want to go to college," Jordan said. "Get some GCSE'S, and A Levels. Or a BTEC, or HND or something."

Gabe stared at him.

"I... I suppose I could." He frowned at Jordan. "Paid for by you, I suppose."

Jordan nodded.

Gabe sighed heavily.

"Jord, you don't need to make anything up to me, if that's why you're doing this."

Jordan rolled his eyes.

"Gabriel, do you want to end up back on the streets?"

"I... No," Gabe whispered.

"Well, then, how are you going to get a proper job if you have no qualifications?"

"Well, I... could wait tables."

"Look, if it's so important to you, then you can pay me back when you're earning," Jordan said. "But let me help you with this."

"We'll have to see if anywhere would even take me on," Gabe muttered.

*

The pair spent a very enjoyable week, lounging around the house, catching up.

They went fishing on the lake, and cooked the trout they caught on an open fire on the lakeshore. Jordan showed Gabriel how to properly bait a hook, gut a fish, and clamber back into a boat after falling out without capsizing it again.

Jordan was pleased to see Gabe was steadily gaining weight, thanks to a diet of eating as much as he liked, whenever he liked.

On the Sunday evening, they wandered down to the lake and ate a picnic dinner on the shore, listening to the quiet waves, enjoying what could be some of the last sun of the summer.

"It's so peaceful here," Gabe said quietly. He lay back on the blanket with a soft sigh.

Jordan smiled and lay back with him.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Mm?"

"You kept saying you wanted to be a mechanic when you were younger. Why go into aerospace instead?"

"Well... I do work on my car sometimes. I've been thinking about getting a car or a motorbike to restore," he said after a moment. "I was going to go into something mechanical, but because the RAF paid for my education, I had to serve my time first. When I enlisted, there were openings in aerospace, but nothing mechanical. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and decided to stay in aeronautics after I left the RAF."