Apocrypha

Chapter 10

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Jesus Christ."
Galatians 3:28

DAYS HAD PASSED and Gabriel slowly began to settle into his newfound life in the house in the woods. True to what Kari has said, his work was exhausting, strenuous, and almost wiped him of all his energy. But Gabriel kept reminding himself that he needed to do this for himself.

He hadn't gotten too close with many of his housemates. Cassio and Horatio were always together. To be exact, Cassio always told the smaller man to do things for him. And Horatio did not seem to mind, perhaps even finding joy in doing things for his friend.

Virgilia continued to tease Gabriel several times a day. Sometimes when Gabriel had to clean the bathroom or the shower, Virgilia would be in there. When he had to chop wood to get ready for the cold season, the woman would sit in a chair and watch him while wearing almost nothing.

Timon was still his quiet self. He only glanced at Gabriel sometimes. Gabriel made attempts to greet the elderly man, offering to help him whenever it looked like Timon needed help.

Gabriel had also been observing more of his housemates. There were two brown men, Ishmaelites or Muslims, who kept to themselves. One was named Aaron, distinguishable by being tall and having a hooked nose. The other did not speak except for whispering to his friend in a foreign language.

And then there was Lysander. Despite how busy the two men were, they had small moments throughout the day where they were two together.

In the morning, Lysander would get ready, causing Gabriel to wake up. Lysander left for a few hours while Gabriel did his chores. In the afternoon, they relaxed in the living room where they either talked about their day or watched a movie.

During dinner, they sat together and engaged in conversation with the others. And at night, right before bed, Gabriel couldn't help but admire Lysander. While Lysander read his books and listened to music, all Gabriel did was wonder what his face felt like. He wondered if Lysander grew out his hair until it reached his neck. Gabriel also wondered how Lysander would look with a beard.

And right before he slept, he begged God for forgiveness for thinking about a man in such a way. It was those thoughts that led him to where he was at, he told himself.

But he wondered if his destination was worth it.

IT WAS THE WEEKEND, meaning the house was finally able to relax. Mamillius was quick to insist on a movie day, which no one objected to. His mother, Lucrece, also insisted he select the movie for tonight.

Gabriel and Lysander were put in charge of preparing the snacks. While Gabriel heated the Jiffy Pop over the stove and Lysander assembled the cups and drinks, the blonde man was temporarily reminded of movie nights back at home.

When he went quiet, Lysander noticed and turned to see Gabriel was looking down with a sad expression.

"You okay?" Lysander asked as he placed his hand on Gabriel's back. He rubbed it, causing Gabriel to jump and almost turn away from the touch.

One thing that confused Gabriel was his reactions to touches. Whenever Lysander would make contact, either on purpose or accident, small sparks would fly, at least from Gabriel's point of view. He had never felt such feelings. Not with any women he's been with, neither with the men he was with in DC. It was all for pleasure only.

Therefore, when Lysander rubbed his back in a caring manner, it wasn't shocking but still alerted him.

"I'm fine." He replied. "I'm not good at cooking popcorn. My brother, Joshua, used to do it."