Talk to Me | Sabriel AU

Sleepover

"Trust me, she'll love you." Gabriel said gently as he and Sam walked down the sidewalk, Sam's hand in his as he squeezed it in comfort, the boy giving him a look of gratitude. He smiled over at him, swinging their arms a bit farther than their steps as they headed to Gabriel's house. He and his mother had spent several hours cleaning and redoing the house to make it look presentable for Sam's arrival.

"You know. She's so excited to have company over, since I don't really have friends before you." Gabriel commented, looking down at their interlocked hands with a small smile. Sam only smiled in response, looking over at Gabriel with shining eyes.

Gabriel stopped in front of his house with a small glance at Sam looking a bit nervous at what his friend would think. After all, the house still looked a bit rickety compared to the rest, despite his and his mother's best efforts. Sam didn't have any judgment in his eyes as he looked back at Gabriel, waiting to be led inside.

They didn't even make it to the front door before Gabriel's mother came from the house, a pleasant smile on her face as she greeted them on the porch. She pecked Gabriel on the cheek before looking at Sam, her eyes full of friendliness as she held out his hand.

"Hello, I'm Marissa, Gabriel's mother. You're Sam?" She asked, her smile only warming even more as Sam took her hand, nodding in response. "Come on in. I'm so excited to finally meet a friend of Gabriel's."

Gabriel only smiled pleasantly as his mother ushered them into the house, giving Sam a warm look. After all, he knew that his mother would do her best to make Sam feel welcome. They followed her into the kitchen, where she took a seat at one of the chairs of the dining table, resting her hands in her lap as they took a seat as well.

"So, Sam, how did you and Gabriel meet?" She asked, and Sam watched her for a moment before looking at Gabriel.

Gabriel nodded, patting Sam's leg. "He moved here about a month back, and I just started talking to him and we became friends." Gabriel said with a shrug. There wasn't much he could tell, especially since most of their friendship was built on their ability to understand each other's looks.

His mother seemed to be catching on, looking between the two of them and her smile faltering just a minute as it was replaced by confusion. "Does he not talk?" She asked, looking at Gabriel with a stressed expression in her eyes as Sam nodded. "Why didn't you tell me sweetie. I'm just sitting here making a fool of myself."

Gabriel ducked his head, looking at Sam sheepishly. "Sorry, I don't really remember that he doesn't talk. He writes the words down and I just sort made my own voice for him in my head." Gabriel mumbled, a small blush crossing his face. Sam let out a soft chuckle, his voice gentle and as soft as ever.

"Oh..." Was all his mother said, looking down at lap for a moment before glancing back at Sam. "Do you know sign language?" She asked, perking up when Sam nodded. She smiled and signed something that Gabriel couldn't recognize to him, to which Sam replied back with another strange series of hand movements.

"Mom? You know sign language?" Gabriel asked, his eyes widening at the new discovery as he watched his mother and Sam talk to each other through their hands, feeling a sting of jealousy at not being able to do the same. His mother stopped for a moment, blushing and rubbing the back of her neck.

"I dated a deaf woman before your father." She said, and Gabriel's mouth literally fell open. His mother dated a woman?

"O-oh." Was all Gabriel could reply and his mother flushed profusely, standing and straightening her shirt with a small, embarrassed smile.

"I'll fix dinner. You two have fun until it gets done." She said before heading past the counter to the refrigerator. Gabriel glanced at Sam, who had a curious look on his face as both of them stood and Gabriel took Sam's hand, leading him up the rickety stairs to his bedroom, which was now a pretty cream instead of the awful and dreary olive tone that it had been.

"It's not much, but this is my room." Gabriel said, setting his backpack down by his desk and motioning for Sam to do the same. He flopped back onto his bed, letting out a warm sigh, and listened to the soft scratch of Sam's pen before he felt the metal of a notebook touch his cheek.

'Your mom seems sad.' Was wrote there, and Gabriel glanced over at Sam, swallowing before looking away, taking in a deep breath.

"My father left recently, she's still pretty upset about it." Gabriel said, his arms automatically moving to his chest in a fetal position, a frown crossing his face as he closed his eyes. He felt warm arms encircle around him, and the warmth of Sam's breath ghosted across his cheek.

Gabriel patter one of Sam's hands, letting out a shaky laugh and forcing himself to feel fine about the whole ordeal. "Your hugs are always the thing that makes me feel better." He joked, and he could feel Sam blush, the heat radiating off the boy. He didn't let go though, and Gabriel had to fight back the sting of tears that was threatening to overtake him.

"We should probably do our homework before dinner." Gabriel said, his voice struggling to remain the same as he hid his face in Sam's arm, begging himself not to lose it. Sam finally let go, and Gabriel felt his wall come back up just in time, allowing him to blink away the tears and pop up, putting a grin on his face.

"Come on, Sam. This will take forever." Gabriel said dramatically, earning a chuckle from Sam, and allowing him to pretend he didn't notice the concern in Sam's eyes, or the wetness that had escaped onto his cheeks.