Ascension

Chapter 8

Mick took another large bite of his cheeseburger, half-moaning at the flavour as it rolled in his mouth. He had eaten in a few decent places in his life and he wasn’t a bad cook himself, but nobody could make a cheeseburger like Donna Hunter.

“Slow down, boy, it’s not going anywhere,” she said incredulously, one hand poised on her hip as she watched him with a mixture of disgust and affection.

“Says you,” he replied through a mouthful of beef and cheese. “I’m not taking any chances.”

“You’re ridiculous. Eat up, then.”

“Can I have fries?”

“You can also get your arteries clogged up before you hit thirty five.”

“Live for the moment, Donna. Please, can I have fries? And another burger?” he tried.

“This is already your second.”

“I’m hungry!” he argued.

“Fries, fine. Burger? Finish that one up and then, we’ll talk,” she told him before leaving to tend to a couple who were walking in.

Mick took another heaving bite and dug his phone out of his pocket. He smiled on reading a new message from Gabe. He typed a reply in abbreviated text English, so different from Gabe’s clear sentences and perfect punctuation. He could almost imagine his fond, but disgruntled expression.

After that eventful night, Mick and Gabe had gone back to how they had been before, though according to most of their friends, they were even more disgusting to be around. Among them, Lenore was most vocal about it, complaining that they were keeping her and her cat awake in the night with their racket. Gabe had been startled to see her again and had blinked at her oddly, booping her on the nose and muttering something about déjà vu. Lenore had knocked him on the forehead with a knuckle before kissing his cheek and calling him an adorable idiot.

Gabe had changed the timings of his night class and now, went there straight from the university. It usually meant that he had to get dinner on the go, but at least he was home before nine. Sometimes, if he wasn’t hungry before class, he and Gabe even managed to have their meals together. It felt like the honeymoon period of their relationship all over again and Mick had taken to walking around with a smile on his face that escalated into a full-blown beam whenever someone asked him how he was. 

In spite of how ecstatic he was to actually have back the loving boyfriend he had known, he was still extremely aware of how thin their happiness was. Gabe showed him that he loved him in every way that he could, even once resorting to cheesy poetry that had had Mick rolling on the floor in stitches for quarter of an hour. However, they still skirted over any questions about Gabe’s life before Arcadia or his past depression. Mick knew that Gabe had always been good at avoiding issues, but he was suddenly glaringly aware of just how good he was at it. Barty had become a taboo word and was never even uttered in their home.

Mick still inadvertently heard snatches of strange conversations with a person whom Gabe called Kit, the one from his night class as he later recalled. He also still occasionally spoke about strange places with one-headed and two-eyed people. Mick would answer his questions and give his opinions patiently, dragging his fingers through Gabe’s hair as he listened with his chin propped on his hands on Mick’s chest, head tilted and eyes rapt with attention. The only reason that Mick didn’t get too worried about his continued thoughts was the sight of Gabe muttering and typing furiously into his novel document for hours at a stretch, reading glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.

He took a hefty bite of his lunch, chewing messily with a note of belligerence. He knew very well that he was in denial. It wasn’t too alien a quality with him. Sam had sung the word and things about rivers in Egypt enough times before he finally mustered up the courage to stop mooning over Gabe and ask him out properly. But sometimes, denial kept him sane. Denial could keep him safe. And his denial could keep the momentary spell of happiness he was having from fracturing.