“Um... good morning.”
Joel’s voice was timid behind him. He took a deep breath before turning around, noting how different Joel sounded now from how he spoke to Athena. Gabriel had seen them together during the past year, and of course overheard the phone call this morning. The fact that Joel found him handsome was not something he intended to overlook, and would prefer to exploit, but at a later moment.
Athena was as large in personality as she was in stature, and while Gabriel had initially fully expected her to engulf and consume Joel, instead she seemed to bring out the person Joelreallywas, or at least the person Joel wanted to be. Gabriel couldn’t fault her for that, but either way, he wanted to find a way to extend her trip. Three days was not enough time with Joel.
“Good morning, Joel. I’m so sorry about earlier. I should have knocked, it was unbearably rude of me to enter without permission.” Gabriel turned to face Joel and walked to the opposite end of the breakfast bar, taking a seat and still focusing most of his mental faculties on subduing his erection.
“Well, it’s, I mean, it’s… whatever,” Joel mumbled. “Anyway, I’ll be leaving now, once I put everything back in my bag. I spoke with my landlord this morning. I appreciate you letting me stay last night.”
“Oh, you did? Is your apartment dry already and ready for you to go back?” Gabriel questioned, taking another drink of his coffee and knowing full well it wasn’t the case.
“No, it’s not. I mean, it will be in a bit. I’m gonna stay with my friend when she gets home in a few days, so it’s not a big deal.” Joel tapped his fingers one at a time against the breakfast bar, looking down at the pattern in the marble.
“What are you going to do until then?” Gabriel prodded, and Joel shrugged in response.
“It’s fine, I’ll sort it out.” Joel pushed away from the bar.
“You can stay here, Joel. You should stay here. It’s not an inconvenience at all, and I’m inclined to insist upon it.” Gabriel set down his coffee cup, looking at the top of Joel’s head as Joel was looking down. “Joel,” Gabriel spoke again, with an edge of severity and firmness in his voice this time. Joel immediately looked up, raising his eyes to meet Gabriel's.Good boy, Gabriel thought, feeling a smile tug at the edge of his lips.
“Stay. Three days will hardly put me out.”
Gabriel watched Joel shift his weight nervously and self-consciously from side to side, and in that moment, Gabriel had never hated his brother more. Gabriel was barely older than Thomas, and while his barbs hurt, Gabriel was equipped to handle the emotional challenges that came with losing your entire family over something you had no control over. Joel, on the other hand, was this tiny sliver of a man with the most delicate and purest of hearts. Thomas had done everything he could, shy of physically assaulting him, to ruin Joel’s precious innocence.
It had been years since Gabriel had gone to try and reconcile with his brother. It had been years since he’d first laid eyes on Joel and vowed to protect him in the ways that Gabriel himself had not been protected. Somewhere, though, after Joel’s last birthday, Gabriel’s feelings had gone beyond a familial sense of protection and devotion and turned into something more than that. Gabriel was an intelligent man, and would never venture to use the wordobsessed, but he could fully admit he was…investedin controlling the outcome of the things in his life.
Especially this thing.
Especially Joel.
Gabriel had seen a light inside Joel the first time he’d caught sight of him, a spark Thomas had tried to extinguish with all his might but thankfully, didn’t succeed. Even though Joel had been on his own and had struggled, he still had that spark. It was buried, though, Gabriel could see that, but Gabriel was more than ready to dig for it.
As he watched the wheels in Joel’s mind turning to find a reason to say no, Gabriel, for the first time, questioned his plan. Had he been right to leave Joel to struggle alone? To only watch and supervise from the sidelines while Joel’s happiness was buried deeper and deeper? Gabriel hadn’t meant to interfere originally, he supposed, so what had changed? What happened that made his feelings become so muchmore? He was rationalizing now, and he knew it.
“Joel,” Gabriel spoke again, louder, and with as much dominance as he could muster. “Stay.”
Joel nodded. It was barely a nod, but it was an affirmation, and it pleased Gabriel beyond measure. He exhaled a relieved sigh and pulled a stool out from the breakfast bar to sit down. Gabriel was done letting Joel dig himself deeper into a fucking hole. It was Gabriel’s turn now, and he was fully committed to digging Joel out of that hole, no matter what.
“Join me, Joel. Do you want coffee or juice?”
“Coffee, please,” Joel answered weakly.
Gabriel poured a mug full and slid it over to Joel, taking the sugar from the pantry and sliding it across the counter as well.
“What if I take milk, too?” Joel queried, pouring sugar into the mug.
“Do you?” Gabriel knew better and was not surprised when Joel shook his head.
“While you’re here, Joel, anything I have is yours. If you want milk, it’s in the fridge. There’s food in the pantry, fridge, and freezer. Help yourself to any of it. You can read the books in your room, listen to the records, watch TV or sit on the balcony. You can even stay holed up in your bedroom the entire time. Just be here, Joel, okay? My bedroom is in the same hallway as yours, and my office is on the other end of the condo, if you ever need me and can't find me.”
Gabriel watched as Joel took a tentative sip of coffee, testing the temperature, before taking a proper mouthful and swallowing it down.
Joel nodded his head. “Thank you, Gabriel. I do appreciate it. I’m afraid it’ll inconvenience you, and I have work and stuff tomorrow, so when you get home from work, let me know so I can come back.” Joel had managed to drink almost the entire mug of coffee in one shot, so Gabriel leaned across the counter and refilled it for him.
“You won't inconvenience me, Joel. I work from home mostly. I sometimes go into the office, but I try to avoid it. Either way, though,” Gabriel pulled open a drawer and pretended to rummage around inside, even though his fingers were already wrapped around the item he was looking for, “take this.” Gabriel slid a brand-new brass key across the countertop to Joel. Joel's head snapped up and he started to stutter.
“Th-that’s insane, you know that right? You don’t even know me and you’re giving me a key to your fucking house? What is your deal, dude? Are you so rich and handsome that like, real-world shit doesn't apply to you or something?” Joel was becoming loud. Gabriel recognized a glimpse of the Joel only Athena seemed to see, and it pleased him immensely. Gabriel also noted that Joel had called him handsome, too, and it seemed Joel noticed as well because he immediately clamped his lips shut. Gabriel arched up a brow, bringing his coffee mug up for another drink.
“Rich? Yes, very. Handsome? Thank you for thinking so, Joel. As for giving you a key? You’re going to be living here, why wouldn’t I? What are you going to do, Joel? Steal my TV? Have a friend over and eat me out of house and home? What threat should I be perceiving that you think I’m overlooking?”
