Chapter 7
“How about dinner on The Adventurer tonight?” Gabriel suggests when they’ve passed the last market stall.
If he squints he can see the train sitting idle, warm light emanating from the windows.
James has let out two yawns in the last five minutes alone and even Gabriel can admit that he’s feeling the strain of spending this long outside in the frigid temperature.
He knows for a fact that tonight is an a-la-carte night in the dining carriage. It’s also something that Gabriel knows is part of the experience that James doesn’t want to miss out on.
“That sounds nice,” James mutters from behind his scarf.
He looks like one of those cartoon characters that are bundled up to the max for comedic effect.
Gabriel has to look away to make sure that he doesn’t make a fool of himself by smiling too wide, or doing something as unpredictable as leaning in and kissing James.
From the corner of his eyes Gabriel sees James fumble for his jacket pocket, where he knows the trusted notepad is nestled. “Let me see if-”
“It’s not one of the buffet nights. They’re doing an Italian menu, I believe.
” It’s hard, trying to not sound too eager in convincing James.
He’ll loathe to admit to the fact of learning the roster of the restaurant to make sure that he would respect James’ preferences.
It’s also something he saw noted down in James’ Venice notes when he got a quick look into them when they were packing for the trip.
It wasn’t hard to figure out that whenever the train sits idle at a station during dinner time, the restaurant carriage serves an a-la-carte menu instead of the buffet.
“Great. I’d like that.” James stops fiddling inside his pockets.
“I haven’t been inside of the restaurant yet.
” It’s easy to gather up their belongings and make their way to the station after that.
And if Gabriel keeps his arm around James’ waist with the excuse of spotting Paul and Riley at the market, it’s no-one’s business but his own.
Even if there’s an inkling of wrongdoing to take advantage of the situation like that.
James seems happy enough with the touch, which does soothe some of Gabriel’s nerves.
The whole way back James doesn’t step out of reach once, even if Gabriel figures he knows that Paul can’t be close by anymore.
With a smile he lets James step onto the train first. Even if it’s just pretend, it’s nice to know that James is at least somewhat enjoying his company.
Not even fifteen minutes later, they find themselves stepping into the warm dining carriage.
The carpet underneath their feet is the same deep maroon color as the rest of the train.
The velvet high-back chairs look lush and awfully comfortable.
As he lowers himself into the seat the hostess assigned them, Gabriel figures he could spend hours in this very same spot.
The warm atmosphere, with its heavenly smell and cozy feeling, is just the right type of setting for a wonderful evening.
The tables are either two or four seats and situated far away enough from each other that it doesn’t feel like you’re cramped into the space.
The booth-like tables provide a sense of privacy and shelter.
When his eyes find the happy expression on James’ face, he knows they’ll be having their dinners here as much as the schedule will allow them to.
There’s a waitress who brings out two glasses of deep red wine and another that hands them a menu.
The pasta dishes on there bring promises of creamy richness and a variety of flavors that you just don’t find in London.
From opposite him, James is fidgeting with his sleeves, repositioning his silverware and twisting the plate in front of him. “Something’s the matter?”
“I don’t know,” James eventually mutters.
“Can’t seem to forget about Paul.” Of course he wouldn’t.
The guy might be a total dickhead, but he’s been a big part of James’ life for almost a decade.
Something like that isn’t easily forgotten, or moved on from.
Gabriel figures that James might not fully be over the man either, if the nerves about Paul being here are anything to go by.
“He doesn’t seem like the warmest type.”
James’ snort-like laughter makes Gabriel smile, glad that the tension is at least seeping out of him a bit.
“Well, that’s one way to describe him.” Over the last year, James hasn’t talked about his ex much.
Gabriel figured that it was either too awkward or too painful.
Those first few months, it most certainly didn’t feel like his place to pry.
“He didn’t-” The anger at the idea of James getting hurt by that pathetic looking man shines through in his voice. The idea of it is enough to make him feel a bit sick.
James is quick to interject, reaching out briefly to touch his fingertips to Gabriel’s balled-up hands. “Oh god, no. Nothing like that. Nothing physical.” It’s hard to pinpoint when exactly Gabriel started feeling this protective, this attached, to James.
The cozy ambience of the restaurant doesn’t feel like the right place to delve into it, but there’s more that James isn’t telling him. In a bid to distract James from the troubles of his past, he grins and leans in a little. “Tell me about your plans for Zurich.”
It works, since James ducks his head with a small smile on his lips and a happy crinkle to his eyes. “I heard there’s a Christmas tree full of crystals in the city. So that’s one of the things. And I read about a Santa Claus beer.”
It’s not for the first time that Gabriel wonders if James has more fun compiling his lists than doing the activities on said lists.
As he basks in the happiness coming from James while he talks about the elaborate plans he has for the two days they have in the capital of Switzerland, he’s pleased that James finds peace in things like that.
He has to admit that some of those things sound good, immensely better than the churches and cathedrals in Paris and Venice.
When their main courses are placed on the table and James happily goes into even more detail about his plans, Gabriel’s mind can’t help but linger on one of them. “Sorry, did you just say thermal bath?”
There’s a nervous edge to James’ smile when he finishes chewing on his pasta. “Yeah. It’s supposedly one of the best spas in Zurich. They’ve got a rooftop pool and everything.”
“All the boring things you invite me to, and this you don’t?
” He makes sure to keep his tone light, to show James he’s only teasing.
He’s pleasantly surprised when James merrily rolls his eyes and tells him that he’s more than welcome to join him.
The buzzing sensation that settles low in his stomach isn’t just from the food.
The low, soulful jazz music that’s playing from the overhead speakers comes to a sudden halt, before the clear voice of their engineer crackles to life.
“Ladies and gentleman, good evening. We’ll be departing from Venice in just over three hours.
Due to heavy snowfall in the Alps we’ll have to slow our speed significantly during the night.
As a result, we’ll most likely be arriving a little over two hours later in Zurich than originally planned. ”
It’s easy to see that with every word that’s said the tension in James’ shoulders rises. Gabriel is quick to reassure him, “Hey, we’ll at least get two hours more of steady sleep, instead of the spotty slumber when the train’s sitting idle.”
“But, we’ll miss-”
“James, we won’t miss anything. I promise.
” Gabriel tries to smile reassuringly at his travel partner.
It still feels new, having someone you have to be delicate with sometimes.
Even if James can take a quip or joke as much as he likes to dish them out.
“We’ll get there at eight, instead of six.
You won’t even get out of bed before nine most mornings. ”
James lets out a breath, hopefully calming down a little. Gabriel hopes so, he’d hate for James to be up all night stressed out. “Besides, I’m sure most things really only happen in the city after nine.”
“Yeah, yeah.” James settles back in his chair, letting out one final heave of air. “You’re right. Sorry.”
Gabriel arches a brow at him. “We discussed this. No apologizing. Not for that.”
Things like that only solidify the knowledge that there are people in James’ life that have somehow made sure to convince him his idiosyncrasies are an inconvenience and something to be embarrassed about.
The first few weeks after James moved in, Gabriel wasn’t able to pinpoint what exactly was wrong in their dynamic.
But when James locked himself inside his room as a result of Gabriel coming back early from a night out, with an unexpected guest in tow, he’d known.
James thrived on routine, on knowing what to expect.
Getting him to talk about it wasn’t easy.
But over the last few months they managed.
As the clock strikes nine, after an amazing dinner of pasta and tiramisu for dessert, they retire to their cabin for the night. They’re accompanied by two mugs of hot tea and a plate of fresh biscotti.