Chapter 8
It’s indeed just after eight when James gets woken up by the train slowing down and the brakes kicking into motion as they arrive in Zurich.
The below zero temperature must have something of an effect on them, since the grating sound wasn’t there when they arrived in Venice.
Gabriel is snoring away next to him, his black hair splayed out over the pillow.
His red and black flannel pajamas look warm and comfortable.
He’s turned away from James, the strong line of his back and shoulders silhouetted by the forest green duvet that had been provided by The Adventurer.
Slowly, as not to disturb Gabriel just yet, James sits up and grabs for his e-reader.
Before he fell asleep last night he had to concede to the fact that Gabriel was right and the city most likely wouldn’t be waking up before nine.
It makes it a little easier for him to lean back against the headrest and read a chapter or two.
Gabriel’s sleep sounds provide a calming background noise as he burrows himself back into the duvet.
The longer he lets himself read and relax, the louder the sounds outside of the train become.
Every few minutes or so there are footsteps outside of their cabin as people make their way to breakfast or out of the train and into the city.
One particularly heavy set of steps is enough to rattle the carriage a little.
It’s enough to wake up Gabriel, who shoots up into a sitting position, with a disorientated look on his face and his hair sticking up every which way.
James can’t hold in his snort at the sight.
It’s even better when, as soon as Gabriel’s eyes find James’, the whistle of the train echoes, loud and unyielding. Gabriel flinches so badly he almost rolls off the bed in his surprise. James can’t do anything but giggle at the theatrics. “Well, good morning. I think.”
“How on earth are they allowed to do that? It’s…” Gabriel grabs for his phone, squints at the screen, “eight in the morning. And we’re on holiday. It feels illegal.”
The disdain in his voice, paired with the disgruntled look sends James into another tailspin of giggles and laughter.
This is a completely different side of Gabriel he’s seeing.
This playful, softer kind of person. It’s doing nothing but fuel his feelings for Gabriel even more.
This youthful playfulness to such a normally guarded person.
When he locks eyes with the sleepy green ones of his companion, he smiles.
This already feels loads better than that morning in Paris.
He almost hates getting out of bed for his shower.
But as the clock nears half past eight, he fears he does need to start his day if he wants to make sure to tick off all the items on his list for this wonderful city.
There’s a loud huffing sound and something of a wiggling noise coming from behind him before he hears soft music starting to play.
The soft tones of My Way by Frank Sinatra filling the cabin.
James gathers up his clothes for the day with a soft smile on his face. There’s just something nostalgic about Gabriel’s music taste that feels warm and welcoming. “I’m off for a shower. Will you join me for breakfast? Or are we just doing dinner tonight?”
“Hmm?” comes the still sleepy reply. It’s silent for a little bit before there’s a clearer answer. “Dinner, okay? Will probably just go for a coffee somewhere.”
“Of course. I’ll text you the address for the restaurant I booked.
” He’s not met with a reply and a quick glance behind him shows him Gabriel drifted off again.
James is happy that his friend seemed interested in joining him for the thermal baths tomorrow.
He’s also glad for the opportunity of exploring the city on his own today.
And if the last few days were any indication, he’ll most likely run into Gabriel sometime during the day anyhow.
*
He’s greeted by the sight of a ten-meter-high Christmas tree as soon as he steps out of the train.
There’s no chance he could miss it, not even from where he’s standing further down on the platform.
The Christmas market inside the station lives up to its reputation and feels overwhelming in its size.
The whole market sparkles in the low lighting of the station hall.
A train station that could rival Gare du Nord in its hecticness.
The tree looks different than it had in the videos.
It seems almost duller in its brightness and the red and green ornaments deftly placed within the branches don’t match the elegant tree he’s seen everywhere online.
When he finally manages to wrangle his way to the front, he can see that there are baubles in the tree, not the crystals he expected. He looks down at the notes he dotted down and the information he printed out, and frowns up at the tree.
“They’re chocolate,” one of the station workers pipes up from besides him. At James’ confused glance, he clarifies, “The baubles. They’re chocolates.”
It startles a laugh out of James. Who, although kind of disappointed not to experience the beauty of the tree full of shining crystals, is pleasantly surprised by the turn this is taking. He can’t help but grin, as he shyly replies to the man next to him, “Like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?”
Unlike as he had in Paris, he doesn’t feel as overwhelmed by it all.
The pushing and pulling of the people around him, the constant murmur of voices and different volumes of conversation.
It feels less heavy, like it’s settled in that he’s able to do this and have a good experience.
Even if he finds that he’s still jittery from talking to the stranger beside him.
“Here, take some. You can put it in your tree at home.” The man hands him some baubles. Replicas of the ones on the bigger tree in front of them, smaller to fit on a normal sized one. They’re wrapped in gold, red and green foil and reflect the warm white light from around him rather nicely.
James places the chocolates into the bag around his shoulder, knowing that Gabriel would appreciate them tonight. He pauses, thrown by the fact that he’s already starting to think of them as something of a pair.
“I thought you said there would be crystals.” The sound of the nasally, familiar voice pulls his focus from the neatly decorated tree and toward two people standing a few meters away.
He finds Paul and Riley next to a different vendor, who’s trying to explain the change of decoration.
If James dared, he would’ve snorted at the undignified behavior of Paul’s companion and the way Paul’s face is turning redder by the second.
Must be quite a difference, going somewhere with someone who’s very outspoken about their tastes and feelings, opposed to a person who would be and do anything to please their partner and keeps himself as invisible as possible. Serves him right in the end, James supposes.
He thanks the man again and sneaks away before the other two see him and manage to somehow ruin the day he’s got planned.
First, there’s breakfast. He finds the little restaurant he picked for his mornings in Zurich and treats himself to a nice cup of coffee with a croissant and some eggs.
Luckily, the unpredictable weather they experienced during the ride into Switzerland doesn’t seem to have reached the city yet. Although the air feels freezing, as if the temperature is sinking below zero, there isn’t any snow just yet. It makes it a lot easier to navigate the city.
He takes an hour to walk around and mingle.
There’s something very soothing about window shopping and watching people go by.
Both of the things on his list for today didn’t require any reservations or pre-planning, so while he’s determined to tick both of the things off his list, he’s not bound by a schedule like in Paris.
The Chinese Garden is beautiful when he eventually makes his way inside the gates.
Although the greenery is scarce and the trees look rather bare, there’s something rich and calming about the feeling of the garden.
There are bridges and pavilions everywhere.
The grounds seem beautifully maintained and serene.
He walks around for a while, taking his time to stop and admire the beautiful craftsmanship of the buildings and the bridges, but also of the landscape and the way the garden is built.
It’s easily walkable and, on this cold winter morning, almost deserted.
It feels like he’s in a completely different world.
He makes sure to photograph certain spots.
Maybe they could give Gabriel some inspiration.
On top of a bridge he halts. He pauses his train of thought and focuses on the fact that for the second time today his first thought is Gabriel whenever there’s something happening or something to share. He figures it makes sense, in a way.
Besides Gabriel he doesn’t have much in terms of friends, or social contacts for that matter. His work as a data analyst keeps him mostly deskbound, either at work or at home, and he’s such a homebody that he cringes at the idea of going out for drinks on a Friday night after a long week of work.
So for a while now Gabriel has been the one that he shares bits and pieces with. Not overly personal things, mind, but other things most definitely. He figures it’s also one of the reasons why he’s felt rather comforted by the fact that Gabriel decided to come on this trip.
They might have different expectations from it.
Might not even enjoy the same things along the way.
But it’s kind of nice that he gets to at least experience this whole journey with his somewhat friend.
Even if his heart is trying to tell him that what he’s feeling for Gabriel might be more than friendship.
The thoughts are as welcome as they are frightening.
Especially since he’s learning more and more that the Gabriel he’s gotten to know over the last year seems to be more of a mask than the actual Gabriel.
His watch beeps. Just once. As a reminder of lunch. It’s the thing he needs to kickstart his legs and try and find his way to the exit of the garden. When he mapped out this day, he figured that skipping lunch one time wouldn’t hurt.
Switzerland’s famous for its bread and chocolate after all.
And he’s planning to spend the afternoon exploring Zurich’s biggest Christmas market.
It’s rather convenient that it’s so close to where The Evergreen is waiting for his return for the night.
The restaurant he plans to meet Gabriel at tonight is just a ten-minute walk from the station, so he’s not really that bothered by the back and forth into the city.
Navigating the tram is relatively easy compared to the Metro system in Paris.
The instructions he wrote down for himself are obviously a huge help, but the whole transportation system is easy to manage and navigate on its own.
He’s thankful that he’s able to figure it out and finds himself outside of the central station within half an hour.
It absolutely doesn’t come as a surprise that he finds Gabriel on a heated terrasse outside of the station. Who for once doesn’t seem to be focused on a sketch but is stuck with his nose in a book.
“Gabriel,” James says as he comes to a stop next to the table, “didn’t feel like going into the city?”
Gabriel’s head shoots up from where he looked rather engrossed in his reading. James gives him an apologetic smile.
“Ah, James.” Gabriel smiles. “No, not really. Got bored of the train, so thought I would sit here for a bit.”
James makes an undignified sound. “You can’t spend the whole trip on the train, though. Isn’t the whole thing about exploring the cities?”
“Maybe for you it is. I’m just happy to be away from London.” He shrugs.
James cocks his head a little, assessing. Gabriel seems happy enough, he supposes. There’s an empty plate and coffee cup on the table and he can see a sketchpad sticking out of the bag at Gabriel’s feet. To each their own really. He just hopes Gabriel doesn’t get bored.
“I’ll leave you to it then.” James steps away, feeling like he’s already invaded into Gabriel’s time enough.
“No, no. Don’t worry. Maybe it’s good to stretch my legs for a bit,” Gabriel says as he shuts his book and waves over a waiter to pay for his items.
James interjects, “I didn’t mean that you have to leave.” Gabriel waves away the words as he pays and thanks the worker for their service. “It’s fine. Now, I heard something about Switzerland and sausages.”
James smiles. That’s just the thing he intends to find at one of the stalls inside.