Chapter GABRIEL
GAbrIEL
I dream.
In the dream, I see Marcel sitting at the edge of Blue’s pool, looking at me with that subtle smirk of his. "Are you cheating on me, Gabriel? Pursuing me wasn’t enough for you anymore?"
I feel stupid, all that comes out of my mouth is incoherent mumbling, and then suddenly Marcel’s face shifts into… Blue’s. "You have to choose, Gabriel. You have to make a difficult choice!"
And then I notice that beneath his feet there’s no pool anymore, just an abyss.
"That’s the path you were talking about, to the top, right? Always on the edge of falling."
Blue nods. "Yes, one wrong step and that’s it."
Then suddenly he leans forward slightly and slips off the edge, falling into the abyss.
"No!" I scream, reaching for him, but it’s too late.
I open my eyes.
"Blue!" I shout even after waking, the room filled with warm dim light. A figure moves nearby, leaning over me.
Warm, soft, small hands rest on my face, gently stroking it. "Shhh, it’s okay, you had a bad dream…"
I grab that hand and press a kiss to the back of it. "Please don’t go away, please, let me hold you…" I mumble, half-conscious, pulling him toward me.
I feel him move closer. "Please, just that, hold me, nothing more…" I whisper, almost pleading.
His warm, slight body settles against mine, and I wrap my arms around him tightly, pulling him in, burying my nose in his silky hair.
I fall asleep again, exhaustion winning over the arousal lingering just beneath the surface from the contact with Blue’s body.
Some time later, another unpleasant dream wakes me. Blue is asleep in my arms, on his side, his back pressed against my stomach.
I bring my face closer to his hair and gently kiss his head. He lets out a quiet murmur in his sleep. I adjust my arm so it rests over his stomach and drift off again.
I wake up feeling him move. Sunlight spills into the room. Blue carefully tries to get up without waking me. "Please, don’t go…" I whisper, stopping him, nuzzling my face into the back of his head. "It feels so good when you’re close… so good."
I realize my morning wood is probably pressing against him somewhere around his left ass cheek, so I shift my hips back a little so I don’t overwhelm him.
"Sometimes I need to use the bathroom," Blue says calmly.
"Oh. Right. Silly me."
Blue leaves, and I lie in bed feeling like an idiot. I glance at my phone and notice it’s already 8:30. I feel decent, I slept from around 1 pm yesterday.
I decide I won’t ruin Blue’s day, especially since I remember he has patient meetings today. Once a week, he sees around eight people who come to him for genetic consultations about rare and unusual conditions, which he reviews and sometimes selects for further testing in his lab.
I’m already on my feet when Blue comes back.
Seeing me standing there in just my boxers, he stops in the doorway and our eyes meet. He’s dressed in a simple T-shirt and sweatpants, a rare look for him, but it makes him seem younger, less armored than usual, when he’s wrapped in that aura of authority and composure.
Now there’s silence between us. I don’t know what to say, because yesterday changed something between us, probably forever. A line was crossed, hopefully irreversibly.
The stress over what he might say next forms a knot in my throat.
The safest thing I can do is stick to something neutral.
So I blurt out,
"At 10 am you have appointments, right? Maybe we should get going…"
"Yes, I do. But are you sure you’re able to accompany me?"
"Of course, Blue. I don’t want to be a burden, I feel relatively fine now."
"You are not a burden to me, Gabriel," he says simply, without adding anything else, his voice neutral.
"Thank you," I reply quietly, pretty sure my cheeks just flushed a little. "I’ll take a shower and get dressed then, I’ll be ready in ten minutes."
"How’s your arm?"
"I think it’s fine, I don’t feel anything wrong with it."
"We should change your dressing."
"Then maybe after I shower."
Blue looks at me for a moment, as if deciding whether to say something, then just nods slowly, steps back, and leaves the room.
I still find three minutes to jerk off, to clear my head a little.
Just because Blue said yesterday that he needs to think things through doesn’t mean he already has and that we’re about to have some conversation that pushes our relationship forward.
I want that, sure, but I also don’t want to get my hopes up and end up disappointed if he turns me down.
I notice a new text on my phone.
Veyron: "I read in the news there was another attack on Blue, unsuccessful. According to reports ‘his bodyguard saved him!’ Looks like you’re earning your paycheck, congrats, and condolences to Blue, what a life…"
"Yeah, it sucks for him, he can’t have a normal life."
"Are you guys okay?"
"I don’t know, I haven’t had a chance to really talk to him yet."
Veyron: "Listen, my yacht will be at South Verde Marina this weekend, maybe you could use some anonymous time on a small but luxury yacht? Just bonding time, a chance to catch your breath?"
"I would love it, but I have to ask Blue."
"Sure, let me know!"
I step out dressed only in pants, holding my jacket and shirt in my hand. The previous one got ruined, torn at the shoulder.
Blue is already dressed too, in a dark gray suit, perfectly tailored.
He looks elegant, his hair neatly styled, carrying the fresh scent of shower gel and shampoo.
A first aid kit stands next to him, different from the one downstairs.
I sit on the sofa, and he sits down beside me. The moment his soft hands touch my skin, it almost pulls a groan of pleasure out of me.
Blue stills for a second. Our eyes meet.
"Does it hurt?" he asks.
"No, not when you touch me, Blue."
A moment of silence. Blue doesn’t comment, he just starts removing the now damp bandage. When he uncovers it, he pauses.
"The wound is almost completely gone…"
He stares at my arm. I lean in and see it too, it’s basically healed, still red but closed.
"That’s… interesting," Blue says, but nothing more. He removes the rest of the bandage, peeling it off my skin. "This won’t be necessary anymore. The risk of infection is gone."
One of his hands remains on my shoulder, sending small, pleasant waves through my body.
"Blue," I say, my throat a little tight as I try to suppress my erection, "Veyron offered to lend us his yacht for the weekend. It’s really nice, luxurious. I’ve been on it a few times, I know how to handle it. We could sail a bit and relax… away from all of this."
Silence. His hand is still on my bare shoulder, radiating warmth, making me constantly shiver low-key.
He stays quiet, thinking.
"Please, Blue. You don’t have to worry about anything from me. I won’t do anything without your clear consent."
"That’s not what I’m worried about."
Sadly, Blue withdraws his hand and straightens up, packing things back into the first aid kit in silence.
"Then what?"
"Alright. We can spend the weekend on the yacht."
"Really?"
My pulse spikes.
"Yes."
I force myself to stay calm, but it costs me. In fact, I would love to scream aloud, I’m that happy! Blue slowly turns toward me, his expression once again hard to read.
"Let’s get going," I say after a moment. "If we’re heading to Malden’s main headquarters, we should start getting ready."
Blue nods calmly and we both head out.
There’s silence between us, but I wouldn’t call it uncomfortable. It’s some strange kind of tension, maybe even excitement, or perhaps it’s just me reading too much into it.
Simon is already waiting, and the three of us head down to the parking lot and into the limousine. As we sit in traffic, Simon briefs Blue on what happened yesterday afternoon and earlier this morning, while Blue, bent slightly over his tablet, quickly responds to the most important emails.
Malden’s main headquarters in the city is about twenty minutes from Blue’s penthouse.
It’s not my first time here, but it still hits me how massive the place is.
Once we pass through the gates, it takes several minutes just to navigate between the different buildings, the production facilities and labs stretching out across a huge area.
Security is tight here too. I remember back when Marcel was analyzing potential targets, he dismissed the main headquarters immediately.
We pull into a designated VIP side parking area, and Blue uses a side entrance as well, avoiding the main door, which is always crowded and busy.
We head toward his office where he sees patients, and I immediately notice the line of people already waiting.
I stay by the door while Blue and Simon go inside.
For the next hour, Blue sees patients. I stand outside, lost in thought, my mind drifting toward the weekend.
The line keeps moving, and at some point an omega joins, accompanied by his teenage son.
The boy is so pale he almost looks translucent.
He can barely walk, and when he sits down, he leans heavily against his dad.
His face seems drained of color, dark circles under his eyes, and he looks genuinely terrible.
I notice the dad wiping away tears from time to time, holding his son close, while the boy looks like he’s barely hanging on. They exchange a few quiet words now and then. I hear the dad say things like "don’t give up," "maybe he’ll agree," "we have to believe," "just hold on a little longer."
I can’t help wondering what the boy is sick with, but more than that, I find myself hoping Blue can do something. He’s just a kid. He deserves a chance.
Eventually, it’s their turn. The omega helps his son to his feet, and they go inside. I catch myself clenching my fists, silently rooting for them, hoping the news they get will be good.
Half an hour passes. More patients show up, and only then do the two of them come out. They’re both crying. The omega wraps his arms around his son, and my heart sinks. Are the results that bad?
Before I even think it through, I step forward and ask,
"Is everything okay?"