Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zilch. :/

Summary: Set after The Ordeal and the concert scene between Gabriel and Vivian. After Rafe gives her the strong liquor and she decides to go destroy Kelly's house, what happens? Does she really go straight home after the damage is done, or will she bump into someone before-hand? And what if, by the next morning, Vivian has no recollection of who she spent the rest of the evening/early morning with?

A/N: Well, here I am! My third 'Blood and Chocolate' fanfic, and I'm still writing oneshots. xD So sue me; I lack the ability to finish things I've started. In any event, I'm here typing this little ficlet up on WordPad, seeing as how I've brought my laptop to my babysitting job.

And now, on with the show!

Good Listener

After the kiss she had used him for, even he had to admit that staying away from what would soon be his mate, was rather difficult. He promised himself he wouldn't be used; he even took note to the little panic her eyes held when she saw her human lover's attention right on her, but still...he let her kiss him, and worse yet, he had responded fiercely. His hand insitictively went around her waist, only pulling her closer to him. He was betraying both what he felt was right, and possibly the remaining feelings she had for this meat-boy.

Even after he specifically told her not to "use him", Gabriel couldn't bring himself to leaving Vivian all alone at the concert. So, instead of driving off on his bike like he should of, he drove it around the small stadium and parked it in the gravel lot. Dear Moon, what was she doing to him? He managed to worm his way into the crowd, close enough so that he could see and hear Vivian, but far away enough so that she couldn't see or sense him accurately.

The concert went on, and the crowd of adolescents went crazy, as always. The Aiden boy never once spoke to his Princess, however, some nearly-intoxicated teen managed to ask if she was alright, which was fine, until he wrapped his arm around her for comfort. It was then the Alpha male felt a growl rise up in his throat, however, it never passed his lips for Vivian had shrugged the other male off. Satisfied, he returned to 'listening' to the current band on stage, and kindly refused a blonde woman's offer of a beer, with a trademark grin. Glancing back to locate Vivian, he found that she was not standing by the front of the stage anymore, and he completely lost her in the croud of swaying, drunken kids. "Shit." He muttered, pushing past headbanging rockers and whiney women. Where had she run off to?

The next site that fell upon his eyes, nearly caused his heart to sink. There lie Vivian, curled up on the ground, soft tears evident on her cheek. Frowning slightly, he took a few more steps as if to approach her, but then stopped, as the familiar scent of their pack-friendly- or not so friendly -loup garou came up and looked down at his female with a disgusted expression. Although he couldn't quite make out all the words, Gabriel managed to catch the phrase "meat boy", and knew that Rafe was reffering to Aiden. Growling softly, the eyes of Vivian's previous wolf lover fell upon him, widened briefly, and then focussed down on the female at his feet. Without saying anything else, he walked away, and Gabriel lowered his guard.

However, several seconds after his exit, he returned, carrying a bottle of a brown-like substance. Trying to identify the stuff, he completely missed what it was Rafe was telling Vivian, and before he could look up, the other male was gone; leaving a crushed Alpha female on the floor, clutching a bottle of strong brandy...or whatever it was.

In only a matter of seconds, he watched as his future Queen began taking small sips from the bottle. Whether or not she knew it, she was slowly hurting herself; after all, Gabriel was no stranger to drinking too much alcohol. Minutes passed by, and Vivian would only let out a small cry and then take another sip. Now truly concerned for her well-being, he made a little sound- like a soft growl, in any event, it caused her to drop the bottle and stand up. What had happened next seemed to come more as a bit of a shock to him, for she seemed to be thinking to herself-

"And where might I accomplish such a delicious task?"

What was she saying? What task was she considering accomplishing? Oh Moon, if only he could get inside her pretty little head...then maybe he'd be able to understand her a bit more. As far as he was concerned, Vivian would always be the greatest enigma he had ever faced. Again, just as he was about to go to her, she took off in a northern direction, leaving him no choice but to follow.

Unfortunately for Gabriel, Vivian was the only one that could match his speed, so he had a bit of difficulty keeping up. In fact, for a good five minutes, he had lost her trail completely. However, once he foccused properly, he was able to catch her scent and trail her all the way down what looked to be a normal street. Then suddenly, a thought hit him. Was this the street where her human-boy lived? 'Please Vivian,' he thought to himself, silently praying to the Moon once more. 'Don't do anything stupid.'

As soon as he got to an un-suspecting Kelly's house, Gabriel could just make out Vivian thrasing around, tearing and destroying anything in her path. 'At least she's not ripping any bodies apart...' He also noticed that the room she was sabatoging was much too femme to be a male's, and this probably confused him even more than what attracted Vivian to the meat-boy in the first place. All too soon, the female loup-garou stopped herself from completely wrecking the tiny bedroom, and she jumped out the window. Before Gabriel knew it, she had vanished completely, leaving only her seductive scent behind.

It wasn't until a small hand grabbed his forearm firmly, that his senses began to kick in. Just as he was about to turn around and lash out at the offender, the same sweet yet tangy scent he had been following earlier had infiltrated his system, and he relaxed a bit. She was no threat...at least, not in this state.

"You were following me."

Vivian's tone was clear and crisp, despite her intoxicated state. Gabriel could smell the alchohol lingering in her breath, and he could see that her eyes were slightly reddened. He cracked a smile, and was just about to speak, until she opened her mouth once more.

"Kelly had this coming."

So, the room that was just mauled belonged to a girl named Kelly? "This Kelly girl," he began to say, his voice booming like thunder during the quiet night. "Is she a friend of yours?" Okay, well, he wasn't that naiive. He was pretty sure that if this Kelly person was a friend of Vivian's, the last thing the Alpha female would be doing was wrecking her room. Unless, of course, it was a favor; but it was a little too late to be considering any new decorative renovations.

"Hell the fuck no!" Vivian answered, and Gabriel could see the fire of fury in her eyes. "I wouldn't be that little tramp's friend even if she didn't shoot me dirty looks, or flaunt that she had Aiden!"

Not good. Her screaming was far too loud to be able to hold a conversation in this quaint little neighborhood. If he wanted to protect both her and the pack, he needed to get her to someplace safe. "Vivian," he spoke up once more, his voice low and quieter. "We can't stay here; Now I'd love to hear you vent off more anger about Kelly and Aiden-" However, even a drunk Vivian knew that this was all just a bribe to get her to go with him "-but we need to do it someplace other than right next to Kelly's smashed window, so please." With that, he held out a hand to her.

It looked like she wasn't about to go anywhere, but then Gabriel felt a small hand clamp into his own. Looking at her face in reasurrance, he gave her palm a soft squeeze before dragging her back to where he left his bike. Perhaps he should of given her alcohol the night of The Ordeal if it allowed her to be this submissive. Then again, he wasn't that low.

Once they reached his Harley, Gabriel got on first, and Vivian slowly swung her leg over the seat. Pressing the front of her body against his back in a suggestive manner, she leaned foward so that her breath was hot on his ear. "Don't be expecting a good-bye kiss from me this time, wolf-man." she purred, only to be drowned out by his loud and frustrated sigh. As soon as the motorcycle started up, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up as Vivian gently nipped at his ear lobe, then leaving it in favor for his neck. It was then Gabriel let out a soft moan.

"Vivian," he said calmly, his breath slightly erratic and uneven. At his soft plea, he felt her mouth leave his neck as she leaned her head back. Looking into the small rear-view mirror, Gabriel didn't miss the smug smile she was wearing, or the lustfull glint in her eyes. Kicking the kick-stand, he sped off towards his appartment, though making sure to drive carefully, so that his drunk future-mate would not fall off.

Once they reached the apartment, Vivian hopped off his back and wobbled up the steps to his door, with Gabriel in the rear. However, just before he got half-way up, the sound of another door opening caused the pair to look down the steps, only to find Bucky Dideron staring up at them with a small smirk. "Bucky!" Vivian crooned, clumsily brushing past Gabriel to throw herself onto the other male loup-garou.

"Vivian." Bucky greeted his female pack leader with the smirk he held only moments before, all the while holding her steady. Gabriel saw his neighbor wince in pain momentarilly, which was only because of his broken arm from his fight with Jean. However, the night of The Ordeal was forgotten completely when Bucky spoke up again. "What, might I ask, brings you here at the early hour of three-thirty a.m?" At his question, the blonde male glanced at Gabriel momentarilly, before focussing back on the beautiful woman in his arms.

"Oh, you know," Vivian began to say, still happy to see that her friend was alright after killing a friend and getting severly injured. "Gabriel and I just came here to talk."

To Gabriel, it looked like Bucky was trying hard not to burst out in laughter, which is why the other male's next words seemed to come out in a stiffled snicker. "Well, I'll leave you two to 'talk'," He began to say, letting go of the only female there. Turning to Gabriel one last time before heading in, Bucky grinned lazily while keeping his hand on the doorknob. "And try not to be too noisy. I do value my sleep, y'know." Then without another word, Gabriel watched as his friend entered his own appartment, leaving him and Vivian standing alone.

"Well, he seems to be coping well with killing Jean." Vivian blurted out, once more attempting to climb the stairs. With another sigh, Gabriel helped her with the remaining three steps, and held the door open for her into what he called 'home'.

His appartment wasn't anything too out of the ordinary. White walls surrounded the one-bedroom place, shabby couches crowded the living room- the plush looking like it had been sat on by a cow, thanks to Gabriel's occupation of it for oh so many years. On the walls hung paintings, of his mother, the triplets, and even himself with other members of his family. However, the one picture he treasured most, was an old picture taken of the entire pack back when they were living in Virginia. This same picture seemd to hold Vivian's attention, seeing as how she was staring at it as if she never seen it before in her life; then again, the only ones that probably had this picture were Orlando, Aunt Persia, and himself...so this didn't come as a surprise to him.

To him, Vivian had never looked like such an innocent girl. She was absent-mindedly tracing her delicate fingers over the faces of some of the familiar pack members, and they came to a rest on a very rebellious-looking fifteen year old. "That's...me?" she asked, her voice only mirroring her pitiful gaze on the picture. He could see where she would be a bit confused as to the relation between the girl in the frame, and the one of the outside of it. Back then, Vivian's face seemed to have more color; her eyes twinkled with the same mischeif he usually found in The Five's eyes, and her smirk only made her look even more seductive. "But I look so...so happy." Even though she was drunk, Gabriel knew sadness when he saw it. So, trying to change the mood, he pointed to a younger-looking face as well- a man deprived of any scars or rubble on his chin.

"And that's me." Said Gabriel, pointing to his twenty-two year old self. Although he was a grown man, it wasn't that hard to see the difference between himself back then and now, for he seemed just as happy and carefree as Vivian had. Again, not wanting to dwell in the melancholy that was dancing in the air around them, he put on his facade of cockiness in order to get a reaction from the currently upset woman. "I've always been damn cute."

If it was a reaction he wanted, it was a reaction he got, for Vivian whipped her head around to face him all too quickly. Raising an eyebrow, she let out a short laugh, which somewhat sounded like a gurgle. "Cute is definately not the right word for you." Her words seemed a bit slurred, but he ignored that. "I would say you're more...intimidatingley handsome." Wait, did he just hear her call him handsome? Was this coming from the same girl who ran from him the night of The Ordeal, who avoided his phone calls and visits ever since, who had used him to make a human boy jealous? Perhaps this was just the alchohol talking.

Leading her to one of the couches, Gabriel very gently forced her to sit. Vivian didn't protest, so that meant she was either really drunk, or begining to trust him; he preffered to think the latter. "Can I get you anything?" He asked softly, cupping her face with one of his hands, and stroking a strand of hair away with his thumb. The way she closed her eyes and smiled made him want to brush his lips softly against hers, but he resisted the temptation.

"I could use a glass of water." She replied, her voice sounding both rapsy and heavy. Getting up and retreating into the kitchen, Gabriel was more than happy to satisfy her needs. After handing her the glass and watching the clear liquid dissapear, he watched as she closed her eyes once more and rested her head back against the couch. "Remember how you said I could be surprised at how good of a listener you are?" Her soft, now-hydrated voice broke the calm silence between them.

His ears perked up as she repeated the very words he said to her earlier that night. "Yes?" He asked, trying hard not to let his curiousity leak through. Could it be that Vivian was finally going to open up to him? Would she share her thoughts, and tell him why it was the human boy had left her?

"Well," She started to say, opening her eyes and staring into his eyes longingly. It was at that point she grabbed his hand and yanked him down to sit next to her, and he came down, both willingly and forcefully. Entwining her fingers in his, she layed against his hard chest, and he felt her snuggle her head into his abs. Once she was adjusted, however, she let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes once more.

Gabriel, who had been at that point dying to know why it was she brought up earlier tonight, absent-mindedly stroked her head softly with his free hand. "Well what?" He asked, leaning foward slightly to place a kiss on top of her head, before returning back to his affectionate gesture.

However, Vivian had forgotten the subject easily, and was now turning around to face him. "Do you know why I ran from you that night? Why I avoided you after you pretty much violated my personal space in the kitchen that morning?" Those were questions Gabriel had been wanting answers from for some time now, and although he wanted to know how his 'Good listening' services could be used, he was willing to let her ask and answer. The floor was hers tonight; what she said probably would be the truth.

"I don't." He replied softly, continuing to stroke her hair and face, now that she was staring at him in both awe and disdain.

Nodding, Vivian put on a face that would of been compared to a five-year old pouting. "I thought so." With that, she shifted a little so that she sat comfortably in his lap, while wrapping her arms around his neck. Yet again, her actions had thrown Gabriel off guard; usually she'd be avoiding any physical contact, let alone being the touchy-feely one. Though, Gabriel was not a man to complain. "The reason is simple; you scare me." He was not particularly liking where she was going with this, but when he opened his mouth to interject, she held a finger over his lips. "Ah, no. Let me finish." Once again, she shifted in his lap, obliviously brushing over a sensitive part of his anatomy. She didn't seem to notice, but he certaintly did.

"You scare me because...I know you're not afraid to hit a woman. You're big, muscular, and sometimes act like you have the ego of a thousand wealthy kings." As she spoke, she exaggerated her comparison by waving her free hand like a flower child. "You scare me in the way the very thought of your muscles makes me shiver. The way you get so defensive about the things and people you care about. The way you were willing to hurt me, just to get a kiss. The way your eyes gleam red when you get angry...that, Gabriel, is what scares me."

It took a while for her words to register, but when they finally did, Gabriel found himself letting go of both Vivian's hair and hand. Looking up at his flat ceiling, he couldn't help but take what she said to heart. He was abig guy; that much he knew. He lifted weights in his spare time, and made sure to run extra hard during the pack's nightly runs. If that's what intimadated her, then...

"But then," Her voice broke his train of thought. For a moment, he had even forgotten she was there, laying against him in such a cozy manner. Once again, she yanked his hand back down to her own chest, and enclosed her smaller fingers, as best as she could, around his big hand. "Then you do little things, like this," She continued, pointing to where his hand once again became tangeled in her hair. "You'll smile at your sisters, even when they're on their worst behavior. You care about the pack, and I know you care about me." For once during this whole confession, she cracked a lazy smile and turned back around to face him. "You can be both rough and gentle at the same time. Both hot and cold." Vivian raised his hand to press it softly against her face. Once it was there, she snuggled into it, grazing the middle of his index finger with her soft lips.

"You're the only one that makes my heart beat and stop at the same time."

At her confession, Gabriel was speechless. He had wanted her to say that for so long, and now that she openly admitted, he couldn't help but pull her closer to him. "Vivian..." He said her name softly, staring into her eyes that reminded him of the forest. Caressing her cheek softly, he bent down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

Never losing eye contact with him, Vivian sat up a little straighter in his arms, smirking and dropping her voice to a lower, sexier monotone. "And now, Gabriel, mighty leader of our pack, I am going...to kiss you."

The wolf man that he liked her statement, and in turn gave her a cocky grin. "Oh really?" He asked his Queen, leaning in closer.

"Yes, really." Came her reply, as she too leaned in closer, closing her eyes, lips lingering milimeters away.

Gabriel could feel the warmth radiating off her lips. Closing his eyes as well, she parted his own lips slightly...

And came in contact with the air.

Confused, he managed to open one eye, only to have the other one pop open at the sight before him. There, laying face-down in his lap, was Vivian, obviously passed out. With a loud, exasperated sigh, he got up from the couch, careful not to disturb her. He went in his room and grabbed a blanket, all the while mauling over what just had happened. Vivian was just about to kiss him, and she picked then out of all times to pass out.

Returning to the living room, he draped the blanket over her, silently promising himself that he would take her safely home in a few minutes. Apparently, the 'good listener' was left frustrated- and nothing took care of sexual frustration like a good 'ol fashioned cold shower. Getting up, and walking into his bathroom, he decided that that was exactly what he was going to do.

There would be no speaking of this- until, of course, Vivian formally became his mate.

Post A/N: -dodges thrown vegetables- Yes, yes, I know. I'm super evil and don't deserve to write again. T.T Sorry for tricking you guys at the end there, but...all's well that ends well, right? ;D Anyways, you know the drill. If you liked the story, review! If you didn't, well...let me know why.

Take Care!