Run Away With Me
Disclaimer: It's still all Victor Hugo, really. And my twisted imagination.
AN: Holy crap, everyone! I was hoping to maybe get to 100 reviews with that latest chapter, and you all exceeded my expectations by so much. Thank you to everyone who commented on my stupid chapter title pun!
Guest: If you dream about my story, I need to know who you are. Seriously, you left me the craziest, most wonderful review. Let me know who you are! You're amazing!
Chapter nine: in which a boundary is crossed
They have been waiting in the lobby of the Sheraton for half an hour now. She argued that they had to be there early, just in case Gavin was as well. Gabriel told her that most teenage boys are incapable of being early – he mentioned himself as being the only exception to that rule. She knows he was right, because she has been waiting for over thirty minutes and Gavin has not yet showed. He must be there soon.
A young boy that looks familiar enough to be Gavin enters the lobby, obviously looking for someone. She wants to signal Gabe to go and talk to him, only to find that he already is talking to the boy – he probably recognized some of her characteristics in him, even though nobody has ever told her that they look even remotely alike.
"Gavin," Gabriel is asking the young boy, trying to be careful.
"Are you Eppie's boyfriend," her little brother asks, and she chokes on a laugh.
"She doesn't like to be called Eppie," Gabe knows. "And no, I'm her friend."
He is much more than a friend, but she knows that this is not the time to have that particular discussion. There is a long list of all of the things that he has done to her, and that he has come to mean to her, and his being her friend is only one bullet point on that list. He deserves to know that later, but right now all she wants to think of is that her little brother is finally standing in front of her again, after such a long time.
"Gabe," she tries to interrupt the guys, tugging at her clothes.
There he is, the most important boy in the world. His blond hair has gotten shaggy, but his blue eyes still shine with the same mischievous light, just like they always used to when he was a little kid. He is a lot taller than before, but she really had been expecting that part. The maturity in his eyes hurts, because she wanted him to stay young and carefree for as long as possible. That was what she worked for back then, and it almost feels like she has failed in that aspect. She still hopes that he is happy.
"Eppie," he uses that stupid childhood nickname that she hates.
"Gav," she rushes in to hug him, her dark hair probably hanging in his face.
His skinny body feels so right; because he has gotten so incredibly tall that his body seemingly cannot keep up. He is her kid brother and this is amazing.
"Mom and Dad said you weren't wanting to talk to me," he lets go of her.
"I sent so many letters," she tries to explain, walking to the elevators and hoping that the boys will follow, "but they were always returned to me. "Gav, I missed you something fierce. Look at you; you've gotten so big! Soon you'll be taller than me!"
She does not want to burst into tears in the middle of the hotel lobby, so she is glad when the elevator doors open quickly and the boys follow her inside. They are taking turns staring at her, and she pretends like she does not notice a damn thing.
"That's not that hard," Gav teases her, easily reaching for the top of her head.
"Oh, you little smartass," she grins at him. "You don't change, do you?"
It kind of makes her feel good that she even still recognizes him, and that he is still a lot like the boy that people made her leave behind; the boy that she gave up. She gave her family up so that they could have a better chance at life. It hurt, but it was the right thing.
"Course not," he says proudly, sticking his chest out. "You look pretty."
"Thank you," she ruffles his hair. "I love you, you little brat."
She is looking at Gabe afterwards, because she is actually kind of proud of the look that she put together for this important day. She is wearing a white ruffly top cinched in by a belt, and her favorite jeans – the ones that make her ass look out of this world. Somehow dressing to impress has started to include ways in which to drive Gabe out of his mind enough to finally talk about the tension. Still, she is happy for Gav's compliment.
"Love you too, Eppie," Gavin is fixing his hair, because he is too old for that stuff.
"Come on, let's go and talk," she is now leading both of the men into their room.
If Gavin does notice the giant bed in a room that is clearly meant for the two adults, he does not say a thing about it. It is basically the giant elephant in the room, because Gabe still has not said anything directly to her since he tried to get a peek down her shirt when she was putting her shoes on earlier. Honestly, something has got to give between the two of them, and she knows that she is going to have to make the first move, especially after the night they had. He actually held on to the side of the bed so that they would not accidentally touch in the middle of the night.
If it had not been for the boner yesterday, she would have been worried.
"I have to be home before dinner," Gavin breaks her out of her daydreams.
"Oh, that's fine," she is already planning a dinner with Gabe. "We can work it out."
His back will probably sore after the shirtless driving – and she did promise to rub some lotion if it decided to act up. That might be all the in she needs to actually get some hard truths out of him – pun definitely intended. She can make this work.
"Your friend's pretty cool," Gavin has picked up on her staring at Gabe.
"Oh yeah, Gabe's the greatest," she is grinning at the man in question.
"If you'll allow me to introduce myself," Gabe finally speaks, "I am Gabriel Enjolras."
Gabe is actually holding out a hand for Gavin to shake, and it makes her brother stand up straighter – probably because he is being treated like an adult for once. She doubts that his foster family ever tries that, because they seemingly insist on keeping him in the dark about so many important things – like her letters, for example.
This is just one of the many amazing things about Gabe, treating people like they want to and deserve to be treated. Somehow he just knows what to do.
"He's a formal sort of fellow," she tells her brother.
"I am merely being polite," Gabriel just has to protest to that.
"You are merely being awesome," she sticks her tongue out, grinning widely as she starts getting closer and closer to him. "Thank you so much!"
Just like that, she pretty much jumps on him again, because she cannot stop thanking him and this is currently the only way she knows how to do it. Her brain has pretty much short-circuited and it feels like the right thing to do.
Her legs are wrapped around his waist, and it is too easy to lean in and plant a giant peck on his lips – only that is not even what she meant to do. The spark between the two of them surprises her so much that she freezes, no longer knowing what to do. Looking at him for help is not an option, because he is probably even more surprised than she is at the moment. His hands are on her thighs, helping hold her up, but the look in his eyes is devastating – he is weary and distant, and he cannot look her in the eyes.
"You're the best," she speaks softly, and moves to stand on her own two feet.
"Later," he tells her firmly, not looking her in the eyes, but speaking in her ear.
Finally, she is back on her feet, and the dizziness she feels has everything to do with the risk that she just took. She could have just ruined everything – and in front of her little brother at that. Oh, she should have learned a long time ago that going with her gut does not pay off for her. She should have kept her distance, she really should have, but she really did think that he was interested in her as well. She hopes he still is.
"So, this is more than a bit awkward," Gavin finally pipes in with his usual charm.
"Sorry about that," Gabriel is blushing again, his face extremely red.
They both cannot seem to look at each other, because looking each other means that they are thinking about what just happened. They cannot be thinking about what just happened because her brother is right there in the room with them and this is not the time to discuss anything. It is awkward enough when it is just the two of them, let alone with a third person present – and the third person being a relative.
"You said you weren't her boyfriend," her little brother is a little shit.
"That's because he's not," she holds her head high, trying to look proud and confident, rather than shaky and unsure. "We only met about a week ago."
Clearly that is not enough of an explanation for Gavin, but she really does not want to discuss this any further, so she gives him The Look – the one she always used to use when she was the strictest big sister that she had ever known. She had to be, because there was little money, little adult presence, and nothing but a lot of love to keep the three of them going – and then it became the two of them and just her.
"How have you been, Gav," she asks then, her voice soft and unsteady.
"Zelda's become even worse," he starts, shrugging as if their sister's superficial ways mean nothing to the two of them. "She's dating some wealthy jock, of course, and Mom gives her lots of new stuff so that she can keep his attention. I've been busy trying to break out and come to Chicago to finally see you again."
He has been busy doing what exactly? Her little brother is such a marvel – and she really is glad to hear that he has missed her as much as she missed him, though she does not approve of the more dangerous ideas he must have followed up on. A part of her just wants to know how close to the city he has gotten, the sneaky little brat.
"Gavin," is all that she says instead, because nothing else will come out.
"You two are more alike than you seem at first glance," Gabriel is amused.
This would be way more amusing if she had not heard it so many times before – and she actually kind of missed hearing it over the last couple of years. Everyone is always so surprised to find out that she and Gav are siblings – his dirty blonde hair is a callback to her father, and she has always favored her mother's darker coloring. Most of their similarities are in character and their ways of carrying themselves.
"Zelda's the odd one out," Gavin tells him, scrunching up his face in annoyance.
"If you do end up meeting Zelda," she starts, because Gabe should probably get some amount of explanation about this, "you should be prepared for her to never stop hitting on you, because you are handsome and rich. She is not going to care very much that we are – whatever we are. She wouldn't care if we were married, because that is just what she's like. That is what she has always been like. It has probably gotten worse now that she is closer to legal age. But I really wouldn't know about that."
Of course, even with a relatively safe topic like her kid sister, there still have to be mentions of the incredible awkwardness that surrounds them. Still, if Zelda is going to be a part of these family outings, Gabe deserves to have advanced warning.
"You're pretty much right," Gavin agrees with her, to Gabe's great surprise.
"Okay, family meetings could be really awkward," she is trying to talk over the weird moments. "But since you're the one who brought everyone together again, I'm going to keep kicking your ass until you agree to come along. Zelda is definitely going to make you extremely uncomfortable, but I will totally owe you one."
She can add that to the list of favors that she undoubtedly already owes him for all of the things that he has already done for her. Only she knows that he is not doing this to get anything from her in return, because he is not that kind of guy, and he would never ask anything of her that she was not willing to give him. Still, he does not know that there are very many things that she is willing to give him; much more than he knows.
"I am extremely interested," Gabriel is teasing, and it makes her smile.
This is just another thing that they can discuss when her brother leaves for the day – and that is starting to become a long list. Oh well, they have plenty of time to cover it all.
"So, what are our plans for the day," Gavin interrupts the moment.
Oops, they have been staring at each other for a bit too long.
"We'll think of something," she promises her little brother.
AN: Everyone, if you want to, you can come hang out on Tumblr with me (textsfromumbridge) and share your anticipation for the elusive chapter 10. If you're all really lucky, I will update on Saturday night with that wonderful chapter. In the meantime, let me know what you think of this one!