Summary: Gabe and Mateo unwind in the evening after a long day of work. Prompt: Cuddling.
Gabe strode down the palace halls toward the library, rolling his shoulders to stretch out his tired muscles. His duties as General had kept him for longer than he'd anticipated, between getting some new recruits set up in the barracks and drafting the next week's training regimen, and though it was fulfilling work, at this hour he just wanted to relax. Preferably with Mateo. Besides, he felt like he should make up for brushing him off that morning.
It wasn't that he'd wanted to, but it had been hard to maintain his sense of discipline with the newbies when Mateo had insisted on being present and adorable, so in the interest of preserving his focus he'd gently pulled him aside and pointed out that the overt flirting while he was on the clock was actually really distracting. Mateo had taken it pretty well, all things considered, but the look of resigned disappointment on his face had sent a stab of guilt through Gabe all the same. The only question was whether or not Mateo would still be busy himself by now.
Mateo had always kept odd working hours, even before he'd moved into the palace, but not having to go home at night had only enabled his irregular schedule. He'd be so absorbed in his work that he wouldn't even think to check a clock, let alone consider that the hour meant he should maybe start winding down for the day, and as Gabe rounded the corner to see light streaming through the open library door, it seemed that this would be another one of those evenings. Sure enough, as he poked his head in, he could see Mateo sitting on one of the sofas and hunched over a stack of books. He was scribbling something into a notebook, his brow furrowed in concentration, seeming completely unaware of Gabe's presence.
At least his work habits made him easy to find.
Gabe softly rapped his knuckles against the doorframe, and Mateo startled, snapping his head up from his books. The surprise melted off his face, though, once he saw who it was, and was replaced by a bright smile that Gabe took as his cue to cut across the room, aches forgotten in an instant, and he dropped onto the sofa beside him.
"Hey," he said, swinging an arm across Mateo's shoulders.
Mateo's smile grew wider as he let Gabe pull him in. "Hey," he replied. "I take it you're off for the day, then?"
"Yeah. Took a while to get the new guys settled in." His eyes skimmed across Mateo's work again, now that he was closer, taking in the heavy tome propped up on the table and the pages of handwritten notes both scattered around it and stuck between the pages of the open journal in Mateo's lap. "I guess you're still working though, huh?"
"This barely counts," Mateo said, waving a dismissive hand. "I'd be doing this even if it wasn't my job, so I'm technically not even working."
"What's got you so invested?"
If Mateo wasn't smiling before, he definitely was now as he suddenly launched into a verbal essay on the intricacies of conjuration rituals. He kept his voice fairly even, but Gabe could feel him nearly buzzing with excitement as he carried on. It was endearing, the way he got so passionate and giddy whenever magic got involved, and Gabe felt warm just listening to him, a smile creeping up his own cheeks. He couldn't believe he'd dismissed the subject in the past.
The spontaneous magic lesson concluded, Mateo settled back in, swapping his journal for the spellbook and leaning heavily against Gabe's side. "I should be able to finish this chapter pretty quickly, yet," he said, "so I'll be done here in just a little bit."
They fell into a companionable quiet, and Gabe leaned back himself, content to just be there for the moment. He shifted his arm a bit lower and rubbed his hand along Mateo's upper arm, watching him fondly as he read and taking the scene in: the soft sound of their breathing, occasionally disrupted by Mateo murmuring a spell to himself, the way Mateo's fingers fiddled with the edge of the page, and just how happy and relaxed he looked. He flipped a page, and Gabe saw the larger text printed across the top of the next one, his heart already speeding up in anticipation of Mateo calling it a day and returning his affections.
Mateo flipped another page.
Gabe didn't know any Maruvian, save for the bits he'd learned from the guards' magic lessons and just from being around Mateo, but he was still pretty sure he could recognize a chapter header when he saw one. Time for an intervention, it seemed, or Mateo would be staying deep in his studies all night again. With a sigh, Gabe squeezed Mateo's arm and leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to his temple.
He made a quiet huffing sound, like he was annoyed, but Gabe just barely caught the sly look that crossed his face, his eyes flickering over to him and his lips twitching up into an amused smirk. Grinning, Gabe moved in for another kiss, trailing a line of them down across his cheekbone.
Mateo snorted. "Gabe, please, I'm trying to concentrate," he said, leaning away to look him in the eye, but Gabe just followed, giving his arm another squeeze.
"Mm. Take a break," he mumbled between kisses, nuzzling against his cheek, and his heart fluttered in his chest as Mateo laughed again.
"That's something, coming from you," he said, snickering. "You're still in your uniform."
Gabe sputtered, glancing down at the bright colors of his jacket. "That's—I came straight here!"
Mateo looked almost smug as he replied. "What, you were that excited to see me?"
He blinked, then, surprised, as Gabe's face softened. "Well, yeah," he answered earnestly. Reaching up, he brushed one of Mateo's curls aside and ran his thumb down his cheek. "I missed you after this morning."
"This morning," Mateo echoed absently, looking back down at his book. His smile only grew more flustered as he grazed his own fingers against the back of Gabe's hand, where it was gently cupping his jaw. "I seem to recall you saying this morning that you didn't condone distracting someone while they're working."
"And I seem to recall you saying that you're 'technically not working,'" Gabe retorted with a wink.
Mateo drew back and opened his mouth, and then closed it again, eyeing Gabe like he'd said something suspicious. "Oh, you're good," he finally admitted, before snapping his book shut with a dramatic sigh. "I guess this will still be here tomorrow," he said, and setting his book aside, he finally leaned over and put his arms around Gabe, snuggling against his shoulder and kissing his jaw as he settled in. "Although technically, you'll still be here tomorrow, too."
Gabe chuckled. "I do have to work tomorrow," he reminded him.
"Mm. Maybe you should take a break."
Pressing a kiss to Mateo's hair, Gabe smiled. "I'll think about it."
Being Gabe is just *puts arm around Mateo**gazes fondly at friends**makes battle plans**puts arm around Mateo**shows up to battle 15 minutes late with Starbucks**winks**swings sword**is a good dude**puts arm around-*