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"Met on the fire escape outside the apartment for smokes" au- Daily AU
Gabriel waited for the footsteps to die before getting off the couch and walking into the kitchen. Michael thinks that he can just show up and tell me how to live my life. Fuck him.
No, Gabriel didn't want to come home and make nice with everybody. Hell, everybody fighting was the reason he had left in the first place! Why was he the one that needed to come home and apologize? Gabriel reached up into one of the cupboards.
"Where the hell…ah!" Gabriel finally felt the thin cardboard and pulled the small carton of cigarettes out from the cupboard. He usually only smoked three a day or when he was drinking, but after an hour and half interrogation from his eldest brother, he needed some nicotine release. Gabriel padded over to the window that lead to the fire escape, pried it open, and stepped outside. It was the beautiful time of year when it was warm during the day, but in the morning and night it was cool.
Gabriel took a cigarette out of the package and slid the lighter out too. He brought the small, white stick to his lips and tried to light it once, twice, three times before he heard a window below him slam open. He noticed the tall man that he had seen once or twice while getting his mail climb out. Gabriel was about to ask him if he was okay when somebody poked their head out of the same window.
"Come on, Sammy, you know how he is."
"No, if he can't be happy for me then he can go. I didn't invite him here to criticize everything. I'm happy where I am and I like what I do, if he can't see it, he can go." The man with his head out the window sighed loudly.
"Come inside. You two'll make up and…"
"Just make sure he gets home, alright?" The man sighed again and his head disappeared with a crash of the window.
"Family troubles?" Gabriel called down. The man looked up and pushed his long brown hair out of his eyes.
"You could say that."
"Wanna come up? I got some stress reliever." Gabriel shook the pack at him. Sam shrugged and climbed up the escape to Gabriel's level. "I'm Gabriel, by the way." Gabriel lit his cigarette, took a drag, and then offered the pack to Sam.
"I'm Sam, and I…um…I don't really smoke." Gabriel exhaled before smiling.
"I usually don't after seven unless I'm drinking or my big brother comes over to tell me I need to get my head out of my ass, give up this artist thing, and come home." Gabriel took another drag.
"Oh wow, that sounds about as well as my day." Sam leaned against the railing.
"Wanna talk about it?" Gabriel breathed out.
"It's just…I've worked my ass off getting into law school, and getting a job at a law firm, and now my dad is asking if I'm REALLY sure this is what I want to do and telling me how much better it could be if I just came home and work with him and my brother in the garage." Gabriel chucked.
"So, let me get this straight, your dad is upset because you went to law school and got a job as a lawyer?" Sam gave a small, humorless laugh himself.
"Yeah, father of the year, right?"
"Who was the guy that was trying to get you inside?"
"That was my brother. He tries to play peacekeeper, but it only works like ten percent of the time."
"And tonight was one of the ninety?" Sam nodded and watched the smoke float up from Gabriel's cigarette. "Well, if you ever need somebody to talk, I'm right upstairs." Sam gave Gabriel a small, nearly sad smile.
"Thanks. I really appreciate that. The same invite for you. Your brother you said, right?" Gabriel nodded as he took another drag and exhaled. "That must be rough." The two made conversation as Gabriel continued smoking his cigarette. It was done and Gabriel sighed.
"So, would you care to come in? I've got whiskey too."
"Whiskey would be great actually." Gabriel led the way into his apartment back through the window. Gabriel pulled the whiskey down from the top of the fridge along with two glasses.
"So, besides a fucked up family and being a lawyer, what else do you do?"
"I jog with my dog, read, study cases a lot."
"You have a dog?! Oooooh can I meet him?!"
Three Weeks Later
Sam was exhausted. He just wanted to sit down, have a beer, and relax. He walked into his apartment, gave Bones, his golden retriever, a pat on the head, and continued to the fridge. He grabbed a beer and was about to sit down when there was a knock at the door. Sam groaned loudly and went to answer the door. There was standing his neighbor and his new friend, Gabriel. Gabriel smiled as he pushed by Sam and scratched behind Bones' ears.
"Hi, Samsquatch."
"You only hang with me because of my dog." Sam smiled as he sat on the couch while Gabriel and Bones played tug of war.
"Duh. He's a lot cuter than you." Gabriel grabbed the rope and then threw it across the room again.
"I think that's a matter of perspective." Bones came over and waved the rope in front of Sam. Sam grabbed and threw it.
"I mean, don't get me wrong, you're cute, but Bones is much cuter." Bones had come back to Gabriel and waved his rope at him. Gabriel started tug of war again. Sam stared at Gabriel for a minute before Gabriel looked back. "What?"
"You think I'm cute?" Gabriel sudden couldn't remember how to talk.
"I…this…I um…that came out wrong. I meant that…you know…you're cute in a totally straight, platonic, nonsexual way." Sam laughed quietly.
"Did you just no homo me?"
"I guess I did."
"Did you do that for me or you?" Gabriel cocked an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, did you 'no homo' because you don't think I'm gay or you're not gay?"
"Well, the first one. I just…I don't want to make you uncomfortable."
"And if I told you I was gay?" Sam nonchalantly took a sip of his beer. Gabriel seemed completely confused by whole thing, as if Sam had suddenly started speaking Mandarin Chinese midsentence. Sam had developed a crush on the wildly energetic man over the past few weeks. They had seen each other nearly every day after Sam got off work, always at his place so that Gabriel could play with Bones. They had talked about their families, jobs, pasts, everything. Sam had fallen for his golden eyed neighbor quickly.
Gabriel had frozen. Sure, he'd developed a crush of his own on Sam, but he never expected the man to reciprocate his feelings. They'd never really talked about past relationships before, so he had just assumed that Sam was straight rather than make a fool of himself. Now, here he was...telling Gabriel that he was gay. He wouldn't mention it unless he had a crush on Sam too. Right?
"Well, then I would ask you what you were doing Friday night?" Sam grinned.
"Well, nothing, because tonight is Friday." Damn it.
"Oh right, well, how about tomorrow?"
"It's a date."
