Sorry for the late update, my wifi has been weird lately :/
Hope you guys like the next chap!
"My, Like, Says, Puzzles." He murmurs in the dim morning light fluttering through his curtains. Marshall spares a tired glance up at the risen sun, displaying its morning hour proudly. Then he looks back down at the bookmarks, wondering if their Gabriel's for a moment.
"Really," He says aloud, flopping back onto his bed. "They couldn't even be his. They could just be some creeper who left them there or something."
He pauses in the silence. Then he sits up with a bit more effort in his voice. "Yeah! It explains why some books don't have those weird bookmarks in them…"
His eyes shimmer to the corner of the room, and at the digital clock. 6:30.
"Gotta get to work." He stumbles up from the messy covers and stray clothes, stretching out his muscles for a moment. The time is nothing but ungodly for such a lazy boy as himself, a lazy boy who lives for sleep. Lives.
Yet his frequent meetings with Gabriel have given him a boost in the morning, urging himself to wake up earlier to get dressed and presentable and still make it to work on time. After the horribly chilling shower, he swats the water out his hair with a towel carefully, making sure to tousle it up just enough.
Then he spends an abundance of time on his attire, looking through slightly worn clothes and clean clothes, straying away from the ones that reek from the side of the room alone. 'Speaking of dirty clothes', he thinks, 'I need to wash my clothes tonight. And more often.'
It's a long and drawn out process he's never really done in his life until now, but he chooses to associate it with becoming more of an adult. That, way, it makes sense.
At precisely 7:45 on the dot, he finishes his coffee and breakfast. He spares one last glance at the bookmarks laid side-by-side on his coffee table, then grabs his keys and leaves the house.
Despite the challenge indirectly presented, their encounters remain often the same. In one day in particular, Marshall says absently during their daily meet-ups, "You know your last name sounds like 'gumball' you know that? Gabriel Gambell into Gabriel Gumball."
Gabriel looks up from his book with his usual amused smile. "Yes, I've known for quite a while. Have you just figured that out?"
Marshall closes his comic book with finality. "Nope. Was just wondering." He lays his head on the conference room table in quiet, other than the low thrum of the air conditioner and flick of pages. Their conversation is relaxed today, giving the rare chance for a peaceful silence. The need to fill it with speaking, doesn't take over for once.
He looks up to Gabriel, eyes wandering over his features as usual. The boy is almost like an art gallery of some sort, no matter what he's doing or wearing. Marshall can't stop looking at the way his jaw works when he's thinking or the way all his shirts hug his shoulders and arms. How he blinks a lot at certain things he's reading, and Marshall wonders whether he's trying not to tear up or is looking for clarification on something. How his hair is substantially soft and naturally seems to curve up in the front in the faux-spiky hair look, yet so thick that it's not really achieved. It's odd to notice such things, but he doesn't try to dwell on it too much.
Gabriel seems fine with it anyways.
His eyes shift up this time to the boy's reading glasses. Their metal and appear strong enough to withstand a fair amount of damage, yet somehow delicate and classy. He pauses to wonder where he gets his wardrobe, accessories and such. Without thinking, he nicks them off the bridge of his nose and puts them on his own. He does a ridiculously dramatic pose, one he'd associate with a supermodel posing for a group of fangirls.
"Hey Gabriel, how do I look? Hmm?"
The boy looks on, eyes twinkling in amusement. "Regular, goofy Marshall as usual."
He groans and sinks into his chair. "Noo… I'm supposed to be a sexy beast." He claps his hands with the words, voice comically nasally. "No, no no! Sexy. Beast. Wrong answer."
Gabriel plucks his glasses back, and comments with a nonchalant shrug, "Fine. You look like the sexiest monster I've ever laid my eyes on. Happy?"
Marshall goes dead silent, ear burning bright at the comment. He expects it, but somehow that mental preparation doesn't kick in. Gabriel looks up from his book at the delayed response and raises a brow.
"What? That's what you wanted right?"
"Uh.. pssh. Yeah." He looks over his shoulder. "Totally. Cause that's what I am."
Gabriel eyes him for a moment, before shutting his book and leaning over to drop his glasses back on the other boy's face. As he makes to leave for the day, Marshall scrambles up.
"Hey you're forgetting your glasses man!"
He pauses in the doorway, giving his one-dimpled smile in response. "Keep them until I come back. You look adorable in them anyways."
"What?" Marshall clears his throat, hands shoved in his pockets. "Bro, don't even lie. I've never looked good in glasses." His voice is deeper of course; it's how he talks to guys all the time. But using that voice with Gabriel… feels off somehow. Odd.
Gabriel pauses at the voice, brows drawn in brief confusion. He finishes, biting his lip in an embarrassed half-smile, "I'm not lying. You really do."
Marshall stands dumbfounded as the door closes with a thud, leaving him in silence. His fingers run over the sleek silver frames on his face.
A slow smile grows on his cheek as he wonders aloud, "I look adorable?"