This content is protected against AI scraping.
A bit of SEP Slow Burn: the final chapter:
“I’m sorry,” Jack said when he came back. “I was an asshole.” He’d dropped a bag of apology Cheetos in Gabe’s lap and headed to his room. God knows where he got them; he was still barefoot. And he barely glanced at the broken couch.
Ever since then, he’s been cordial.
Gabriel wants to scream. The last time they were cordial with each other was the week they first met.
“I don’t know what to do,” he confesses to Santiago. “He won’t even touch me anymore, like it might be crossing some kind of line he’s made up in his head. I’m pretty sure he’s pissed off, but I can’t tell whether it’s at me or himself.”
She raises a heavy black eyebrow. “You tried asking him, right? Not to insult your intelligence or anything, but like. You’re not pulling the dude thing here, right?”
Gabriel sighs heavily at his pudding. “I feel like if I ask him about it, I’ll be crossing his stupid imaginary line. I thought I knew what he wanted, Santiago, but lately I’ve got no clue.”
“Huh.” She twiddles her spoon against the table, then shrugs. “Try anyway. Worst case scenario, you end up with another bag of apology Cheetos when he realizes he’s being a douche.”
“I have no idea where he keeps getting those.”
She hums around a spoonful of pudding. “Some people just have the magic touch. Or somebody in Supply who thinks they got a fine ass.”
They move on to other subjects after that. It’s not till Gabriel’s finished and making to get up that she pushes his tray back down with a finger. “Hey, Gabo.”
Nobody else gets away with calling him that. It makes him feel like somebody’s teenage brother. He shoots her a look she ignores.
“Have you told him? How you feel?” She continues to ignore his expression as it darkens warningly. “Because brother, if he doesn’t know then he’s the only one on this base. And if it were me, I sure as shit wouldn’t thank you for that.”
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2qKg8rk