“ are you guys still convinced we are secretly dating ? ” as her friend is helping audra to find her table inside this enormous wedding reception venue, there is a slight annoyance in her voice alongside a fondness she can’t veil while responding to the other who just told audra about how they made sure gabriel and audra will be sitting together during whole wedding. “ i told you before, i’m telling you again. we are not together. ” that’s what audra said, confidently and in a way somehow weary. ignoring how she is also having a hard time believing what’s coming out of her own mouth. they were supposed to be friends. but really, were they ? they crossed the line between friends and lovers a lot of time since they officially ended their relationship. maybe a remarkable amount of time.
she smiles away the rest of her friend’s questions and assumptions about her and gabriel until they find her table – their table. the other woman gesturing the table, finally audra’s oceanic hues are directed to where she is gesturing. and there he is, her favorite what if. there was already a small smile on her face, but her roseate lips draw into a luminous smirk as soon as they meet him. while looking at him, she doesn’t realize how her friend wished them a good night and left as all her focus was on him for a moment, the rest of the world was just the blurry part of a picture. “ gabriel. ” voice sweet and tender, it’s his name that falls gracefully from her lips.
he swallows dryly, throat hoarse and lips parched; pursed in sour agitation. gabriel sits at the bar, orders a scotch to help soothe his fevering annoyance-- never the one for weddings, and particulary not after losing out on the one he wanted. he grimaces at the realization, and drowns it out with the bitterness of the scotch. the architect runs his callused hand through the thick black curls that sit atop his head, and sighs. it is only when he hears her voice ring above the rest of the noise that he is pulled from his caprice.
he turns without hesitation to follow the sound of it, chasing it as he always does, like he always will. he stands, wavering only for a moment as he takes in the sight of her; though he has already seen her during the wedding, the look of her alone is enough to cause his heart to beat a bruise against his chest. he doesn't know how long he stands there before his legs pull him close enough to her, and it is just black hues gazing into her own that are so blue, he is sure they have drained the sea. his fingers flex at his side, and his lips form a smile only she can make him grow. "audra." her name is a mere whisper falling from his lips, he utters it like a prayer; quiet and sincere, and with all the love and care in the world. "--you look beautiful."
