Can we get some male reader x gabriel from mcsm? Something sweet and romantic after witherstorm, if possible
Gabriel the Warrior/male Reader
Gabriel's eyes used to remind you of a spruce’s trunk in the rain, a deep dark brown, warm, and alive. That was before the Wither Storm hollowed something out inside him, leaving behind strange reddish tones beneath his lashes, now dull and faded. You never told him how much you mourned that change. It felt selfish to grieve a color when Gabriel himself had nearly died. But sometimes, you caught him staring blankly into nothing and missed the way his eyes used to shine before survival became such hard work for him.
The worst part was that Gabriel still smiled through it all. Even now, past his prime, he carried himself like the grand warrior who once proudly proclaimed himself The Mighty Gabriel, with an absurd confidence that somehow remained charming. His armor still shined. His mustache was carefully groomed every morning. He still waved whenever someone recognized him in public. But age and sickness had softened his sharper edges. He let himself lean on you more often, sat down slower, and laughed less boisterously.
Lately, he had been distant. Gabriel loved loudly when he allowed himself to. The problem was that, even after the Wither Storm, he'd had to deal with flare-ups, sleepless nights, and waking up gasping from dreams where purple veins crawled across his skin all over again. He had started retreating into himself. Some days, he would disappear into Beacontown for hours without telling you where he’d gone. Other nights, he stayed awake staring at the ceiling while pretending to be fine.
You knew why. Gabriel had spent most of his life believing that displaying weakness made people burdensome. Years of acting had trained it into him. Even after Jesse proved him wrong, pieces of that thinking still clung stubbornly to him like cobwebs. But nearly dying changes how people think, especially when it happens more than once.
“Are you seriously not hot?” you asked one afternoon, staring at Gabriel’s long sleeves beneath his armor while the summer sun roasted the stone path beneath your feet. Gabriel glanced sideways at you, immediately offended.
“I am perfectly comfortable.”
“You're dressed like you’re preparing to fistfight the Nether itself!”
Gabriel snorted loudly before nudging your shoulder with his own. “Meanwhile, you’re one strong gust of wind away from losing half your outfit.”
“Guess I'll have to use you to cover myself; what a shame."
That made him laugh properly. The sound echoed warmly through the trees, deep, rough, and beautiful. Then he winced. It was small and quick, and most people would have missed it, but you never did. Your smile faded almost immediately.
“Please don't, I’m fine.”
“You are such a terrible liar.” Gabriel sighed dramatically beneath his helmet. “You wound me.”
“You already look wounded.”
That made him quiet. He felt so tired lately. You watched his jaw tighten slightly before he forced another grin onto his face, but you knew him too well now. You could tell the difference between Gabriel smiling because he was happy and him smiling because he didn’t want to express a single negative emotion to anyone else. The second smile broke your heart every time.
“You’ve been pushing yourself again,” you said more gently this time.
"Managing to stress me out alright.”
Gabriel looked toward the distant rooftops of Beacontown, glowing orange in the sunlight. For a moment, he said nothing at all. Then his shoulders lowered slightly beneath the heavy armor.
“I know,” he admitted quietly. “I just…” He paused, frustration flashing briefly across his face. “I hate burdening you like this."
Your chest tightened immediately. Gabriel had spent decades being the strongest person in every room, a warrior, a leader, a legend. Even now, people still stared at him in awe whenever he walked through town. But surviving the Wither Storm had left scars deeper than the ones visible on his skin.
You reached over and hooked your fingers gently through his gloved hand. “You aren’t a burden,” you said firmly.
Gabriel let out a soft laugh beneath his breath. “Easy for you to say.”
“It should be easy for you to say too.”
He looked at you and then really looked at you. And suddenly, all the bravado slipped away. God, you loved him like this older, softer, exhausted, and human being. Gabriel squeezed your hand tightly and leaned closer until his forehead rested briefly against yours.
“You know,” he murmured quietly, “nearly dying a few times really changes a man’s priorities.”
“Mm.” His mouth twitched upward slightly. “I realized I’ve spent too much time trying to be impressive and not enough time being with the person I actually love.”
Your stomach flipped violently as you laughed him off. “You can’t say things like that, what would the people think!"
Gabriel grinned smugly, clearly pleased with himself. “That I've made a terribly handsome and lovely man blush. Truly a scandal.”
“And yet you continue to sleep next to me every night."
You rolled your eyes, but your face felt hot. Gabriel laughed softly, his expression gentling. “Thank you,” he said quietly.
“For staying with me all these years, even after knowing everything.”
Beneath all of Gabriel’s confidence, teasing, and old heroic pride, there was still a frightened part of him convinced that people would leave once they saw how damaged he really was.
So, you stepped closer and cupped his face carefully between your hands. “You really are a dolt,” you whispered. “If you think I'm going anywhere without you, I'm not.”
Gabriel’s eyes closed immediately. You felt him lean into your touch with a kind of exhaustion that hurt to witness.
Later that night, you woke to strained breathing beside you and immediately sat upright. Moonlight spilled through the curtains just enough to illuminate Gabriel, hunched forward at the edge of the bed, trembling hands gripping his knees while he fought for steady breaths.
“I’m okay,” he rasped automatically.
“You can barely breathe.”
“It’ll pass.” His voice cracked painfully on the last word.
You moved beside him immediately, guiding one of his shaking hands into yours while your other hand rubbed slow circles across his back beneath the thin fabric of his sleep shirt. There'd been research done. People had mostly gotten better after the beast fell, but remnants of their suffering still lingered. Periods of stress or exhaustion, aching joints, nerve pain, and panic attacks tangled with old memories of dying. Gabriel hated every second of it, but he had finally started letting you see it.
“That’s it,” you murmured softly. "There's my warrior.”
Gabriel gripped your hand so tightly it almost hurt. “I thought it was happening again,” he admitted shakily after a long silence.
Your chest ached upon hearing the fear in his voice. “You’re okay,” you whispered immediately. “You’re home with me.”
His breathing steadied little by little beneath your touch. The room remained silent except for the distant sounds of nighttime outside and Gabriel’s gradually calming breaths. Eventually, he sagged sideways against your shoulder with evident exhaustion.
“Sorry,” he mumbled weakly.
You looked down at him in disbelief. “For what?”
You barked out a laugh, so startled that Gabriel blinked at you. “That’s what you’re worried about right now?”
“If you apologize one more time for this, I’m tying you up on display in your underwear for all the townspeople to see."
That finally pulled a genuine laugh from him, quiet, warm, and real. “As if you'd let people see me shirtless for free," he murmured.
You pressed a kiss into his greying curls near his temple. “Go back to sleep, old man.”
Gabriel hummed contentedly and shifted closer against you beneath the blankets. Then, half-asleep already, he mumbled quietly against your shoulder, “Marry me.”
You froze completely. “…What?”
Gabriel blinked slowly up at you, clearly too exhausted to realize what he had just done. “I said, ‘Marry me.’”
"Are you seriously proposing in our sweaty bed at night!?” He can barely hide his smile as you smack him in the face with a pillow.
"Ask me again when you're not losing your mind on a full moon."
“You are unbelievable.” Gabriel’s eyes drifted shut again. “You love me anyway.”
He was correct. A few weeks later, he proposed properly, well, at least as properly as Gabriel could manage. There were no giant crowds, dramatic speeches, or fireworks. Just the two of you were sitting on a bridge, watching lantern lights flicker warmly through the distant streets while Gabriel rested beside you with one arm around your shoulders.
You had been rambling about Ivor stealing food from your kitchen again when Gabriel suddenly interrupted you. “Marry me.”
You stared at him. "Wait, you're serious?"
"We've been sharing a bed for decades now. I'd like to share a name too.”
Gabriel inhaled slowly before sitting up straighter beside you. You noticed how nervous he looked. His large hands fidgeted together awkwardly while his eyes refused to fully meet yours. Gabriel openly feared almost nothing. Yet somehow, this visibly terrified him.
“I wasted a lot of years,” he admitted quietly. “Chasing glory. Pretending to be strong mattered more than actually being together.” He laughed softly beneath his breath. “Then I almost died and realized the only thing I could think about was you.”
Your throat tightened painfully. Gabriel reached over carefully and took your hands into his. “I want to settle down with you, and I want you to journey with me," he said softly. “I don’t care about being a legend anymore. I just…” His smile softened as he gazed at you.
"Would you like to go on an adventure with me forever?"
