[closed starter for @nottheangel-raphael]
Gabriel sat comfortably on one of the little sofas of Euphoria, with his arms lazily slung on top of the backrest of the sofa he had occupied. With a drink in hand and an inquisitive expression behind his hazel eyes, he scanned every corner of the place, taking in the bright lights, the loud music and the multitude of bodies living their best night on the dancefloor. If that were a normal night, he would have surely joined them, ready to hunt for his next prey. That night, however, he was on a mission.
Despite all his best attempts at self-control, Gabriel had decided he had to meet Raphael De Luca. Lucien had made perfectly clear that the man he had always called dad barely knew of his existence, and Gabriel wasn’t even sure that was true.
He wouldn’t stand for it. He needed answers about himself and about Raphael’s role in Lucien’s little I-am-a-God-and-I-do-what-I-want delusion. Don’t get him wrong, Gabriel knew Lucien was a genius and he was the last person who could judge someone that possessed an unhealthy amount of self-esteem. What made him livid, however, was the fact that he had been the butt of the joke for far too long.
So he waited, staring at the crowd for hours—and, a bit more covertly, at Raphael. As the night went on, the crowd began to slowly dwindle until only a dozen people remained, drunkenly stumbling around at the rhythm of the music.
Raphael finally emerged from the VIP area, probably ready to call it a night and send everyone home, and Gabriel knew that this was his moment. “You’re not an easy man to talk to, Councilman De Luca!” He exclaimed, with his mellow French accent. “Why don’t you let me buy you a drink? Or, if you prefer something stronger, I think I have some benzos in my coat!" He grinned confidently, holding himself like he owned the place.
And if the thought of finally meeting his father had made him nervous, Gabriel wasn’t ready to admit it, not even to himself.
