Gabriel was even more excited than usual to get home. He tended to get out pretty late, being the bartender that he was. However, he managed to get things moved around so that he was out a few hours earlier than normal. He did that for a very specific reason.
The last few days he’d noticed a small kitten hanging around behind the pub. He hadn’t taken it the first day because he didn’t know where it lived or if it had a little kitty family around. After a week he hadn’t seen a single other cat and came to the conclusion that he or she must be alone.
That brought him to today, when at the beginning of his shift, while taking out the garbage, he spotted the little thing sleeping in a tiny box, practically shivering. He decided right then that he couldn’t possibly leave it out in the cold. He picked up the box, brought it inside and set it in the back so they wouldn’t get lost running around the pub. He immediately started work on getting his shift covered.
Back to the present, his excitement, of course, had everything to do with his boyfriend. He could already see in his mind the smile that would light up the room when Ky saw the little thing. He could hear the cry of joy when he learned it was theirs to keep. There was truly nothing Gabriel loved more in this world than making Ky happy and he took every opportunity he could find to do so.
With one hand on the steering wheel and the other in the kitten’s box, keeping it calm during the drive, he pulled up to their shared home. He parked and picked up the box gently while whispering reassurances to the tiny creature. Once he walked inside he called out to Ky with a smirk on his face.
It was easier than he thought it’d be to get the last hour of his shift covered and Gabriel was eternally grateful for it. The night hadn’t been particularly bad, but the week had been unfortunately. He honestly could wait to just have Ky back in his arms. His presence always lifted Gabriel’s spirits; made him feel like nothing else mattered.
He made a quick stop at his place for a shower and change of clothes before making his way to Ky’s. He was already smiling to himself in anticipation of seeing him when he knocked on the door.
Dating was not Gabriel’s forte. The last time he had actually put an effort into being romantic he was even younger than Ky, before he left home. Living on the streets he’d never had the opportunity and since coming to the village he preferred to keep to himself. He wasn’t expecting Kyoichi Fabray, to say the least.
Needless to say, he felt a little silly as he strung fairy lights around his garden in preparation for his first real romantic date in well over ten years. He sighed and took a look around, hoping that Ky wouldn’t think that the effort was lame. He gave the lights a quick test and headed into the kitchen after determining them satisfactorily set.
He rubbed his hands nervously and took a deep breath. He’d asked Kyoichi last minute for the date but truthfully he’d been planning it for a full day before hand. The little table was set up, the lights were now all arranged, and he was double checking all the food. Once he was sure everything was perfect he glanced at his phone for the time and made sure his hair was still alright.
Panic was not quite the right word for what Gabriel felt at seeing the words, ‘I am making shelfs in bed,’ light up his phone screen. Confusion was the first emotion, followed quickly by concern. He looked up and shoved his phone in his pocket as he dashed towards the bedroom. “Baby?” He called out to the boy. He would wonder why his boyfriend hadn’t let him know he was home the entire time they were texting, but honestly it wasn’t a surprise.
Notes: Gabriel comes home to Ky in a very bad mood
Triggers:
Gabriel frowned down at his phone. He knew he shouldn't have teased Ky so much but he couldn't help himself. His baby was so cute when he was being bratty. He was worried though that he might have actually upset him after Hunter had already put him in a sad mood. He grabbed the bag with Ky's presents and headed for the front door.
It was just some chicken tenders and a new fidget spinner. Nothing big, but he hoped it might make him a little happier. He walked through the door and gently pushed an excited Comet aside.
"Babydoll? I'm home!"
Ky was pouting on the sofa, half paying attention to the TV as he sat with a notepad on his lap. He'd wanted to write himself a list of things he needed to do initially, but between the frustration of struggling to write, the distraction of seeing Hunter's interaction with Gabriel, and the distraction of some new videos on YouTube he'd found playing on the TV, the most he'd done was doodle all over the page. The day had been overwhelming from start to finish, and it had left him sensitive and irritable. "You took too long", he huffed, kicking his shoes together under the table.
Gabriel approached Ky with a guilty expression. "I know, baby. I was mean and took longer than I should have. I'm sorry." He sat on the sofa next to him and leaned over to steal a quick kiss on his cheek. "Can I make it up to you?" He asked with a little smile. He held up the bag. "With presents? I got them just for you. We can go lay in the blanket fort with them."
Ky dropped his hands heavily onto his notepad with a dramatic huff, he’s eyes glued to the TV despite it only having half of his attention. “No”, he said almost bitterly, pouting even more. “I want to watch YouTube. You took too long and it made me get distracted and I am frustrated and my eyes feel sore and they hurt behind and I am FRUSTRATED.”
Gabriel frowned again, feeling terrible. "I'm sorry, babydoll. Look at me please. Come here." He reached his hand out and cupped Ky's cheek, turning his head o they were facing each other. "Talk to me, baby boy. I frustrated you. I'm so sorry for that. How can I help you feel better again?"
Though it wasn’t Gabriel’s fault that Ky was as frustrated as he was, he couldn’t help but be bratty over it, feeling too fidgety and stress tics feeling like too much. His brows were furrowed when Gabriel turned his head, one of his hands sliding into his hair at the nape of his neck and starting to pull a little. “I want to watch YouTube”, he said petulantly, pulling his head away to look back at the TV, raising his voice when he spoke again. “I want QUIET.”
Gabriel stroked Ky's cheek softly. "Okay." He let his hand drop down when his boyfriend pulled his head away. "I'll be quiet." He stood up from the sofa and set the bag down next to Ky. "Still want me to set up the blankets with the fairy lights for you?"
Ky didn't respond at first, too distracted, his head starting to hurt from a combination of not wearing his glasses and how stressful the day had been. After a few minutes, he responded, voice having gone from raised to quiet. "I already did it", he huffed, pushing the notebook off of his lap to pull his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on them.
It was times exactly like this that Gabriel wished he was better at the whole dominant thing. He knew there were moments that making decisions for Ky brought the younger man comfort, but he was always so hesitant about when he should be doing it. Would ordering Ky to do something right now make him feel better or worse? He supposed a good dominant would just know that sort of thing. "You dont want to go watch your YouTube in the blankets?"
Again, his response was slow. He was slowly beginning to block out the outside world to feel more secure, with less going on around him that would only worsen the frustration that he already felt. "No", he said, shaking his head, using his free hand to rub his eye before moving it to his ear so that he could fiddle with his earlobe at the same time as fiddling with his hair, the actions eliciting a sigh of comfort. "I want to watch it right here."
Gabriel contemplated for a moment before letting out a sigh and nodding his head decisively. "Alright. That's it. Come here then." He sat back down on the sofa and pulled Ky onto his lap. He pushed his hand into Ky's hair at the nape of his neck and tugged while holding the boy against his chest. He positioned them so Ky could still see the TV. "Now watch your show, baby."
Though he didn't push away or out of Gabriel's embrace, his body didn't fully relax. Not because he didn't want to be sat cuddled up with his boyfriend, but more because the closeness felt more overwhelming than it would any other time, and it made him rigid. He pushed Gabriel's hand away, and put his own hand back into his hair as he grumbled. "No, i'm playing with it."
Gabriel didn't even know if he should respond at this point. He'd always felt confident in knowing exactly what Ky needed and what he could do to help him. However, it seemed as though he just couldn't get it right this time. He pulled his hands back and let them rest on the sofa on either side of his legs. "Okay, I'm sorry."
Feeling a bit calmer, Ky took Gabriel’s hands and pulled them both around his waist, leaning sideways against the other with his head on his shoulder and going back to playing with his hair as he were. He focused in on the TV for a couple of minutes, shifting occasionally to get comfortable before sighing. “I do not feel good. Everything is loud.”
Gabriel squeezed Ky a bit, reassured that his presence was indeed helping at least a little bit. He kissed the top of his boyfriend's head and let his nose rest in his hair. "Just sit back with me for a bit and try to focus on your show. Things will get quieter."
Ky nodded and just cuddled up against him, letting go of his hair again in favour of taking Gabriel’s hand and moving it under his tshirt so that he could feel his boyfriend’s fingertips against his bare skin. Taking Gabriel’s other hand, he put one of the other’s fingers on his forehead, guiding it back and forth before letting go to keep tugging on his hair. He didn’t need to say anything to express to Gabriel what he wanted or needed. He stayed quiet for 10 minutes, and finally whined, closing his eyes as they watered a little. “It is not quiet.”
Gabriel laid back and let Ky move his limbs in whatever way would give him the most comfort. He took the hint easily enough, moving his finger back and forth softly on Ky's face. He was impressive with the full ten or so minutes of silence before Ky finally gave up. He kissed the top of his head once more. "Babydoll. Are you still upset about what Hunter said?"
Ky moved his head instinctively, ever so slightly from side to side as Gabriel ran his finger across his forehead. He sighed at Gabriel’s question and shook his head, despite the answer being yes, though that was one thing of many. “I am upset at everything today”, he said quietly as he turned his body more against Gabriel. “Everything is hard, like sad but also angry.”
Gabriel nodded, beginning to understand more. "Too many bad things at once?" He continued to rub his boyfriend's forehead as well as his belly under his shirt. "I shouldn't have teased you when I knew you were upset already. I'm sorry, Ky. I wont do that to you again."
Ky didn’t need Gabriel to say sorry to him, he wasn’t upset at him, just sad at the fact that the other hadn’t been there even though he really really wanted him to be. “It’s okay”, he said quietly, starting to alternate between playing and tugging his hair, and scratching his scalp, “I just need everything to be quiet and nothing is being quiet. I want to watch MrBeast but my head is noisy and it won’t be quiet.”
Gabriel thought for a moment, wondering what he could do to help Ky calm his mind. "I could turn off the lights for you, baby. Maybe grab your headphones so you won't hear anything. And your glasses to stop your head from hurting."
Ky didn’t want Gabriel to get up right now, so he shook his head, wiggling to keep pushed up against his boyfriend to stop him from moving away. “No”, he said firmly, frowning. “No, you can’t get up now. Not right now, you have to stay right here. I want to watch MrBeast, not not hear it.”
"Okay," he answered immediately so Ky wouldn't think he was going to get up and leave him. He kissed the top of his head once more, still rubbing his belly. "I won't get up. I'm right here with you. I want to help stop your head being noisy though. I don't like when you're uncomfortable like this, baby. I want to help you."
The moment of slight panic passed instantly, the second Gabriel assured him that he wasn’t going to get up when he just wanted to stay here him. “Well, I don’t know how to make it go away!”, he snapped suddenly, pressing his face against Gabriel’s neck. “I don’t know how you can help it. Just... just, I want quiet. Lots of quiet.”
Gabriel didn't take the snap personally. He knew Ky couldn't help it with how frustrated he was. "Okay, baby. I think the fort will help." He brought his hand down from Ky's face to grab his phone and search for the videos he was watching. It took him a minute, being the old man that he was, but once he found it he handed his phone over to Ky. He set his hand down on the sofa to give him some leverage in standing them up. Once they were up he took hold of Ky's free hand and started walking towards the bedroom. He flipped off the TV and the bedroom light on their way, so the fairy lights of the fort and his phone were the only illuminations.
Ky didn't say anything, he just watched what Gabriel was doing, taking his phone without question when it was handed to him. He happily let Gabriel guide him, his head down and eyes glued to the screen, blind to where they were walking but trusting in Gabriel to know he would make sure he didn't walk into anything. When they got to the bedroom, Ky looked up long enough to climb over the bed, sitting and looking over at Gabriel, waiting for him to come up next to him. "I'm hungry. Mega hungry."
Gabriel couldnt help but let iut a little chuckle. He smiled and shook his head lightly before leaning down to press a kiss to Ky's cheek. "I'll get you something to eat. Just watch your video. I'll be back in just a minute." He returned to the couch and picked up the previously forgotten bag. It only took a moment to pop the chicken tenders in the microwave for a bit of a reheat. Once they were done he grabbed them and a glass of water and returned to Ky on their bed.
Nodding, Ky crossed his legs, putting the phone down on the mattress in front of him and resting his elbows on his thighs, cheeks against his palms. He didn't hear Gabriel come back in, only noticing him when he spotted him out of the corner of his eye. "I want it all to be better", he said quietly as he looked up at his boyfriend, rubbing one of his eyes. "It makes me feel like I would cry, even though I don't really cry anymore."
Gabriel set the plate down on the bed next to Ky so he could eat at his own leisure. He reached out to gently rub below Ky's eye with his thumb. "I know, baby. I wish it could just be better too. But we'll get through it together. It's okay if you want to cry though. Some times crying can make you feel better."
Ky looked at the plate and gave Gabriel a small smile. His boyfriend knew him better than he knew himself, he was pretty sure about that, and at this point in their relationship, he didn't really know what he'd do without him now. "No crying", he shook his head, taking one of the chicken fingers off of the plate and taking a bite from it. "Will you sit behind me and watch mrbeast with me?"
"Of course I will, baby boy." Gabriel immediately started moving to do just that adjusting them a bit and letting Ky do the same so they were both comfortable. He wrapped his arms around Ky from behind and kissed his temple. They sat for a moment before curiosity and concern got the better of him. "I was wondering," he began somewhat hesitantly. "I know Hunter mad you sad when he joked about you not being an adult... does it make you sad when I call you baby boy outside of being intimate?"
Ky stretched his legs out for a second before bringing his knees up so that he could rest the phone against his thighs where they could both see. He leaned back against Gabriel’s chest, slowly eating the chicken finger in his hand. He laid his head back against Gabriel’s shoulder to look at him with a furrowed brow, hand going back to his earlobe. “...no”, he said after a few moments, “You tell me then i’m an adult. Baby boy is just a... what is it called? When you call someone babe and stuff? Pet names? It is just a pet name, I like it.”
Gabriel smiled with a little sigh and kissed Ky's cheek. "Okay, good. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't accidentally hurting your feelings. But I'm glad you like it." He stayed quiet after that, just watching the video with him. He wasn't really sure what the appeal was, but he'd watch pretty much anything to make Ky happy.
Ky didn’t say anything back, instead he ate slowly, occasionally reached around and holding up some chicken to Gabriel’s lips to eat, and just spent a half hour watching videos, laughing now and then. Once the plate was finished, he pushed it to the edge of the bed, not far from falling as he locked Gabriel’s phone and turned around, shuffling down the bed and putting his head on Gabriel’s lap. “It’s like... it is like... it feels like... like... it is static behind my eyes.”
Gabriel was content to sit with Ky as long as he needed, nibbling on bits of chicken as he held them up for him. The little laughs warmed his heart, happy to know that Ky could at least find a little bit of enjoyment even when he was feeling bad.
He wasn't about to mention the idea of doctors again, it would only upset Ky more, but he knew he needed to look into it more for him. "We'll have to try to find a way to quiet the static for you."
Head on Gabriel’s thigh, Ky took one of Gabriel’s hands and put it over his ear, though not enough to cover his earlobe so he could continue to play with it. He spoke, despite both of his ears being muffled. “Sometimes it is just there and it doesn’t go away, that makes me angry and sad because it goes on and on and on forever but not forever, just until it ends. It’s loud and it hurts my eyes and ears.”
Gabriel kept his hand on Ky's ear and brought the other up to start playing with his hair a bit. He sighed with a frown. "Baby," he started softly. "I know you really don't like the idea of seeing a doctor, but I honestly think it would help you so much. They could find out why it's so loud in your head sometimes and help us figure out how to stop it."
Whining, Ky shook his head, pulling his earlobe down as he closed his eyes. "No", he said shortly, taking Gabriel's hand with his other hand and pulling it across over his eyes instead of on his ear. "They can't see inside my head so they don't know. I'm not going to see a doctor. I don't want to go. No."
Gabriel held back the urge to sigh again. He knew it wasn't going to be easy to get Ky to see a doctor, but he wasn't going to give up. He'd drop the subject for now though. "Baby, I think you should take a nap. You need some sleep right now to calm your mind."
"No", Ky said again, pushing Gabriel's hand off of his face so that he could sit up with a scowl. "I do not need a nap, i'm not tired and I do not need to sleep. I want to watch YouTube, i'm not going to sleep right now."
Gabriel put a determined expression on his face and stared Ky down. "No," he said firmly in response. "You DO need to nap. Youre frustrated, your head hurts and you need rest. Now lay down, close your eyes and try to get some sleep. Now."
The order took Ky by surprise, and he blinked over at him, his scowl turning more into a pout, though he still huffed, shaking his head determinedly. "No I do not. I am not having a nap, I want to watch mrbeast on your phone."
"Kyoichi Fabray. You need sleep. Close your eyes. Rest. Please don't make me say it again. The videos will still be there when you wake up again." He stayed firm and didn't waver. He needed Ky to know that this was serious and he needed to listen.
Ky frowned at Gabriel. He wanted to argue, and say no, but this wasn’t asking, he was telling him, and the desire to be good became more prominent than wanting to argue. “Okay, i’ll be good”, he said quietly, pulling off his shirt and kicking down his jeans, before laying down, head on the pillow as he looked up at Gabriel. “But... are you going to stay here? Are you going to do things then come back?”
"Thank you, baby." Gabriel gave him a small smile and leaned over to kiss Ky's forehead once he was all settled. "I'm going to put this away," he started while picking up the plate they'd used for the chicken. "And then tidy up just a little bit and I'll be right back to lay with you. Just close your eyes and try to rest and I'll be back in a minute. Can you do that for me, baby doll?"
Ky bit down on his lip, nodding slightly as he squirmed to push the fleece blanket down and then over him, and got comfortable, looking back at Gabriel once he was settled. "Then you'll come back", he said quietly before he closed his eyes, rubbing one of them and yawning, the tiredness hitting him now that he was laying down to sleep. "I'll go to sleep, then you'll come back", he mumbled now, pulling the blanket up so he could feel it against his cheek.
Gabriel nodded and leaned over again. He ran his hand through Ky's hair and kissed his forehead once more. "Yeah, baby. You sleep, I'll be back," he repeated back to him. Of course, now that it was time he hesitated to leave his side. Ky was just so beautiful and adorable, even when he was being a complete brat. He knew he had to get some things done before he joined Ky in sleep though, so with a sigh he stood back up and headed out.
Laying down with his eyes closed instantly eased Ky's headache, and the feeling of the soft blanket over him brought a lot of comfort, calming his mind somewhat. He drifted quickly into a light sleep — it would take a little longer for him to fall into a proper, deep sleep, but light sleep was enough for everything around him to be tuned out enough for him to sleep at all. It was a matter of minutes before he was asleep, sighing contently as Gabriel left the room.
