who: @poiscns . ♡ where: Outside . / when: Day ???, Hurricane Jac .
i can phone a friend- when gabriel had told shiv he doesn’t have any friends, he wasn’t lying. he doesn’t have any friends, but he did, once. he’s never had another friend like nico, and he never will. he was also never going to call nico, or talk to him, or even look at whatever notification is being pushed from his contact to a group chat that gabriel doesn’t participate in. avoiding someone for two years means you can’t just text them, or call them, or block their number because what if he needs-
now that the cell service is gone, and he’s stopped feeling those rapid, unpredictable vibrations coming from his phone, that’s when the what-if’s increase their volume. a loud, striking panic that becomes like a bell. repeated, panging, anxiety that worms its way out of skin, out of body. the worry turns into motion. it’s not just for nico, but that’s what gabriel finds it most easy to focus on. his whirlwind of chaos, chasing a storm he has no business running head first into. it’s not fair, and gabriel knows better, to leave well enough alone. but this isn’t about it being fair, or about feelings, it’s about safety. it’s about safety, just not gabriel’s.
he leaves shiv and the laundromat behind in favor of tracking down the boy made of gunpowder, returning to the wreckage. in a way, gabriel owes it to him. in the hurricane, nico leaves him an easy trail to follow. not because of the water, but because of the noise. gabriel catches a glimpse of dark curls darting from beneath an awning, and he tails him.
“ nico! nico- “ he just needs him to stop, just needs him to listen to what he’s sure a hundred other brotherhood hunters have already told him. to get inside, somewhere. to stop, for just a moment, to think, god forbid. gabriel moves to seize his hands, first, but leaves them, holding onto his shoulders instead. gabriel’s hands are familiar, but firm, willing him to stop, to slow down. “ enough, what the hell are you- ? ” he’s searching through the dark of his eyes, but the rain keeps pouring into them, the hood he’s pulled over his head does little to keep him dry. and now that he’s so close to nico- oh. it’s not gabriel’s raincoat that he’s wearing, at all. he decides very quickly that he doesn’t want to know what he’s doing, not until the both of them are inside. he can’t afford to linger, here, like this, they both can’t. how far away is the house? it’s the last place he wants to be, but at least it’s empty, at least it’s familiar in this storm. “ come on, we’re going. ”
