Gabriel - Homecoming

He was supposed to have been home three hours ago. Home to a place where an entire five-course meal was being delivered. Where he had bought a new dining table. Where he had wine breathing on the counter. Music would play softly in the background and candles would be lit with a soft and flickering glow. When the door opened, he would take his beloved into his arms for the first time in months, and whisper to them how much he longed for their presence in his bed. Then, the two of them would walk to the bedroom, tangled among each other, and lay with each other until their passions ran their course.  Gabriel would then feed his beloved Night by hand from the meal that was still heated by magic.

But instead, Gabriel was in the middle of a dirty alley, where a family of moles had taken to war with the family of voles across the way. It was a literal bloodbath and was blocking one of the main roads through the market.  Currently, his underling was taking statements, while several other members of the Velvet Guard were having to keep the mole and vole war at bay.  

Gabriel had a headache.

“Warden,” officer Niles came bounding up to him, concern etched all over his face. “There is indication that these individuals might have magic contraband. Which most likely started the war.”

Gabriel rubbed a hand across his face. “Which kind of magic contraband?”

“Perhaps the ones that was reported stolen from the alchemy district? We are still cataloging it all.”

Gabriel was more irritated than relieved over finding the source of yet another week long paperwork mess.  This was the last place that he wanted to be. “Anything else?”

“I– no. I don’t think so. Do you wish for me to take them all into custody. Or burn it all down.”

Several of the little voles screeched in anger over the suggestion. “No,” Gabriel said tiredly. “Neither situation. Give them a warning.”

“A warning, Warden?”

Gabriel hadn’t given out a warning in at least four years. He was not known to do such a thing.  But he had places to be.

“Can you take care of this, officer Niles?”

“I…” Officer Niles flinched as a fight broke out behind him. One of the other guards seemed to be handling it. “If you believe I can, yes.”

Gabriel put a gloved hand to the Officer's shoulder. “Good. Take care of it then. I expect a report in the morning.”

“Yes, sir!” Niles saluted.  There was a mini explosion that happened behind him but Gabriel refused to turn around. He was already far too late.

Rushing through the market, he tried to make it home. Taking only the less traveled paths, he silently muttered a prayer to the Knowing that no one would see him. If he could just get home, he might still be able to salvage this. Maybe he would have time to at least get the candles lit. Or, turn on the lights. Something.  

“Warden?”

Silently, Gabriel cursed. He could just pretend like he didn’t hear. He could just keep going and hope that the situation wasn’t too severe.

“Warden, please! I’m stuck.”

Gabriel stopped, still not turning around. “How stuck?”

There was a long moment of silence as the person was trying to process the question. “Moderate stuck?”

Gabriel hated his life. Because of course, moderate stuck was an issue. Moderate stuck could turn into severely stuck, and then that was going to become a much bigger problem that would keep him up most of the night.

Turning, he spotted locked eyes with the woman who had called out to him. Her cream-colored horns curled upwards and had gotten tangled in the strings of lanterns up above. Lines of thin wire were wrapped around each angular jut of the horn while a paper lantern was torn in shreds.

“It is a market offense to break a lantern.” Walking forward, Gabriel stared at the rounded pink eyes of the woman in front of him. She was about a foot taller and looked as if she had recently been crying. 

“I know,” she whispered. “I really do but I didn’t mean it. The lanterns were just so much lower here. I avoid the streets with the drooping lanterns, but they must have dropped with the last rain. I didn’t know, Warden. I just didn’t know.”

Gabriel had a choice. He could untangle this individual and move on with his day, letting a criminal loose in the street. Or, he could prosecute them to the full extent of the law and understand that he wasn’t getting home any time soon.

He should prosecute. He should take this woman by the horns and march her down to the caves and toss away the key to her cell for inconveniencing him. And there was a time he probably would have done that in the name of the law. But, he had nothing then. He had no home that he enjoyed. No one to greet him at night. He had no one that he cared about.

With a put upon sigh, he reached up, gesturing for the woman to bend her head down slightly.  He took the loops of wire and slipped them from her antlers, gently taking the broken lantern in his hand.

“Are you going to arrest me?” the woman said as she straightened.

“No. Just be more careful next time.” He took the lantern, holding it under his arm.  “Now go.” 

“Thank you,” the woman said. She clopped away down the alley, making sure to duck her head the entire time.

Gabriel picked up his pace as he continued his way home, keeping his head down. The broken lantern was under his arm, a piece of contraband that he was sure would burn up in his grasp somehow.  When he turned the corner to his own street, he breathed a sigh of relief. He would put the broken lantern in his spare room and fix it in the morning. Rehang it as well. No one would know and if anyone came upon him, he would just say that he found the lantern that way. The last few years had turned Gabriel into a degenerate.

His relief was short-lived, however, when he saw the gathering of people, two doors down from his own. Mrs. Bleasedale and her bingo club.  It wasn’t often that Gabriel felt true fear, but upon seeing the white curls of Mrs. Bleasedale and her gang of gamblers, he felt a shiver go down his spine. But he just needed to keep walking. He just needed to get to his door. It looked as if they were all chattering anyway about the latest market gossip. He should be able to–

“Mr. Caine! Yoohoo! Mr. Caine!” Gabriel grit his teeth together, keeping his head ducked. Maybe they would think they had got the wrong person. It was a short-lived belief as Mrs. Bleasedale grabbed him by the arm. “Mr. Caine, you are looking rather fine this evening. Care to join us for our bingo group?”

Gabriel turned to the woman. She was short and squat and had enough wrinkles to suggest that she may be older than the Knowing. However, she didn’t seem to care. No fewer than six love letters had been written to him in her flowery handwriting.

“I am busy, Mrs. Bleasedale. It has been a long day.”

The woman around her all tittered in laughter, speaking behind their hands.

“Oh, come now, Mr. Caine. Join us. A strapping young man like you deserves to be out and about.  We never see you do anything but work. Come, let me take care of you tonight. Entertain a couple of old bitties like us.”

All Gabriel could think is that his love was going to walk down the street any moment. See him surrounded by all these women. And what would they think then?

“I really do need to go. Maybe next time.”

“Jeanie, let him go,” one of the other women said. “He might have a hot date waiting for him.”

Mrs. Bleasdales grip tightened on Gabriel. “A date? Why, Mr. Caine, is that true.”

Gabriel looked longingly at the door. “Of course not, Mrs. Bleasedale. But I do need to go. And detaining an individual is a crime.”

The woman's eyes lit up. “Is it?”

“Yes. Don’t make me arrest you.”

The women all laughed but did let him go.  Gabriel took the opportunity to run into the house.

He closed the door behind the gaggle of cackling women, back against the wall.  He didn’t know how long he had but he was sure he could do something to make Night’s return special. The magic chaffing dishes for the food could be re-charged. He could like a candle or two. Still put on music.

“Mrs. Bleasedale, huh?”

Gabriel’s eyes snapped open.  

Before him, the table was set, a candelabra burning bright. A soft lilt of something classical was weaving in the background. And Night. Night stood there, a glass of wine in hand, staring at Gabriel with a bemused smile.

“You’re here,” he breathed.

“For about two hours. Work rough today?” They walked over to him, leaning in to kiss him gently on the lips. Gabriel felt himself melt at that.  The day's duties slipping away. When Night handed him a glass of wine, he felt a warmth bloom in his chest.  

“I missed you,” he told them.

Night smiled, reaching up to run their fingers through his hair, shaking the curls loose from the slicked back style he always wore it in.  “I can tell. I got here right as the caterers did. A house cleaner too. You did all this for me?”

‘I wanted your homecoming to be special.”

“Gabriel, sandwiches at the office would be special to me.”

“Not good enough for you.”

“Sometimes I don’t think you believe anything is good enough for me.”

“It is not,” he told them. “You should be given life on a platter after everything you’ve gone through.” His arms wrapped around them, pulling them close. Night smelled of lantern oil and something citrus. Gabriel often rolled over and smelled their pillow at night just to remember them. “You should not have had to set up dinner on your own. I am sorry.”

“I saw Mrs. Bleasedale and know your day was going to go to hell. And I also see you have a broken lantern in your hand?” They were trying not to laugh. “What happened?”

Sitting down, Gabriel told them of their day. Starting with the mafia warfare between the mole and the voles, to breaking his vows and untangling the woman around the lanterns, to Mrs. Bleasedale nearly grabbing his ass. By the time he was finished, a filled plate was in front of him along with a fresh glass of wine.

Gabriel frowned. “I need to be taking care of you.”

“Good. So eat a good meal and then take me to bed.”

“That was part of the plan. But I will have to make sure you are taken care of first. Let me do something for you.”

Night got up, sitting closer to Gabriel. “You silly, silly man. Taking care of yourself is taking care of me. I need you to understand that. This is a partnership. We take care of each other. Just because you didn’t have dinner on the table doesn’t mean that you didn’t take care of me. In fact, I’m a little offended. Dinner is my thing. I bring it to you.”

“I was trying to turn the tables.”

Leaning down, Night kissed him sweetly. “Eat,” they said. “And tell me how much you love me. Then take me to bed, let me sleep, and get me breakfast in the morning.”

Taking Night by the hips, he pulled them into his lap. “Done,” he whispered. “But promise me something?”

“Anything,” Night said.

“Do not tell Mrs. Bleasedale that we are together. I am afraid she will burn down my apartment.”

Night glanced towards the window. “Oh, I don’t know. I think I’m going to go join bingo now. Mrs. Bleasedale sounds like a fun lady.” Night shrieked as Gabriel stood, slinging them over his shoulder.  He had ate his meal. He had drank his wine. And he was going to be damned if Mrs. Bleasedale was going to take up any more of his time.

He was going to take care of his love now. The way they deserved.