Gabriel & Rachel: Dawn (Backdated)

[x-velocidad.livejournal.com]

Gabriel meets Rachel after the very end of a long night out.

Gabriel hadn't slept yet.

He hadn't meant for it to happen (he rarely did), but a late night at the bar filling in for a friend meant he was already in the city when Kevin had texted him at 3 a.m. looking for a booty call. At that point, he figured he might as well, so after bugging off work early, he'd slipped on a shirt and headed from Chelsea to the Village.

And Kevin was fun like always, but then it was practically dawn, and he couldn't get caught spending the night, because he never stayed the night. So he ended up ordering a weird array of food at an abandoned Veselka and hanging out with an old Polish lady while his phone charged, then ambled around the Village with a latte, watching New York wake up. By which point he could grab the train out toward Salem Center. Normally he'd have slept on the train, but he was too wired from the coffee, so he'd entertained himself with iPhone games until he'd finally made it back to Xavier's.

So now, looking as handsomely disheveled and thinking as incoherently as someone did when they'd been awake as long as he now had, Gabriel was standing on the back porch off the kitchen, fumbling in his pockets for the pack of cigarettes he could have sworn he had when he left the house the night before.

The next thing he knew, the door swung open and a small, shadowy figure sped through the doorway, just stopping short of bowling him right over the porch rails. Bright green eyes peered up at him with a curious sort of expression before the strange girl took a slow step back and away from him.

"Uhm," she began, then took a quick darting glance in the direction of the rising sun. "Walk of shame?"

"No shame here." Gabriel spun on his heel to face her and winked. He sized her up. She was cute, if redheaded girls were your thing. They weren't his. "I work nights," he added in explanation, "and you know, sometimes they turn into mornings. And it's nice to catch the sunrise before you go to bed." He smiled at her. "I'm Gabriel. You're up early."

"Or late, depending on how you look at it," she responded blithely, flashing him a bright grin. "I'm Rachel. And you definitely had sex last night. Unless that's what you meant by working nights, in which case, fair enough." Either way, it was none of her business, but she hadn't gotten more than two hours of sleep the night before and that usually meant that she was cranky, extremely blase about most things, and/or rather loose tongued by most people's standards.

Actually, that may describe her at most times of the day.

"Oh, sure, that." Gabriel waved her off. "I mean, duh." He gestured to himself. "Hello." At least he'd managed to get the buttons on in the right order before he got on the train. He went back to fumbling in his pockets looking for a loose cigarette. "No, I work at a bar. And afterwards, I had sex with an adorable man whose potbelly makes him very eager to please. I don't do the other thing. Not for a while anyway."

It didn't dawn on him for a few seconds what, exactly, he'd just admitted to. He looked up and added a late smile, thinking maybe she'd think it was a joke.

But the girl cocked her head to the side and regarded him for a second before crinkling her nose in a way that told him that she had understood perfectly what he had just said but had absolutely no idea why he would tell a perfect stranger that.

"I'm actually going for a run. But I think you should have some OJ before I go."

Turning lightly on her heel, she disappeared into the kitchen against any protests he might have made and reappeared a minute later with a glass of cold juice in one hand and a crumpled packet of cigarettes in the other. She handed both to him like it was the most natural thing on Earth for her to do.

"Oh god, do I look that bad?" Gabriel took them both from her, raising the glass in thanks. "I'm not drunk or anything, if that's what you think. Just sleep-deprived and, apparently, embarrassingly chatty." Not that this was entirely out-of-character for him, but she didn't need to know that. "And completely lacking a filter and all manners apparently." Jeez, he must have been making a terrible first impression. He sipped the juice. "Thank you. This is amazing."

"You're welcome," she said cheerfully, fishing her iPod out of her armband and scrolling through her playlists. "And if it makes you feel any better, I don't think it's possible for you to look bad per se." Of course, he probably already knew that, but it didn't stop her from grinning knowingly at him. "You probably just need some sleep."

"Probably." Gabriel lit the cigarette he'd slipped in his mouth while she'd been speaking. He took a drag and visibly relaxed. "But I like this hour, even if I rarely get to see it.. It's quiet, and honest. And kinda peaceful, especially around here." He flicked some ash over the side of the patio and onto the grass. "You look pretty good yourself," he added, having finally processed her compliment, "but morning runs tend to help with that."

"Aww, thanks," she said, more amused than anything else. She popped a earbud in, the tinny sounds of Imagine Dragons coming from the other one dangling from the end of the cord. "But this is more like my night run." Never mind that she had to be at the office in about 2 hours - the nightmares had been relentless and Matt hadn't been up to keep her company so she had whiled her night away in front of the TV in the rec room until her restlessness got the better of her.

"Well, then this is my night smoke." He smiled back at her. Gabriel decided he liked her, and not just because she'd brought him orange juice and was tolerating his babbling. "And then I'll sleep for 6 or 7 hours, and then go to the gym, since you're standing here making me feel all guilty for not being my best, physically active self."

"Oh pffsh," she snorted, but there was an amused, indulgent kind of smile on her face. "You don't fool me, mate." Then figuring what the hell, she started stretching on the patio. "By the way, the cigarettes belong to some trenchcoat. Just drop it behind the microwave when you're done with it."

"Aw, man, and here, I was hoping I could remain really ignorant about where they came from so I wouldn't feel guilty." His face assumed a mock pout for a second before he broke into another smile. "Thanks, seriously. Juice and nicotine are exactly what I needed right now."

"Grumpy Trenchcoat couldn't care less, or he wouldn't have left them there," was her simple and completely logical justification as she returned his smile with small grin of her own. "And you're very welcome. You can join me for a run next time."

"Yeah, sure," Gabriel said so enthusiastically it surprised him. "I'd like that."

"Cool." Coming out of her stretch, Rachel popped the earbud into her ear and with a cheerful wave took off into the early morning.