Paris in the summer (amelia)

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Things had been crazy these past couple of weeks. Gabriel wanted to do something nice for Amelia. So he had booked a few things through his mother, before he went and made plans. Nice resturants for lunch and dinner, some shopping, maybe seeing some sights, a night at a nice hotel in Paris, what could go wrong? He had a few things in place for the day to begin. He wore his nicely polished boots, some pressed pants and a new shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He kept one of his knives hidden in his boots but that was because well, he was a demi-god and a big three at that. He didn't go anywhere without a weapon. Well New Rome, but that was the least of his worries with Janus being Mr. OCD. He didn't much have to worry about someone sticking a knife in his back there. It was a slightly nice thought but it didn't bode well with him.

So he went looking for Amelia. He had sent her a note a few days ago but he hadn't seen her. He probably should have seeked her out after the battle but he had been stuck in the infirmary. Gabriel had turned her room in to a flower shop. He couldn't think of what else to send her to make her feel better. He wanted her to know that she was loved. Though with the death of his sister, well, he hadn't exactly been in his right mind. The sound of death on the battlefield, it was painful. All around him people and monsters were dying. The sound, deafening. It had haunted him for nights afterwards. The screams, the sounds of battle. Everyone had nightmares now and then, but there wasn't anything that even Lord Somnia could do to quell the tormented and contorted faces of the souls that Gabriel saw. That was saying something, considering his weakest power was necromancy. The dead didn't really agree with him in the same way they did with Felicity. But he wouldn't have to compete with her any more. She was gone. He didn't want to loose anyone else. He could only hope that Amelia had gotten the message to meet him near the forests edge.

So he sat down, his bow at his side. He waited. There really wasn't much anything else to do but wait. What was going to happen? He had other training to do. Maybe he should have just kept up with trying to master all of these emotions. His anger and rage, the sadness, all of it. But someone said he needed a vacation, some time away from camp. Mercury, that's who it was. He had spoken with the god briefly the other day and it was with his help that he was able to procure the necessary funds and reservations at the nice restaurants, all for a nice offering of a plate of sandwiches. He didn't bother to close his eyes. His rest had been sporadic at best. Only a few moments here and there, Gabriel wasn't scared of much, but if the last war was any indication, his dreams would be horrendous. He trained. All he did was train. At least till the point of exhaustion, so when he eventually was dragged back to his bed after passing out by his co-centurion and friend, Chris Ashby. Though his co-centurion would never say what sort of compromising positions he had found Gabriel in. But if the krick in his neck was any indication, he probably had passed out once or twice on top of a training dummy or on the archery field. He was tired, oh so tired. But no, he had to wait. He had to wait and see if Amelia would show up or if.... if he would pass out here in the woods. Again.

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Amelia wanted to cry. She was pretty sure she was the worst person on the planet and that everyone had good reason to hate her. Especially Gabriel. Oh, dear Gabriel. He’d done nothing wrong. It was her own stupid fault. She’d spent many a night crying, and many a day doing anything to occupy her mind. She hated herself too. She just hoped that she could redeem herself by being a good mother. She wouldn’t blame Gabriel if he left the scene completely, left her completely. He deserved better, just like Felicity had said. But she refused to believe what Felicity had said about the baby deserving to die. It wasn’t the baby’s fault. At first after the war, she’d gone looking for Gabriel. Then after she met with him and had to break that news to him, she’d basically hidden from him, she now realized. She was afraid of him. Afraid that seeing her would hurt him. He’d been hurt enough as it was.

She looked down at the note he’d left for her, and held it close to her heart. She loved him. She really, truly did. But she doubted he believed that. Not really. She forced back tears as she pulled the necklace he had given her out from under her shirt. She wore it always, except when sleeping and showering to keep it safe. He was sweet and kind and loving and, gods, he deserved better than her. Maybe it was just her hormones speaking, but she still thought that way. Eventually, she got up from her bed where she had been lying, curled in a little ball, and got dressed in something a little more presentable. She had to face him sooner or later. She would hate herself even more if she didn’t. She couldn’t hurt him more by not showing up.

The whole walk there, she didn’t make eye contact with anyone, though that was more normal for her lately. More often than not she felt discouraged, self-conscious, the whole nine yards. Which was weird for her, but she didn’t care. She didn’t care half as much anymore how she looked, more what other people thought about her, which she was convinced was nothing but bad. Only Chris and Jupiter had made her think otherwise. Felicity hated her. Gabriel had perfect right to hate her. She bit her lip as she walked silently. Maybe she should just leave camp. But no, she had to see him one more time. She owed him that much. A real, honest goodbye. By the time she got to the forest, her eyes were wet. She spotted Gabriel, but still didn’t dare make eye contact. She just walked up and sat next to him silently. He looked so worn out. Poor Gabriel. Oh, poor Gabriel. It only made her want to cry more. She was being selfish. He’d been through so much. He deserved to be happy.

Tag: Gabriel
Word Count: 488
Notes:

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Gabriel felt his eyes slip closed. Damn it all to the nine realms of hell, he thought as he tried to pull his eyes open. He had been fighting a loosing battle, sleeping sporadically and training to the point of exhaustion. He fought hard, he wouldn't be surprised if his body was littered with stress fractures. His chest hurt so badly, but it wasn't from any physical injury. He knew deep down that he couldn't compete with Jupiter. He was the king of the gods after all. Gabriel was a mortal, a son of Pluto and a social pariah. He knew he didn't really stand a chance with someone... someone like her. He should go back to being a hermit, tending to his books, keeping away from people. The war had been so horrible, all of the constant ringing, he still had a headache that wouldn't go away. It was seated right behind his eye socket. But it was such a loosing battle. Sleep was winning. He sent a mental prayer to Lord Somnia for a small sleep without horrible nightmares that typically plagued the son of Pluto.

It was a grumbling stomach that woke him up. Literally he had lived on nothing but tea for the past day, he had skipped lunch, dinner, and breakfast this morning. It was a wonder it didn't scare off any monsters that had maybe been lurking in the forest. He gave a small groan as he sat up, looking around with a slight bemused look, a bit lost in a way. The confusion probably came with the exhaustion. He looked around and then saw that Amelia had taken a seat beside him, her eyes shining with tears. "Oh come now, I can't have my pretty flower looking so glum on this outing. It is for you after all." He said, giving a tired smile. He had so many mixed emotions welling up in his chest, but he locked them away, putting them back in the very back of his mind. Sometimes, though Gabriel would never admit it, but he admired Edmund's ability to detach himself entirely from his emotions. He would never admit to admiring a traitorous little bastard.

"Are you ready for a surprise?" Gabriel said, standing up and dusting the dirt and grass off of his new pants. Yes, he actually decided to get new clothes for this occasion. The shopping for said new clothes was well, it was an interesting experience. The venus legacy seemed a bit exasperated when Gabriel didn't know what size he was or that he was so dusty and dirty or that he didn't like the feel of the fabric. Though he thought that the poor legacy was going to have a convulsion when he didn't know whether or not he wanted a tie or a bow, so he went with neither. He left that shop a whole pocket full of denarii lighter and one exasperated legacy with his hair pulled out in patches. "I wanted to treat you, give you a bit of a vacation, gods know that people need it now more than anything."

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He looked like he might be asleep. She wished she’d brought a blanket and pillow for him maybe. Gods, he looked like he needed a good rest. Poor Gabriel. As she sat beside him, she hadn’t the slightest idea that her presence had actually been noticed until he spoke up. Then again, she probably wouldn’t have noticed if the roles were reversed, true, but he was a good Roman soldier and she was confidant not even the Mercury kids could sneak up on him unnoticed. She smiled slightly and reached over to take his hand. “Outing? Where are we going? I hope it’s somewhere where you can rest because you look horrible. I mean, not that kind of horrible. Just… really worn out.” Great, Amelia, tell him he looks horrible. That was a sure-fire way to brighten his day, now wasn’t it?

She stood up as he did and wiped at her eyes in case anything had escaped. “Surprise?” She paused as she looked him over. She reached over and tugged slightly at his sleeve. “Is this a new outfit? Wow… you look really good. I mean, not that you don’t always, but you clean up pretty nicely.” Was she nervous? Heck yes, she was. Was it obvious? She hoped not, but didn’t trust her luck there. She didn’t want to hurt him any more than she already had. He deserved to be happy. Then again, he had smiled. Tired, yes, but she hoped that that was more because he was physically tired than anything else. When he mentioned wanting to treat her to a little vacation, she had to smile. “Only if you let me treat you too. You look like you need a vacation more than I do.”

A smirk crossed her face, which contrasted oddly with her still puffy eyes. “But before your surprise…” She didn’t bother to finish her sentence. Instead, so wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips. A moment later, she broke the kiss and smiled as she gazed into his deep brown eyes. How could she not smile at a moment like this? It was like just being with him made all her worries go away. Well, minus the worry of him needing rest. “I love you, Gabriel Caulder. And I know that must be hard to believe at a time like this, but it’s true. And I’m going to prove it to you. I’m going to make things up to you. I really want us to work this out together, because I don’t know what I’d do without you. I’m sorry I-… about what happened. I really am. I thought I knew what I wanted, what I’d wanted since I was fourteen, but I was wrong. It was you I really needed. A true gentleman and someone I really cared deeply about. Forgive me for taking so long to figure it out…”

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"Yes an outing." Gabriel said with a sleepy smile. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes for a brief moment as he stretched. "Yes, I probably look as if I've been used as Cerberus's chew toy. Been training long hours lately." Not that Charlie had been forcing the long hours of training on anyone lately, he had forced it on himself. He had to get better, be stronger, he had to try to escape all of the faces he saw, the ghosts, the faint buzzing in his ears. All of what was going to drive such a rift between him and Amelia because he wasn't strong enough to push past all of what was making him weak. She deserved Jupiter. He was a god and he was perfect. She deserved nothing less than perfection, it was something that he couldn't be. He was only human after all and being human had a majority of faults.

Gabriel had winced as he moved. Yeah his whole body was sore but in the end, he wanted it to be worth it. At least she had noticed his new outfit. That was nice. It made him smile at least. "I think you'll like where I'm taking you." He said simply as he looked around. He picked up his backpack of assorted things that he felt that were needed amongst his little planned trip. though one of the items probably could have been left at home. "Well we will be staying at a hotel on the beach, followed by some shopping in a major shopping city, meals made by the finest chefs, all of amenities you could ask for." Gabriel said as he described what sort of trip he had in mind for Amelia. He took the advice of his financial backer and went with his own hotel. Mercury sure had been keen on letting legionnaires wanting to go to his hotels but Gabriel wasn't about to turn down something that would make his girl smile. "yeah new outfit, figured I'd actually try to look good for you for once instead of a bum." He gave a small chuckle.

He was a bit taken aback when she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. She told him how much she loved him and how she was sorry. He believed her, at least his heart did. His mind in the back kept on with the snarky things, saying how if she really did love him that this wouldn't have happened in the first place. He pushed the little green monster aside and hugged her back just as tightly, not letting go. He wanted to know that he was here for her as long as she needed him. He was never good at emotions, but he hoped the hug was able to convey what he couldn't. He pulled them through the shadows, gently of course, he didn't want to upset her in case there was a bout of pregnancy sickness. But she would be in awe of the place where they were staying. The shadows let them out in a large sitting room off to the side, the room was three rooms in total, the sitting room with large bay windows facing the blue ocean waters of Cannes. Just across the street was the beach. Then there was a bedroom with a king sized bed and a large bathroom complete with a shower and whirlpool bath. Wow, Gabriel thought, Mercury sure knew how to do a hotel room right. The light was just coming up, glistening over the waters. "we can start here, rest for a little or we can do some shopping. Paris is just a shadow away." Gabriel said with a small smile. Boy that took a lot out of him. It was weird for that feeling of exhaustion and slight dizziness. That had never happened before when it came to shadow travel. "I hope you like it." HE said smiling.

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Amelia didn’t really care about hiding the fact that she was concerned about him. He looked so worn out. What had he been doing to himself? Her mind automatically went down the guilt trip route it usually did. She used to think the world revolved around her, a thought typical to her family, but recently she’d realized the error in that. Now she realized… all those years she had thought herself a rose, when really the beautiful flower was stripped away to just leave the nasty thorns that pricked the fingers of anyone near to her. So in a way, she still held on to that old habit that she was the center of attention… just not in a good way anymore. This was her fault. If she hadn’t been stupid, she wouldn’t have hurt him so badly. He wouldn’t be beating himself up if it weren’t for her actions. She owed him so much. He deserved worlds better. “Why? I mean, I thought all the cohorts were getting sort of a break after the war…”

She watched him, unsure what she could do to help, as he winced at the slightest movement. Oh, poor Gabriel. Poor, poor Gabriel. Thankfully, his smile shed a little bit of hope into the dark corners of her heart. “I hope it involves at least a well-padded cot for you to take a nap on. Gods know you look like you need it. No offense meant, of course.” Her faint smile turned into a confused frown as he spoke again, which slowly melted into a warm smile as he continued. Gods, he was so sweet. Even when he appeared to be beating himself up, he still thought about her. It was probably flat out the most romantic thing she had ever seen. And then top it off with that cute chuckle of his and she couldn’t resist. “You are officially the most romantic guy I’ve ever met. Ever. I can’t believe-… I can’t believe that you planned all this. Just for me? You’re so thoughtful.”

But of course, since it never truly left her, her guilt came right back, nagging at the back of her mind. She didn’t deserve his love. She didn’t deserve to even be friends with him. He had every right to leave her on her own for the rest of her life and never speak to her again. Yet he didn’t. That was what really took her for the loop. Everything came rushing forward at once and before she knew it really, she was hugging him close and babbling about how sorry she was. It was all true, of course, but in retrospect she wished she could have gone about it with a tad more dignity. Then there was the matter of the sudden tug in her gut that meant they were not staying in place anymore. It felt like she was rushing through ice water and she held on close to Gabriel, her eyes shut tight, though she wasn’t sure if that part was necessary. Her stomach twisted a little, but thankfully she hadn’t eaten anything in a good few hours, so there was nothing on it to cause anything too bad.

When the feeling dissipated, something was different. She opened her eyes and looked around…and was stunned. “Oh my gods…” She laughed slightly, mostly because she could hardly believe where they were. She looked to him with a bright smile and leaned up to kiss him just briefly. “Like it? I love it! This place is amazing! But yes, rest first. Come on.” She took his hand and gently pulled him towards the bedroom. Then blushed slightly at the thought, which was weird for someone like her. “Do you… mind if I join you? Just to rest.” Just snuggling up with him and taking a nap… wow did that ever sound appealing.

Tag: Gabriel
Word Count: 645
Notes: we can do a time skip for the resting part if you like