Like a bolt of lightning chapter 35

Chapter 35: Embers of yesterday


"Gabriel, Billy!  How were your holidays?"  The next evening, Sam and Archie found the RED scout and pyro sitting by themselves at one of the tables of the bar they frequented in the weekends.  Gabriel looked up and smiled, greeting Sam with a kiss on the cheek and Archie with a pat on the back – Billy waited for them to sit down to greet them much the same.

"My holidays were awesome!  My mom invited Gabriel over for a few days for Christmas... he got this cool hat, scarf an' gloves my mom knitted herself...", Billy said, pointing at the small mound of wool in front of them, and Gabriel nodded.

"My dad and my sister were so happy ta have me with 'em again for the first time 'n years...  And then Will came over for New Year's an' we watched tha fireworks."

"...And ya fiyahplace – dude's got a hearth tha size of a walk-in closet!  By the way, I didn't evah know ya had ya own house back in Canada...", the RED scout said, and Gabriel reacted with a shy grin.

"Technically I had a house and a half, but I sold my half of my mom's house to Belle for her helpin' me..."  He then looked distant, and Sam spoke up softly to Billy.

"Uh, Billy, mind helping me carry over some drinks this way?"  The scout nodded after a look at Archie, who shrugged to show he didn't mind, and the two of them walked over to the bar, placing their orders before Sam whispered her question.  "...Do you know what's going on?"

"Uh-huh... his sistah told me.  Their mom, Marylise Dantan, died after she got anafylactic shock – Gabriel'd taken her out ta eat, an' she ordered shellfish soup.  He... you know he has a tattoo?"  When Sam nodded, blushing – it brought back details she had resolved to forget – Billy sighed.  "That's his motha.  He blames 'mself, even now..."

"...He must have really loved his mother...", Sam mused.

"Like any man loves his motha, Sam... an' also, way he told it, it was just shockin'...  One minute some paramedic tells 'im it'll be okay an' tha next he's in tha hospital an' this doctah says his mom didn't make it..."  The drinks had arrived in the meantime, and Sam sighed before heading back to the table, fortunately finding Gabriel in better spirits.

"...an' my dad asked me 'what's your friend Will doing in your room?' - Annabelle just couldn't stand it anymore an' she just blurted out 'dad, Gabriel and Will are amants.'  My dad looked in shock from me to Billy and back – and then, outta the blue, he grins an' tells me 'this explains why you always passed when a girl helped you study but failed when a boy did!', hahahah..."

"Yeah...", Billy entered in the conversation, smiling, "How'd ya like it when ya own son comes home after ten fuckin' years an' ya find out his boyfriend's, like, half his age?"

"You are not!", Sam said, but Billy rolled his eyes.

"By 'proximation, Sam... I'm nineteen an' Gabe's thirty-five, that ain't no little difference.  But his sistah don't mind, an' his dad just was caught off guard."

"Gods, who wouldn't be!  ...But 'nuff about me, how were ya holidays, Sammy an' Archie?  ...Finally asked her properly, huh, squirt?", Gabriel said as he noticed the ring on Sam's finger, and Archie chuckled.

"Yeah, well, couldn't have tha rest of tha team oglin' my girl any longer... least now you can see she's all mine...  But tha holidays were incredible!  We set up huge Christmas trees in Damien's house – which is big as hell!  Oh, an' Sam's old friends from her studies abroad are tenants of Damien's...", the scout said, and the four discussed the holidays further while enjoying a nice drink.


"...Hey, ah, Sammy... can I speak to ya for a sec?", Gabriel asked as the four of them arrived at the base again, slurring slightly.  "B'fore ya think it's somethin' dirty or whatever, 's just harmless, Arch, but I kinda need her alone for this..."

"Uh...", Archie stammered – he'd been about to protest, but he saw how serious Gabriel looked and nodded with a sigh.  "Okay, but if ya try anythin' funny, I ain't gonna be nice like last time!"

"Je t'avoue...  I promise you, Archie, nothin' funny."

"Okay... I'll be waitin' in our room, Sam – don't be too long...", he said, kissing her on the cheek before giving her a grin that contained definite promises for the remainder of the evening – she grinned back before turning to the RED pyro, who stood before her in the light of a street lamp, fidgeting nervously.

"Gabriel, is something wrong?", she asked, but he shook his head.

"N-no...  course not, everythin's great!  ...I really have no idea how to say this...  Merde... J'veux pas te faire peur..."

"Tu ne me fais pas peur, Gabriel, dis-moi qu'est-ce qu'il y a...", Sam replied gently, and Gabriel's eyes widened.

"S-samantha... tu sais déjà que je t'aime comme ma amie la plus bonne... c'est seulement... Merde, je n'peux pas le dire même-"

"Gabriel, don't try to find ways to sugarcoat it or to mollify me, just tell me what's the matter..."  Sam's voice was still gentle, but her eyes showed concern and mental steeling – and it was that iron resolve that made Gabriel take a deep breath and blurt it out.

"I love you, Sam."

"...Oh..."  Whatever she'd been prepared for, that wasn't it.  Her reaction didn't show disappointment or relief, it was just a sound, but it spurred Gabriel to speak on.

"I know it's stupid as hell.  I know ya got Archie an' ya love only him.  I know I'm just a friend.  I love Billy too – jus'... with you it's different.  Billy an' me, we've got a future, but with you it's like there's only today...  pas de demain, pas de hier, seulement aujourd'hui..."

"No tomorrow, no yesterday?", Sam said with a smile.  "Gabriel... w-what do you want?"

"Nothin' – just...  Ya need ta know.  Ya need ta know that I want you an' Archie to be happy together... even if part of me wants ya with me..."  She noticed his tears and wiped them away gently, causing her friend to blush ever so softly as she did.

"Gabriel...", she said softly, touching her cheek tentatively.  "Thanks for telling me.  I can't tell you I love you like that too, but I like you and I want you to be happy – to see you hurting like you are, like you have been for a while, I guess, that's painful to me...  But we'll forever be friends, I swear to you.  You have a place in my heart even if it's not the place you'd want, and I do love you as a friend."

"...Your frienship's all I'll ever need, Sammy, hun...", the RED pyro said after a short but laden silence before turning to the door.  "Ya'd best not keep Archie waitin' – an' Billy's gonna miss his kiss goodnight if I ain't returnin' soon...  G-goodnight, mon ange...", he said, and Sam blushed, unable to reply as he left, the soft 'click' of the door jolting her back to her senses.  She made her way to her room in a state of slight shock, finding Archie waiting for her in only his boxers.

"So, what'd our fave psycho wanna get ya alone for?", he asked with a grin, but Sam still couldn't bring herself to speak, stripping down to her underwear wordlessly before sagging onto the bed.

"...Archie, you might be better off not knowing...", she finally admitted, glancing at the scout, causing him to worry slightly.

"Jeez, what'd he say?!  Imma bash his head in for upsettin' ya-"

"D-don't, Archie... he can't help it.  H-he told me he loves me.", the pyro said, looking at the ground all the while.

"Where's he get tha right ta-", Archie fired up again, but Sam's kiss silenced him.  He could feel her desperation, her need for an affirmation of their love, and the heat radiating off her almost-naked body onto his own made his mind hazy.  It was a full minute before they slowly detached their lips from each other, out of breath and blushing profusely.

"I only love you, Archie... only you.  He's my friend, but you're my everything..."  She then kissed him again, and now he could feel another urgency, and he grinned into the kiss as he pulled her onto him, fidgeting with the straps of her bra impatiently.