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Gabriel stopped at the creek he’d passed on the way out earlier. He’d noted a good place to sit and rest if nothing up the trail interested him.
That felt like hours ago. Ahead there had been plenty to admire. The way ice was forming in webs on fallen trees and brush. The occasional animal track to follow for a bit. The steady sounds of boots crunching ice and dirt as he walked.
As he settled by the creek he honed in on the bubbling sounds of the water. He wasn’t sure exactly how long he’d been gone now, he left early in the morning. A glance at the sun still high in the sky gave him reassurance.
The cabin they were staying in was starting to feel too small and overly warm. That was the purpose of the walk today, to get outside. To feel real again.
He moved his foot to kick a few loose rocks into the water, splashing sounds cutting through the near silence of the forest.
It wasn’t that he hated being here. In the middle of nowhere. In the cold and quiet.
And truthfully, he didn’t have to be here. He could be in the too warm cabin, in bed with Jack.
Gabriel leaned back, gazed around the forest, sight drifting to above the pines where a cloudless blue sky stretched endlessly.
Eventually, sitting there the cold started to slip in and he pulled the coat tighter.
When he’d had enough he got up and went back to the trail, heading towards home. As he got closer he could hear Jack chopping wood. Which amused him to no end. He didn’t bother trying to school his expression when he broke the clearing in front of their tiny cabin.
Jack looked up to him, relaxing with the ax in hand. Gabriel went straight for him, as casually as he could. When he got within range he opened his arms as if asking for a hug.
Jack’s expression still read worried but that quickly dissolved, as when Gabriel got close enough he wormed his cold hands underneath Jack’s sweater.
“He- hey what the fuck-“ Jack jumped, trying to curl away from Gabriel’s icy hands. But Gabriel just moved with him, settling them against Jack's body and huddling himself close to his warmth.
Gabriel tucked his head into the crook of Jack’s neck and just rested there. A moment later and Jack relaxed, dropping an arm over Gabriel’s shoulders. He pulled him in tight.
“You're freezing. Are you okay?” Jack asked, voice low.
Gabriel nodded. He heard a thud and then a second arm was being wrapped around him.
“Are you sure” Jack asked again.
Gabriel pulled back to look at him, “yeah. Just having one of those days”
Jack nodded. He understood what ‘those days’ meant.
Gabe rested his head back on Jack’s shoulder for a moment and they swayed slightly in their embrace.
“Can we go inside? I’m fucking cold” Gabriel asked.
Jack laughed, “yes dear.”
Gabriel watched him swoop down and grab the ax, leaving the small wood pile by the block.
“I’ll come back out later and move it," Jack said as he held out his hand to Gabe. "Let’s get warm”