Work Text:
"Are you free this afternoon, Commander?"
Gabriel was reading the report in his hand when Moira suddenlly asked him as typing.
"Yes?" He didn't understand why she asked such question, but still answered.
"I'd like to go somewhere, for a break." Moira replied nonchalantly. "Go with me?"
By the time Gabriel came to realize what had happened, he had changed his uniform into a more casual one and then sat in his car. His work had just come to an end, and he did have some spare time these days. What's more, this was the first time that Moira has taken the initiative to invite him to somewhere. In the past, she would either just interject a few words like "yes" or "no" while they were discussing, or simply rejected his invitation for various reasons. As time went on, predicting that she was just more enthusiastic about her own experiments than these entertainments, he no longer forced her to take part in such events.
Compared to the two kinds of atitudes, it didn't seem so excessive to call Moira's proposal today as surprising.
As he was thinking about it, it was Moira herself who walked up to him. Her usual Blackwatch uniform was replaced by a dark camel-colored coat, and the sash was loosely tied at her waist, which was just right for enhancing her body curves.
Wow. He even hesitated to recognize her for a moment.
Until Moira got into the car, sat by his side and closed the door, he has just came to his senses. "You look, a little..." He searched in his brain, trying to find a suitable adjective, "A little… different?"
"So what? You thought I would go out still in that uniform?" Moira raised her eyebrow.
"Well, just kind of rare." More than rare, the last time he'd seen Moira wearing clothes except the uniform was two years ago when they first met in Ireland. Usually, he was uninterested in interfering with the private lives of his agents. So in Moira's case, it was quite natural for them to meet for work either in his office or her lab.
Thus, an inexplicable sense of strangeness was gradually creeping in from the bottom of his heart as he saw her in an unfamiliar appearance.
"So, where do you want to go?" To be honest, it was his own fault that accepting her invitation without asking the destination. For now, even he has been aware of his negligence, it is not a good idea to quit. However, already knowing that Moira does not seem to be interested in all kinds of those popular hobbies, Gabriel began to have some doubts about the destination of this trip. Never mind, everything will be okay as long as it's not--
"Here." Obviously, Moira has prepared well for her holiday. She pointed somewhere on the map. Gabriel fixed his eyes on the screen, although he tried to control his expression, he still didn't respond immediately. To fill in the embarrasing silence, he kept flicking the map, pretending he was checking which way would be faster.
"You like... art exhibits?" Finally, Gabriel started the engine, then asked in a pseudo relaxed tone.
"Each painting is a projection of the creator's self, don't you think so?"
"Hmm...... "Gabriel hesitated for seconds. He did not want to dampen her mood, but eventually he chose to follow his heart. "In my eyes, they are just wasting paper."
This is what he really meant. Ever since years ago he had seen a group of so-called experts making comments to a "painting" created by a painter's cat by chance, he didn't believe those man did really know what they tend to convey any more. All in all, if their works are the same as those made by animals, how can they be called paintings with thinking? Since then, he has tried his best to stay away from galleries of all kinds.
It was not in his expectation at all that today he had to break the rule made by himself for a completely unexpected trip.
Of course, Moira was unaware of Gabriel's complex mental activity. Maybe it was because of her anticipation of his such answer, or her high spirits, Moira did not object him. Instead, she just gave out a few chuckles. "Then you should take a look even more." To her so conclusive, Gabriel just shrugged his shoulders, not commenting.
The car sped away from the base. It was cloudy outsides. The gloomy weather and a completely "not his type" destination really made Gabriel's emotion not as high as it should be. Maybe a trip totally on a whim didn't suit him. The deep jazz echoed in the car, and a thick male voice spat out word by word, but the soothing music only made him more anxious. He was about to switch to another disc to break the overly dreary atmosphere, but caught a glimpse of Moira instead.
While flipping through the tablet in her hand, she was nodding her head, faintly moving to the beat of the music. There was a slight smile was on her face.
Gabriel withdrew the hand intending for the CD, and turned to look directly at the front road instead.
For some reason he couldn't explain, he felt a little better.
After driving for about half an hour, Gabriel saw a conspicuous building on his right. Even though Gabriel's mood at this point was higher than it had been when he first set off, he still had no interest in visiting the gallery. While he was planning to let Moira get off and himself pass the time by compiling the report of the last operation in the car, Moira, who had stepped out of the car, suddenly turned her head as if she had guessed what was in his mind.
"It's never too late to make comments after you see it." After saying that, she closed the door and headed towards the entrance to the building, leaving no room for Gabriel's excuses. He sighed. When he parked the car, Moira had already disappeared. He pondered for a moment, but finally got out of the car and walked alone to the entry. At the door there was a board with the artist's name, which Gabriel was convinced that was not identical to anyone he remembered. He walked into the gallery, where the decoration was quite simple, yet even him can appreciate the care that went into the design. Perhaps because the painter was indeed not famous enough, there were only a few visitors in the building, but Moira wasn't among them. Well, she wasn't the type of person he needed to worry about, either. Gabriel stopped looking for her, and walked to a painting instead. At first glance, the canvas covered in vivid colors seemed unlike any masterpiece he had ever seen before. He tended to leave, but considering Moira's unusual praise, Gabriel stayed with his patience for a few more moments. The habit he had acquired through his job made him take a closer look, and he did see something hidden beneath the bright color.
Personal projection? Gabriel remembered what Moira said. He wandered in the room, the rest of the works also showed different emotions or thoughts. Unconsciously, he rounded a corner, feeling the light around him dim a bit. He looked forward, and a large painting, quite different from the others, was hanging in the middle of the wall, alone.
It was a tree, a gray tree.
And someone was standing in front of the painting.
The light from the ceiling had tinted the ends of her hair with cool white rays, blurring her outline. The breathtaking gray picture now became the perfect background, only to make that person's red hair stand out even more.
That was Moira.
It's hard to say which one shock him more.
Gabriel stood in place, just felt she has became part of the painting at this moment.
By the time he realized it, he has already steeped to Moira. When he was close enough, he discovered countless details in the painting. Numerous lines were woven and twisted to form the tree. The dark sky behind it was broken up into blocks, turning what was once a lightness into an unspeakable heaviness. At first glance, he could hardly believe this painting and the other works outsides were drown by the same person.
But Gabriel could guess why she preferred this one so much.
"How do you feel now?" Sensing an additional person beside her, Moira came back to reality, then asked him.
"Not too bad." He gave an absent-minded answer. There was another picture occupying his mind.
She still gazed at the painting, but suddenly asked another question."What have you seen?"
Before Gabriel could answer, she continued.
"Well, I saw myself."
"What?" Although Gabriel felt that he was beginning to understand what was in her mind, the answer, however, still made him confused.
But the conversation also ended earlier than he expected. Moira didn't seem intent on answering further. She put away the momentary emotions, as if nothing had happened.
"It's about time to go back, I think."
Gabriel was good at inducing people to tell him what he wanted to know, but it didn't mean that he is equally an expert of psychology. Since Moira didn't want to talk more, he will not spend his time speculating about the deeper reasons. Everyone has secrets. As long as it wouldn't interfere with their work, the secrets were out of his jurisdiction.
They walked out of the gallery without saying one word. The lights on the street were on. Gabriel silently started the engine, and set the optimal route for the return trip. He saw Moira continue to read the file on the tablet. The melodious saxophone still echoed in the car, but neither of them hummed to the music.
The holiday is over. There were many things waiting for them to do. So for now, he decided to put things about Moira aside.
After all, this trip itself was completely on a whim.