Chapter Text
"Can you get me a book about space?”
Kuromaku looked up from his newspaper, to be greeted by a curious face. Gabriel seemed to have already finished his breakfast, and moved on to pestering the others.
The gray clone pinched the bridge of his nose, annoyed at the interruption. “May I complete my meal first?” He sighed, looking at the plain oatmeal next to him, that was beginning to get cold. Gabriel looked at it too, and scrunched up his nose.
“Why aren't you done eating yet?” he flicked a pointy ear. “I'm a slower eater compared to the rest of you.” Kuromaku analyzed the room quickly. Romeo, Dante, and himself were the only ones who haven't finished.
“Why?”
Kuromaku blinked. “What?”
Gabriel tilted his head, and leaned closer. Kuromaku leaned back. “Why are you a slow eater? Compared to us?” He reiterated.
There were many things that Kuromaku could answer with. Because his oatmeal was extremely unappetizing and made his stomach feel like he was eating cement? Because he was focused on his newspaper, and its interesting columns? Because he kept getting interrupted by curious clones?
He sighed and chose the least offensive option, feeling a bit guilty for thinking harshly about the brunette. “Because I read while I eat. Like I'm trying to do right now.” Gabriel just blinked, his face unmoving.
Kuromaku berated himself for wanting Gabriel to leave him. He wasn't truly an annoyance, he just had a lot of curiosity, and who would Kuromaku be if he would dissuade his passion for knowledge?
“I want to read too. That's why I'm asking you. For a book about space.” He gave a small smile.
Kuromaku gave a skeptical look. “You are aware of where Fëdor keeps his literature, why do you need my assistance?” Gabriel's smile disappeared, and his ears flattened. Kuromaku noted this as a sign of distress.
“Fëdor said I couldn't climb his bookshelf anymore. It's not screwed into the wall, and it could fall on me and kill me.” His tone seemed a bit shaky. “And I can't reach the high books.”
Of course, Gabriel's climbing around the apartment has been more and more restricted over the months out of concern for his safety. It was hard to imagine the brown clone ever facing a serious injury, with how invincible he seemed, but it's always better to be safe rather than sorry. Kuromaku sighed and glanced one last time at his oatmeal which has turned stale.
Folding up his newspaper, he stood up from the recliner. “Well, I wouldn't want you perishing under a bookcase. Let's go.” He began towards Fëdor's bedroom
Gabriel happily bounded behind him.
—
“Here you are. Fëdor’s astrology textbook.” Kuromaku handed the thick book to Gabriel who underestimated how heavy it was, almost dropping it. “Be careful with it, it belongs to his university.”
Gabriel did his usual, curious head tilt. “If it belongs to his school, why is it here? Did he steal it?” his almond eyes glowed in wonder, as he admired the front cover. It had a CGI recreation of the solar system.
Kuromaku coughed to cover his laugh. “No, of course he didn't, he bought it.” Gabriel opened his mouth. “With his own money…” he finished quickly. That answer seemed to work, as Gabriel went back to staring at the cover, a cheeky smile finding a way back on to his face.
Kuromaku found a smile of his own. It was strange, seeing Gabriel so enthralled by the textbook. He watched as he traced over the weathered spine, with wide eyes, as if he was afraid to open it.
“Are you not going to read it?” He politely asked, amused by how gentle Gabriel was being. He didn't know he had such a high respect for literature. Gabriel stared, shock on his face. “Can I?” He asked, surprised.
Before Kuromaku could even answer, Gabriel dropped to the floor, sitting criss-cross-apple-sauce. He excitedly opened the book, skimming the index.
Seemingly not able to shift his gaze, Kuromaku watched Gabriel flip through the first few pages. He read a sentence or two, before turning to the next part. Kuromaku became confused.
He stood still as Gabriel's movements picked up speed, and the brown clone turned to the pages in the middle, and pinched a group. He used his thumb to drag the column, his wide eyes searching for something specific. An uncharacteristically worried look grew on his face, as he started from the back of the book, using his thumb to quickly skimp, and ended up back at the cover.
Gabriel only looked more panicked as he continued to flip, back to forth, forth to back, and over again. Kuromaku counted thrice that Gabriel had checked for something that was clearly not in the textbook.
“Um…” Kuromaku cleared his throat. “Are you looking for somethi-” he began, but got cut off. Gabriel stood up, and held the book open to show Kuromaku the page, his usual curious expression replaced by a look of worry. He adjusted his glasses, and squinted, trying to figure out the issue. Using his analytical eyes, he scanned paragraph after paragraph thoroughly.
The section appeared to be about the moon landing, and what scientists have learned from it in the past decades. Areas with highlighted vocab words, and other annotated trivia caught his attention. Could the information be incorrect? The possibility of such a tragedy would be low, as Kuromaku has read this volume previously, and had personally fact-checked it himself.
“I don't understand, what's the issue?” He assumed something must have been factually wrong, or maybe the page had been vandalized, but it remained perfectly fine. He pushed his glasses back up his nose as they slid down. Gabriel still didn't look at all convinced.
“Where are the pictures?” the brunette flipped through the book again, as if that would make brightly colored diagrams, and blurry photographs appear all of the sudden. “I thought…” he trailed off, clear disappointment and confusion in his voice. He sadly flopped back on the floor.
Pictures? That's what he was so erratic about? Kuromaku thought. He tried to rationalize why no images being provided would spark such a reaction from Gabriel, but nothing specific came to his mind.
Kuromaku just gave him a sympathetic look. “I give up.” Gabriel stared up at him with big watery eyes. “What is so important about pictures? You know most of the basic information already.” Kuromaku recalled that Gabriel had memorized all the planets, many moons, and the names of satellites and ships. “Dont you have a folder full of astrology papers?” He tried to keep his tone neutral, but his own curiosity got the best of him.
Gabriel must have noticed, as he gave him an unrecognizable face.
A wave of what seemed like uneasiness hit Kuromaku in the chest. Why did it seem like Gabriel was looking through him?
Did I say something wrong? He wondered as Gabriel flipped through the book once again, this time going slower to see if he could have possibly missed a page.
“It's just…” his face scrunched up, while turning the pages. “What if I was a foreigner? And I couldn't read Russian? How would I know which page saturn was on if there are no pictures with it?” he pointed to another page, this time with more enthusiasm. Kuromaku only rested his head on his palm.
“And,” he said, waving the book impatiently, “What if I was blind? How would I read this if it has no braille? There's nothing here! Just words.” the brunette exclaimed.
“Gabriel, you're not a foreigner. You understand the Russian lexicon completely fine. You can speak, read, and write fluently.” As he talked, he counted on his fingers, his logic fighting against Gabriel's hypotheticals. “And as for the braille, you can see perfectly average.” Kuromaku's mind went back to when Gabriel tried on his glasses for the first time, saying how it made everything more blurry. “In addition, you can't even read braille."
Gabriel made that unusual face again. Kuromuku thought that his facts would have convinced the curious clone that the textbook was normal, but an awkward silence filled the bedroom before-
“Are you mocking me?”
The question caught Kuromaku off his guard. He didn't expect Gabriel to be so blunt, but since when was he ever predictable?
He waved his hands dismissively. “No! No, of course not, I was just…explaining, that's all.” Kuromaku was confused and intrigued by Gabriel's reaction. Was he upset at him? As much as he wanted to, he knew better than to pry.
The gray clone shifted uncomfortably. “Maybe…” he started, forming a plan. Gabriel looked up, back to his default curiosity. “Maybe?” he repeated back.
“Maybe we can go to the library together,” he finished. “And we can get you some different books.” Gabriel beamed at the suggestion.
“Can we go today?” He stood up, and closed the book with his foot. “Can we go right now?” small diamonds glowed in his eyes.
Kuromaku put a hand up. “Not right now, but definitely today,” he promised. “How about after lunch?”
If Gabriel had even considered being upset at the gray clone, all the bitterness seemed to melt away at the idea. A wave of strange relief flooded over Kuromaku.
“Sounds good.” Gabriel smiled