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Gabriel hummed softly, watching the fluff of silver hair on his chest rise and fall with his breathing. Jack had begun sleeping with him again. He had always been clingy; it hadn’t taken long before he was showing up at Gabriel’s door during the night. It had been far too long that both of them slept alone.
Jack nuzzled into the crook of his neck as if sensing his thoughts- which he probably was. Even in sleep, he sought to alleviate whatever was upsetting Gabriel, and the wraith couldn’t keep a smile from his face. “Hey, cariño ,” he murmured, ruffling Jack’s hair. “Have you slept enough?”
His only response was a contented hum and pulling himself tighter against his lover. Gabriel shifted, slipping one hand between their bodies to press flat against the base of his rib cage, where his soul was shaking off the vestiges of sleep. One finger dipped through his skin, drifting along its surface and causing Jack to shiver against him.
“Wake up, Sunshine.” Gabriel cupped his soul in his palm, finally stirring him to wakefulness. He mumbled against him, pressing forwards. Gabriel felt the soft folds of contentment envelop him, and the urge to fall back asleep was strong. “Stop that,” he chuckled, pressing a kiss to the crown of Jack’s head.
“I’m too tired for morning sex,” Jack grumbled.
“Who said anything about sex?” Gabriel chuckled as he released Jack’s soul, wrapping his arms around him. Disappointment seeped through him and he grinned. “Did you want morning sex?”
“You didn’t have to stop.” Jack slid up to his face, kissing his cheek as Gabriel’s hands found his soul again. “Good morning, love.”
Gabriel rolled them both over, slipping down Jack’s chest. “But if I didn’t stop, I wouldn’t be able to see your beautiful soul.” He rested his cheek against Jack, gazing at the orb of light suspended in his body. Even after nearly a year of seeing Jack, his soul never failed to awe him. He swore he could feel its coolness against his face even from where it rested under Jack’s skin.
Jack made a flustered noise. “It’s not beautiful.” Gabriel stared at him.
“Excuse me, cariño , but who’s opinion is subjective here?”
“Yours, probably.” Gabriel shook his head, hands slipping under his skin and tugging his soul free.
“Who could look at this and think, ‘Hey, this isn’t pretty’?” Gabriel raised his soul to eye level, both of them looking into the blue. Jack raised his hand to it, tracing his fingertips along the surface, following a curious strand until his fingers bumped Gabriel’s chest.
“What’s this?”
“What’s what?”
Jack snickered. “Can you really not see this?”
“Jack I have no idea what you’re talk-”
Gabriel broke off with a gasp as Jack tugged on the thread. “That.” He groaned, pressing a hand to his chest. “That’s… the bond between our souls.” His hand clamped around Jack’s wrist with surprising force. “Don’t pull on it!”
Jack immediately stopped his inquisitive tugging. “Does it hurt?”
“It feels like you’re going to pull it out,” Gabriel griped. Jack relented, releasing the thread and flopping forwards against him.
“Wouldn’t have thought ‘soulmates’ were a thing,” he said at length.
Both of them watched the shifting colors for a moment.
“You know, I think that we were soulmates long before this,” Gabriel murmured. “It just took a very, very long time for us to realize what we had.