[center][img]http://fontmeme.com/embed.php?text=Eric%20Darvill&name=ajihand.ttf&size=50&style_color=A84600[/img] [h1]AND[/h1] [img]http://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/dHRmLjcyLjMyZDJkYy5SMkZpY21sbGJDQkRZWEp5YVc1bmRHOXUuMA,,/mr-dafoe.regular.png[/img] [hr][hr] [img]http://38.media.tumblr.com/932cb0e8f299ab7b97198ef4df1b0758/tumblr_inline_nn6rfa6pl81rj4zgt_500.gif[/img][img]http://38.media.tumblr.com/d1332584dc49350cf8a686a61d082d28/tumblr_nblmowcE681qjx6n6o5_250.gif[/img][/center] [hr][hr] [i]"You're such a nerd!"[/i] Gabriel could still feel the heat on his face, something he couldn't blame on the cold this time. Every clack of his work shoes against the tiled floor of D.C.'s airport hammered another memory and another that reddened his cheeks more. A few people passing gave him a look, something he should have thought as curios concern, but felt more like judgment. And thus, that could be the reason why Gabriel rammed head first into an idol civilian. Something one should not do in a crowded airport: walk in a brisk manner with their head down. A month prior, Gabriel received a letter of note with the Carrington seal directly emblazoned on the bill. Inside were stuffed a letter and two plane tickets, along with a notice to RSVP. At that point in time, Gabriel had a good standing with his parents. Good as in, he sent them postcards and refused to take their calls. To Reginald and Cassiopeia, that was better than nothing, which meant they likely felt it wasn't an inconvenience to notify him of a month long trip. Damn parents better be proud he worked long enough and could be considered dedicated enough to have earned two months vacation. However, the package had come at a delay. Not a few hours ago, when Gabriel met with his SES to determine whether he'd like his paycheck now or afterwards, the Carrington's presents decided to drop by, unnoticed. How they got his address wrong after sending the letter, and somehow had it end up at his workplace, Gabriel would not want to parse information for. That could likely come out as one of Gabriel's most embarrassing moments. Why he decided to open it there, not even he could say. But seeing a replica of Will Smith's suit and a shiny, silver stick with a note on the back that said something cheesy, he couldn't remember, could have likely ended up a lot better than it had. Now 'Agent C' would live with him forever, just as Mulder would—the latter he liked, the former, not so much. And to make matters worse, the jacket nearly had him in tears. Luckily, he held it in before he had to leave for the plane to New York. Now, however, with puffy red eyes and even redder cheeks, Gabriel couldn't be so sure. And definitely not after running into—ah [i]shit[/i]—an amputee. “Shit,” Gabriel hissed, trying to wipe the embarrassment from his face. His hand reached out, then his other, and then everything went to further shit when his bags and suitcases toppled into the dog carrier on the seat. “Fucking hell.” The dog went nuts with it’s yaps, the owner started screaming in Vietnamese, and he fucking floored the amputee straight into the ground. Would sorry even help? What just happened? To be completely honest, Eric hadn’t really been paying attention to where he was going the past half hour or so. His mind was wandering around somewhere miles away, so when Eric felt something solid run into him he was caught completely by surprise. Unfortunately, he had tried to balance himself on his prosthetic leg on instinct, and it slipped underneath him, causing Eric to tumble rather ungracefully to the ground. If he still had his real leg, he wouldn’t have tripped. Eric was still bitter about the loss of his leg, and it didn’t help that he was already having a bad day… No. Month at this point, really. It had all started when his asshole of a boss, the owner of the restaurant he worked at decided to suddenly renovate out of the blue. A few small renovations would be fine of course, but the owner decided to do a complete makeover of the building. The week before the renovations were supposed to begin, the owner [i]finally[/i] decided to let the staff know that they wouldn’t be able to work for the next few months at least. Thanks for the heads up, boss. Oh, and he wouldn’t be paying him since they worked on an hourly wage. And that’s how Eric was abruptly out of a job for the foreseeable future. Then one of his close friends from culinary school managed to snag an apprenticeship in France and would be gone for the next couple of years. Eric went to go visit his friend in Washington for a couple of weeks before seeing him off an hour ago. Waving goodbye to his successful friend was rather hard for multiples of reason. He would miss that guy, and also, Eric himself was out of a job so he was insanely jealous. Eric was booked for a flight after his friend’s to go back to Chicago, but he got hopelessly lost. At this point, he probably missed it. Wonderful. He was preoccupied with all of his misfortune, so when Eric landed in a heap on the ground, he was a bit disoriented and confused. All he heard was the high-pitched yapping of a dog, and a bunch of yelling in a different language. All he could see was a pair of long legs directly in front of him--who he ran into, perhaps? Without the grace expected from a former athlete, Eric clumsily picked himself off of the ground. “Uh, sorry about that. I wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going I guess.” He said, glancing upwards towards the taller man. Unfortunately for Gabriel, the lady hadn’t yet ceased her bickering and so all he could give in response was an unattractive cringe. Leaning as close as he can, while taming the familiarness of reaching out to pull the man closer, Gabriel maneuvered himself to stand behind the pillar the moment the lady looked away. “I’m sorry, can you…” he began, though recognition flared the moment his brain caught up, “Oh. You’re…? Uh… I mean—” A large flush took over his cheeks, and Gabriel immediately leaned back to distance himself. Fortunate that he wasn’t a man of words, Gabriel’s silence wouldn’t have been surprising to someone who knew him. Maybe that meant the same to this man, whom Gabriel hadn’t said much aside from the blatant insult. Funny. That’s probably not something someone wants to be remembered for. Gabriel bit his lip, pulling the bottom in to chew on out of habit. “Uh,” he opened his mouth again, but fell short with his hand in the air. After a moment’s pause he, looked at the slightly shorter individual, “Sorry?” Eric raised an eyebrow as something tugged at the edge of his memory. Where had he heard that voice before? Everything about this man screamed familiarity, and it was just at the tip of his tongue but he still couldn’t quite name… Oh. [i]Oh.[/i] The smell of flowers sprang into this mind, accompanied by a gentle breeze. There was a field, Eric had been lying among the grass when he had been joined by the very same person he had ran into. Eric’s eyes widened in recognition and he could only reply in a similar fashion to Gabriel. “Uh… Sorry.” As the words left his mouth, he immediately kicked himself mentally. He had already apologized, why was he doing it again!? “What? Why are you sorry?” Gabriel chuckled, nerves spilling from his lips in rumbling waves. “I’m the one who ran into you; you were standing still.” Almost an instant and Gabriel began again, slight desperation in his voice as if he’d lose the chance. “My name’s Gabriel, by the way, sorry. Just… I just wanted to get that out there.” Oh, Eric wasn’t the one to walk into him? Awkward. At this point, the normally suave Eric was flustered and confused. “Um, I’m Eric. Eric Darvill. Nice to… Meet you?” Not quite knowing what to say or do, Eric simply offered his hand to Gabriel. At least a handshake was normal, right? “Uh, yeah,” Gabriel furrowed his brows and stared bewildered at the offering. A surprise of recognition hit his face and Gabriel grasped Eric’s hand—with more enthusiasm than necessary—and flashed a bright smile. Genuine, he hoped, and almost subconscious the moment he turned to look at Eric again. “Yeah! It is. Awesome. Uh. So. Um. Wow, it’s crazy meeting you here huh?” Gabriel’s brows furrowed again and his smile faltered into a shaky grimace, “Well, running into you and your… leg.” Eric gave a chuckle as he glanced down at his fake leg. “Ah, it’s fine. It’s not like I was particularly going anywhere anyways.” He returned Gabriel’s smile with one of his own as he floundered for a conversation topic. What are you doing here? Nah, it was an airport. There’s only a handful of reasons why people come to an airport so that would be a bad idea. The weather is always a bad choice, so don’t bring it up. “So, uh… I didn’t expect to see you ever again, to be completely honest. Especially not here. Are you going on a trip somewhere?” Eric finally managed. Well, it didn’t turn out completely horrible. C for effort. Guess they had the same thought. Though, maybe Gabriel seemed a tad more thrilled by the prospect, of course in this excitable moment, he can’t tell whether or not he should put the walls up. Most strangers didn’t have that effect on him, though most strangers weren’t a guy he kinda sorta super liked upon the first impression. Then again, Gabriel almost always had his guard up and maybe he should be rethinking everything he currently just did. “I’m actually going to Europe on a family trip,” yeah, short and simple, “I have an extra ticket if you’d like to come.” Or just throw it all out the window. Gabriel paused and rubbed the back of his head, “I mean, uh, you know. Not that… like, not as my pretend boyfriend or anything, just, since you don’t seem to be doing anything in an airport, I wouldn’t mind having you tag along? I think I kinda owe you, anyway.” “Unless you can’t in the next few months? I totally understand. Not everyone can take a day off of work. I probably shouldn’t be bothering you anyway,” Gabriel continued, stepping past Eric to gather his fallen belongings and right them before turning back to bid his farewell, “It was… um, it was really nice meeting you, Eric. Again.” “Wait.” The word spilled from Eric’s mouth before he had a chance to fully comprehend Gabriel’s offer. Eric wasn’t a huge believer in fate, but everything was happening too perfectly. He missed his flight, he didn’t have anything to do for the next few months, and the guy that had always made him ask the question “What if” was offering him a trip to Europe--even if it was likely a joke or on a whim. It was as if the stars had lined up to make this possible. “I’ll go.” Why the hell not? It’s not like Eric had anything to lose or do. “If you’ll have me, of course.” Eric gave a sheepish grin, “If I’m being completely honest, I’m actually out of a job for the next few months and it was completely out of the blue so I don’t have a backup plan.” He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, “But uh, if you don’t want to I completely understand.” “Don’t want to?” Gabriel smiled, a little too ecstatic, with the whites of his teeth showing, “I asked didn’t I? Of course I’ll…” He sputtered for a moment. Taking a gulp took effort, the back of his throat scratchy, with pin pricks scrunching his face in a cringe. “Yeah, I’ll have you,” Gabriel muttered, preferring to look at his hands rather than at the object of his odd affections. Maybe not affections. He didn’t know the guy, how would he even comprehend something like that? He chalked it up to sex appeal and shuffled his bags a bit before finally looking at Eric. “Do you have enough for a month or so? If not, I have plenty of money; or my parents do, at least. I’ll get you whatever you need,” Gabriel smiled. Without another thought, he took the envelope out of his back pocket, briefly flashing the Carrington seal before hiding it in the fold of the paper. Handing the ticket to Eric never seemed so easy, and with such a certainty to his gesture, Gabriel had an unbelievably good feeling about this predicament. “Either way, looks like you’ve got a nice vacation up ahead. I hope my company doesn’t detract from it.” [hr] What the hell did he get himself into? Eric was seated in first class with a man he kind of knew (but not really), on their way to a trip with his family for a month (or longer) trip to Europe. This sounded like the start to an extremely cheesy romantic comedy movie, or a horror movie. Hopefully it was the former. As a guy with a prosthetic leg, he didn’t really like his chances in a horror movie-esque scenario. Amputees were usually among the first to die. During his days as an athlete, he had enough money to afford the occasional first class flight so he had considered himself fancy enough to be accustomed to it. Boy was he wrong. Gabriel--or rather, his family--must’ve been loaded. This was like… Mega First Class, if such a thing existed. Eric swore that there was a separate crew hired just to wait on their every need. All of the service legitimately went above and beyond amazing, and Eric momentarily felt like a king. “So, what’s your story? What’s up with all of this?” Eric inquired, gesturing to the amazing service they were receiving. It was really over the top. For all his pomp and circumstance, Gabriel’s shift from middle class hobo to Carrington true came seamless. The person didn’t change, but the situation did and situation called for a different tact. Unfortunately, for Gabe that is, he felt accustomed to the pampering of high class; like every Carrington, it fit him like a glove. A very expensive, very posh looking glove, no less. “Any french cuisine is fine, thank you,” Gabriel said, rehearsed with a smile, “And if you have any of the Dom Perignon, 80s preferably, but later is fine, that’d be lovely.” He finished with a wink before relaxing back into his chair to give a soft hum at Eric’s inquiry. After a moment’s thought, Gabriel figured the truth would be best. After all, take a possible stranger to Europe for the month and lying to him wouldn’t paint him as a suitable suitor. More like a potential serial killer. “I’m a Carrington, like silk finery and box seats at hockey games kind of Carrington,” Gabriel said, his chest deflating with a sigh, “I kinda got out of it. Made something of myself outside of my father’s company; became an FBI agent; did the whole college shebang; all that jazz. I’m practically not their son aside from a stark resemblance to my mother.” “A Carrington? Like [i]The[/i] Carringtons?” Eric’s eyes widened, recognizing the surname easily. They were only mentioned in the media nearly every week—most people in America, and possibly some other countries would know of them. However, that would explain this over the top service and fanciness of their mega first class flight. Gabriel must be seriously a VIP. As Eric mulled over the new information, he suddenly came to a stomach-dropping realization. “Wait… A family trip. That means I’m going to go on a vacation with Reginald and Cassiopeia Carrington!?” Ah, Gabriel hoped that wouldn’t be what he’d garnered from all of this. Of course, that’d be like asking a dolphin to stop swimming; having a huge brand name meant things to even the least money grubbing people. Of course, Gabriel didn’t quite know what Eric classified himself as and he didn’t fancy knowing right now. Ignorance is bliss and if bliss meant giving the man what he wanted for a month, then that’d be fine, as long as he didn’t expect the world and a fortune from Gabriel at the end of it all. And god, did he hope Eric looked past the money because Gabriel didn’t have squat. “Those Carringtons, yes, my mother and father,” Gabriel tried his best to smile, but it came out shaky and uncertain, “I haven’t been keeping up with them; they weren’t the best parents, but we parted on a good note. They paid for my tuition and then did the rest of my life on my own.” Taking a pause, Gabriel looked at Eric closely. “I hope this isn’t an issue for you. If you’re having second thoughts, my parents have plenty of money to get you back where you need to go,” Gabriel said, “but, if it’s anything to you, I’d… um… like it if you stayed.” “That’s… Wow.” Eric gave a quick shake of his head, trying to take everything in. Oh God, he had hit on a Carrington all of those years before. That’s some heavy realization right there. Still, that didn’t really change the situation too much, did it? He was still going on a vacation for a while with strangers. It just happened that the strangers were extremely famous, rich, and influential. That was no big deal. If anything, it made it less likely for Eric to be killed, because they would probably get a backlash from that. “I’ll stick with you,” Eric said firmly, flashing Gabriel a smirk, reminiscent of his more daring days back before the accident. “I’m already on this plane, and it’s not like I have much to do. And it doesn’t really change too much either.” A smile from Gabriel lit up his side of the aisle and he practically heaved himself into his seat. Maybe he didn’t realize how anxious he’d been over Eric’s answer. From the dopey smile he kept sending Eric’s way, Gabriel realized he probably should tone it down a bit. He grabbed Eric’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “It’ll be great, I promise. I won’t let you down,” he said, before releasing his grip and falling back into the seat again. [hr] With the rumble of the plane, Gabriel jolted awake from his spot on Eric’s shoulder, despite having a perfectly and fully reclinable seat and half the aisle to stretch out in. He muttered an apology for the stain of saliva on Eric’s shoulder and looked around with grogginess in his eyes. “We’re here?” he looked up to see the stewardess give him a weird stare. “Yessir, it was… only a thirty minute flight,” at that Gabriel blushed and pushed himself upright, “Your bags are already on the private jet, Mr. Carrington. If you and Mr. Darvill would follow the escort outside that would be wonderful.” Gabriel nodded and stood to offer a hand to Eric once the plane properly docked. “Ready to meet the parents?” Gabriel joked, almost immediately blushing further at his innuendo. Eric accepted Gabriel’s hand and pulled himself to his feet. “Oh wow Gabriel, I’m super nervous. What if they don’t approve of me? Then we can never get married! We’re going to have to elope to Australia or something.” Eric teased right back,deciding to roll with it. Part of it was for his own benefit--Eric was nervous, an emotion he didn’t really feel that often. Is this how people with stage fright or whatever felt? It was absolutely horrible. With a grimace, Gabriel wrapped an arm around Eric’s shoulder. Noticing his odd mistake, he ending the connection with a pat on his bicep and a cough. “Australia? All those poisonous animals?” Gabriel asked, squinting his eyes at Eric, “That’s so romantic. We can get the same antidote on the same arm. True love.” After patting Eric on the chest and throwing his head back to laugh, Gabriel followed the queue of people out to meet their escort. The trip to their bought out wing of the airport and into the slightly chilled air of New York was quick and painless. Mostly. He felt insanely nervous and felt himself scoot as close as he could toward Eric in an attempt to comfort himself. It worked to distract his own thought from his parents and siblings, but only added thoughts of overstepping boundaries with a total stranger and being an insanely creepy bastard. “Um, you good? Cause I’m fucking terrified, to be honest.” As Gabriel scooted closer, it was a natural reaction for Eric to throw his arm around Gabriel. Was it weird? Definitely. Did he care? At this point, not really. He was already doing everything wrong and out of order by accepting to go on this trip with someone who was barely more than a stranger. Might as well go all out, right? “I can feel my heart trying to beat out of my chest, but I don’t know if that’s because of you, or because of your loaded family.” Eric said in a light tone with a slight chuckle. “Either way, you’re probably doing worse than I am. You sure you got this?” “Flattering,” Gabriel rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless and shifted closer in the little scooter vehicle—he could blame the size of it, despite it being slightly bigger than a golf cart. “I think I do, but I just need some reassurance, and you aren’t helping,” still smiling, Gabriel looked at Eric with something bordering on coy. “If you need reassurance, you hired the wrong man.” Eric replied with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. “But if I must… Ahem. Even if they disapprove of our marriage, I’m certain that Australia’s poisonous animals will avoid someone as bitter as I’ll be.” “In all seriousness though,” Eric paused there, his expression momentarily shifting into a more serious one, “Everything is going to be fine. If anything does happen, I’ll throw my fake leg at them and make a scene.” The last bit of his remark once again became teasing and light--he was totally kidding… Even if it’s something he’s done before. Gabriel’s brows furrowed slightly at the first remark, muttering a quiet, “I didn’t hire you,” before returning his attention to the rest of what Eric said. “Yeah, I think the leg thing will be your best bet. Not the throwing, though that is a good idea, but, hey, um, if it makes you feel better about the situation or more comfortable, up the disability bit,” Gabriel said, immediately regretting every word that came out of his mind. He immediately jumped in his seat and frantically waved his hands in front of him, “N-not that I want you to like use that to your advantage because you are or like, you know, because, you know. Ah shit, if I ever say anything stupid like that, feel free to punch me in the gut.” Eric shook his head. “It’s fine man, don’t worry about it.” He gave the flustered Gabriel a reassuring smile. At that, the escort stopped the cart and guided the two toward where various people were already entering the rather large private jet. He could see both his mother and father standing at the top to greet each one with a curt handshake. Very Carrington like of them. “You ready?” Gabriel asked, taking Eric’s hand almost on instinct now and helping him down with the biggest, most nervous smile he could muster. “Not too late to back out, but the moment we step on that plane, there’s no going back.” Eric gave Gabriel’s hand a quick squeeze. “After coming all this way? Might as well keep going. Everything is going to be fine.” It would be a lie to say that Eric wasn’t nervous. He was only going to meet one of the most influential families in America, what was there to be scared about? Regardless of the fact that Eric was having second thoughts, he knew that he couldn’t abandon Gabriel for some reason. Being protective of a stranger was a bit weird, but Eric already felt some sort of bond. Strange, but good. He would already be extremely out of place, might as well have someone he felt comfortable with. “I’m ready to meet my future in-laws!” Eric managed with a smile as nervous as Gabriel’s. Marriage jokes. Great. A blush lit Gabriel’s cheeks a bright red that, this time, he couldn’t blame on the cold. 60 degree Christmas weather didn’t provide enough to give a ‘nip at his nose’ as it were. So, all Gabriel could do was continue escorting Eric’s by the hand and look determinedly down at his feet. Upon raising the stairs, he met eyes with his father and then his mother and only then did he release Eric’s hand to shake theirs and then find his seat with his plus one following close behind. He leaned in quick to whisper before he found himself a seat—all those stairs up a beast like this, damn. “If anyone asks, you’re just my really good friend or… I dunno, make something up. Whatever your heart desires,” Gabriel added a wink before pulling Eric down to sit next to him. He smiled at those on board, but kept his head down to preoccupy himself with looking out the window.