The warm atmosphere, with its heavenly smell and cozy feeling, is just the right type of setting for a wonderful evening. The tables are either two or four seats and situated far away enough from each other that it doesn’t feel like you’re cramped into the space. The booth-like tables provide a sense of privacy and shelter.
When his eyes find the happy expression on James’ face, he knows they’ll be having their dinners here as much as the schedule will allow them to.
There’s a waitress who brings out two glasses of deep red wine and another that hands them a menu. The pasta dishes on there bring promises of creamy richness and a variety of flavors that you just don’t find in London. From opposite him, James is fidgeting with his sleeves, repositioning his silverware and twisting the plate in front of him. “Something’s the matter?”
“I don’t know,” James eventually mutters. “Can’t seem to forget about Paul.” Of course he wouldn’t. The guy might be a total dickhead, but he’s been a big part of James’ life for almost a decade. Something like that isn’t easily forgotten, or moved on from. Gabriel figures that James might not fully be over the man either, if the nerves about Paul being here are anything to go by.
“He doesn’t seem like the warmest type.”
James’ snort-like laughter makes Gabriel smile, glad that the tension is at least seeping out of him a bit. “Well, that’s one way to describe him.” Over the last year, James hasn’t talked about his ex much. Gabriel figured that it was either too awkward or too painful. Those first few months, it most certainly didn’t feel like his place to pry.
“He didn’t-” The anger at the idea of James getting hurt by that pathetic looking man shines through in his voice. The idea of it is enough to make him feel a bit sick.
James is quick to interject, reaching out briefly to touch his fingertips to Gabriel’s balled-up hands. “Oh god, no. Nothing like that. Nothing physical.” It’s hard to pinpoint when exactly Gabriel started feeling this protective,this attached,to James.
The cozy ambience of the restaurant doesn’t feel like the right place to delve into it, but there’s more that James isn’t telling him. In a bid to distract James from the troubles of hispast, he grins and leans in a little. “Tell me about your plans for Zurich.”
It works, since James ducks his head with a small smile on his lips and a happy crinkle to his eyes. “I heard there’s a Christmas tree full of crystals in the city. So that’s one of the things. And I read about a Santa Claus beer.”
It’s not for the first time that Gabriel wonders if James has more fun compiling his lists than doing the activities on said lists. As he basks in the happiness coming from James while he talks about the elaborate plans he has for the two days they have in the capital of Switzerland, he’s pleased that James finds peace in things like that.
He has to admit that some of those things sound good, immensely better than the churches and cathedrals in Paris and Venice.
When their main courses are placed on the table and James happily goes into even more detail about his plans, Gabriel’s mind can’t help but linger on one of them. “Sorry, did you just say thermal bath?”
There’s a nervous edge to James’ smile when he finishes chewing on his pasta. “Yeah. It’s supposedly one of the best spas in Zurich. They’ve got a rooftop pool and everything.”
“All the boring things you invite me to, and this you don’t?” He makes sure to keep his tone light, to show James he’s only teasing. He’s pleasantly surprised when Jamesmerrily rolls his eyes and tells him that he’s more than welcome to join him. The buzzing sensation that settles low in his stomach isn’t just from the food.
The low, soulful jazz music that’s playing from the overhead speakers comes to a sudden halt, before the clear voice of their engineer crackles to life. “Ladies and gentleman, good evening. We’ll be departing from Venice in just over three hours. Due to heavy snowfall in the Alps we’ll have to slow our speed significantly during the night. As a result, we’ll most likely be arriving a little over two hours later in Zurich than originally planned.”
It’s easy to see that with every word that’s said the tension in James’ shoulders rises. Gabriel is quick to reassure him, “Hey, we’ll at least get two hours more of steady sleep, instead of the spotty slumber when the train’s sitting idle.”
“But, we’ll miss-”
“James, we won’t miss anything. I promise.” Gabriel tries to smile reassuringly at his travel partner. It still feels new, having someone you have to be delicate with sometimes. Even if James can take a quip or joke as much as he likes to dish them out. “We’ll get there at eight, instead of six. You won’t even get out of bed before nine most mornings.”
James lets out a breath, hopefully calming down a little. Gabriel hopes so, he’d hate for James to be up all night stressed out. “Besides, I’m sure most things really onlyhappen in the city after nine.”
“Yeah, yeah.” James settles back in his chair, letting out one final heave of air. “You’re right. Sorry.”
Gabriel arches a brow at him. “We discussed this. No apologizing. Not for that.”
Things like that only solidify the knowledge that there are people in James’ life that have somehow made sure to convince him his idiosyncrasies are an inconvenience and something to be embarrassed about. The first few weeks after James moved in, Gabriel wasn’t able to pinpoint what exactly was wrong in their dynamic. But when James locked himself inside his room as a result of Gabriel coming back early from a night out, with an unexpected guest in tow, he’d known. James thrived on routine, on knowing what to expect. Getting him to talk about it wasn’t easy. But over the last few months they managed.
As the clock strikes nine, after an amazing dinner of pasta and tiramisu for dessert, they retire to their cabin for the night. They’re accompanied by two mugs of hot tea and a plate of fresh biscotti.
8 [James] Zurich, Switzerland
December 6th
It’s indeed just after eight when James gets woken up by the train slowing down and the brakes kicking into motion as they arrive in Zurich. The below zero temperature must have something of an effect on them, since the grating sound wasn’t there when they arrived in Venice. Gabriel is snoring away next to him, his black hair splayed out over the pillow. His red and black flannel pajamas look warm and comfortable. He’s turned away from James, the strong line of his back and shoulders silhouetted by the forest green duvet that had been provided byThe Adventurer.
Slowly, as not to disturb Gabriel just yet, James sits up and grabs for his e-reader. Before he fell asleep last night he had to concede to the fact that Gabriel was right and the city most likely wouldn’t be waking up before nine. It makes it a little easier for him to lean back against the headrest and read achapter or two. Gabriel’s sleep sounds provide a calming background noise as he burrows himself back into the duvet.
The longer he lets himself read and relax, the louder the sounds outside of the train become. Every few minutes or so there are footsteps outside of their cabin as people make their way to breakfast or out of the train and into the city. One particularly heavy set of steps is enough to rattle the carriage a little. It’s enough to wake up Gabriel, who shoots up into a sitting position, with a disorientated look on his face and his hair sticking up every which way. James can’t hold in his snort at the sight.
It’s even better when, as soon as Gabriel’s eyes find James’, the whistle of the train echoes, loud and unyielding. Gabriel flinches so badly he almost rolls off the bed in his surprise. James can’t do anything but giggle at the theatrics. “Well, good morning. I think.”
