James bolts upright in the quiet, darkness of the early morning. The movement is so sudden that it startles Gabriel, who blearily looks around to seemingly assess the threat before he flops back down on the pillow. His sleep filled, half lidded eyes find James’ panic filled ones. “What’s wrong?”
James hides his face in his hands, mortified by the realization. “I forgot to give you your gift yesterday!” He groans. It’s quiet for a moment. Gabriel’s startled laughter breaks through with a burst.
“That’s it?” he asks, tugging at the sleeve of James’ sleep shirt. James leans back into the motion, shifting to lay back down. “No!” he proclaims, trying to swing his legs out of bed. “You’re getting it now!”
“Now?” Gabriel mutters in disbelief. “It’s five in the morning.”
“I don’t care. You deserve to have it.” He rummages through his suitcase, coming back to the bed with the wrapped gift clutched between his hands. Gabriel has, although still blinking slowly, pushed himself up to sit against the headboard. James flicks on the light on his side of the bed, illuminating the room in a welcoming glow.
The gift finds its way into Gabriel’s lap somewhat ungracefully, making impact with an undignified startled yelp from him. James giggles, wringing his hands together nervously. When he picked it out, before they’d even left London, he debated on whether he’d ever have the nerve to give it to Gabriel to begin with. But there was no way he was going on this trip without having at least
the option to have a Christmas present at hand for him.
In the tranquility of the dark morning the wrapping paper makes an unnecessary amount of noise and James winces slightly. His eyes follow Gabriel’s movements with a focus he normally doesn’t have this time of day. The classic red paper comes off entirely, revealing a tasteful leather satchel.
It’s the kind of bag that Gabriel wears daily, with just a few extras to make it easier for him to carry around his pencils and oils. James smiles when Gabriel unfastens the buckles on the front to flip the top open. On the inside of the flap, hidden from view when it’s closed, are slots and little pockets to store different art supplies. The main body of the bag hasseveral dividers to give the wearer the opportunity to keep things tidy and neat on the go. James holds his breath while he watches Gabriel run his hands over the supple material and the various attributes the bag offers.
“This is beautiful, James,” Gabriel whispers, eyes still mapping out the details of the gift. James exhales in relief, sliding further onto the bed to sit closer to Gabriel.
James smiles softly, timidly in the face of Gabriel’s gratitude. “I figured it would make things a little easier.”
Gabriel looks up, fondness shining in his eyes. “It will. Thank you, darling.” James melts into Gabriel at the soft tone, letting himself lean into him as he revels in the warmth he finds there.
*
It’s significantly later when he blinks his eyes open for the second time, this time a lot less frantic and a lot more mellow. They’re still sitting upright against the headboard, Gabriel bearing James’ weight. Pushing himself away from Gabriel’s hold just a tad, James finds him already awake, watching him. One of his hands is on James’ back, preventing him from moving away any further and the other is preventing the satchel from falling off the bed.
“Morning,” Gabriel’s eyes are mirthful, “again.”
James huffs, bashful. “Good morning.”
“Busy day ahead, I take it?” There’s no accusation inGabriel’s voice. Just honest curiosity and happiness.
James nods, thinking of everything he still wants to do in the city. The day before hadn’t been much exploring wise, mostly due to the fact that it was Christmas Day. Today he wants to see more of the city center, look at the Christmas tree on the square and, most importantly, stroll through the Van Gogh Museum and enjoy some local snacks.
After dinner yesterday Gabriel and him were treated to typical Dutch spiced biscuits topped with almonds, which tasted absolutely divine when dunked into a cup of tea. Today he wants to try and find another snack he heard Connor mention. Something like a donut, but mostly found during the winter months here in the Netherlands.
He excuses himself for his morning shower, getting dressed for the day in pleated dark gray trousers and a classic Christmas themed sweater. He’s pleasantly surprised when he finds Gabriel tugging an equally cheesy sweater over his head where he’s sitting on the edge of the bed. James smiles. It’s the first time he’s seen Gabriel wear that amount of color. The classic reindeer pattern – in red, green and gold – suits him surprisingly well and he knows that it will pair nicely with Gabriel’s leather jacket.
“That’s a nice color on you.” And it is, since the green will bring out his eyes. He keeps his head down while he ties his shoes, but the reddening tips of Gabriel’s ears don’t concealthe effect of the compliment. James tries his best not to coo at the sight of it.
The soft jazzy music that fills the room gives the moment a whimsical feeling. And when he spots the new bag lying on the bed next to Gabriel, packed and ready to go, he can feel something settle in his chest.
They skip breakfast on the train, and venture out to find something else. The air is cold, frigid in the earlier hour and casting the streets in a whimsical layer of fog. Finding their way into the city from the station isn’t a hassle at all. And, unlike yesterday, they skip the metro and walk along the beautiful canals.
Breakfast consists of some bread rolls from a small bakery and a fragrant cup of tea. Despite it being Boxing Day, the city center is swarming with people the longer they spend on the shopping street. In a way it reminds James of London, with high-end stores and big buildings full of designer clothes.
The tree on the Dam Square looms over the space in its tall beauty. He’s happy to see the lights are on, and in the gray of the morning sky they’re still visible. From next to him Gabriel has taken out his camera to snap some photos. James is happy to sip his tea and watch as the lights flicker and sparkle.
His watch beeps, reminding him about the reservation at the museum. He turns to remind Gabriel. What he finds is acamera lens, clicking away and Gabriel’s smirk just barely visible underneath it. He opens his mouth, to reprimand him or to squeak in protest, but Gabriel’s already lowering his camera.
“I know. The reservation. I checked this morning,” says Gabriel as he puts the camera away in his bag with a smile on his lips, “it’s a thirty-minute walk from here. Or we can take the metro.” The beanie on his head is covering most of his curls, the ends of them gently swaying in the wind. After he clicks the buckles closed he reaches for James’ hand.
The easiness with which Gabriel does small things like that: checking the walking distance and making sure that they’re on time to do things because he knows that it stresses James out, really solidifies the fact that Gabriel’s the right person for him.
Amsterdam turns out to be a very easy, very walkable city. The route toward the Van Gogh Museum takes them over some canals; the bridges give them beautiful views of the water and provide them with the opportunity to see some of Amsterdam’s most beautiful landmarks.
The museum isn’t what he expected from it at all. The modern look of the building shocks him momentarily, but at the same time it looks right at home nestled alongside the other museums on the square.
