Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Gabriel eased back into the room and couldn’t help but smile at the laughter that met his ears. Ivor’s voice was perfectly audible from across the room, regaling some of the younger Order members with some story that was turning Soren red from his neck to his ears. The man was doing his best to get their friend to shut up, to no avail.

Magnus gave a small finger wave when Gabriel eased past him and Ellegaard, rolling his eyes at the sharp yelp from the other side of the table. Elle snorted and smacked his hand away. Her complexion looked a lot better than the last time he’d seen her.

“Welcome back,” Lukas managed through soft laughs.

“Thanks,” he patted Soren’s shoulder and resisted a grunt as he dropped into the chair next to him. “Doing okay, sweetheart?”

“No!” Soren huffed. “Prepare to dig a hole in the garden.”

“For a workout?”

“For fertilizer,” his husband jabbed his half empty bottle in Ivor’s direction. “I’ll be glad to eat whatever uses his nutrients.”

“I’ve already planted everything. I’d have to dig it back up.”

“Then go throw him into a river.”

“...Is there one nearby?”

“I am right here!”

“No shit,” Petra cut in, exasperated. She was twisting one of the everyday beers around in front of her. The bottle was creating a thick water ring on the table. When Ivor stuck his tongue out, she rolled her eyes.

“I think we can all tell he’s here,” Lukas added. “It was a good story, though.”

“It was not,” Soren whined. “It was hideous. Stop embarrassing me!”

“That’s what I’m here for. What else am I supposed to do?”

“Shut up.”

“Psh. Like I could ever do that.”

Gabriel sighed softly to himself and slung an arm over the back of Soren’s chair. Both of the other men continued bickering as the younger Order looked on in amusement. They were plenty used to Ivor’s antics, but it was rare for Soren to show such a side in front of so many people. The alcohol probably helped.

It pleased Gabriel to know that his husband was starting to get more comfortable. Speaking up more, becoming more involved in Beacontown- Soren wasn’t just shutting himself away again. Sometimes he even ventured to sit on the porch and watch as Gabriel took care of the garden, observing as he shuffled things around pointlessly.

I need to organize the seeds-

A sharp thwack was delivered straight to his forehead courtesy of Ivor flicking his bottle cap. He rubbed at the spot, scowling, and when he opened his eyes he could see the ‘oh shit’ expression clearly on his old friend’s face.

“...That was an accident!”

“Sure.”

“I’m serious!”

“You aimed-”

“I was trying to hit Soren, actually.”

“Hey!” Soren’s voice cut in, indignant.

“Oh, relax, it wouldn’t have hurt-”

“It definitely did.”

“-that much,” Ivor corrected. He spun his empty bottle, watching it teeter and catching it before it tipped over. He made a face. “You’ve had worse.”

Gabriel sighed and rolled his eyes. He never could stay mad for long at Ivor, for better or worse. Especially not today. He squinted down into his empty glass, trying to decide whether to get more; he was already starting to feel a bit warm and squiggly. Soren looked extra kissable right about now.

Jesse had slipped away some time during the arguing, but he was peering in the door- when they made eye contact, he made a small ‘come here’ motion. Gabriel could feel a frown forming.

Soren looked at him when he started to stand. “I’ll be right back,” he murmured against his husband’s temple, gave the others a smile, and eased out the door. “What’s wrong?”

Jesse’s brows were knit together. His expression was the definition of uncertain. “Um, you invited your dad, right?” He cast a look over his shoulder as he spoke.

“...yes?”

“Uh, he’s here.”

Gabriel’s heart just about plummeted into the floor.

Chapter Text

“You look like your mother.”

The remark took all of the wind out of Gabriel’s sails. He barely had any fire to begin with, but whatever he had started to spark up had faded as soon as the words left his father’s mouth. Hell, the old man himself looked startled to have said it.

The vulnerability was gone as soon as it appeared.

“...I didn’t think you’d show,” he managed, clearing his throat. He was pretty sure his hands were shaking; he tucked them behind his back. He was both thankful he hadn’t drank that much and cursing himself for having done so at all. “Was it… was it hard to find?”

“With the giant tower?”

“...right.”

An awkward silence fell between them. Gabriel’s mind was reeling- he didn’t know what to say, how to say it, what he wanted to say. There was too much and too little to explain. Where did he even start? What parts would his father even care to hear? Every time he opened his mouth, the words left his brain, died on his tongue, made his throat feel too thick. He probably looked stupid, standing here, with his mouth opening and closing like some sort of fish.

“Sounds loud,” his father grumbled, casting a look towards the door.

He followed the glance automatically. “Uh, it’s fun.”

The only response he earned was a grunt.

Typical, he thought distantly, making someone else do all the talking. He cleared his throat again and dipped his head, trying to stay calm. “Thank you for showing up.”

“You invited me.”

“I-I know. It’s still-” His lips pressed together, hard, patience, patience, “I’m trying to be polite, Dad.”

His father sighed heavily. “Always are. S’pose I ain’t gonna blame ya today.”

The concession took Gabriel off guard. Suspicion bubbled up in his throat, but he tamped it down quickly. “Right, well. Thank you, I guess.” A thousand questions burned the back of his tongue. Instead, he said, “Would you like to come in?”

The face his father made was eerily nostalgic. “Naw.”

“Then-?”

“I came t’ see this ‘husband’ o’ yours.”

Gabriel closed his eyes. Opened them.

“See if he’s really as great as ya say he is.” His father’s chin tipped up, eyes scrutinizing. “So great that ya’d marry him up real quick.”

“...we’ve known each other for years.”

“Have ya? Why ain’t ya get together then?”

“Because-” Patience, damn it. “Because we were busy. It wasn’t the main focus.”

“Sounds like ‘scuses t’ me.”

Now Gabriel wished he hadn’t drank at all. Alcohol made his mind run, his lips loose, and that was not the way he wanted to be when face to face with his father. There were too many emotions and too many hidden feelings and memories that would surface if he wasn’t careful. He had to be careful. He-

“What makes ‘im differen’ than the ones from before?”

“...I like him.”

“Yer getting’ complacent-”

“I’m trying to settle down.”

“With a man?”

Gabriel felt his jaw click dangerously. It must have shown on his face, because there was a flicker of discomfort in his father’s expression before it steeled again. “I love him,” he managed between clenched teeth.

“I ain’t say you don’t. I’m sayin’, perhaps you shoulda thought a bit longer-”

“I’ve been thinking about him for three damn decades. Is that long enough for you?”

“You woulda gotten with that merchant if he’d had proposed t’ ya as well. That make it any good?”

“I was nineteen,” Gabriel hissed, face burning. “I’m a grown man now. I can make educated decisions, especially about my own feelings. You-”

“Nineteen is grown, ain’t it?”

“Not enough for you.”

“I’m yer father,” the man scoffed. “I know th’ types you ain’t s’posed t’ be around-”

“You don’t know anything.”

“...What?”

“You don’t know anything about me,” Gabriel had to press a hand to his chest to steady both himself and his pounding heart. He forced his voice low to keep the others inside the room from getting curious, getting worried. “You haven’t since I was a teenager. You can say all you want about the world or about other people, but you can’t even tell me what my favorite activity is. My favorite flower. Do you even know my favorite color?”

“...Blue,” his father mumbled in the tense pause.

“Low hanging fruit. I always wear blue, so it’s an obvious guess. I-” His hand flexed, pressed into his sternum, hard, then dropped to his side. “You can meet him. That’s the point of inviting you here. I’m glad you came. I really am. But I’m not going to stand here and let you tear into me anymore. And I sure as hell am not going to let you do that to him. I’m just- I’m tired of it.”

The silence made his skin crawl.

“Just- please just say hello and be nice. That’s all I’m asking.”

“...Fine.”

Gabriel inhaled, exhaled, and gave a simple, short nod. “Okay. Let me- let me get him, then.”

His hand was shaking as he eased the door back open, relieved that the party inside was still roaring on, spurred by Ivor once again regaling some tale that had Jesse trying to cut in. Magnus and Ellegaard had moved over to join the main group. Jack- who Gabriel had admittedly forgotten was there for a moment, he had been so quiet- was listening with rapt admiration, Nurm at his side.

Soren’s nose was wrinkled like he was thinking. His husband’s eyes caught sight of him and his brows furrowed, worried. The expression only deepened when he was motioned to come out.

Gabriel glanced over at his father. The man had promptly sat on a nearby bench and was watching with his usual scrutinizing gaze.

“What’s wrong?” Soren’s voice greeted him at the door, quiet and curious.

It took a moment for his mouth and brain to work. “M- uh, my dad.” He made a slight awkward motion to his side.

If it wasn’t such a stressful situation Gabriel would have wished he’d been recording the moment. Soren’s face went through a remarkable variety of emotions in only a couple of seconds, settling on blank before shifting abruptly to mild horror.

Cute.

“You don’t have to say much,” he murmured. “Just introduce yourself. He just wants to see you, really. That kind of thing.”

“Right.”

“...Are you-”

“You look upset.”

Gabriel blinked. “...I am.”

“He made you upset?”

“Um, who else? It’s fine, Soren, I expected it. I kind of just want to get it over with.”

Soren ran a hand over his beard. “Well, if you’re sure. I’m not quite sure I like that he’s made you upset so quickly.”

It was hard not to smile. “Years of stuff built up and released. It’ll be okay. I can’t blame him- I didn’t really help the situation. Don’t get angry with him, please?”

His husband’s face softened almost immediately. “I wasn’t going to.”

“I just have to make sure.”

“I know.” Soren’s eyes flicked over him, observant as ever. The flush in his cheeks had lessened already. Gabriel wondered if hearing about his father had sobered him up a bit. “Alright. This makes me rather nervous, you know.”

“Ha. Yes, I’m aware. Sorry for that.”

“Shush. Now, am I allowed out there or not?”

Chapter Text

Ivor had delighted in telling Soren every single terrifying rumor about Gabriel’s father in the days leading up to the reception. Even when he prefaced certain ones with ‘oh, this one was fake’, it didn’t stop Soren’s over-eager brain from whirling in the possibilities. Even Gabriel’s reassurances hadn’t done much. Though as soon as his husband realized their mutual friend had been feeding him tall tales he’d promptly put a stop to it.

“You’re riling him up for no reason.”

“I like riling him up! That’s my whole thing!”

“Well, stop doing it. We’re both worried enough as is.”

“...surely one more-”

Gabriel had swooped him up over his shoulder and promptly turfed him out into the yard. Then, ignoring Ivor’s complaints, shut and locked the door and muttered ‘just ignore him’ to Soren. He’d seemed extra pleased when he’d earned a nice big kiss for the action. And then exasperated when he was needled about which stories were actually true.

Soren wasn’t expecting his father to look so… normal.

Then again, his perception of what ‘normal’ parents looked like was rather skewed. None of the Old Order had particularly present parental figures, and when they did, they weren’t the greatest.

For fuck’s sake, Soren was quite literally grown in a lab.

He desperately wanted to kiss that sullen look off of Gabriel’s face, but it didn’t seem appropriate given the fact that his husband’s father was right there, and looking none too pleased. There was a hardened look to the man’s eyes, his expression- it made Soren nervous.

“This is Soren,” Gabriel murmured, linking their fingers together and tugging them to stand side by side. “Soren, this is my father.”

“Hello,” Soren said automatically.

Gabriel’s father grunted.

“...Dad.”

“Fine. Hullo, then.”

The hand in his tightened, just briefly. “Are you sure you don’t want to come in?”

“Positive. I ain’t in the mood to mingle.”

“Nothing I can do for you? Maybe- uh, what about a drink?”

“S’pose I ain’t gonna turn down a beer.”

“Alright, I’ll- here, Soren, I’ll be right back.”

And so, Soren was left briefly alone in the hallway with Gabriel’s father. Who didn’t bother looking over at him as he waited, too busy frowning at the opposite wall. It wasn’t like Soren wanted to talk to the old man, but it was a bit irritating that he’d come all this way and then refused to even speaking to him. Apparently his only objective had been to berate Gabriel and then leave.

Gabriel said to not get mad. Do not get mad.

He should have brought his drink out to give himself something to do. Or asked Gabriel to bring it out. Gabriel’s father muttered something irritably under his breath, too quiet for Soren to parse it out past ‘taking too damn long’.

He was really going to get mad.

“Calm down,” Gabriel’s rich voice breathed into his ear. He barely restrained a strangled noise at the proximity as his husband’s hand squeezed on his shoulder. “I’m okay. It’s fine.”

It’s not!

A tight smile that vanished as Gabriel reached out to hand his father the cold bottle. The old man took it without any protest and made a vague shooing motion towards them. Gabriel’s brow furrowed.

“...It’d be nice if you could at least meet a few of the others.”

“Already told you I ain’t goin’ to do that.”

A soft sigh. “Alright. Well. I’m glad you came. I’m sorry it wasn’t more interesting.”

“Doesn’ matter t’ me.”

“Right.”

The tension right now was, to put it lightly, very awkward. That was the thought coming from Soren, who was very good at getting himself into awkward situations (but not so good at getting out of them). He was a little too drunk to do more than keep his expression from glowering at his husband’s father.

The sound of Ivor’s cackling laugh cut through Soren’s angry thoughts. Gabriel’s head turned towards the door, lips lifting in a small, relieved sort of smile; even his father looked over, briefly startled.

“Who-”

“Ivor,” Gabriel cut in, “He’s here, too. Wouldn’t you like to say hello to him, at least?”

For a moment, Soren thought the old man was going to finally agree. The tentative, pleading tone in Gabriel’s voice made his chest hurt. He needed to remember to blink. People normally blinked.

Instead, they earned a firm scowl.

“...Okay. If, uh, if he wants to visit, he knows where to find you. I’ll let him know you showed up. He might be too busy chatting to pop out, anyway.”

Soren knew that last part was a lie, but he stayed silent regardless.

“Are you heading back right away?”

“Soon’s I finish this drink.”

Gabriel nodded, gaze drifting to the floor. “I hope the journey back is safe. I know it’s a pretty long distance.”

Ugh, he’s gone into his stupid iron golem mode.

“I’m glad you met Soren-”

“It was nice to meet you,” he spoke up automatically. It was only when Gabriel’s hand tightened on his shoulder did he realize his tone was not appropriate. Hmph. “Safe journeys,” he added in a mutter. His hand found Gabriel’s and wrapped so tight around his fingers that he was sure he was cutting off blood pressure.

Gabriel didn’t pull away. “We should get back to the reception. I’m sure the others are worried.”

“Mhm.”

“...I mean it when I say I’m glad to see you, dad.”

“So ya said. You think I ain’t believe you?”

“No. I’ll… hopefully I’ll see you later.”

Soren all but dragged Gabriel back into the reception party. Huffily, he made sure his husband sat down before setting a few bottles of alcohol in front of him, ensuring he wouldn’t need to stand for anything but the bathroom or a stretch. The actions made Gabriel smile, if somewhat tiredly.

“Stocking up?” Ivor asked teasingly, propping his chin on his hand and staring at the near army of bottles.

“He didn’t even thank you!” Soren snapped.

“I didn’t expect him to. It’s fine-”

“It’s not!”

Ivor’s lips pursed, mind already putting the pieces together. His eyes slid over to Gabriel, an eerily knowing look in their dark color; while Soren would normally be jealous, he was just glad they didn’t need to explain anything to their friend. “Did you yell at him?”

“He wouldn’t let me,” Soren muttered.

“Nobody yelled,” Gabriel sighed. “He got a bit finicky, so I did snap back-”

“You did?!”

“...You’re way too excited about that. Yes, I did. He started going off about Soren- I told him I wouldn’t take it if he did that, and he still did.” Gabriel rubbed at the bridge of his nose, visibly frustrated. “I didn’t change his mind, but I got him to stop drilling in to me so hard.”

“And he didn’t wanna come see the rest of us,” Ivor snorted. “He is so easy to read. I bet he was secretly glad to see you. Sure has a horrid way of speaking, though. No one wants to hear your baseless concerns! You’re an adult, you can handle yourself.” He jabbed a finger into Gabriel’s shoulder.

“I’m still his son.”

“At this point? Barely.”

Gabriel’s brows knit together even as he didn’t offer an argument. Before Soren himself could add anything more, Petra’s voice cut in and interrupted their conversation.

“You could take on, like, ten zombies, right?” The mercenary demanded at Gabriel, voice slurred and face screwed up in a defiant scowl. “Cause this guy-” she jabbed a thumb towards Magnus, “-thinks it’s way too much. I could do it. It’s not that hard.”

“Uh, that’s ten whole zombies,” Magnus pointed out. A smirk was planted on his face, arms looped behind his head.

“...he’s just riling you up,” Gabriel told her, irritatingly gently.

“Yeah, well he’s wrong anyway,” she waved her beer bottle at him. Magnus stuck his tongue out in response. “I’m way too strong to be taken out by some stupid zombies.”

Soren shook his head, trying to stave off the pounding in his temple; his anger was simmering even as he tamped it down. He could have that conversation with Gabriel later. Right now, they were trying to celebrate, and it wouldn’t do any good to linger on the events of something that wasn’t going anywhere. Besides, he had his own parental figure that he’d need to confront if Ivor’s warning rang true.

This is all so aggravating, he thought dizzily, letting Ivor pour the rest of his bottle into Soren’s glass, muttering about him trying the drink and finishing it off for him.