vantemonium

[vantemonium]

Out Of The Blue

The last hot crimson beams of the setting sun lit of the naked skin of Gabriel's legs, spread out onto the wet sand below as waves gently lapped at his feet. A small crowd of teenagers squealed in the distance, followed by a chorus of hearty laughter, as they folded up their blankets and gathered their food baskets. A wholesome trip they had, Gabriel mused. He turned back to the vast expanse of water infront of him, somewhat iridescent with an orangish-blue glow. He closed his eyes as the salty breeze hit him, caressing his brown hair backwards. Most of the tourists had emptied their spots on the beach, the remaining some also occupied with packing up. Gabriel kept his eyes closed and waited till almost all the voices faded in the distance.

To him, this wasn't a trip of leisure.

Gabriel Charles, aged thirty-two, was a struggling young adult, and what he called himself, a complexity. He always had too much on his plate, whether it be as the eldest son of his house, in a family of a widowed mother and two younger sisters, the responsibility of being the provider on his shoulders since early on. Whether it be as a junior literature professor at his university, being looked down upon by every other senior faculty member that crossed his path. Reason? He was a poor, underprivileged man from a family with no worth to it's name. Social status was a common parameter of judgement, a judgement that would either put you on top or discard you at the rock bottom.

If Gabriel had any luck at finding employment in his somewhat prestigious institution, it was solely due to the fact that his late father, Sir Noah Charles, had died a noble death as a soldier at the borders.

Pity, and mockery, he was too familiar with both. Even the students from the lectures he attended, at times, would throw mean jokes at him. For a man that had learned to mind his business and was too invested in surviving and sustaining his family, Gabriel thought he could do away with the physical and mental exhaustion. That he could play it off for as long as he gave himself little idle time for introspective thoughts.

And he was doing just fine.

Until he wasn't.

On a late evening trip from his job back home, Gabriel felt a sharp pain shoot up his temple. Confused at what must have caused it, he paused in the middle of the street and brought hands to his temple. He rubbed at his forehead, hoping for the migraine to subside, but much to his dismay, another piercing pain shot up his nerves.

Gabriel held his head in his hands, lowering his head.

That's when a rivulet of warm blood streamed down his nostril, staining his crisp white shirt darker and darker with each passing second.

Next, he fainted. The last memory he had was of the taste of dust on his tongue, as his face scraped against the rough earth.

The sky dimmed into a dark violet shade as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon. Another gust of wind, cooler than before, blew past Gabriel, who had his hands busy clasping and releasing fistfuls of sands.

It was a week's vacation time that he had been granted with, following his discharge from the hospital. The doctor had looked him dead in the eye before he announced that he was overworked, overstressed. That he needed sometime to relax and be with himself.

Gabriel had little idea of what relaxation meant, what a vacation entailed. He counted on what remained of pre-paid salary after depositing a solid amount in the safety of his home, and decided on travelling to the countryside.

Gabriel had never visited the beaches before. In some way, he felt 'relaxed' as he sat on the sand that had begun to lose it's warmth too quickly.

Being away from crowds and familiar faces even for a day helped more than he thought would. He felt like he could breathe.

Around him, there was a relative silence now. The waves against the shore made the only sounds.

Gabriel leaned back on the towel he had spread underneath him. A joint of his cracked as he fell back supported on his forearms. His head lolled back too, eyes closed. The sea breeze brushed past his skin, the waves splashing further up his legs due to the rising tide. Therapeutic in a way, indeed. He already felt much better than the state he was in before he arrived at the place.

"Are you not scared of jellyfishes? I've heard they sting."

Gabriel could swear his neck would have snapped with how fast he rolled over, startled at the voice.

Wasn't he supposed to be alone?

He blinked at the person who sat behind him. Too close to where his own towel was spread, but the boy sat on the rough sand, clad in a pair of black shorts.

Gabriel looked up at the face, into the kohl lined eyes. Familiar face, his mind alerted.

"You-"

"Theodore. Figured you won't remember my name, Charles. After all, I've never answered my roll call at your lectures."

The boy leaned forward, again, too close to where Gabriel was almost stupified. Too close to the face that had it's jaw dropped at the casualty of his student.

"So, why is our young professor suddenly on a vacation?"

________________________________________

It had been a while since Gabriel had had anything coconut flavor. He wasn't sure what his drink was called, but it was some sort of a cocktail with coconut and rosewater, and alcohol.

Alcohol, right. His cheeks felt warm already. Autumn was transitioning into winter, the sea breeze felt colder with every hour of the evening that passed. He swirled the drink around in the wine glass, bringing it to his mouth for another quick sip. The alcohol somewhat helped his skin to not break out in goosebumps, considering his lack of clothes.

The sugar circle around the rim of the glass left a sweet and sour taste on his tongue.

"It's a special one, this drink. We serve it to the couples that vacation at the inn."

For the second time that day, Gabriel was startled by the voice that started speaking out of nowhere, breaking the silence.

He looked over to the stairs of the vacay inn, Theodore descended them carrying a small pile of folded clothes in his arms.

As it turned out, Theodore's parents owned a vacation home cum restaurant at the beach. With a decent amount of tourists visiting, they made good money. As Gabriel would expect, the inn did look quite well furnished and had the ambience of a house. Warm. Homey.

Gabriel had never been to vacation homes before.

He cleared his throat, getting aware of his lack of response to his student.

"It's....nice."

"The drink?"

"The drink, yes. And the inn."

"Oh stop lying, you're taking forever to finish that mouthful. What is it, do you not drink often?"

The kohl eyes regarded him with an amused gaze as Theodore aproached the bar counter. He set the clothes over the marbled counter top, standing beside a slightly flustered Gabriel that sat on the high stool with the drink in front of him.

Gabriel wondered if he should scoot away a little. Theodore's loosely tied robe around his tanned chest was right in his face.

"I- well. I do not drink often, yes."

"Figured."

A tanned hand reached for the glass Gabriel had been drinking from.

He watched as Theodore downed whatever was left of the drink in one gulp, trying not to let his eyes linger on how a drop slipped past his lips and disappeared down into his robe.

Something was wrong with him. Might be the drink.

"You didn't tell me Charles, how do you happen to be on a vacation? As far as I remember they were overworking you, barely gave you time to breathe. And then all responsibilities you might have as the earner in your fam-"

"Theodore."

Gabriel cleared his throat, a bit sternly.

"I would appreciate it if you could address me as Mr. Charles. And if you could pass me the bill for the drink. Thank you."

Silence followed.

From the corner of his downcast eyes, he watched as Theodore stood still.

Was it that he was too blunt? Probably not, he needed to put his student in his place for overstepping his boundaries.

The silence stretched for a little longer than the young professor would have liked.

At last, Theodore moved. He simply grabbed the clothes from the countertop once again.

"Follow me, Mr. Charles. I'll show you the way to your room."

Gabriel stood up too quickly, his head reeling for a small second.

"I did not-"

"Consider this an apology, please? I'm aware of the indecency of my speech, I apologise. It's on the house, and I would love it if you could stay at my family inn during your vacation."

For the second time that day, Gabriel found his jaw dropped.

This student of his, was surely some complexity like himself. How could he switch from having a sharp tongue to words dripping with politeness?

Quite something he was, the professor concluded.

Now that he had no more alcohol to keep the cool of the night at bay, he felt a shiver run down his spine as another gust of wind blew in from the windows.

Maybe he should take up the offer. Either way, he had little idea of where he was going to spend the rest of his days. He was hoping he wouldn't have to bid farewell to the beachside too soon, but had barely enough money to afford himself a stay at the motels for two nights in a row.

It wasn't improper of a teacher to stay at his student's owned vacay house, was it?

Anyway, Gabriel's mouth moved even before he had completed his last train of thoughts.

"Alright, alright. I will indeed take up the offer with humbleness. I'm very grateful-"

"Don't be, please." Theodore had a small smile twitching on his lips. "I'm glad you decided to stay. Now, if you could follow me please, my arms have started to ache."

"O-of course. I'll grab my bag and return, just a minute."

__________________________________________

The rooms were well furnished too, not as high end luxurious as to make Gabriel feel alienated, but enough to have him more than comfortable.

And staring.

The ceilings were rounded, dome shaped. The floors were wooden and polished. They didn't creek when the two of them walked into the room, and the professor let his luggage down by the bedside.

The bed was bigger than any Gabriel had ever slept in. The sheets looked soft, cream coloured and fluffy. The view around him was very aesthetically pleasing.

The windows were a little further from the bed, but they were big enough to give Theodore a clear view of the ocean from where he stood.

"This is my favorite guest room."

Gabriel heard the dangling of keys before Theodore stretched his hand out to him.

He took the keys from him, their hands brushing slightly.

The kohl eyes regarded him with a gaze that, the young professor couldn't figure out the intention of.

It wasn't until it seemed to drop from his eyes and linger in other places that he chose to speak up.

He probably appeared old and sick with all the times he had cleared his throat this evening.

"Thank you, again. It's beautiful."

"The room?"

"The room, yes."

Theodore smiled, softly. Gabriel felt the need to return it.

"Please stay as long as you would like to. Do you have around a week off?"

"Yes, precisely a week."

"That's cool, I hope our hospitality doesn't disappoint you in the meantime."

Without much thought, a small giggle escaped the professor's throat. He immediately felt embarrassed after.

But Theodore was looking at him with that gaze again, albeit a smile rested on his lips this time.

"It could never. I'm already very impressed with everything so far-"

"Mr. Charles, can I ask you something?"

Gabriel nodded, looking into the kohl eyes that looked back in his own.

For a second, he feared his student would ask something of sorts that he again, would be unable to answer.

"How old are you? Considering I got admissioned at university when I was around twenty-three, and it's my third year now, you can't be much older than me."

"Well, I'm thirty-two. Considering you're around twenty-six , we do have smaller age gap than I thought. Is there a reason why you got a late admission?"

Theodore smirked, making his professor raise his eyebrows.

"Why don't we talk over some dinner, Mr. Charles? Our top notch hospitality disapproves of conversations with an empty stomach."

_________________________________________

Water dripped down his freshly washed hair as Gabriel joined his student at the dinner table. He caught his reflection on its clear glass; the black silk robe wrapped around his lean torso and the matching set of pyjamas made his pale skin stand out.

It suddenly reminded the professor of the nosebleed he had a few days ago, and the migraine.

Luckily, his medicines were working just fine. His head felt lighter than it ever had. It could also be the change of air and the relief from not having to work tirelessly that made it better.

Theodore came out of the kitches, carrying two more plates, besides the many that were already served out.

He smiled at him, his kohl lined eyes crinkling at the corners.

Theodore was charmingly good looking. The outlined eyes gave him a mystic air, tanned skin accentuated his features and physique.

Gabriel watched him as he served steak onto his plate, leaning over the table from the opposite side, where he sat. The opening of his dark green robes lowered, a fresh expanse of golden taut muscles greeting the professor's eyes before he looked away embarrassed.

Something was deliberately wrong with him.

"Please start eating. You must be starving."

As soon as he heard that, Gabriel nodded and lifted his cutlery. He didn't look up at his student but he could feel his eyes on himself.

With the grace of a gentleman he had practiced to carry with him, he cut into his steak with his knife.

"To answer your question, I wasn't really planning to graduate. This vacay home was already at my disposal to earn from, that and the emotional attachment I have to this place. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving it to go work in the city and live a busy urban life."

"What changed your mind, then?"

Theodore cut into his steak with almost no elegance, picking it up and stuffing it into his mouth. Now that his eyes were not on Gabriel, the professor had the freedom to watch him instead, smiling a little at how uncaring he was.

For a student that, from what he remembered, was always dressed in black leather and hung out in big friend groups; Theodore seemed to have a completely different demeanor in his domestic surroundings.

"My parents insisted I atleast get a degree. Being their only child, they love boasting about me to our relatives. They treat me like a trophy, since I've always been an honour student."

Gabriel nodded, amazed and amused.

"I always loved literature, I loved writing and reading literary pieces. I had decided that if I did indeed have to ever attend university, I would major in Literature."

"That's wonderful, you write too?"

"Yes, but not as good as the poets or novelists I read the works of..." Theodore rubbed the back of his neck, making the professor smile widely at the shyness he displayed.

"I'd love to read your pieces, do you have them here with you?"

"They, well-"

The student bit his lip again, light redness colouring his cheeks as he looked down at his food.

"I have them. I could show them to you but, I hope you wouldn't critique me too harshly. They are mostly fuelled from my emotions, I write everytime I feel overwhelmed and so, they might not be very proper."

Gabriel shook his head, grabbing a napkin. When Theodore looked at him, he spoke.

"You judge yourself too hard, Theo. And for a writer, the finesse is just a decorative aspect; the content is what holds the most relevance. Considering you write with the ink of your feelings," he smiled at his student who was now watching him with curious eyes "I'm pretty sure you create beautiful pieces. Of course, it's not a compulsion to show me your works, if only you are comfortable-"

"I will! I, uh, I kind of want you to see them. It's not often that I have the nerve to approach you."

Gabriel almost choked on the spoonful of perfectly cooked smashed potatoes in his mouth.

Theodore, the student that chewed gum during his lectures and sat with his legs crossed, that avoided answering his roll calls, that was disobedient to him just as any of his friends, although not mean, but but-

"It's just, I-"

It was such a twist of events for Gabriel to be staring at his student who now refused to meet his eye.

"I'm sorry, did I- was I too blunt again-"

"No, no! It's alright! So um did you say you have your works here with you?"

Theodore, slightly relaxing at the switch of topics, nodded his head.

"I have a room here that I stay at occasionally. It's smaller than the guest rooms, but my parents have it reserved for when I come over. I have some of it stored in one of my drawers."

"I see, that's great. Bring them to me when you feel like."

He offered a gentle smile, Theodore nodding again as he smiled back at him.

"I will, Mr. Charles. Thank you for bringing it up. On that note, you never told me what made you take a leave from the university for a whole week."

The professor felt a little more comfortable to talk about it now, so he straightened up in his seat. His brows furrowed as he reminisced the exhausting routine he followed through with on a daily.

"I fell sick, the doctor advised that I keep from working for a while."

Much to his surprise, his student looked at him with alarm.

"Was it overworking? Exhaustion?"

"Exhaustion, yes. Nothing to worry about too much, I'm already doing much better."

"Were you admitted to the hospital? You were absent for almost a week, for a change. You used to take all your classes quite regularly so I was wondering what caused you to take such a break longer than a day's time. I knew my worry wasn't in vain."

Gabriel was somewhat flustered, mostly perplexed at how concerned his student sounded. Most of all, he was amused.

"How nice of you to notice my absence, I didn't think many people would mind."

"Of course they do! You are the best literature professor the faculty has had in YEARS!"

Gabriel let out a hearty laughter. "That's a stretch my dear, I'm the youngest among all the professors, the least experienced. I cannot possibly be better than, say, Mr. Cedric-"

"Ugh, to hell with Cedric."

"There there, your casualty in speech is wild."

The professor waved his spoon infront of him. "I'm beginning to think I should be stricter with my students."

He furrowed his brows in mock anger.

Theodore, on the contrary, gave him a mischievous smile.

"Can't say I'd hate a little strictness from you, Mr. Charles. Maybe you should indeed put us in our places at times."

Gabriel stared at his student, before breaking into another fit of laughter.

"You are a menace, Theo! Goodness!"

________________________________________

After dinner, the younger showed him his way to his room again, insisting he might "get lost" as he was new to the place. Gabriel knew that was impossible, considering his room was the only room in the left wing of the corridor. He appreciated the kind gesture, though. He also found himself frowning at the thought of having to leave Theodore's company. He had just begun to get comfortable, and it had been a while since he had talked so much with anyone.

There was a soft side he had already started to have for the younger in his heart, but he was too conscious of their professional relations. The fact that they were just a few years apart in age did not help with his growing attachment at all.

The keys felt heavier in his hands than they did before, as they halted in their steps before the door of his assigned guest room.

He stepped forward, his hand holding the key to his door.

A grab at his forearm made him stop and look at his student.

"Um, can I spend a little time in there with you? My parents are out and we don't have any guests in today, besides you. I'd be kind of lonely on my own..."

"O-of course! Suit yourself!"

If the response came out of his mouth a bit more excitedly than he intended, Gabriel ignored it. The blindingly wide smile that spread over Theodore's face after hearing him, though, made him think it was worth it.

"Hurray! We will chatter all night before you go to sleep!"

Theodore took the keys from him and unlocked the door by himself. He pushed the door open and stood aside.

"After you, good Sir." With a hand, he gestured Gabriel to walk in.

With a slightly flushed face Gabriel walked in, the younger following him behind closely.

"I hope the bedding is comfortable enough for you, a change of places tends to chase sleep away for some people."

"Worry not, on the contrary I feel like I'll fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillows."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

The student looked at him with an arched brow. Gabriel offered him a wide grin before walking upto the bed and sitting down on it.

He pat the space beside him, Theodore nodded and followed his actions.

A fully conscious Gabriel Charles would have felt alerted at the proximity at which they sat, but as he sank down into the soft mattress and the tiredness from the day's travel took over him, the professor found his senses too clouded to be able to think sanely.

He dragged himself further up, folding his legs under him. His body ached to be laid down.

As if Theodore read his mind, he turned around to fully face him.

"Go ahead, lie down. You must be tired."

Gabriel just had enough sense to think it would be improper of him to do so infront of his student. He shook his head, the reluctance clear in his eyes as he looked at the other.

Theodore clicked his tongue, then shook his head.

"You are going to make me address you casually again. Don't be stubborn now, Mr. Charles."

Maybe it was the drugged feeling of sinking deeper into mattress with every move, maybe it was the proximity between him and the younger. Maybe it was the alcohol that he drunk too early in the evening. Something compelled Gabriel to respond in a casual tone.

"Address me as what?" he dared.

Theodore seemed to be taken aback for a second, but just as swiftly did he regain his composure. The mattress moved as he stood up, Gabriel watched him with heavy eyes longing to...close.

Theodore came to stand infront of him, making the professor look up.

He watched as a hand of his moved, clasping gently around one of his shoulders.

A moment later, his body bounced as he was shoved into the mattress. His eyes as wide open as they could be, he could swear his face was flushed red.

"Move up, Charles."

With a gulp, trusting himself to not speak anything coherent at the moment, Gabriel followed his student's words.

He dragged his body up the mattress, which proved to be harder to do with how the mattress kept dipping under his elbows.

When he thought he had moved up sufficiently, he looked at the younger again.

He barely held a yelp in when Theodore began to crawl towards him.

"Theo-"

"Shh. Let me do my job."

The small smile the younger had playing on his lips didn't help with the frenzy Gabriel's brain was sent into.

Too close, too close, too close-

Theodore, halting when he was halfway hovering over the professor, grabbed a pillow from beside him.

He slipped a hand under the older's nape, lifting it up slightly to push the pillow under his head.

In this proximity, Gabriel caught a wisp of his fragrance; coconut and honey. His robe fell open more as he moved, and he had little room to look elsewhere. He could swear his face was red as beet.

Too close, too close-

"There, all done."

The younger flipped over to the other side, shifting to sit against the bed rest comfortably.

"Why are you so stubborn? It would be nice to let in some casualty, Mr. Charles. We can be friends while you stay here. It would put both of us at ease, help us have more fun."

Gabriel registered he nodded at the other, but his eyelids felt heavier by the second. Even his state of embarrassment couldn't help him stay awake any longer.

"I- I'll try. I can't promise..."

"It's alright. We'll get there, we have time..."

The rest of Theodore's words were lost to his senses as Gabriel finally allowed his eyes to shut.

_________________________________________

(to be continued)

___________________________________________

a/n: the prompt for this story comes from a twitter/x post i made. this is a thematic inspiration from songs from V aka Kim Taehyung's songs, precisely Winter Ahead and Blue.

credits to @/Vantecheri for the prompt (i changed a few things here and there hihi) thank you so much and I'd love to hear how you liked it so far TT

[vantemonium]

I'll be posting my song fics here!