Chapter Text
When Gabriel woke up again, it was light out, which meant it was Sunday. He realized that Sam probably texted him hours ago and he hadn’t responded yet. He flailed around the bed for a moment, panic choking him, but Sam would understand, he’d mentioned being tired. He just had to find his phone!
His fingers finally closed around the phone and Gabriel yanked it out from under the covers and unlocked it. He blinked at the lack of unread messages. Fuck it, maybe he opened it in his sleep!
He opened the chain of messages with Sam and stared at the last message he’d sent over twelve hours ago. The arrived safe and sound message. He didn’t have anything from Sam.
Gabriel forced himself not to panic. Maybe Sam’s phone died on the plane. Maybe he went home and crashed. Maybe he sent the message, but it got tied up in the cell networks. Sam would text him today, as soon as he was awake. He would. He’d promised, and he had to give Sam his address at Stanford.
He took a deep breath and forced himself out of bed and into a shower. Gabriel knew he had at least one paper due next week and burying himself in schoolwork was exactly how he needed to forget about Sam not texting him yet.
The rest of Sunday went by without a text.
So did Monday.
Gabriel checked his phone so often that it was earning him glares from his teachers. He forced himself to stop and to try to focus on his classes. He was a senior, he needed to be applying for jobs, applying for internships, or looking at graduate school. But all he could think about was Sam and how much he missed him.
Except. Except it was clear that Sam didn’t feel the same. Gabriel sucked in a deep breath and forced himself to face the facts. He’d had a fling in Cancun. A truly, completely unforgettable fling in Cancun.
Maybe Sam had been trying to warn him, with the comment about how he would find someone else here at school. But there was no one else who could compare. At least he had a few pictures of them together, goofy selfies taken, and one truly breathtaking picture of Sam when he had been passed out on the bed, the sheet twisted around a leg, the rest of his back and body bare.
He was still the most beautiful thing Gabriel had ever seen and would ever seen. And he was the only one that had risked his heart. It was clear. Now he just needed to nurse his broken heart for a little bit and start trying to forget about Sam.
It took two weeks for him to stop checking his phone for Sam’s name every single time he got a message.
It took three weeks for him to stop looking at the pictures of them together and imagining what he could have done differently to make Sam want to keep in touch with him. Gabriel knew he should delete the pictures, but only having Sam’s image in his memory seemed like even worse torture.
By the time a month was over, Gabriel knew he was starting to move on. Or at least that was what he was going to tell himself. He was back to pranking, throwing himself into it with whole-hearted intensity. His professors were praising the emotional depth that his writing had required and he wanted to laugh. Who knew that getting your heart broken into a thousand pieces would help academically?
It was five weeks, two days and a certain amount of hours that he was telling himself he wasn’t keeping track of when he heard it.
A burst of laughter, laughter that he knew almost as well as he did his own had him spinning around in the middle of the Quad. It only took him a moment to catch sight of Sam, towering above the group of people he was standing with. They were only twenty or so feet away and a sound that might have been a sob escaped him.
His heart was beating wildly, he could feel his face flushing and Gabriel soaked in the sight of Sam, his mouth curved in a wide smile and he fought down the vicious swell of jealousy. While he had been nursing a broken heart, Sam looked as healthy and happy as ever and that hurt, it hurt so badly.
“Gabriel?”
Gabriel’s attention moved to Charlie a moment later, realizing that she was a part of the group walking with Sam. He swallowed as the rest of the group slowed when they realized Charlie had stopped. Sam was turning to look over his shoulder and Gabriel turned around and started striding away. He couldn’t see Sam. Couldn’t see the look of pity or whatever emotion Sam might still have for him. He couldn’t do it.
“Gabriel!” This time Charlie’s voice was louder and Gabriel hunched his shoulders, looking at the building in front of him. If he could just get around the corner, he could break into a run, and he’d try to explain it to her later, he’d try, or make it up to her somehow, or something!
Footsteps behind him had him flinching, especially when Charlie grabbed his arm and yanked him to a stop. Gabriel turned to face her and froze when he realized that Sam was only a few steps behind her, his face stunned. He bit his lip and told himself that he wasn’t going to fall apart here. He wasn’t. “Charlie, not now, please,” he begged and pulled his arm away.
He clenched his hand around the backpack again and turned to keep walking. Gabriel rubbed frantically at his face, scowling when he saw how wet his sleeve came away. No, no, no! He was done crying over Sam, he was done, not anymore!
“Gabriel?”
Gabriel tensed and looked up, realizing that Sam must have jogged to get in front of him. He froze and swallowed hard as he took in the sight of Sam. Sam looked more tired than he’d first noticed, bags under his eyes and maybe like he’d been burning the candle at both ends. Gabriel stuffed his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels, staring at the ground. “Hello Sam,” he whispered.
“Oh god, Gabriel,” Sam breathed, stepping closer, reaching to touch him. “You, do you go to school here?”
Just like that, Gabriel found his anger again and he looked up at Sam and glared at him. “Yes, I do. I’m a senior, about to enter graduate school,” he said, raising his chin a fraction. “Why? Didn’t think I could get into a place like Stanford?”
“No, no, Gabriel, fuck, that isn’t what I meant at all!” Sam said, dropping his hand back to his side. “I just…”
“Just what?” Gabriel snapped, scowling. “Thought we could have our fun, and then go on our merry ways and never see each other again? So sorry to inconvenience you, Sam!”
“Gabriel,” Sam said, brow wrinkling. “Why are you angry?”
“Why am I angry?” Gabriel said, clenching his hands into fists. “Are you really asking me that question Sam? Because it’s a fucking stupid one!”
“I thought…” Sam trailed off. “I thought you’d…”
Gabriel laughed, scoffing as he settled his backpack on his shoulder again. “You thought what? That you could make me fall in love with you in Cancun and then ignore me the second we were apart and I’d run into your arms!?” he shouted, crossing his arms over his chest.
“You’re in love with me?” Sam breathed, his eyes going wide.
Gabriel froze and cursed himself for letting that slip. “I was,” he growled, watching Sam flinch back from him. “You made it blatantly clear it was just some fun that week, since I haven’t heard from you for the last five weeks!”
“I dropped my phone into a puddle. The day we got back. It rained, really hard, Saturday night,” Sam said. “I lost everything. Pictures, contacts, everything. I didn’t, I didn’t have data on in Cancun. None of it was backed up.”
Gabriel tensed and stared at Sam, but the anguish in his tone was obvious, and oh god, the small seed of hope in his chest was growing and he couldn’t keep it smothered.
“I didn’t,” Sam managed, a sad laugh escaping him as he hung his head. “I don’t even have a picture of you Gabriel. We took so many together, you made me take all the selfies, remember? Because I had the longer arms? And I was gonna send ‘em to you as soon as I was back. I lost all of them.”
“I…” Gabriel swallowed, his heart in his throat. He blinked hard and wiped at his face, sniffling hard.
Sam pushed his fingers through his hair. “I think I’ve texted two dozen people, trying to remember your phone number. And then seeing you, I thought I was dreaming, and, and-”
“Sam,” Gabriel breathed.
Sam clenched his eyes shut, rubbing at his face. “Oh god, I’ve missed you saying my name, I’ve missed you so much, and I had no way to find you, and I was cursing myself for saying we shouldn’t learn more about each other, and Gabriel, please, please, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I wanted to text you every moment of every day of the past five weeks. I’m so sorry I hurt you, and that you thought I didn’t want you, but I just-”
“Sam,” Gabriel said, feeling light-headed and dizzy. “Stop talking.” He watched Sam snap his jaw shut and anguish overtake Sam’s face. He put his backpack down on the ground and walked forward a few steps, wrapping his arms around Sam’s waist and burying his face against Sam’s chest. He took a slow inhale of Sam’s scent and melted, pressing as close as he could possibly get.
It was only a second later before Sam’s arms came around him and were holding and squeezing him tight. Sam’s face was pressed to his hair and Gabriel held on tighter when he realized that he could feel drops of tears. Gabriel cleared his throat and pulled back just enough to whisper “I lied.”
It took Sam a moment to answer, but Gabriel didn’t mind. He was busy memorizing the feel of Sam’s arms around him again.
“About what?”
Gabriel smiled and pressed a kiss to Sam’s chest. “Saying that I was in love with you. Wrong tense. I am. So, hopelessly fucking gone for you.”
Sam smiled against Gabriel’s hair. “So I’m forgiven?”
Gabriel tightened his fingers in Sam’s clothing and pressed in closer to him. “On two conditions.”
“Anything,” Sam whispered immediately, tightening his arms around Gabriel.
“Condition number one, we go back to my apartment and spend the rest of the day together. I need,” Gabriel choked on the word and tightened his hold. “I need that,” he admitted, his voice quiet.
“Done,” Sam said, his voice ringing with certainty. “What’s the other?”
Gabriel laughed a little, pulling back to look up at Sam. “I lied, there’s two more.”
Sam smiled and leaned down to press a kiss to Gabriel’s forehead. “Okay, what are the others?”
“Give me your damn phone number, last name and fucking Facebook profile, we’re going official with this shit,” Gabriel said, watching as Sam’s entire face lit up as he laughed and gave an eager nod.
“And the last one?” Sam asked, pressing their foreheads together.
Gabriel reached up and wrapped his arms around Sam’s shoulders. “Kiss me,” he demanded.
Sam grinned, picked up Gabriel by the waist, and kissed him until they both had to break away for air and Charlie and the rest of Sam’s friends were applauding.
Gabriel winked at Sam and wrapped his legs around Sam’s waist, turning to the group. “Thank you, thank you, but this particular show is being taken private. We appreciate the audience participation portion, but we have some serious catching up to do.”
Sam tightened his arms around Gabriel’s waist, settling the shorter man in an easier position. “Now, if you’ll excuse us!”
~!~
Later, after several orgasms, a shower, some napping, and another orgasm, Gabriel curled up into Sam’s chest and felt the last of the doubt and tension in him fade away. They’d announced their relationship on Facebook, they had each other’s names and phone numbers backed up a dozen times over, and Sam was already talking about maybe moving in with him next semester.
Gabriel cuddled into Sam’s chest again and hummed.
“I’m not ready for another round yet,” Sam said, rubbing his hand up and down Gabriel’s back.
“Nah,” Gabriel breathed, shifting to rest his chin on Sam’s chest. “Me neither. I’m just thinking I want to take you back to Cancun.”
“Oh?” Sam asked, looking down at Gabriel with a raised eyebrow.
Gabriel nodded and smiled. “Yeah. Have you in my room, fly there and back with you. Get drunk with you, flirt shamelessly with you, all of it. Take all the pictures and save them.”
Sam’s breath caught and he leaned down to kiss Gabriel slowly. “Okay, yes, please.”
“Sam?” Gabriel asked, ready to doze off again.
“Yeah, Gabe?” Sam whispered back.
“I love you,” he said, giving a sleepy smile.
Sam grinned. “I love you too, Gabe. Never gonna let you go.”
Gabriel poked Sam in the side. “First line is ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, get it right.”
“Did you, did you just fucking rickroll me? In bed?” Sam asked, shoving at Gabriel indignantly.
Gabriel dissolved into laughter, rolling away from Sam for a moment until Sam yanked him back and octopused around him. “Yes, yes I did.”
“Fucking hell, I love you,” Sam breathed, leaning in to kiss Gabriel again.
Gabriel nodded and melted into the kiss and let his eyes fall shut.