Zania Castell (brokendoll) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2018-11-24 21:31:00 |
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Entry tags: | #november 2017, gabriel, gabriel x zania, zania |
Who: Zania and Gabriel
When: Sunday, Nov 19th, morning
Where: Zania’s house
Status: Complete
Gabriel had slept in, because it was Sunday and he had no job yet, so why not, right? With Anubis beside him in the spare bed -- which was really too small for the two of them, but that never stopped the cuddling -- and Bast down at his feet, he was cozy and warm and content to just linger in the dreams he was having. They’d started out kind of adventurous and exciting, but somewhere after the sun came up, they shifted to a certain redheaded someone. Gabriel relived their first kiss in the graveyard over and over in his mind, feeling that happy rush in his real sleeping body. His imagination let loose in the dream, and that kiss turned into so much more.
When he finally woke up, Gabriel felt the intense urge to call Zania. Or, even better, go see her. He already liked her, but the feelings seemed to have kicked up another notch. Good dreams were good dreams, but damn. He untangled himself from his animals and took a shower in a weak attempt to shrug it off. Gabriel ended up playing with his dick instead, leaned against the shower wall and going over and over his dream again. Gods, she was gorgeous. And smelled and tasted so damn good. He really wanted to see her that day, he decided. Like, a lot.
Before he really knew what he was doing, Gabriel was in the car with Anubis, driving toward Ludlow. He came up with a plan on the way, something romantic, something she would like. He parked a couple of houses down the street from Zania’s, leaned his seat back a bit and closed his eyes to concentrate, reaching out with his mind and his magic to find the local animals. Before too long, a deer emerged from the direction of the woods, a small bundle of evergreen branches and sprigs of holly berries in her mouth. It was past the season for flowers, but that didn’t mean Gabriel couldn’t give Zan a bouquet of some kind. The doe trotted up the Castells’ walk, fearless as she carefully mounted the porch steps. She lifted one hoof and scraped it against the door in a semblance of a knock, her ears perked up and dark eyes alert.
Zania had never been an early riser and tended to wake long after her brother, the scent of coffee lofting up the stairs and drawing her to wakefulness. But it wasn’t coffee that she woke to this morning. Instead it was the scent of flowers so strong that she thought they were there in the room with her. When she opened her eyes, she found that wasn’t the case, and she slipped on a robe to wander downstairs to investigate. That was where it started, with vines winding around the stair rail, leading the path to a living room that was almost unrecognizable as her own.
The ceiling was covered with white gardenias, their scent almost as overpowering as the roses that made up the sofa and chairs. Even the coffee table seemed to be made of flowers, black pansies that were soft to the touch, yet as sturdy as wood. Normally Nic experimented with glamour in his bedroom, the gray walls a perfect canvas, but this was above and beyond anything she’d ever seen him do. It was intense, to say the least, and a little bit worrisome, but that was nothing compared to actually talking to him.
At first she thought he was high, though on what she could only guess. But when he started rambling about Lem, how this was all for her, how he had to show her or, better, make more for her at her house, she knew something was wrong. The more she pushed, the more he ignored her, raving about how she could not stop their great love, that he would not let her stand in his way. Love. That was the word that rang in her ears, the reason she’d called Reagan. When the other woman didn’t answer, she attempted to reason with Nic, only to end up yelling at him as he fled from the house to go see Lem. Reagan called then and she attempted to explain, then phone still pressed to her ear when she heard a knock on the door. As she returned to the entryway, she froze, looking back at the deer from inside her house. “There’s a fucking deer at the door,” she muttered into the phone.
Normally, she wouldn’t answer the door if there was a wild animal standing on the other side. But this was a doe. A doe with a sprig of greenery in its mouth. Zania hesitantly opened the door and looked back at the deer, not sure what to do next.
Happily oblivious to what was going on in the Castells’ house, Gabriel looked at Zania through the doe’s eyes. She wasn’t in color, but she was still beautiful. Radiant. The overpowering scent of flowers wafted out to the doe’s nose, but Gabriel hardly noticed it. His attention was consumed by Zania herself. He had the doe lower its front half in a bow, and drop the makeshift bouquet at Zan’s feet. It wasn’t much -- especially not compared to what was going on inside -- but it came from the heart, and he hoped she put two and two together and made the connection that it was from him.
As the doe straightened up and looked at Zania, a couple of squirrels ran up the porch steps and stopped, sitting back on their hind legs, tails twitching as they looked up at Zan. A second later, three birds descended. They were chickadees, and landed on the doe’s back first as she straightened up, chirpy and puffed up against the cold. One of them gave a couple of hops, then fluttered over to land on Zania’s shoulder.
Zania heard Reagan’s voice on the other end, asking if the deer was in the yard, and she shook her head, momentarily forgetting that Reagan couldn’t see her before she spoke. “No, on my porch. It brought me a gift,” she said, watching at the doe laid the greenery at her feet. She bent to pick it up and things started to click together, thoughts that only solidified as additional animals began to show up. One animal acting unnaturally was weird. With this many, there was magic involved and there was only one person she knew capable of it. “There’s squirrels now. And birds. Oh god,” she said, her voice pitching higher as one landed on her. “I have a fucking bird on my shoulder.” Her eyes began to scan the street, looking for Gabriel, but she didn’t know if he even had to be here to do this. He could be at home in bed for all she knew. “You need to fix this,” she hissed into the phone. Because even if it was sweet, it wasn’t real. She had to keep that in mind.
Human language often came through sort of garbled and hard to understand through animal ears. Their brains couldn’t process it well, so it took Gabriel a bit of extra time to decipher what was being said. Tone however, tone carried a lot of emotional weight with animals, and Zania’s freaked out concern came through loud and clear. It caused a ripple through his focus, but that didn’t seem to last for long. He really, really, really liked her, and he wanted her to know it. He had to woo her. And what better way to do that than to make her feel like a Disney princess? He reached out and grabbed the minds of some more local animals, sending five or six chipmunks and a few more squirrels up onto the porch, and even more birds. Gabriel had them start chirping, singing in harmony for Zania, the beautiful flame-haired girl at the heart of his every current thought.
Even though she knew it was Gabriel, that it had to be, it was hard not to be overwhelmed by the number of animals congregating on the porch. Then the birds started to sing and a little laugh bubbled up unbidden. Reagan finally seemed to be catching on, asking about her relationship with Gabriel, and she smiled softly. “Yeah, you could say that. But this is… Just fix it, okay? I’ve gotta go before he finds me a bear.” Or a wolf. Or a moose. So far the animals were all harmless, but if something bigger than her ended up coming to cuddle with her, she might genuinely freak out. Lowering the phone and slipping it into her robe pocket, Zania looked at her little pack of animals and gave them a little smile. “Hey…um… Is Gabriel around?” It felt silly talking to them. It wasn’t like they could talk back.
Gabriel didn’t intend to send Zania anything dangerous, just cute. He kind of wished the animals had the physical capability and that he had the mental strength to make them go do chores for her. Chipmunks washing dishes, birds hanging up clothes on the line. But everything had limits, this wasn’t a Disney movie, as much as he would’ve liked to make it one. He heard his name filter in through the noise of all their minds, and the birds stopped singing. He had one of them chirp in a way that sounded affirmative, then started to let them go. The birds flew away first, then the chipmunks and squirrels scattered. Mostly back in his body, Gabriel climbed out of his SUV, Anubis at his heels, and started strolling toward Zania’s house. He should’ve brought her some real flowers, damn. He hadn’t thought of it soon enough. Gabriel kept his hold on the doe, letting her wander around the porch and sniff delicately here and there. When he was close enough to be spotted, Gabriel grinned at Zania. “You can pet her if you want,” he called as he started up the front walk.
Zania might’ve gotten a kick out of animals trying to help out around the house if this wasn’t tied to something bigger and far more confusing. She knew there were feelings there, that seemed to be key, but this was blowing them way out of proportion, at least if Nic’s reaction was anything to go by. She suspected that was true with Gabriel as well, but would need to actually talk to him to know for sure. There was always the tiniest chance he’d done this on a whim, but she was willing to bet that wasn’t the case. When the bird seemed to answer her, she relaxed a little, and even more when most of the animals decided to leave, and began to watch for Gabriel, hoping he’d turn up soon. Sure enough, she spotted him walking up the street and she gave him a little smile. “She’s not scared?” she asked, looking over at the doe. Slowly, she moved towards her, then reached out her hand to run it down the doe’s back. “I didn’t know you could control more than one at a time,” she said, looking over at him.
“Nah, she’s fine, I got her,” Gabriel drawled as he mounted the porch steps. The careful way Zania petted the deer made him smile even brighter, and he slipped his hands into his jacket pockets and leaned his shoulder against the nearest post. The doe turned her head to sniff at Zania, then went back to smelling the railing. “I can if they’re small enough,” Gabriel told Zan with a faint chuckle. “Or y’know ... simple enough. No offense, baby girl.” He reached out to stroke the doe’s flank too. “You want a selfie or anything ‘fore I let her go?” The question was only half-serious, but he could really picture Zania doing that, so he meant it too. He was just full of a desire to make Zania happy however he could.
It was definitely impressive what Gabriel could do. There had been almost a dozen animals there a few seconds ago and it didn’t matter that they were small and simple. That didn’t mean they weren’t useful or dangerous, if he wanted them to be. Zania pet the deer with a bit more confidence, unable to see any sign that it might freak out at her touch. “No,” she said with a little laugh and a shake of her head. If she didn’t think he was under a spell, she might’ve seriously considered it, but she wasn’t in the mood. “Maybe if it was a wolf. Not that I want you to bring me a wolf. Please don’t.” Zania wrapped her robe a little tighter around her, the chill starting to get to her, especially underdressed and with bare feet. “Do you want to come in?”
Gabriel’s immediate internal reaction was that he could get her a wolf, and would if she ever wanted one, but she was saying she didn’t, so ... maybe some other time. So he just grinned at her, then nodded and gave the doe a pat. Gabriel silently told her that she could go back to her business, extending his gratitude as much as she could understand it. The doe amiably turned and headed carefully down the porch steps. Gabriel watched and released her mind completely halfway through the yard. She looked momentarily confused, glancing around, and then she bounded away back toward the trees. “C’mon, let’s get you inside,” he said, turning back to Zania. “It’s cold as fuck out here.” He made a little shoo-ing gesture toward the door so Zan would go in first.
Zania watched as the doe ran away, then turned back to Gabriel, glad he was was willing to come in. It was way too cold for the alternative, so she hurried inside, sure he would follow after her. She only remembered the flowers when she was faced with them again and wondered how the hell she was supposed to explain that. She didn’t mind telling him about Nic, but Nic hadn’t taken all that well to being told he was under a spell. She wasn’t sure how Gabriel would feel about it either. “My brother… went a little overboard this morning,” she said, gesturing around the room as she started a fire up in the fireplace. Zania walked over to it, letting the heat hit the back of her legs, lifting one foot, then the other, to warm them. “Sorry if it’s a little overpowering.”
Gabriel followed her inside, then let out a low whistle as the heavy scent of flowers and the even heavier feel of magic in the air hit him. He recognized that before he even saw all the blooms. Even though plants weren’t really his thing, Gabriel could tell immediately that they weren’t real flowers, just illusions, and that was interesting. He gave a little laugh as he walked with Zan closer to the fire. “Wait so ... he did all this for you?” he asked Zan with some bemusement. An unexpected stab of jealousy lanced through Gabriel’s chest -- Nic better not have done all this for Zan, because she was his. He wasn’t usually the possessive type, he barely knew Zania, and it didn’t make sense anyway because she and Nic were siblings, so the strength of the feeling surprised him a bit.
“What? No!” Zania said with a sharp shake of her head and an irrational spike of frustration. She knew Gabriel didn’t mean it like that, but they weren’t like that and it always raised her hackles when it was insinuated. “They’re for our neighbor, Lem. He’s been seeing her and… I don’t know what his plan was, but he’s over there now.” Actually, she thought he probably intended to bring her back over there, but now that Zania had run him off, he would probably think twice about it. Depending on how things went, she might need to tell Lem that Nic was under a love spell. While she had her fingers crossed that Reagan would have this fixed soon, soon could be hours, even days.
Gabriel hadn’t really meant to insinuate that they were in a more-than-sibling relationship -- maybe Nic just knew she was really into flowers and wanted to go overboard and surprise her or something -- and Zania’s sharp protest quirked his eyebrow up further. It was obviously ground that he didn’t want to tread, so he just let the reassurance quiet that dumb knee-jerk possessiveness. He scraped his teeth over his bottom lip and nodded a bit as he looked around. Anubis was uncomfortable with it all, the smells overpowering to his canine nose, so he was hovering by the front door, his ears perked up to listen to the humans. “I would guess he’s gonna be bringin’ her over? This is somethin’ else ...” Gabriel chuckled faintly as he ran his fingers over some petals covering what looked like a chair. It all felt nicely real. “If you need an excuse to clear out, I’d be happy to keep you occupied.”
Zania quieted, realizing she may have overreacted a little bit. Maybe it was the morning, the slight hangover, the argument with Nic, and the worry that this wasn’t one hundred percent Gabriel talking, and maybe it was just years of snide comments from people who didn’t understand. She could be a touch sensitive when it came to Nic. She also needed a cup of coffee. “I dunno. Maybe. I kind of ran him off. We could go in the kitchen. It’s still normal looking.” She wasn’t sold on spending the day with him this time, knowing that he might not be in total control of himself. She liked Gabriel and wanted to get to know him better, but it was so hard to tell what was him and what might be the spell talking. So instead she went with something safer. “I could use a cup of coffee,” she said, watching as he touched one of the chairs. When she wasn’t annoyed with her brother she could admire his work. This was one of the most impressive displays she’d ever seen him cook up.
To the kitchen for coffee wasn’t exactly a romantic outing, but Gabriel was okay with that. He realized he hadn’t had a cup either that morning, which was pretty unusual for him. And honestly? Today he felt like any time spent with Zania would be good time. “Sure, coffee sounds great,” he answered with an easy smile. She looked so beautiful, even pre-coffee and morning routine, he hoped she wanted to hang out with him for a while. Or would tolerate his presence, anyway. Gabriel could stay quiet and out of the way and just be there. Maybe help with some chores or ... something. He moved to follow Zan into the kitchen, looking around with interest as they went. Nic had made flowers, Gabriel had brought animals ... it was just a romantic kind of day, apparently.
“So what’ve you been up to today?” Zania asked as she led him into the kitchen and began to work on the coffee. She was trying to pretend like this was normal, like she didn’t know or believe that he was under some kind of spell. Like he hadn’t just brought her enough animals to re-enact parts of Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. It might’ve been fun under other circumstances, but she couldn’t decipher what was him and what was the spell. “Just out wandering around?” she asked, setting two cups of coffee on the counter, then leaning against it as she waited for the coffee to brew. Normally, she’d want to be all prettied up for him, or at least out of her pajamas, but today he got to see her just out of bed, hair a bit more messy than usual, her only makeup being the eyeliner she’d not completely removed the night before. Not exactly glamourous.
Assuming they would be lingering in the kitchen, since Nic and his lady might come back at any time, Gabriel helped himself to a seat. He let Anubis know to stay put, but to clear the way from the inside of the door if someone else came home. They could protect Zania together when they were all out and about, but this was her territory, so standing down was wiser. Gabriel gave a chuckle as he slouched comfortably, his hands slipping into his front hoodie pocket. Some part of him knew he probably ought to lie, cover for himself, but it didn’t feel right. “Just this, pretty much,” he told her with a casual shrug. It was morning, after all. “Got up, really wanted to see you, decided to make my way over. Send you somethin’ fun. How ‘bout you?”
It was sweet, and yet it made it the second time this week that he’d just shown up at her house, this time with animals. It also made it hard to tell if this was just Gabriel or if this was part of the spell. Damn. “I hadn’t really thought that far,” Zania smiled. “The shop’s closed today, so I’ve got the day off.” It was the one day of the week she had a chance to catch up on chores, basic shopping and whatnot. Not exactly fun, but things that needed to be done. Not right this second, though. She could hang out for a bit.
It didn’t seem strange at all to show up on Zania’s doorstep twice in one week to Gabriel, not at the moment. Ordinarily he would’ve thought better of it, paced himself, not pushed too hard. Women were skittish creatures, they took intelligent handling, in Gabriel’s experience. But none of that was on his mind today. He’d just been dying to see her, so there he was. “Yeah? You can do whatever you want then,” he said, giving her a lopsided grin. “You wanna go do somethin’ with me? I’ll take you out or ... I dunno, we could watch a movie, or somethin’ ...” All Gabriel wanted to do today was spend it with Zania, so he really hoped she said yes.
This shouldn’t have been such a hard decision. Gabriel was hot, personable, and she liked him. And he was a skilled witch. The choice would’ve normally been easy, but the knowledge that a love spell was at work continued to give her pause. The last thing she needed was to continue to grow attached to a guy that might not really feel the way he was behaving. But what if it already aligned with his own feelings? There’d been a spark there for sure. “A movie might be fun,” she smiled, biting her lip. Movies were harmless, right? Teenage date sort of things. “What kind do you like?”
He was so wrapped up in his own wants that Gabriel wasn’t really noticing Zania’s hesitance. He beamed and gave a little fist-pump when she agreed to hang out with him. Gabriel didn’t know what he would’ve done if she’d said no, but he definitely would’ve been disappointed. “Oh I dunno,” he told her with a chuckle, leaning forward a bit with his forearms on the table. “Anything you want. I ain’t picky. I’ll even sit through some rom com if you got a favorite.” Gabriel grinned cheekily at her. He was generally more discerning when it came to movies, but today it didn’t seem to matter. Anything that made Zania happy would make him happy.
“I’m not a big rom-com fan,” Zania said with a little laugh. “I mean, there’s a few that are fun, but I’ll almost always choose a thriller or a comedy or an action movie over a rom-com. They tend to be really predictable and I like movies that surprise me.” She would’ve liked to know what kind of movies he liked, but apparently today was about pleasing her. Which was great, she supposed. It was so weird not to take advantage of the situation. “Any idea what’s in theaters right now?” If she watched a bit more tv, she would probably know, but Zania had never been big on the tv or the internet. They were useful, and good distractions, but she’d never been sucked in the way most of her peers had been. Her phone was the most addictive device she had.
Gabriel didn’t watch a lot of TV either, at least not the standard cable kind. He was more of a streaming service kind of guy. “I dunno, lessee,” he said, leaning back to slip a hand into his pocket and pull his phone out. They were definitely handy in cases like this. Gabriel browsed through the new releases, reading off some titles and summaries to Zania before he made a scrunched sort of face. “None of it sounds great ... anything catch your fancy?” he asked. He would go see the shittiest movie if Zan wanted to. He would do pretty much anything for her today. “Or maybe wanna stay in? Or come over to my place? My auntie’s working.” He didn’t want to just ‘Netflix and chill’ at her, but that honestly sounded pretty good for real.
The only movie on the list that Zania was interested in seeing was Lady Bird, and there was no way she was going to see that with Gabriel. It looked like the kind of movie that would make her cry, and the only person she would willingly cry on was Nic. Definitely, not a guy she was interested in, especially this early on. “I dunno. I’m not really into the comic book movies,” she said, making a face. Still… while going out would have been a little easier to control, she wasn’t about to turn him down. The question was where. She wanted to see where he was living at the moment, and she wanted to meet the other animals, but again was torn over the stupid fucking spell. “Let’s stay in,” she said, thinking she might have a little more control on her own turf. “I need to go put some clothes on, but we can make something to eat, maybe find something to watch. Sound good?”
Staying in was great, perfect, and Gabriel gave a bright grin at that decision. Here, there, he didn’t really care where they were. He just wanted to be in her presence. He perked up even further as another idea occurred to him. “Lemme make you breakfast,” he offered, already getting up from his seat. Gabriel took his phone out of his hoodie pocket to set it down on the kitchen table, then pulled the jacket up and off. He draped it over the back of a chair. If he was staying a while and cooking, it would just get in the way. Plus the t-shirt he had on under did nice things for his arms. He smiled at her again. “You go get dressed, wash up, whatever, and I’ll cook for you. Whatchu like?” He was pretty good even in unfamiliar kitchens, and he was willing to bet Zania’s had some interesting spices in it.
Zania’s eyes dropped to his stomach for that brief moment when it was exposed as he pulled his jacket over his head. The shirt fit him nicely, showing off the form of his arms and chest, both of which she appreciated. She hadn’t expected him to offer making breakfast and grinned back at him at the offer. “Anything. Everything. Whatever you feel up to making. Eggs, bacon, pancakes, whatever.” They should have everything they needed for any of those options, plus more. Zania kept the kitchen well stocked and Nic kept it organized. “I’m just gonna shower real quick, then I’ll be back down.” She might put on a dab of makeup, but she didn’t feel like she needed to doll herself up today. Hopefully he wouldn’t mind.
Gabriel gave a light laugh when she said ‘everything’ -- that was a woman after his own heart, right there. Gabriel loved to eat, and he loved to be with people who shared that love. Not to mention, it was fun to be given free rein. And maybe she would feel a little pampered, being able to enjoy a bit of her morning and then come down to breakfast already made. Gabriel wanted to treat her, woo her with food and a nice day. “Sounds perfect,” he told her, already moving toward the fridge to see what was in there. “Want me to bring your coffee up when it’s ready?” He shot her a cheeky little grin, aware that might be a bit much, but hey. He wanted to flirt with her some more.
“Hmmm,” Zania smirked, narrowing her eyes. “Sure, but wait till I’m out of the shower.” It was definitely cheeky, but she liked that in a guy. She just hoped that was him and not just the spell. She seriously doubted he’d be willing to wait on her like this if it wasn’t for the spell, but she couldn’t stand the thought of sending him away. She was enjoying her time with him, plus it seemed to make him happy. At least for now it did. “Give me, like, ten, fifteen minutes. You’ll hear the water stop. It’s an old house.” There were lots of reasons to complain about the house, but today she liked that he’d be able to hear the water from downstairs. “And Anubis is welcome to come in, if he wants to,” she added, heading towards the door. “See you soon?”
Gabriel grinned wickedly, but he gave her a little salute too, to acknowledge the boundary. He wouldn’t even be tempted to cross it today, because all he wanted to do was make Zan happy. And even if he happened to think that stirpping down and getting into the shower with her could make her happy in certain ways, he wasn’t about to be that kind of guy. “See you soon,” he confirmed as he watched her go, still smiling. He didn’t think he’d ever been so pleased to make somebody breakfast before. And it was going to be a good damn breakfast, Gabriel would make sure of that. He turned back to the fridge to start pulling out supplies.
As Zania left him to go shower, she wondered to herself how real this was because, if it was true to him at all, it was definitely something she could get used to. Not that she wanted to be waited on, but she loved a little pampering, and she especially appreciated how comfortable he seemed to be in her space— the kitchen, the house, the whole thing. In fact, had they been a tiny bit further into whatever this was, she’d have loved to see if he’d sneak up to bring her her coffee. She just couldn’t depend on this being all him today and definitely didn’t want to find herself in a place where he’d gone further than he normally would have, or had done something he might regret. God, she hated love spells. Now she remembered why.
It all certainly felt real to Gabriel. He was glad that he had the distraction of making breakfast to keep him occupied, because he felt a tugging in his chest to follow Zania upstairs. Not that he necessarily wanted to force anything on her, he just wanted to be close to her. And thoughts of her getting naked under the same roof were giving him warm feelings in his jeans. He had to be steadfast though, and prove himself safe and worthy of her attention. So he listened for the water in the pipes and set the coffeemaker to keep the batch warm once it beeped that it was done brewing. Gabriel settled on omelets for the main course, cracking eggs into a bowl to whisk up and finding fun extras to cut up and add into them. But he wanted to make pancakes too! And set out fresh fruit! It was all going to be perfect.
Zania was one of those that could have spent so long in the shower that the water ran cold, but today she tried to be quick, out in fifteen minutes, even with shaving her legs and washing her hair. After quickly drying off, she slipped her robe back on, just to ensure she was wearing something when Gabriel brought her coffee up. She liked the idea of still being wrapped in a towel, but could easily see that moving towards the bed, so an attempt at clothes was probably smart. She only had so much willpower and didn’t want to tempt him more than he might already be feeling. Even though they weren’t going out, she sat down at her vanity to put a touch of makeup on, and listened for his footsteps on the stairs. She wondered what he’d made up downstairs and just the thought of it had her stomach growling, hurrying her along.
Gabriel kept an ear out for the water to stop as he cooked. Anubis joined him in the kitchen and got a couple of nibbles of ham from his fingers. The earth witch felt really comfortable in the Castell kitchen, and he didn’t know if that was just from his generally excellent mood that morning, or just because he really liked the vibe of the house in general. Zania really seemed to be one of his people. Gabriel hoped he felt the same way about her brother, and vice versa. Because they were obviously totally going to be dating now, he was already in love with her. It was good timing in his cooking progression to pause, so that was perfect. Giving her a moment or two to get however decent she wanted, Gabriel poured her cup of coffee. He didn’t know how she liked it, so he found the sugar bowl and the creamer and carefully carried it all upstairs. Gabriel went to the open bedroom door and peeked inside. She was dressed in a robe, but he didn’t find that disappointing. She still looked gorgeous. “I didn’t know what you take in it, so I brought both,” he said.
Zania’s bedroom had the same feel as the rest of the house, though it was a little bit bolder, with bright colors wherever she could use them. The furniture was a collection of antiques and hand-me-downs, some repurposed, but managing to fit together. The bed was a big four poster with sheer drapes and twinkly lights hanging around the top, still unmade, but it was always that way. Though it wasn’t like she was planning to have him in it, not today. She sat at her vanity in a floral turquoise kimono, bare skin peeking out and hair still wet, but decent. When she saw Gabriel at the door in the mirror’s reflection, she turned to face him, smiling. “Cream and sugar, so thank you,” she said. “You’re really spoiling me, you know.”
Gabriel instantly liked Zania’s room, though it wasn’t likely he would disapprove of anything today. It just felt like her, and he kind of loved that bohemian sort of style anyway, and it all just seemed to suit her. It didn’t hurt that she looked like an absolutely gorgeous queen, sitting there in a kimono. He kind of felt like he ought to hit his knees and crawl the rest of the way to her, but Gabriel just enjoyed that feeling instead of giving in to it. He had stuff in his hands. Chuckling at her comment, he brought everything to the vanity and set it down for her. “Nothin’ less than you deserve,” he murmured, giving her a smile back. Now that his hands were free, he so wanted to feel all that silk over warm skin and caress her softness and kiss her all over and-- “Breakfast’s almost done,” he said, dragging his eyes back to her face.
She could feel his eyes on her, admiring, and the temptation to take advantage of the moment was so strong that she had to force herself to breathe, rather than hold her breath. Then the moment passed and she met his eyes, a little smirk on her lips, but she didn’t think she could even kiss him in thanks without moving it to the bed. If Reagan didn’t get this issue resolved soon, she was going to strangle the witch. “I’ll be down in a few,” she said softly. She just needed to put on a few more clothes, so she wouldn’t be quite so tempted to take them off.
Gods, that sassy smirk of hers did fluttery things to his insides. Gabriel wet his lips without thinking about it, so very tempted to bend over her and do something else with that pretty mouth of hers. But he was being dismissed and he didn’t know her that well, no matter how he felt this morning, and fuck, he just knew she would be an incredible kisser, but there was breakfast downstairs and he wanted to impress her with his self control and all those reasons. She hadn’t invited him into the shower with her, or into the bed, and so he had to be good. “Aight,” Gabriel drawled easily as he backed up toward the door. He turned to walk out of it, and ran right into the doorframe instead. He let out a little ‘fuck’ and readjusted, snickering at himself and not daring to glance back at Zania before he disappeared into the hallway again.
Zania didn’t know how she was managing to be this good, honestly. If she hadn’t known he was under some kind of spell, she imagined the day would be playing out very differently at this point. But if any of those feelings he was feeling were real, then maybe she’d get another chance to see if those arms would pick her up and throw her onto the bed. She just had to tell herself this wasn’t her only chance, and even if it was, then it wasn’t a real one. When he ran into the door frame, she laughed silently, her hand over her mouth as she shook her head. She wanted to tease him, but it wasn’t quite fair, not today. She couldn’t imagine how she’d be behaving if she’d been the one under a spell. As soon as he was gone, she hurried to finish getting ready, sipping at her coffee along the way. Whatever he was making smelled incredible.
The embarrassment slipping away quicker than it might have on an ordinary day, Gabriel hurried back downstairs to the kitchen. He hadn’t left anything on the stovetop on purpose, just in case Zania had other uses for him upstairs, but it was easy to get right back to cooking. He mixed up the pancake batter a bit more, tossing some blueberries in that he’d found in the fridge, then poured the dollops out onto the hot pan. This was going to be a really hearty breakfast, they would probably just want to flop on the couch with full bellies afterward. He hummed to himself as he worked, ready to feed Zania as soon as she came back downstairs.
After towel-drying her hair, Zania slipped into black leggings and a gray sweater dress before heading downstairs. The flowers remained in the living room, at least for the moment, but she didn’t let that bother her. As she stepped into the kitchen, she watched Gabriel for a moment, noting how comfortable he seemed to be there and the ease with which he worked. If he could make her breakfast and nothing else, she’d still be happy. “What’cha making?” She asked, coming up close and peering around him to see the pancakes.
Gabriel didn’t hear her coming, but Anubis did, and lifted his head from where he’d laid down on the floor, out of the way but still watchful. A smile crossed Gabriel’s face as he felt Zania come in close, and before he could think better of it, he turned his head to kiss her temple. It was such a domestic, relationshippy thing to do, but it felt so right at the same time. “Pancakes,” he said, then nodded to the plates that had been set out with the omelets already. “Almost done, grab you an omelet and have a seat, baby girl. You just want coffee, or somethin’ else to drink?” Part of making breakfast for his new queen was delivering it to her, after all, so he was there to serve.
The little kiss was so sweet and so casual that Zania couldn’t help but light up, her smile bright. She knew his emotions were being toyed with magically, but hoped that this was really how he was when he was in love. Sure, it was extreme at times, but others he was just so damn charming that it couldn’t all be magic. “Looks delicious,” she grinned back at him. “I’ve never been good at pancakes. I don’t know if I over mix my batter or what, but they never come out as good as yours look.” She hadn’t expected him to serve her, but since he said so she moved towards the table and took a seat, equally impressed with the omelets set out for them. “Just coffee right now. So do you cook often?”
He couldn’t help but glance back at Zania’s ass when she turned to head to the table. That little sweater dress sure hugged her curves. Gabriel wouldn’t have minded if she’d stayed in that kimono, but she’d replaced it nicely, that was for sure. He licked his lips and went back to flipping his pancakes. “Yeah, now and then,” he answered easily, glancing back at her with a little smile. “I been lettin’ my auntie spoil me while I been here, though. Don’t wanna be rude, you know. The women in my family get serious about makin’ sure you eat.” He chuckled. “How ‘bout you?”
Zania took a bite of her omelet as she listened to him, eager to learn more about him and his upbringing. She could picture it so easily, the mothering type that encouraged you to go for seconds, that were always cooking or baking something. It was different from her own upbringing, but her mother still cooked and she’d learned certain dishes from her in the process. “My mom was a little more stingy in the kitchen. She could be a health food nut sometimes, but I learned some things,” she said. “I like to cook and bake, sometimes experiment with different flavors and spices. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s a complete failure. Usually if I follow a recipe, it comes out okay. I mean, it’s pretty much a kitchen spell, you know?”
Gabriel came from a long line of women who showed love by cooking, and he’d picked up some of that mindset himself. He’d cooked for girlfriends before, and while he wasn’t any kind of master chef, he did have a few dishes he could whip out and mildly impress a lady with. Or to feed various roommates here and there to pull his weight. Gabriel knew his way around a grill. But breakfast was nice to know how to do too, for morning-after occasions. “Yeah, most of us’re pretty good at following directions,” he agreed with an amused huff. Gabriel loaded up the pancake stack onto another plate and brought it to the table. He’d already set out butter and the only syrup he could find, and after pouring himself his own cup of coffee, he joined Zania and had a seat. “I like to fuck around with spices too. You like hot stuff? I’mma have to make a gumbo for you sometime.”
"You say that, but spells are just following directions some people still manage to screw 'em up from time to time," Zania said, unable not to think of her current predicament, but also having experienced it at work. "I've had customers come back complaining about something gone wrong, thinking it was the ingredients, but when we looked at the spell it's really just the details." You couldn't always substitute one thing for another and often times the order you did something made a difference. She found the same to be true in cooking, though there was usually a little more leighway. "I love spicy stuff," she said, picking a pancake up off the platter. "Do you make your own roux? I've never had authentic gumbo."
“Yeah,” Gabriel said, the word drawled out with some amused guilt mixed in there. “I done fucked up my fair share’a spells.” He laughed a little as he pulled a pancake over onto his own plate. “I kinda suck at the details, s’why I avoid a lot of ritual magic. I did enough of that when I was learning and connecting with my animals, y’know? I can do pretty much everything I wanna do so far on instinct now.” He was dumb about plants and ingredients and sticking to all those details. Gabriel had accomplished his goals so far, magically speaking, and anything else he needed, he could pick up later. “I do a lotta experimentin’ with recipes, worst they can do is taste bad. But yeah, I make my own.” He offered Zania a smile. “And I know my auntie’s got all the spices I need at home, so. Anytime.”
“Magic on instinct has always impressed me. It takes a different mindset and focus. And people that are good with it always make it look so easy,” Zania said with a smile. From what she’d seen Gabriel was one of those people, when it came to his connection to animals, and Nic could do it with glamour. She had a few little things, but nothing on that scale, at least not in her opinion. “But yeah, experimenting in the kitchen tends to be a lot safer. It can taste bad, and maybe I set something on fire, but nothing I can’t handle. If you’re really serious, you make me gumbo and I’ll make you something for dessert,” she grinned. “But you’ve gotta narrow it down for me. What kinda things do you like?” Her mind was already spinning, enjoying a reason to attempt something new. She didn’t normally bake for guys, but it was different when he was offering to cook her dinner, especially after cooking her up a hearty breakfast. It wasn’t like she was going to show up at his door with cookies.
Gabriel liked the idea of impressing her, so he grinned a bit at that, then he laughed. “Sounds like a deal to me, baby girl,” he said. Gumbo and some kind of dessert sounded like a date night to him, and he had to resist the urge to suggest they do it tonight. He wasn’t prepared to make that kind of meal, and he’d already made her breakfast. He was usually much cooler than this, he had to wonder a tiny bit what had him so carried away. At least Zania didn’t seem to mind it. “Anything sweet I can put in my mouth, I like,” he answered, giving her a cheeky, flirty smile. “Kinda partial to pies though. Or a cobbler, but that might be too Southern for you.” He moved his leg under the table to nudge it against hers, catching his bottom lip in his teeth as his eyes drifted over her again briefly.
It was definitely a date night, but Zania wouldn’t have wanted it tonight, even if he’d offered. She needed to give Reagan a chance to break the spell, and then Gabriel could decide if it was something he really wanted. She was starting to really hope that this was more him than the spell, but she knew that magic could also create something out of nothing. Still, that look he gave her felt genuine. “I can try my hand at a cobbler,” Zania smiled and nudged his leg back. She was always up for a challenge, but she hoped she wasn’t competing against his mother and aunt. Food with happy memories attached was impossible to beat. “I’ll think on it a bit. It’ll give me a chance to be creative, maybe try something new.”
Gabriel was well aware that nobody else could beat his family’s cooking. That was just how family cooking worked. But he was more than willing to try anything Zania wanted to make for him and keep an open mind. Maybe she would be good at it, Yankee or no. “Sure thing, you just lemme know anytime you wanna do it,” he said with a lazy grin. With a day or two’s notice, he could make up a good gumbo, they were in a seafood-heavy area, after all. Maybe Gabriel would do a little experimenting of his own. And then they could take their magic from the kitchen to the bedroom and he could really impress her there. That was what ran through his head, anyway. To keep himself from blurting it out, Gabriel ate some more.
“Course,” Zania smiled, fully intending to pick a date once the spell was removed. She didn’t want to get ahead of herself, no matter how tempting it might be. All this restraint was new to her, so much more used to going with what felt right, but she knew that going with her gut today could result in heartache. Maybe not, but if their roles were reversed she hoped that Gabriel might show the same hesitation. “So do you have any plans for the holidays? Making the trek back home or anything?” She asked before taking another bite. She was likely to slip into a food coma after this, but she wasn’t complaining.
Considering how intensely Gabriel wanted to hit his knees and crawl over to Zania and show her just how much he worshipped her, he thought he was doing pretty well at keeping it under control. None of this was like him, he didn’t usually get so hooked on girls so fast, but goddamn it felt nice at the moment. They were making plans, she’d liked the food he’d made her, she was going to hang out with him for a while today ... what more could he really ask for? “Nah, it’s a long-ass drive and I just got here,” he answered with a chuckle. “They get it. I’ll Facetime with Mama an’ all. What about you? Your folks live here too, right?”
There were many times in her life that Zania wished her family lived a little farther away, but in this case it made things easier. She could pop in for Thanksgiving dinner, then head home, rather than drive or fly across the country for a one night affair. Unlike Gabriel’s parents, she knew her own wouldn’t be quite as understanding and, while she was willing to fight them on a lot of things, this wasn’t worth fighting about. “Yeah, they’re just up the road,” she said, making a vague gesture. “We’ll go over and do the big Thanksgiving dinner and then come back here and collapse. I think my cousins might visit, but I’m not a hundred percent sure. My dad’s one of four kids, but he’s the only one who stayed in Point Pleasant. Since my grandma died, people don’t come back as often as they used to.”
Most of Gabriel’s family had stayed clustered down south; JC being the obvious exception. They were a clannish bunch, sticking close to New Orleans, and he’d grown up with tons of cousins around and big family celebrations. That would change some up here, but Gabriel thought he could handle it. He had hopes that he could build a little tribe of friends for himself to fill in those gaps. He was off to a good start, he thought. Gabriel nodded along to what Zania said. “Yeah, I heard of that kinda thing happenin’ when the matriarch goes,” he said. It hadn’t happened in his family, but he knew they were exceptionally close. “I’ll prob’ly fly down there for Christmas, but Thursday I’ll prob’ly just stuff myself with whatever Auntie JC makes, turn the game on, and pass the fuck out.” He tried not to hope for an invite over that day or the next day, but it was hard. Gabriel already wanted to see Zan all week long.
Zania had been to her cousins growing up, but there was such a gap between her generation and the one before her that she was kind of glad there was no push to get everyone together for multiple holidays. It felt like just more people to who wanted to look down their nose at her and she could do without that. It wasn’t a side of her family that Zania was eager to introduce people to, so as much as she wanted to see Gabriel around the holidays, she was glad they weren’t really at the meeting families stage yet. If he was to meet anyone, it would be Nic. “That sounds about right,” she smiled, finishing off her pancakes. “I think that’s what most people do. I’m not even that into sports, yet somehow there’s always football on after turkey.” She sat back in her seat, her hand on her stomach. “I’m so full. I may have more pancakes later, as a snack, but I think I’m ready to veg on the couch when you are.”
Gabriel liked sports, even if he didn’t consider himself a sports guy. He enjoyed smoking a blunt and watching a game -- or napping part of the way through it -- just to relax, and while he always pulled for his home teams, he didn’t get crazy about it. He would’ve met any of Zania’s family she wanted to introduce him to, and done his best to be charming. He was actually pretty good with parents, in his own experience, and as long as they weren’t racist fuckheads, Gabriel could get along with just about anybody. “Aw, already? That ain’t shit,” he teased her, grinning as he nodded to her plate. He’d polished off his own and wasn’t in the mood for more either, so he stood up to clear the table. Gabriel snagged a remaining pancake and rolled it up to feed to Anubis. “I am so ready for the couch, babygirl. Been couch-ready since I was born.” He was especially ready for Zan’s couch, and her warm body closer to his.
Zania’s parents weren’t racist; they were just snobs. She hadn’t been willing to fit into their mold and they’d been butting heads ever since. That didn’t mean she didn’t love them, just that things were difficult and she was never super eager to introduce anyone to them as a result. Zania stood and took her plate over to the sink, smiling as she watched Gabriel feed Anubis. She’d never seen an animal so well-behaved, even if she knew that Gabriel played a part in that. “I’m hoping that I can push through Nic’s glamour and get the living room back to normal,” she told him. “Everything should still be usable, but it’s a little overwhelming in there.” Sometimes she could break down her brother’s magic, but usually he had a pretty strong hold on his illusions. Plus, he was far better at them than her. It was most likely that they were stuck with the flowers until Nic took them down, unless Zania went into her workshop and actually attempted to reverse it, which didn’t seem worth the effort. A couch made of rose petals shouldn’t be too uncomfortable, so long as there weren’t any thorns.
“If it’s too much, m’sure we can find somewhere comfy to be,” he replied with another half-grin over at Zania. He was sure there wasn’t a whole florist shop in Zania’s bedroom, and while he had no idea if she had a TV up there or not, Gabriel was positive they could find some way of entertaining themselves. He had a few very pleasant ideas, but he wasn’t going to insist. At least ... no, no he wasn’t. Because he wanted to make Zania happy today, and being a pushy asshole wouldn’t do that, as much as he was lowkey aching for her. It turned out to be a moot point, as the living room was clear of all the magic-flowers that had covered everything, the decor back to normal, and the smell not even lingering like it would have if they’d been real. “Guess his girl don’t like flowers?” Gabriel suggested with a quirked eyebrow, looking over at Zan.
The other places in their house that were comfy for lounging included beds and, as appealing as that was, Zania was determined to stay away from them. If she ended up in bed with him, there was absolutely no way she’d be able to keep herself in check. The couch was going to be difficult enough. Her brows raised as she followed Gabriel into the living room, surprised to see it back to normal without her brother barging in through the door. She cast a glance out the window, but that didn’t tell her anything. “I dunno,” she said with a little frown. “Maybe. Or maybe he just made her more over there.” It would take a while to build something as big and extravagant, but he could do it, and probably have an easier time of it if he wasn’t maintaining something else. “I’m just glad they’re gone,” she said, offering him a smile before flopping down on the couch. “Care to join me?”
Zania looked a tiny bit worried about her brother, but Gabriel didn’t give him a second thought. It would’ve been weird to sit surrounded by that many flowers, but he would’ve sat through a hurricane for Zania. A plain and comfortable couch was a damn treat all around. He grinned back at her and moved around to sit down. “Don’t care ‘bout nothin’ else at the moment,” he murmured, scooting in close. Gabriel draped his arm along the back of the couch cushions, leaving plenty of room for Zan to snuggle in if that was what she wanted to do. He couldn’t imagine them spending much time there without touching one another, and goddamn did he want to cuddle up to her, but he could at least make an attempt at staying cool. “Ladies’ choice on what we watch, a’course,” he added.
Zania was worried about Nic, but she wasn’t going to march next door and insert herself into whatever madness he’d created. She just hoped he wouldn’t dig himself too deep a hole while this spell was in place. In the meantime, snuggling up with Gabriel on the couch seemed like the perfect way to spend the day. Once he settled in, she scooted in close, pretty sure he wouldn’t mind today. She’d have to find out later if this was the norm for him. “I’m sure we can find something,” she smiled up at him as she picked up the remote. She didn’t really care what they watched; she just enjoyed spending time with him, even if it was tainted with a love spell.