asoncalledgabriel: (Default)
2018-12-04 09:38 pm
Entry tags:

Love is heavy and light, bright and dark [Dec 8th]

It's been weeks. Gabriel gave up trying to even text Anthony about a week ago and instead threw himself into final rehearsals for Romeo and Juliet. He's tried not to complain to Neil too much about the sudden absence, mostly because he feels stupid for being so worked up about it in the first place. Especially when Neil mentions that Guy's been in a rough patch.

Of course, Anthony must have been trying to take care of his friend. But-- couldn't he stand to answer a text or a call?

He tries to put it out of his mind come opening night. A few hours before the curtain went up, he'd sent Anthony an offhand text.

R&J tonight, curtain up at 7pm.

After that, he leaves his phone on silent and in his bag as they go through final rehearsals and costume adjustments.

For the most part, characters like Mercutio stay in the same costume with minor changes through the show so the audience doesn't lost track of who is who. Gabriel makes his entrance looking like a fashionable young noble of the period, a little more undone than Romeo's other compatriots - a little more fast and loose, as the character is meant to be. He delivers the Queen Mab speech with a dreamer's mania, and his death is impassioned and hopeless all at once.

After his last scene on stage, Gabriel hangs out of sight in the wings, sneaking looks at the audience when he can. The theater is dark, he can't see very far into it, and he doesn't know why he's bothering to look, anyway. Neil told him he wouldn't be able to make opening night and that he plans to come tomorrow or during the closing weekend. He disappears into the dressing room to take off the stage make up caked on his face. He'll still have to go out bow for the curtain call, but he doesn't need contouring or darkened eyebrows for that.

Gabriel reappears for the curtain call and the full cast bow on stage, all bright smiles and exaggerated gestures. He can hear the announcement inviting the audience to mingle with cast members out in the atrium, where light refreshments are being served by one of the student groups.

All he wants to do is change out of his costume and disappear, but Romeo hooks him around the shoulders and hauls him out to the atrium to socialize.
asoncalledgabriel: (Default)
2018-10-21 11:22 am
Entry tags:

(no subject)

Gabriel doesn't immediately remember where he is when he wakes up. He lays there for a moment, trying to push down the wave of panic that comes when he does remember. He closes his eyes again and tries, desperately, to focus on Anthony's steady, quiet breathing next to him. It's no use, though. He's awake now.

Carefully, quietly, he eases out of bed, and he does his best to ignore the unwelcome rush of shame when he realizes he can feel dried come on his thigh. Christ, he should have made some effort to clean up last night. In the dim morning light, he manages to find some of his clothes: his boxer briefs and t-shirt should suffice for now. He doesn't plan to just disappear before Anthony's awake, but neither can he bring himself to leave the bedroom in a complete state of undress. He just needs to clean up and get his head straight.

He glances back at the bed. Anthony Blunt looks very different still asleep in bed than he does when he's out in the world. Gabriel holds that vision in his head as he slips out of the bedroom and takes a moment to orient himself.
asoncalledgabriel: (Default)
2018-06-27 09:24 pm
Entry tags:

(no subject)

Gabriel found an extra job to get him through the summer, working at a cafe. It was probably better to have something to do all summer, and his other job was only part time - mostly because he didn't want to spend the entire summer outside. He was lucky - for an Irish lad he tanned fairly well - but summer here was warmer than it was back home, and doing landscape work in the heat and humidity was exhausting.

At least the cafe had air conditioning.

Keeping busy gave him less time to think, anyway, and that was also probably for the best. Since coming to Darrow, he felt un-tethered from everything. All the things he'd wanted back home felt uncertain and far away now. He'd wanted to go to university to get away from his family, his life, and now... he was in a place that gave him all that. He went to university here because it seemed the thing to do, but was that a good enough reason? He wasn't sure.

The more he thought about it, the more he missed home. Things felt awful there, but at least he'd had an idea of where he was going. He had a handful of hope that.

As the day wound down, he changed the music playing over the speakers, putting on his ABBA playlist while he cleaned up, getting ready to close. The place was empty and had been for about half an hour, so he didn't feel terribly bad singing and dancing around a bit. Surely no one else would come in.