Gabriel angled the umbrella better, but it hardly mattered.
Ethan was already soaked through, his hair plastered to his forehead, his shirt clinging to him like a second skin.
He didn't seem to notice. He only clung tighter, face buried against Gabriel's chest.
The rain thudded all around them, relentless and cold, but under that narrow circle of canvas, it was as if the rest of the world had blurred away.
"I thought…" Ethan's voice cracked, muffled in the fabric of Gabriel's shirt. "I thought if I just ran, it'd all be fine. That I could laugh, lie, fight my way through anything. But…" His breath hitched, sharp and uneven. "The rain—it always… takes me back. To her. To that night. I hate it. I hate it so much."
Gabriel's throat tightened. He didn't need the details he could hear the weight in the boy's voice, could feel the tremor in his grip.
Slowly, Gabriel shifted his arm, pulling Ethan more firmly against him, steady and unyielding.
"You're not there anymore," Gabriel said quietly, the words as sure as stone. "That night is gone. And I'm here. Right here."
Ethan lifted his head at that, just slightly.
Rainwater dripped from his lashes, trailing down his cheek like tears.
His eyes searched Gabriel's face—desperate, raw, unguarded in a way that stripped every ounce of arrogance from him.
"Why do you care?" Ethan asked, almost accusing, almost pleading. "You don't even know me. You should've left me to rot in that street. Why didn't you?"
Gabriel exhaled, steady, eyes holding his without flinching. "Because I don't walk away from someone who needs help." He paused, voice low and certain. "And you—whether you admit it or not....you need it."
Something flickered in Ethan's gaze. For a moment, he almost laughed—he almost slipped back into that smug, bratty grin.
But the words wouldn't come. Instead, his bottom lip trembled, and he pressed his forehead to Gabriel's shoulder again, whispering, "Angel… I don't want to be alone tonight."
Gabriel closed his eyes briefly, the weight of the boy's words sinking deep.
His hand tightened at Ethan's back, his resolve caught between steel and softness.
"You won't be," Gabriel said simply.
With that, he shifted his grip, sliding an arm around Ethan's waist to steady him. "Come on," he murmured. "Let's get you out of this rain before you freeze."
Ethan let himself be guided, still clinging, half-limping against Gabriel as they moved again together under the umbrella.
The storm raged on—thunder rolling overhead, rain hammering the pavement—but inside their small circle, the air was warm, charged, fragile.
Ethan's voice small, almost drowsy—broke the silence as they walked. "Told you, Angel… you really are heaven-sent."
Gabriel didn't answer. He only tightened his hold, adjusting the umbrella to keep the rain off Ethan's face, and kept moving.
The city lights blurred through the rain-streaked streets, halos of gold and white smearing against the darkness.
Cars passed, their headlights cutting through the downpour, but Gabriel barely noticed.
All he could focus on was the weight of the boy leaning against him, the quiet rasp of his breathing, the way his fingers still clutched at Gabriel's jacket like letting go meant drowning.
Ethan stumbled slightly, and Gabriel's arm tightened instantly, keeping him upright.
"Easy," Gabriel murmured. "I've got you."
"I know," Ethan whispered, so quietly Gabriel almost missed it. "I know you do."
They walked in silence after that, the only sounds the rhythm of rain and the uneven cadence of their footsteps.
Ethan's shivering grew worse, his body trembling against Gabriel's side despite the shelter of the umbrella.
Gabriel's jaw clenched. He needs to get warm. Now.
He picked up the pace slightly, guiding Ethan around a corner, then another, until the familiar outline of his apartment building came into view through the rain.
"Almost there," Gabriel said, his voice low and steady, anchoring.
Ethan nodded weakly, too exhausted to argue, too raw to pretend.
As they reached the entrance, Gabriel shifted the umbrella, shielding Ethan as he fumbled for his keys. The lock clicked. The door swung open.
And for the second time that night, Gabriel led Ethan inside—not as an unwanted guest this time, but as something else entirely.
Something neither of them had words for yet.