<span style="font-size: 18px"><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#bfbfbf">For a Hispanic man like Gabriel Alcantara, being of the male gender affected all aspects of his life, especially his mental health. Help-seeking behaviors, his methods for coping with conflict and stress, interactions with others and his spirituality were all based upon the concept of machismo. For many men of Mexican heritage like Gabriel, their masculinity was based upon their cultural heritage. He was expected to be tough, domineering, and always in control in order to avoid such characteristics associated with femininity such as emotionality, vulnerability, weakness and helplessness.<br/>
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His family's traditional masculine gender roles conflicted often with his own ideologies, and it led to an increase of psychological distress and symptoms. It also didn't help matters that Gabriel had been involved in an abusive relationship with Slater Conway. Stripped of his self-esteem and confidence, it was easy for Gabriel to sink into anxiety and depression over the incident with his ex-boyfriend. He didn't want to seem vulnerable, or weak in front of Jaxon Pierce. The man was a fortress of emotional stability, he probably ate guys like him for breakfast and shit them out at dinner, because he was a badass soldier.<br/>
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Gabriel's weepy behavior stopped on its own, without intervention from his friend who witnessed his emotional meltdown from the walkway where he stood with his dog, Kiv. Despite the tear tracks across Gabriel's face, the bruises from the assault had completely faded and he looked quite handsome once again. Gabriel's raven colored hair flowed down over his shoulders. As he continued talking to Jaxon, his hair  obscured most of his face. He flicked back a dark wave of hair and instantly checked his emotional baggage at the door.<br/>
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Gabriel blurted out, "I'm not crying. My eyes are sweating, its humid out here. Wanna go inside? The mess is cleaned up. I'm helping Uncle Armando put the new window in tomorrow." he replied, removing his house key and unlocking the door to let them both in.<br/>
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<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fa0.muscache.com%2Fim%2Fpictures%2F72169366%2Fbb1a90b4_original.jpg%3Faki_policy%3Dx_large&amp;hash=4d593aed852bc15c9242f6cee044017f" href="https://a0.muscache.com/im/pictures/72169366/bb1a90b4_original.jpg?aki_policy=x_large" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank"> The casita's interior</a> was decorated in subdued shades of gray, taupe and cream with pops of color from the bright yellow chairs at the dining room table, and once the front door opened, they were standing in a well appointed kitchen. The smooth graphite countertops were rather upscale for such a small, one bedroom unit.  The planked flooring was a mahogany-stained wood that coordinated with the stainless steel appliances and spread out through the rest of Gabriel's home.<br/>
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More pops of color were present in the Gabriel's living room, where the bamboo area rug was interspersed its own intricate pattern and color. It seemed that Gabriel was a bit of a gamer as well, in a small recessed living room he had a 50 inch flat screen television with a Playstation 4, and a Grand Theft Auto game on the glass television console--his mini man cave. There wasn't a elegant foyer to linger in, because the plant stand had been moved away from the tarp covered window temporarily. Past the living room was the main bathroom, and beyond it, the spartan-like surroundings of his bedroom.<br/>
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"I know he wants me scared, Jaxon. It's just hard for me sometimes, you know? I cared about him and I'm suddenly realizing how horrible of a person he really is. I guess I must've been in denial for a long time." he explained, pausing to look his way as he stepped through the threshold with his furry companion.<br/>
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"Would you like something to drink?" Gabriel asked. "I'm not much of a beer drinker, but I've got some limeade? Or orange-mango juice or chilled water from my Brita if you want?"<br/>
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Then he invited Jaxon to sit down on a perfectly sized, gray sectional in his living room. "Please make yourself at home, you two," he smiled, crouching down to dog level to look Kiv over. "Do you think he's thirsty? I can get a bowl from the cabinet and give him some water." offered Gabriel.<br/>
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He admired Jaxon's dog a lot. Gabriel always wanted to have a dog of his own but he was worried about how much it would cost to take care of one. Before now, he decided against it because he didn't know whether he had the time to train a dog properly. Taking care of a dog was a huge responsibility, and he worked long hours at <i>Picaduras.</i> Still, he frequently thought about making a trip to the animal shelter to look for a worthwhile companion. Not necessarily a guard dog, but a canine friend. Listening to Jaxon while he drank his limeade, Jaxon explained that when Gabriel allowed Slater to punch through his resolve, he was giving up all of his power.<br/>
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"I don't think he's a man. I think he's a boy. A bully, you're totally right Jaxon." he said, pouring himself a glass of limeade for himself and Jaxon, who hadn't answered him yet.<br/>
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It was placed on the end table in case he decided he was thirsty after all. Gabriel joined him in the living room, and his melancholia lifted instantly when Jaxon suggested he could stop by after work to check things out with Kiv, making sure he was safe and sound. "Wow! I would really appreciate it Jaxon! More than you'd even know. I think my sense of well-being was shattered like my front window because of all of this. It would be nice to regain some security again. I'm off from work, maybe you'd enjoy some dinner or something. I want to repay you for doing so much, you know?"<br/>
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As Kiv placed his head on the cushion between them, Gabriel ran his hand over the top of the dog's head, back behind his ears and spoke softly, "Yes you do love it when I rub there, don't you Kiv?" he purred, feeling a sense of calm.<br/>
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Gabriel looked up at Jaxon, who'd essentially read his mind as if he were a fortune teller. "Actually, ever since I met you and Kiv, I've been thinking about getting a dog. I wasn't sure if I was going to have time to care for one to train it though." he replied.<br/>
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"You could? Wow, I like the sound of that, even if it means I'd get to spend some more time with you." Gabriel flirted, joking around a little bit.<br/>
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He was learning more about Jaxon as the moments passed, and was thoroughly intrigued. "Is it expensive? I can only afford the adoption fee, and getting what a dog would need like vaccines and all." Gabe uttered, uncertain if there was a difference between adopting a mutt from the pound, or a dog bred to be attentive to his own needs like Kiv. With proper training, of course. He did have room for a dog, with so much more space in the casita than he probably needed anyway.<br/>
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After a moment of consideration, Gabriel spoke. "See what you can find out about it for me please? I think I'd like to do that if I could, Jaxon."<br/>
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The evening ended on a brighter note than it had begun, and after saying their good nights, Gabriel was able to finally get some much needed sleep in the main house when Jaxon and Kiv departed for home. Gabriel was looking forward to seeing Jaxon at his barbeque the next afternoon. Maybe he could spice things up with some homemade Mexican cuisine. Gabriel was still anxious about going to Jaxon's and meeting his other friends, but remained hopeful that they were nice people like Jaxon said they would be.</span></span>