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"Your Dad seems like a man of strong principals then, Jaxon. Kind and good, like yourself."</b>Gabriel replied, offering a compliment to both men.<br/><br/>Even though Jaxon had only provided a brief description, Gabriel gleaned from his statements that his father was proud, disciplined and a man of integrity. As Gabe listened, he wondered if Jaxon got his short temper and judicious intellect from him too, although the time he spent in the military had to to be factored in as well. As Gabe's mocha colored gaze swept over Jaxon's facial features, he wondered whether his host and new friend resembled his father. Being a ranch owner, Gabriel expected that the older version of Jaxon Pierce had a disorderly mess of hair and wrinkles resting over his brow bone, forehead and under the blue eyes that smiled even though his lips might not be smiling. Yep, from the sound of it, his father was a very ambitious man with firm roots to his past and great ties to his land.<br/><b><br/>
"I know that would be difficult for me to give up an animal I raised from a baby. Especially if I knew they were going to become food." </b>Gabriel's lips twisted up into a sad little grin.<br/><br/>Gabriel understood the lesson that Jaxon's father was trying to teach his son, so the point wasn't entirely missed. He really had enjoyed the time alone with Jaxon, and discovering the meaning behind all of those medals on display in the living room, but he wanted to know even more about Jaxon. Especially when his bright smile turned into a troubled frown, Gabriel yearned to be the one to discover the mystery behind Jaxon Pierce if he would allow him to do so. They had been talking about selective service and Gabriel's desire to join the military once upon a time, but they didn't accept gays in the military. Jaxon looked upset, and voiced his opinion on that.<br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff"><br/>
<i>“Times are changing. Anyone that wants to should be able to fight for their country. Gay men serve, trust me, they are just more quiet about it. My brothers in arms always had my back and I think who they went home to at the end of the day impacted that very little.” It was something Jaxon obviously felt strongly about, cultivated by relationships as he'd grown to know the men he served alongside. Some secrets were not his own, but he meant to keep them.</i></span><br/><br/><i>I shouldn't have to hide who I am, in order to serve my country. No one should have to do that. </i>Gabriel wanted to say, but chose instead to focus on what Jaxon was trying to explain.<br/><b><br/>
"Everyone makes mistakes Jaxon, that's why we're human. We're not meant to be perfect." </b>he countered.<b>"Trying to do things better, is a step in the right direction I think. I think that's why my family came to America. They wanted to be better parents. Mexico is a beautiful paradise for foreign tourists to come visit. But its a poor country to live in and survive in, my Dad told me the wages are much lower there than they are here, and gangs extort money from business owners in some regions. America is the land of opportunity for those that want it, and I guess my family did okay."</b><br/><br/>Once the white shafts of daylight passed and some of the guests left for home when the shadows of night appeared, the dry tinder in the backyard was lit in the firepit and chairs were placed around its center. As the flames rose towards the night sky, Gabriel grew relaxed and felt at ease after spending time with Jaxon. He sat there quietly admiring the fire and the red, orange and gold glow that reflected its flickering dance.<br/><br/>As he gazed at Jaxon, Gabriel could see a small picture of the bonfire before them shining from his eyes. Yet it wasn't simply the sight of him that had Gabriel mesmerized, the crackling, woody fragrance of the smoke held its own magic. Gabriel was surrounded by some of Jaxon's closest friends, and he sat there silently trying to remember their names. The alcohol had been flowing throughout the party with Gabe and Jaxon abstaining completely, but not so for the other men sitting around the fire.<br/><b><br/>
"I guess you could say I am. My name's Gabriel. You've known Jaxon for a long time, I guess?"</b>Gabriel asked, curiously.<br/><br/>There was a lot of laughing, and cracking jokes back and forth that were typical of a deeper relationship with Jaxon, so Gabriel assumed that they were friends from school or from childhood. The bond they shared became more apparent after hearing some of the jokes and the comments made about Jaxon's ex-wife, who was referred to as a<i>ball and chain</i>. Gabriel didn't have anything to contribute to that part of the conversation so he smiled, just happy to listen to the banter between old friends.<br/><br/>The laughter soon evaporated away from Gabriel's eyes when a somewhat inebriated Mason brought up a topic that had no place being discussed during a backyard barbeque. Gossip mongering was one thing but calling him out in front of the other guys was another. While it was true there was an altercation between himself and his ex-boyfriend, it was a painful memory that Gabriel wanted to forget ever happened and begin to move past it entirely.<br/><br/>Thankfully Jaxon and Kiv jumped in to save the day before Gabriel suffered more than a concussion as a result of the confrontation with his ex-boyfriend. Mason adding fodder to the rumor mill and acting like a jackass in front of his friends, caused Gabriel's blood to boil. The derogatory use of the word<i>faggot</i>caused Gabriel's eyes to flash with indignation and anger, much like lightning on a pitch black night.<br/><br/>A heavy silence settled over them, thicker then the uneasy tension in the atmosphere.<br/><br/>The unsettled eyes of the other men glanced unceremoniously around, while avoiding looking directly at Gabriel. Suddenly, he felt painfully out of place, like a pepperoni that had mistakenly made its way onto a vegetarian pizza.  Gabriel cringed as the word<i>faggot</i>kept replaying in his head, the word made him think about Slater and how he and his clique of creeps treated him so awfully.<br/><br/>When Gabriel had been Slater Conway's boyfriend, he often felt like the world was slowly disappearing around him. Sometimes he thought it was more like he was the one fading away instead, which gradually germinated into thoughts and feelings of his not mattering to anyone. As he sat rigidly in his chair near the fire, Gabriel took a burning breath into his lungs to try to stop himself from shaking.<br/><br/>His heart was pounding in his chest so hard he thought it will break his ribs. Slater Conway was a void, a black hole in Gabriel's head, so deep inside his mind that that he slowly swallowed all his hopes and dreams. In the worst of those moments was the realization that Slater was a vacuum that made Gabriel question the nothingness, the absurdity of his own existence.<br/><br/><i>There were times Gabriel wondered, what am I living for anyway? Maybe for me. Maybe for others. Did it really matter?</i><br/><br/>And when Gabriel couldn't find his answers on the ceiling, his anxiety always turned into panic.<br/><br/>Not this time. Gabriel's pent-up anger erupted like hot lava from a volcano, even before Jaxon could utter a word.<br/><b><br/>
"Why don't you come right out and say it like it is? He's a faggot, I'm a faggot too. Why beat around the bush man? RIGHT YOU ARE, I'm not heterosexual! I'm one of them<i> homos!</i> Just so you know, the word faggot really means a bundle of sticks used for kindling in a fire kinda like the one we're sitting in front of. Back in the middle ages, when they used to burn people they thought were witches? They used to burn homosexuals, too. They used to burn the witches at a stake, but they thought the homosexuals were too low and disgusting to be given a stake to be burnt on, so they used to just throw them in with the kindling, with the other faggots. You might also want to know that every gay man in America has probably had that word shouted at them while they’re being beaten up, sometimes many times, sometimes by a lot of people all at once. So, when you say something so ignorant, it kind of brings that all back up. But, you know, by all means, use the word to stroke your own ego. At least you know what the word means now."<br/>
</b><br/>The silence around the fire was deafening, until Gabriel answered David's question.<br/><b><br/>
"Yes, I'm single. I'm available, David. Just not looking for a ball and chain."<br/>
</b><br/>With that, Gabriel sat back in his chair and stared holes directly through Mason.<br/><br/><i>Mic drop.</i>