suspcnd

[suspcnd]

As he heard the knock on the door and saw it creak open his heart leapt into his throat and he almost fell from his chair trying to sweep himself to his feet. Immediately his stomach twisted and he felt sick, but curiosity kept pushing him through the nausea. He had asked her here, and she had come. She had read his email and deliberately left him in the lurch, letting him wait for her. She was devious, and it excited him.

He brushed his hair out of his face as he circled around to the front of his desk, gesturing to the door for her to shut it. "I did." He swallowed hard, finding the courage that he must have had when he sent her that email. Damn, he should have had a drink or something. "I wanted to know..." His eyes scanned over her, able to look freely since there wasn't a class of students watching him now.

Her shirt was working hard to cover very little, her body looking so tight and touchable underneath it, and a skirt that made her legs look as though they went up to heaven. He pondered that he cannot be the only one enamoured by her beauty, and yet she was here with him tonight. Eventually his gaze met her eyes again as he stepped a little closer to her, his tone darkening. "How trustworthy you are."

in her little free time, river often was hanging out with her friends. right now they were in a coffee shop, talking about something that river will probably forget about in a couple of minutes but between all the laughter she pulled out her phone to check her emails and her schedule for tomorrow. she had two classes and then some free time to study but her whole body paused when she saw an email from professor flores.

that's it, he has had enough of her teasing. because they both knew she truly didn't need help with her questions so this email must be for— her friends said something and she put the phone away and continued talking with them, though she was eager to reply to him. or maybe she won't. river'll make him wait and see if she'll come. wonder if she even saw the email in the first place.

when tomorrow arrived classes couldn't be over fast enough of course she wasn't going to be exactly on time in professor flores' office because she wanted to plan her outfit accordingly. a short skirt, nothing underneath them, that one bra that makes her boobs look bigger than they already are and one size of a shirt thats too small.

standing in front of his office river took a deep breath, what if he's summoning her to stop it all? to demand for her to seize this cat and mouse game that they're playing? no— she can't think like that. river has to go into that room knowing, believing that the professor— that gabriel wants her as much as she wants him.

river knocked on the door and opened it, closing it behind her. "i got your email professor, you wanted to speak with me?" she smiled.

[suspcnd]

Gabriel felt defeated, disappointed in his inability to fix the problem that he hadn't even caused in the first place. He couldn't stand to see Nora upset, not when he wasn't blinded by rage himself and even then it hurt him to his core. He hated that she could give up on something that she clearly cared about for the ease of others, something she had likely done for him countless times.

When she asked him why he fought her on the frame, he sighed and shrugged his ears up to his shoulders. "Because I... lack vision." He muttered, using her earlier words. "I just figured that that other frame is what we were supposed to use, so didn't think to challenge it even if yours did look better." He raised a hand and shook his head as she apologised, cutting her off. "It's okay." He gave a nod, a soft smile on his face before he reassured her again. "It's okay."

An uncomfortable itch crept across the back of his neck as she asked why he was out here. Truth be told, he was distracted. His head was all over the place. But he couldn't tell her the truth at all. "Just... needed some air." He said dejectedly. "It's the first exhibition since..." He didn't need to say it. "Didn't know it'd feel so weird." It felt strange to be so vulnerable with her, even if there were things he was still hiding.

the more gabriel kept denying it the more nora started to believe him. her anger still raged on but it wasn't her ex's fault after all. "changing it back now will do nothing, just—" she sighed, shaking her head. "leave it, i don't fucking know why i cared in the first place." nora said quietly, maybe she just wanted something to feel unique and get the attention it deserves, was it that stupid of a thought?

her anger finally drained. "why did you fight me on the frame if you liked it better than what i was supposed to put in?" she asked calmly, curious. "and im sorry for getting angry i just thought—" she looked back at the museum before turning to gabriel. than the realization of why wasn't he inside? making sure guests and onlookers are enjoying themselves.

"why are you out here anyway? you okay?" nora asked, divorced or not, there's nothing on this god's green earth that's going to make her stop caring and loving gabriel with every fiber of herself.

[suspcnd]

For the first time since his divorce, Gabriel's mind hadn't been only on Nora. Every waking moment had been captured by his encounter with River. He must have been over it thousands of times in his head, and he might have been ashamed to admit that it had certainly stoked a fire in the embers that barely existed in his libido as of late. He couldn't stop thinking about her eyes, the way she looked at him, how that shirt hugged her breasts as if it was doing all it could to keep them in, how she had been so fearless in her approach of him. It was insane, but it drove him crazy.

It didn't help that River's wardrobe seemed to be dwindling by the day. Short skirts and legs that would linger open whenever his gaze crossed her in class. Lower and lower cut tops, hairstyles that complimented her features so well. She knew exactly what she was doing and by Christ, she was good at it. It took everything in him to keep himself under control in class, since he couldn't afford to have the student body see what River had felt against her leg that day.

Gabriel decided he could suffer with it no longer. He had to face this head on, either to nip it in the bud or to prick himself upon her thorns. He decided it was best to write her up an email.

Miss Howard,

Please meet me in my office after classes end tomorrow to discuss the questions you had previously prepared.

Kind Regards, Professor Flores

It was professional enough that if anyone else stumbled upon it then it would seem innocent, but Gabriel figured they would both know that he was not referring to the questions about the exam.

So he sat in his cramped office that afternoon after most people were shuffling out of the doors for the end of the day, his teeth holding a pencil that he twisted at the other end with his fingers as the anxiety ate him alive, waiting.

@suspcnd

ever since that day, river couldn't stop thinking about it. their near kiss, that fucking bulge against her. the professor wanted her and she was going to get him. she has become a little more brave, skirts, a little more revealing clothes that are still appropriate for the academy.

when she would sit down during class and the professor was looking at her she would uncross her legs and slowly cross them again, wondering if he noticed her thong, she thought about going without underwear but decided against it, this was public enough as it is.

and river waited, waited for the last barrier would break for the professor and he would go after her this time, that he couldn't wait anymore, all this teasing has reached a breaking point. it's what she was waiting for but for now? she would have, so much fun teasing him, basically telling him. you can have this, all you have to do is ask.

[suspcnd]

Gabriel, unaware of how utterly perplexed his expression was, stared at Nora as she spoke. His brow furrowed so much it practically united in the middle and he glanced away, down at the floor, to try and make sense of what she was saying. He tried to picture the frame tonight, but all he could remember was their argument about it. He definitely hadn't done this, but it didn't seem like she was willing to believe him.

As she threw her hands up, Gabriel froze. "The other curator?" He was offended by her request since, even after everything, this was the first time she had requested not to collaborate with him on their work in the museum. But it suddenly dawned on him that he was not the only one with control over the exhibitions. "It was him that did this in the first place. Whatever happened to your frame had nothing to do with me. I barely touched this exhibition at all in the end." Gabriel's mind had been a little too... preoccupied.

He felt like he was digging his own grave here, and he certainly wished that he could lay in it right now - as dramatic as it was. He sighed at her words, but he couldn't argue. Gabriel had always lacked vision because Nora had clouded his entire perception. No beauty could compare to hers, no art could capture how he saw her. "I'll arrange having it changed back." He muttered, knowing he couldn't do much else. "You know, believe it or not, I did prefer the frame you chose."

"the fucking stupid frame!" she hissed angrily, if gabriel still wanted to pretend like he didn't know what he was talking that was fine for nora, but she thought he would have the decency to admit it. "there's no magic in the painting anymore! nothing special, it's just like all the others!" it's a stupid thing to be angry about, isn't it? but they both took a masterclass at being mad and argue over nothing.

nora put her hands in front of her when gabriel took a step closer. "don't," she didn't want him touching her, because she didn't know if she would kiss him or punch him. "next time, just have the other curator see me. we do nothing but argue and we clearly can't act like fucking adults around each other."

maybe they should've done that long ago, just like their marriage. at least they don't talk to each other much in the school. "at this point it doesn't matter whatever or not you told them to change the frame, with all the beauty and art in the world, you all lack vision."

[suspcnd]

For once, Gabriel had no idea why Nora was so angry at him. She usually had good reason, which even he could admit, but right now he had no clue what she was talking about. He couldn't even tell if she was just making this up for the sake of an argument. "I haven't gone behind your back about anything!" He couldn't help but raise his own defences, his shoulders shrugging to his ears as he outstretched his hands, a subconscious gesture trying to showcase his innocence.

Her words hurt him. Did she really think that of him? That he wanted to hurt her? No matter how much he had put her through, it had never been his desire to hurt her. He had loved her more than anything in the world, he probably still did, all he had ever truly wanted was for her to be happy. It was why he had to let her go after all, wasn't it?

"I haven't lied to you Nora, I fucking swear." He pleaded with her, the upset in her voice breaking his heart. He took a step towards her cautiously, his palms still facing the sky. He swallowed hard, looking between each of her captivating eyes, shaking his head. "I could never hate you. I would never do that to you." He spoke softly. "I don't know what this is about but we can figure it out."

"liar!" nora tried to keep it down so instead she hissed angrily at him. "why would you do that, to hurt me? i told you you could change it! you were the one that dropped the subject in the first place! going behind my back and changing it anyway after you told me to leave it is just ugly, even for you!"

and they said so many bad things to each other, so much hurt and pain and yet this is the thing gabriel was lying about? nora couldn't understand it. sure, she said some awful things to him the last time they saw each other but this is the revenge? to humiliate her and her skills?

she shook her head, the hurt was clear in her face. "why would you lie to me?" nora almost whispered, the confusion in her face was clear. "you hate me that much?" so this is where they were at? hating each other so much that they would lie and instead of arguing in front of each other they would sabotage one another?

[suspcnd]

The way River uttered his name, as if she savoured the taste of it on her lips, made his blood boil with desire. He wanted to tear that pathetic thin fabric excuse for a shirt completely off of her and fully see what she spent very little effort trying to hide. He wanted to get down on his knees at his own desk and bury his head between her legs until she begged him to stop. He was so far gone, common sense and logic far behind him.

His fingers trailed up her inner thigh and he watched them move, wishing she had chosen that skirt today. Regardless his fingers didn't stop, he reached the centre of her legs and rubbed his fingers over her through her pants. She felt so warm, even like this. "You would like that, wouldn't you?" He muttered, his voice gruff. "I bet you'd be ready for me, begging for me..."

He groaned again, his pulse thumping, drawn in and completely intoxicated by her, but when the bell rang it was like he was awoken from a trance. A heavy breath fell from his lips and he looked into her eyes as he dropped his hands from her and took a step back. His arousal was very obvious in the tenting of his pants, and he made a quick effort to rearrange himself to hide it. He cleared his throat and glanced to the door, as if someone might come in at any moment. Why the hell hadn't that occurred to him mere moments ago when he was willing to fuck her on his desk?

"You should go." He mumbled, swallowing hard. She wasn't wrong, though. It was going to take some time to get this out of his head. God, he was an idiot.

river gasped as she was spun around, the smile on her face was clear after gabriel's sudden movement. "unless that's a gun in your pocket, i think you do, professor flores." she bit her lip, paused. "gabriel." she said his name slowly, so he'll hear it very clearly. they were going to a point of no return at this rate and river couldn't be more excited.

her heart was beating so fast river wouldn't be surprised if it's going to jump out of her chest in a second. "i should've wore a skirt today," she chuckled, running her lips against his own. "you could've slipped right in." but there were too many things between them and classroom was too public, anybody could enter at any minute. did river care? probably not but she knew that gabriel did.

still, river grinded against his pants, slowly. to feel what she was working with but maybe someone above was telling her that enough was enough when the bell rang. "and just when the fun was starting," she sighed. "think about me when you jerk off later?"

[suspcnd]

Gabriel turned as he heard the door open, expecting someone to come and summon him for his missing presence, but when he saw Nora and the thunder on her face all of the colour left him immediately. His first thought was panic — somehow she must know about River. She must have told her, maybe they set the whole thing up against him, this must be the beginning of the end for him...

Then she spoke again, and he realised he was being yelled at over a painting, not a student that he had almost fucked over his desk the other day. If anything, it was a relief... despite the yelling, of course. "What?" His brow knitted in confusion and he shook his head, putting out his cigarette on the wall and tossing it onto the pavement.

He processed her words, staring gormlessly at her as he tried to figure out what she was talking about. "Lied to you? I..." It was quite the accusation, and a new one even for her. He tried to get his bearings a little more. The frame? He hadn't noticed it was any different, and he certainly hadn't gone about changing it. His mind was in a spin already, and this was making him think he was starting to lose it altogether. "I don't know what you're talking about, Nora. I didn't change a thing."

it's not all the time that nora came to the exhibitions, between teaching dance and fixing painting, the only reason she truly went was because of gabriel and sometimes seeing her work on the wall was nice, even though she wasn't the one that originally made the painting.

this time around she wanted to come to show gabriel right, that her decision to not match the frame would give the painting a little more status in a sea full of same frames. but when she looked the painting her jaw locked in anger, the frame was changed. didn't he say he would trust her? the fucking bastard. no matter how much they fought, they never lied to each other.

nora was on a mission that was to find him and give him so piece of her mind and finding gabriel didn't take long as he was outside smoking his smug win away. "you bastard!" she called and walked toward him. "you lied to me!" nora pointed at the door, she was hurt. "you said you would trust me and then you go and change the frame behind my back? i told you you could change it, why did you lie to me and say you'd keep it? you're a piece of work!"

[suspcnd]

"That's exactly why and you know it." He muttered, but he made little effort to get her away from him even though it's what his words suggested he wanted. His touch deceived even himself as his hands slid down her waist, gripping at the soft fabric of her clothes and a little of the skin underneath.

His half-lidded eyes were fixed on her face, his gaze flitting between her eyes that drew him in and her lips that uttered such temptations. "That's what you want, isn't it?" He growled low in his throat, his mind completely clouded and any fair judgement of the situation was impossible right now.

With a sudden movement he kept his grip on her as he flipped them around, pinning her hips to his desk as he stepped between her legs. He pressed his body up against her, the cotton of his pants making no attempt to disguise what was pressing into her upper thigh. "You want me to want you."

"why isn't it right?" river glanced at gabriel's lips. "we're both adults, is this because you're my professor? so what? i don't need the extra credit — you know that im capable on my own to succeed in your class." her eyes looked up onto his own. he wanted her, if he didn't kick her out by now he wanted her so bad and was fighting a losing battle.

truth to be told, river didn't think this would succeed, she thought professor flores would tell her to leave and never try anything like this again, maybe he would even tell on her. "you want me." river brushed her lips against his own, feeling the roughness of the beard against her skin. "you want to fuck me." she whispered against his lips.

he wasn't married, he didn't have anyone waiting for him at home except for a cat and that meant that river was free to do this, to get inside her professor's bed and feel what it's like to be with a man that's not only older than her but also may be as interesting as she hoped he is outside of the classroom.

[suspcnd]

@nightlss

Exhibition opening nights used to be fun. They used to be exciting — there'd be a thrum in Gabriel's veins that matched the buzz of the room, a smile on his face, his wife on his arm. Now they were just... something that he did. It had come together nicely, Nora's work was phenomenal as it always was and he'd worked hard on it with the rest of the team, but he just couldn't enjoy it.

He was outside at the back of the museum, tainting the fresh air he'd claimed to have needed with a cigarette, leaning back with one foot against the old stone of the building. He took a deep drag on the roll-up and looked up at the night sky above him, wishing he could get some god damn clarity for once.

What happened with River the other day after class had been on his mind. It hadn't left his mind. He replayed it over and over again; versions where he stopped her before anything happened, versions where he didn't stop her at all, and the insane reality of it. His head certainly wasn't in the exhibition at all and he wished he was anywhere but there that night.

[suspcnd]

Because you can't get over us. It hurt, it tore open the chasm in his chest and stomped on what was left of his heart. Gabriel thought there were no more ways for Nora to possibly hurt him, that they had hung each other out to dry so many times that they were simply husks by now. But he was wrong... and she was right. He couldn't get over it; he had begged her to stay then and he wished she'd come back now. How had he not learned by now that she really meant it when she said it was over?

"That's real nice, Nora. If you could spare some tips on how to be so fucking heartless it'd do me a world of favours." He spat, his nostrils flaring as the temper rose within him. He wanted to hurt her back, to get one up on her as they always had done, but he was tired. He physically ached from the fallout of their relationship, he just didn't have it in him right now.

He huffed and shook his head, raising a shaking hand to his brow as he massaged his temples. A moment passed as he thought over all of the horrible things he could say to her, ways to make her hurt, but he decided against it for once. He didn't even grace her with a reply, he simply turned as he muttered under his breath and left the room with a sharp tug on the door.

oh, they're starting this again. despite all their love and affection this is what they were good at, arguing. going for each other's throats because they knew where to hurt one another, they knew everything about each other and used it like dogs. nora chuckled and turned around because if this is what gabriel want, he knew nora could play just as well.

"i'm not going to lose my job here just because you can't get over us." it was true for her as well, she didn't want to move to a different job because gabriel was here but he started this and she was going to bite back. "if it wasn't for me you'd be in a fucking ditch, look at you. when was the last time you fucking showered?"

nora pointed at him and then at the door. "have some respect for yourself before you come at me with your bullshit, now get the fuck out of the room. i have work to do." her heart was beating fast, like it always did when they fought but this is exactly why they got divorced.

[suspcnd]

It had been so long since Gabriel had been pursued like this that it would have been comical if he wasn't so drawn in by her. She had a magnetism that was impossible to ignore and he was sure that no one had ever said no to her, that she could get her own way any way she wanted to. He should have more self control than this, but at his core he was weak to her advances.

He stiffened as their chests touched, words constricted in his throat as his jaw slackened and his mouth fell open. He looked down at her, and fuck, now that she was this close he could smell her too. She smelt so sweet and he couldn't help but wonder how she tasted, too. As his blood pooled away from his head and stirred a familiar feeling in his belly, it was getting harder and harder to reason with her.

"It's not..." He squeezed out the words but he swallowed hard as she took his hand and placed it on her chest. "Fuck." He muttered, his gaze dropping to watch the way he touched her. He couldn't stop his mind from wandering as he imagined what she would look like out of these clothes. He wondered how sweetly she would moan if he slicked his tongue over her nipple, how good she really could make him feel. "You know it isn't right." He practically choked, trying to force himself into doing the right thing.

river grinned, the lack of rejection was enough for her to grow bolder. "why not? we're both adults." she looked at his hands and then at him. "i can be your muse, professor." she didn't want anything in return, just a bit of fun between two people who find each other hot as sin. river walked an inch further and pressed herself against gabriel. "do you wanna touch them?"

he didn't show her to the door, didn't outright stop whatever was going on and that meant that professor flores found her attractive enough to see where this was going and whatever attempt he had of stopping this was nothing more than an attempt, a weak one. "i can make you feel good, professor flores." she went up to her tippy toes, her face getting closer to his.

river took gabriel's hand in her own and brought it up to her chest, pressing it. "tell me to leave, c'mon." she talked quietly, slowly. "that's all you have to do." would he? put a stop to all of this? god, she hoped he wouldn't. "or i can be your muse, don't you want one?" she looked into his eyes. "don't you want me?"

[suspcnd]

He rolled his eyes and turned away, his hands still on his hips, and it wasn't long before he was pacing a small area of the floor without daring to get any closer to her. "Well we can agree on that at least." He snapped, glaring over at the back of her head. Why wouldn't she just look at him? When had she lost the ability to see him, even through all of the anger?

"Right." A sarcastic laugh fell from his lips. He was heated now, his skin ablaze and his veins pumping venom to his heart. "I forgot that you're always right. You know, why don't you just take my job too? Hell, teach my class. I will happily take the vacation if it means I don't have to see you every fucking day of my life."

Gabriel slipped right back into the old habit of throwing out insults as a defence mechanism, hiding behind the fortress he'd built to keep himself safe over the years. But what good was a safe fortress if it meant he had to live in it all alone? God, that therapist would really get her money's worth out of him.

"communication? communication? please, the two of us could never speak to each other even if it was in an explicit permission." nora shook her head and went back to her table. this was so fucking frustrating. when were the days when they were so in love that nothing mattered? they could talk for hours about nonsense, they would do anything for each other and now they could barely be in the same room together.

nora sighed. "this is exactly why i didn't talk to you in the first place because i knew you'll be like this, we can't agree on anything!" her back was turned to him, she couldn't stand looking him in the eyes. it was too painful, like a knife that's lowly sinking into her heart.

she didn't believe in a higher power but when their relationship was falling apart, when the writing was clearly on the wall she prayed to every creature above if they could save her marriage with the man she loved and most likely the only man she'll ever love.

a change of heart was on the tip of her tongue. nevermind, i'll change the frame. just- please- i'm too tired to fight. but she didn't say it. her stubbornness was too much. "thank you, you'll see that i'm right and that exhibition will be a success." nora sighed.

[suspcnd]

When River asked if he had a muse or a model, Gabriel swallowed back the years of Nora being his biggest inspiration, his pride and joy. There was very little that could be done to get Gabriel to speak about his ex-wife, especially to a student. Those were his memories; his pain, his joy, his loss and his heartbreak, and he wasn't going to share them with anyone.

But the way she moved, the way she spoke, it was like she was casting a spell on him. He should have showed her the door and asked her to email the rest of her questions, but it was too late. He was already engaged with her, already curious. "No, I don't." He admitted, and even that was more than many other people would have gotten out of him.

She didn't stop there, though. It wasn't enough for her, she was insistent on pushing him even more. As she approached even closer his heart thumped in his chest and his arms dropped to his sides. He gripped the side of the desk that he perched against so hard his knuckled whitened, but he couldn't tear his gaze from her face.

Any doubt in his mind that she was flirting with him had now obviously been thrown out of the window. She was laying it on thick with him, and it felt like he was suffocating. "Don't ask me that." It was less of an instruction and more of a whine, a plea for her not to open Pandora's Box because he had no idea what lurked within it, and he didn't want to find out. But his gaze kept falling to her rounded lips, and he knew just how sweet temptation tasted.

has she ever been in love? she was in relationships before, sure, with people who were nice and funny, some a little rough around the edges but did river ever love them? she didn't know, there was definitely care about them. "i don't know." she said quietly, but a smile was still on her face as she listened to the professor speak of love and madness.

"love is pain, isn't it? the same hand that hugs you, could kill you." it was almost hypnotic, watching the professor talk with so much passion about his craft. "i don't mind listening to you." she smiled and got up from her chair. "what about you, professor? do you have a model, a muse?" river was walking a thin, dangerous line but at this point she was in too deep and she had to take a chance. she wasn't asking for anything other than a little bit of fun. no need for extra credit, she managed on her own.

walking towards him made the alarm bells sound louder and louder until they were ear piercing but river ignored them. "if you need a new inspiration, sir, i don't mind." river tilted her head slowly, she was standing so close to him; only one step away from pressing herself against his chest. "do you like what you see when you look at me, professor?"

[suspcnd]

Gabriel could tell he had hit a nerve, and he shouldn't have been surprised. He didn't know if he and Nora had ever simply been annoyed at each other, or if every tiny inconvenience had been the very end of their worlds each time. He wasn't trying to insult her work, but clearly she was taking it that way.

He sighed through gritted teeth and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. What was it that their once-therapist had said again? Try to see things from her perspective? Well, it might be easier if her perspective just wasn't so... wrong. "This is not about trusting you." He thought the notion was ridiculous and a huge leap into a whole other issue entirely. "It's that I know what I'm doing here. It's about the structure and integrity of the exhibition as a whole, and..."

He stopped himself as his voice was only raising and he rubbed a hand over his face, before both of his hands met his hips and he stared at her. He let out another deep sigh as he raked his teeth over his bottom lip. "Fine." He muttered. "Fine. If you want me to trust you then fine." Gabriel never relinquished control over little details like this. He didn't know if it was because he was just too damn tired to argue it, or if it was because he missed her so much that it hurt that their only moments together were spent like this.

"We'll leave it. I would just appreciate a little communication in future." He snipped, knowing it was unnecessary but some part of him probably felt he had taken the moral high ground.

"it is better than the rest, gabriel!" nora was trying so hard to keep this professional, they were co-workers through and through but fucking god her ex-husband can drive her insane sometimes. "when you put a painting in the front wall it usually means that is it the most important piece and it deserves to look unique!"

nora laughed bitterly. "if i needed to ask you about every little thing here i wouldn't get anything done." she could barely even look at him as she carefully put the painting back into the box, more gently than she was ever with gabriel, or him with her. "why can't you just trust me?"

this is why nora didn't want to talk to him, because all they can do is fight and bicker and exactly the reason why their marriage fell apart because instead talking their anger away they used sex for everything. she took a deep breath. they're at work, they were both grown adults. "you know what? fine. do whatever you want but im not the one that's gonna do it." he can find some other assistant to reframe the painting.

[suspcnd]

"Hobbes." Gabriel replied with a soft smile as he thought of his little feline companion. A pet could do wonders during a break up, and he never argued with him like he did with Nora. Well, not to the same degree anyway. "Philosopher. Greatly contributed to social contract theory." He scratched the back of his head as a faint warmth rose in his cheeks, feeling very much like a boring old man. "He's a very philosophical cat." He laughed instead.

Sitting back and listening to her speak, Gabriel narrowed his eyes in concentration. His folded arms still hugged his chest, and one of his hands reached up to rub at his chin and mouth as he contemplated her words. He couldn't hide the smile on his lips, the same smile that appeared every time he saw that spark in a student's eyes. That very same spark he'd lost the moment he signed those divorce papers.

"What better time to make a declaration of love than during a war?" Gabriel asked softly, a slight shrug lifting his shoulders. "Have you ever been in love, Miss Howard?" He asked, leaning a little towards her. "It's a terrible thing." He laughed. "It's like... madness. A madness that can drive people to do questionable things, like this sculpture. Just imagine... the same hands that carved that stone were putting others to death in war. It would almost be distasteful if it wasn't so beautiful."

Gabriel was lost in the thought of it all, and for the first time in a while it stirred up a passion in his chest. "Looking at the detail tells me that they were in love. An artist using a model or an inspiration will carve or paint their form, but a lover will look into the very soul of their muse and do everything they can to express it, so others can see what they see." Nora came to mind, how powerfully she had inspired him, but he had to push that thought away as he let out a light chuckle. "But I should be the one letting you talk and theorise. You're the one with the exam."

"a cat?" river grinned, "that's so cute, i never figured you out for a cat person, what its name?" she took a spare chair and put it in front of the table so she could sit down. river thought about putting it next to the professor's chair but that's a bit too much. besides, being in front of him will just make it easier to lean.

she took out her books and set those down on the table as well. "as per my first question, despite how long it's been; there's so much detail in this piece and i just don't understand how in the middle of a war they managed to find the time for a sculpture, didn't they need to fight? i understand that these help us figure out what has happened but at what cost? was it an expression thing?"

no, no. she knew the story between the muse and the artist. there was something deeper going on between them during the war. like a romantic present. river opened the book at the picture of the piece in question and leaned forward to point at it and if she pulled her shirt down underneath the table to reveal more of her chest, well that was her own little secret.

"and the details, so much... were they intimate at all? you only put that much care into a piece if you care about the subject of your art, right? i mean it's been centuries and the sculpture still looks great." she looked at the gabriel. "do we know if they were lovers, professor?"

[suspcnd]

The hairs on the back of Gabriel's neck stood up as Nora moved towards him and the box. This was it, wasn't it? That was all it took for them to cross the line between tolerance (or at least the illusion of it) into enemies yet again. He grit his teeth and clenched his jaw, trying to hold himself back but she was just so damn good at getting under his skin. They had known each other for so long that Nora had created Gabriel's buttons - of course she knew how to push them.

"You should have asked me. These aren't your decisions to make alone." He was frustrated because this could have been avoided if she wasn't so damn stubborn. In his mind he was being reasonable, but he had no control over the tone of his voice. "It's an exhibition, Nora. The whole point is that they're the same. Otherwise we're giving off the wrong impression that this one is better than the rest."

He sighed, knowing his words were getting twisted. "It's... it's great. It really is. But if you could just leave the front of house decisions to me, or at least talk to me about it, we wouldn't need to argue about it. I can't have put up it like this."

she tried continue working, she did. because nora was confident that she made the right choice with the frame, it'll make the painting stand out, a piece such as this needed to have a voice after she worked so hard to fix it. and then gabriel said the frame needed to be replaced and she froze, her eyes closing.

deep breathes. she needed to take deep breathes. "i think it's fine as it is, gabe." she put her tools down because if this was going to turn into another fight she needed to walk away from her painting and so instead she turned around, against her better judgement and walked towards gabriel. "there's a reason for that, we waited for this piece for a long time, it's nearly the center of the exhibition."

she took the painting again and set it down in front of them so they can both look. "they're going to put that painting up with this frame and we'll see." her voice was stern, this wasn't going to be up for further discussion. "not everything can stay the same." not their relationship, their fighting, being in each other's throats, the violence they both endured from one another and not this fucking painting.

[suspcnd]

Gabriel smiled at River's teasing with a slight arch of an eyebrow. It reminded him of when he was young and would schmooze older women to try and get something out of them, even if it was just a little ego boost. Now the tables had turned and he was the old one. She was a beautiful young woman, what on earth was she doing wasting her free time after class hanging around speaking to him? And why did he enjoy it?

It was a sensitive subject, going 'home', since nowhere had felt like home since he had left his and Nora's house and moved in to an apartment on his own, but River didn't need to know that. "Sure, I go home. Having an overlord of a cat helps with that, though I think the house is his." He laughed. It was a little strange to discuss his home life so openly with a student, but he wasn't exactly doing much to deter her.

I'll take anything you offer. Was he imagining things, or was her voice dripping with allure? That was it, that was his warning sign to stop things now. If a student was flirting with him so outwardly it was his duty to stop it. Alarm bells were ringing in his head but Gabriel decided to slam the door on them and shut them out. There was no harm in it, not right now, not just for today. He would be more stern with her tomorrow, but curiosity got the better of him. Just for today.

Instead of showing her the door, Gabriel turned and leaned back against his desk, facing her as he crossed his arms over his chest. There was even a hint of a smirk on his face, a cocky expression taking over his features. This could be a huge mistake, but fuck it. "I'm free now." He stated. "The floor is yours. You have my attention."

"always?" river smiled. "at all times? don't you go home at some point, there's no way you spent all your time here, professor." she was teasing him a little bit, trying to bring him a smile. if river can cause him to smile, maybe he'll remember her even more.

river looked at him as he looked at her notebook, most of these questions were stuff she missed in this lesson and others she already knew the answers to, but it was also answers she could get from researching on her own, she really didn't need to bother gabriel but she wanted to. any woman or man that didn't look professor flores and saw anything but the hottest thing that ever walked was a moron.

she moved closer to him as well, just an inch, masking it in leaning to look at her notebook as well. their bodies were clearly touching each other at this point. "you can tell me if it's silly," she shrugged and looked him straight into his eyes. "but i'll take anything you offer." oh god, was it too forward? river was keeping her eyes looked onto gabriel despite wanting to see if anyone else is still left in the classroom.

"i just want to do better in your class, professor. you've truly peeked my interest to the history of the art so any wisdom would be appreciated but for now i'll just have to do with these questions." river smiled. "are you free now? or would you like to schedule?"