Maybe he was wrong.
Gabriel was smart enough to admit that what he had in mind wasn't working at all. In opposite, that day was a total catastrophe and the fact that Alex kept being very passive-aggressive didn't make him feel any better.
Maybe he deserved that but he was tired of the never-ending reminders of how badly he dealt with the situation after only a couple of hours. Yeah, maybe he shouldn't have invited Leo and ignored his boyfriend's wishes but now Alex behaved like a child.
It was fine, kind of, after they agreed that Leo could stay. It was just as awkward as he has predicted but at least no one was fighting. At least, too badly. And after about an hour or so, his wish had come true when Alex and Leo started to talk and actually got to know each other a little bit.
Too bad that when he wasn't being rude to him, Alex was pretty much ignoring him and only paid attention to Leo. After a while, he started to realize that he was doing exactly what he had asked for but only in that very passive-aggressive way. He could almost hear him saying this was what you asked for, right? Then don't complain.
Leo was also acting fine but he left after an hour in a hurry. Maybe he could also feel the tension and see that they were fighting and his being there was the main reason. Admittedly, it was starting to get a little awkward and even uncomfortable when they had run out of things to do.
With his ex in the room, there just weren't many things to talk about and Gabriel realized it too late. Now he was only wondering what he was expecting to happen? Of course, Leo and Alex didn't have much in common! They did what he wanted and got to know each other but it was clear that both of them were doing it for Gabriel.
As for what was happening now, they were still watching television even after Leo was gone. No one had spoken a word after that and the silence between the two of them was slowly killing Gabriel. It should have been so easy to just apologize and make the day better.
But with the way Alex was staring at the television with a full focus so that he wouldn't accidentally watch or even touch him... that was the scary part. That was what made him worry that if he now opened his mouth, they would start to argue and Alex would be back in the airplane much sooner than he planned.
He was a coward, he knew that. It was all his fault, he had made their first day like this while Alex just wanted to have fun all alone without other people there. Instead of thanking him for such a surprise, he had forced him to be with his ex.
Oh god, what was he even thinking? The more he thought about it, the worse idea it was. He should have just listened to Alex, spent a day with him and for once do the cliche dating things such as going on a date, talk, kiss and have marvelous sex.
But he hadn't listened and now they were stuck in this situation where they were pretending that the other one wasn't even there.
Because he couldn't stand it even a second longer, he took a deep breath and finally apologized. "I'm sorry, okay? You were right and I was wrong. We should have just forgotten Leo and spent a day together. I already miss you when I know you'll be gone soon again and I don't want to waste the time on fighting."
The only reaction he got was a quick glance at him before going back to staring at the television. He was really invested in the series he couldn't understand a word of, huh?
"I know you didn't want to be with Leo and I forced you to do it. I get that you probably hate him and it was a... shitty thing to do as you would say. I guess I just..." Gabriel started to explain again but was interrupted by Alex.
"It's not that I don't want to ever be in the same room with him. But just think about it from my perspective. You two have a long history and considering everything you have told me, the last year of your marriage was like hell. I have come around and understood that you want to put it in the past and I admire you for that. I couldn't do that but that's because you're much better person than me.
I just don't think that we will ever be more than acquaintances. Honesty, it's just weird and even uncomfortable talking to the guy with all history you have. I mean, you were married to him! You loved him! And I'm supposed to... be friends with him, especially after knowing how he treated you? I'm sorry but I don't think I can do it."
That was a lot of information to get and Gabriel had to stop to progress it all. Sure, he had known that it would take Alex a while to get used to his ex-husband but he had thought that maybe in time... Could he blame him, though? If it was Alex in a similar situation, he would probably feel the same way!
As he said, there is a long history between him and Leo but Gabriel believed in second chances. He had moved on and accepted the past that took Cece from them and ruined their marriage. And he knew that despite all, Leo was still a great man, a good friend and he wanted to keep him in his life.
He should have known that it wasn't all that easy for an outsider who had only heard his side of the story. It's not like he talked about Leo with many compliments, the opposite actually. It was understandable that his new boyfriend wouldn't jump in joy to get to know a man who had hurt him so much.
It was stupid to think that Alex would just accept it when he said that Leo had changed and that they were now friends. Even to his own ears, it sounded weird and complicated and yes, maybe he still had some doubts when it came to Leo. Still, he had thought that his words were enough to convince Alex that Leo was a good man.
So his boyfriend didn't want to be with Leo all that much. So what? Then they just wouldn't invite Leo if Alex was in Paris. Maybe it wasn't what he had imagined and two important people in his life wouldn't get along as he had wished. He could get over it, now he just had to make sure that he would listen to Alex and respect his wishes unlike earlier.
"Okay, I understand. I get that being with him could be weird," Gabriel chuckled awkwardly, trying to lighten up the mood. However, Alex didn't laugh or smile, only nodded with a serious look on his face.
That alone helped him to understand how much this situation with Leo bothered him and that maybe it had for a long time. Maybe Alex just hadn't said anything until now that he was almost forced to. He should have noticed, he should have known that he wasn't as okay with his friendship with Leo as he said so.
Crap, he was such a bad boyfriend already and they hadn't even dated for two months. Good job, Gabriel!
Now he had to ask the one question that could probably ruin what he had with Leo. It wasn't what he wanted to do but if it made Alex this uncomfortable, he had to do it.
"Do you... does it bother you that I'm talking with Leo?" They had talked about this earlier when they first started to date and Alex hadn't said anything but maybe it wasn't all that true.
"I mean, I'm not telling you that you can't be friends with him, I'm not that kind of guy and you are free to do whatever you want. Just... maybe leave me out. I trust you and I don't have to be with you every time you're with him," Alex explained and even cracked a smile which immediately made Gabriel mirror it with his own.
"I get that he's still important to you and I don't want to be that guy who says that you can't be friends with your ex. If you believe that he has changed and you're just friends, I trust you. It doesn't mean that we have to be best friends. It's just... you know?"
Maybe it was stupid to try to get them to become friends but at least those two weren't strangers anymore. And he had the most perfect boyfriend who was so understanding with all of this and didn't judge him even once or called him stupid or too naive when it came to Leo.
Because if Alex had answered another way and told him not to see Leo ever again... of course he would do it if Alex asked him to but it wouldn't be easy. There were so many memories with that man and they became parents while raising Cece together. No matter what, there was always a special place in his heart for Leo.
And thankfully, he got a second chance to get someone like him in his life again. Just because they didn't work out as a couple didn't mean that they couldn't be friends. So far that had worked pretty well.
Gabriel just hoped that it would continue. There were always risks, especially with Leo's past with alcohol and he was afraid of what would happen if he wasn't sober anymore. Fortunately, there hadn't been a reason to doubt Leo and as his friend, Gabriel could only hope for the best and support him if anything happened.
"So... what do you want to do now?" Alex smirked and he could almost see how his thoughts turned horny. After one kiss on his lips, neck and ear, he realized he was right and soon their clothes were on the floor.
Suddenly he couldn't even remember who Leo was or even his own name when he focused only on Alex and the pleasure he got from him. How he had survived so long without this was a mystery that he would think about later because now he was too busy staring at his hot boyfriend on his knees.