When a Hitman Gets Haunted by a Ghost
Chapter 84: Like a Clingy Ex

Chapter 84: Like a Clingy Ex

After the night had fallen, Gabriel was wide awake. Apparently, sleeping for twenty hours straight ruined one’s sleeping schedule.

He slumped up and turned on the light, squinting.

When the morning came, he would have to return to the office. It was stressing him out. And lying still wasn’t making it better.

Gabriel sighed, recalling the dirty car seats from his trip to the cult. Even if he was going to grab a taxi tomorrow, he should have cleaned it.

He got out of the bed and got dressed. Might as well do one useful thing after lazing around all day.

Gabriel pulled on a coat and grabbed his keys, making his way downstairs.

The cool air met him with a shiver. His car sat in its usual spot, street lights glinting off the windshield.

Nobody was around. Good. The peace could continue.

He yanked the door open and tore open a package of wet wipes. But instead of dirt or stains catching his eye, it was something else—a pair of gloves, neatly resting in the cup holder.

Not his. Kant’s.

Gabriel picked one up, turning it over in his hands. The leather was worn but sturdy, familiar in a way that made his chest tighten. He slipped it on absentmindedly, flexing his fingers. A little too big.

He stared at it for a beat longer, then glanced towards the street, his heart beating stronger.

The bus stop really wasn’t far. Was Kant at the chicken shop? Probably not. But what if...?

"God, I’m like a clingy ex." Gabriel exhaled, pulling the glove off. "We’ve never even dated, why am I acting like this?"

A rustling noise came from nearby.

Gabriel turned his head, warily eyeing the blue juniper tree nearby. There was clearly a person looming behind it.

The tree swayed as the person gripping it stumbled. A drunk guy?

Gabriel frowned. It should have been creepy, but the sight of someone clinging to that skinny tree was straight-up weird.

This was a good neighborhood, where had that tree-weirdo even come from?

He shut the car door and headed back inside, just to be safe.

Yet something made him turn back. Might have been the boring day, might have been his inherent tendency to get curious about things he should leave alone.

Gabriel pretended to leave, then sneaked up to the fence separating the complex playground from the parking lot. Close enough to the tree to see the familiar stance.

He covered his mouth, caught between disbelief and an urge to laugh. "Kant?"

The tree-weirdo jolted, nearly toppling over. He caught himself, gripping the poor juniper for dear life.

A beat of silence. Kant peeked out, eyes bleary, face scrunched in something between embarrassment and resignation.

"You didn’t leave?"

Gabriel’s eyes were almost tearing up from holding in his amusement. "Why are you lurking behind a tree next to my home?"

Kant straightened, trying to play it off. "Forgot my gloves in your car."

"And you came to get them at—" Gabriel checked the time on his phone. "—one in the morning?"

Kant sighed, finally stepping out of the snowy patch and onto the sidewalk. He shoved his hands in his pockets, his usual sharpness dulled by a slight flush. "Yeah."

Gabriel tilted his head. "Are you drunk?"

"...Perhaps."

"I thought you didn’t drink."

Kant gave a half-hearted shrug, appearing annoyed. "I don’t. But, uh..." He trailed off, looking off to the side like the pavement bricks could offer him some sort of excuse. "I did today."

"Why?"

Kant glanced up, his expression flickering between guarded and annoyed. "Because I don’t like feeling all of this."

Gabriel quirked an eyebrow. "Feeling like what?"

Kant shifted his weight, shoulders rising. He looked around, as if contemplating escape routes from this conversation.

"Kant." Gabriel tugged, wanting an answer.

With a frustrated exhale, Kant held onto the fence behind him, caging him in.

"Distracted. Wondering what you’re doing, if you’re safe, if you’re feeling fine. You’re haunting my mind, I can’t think."

Gabriel’s eyebrows drew together, but he didn’t dare to move an inch, feeling like more was coming.

"It’s frustrating. This feeling of wrongness won’t go away. I can’t do what I used to, live the way I used to before you. I keep coming back."

Gabriel pursed his lips, watching him intently.

"But I’m scared. Seeing a gun pointed at your head..." Kant clenched his jaw and looked down, regret shadowing his features. "I don’t want it to happen again."

There was a pause before Kant looked back up, his fingers digging into the wood.

Gabriel remained still. Even with alcohol in his system, Kant’s gaze was freakishly focused.

"You make me forget who I am and what I’ve done," Kant blurted out, "and I don’t like it. My life was never worth much, and I don’t like you treating me like it is. It gives me too much hope. And even though I know it can only end one way, I still—"

Kant cut himself off. His brows were taut, fighting something, but his eyes were giving it all away—boring deep into Gabriel’s, raw and desperate.

"Can’t help that I miss you so much," came out softer than everything.

Gabriel swallowed, his heart throwing a backflip. Getting this confession was somehow more shocking than everything that happened in the past three months.

He leaned in slowly, wondering where to begin unpacking all of this. But first, he caught Kant’s head and kissed him.

Kant stayed stiff at first, but his mouth didn’t. One of his hands slipped from the fence, ghosting over Gabriel’s hip.

It was barely comforting with the guilt dripping from Kant so obviously.

When they pulled apart, Gabriel’s thumb lingered on his jaw. "Remember when you asked me why I tried so hard to keep my life as it was instead of making a change even though I was unhappy?"

Kant’s brows twitched, his eyes searching Gabriel to see where this was going.

"I think we’re similar in that way. You’re not letting yourself go after what you really want. Maybe that’s why life doesn’t seem worth much to you." Gabriel maintained the eye contact. "But you’re allowed to want something."

The frown on Kant’s face deepened.

"To love," Gabriel added, lightly coaxing his chin forward. "To stay."

For a moment, it looked like Kant was going to pull away. But a crushing look of longing surfaced, and his lips parted, giving Gabriel a split second to prepare before diving in.

It was the first time Gabriel had to concentrate to keep up with Kant. He was swept into the sea, swaying back-and-forth with the current.

Kant tilted his head for a deeper angle, surrendering all restraint. His hands slipped over Gabriel’s shoulders, then around his back, fingers splaying.

Gabriel wasn’t sure if he was breathing or dreaming. The taste of alcohol still clung to Kant’s lips, and it was starting to make him feel drunk too.

Up? To the apartment? They could continue...

Fuck. Not when alcohol was involved. Gabriel let out a sharp sigh, trying not to get frustrated.

"Kant." His hands flattened on Kant’s chest, feeling the heat and the frantic beats under his palms as he gently pushed him back. "Let’s go for a walk?"

Kant pulled back a fraction, blinking to himself as if trying to wake up. The look in his eyes made Gabriel’s knees weak—like he would bend any way Gabriel asked him to.

"Where to?" His voice was quieter now.

"Just around. For a bit."

Gabriel took his hand, leading him towards a park near the city canal. Until Kant sobered up. And possibly spilled more of his feelings.