The coffee wasn't as warm
Jack rested his head against the headboard. These damn beds were awful, and the mattress left his back stiff for hours. He wasn’t going to complain about it though, there was no reason to. Nothing would change.
He sighed, turning his head to face the little digital clock on the nightstand. 0432.
Slowly, he slipped the thin blanket off his torso, gritting his teeth as the cold air hit his chest. It didn’t take him long to get dressed, throwing on a long sleeve, a pair of sweatpants, and running shoes.
He tried to run his fingers through his hair, but the rough sleep insisted on keeping his hair in multiple different directions. He didn’t care to fight it for long.
As he opened the door, it came with a long creeeeeaaak, and he stretched as he made his way across the cold building. Dark and quiet.
When he made it outside, the sky was dark and the weather sent an uncomfortable chill up his spine, and he could already feel his face getting pink. He shook his head, huffing out a cloud of breath.
If he started running, it would warm him up plenty. He was sure of it.
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, one last time, and began to run. It felt damn good as his muscles began working, stretching the sleep right out. It felt good as his heart began to wildly pump, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead.
He was fast. Really fast.
He was the fastest in the SEP, and it seemed not even the cold would slow him down.
He only picked up his speed when his calves began to burn. His chest heaved as his feet passed another lap. He could swear his steps shook the ground.
He could do this forever.
..Well, until he saw a figure standing directly in the center of the track. The cold whipped his face as he came to a hard stop, nearly stumbling over his own feet and right into the person in front of him.
“Shit, man!” There was a loud laugh, as the person hopped back a few steps.
Jack looked up in shock, brows furrowing as he saw Gabriel standing right in front of him. His head covered with a beanie, and upper body shaking from the cold. “What the hell, Gabriel? I could’ve just run you over!” He grit his teeth, straightening his back.
Gabriel gave him one of his stupid, cheeky grins that he hated. His eyes
“Well big guy, I’ve been tryna get you to stop for the last like 10 minutes.” He put a hand on his hip.
Jack could feel his face flush, crossing his arms. “So you decided stopping in my path was the best way to get my attention?”
“Yeah.”
Jack rolled his eyes, shouldering past him. “God, man..”
“So you don’t want this coffee?”
Coffee? He didn’t see a…
When he turned he saw it in Gabriels gloved hand, a dwindling steam rising from it. He thought he could cry. He quickly swiped it from Gabriels hand, giving it a sip.
It wasn’t quite as hot as it would’ve been 10 minutes ago, but it burned his throat in just the right way. He let out a content sigh.
When he brought his attention back to Gabriel, he had a silly grin on his face. He was still shaking badly though. Jack huffed a bit, a pang of sympathy hitting him in the gut. “Let’s go inside. You’re freezing.”
He could see Gabriel's posture change to one of relief. “Eh, not that bad but sure.” He smirked and walked past Jack.
He couldn’t help the blush he could feel blossom in his cheeks, but he sighed and followed after him, keeping both hands tight on the warm coffee.