Tired Jack - Infodump 2

[moonshadows]

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Overwatch
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Jack Morrison was the perfect poster boy for the newly-minted Overwatch organization. He had the blond-haired, blue-eyed, handsome, All-American look that inspired admiration and the humble, public servant demeanor that inspired trust. He had the folksy, small-town upbringing, the tragic past, and the military service. He spoke roughly a dozen languages fluently. He also had the hero of the Omnic Crisis, Gabriel Reyes, as his second-in-command to take care of all the military operations Overwatch might be called upon to perform, while Strike-Commander Morrison focused on the non-military aspects: diplomacy, research, search-and-rescue, relief missions - all the "good publicity" things. Jack answered to a council of bureaucrats from the UN, explaining and justifying budget requests, smoothing over ruffled feathers and securing permission for Overwatch to act in various areas of the world.

The council thought he was their figurehead. In reality, he was Gabriel's figurehead. That's not to say that Gabe ran the complete show, because the only way "Gabriel Reyes" and "diplomacy" went together was "badly". But there were a lot more military actions than anyone outside the organization would have suspected. Gabriel let Jack know what he needed; Jack talked the council into giving it to Overwatch. There was a lot of 'don't ask, don't tell' between them because they both knew that certain things were not only necessary but required, or logical and useful but unsavory, and if Jack knew about them he would be obligated to tell Gabe to stop, or to report them to the council. Gabriel told Jack what he needed to know, and Jack didn't ask about anything else.

The other surviving members of the strike force gladly took positions in Overwatch. Ana became Jack's administrative second-in-command so she could be as involved and present for her daughter as possible. While Overwatch was still small, Jack made breakfast in the mornings and dinner in the evenings. Once construction on the Switzerland HQ was complete and recruiting meant there were more than a handful of them there, he interviewed several top chefs to head the facility's kitchen. The process involved testing not only the chef's ability to run a large kitchen and cook for dozens at a time, but Jack personally tasted a variety of dishes the chef had prepared. He finally settled on one and everyone was happy, but a month later she asked for a meeting with him. Delicately, she explained that she'd been hired "to cook for him" but he never actually took meals from her kitchen. Jack explained that what he'd meant was that he needed someone who could cook in his place, since as much as he would have loved to cook for the entirety of Overwatch, he just didn't have the time. He cooked breakfast and dinner, but he barely had time to grab a sandwich for lunch. She started having hot lunches sent up to his office.

Gabriel learned that Jack was...not exactly a workaholic, but that he had a very hard time saying no to a request, and he had a horrifyingly low idea of where his needs ranked out of everything. When Jack started looking exhausted at breakfast, Gabriel started stopping by his office late at night and herding Jack off to bed. Once, and only once, he took Jack at his word that he was going to finish the thing he was working on and then go to bed. Gabriel woke up the next morning to an empty kitchen and no coffee. He stumbled sulkily to Jack's office to find he'd worked through the night, looked like the risen dead, and had no idea what time it was. Gabriel ordered Jack into the cot in the corner of his office, where he immediately passed out. When Jack woke up, Gabriel had left a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple, and a bottle of water on his desk. The jelly was strawberry and the message was clear: "take care of yourself, dumbass, because I care about you". Jack felt extremely guilty that he'd let Gabriel down to the point that Gabe had to shoulder the caretaker responsibility, but he was also touched that Gabe cared about him that much.

The next time Jack was working late, Gabriel came armed with strawberry cheesecake. He sat on the corner of Jack's desk, feeding him spoonfuls of cheesecake until the sweet and tangy flavors pulled Jack's mind out of his work and then Gabriel shooed him off to bed, refusing to go himself until Jack had gone. Phrases like "If you work much later, I won't get enough sleep" and "I make bad decisions when I'm cranky" got used as leverage. Jack wouldn't go to bed for himself, but he'd go to bed for Gabriel.

Pizza night became a sacred weekly commitment, with Jack and Gabriel carrying plates of pizza to one of their rooms and watching movies or playing video games. The tradition of Gabe's post-pizza groan and declaration of intent to marry continued as well, with Jack pointing out the reasons they couldn't marry.
     "I'm going to marry you for your pizza, Strike-Commander Morrison."
     "Can't. The UN would never allow it. I'd have to fire you."
     "...but it would be worth it."
     "You wouldn't have clearance anymore, Gabe. You'd only see me after hours and on the weekends."
     (Gabriel frowns)
     "I'd have to resign so I would have time to cook, and then you'd have to take over as head of Overwatch."
     (After Winston's arrival) "Let Winston take over all that monkey business and we can retire happily. Together. Just you and me and your pizza."

Anyone who came into the officer's kitchen/mess hall (which was basically a giant, homey kitchen built to Jack's domestic fantasy specifications, with a huge round wooden table and chairs for a dozen) while Jack was cooking got breakfast, and at least once or twice a week evening reports/briefings were done while Jack cooked, and then everyone had dinner. As far as Jack was concerned, Overwatch was his family and he did his best for them. He made cakes and cupcakes for birthdays whenever he could, especially for Fareeha. Anyone who came back from a mission wounded got fussed over, with Jack sometimes doing first aid before the agent got to Medical. Gabriel in particular revived a running joke from the military about Jack kissing wounds to make them better, and Jack countered by actually kissing them when Gabe made the joke. Among the other agents, the joke ran that you weren't really a part of Overwatch until you'd called the Strike-Commander "Mr. Mom". Jack tended to remind them to be safe before they went out, same as he'd done in the military, because he knew that every mission could be their last. "Stay safe, because I like being alive at the same time as you." Not all of them appreciated his concern, but Jack assured them they could hate him for it with phrases like  'As long as you're alive to hate me, I'm good with that.' or 'You're alive, that's all I wanted.'

At some point, Jack picked up a fluency in Spanish. Although he and Gabriel no longer got "SEP cravings", they still remained receptive to learning things related to a past craving. So Jack gave in and learned Spanish, but didn't let on that he knew it. Most meetings, he didn't require a translator but everyone knew what languages he understood and he didn't have the advantage of the other party saying things they thought he couldn't understand. Gabriel functioned as his translator for any meeting where Spanish was being spoken, and he treasured this unguarded glimpse of his friend.

At some point early on, probably a year after Overwatch's founding, there was a massive meeting with representatives from at least two dozen countries. It lasted something like six hours. Four hours in, Jack realized that following conversations in the dozen languages he knew, not to mention his brain trying to piece together the ones he didn't, was putting a familiar strain on his brain. He quietly told Gabriel he was going to have a language migraine by the end. Ana was confused, but Gabe promised to explain later and assured Jack he had everything covered. When the meeting ended, Jack was already in pain. Gabriel and Ana escorted him wordlessly out of the room and away from the press, who were being kept back by other Overwatch agents who assured them that the Strike-Commander would do a press conference the next day, but any news outlet who bothered him today would be excluded. More agents cleared the halls in advance, and Jack made it to his room with only his own thoughts causing him pain. He put on the recording of Gabriel playing piano and gratefully fell asleep. When he woke up in the morning, it was to Gabriel bringing him breakfast - including a Belgian waffle loaded with strawberries and whipped cream. His reflexive "I love you. Marry me" caused Gabriel to bluescreen, but Jack didn't notice because he was devouring strawberries. His explanation to the press that he needed to mull over what had been discussed went over just fine, and precedent was set.

One of the duties of the Strike-Commander was public relations and appearances. While this meant meeting with diplomats and dignitaries, it also meant Jack was allowed and encouraged to choose events to attend. Plays and concerts, sports events and fancy restaurants were the sort of things he was expected to partake in. But there's always going to be those hopeful kids who are stubborn enough to ignore parents and teachers trying to talk them out of writing fan letters and asking public figures to come to their fundraising cookout or birthday party or whatnot, and Jack LOVED those. If he couldn't attend, he wrote back a letter explaining that he was needed to do something else already on that day, but he made sure to get the child's birthday and sent them a card and a Christmas card. If he could attend, he did his best to go above and beyond.

Girl Scout troop doing a gift-wrapping weekend in the mall raising funds and collecting gifts for Toys for Tots (or kids in the hospital, or orphanage, or just needy families)? Jack is SO there, not only bringing a pile of unwrapped presents but doing a full shift at the wrapping table. Wrap your gift, $2 each. Don't have one? He'll wrap one from the pile. For an extra $5 he'll hand-write the tag and let you take a selfie. And when the adults try to protest that he doesn't have to wrap gifts, he counters that he's a skilled wrapper, and it would be a waste to not put his skills to use. And he'll have 20 pizzas and a bunch of diet soda delivered so everyone can have lunch.

Children's theater troupe holding a fund-raising cookout to finance their next production? Jack will show up with cases of burgers, hot dogs, and their buns. He'll also man the grill. Then, once all the meat has been cooked, he'll go back to his van and bring out the trays and trays of cupcakes he baked for surprise dessert. Did he make them all himself? Well, he baked them, but Captain Amari and her daughter helped him frost them. $10 all-you-can-eat burgers and dogs cooked by Strike-Commander Jack Morrison, with a cupcake for dessert. Come and get it!

As head of Overwatch, where he not only could but was expected to Do A Lot Of Good, he bloomed into a confident, happy, cheerful ray of sunshine and a charismatic leader. Naturally, there were always people who wanted to rage against the machine or distrust authority figures or who just couldn't believe that Jack wasn't putting on an act. But Jack never got angry, never lost his temper, and really was that genuinely nice and it was exceedingly difficult to hate him if you'd met him. Having a leader who was so charismatic and still down-to-earth really helped Overwatch's reputation in the early founding years. The fact that he spoke half of the most-used languages in the world and did as many announcements in other languages as he could helped as well. (Eventually, all the core Overwatch members developed fluency in Swiss German, but Gabriel pretended to only know English unless he was in Zurich.)

Naturally, everyone wanted to know all the details about Jack the golden boy. Reporters flocked to his hometown where people were only too glad to spill the beans. ("Do I remember Jack Morrison? Of course, poor bastard always looked like he hadn't slept in a week. He had to do everything around the house for himself 'cuz his dad was a drunk sunnovabitch. Surprised he didn't get fired. So Jack had to raise little Maddie all by himself while still being a child. Shame what happened to her, she was a good kid...") Jack's dad got no posthumous glory. His mom was treated like a saint, but she died of cancer so long ago that no one really remembered anything bad about her that was worth speaking ill of the dead. The fact that Jack Morrison had an alcoholic father and thus, didn't drink, was just rolled into his Tragic And Noble Backstory. A rookie reporter went to Gabriel to try to get the inside scoop on Jack, and Gabe trolled the fuck out of him, spinning tall tales just to see how much of it he would believe and how outrageous things had to get before the reporter would realize Gabe was yanking his chain. He swallowed it all, hook, line, and sinker, but his editor laughed at him and the only place that would buy his story was a tabloid. Jack laughed until it hurt reading that story and kept a copy of it in his safe-deposit box.

With all the responsibilities of his position, Gabriel got very good at reading how stressed out Jack was. There were a lot of demands ("requests") made of Overwatch, and of course Jack never got better about saying no. He was able to mitigate this to an extent because he wouldn't ask Overwatch agents to stretch themselves too thin, and eventually he was able to see himself as an asset and control demands on his time that way, but it took a few years. The fact that Jack was being pulled in several directions at any time grated on Gabriel, so he did everything he could to keep Jack stable. When Jack got stressed to the point of walling away, at around ten at night Gabriel would drag him into the officer's mess (his big dream kitchen) and sit him down for a root beer float. If things weren't too bad, Jack would sip it and tell Gabe what was going on. If he was too walled away to do that, Gabriel would poke his forehead and Jack would faceplant into Gabe's shoulder for a bit of symbolically having someone to lean on before opening up, with Gabe draping his arm around Jack's shoulders in something between reassurance and physically laying claim to Jack. A major sign of Jack being stressed was that when he had no emotional spoons left, all his emotional reactions turned into irritation and annoyance. Even being presented with strawberries in some form got annoyance until he got enough strawberries inside him, at which point Gabe dragged him off for a root beer float.

With finally being in a position where they had both the time to potentially explore a deeper relationship and no one who could summarily fire one or both of them for it, they both started wrestling with the question of how to go from a years-long pattern of joking intimacy to expressing that it's not really a joke. Neither of them were really sure how to go about it, especially since Jack had never expressed romantic or sexual interest in anyone and Gabriel had been doing his absolute best impression of a Perfectly Straight Guy for years. So they both just started escalating their joking intimacy and insincere flirtations, hoping the other would give some hint as to whether the idea was welcome or not while not letting on what their true intentions were. Combined with how closely they worked together, this led to them referring to the other as their 'work husband'. "I need to talk to my work husband about that." "I have a meeting with my work husband later." Gabriel was the first one to push their lack of personal space to the point of laying down with his head in Jack's lap, looking for a reaction, but Jack acted like this was Perfectly Normal because he didn't want to discourage it from happening again. It turned into a regular thing; they'd hold entire conversations, including briefings and reports, with Jack sitting on a couch and Gabriel sprawled in his lap. When the weather was nice, they did that outside under a tree - full mission reports, intel briefings, you name it, with Gabriel's head in Jack's lap and neither of them acting like this was anything out of the ordinary. About a third of the time, it would be Jack sprawled out with his head in Gabe's lap, and that typically resulted in him getting his hair petted, which was just fine with him.

It also led to people who witnessed this display of no personal space for the first time quietly asking someone else for clarification.
     "Is there something I should know about the Commanders?"
     "Nah, they're just like that."
     "They're not...?"
     "Nope, they just do things like that."
This was in no way helped by the fact that Gabriel continued to the "Jack, that's [language]" and kissing up the arm any time Jack spoke a non-English language - unless there were international bigwigs present. Jack pretended nothing was happening, to the confusion of witnesses who typically had no idea how they were supposed to react to this while Gabriel went "*kisskisskisskiss* Wait, what language is that?" or complained that he was going to have to design Jack a short-sleeved jacket.

Gabriel's issues being what they are, he occasionally had fits of acting out towards Jack in an ultimately futile attempt to push Jack away or "prove" that he didn't deserve Jack's friendship. Jack bore these with stoic patience and acting like nothing was wrong, and Gabe gave it up fairly quickly. Strawberries were usually procured in apology, with Gabriel asking Jack 'why do you put up with me?' Jack's answer was to quip 'compared to my dad, you're an angel'. That tended to get him mock-punched for the pun on Gabriel's name. The first time it happened, they went into an in-depth discussion about Biblical descriptions of angels and how terrifying and badass they were. Jack finished with '...like I said, you're an angel' and Gabe made stranglie motions at him, which only ensured that it became an established pattern. Another pattern they developed was related to Jack technically being Gabriel's boss. Any time Jack left to go somewhere without Gabriel, Gabe would smarm 'but what if I need you?' just to be a pain because they both knew that Gabriel was the one actually in charge, they just acted like Jack was. This pattern may also have been Gabriel expressing displeasure with being separated from his work husband for any length of time. A third pattern, this one with its roots in the military, was calling Jack a Boy Scout for his selfless altruism, familiarity with the outdoors, and all-around Lawful Good over-achiever naivete. The joke, of course, is that Jack was never actually a Boy Scout. He didn't have the time.

As expected, the high school that Jack went to renamed itself to Jack D. Morrison High School and invited Jack to come speak to the student body. Jack made...plans...and accepted, bringing Gabriel with him both because of the plan and for wanting Gabe to see where he came from. They got in a day or two before they were supposed to be there and Jack drove him through the town, giving running commentary. They went to the graveyard and put an absolutely huge, expensive bouquet on Maddie's grave. While Jack was quietly apologizing to his sister for not standing up to their father and blaming himself for not being able to change an alcoholic's habits and thus, for the crash, Gabriel unzipped his fly and interrupted Jack's self-recriminations by pissing on his father's grave. Not on the soil - on the headstone itself, covering Jack's father's name with urine. When he was done, he angrily informed Jack that his dad was a dick and had abused him Jack was in no way at fault for anything. That was at odds with the way Jack had been raised to think, and Gabriel wound up driving Jack to the next town over where they sat in a little diner with Jack sipping a root beer float.

The school administration, bring painfully aware that Jack had been mocked at this very school for "feminine" activities, asked Jack to talk to the students about acceptance and bullying. Jack agreed, and he started off normally: 'blah blah I got picked on because I baked cupcakes for my sister's birthday, but cooking is a valuable life skill and there's nothing wrong with doing something you love as long as it's not hurting anyone, and no one can tell you it's wrong to like something (as long as it's not hurting anyone), blah blah have the strength to not be ashamed of what you like and don't judge someone for what they like'. Then he used himself as an example, pointing out that he fought in the military and in the Omnic Crisis and was generally considered the pinnacle of manliness, but that honor really belonged to his former CO, Commander Reyes, and gestured over to the side of the stage where Gabe was standing with the school administration. Then Jack called for volunteers to join him on stage for an exercise in not being ashamed. He got about a dozen kids on stage with him and announced that they were going to do something that they'd be too embarrassed to do otherwise, but it would be okay because he was doing it and they were just following his lead and if Strike-Commander Morrison was doing it then it was really okay, right? Then he shouted HIT IT, GABE! and tore off his specially-prepared breakaway suit and proudly stood there in calf-high leather boots and a skirt/crop top combination that matched his eyes. The skirt would have been fetish fuel on a girl, with its jagged hem and wide band of glittery gauze. The crop top was 85% gauzy ruffles and 15% glitter, and as this sank in, the music started playing.

High-energy, with a rapid beat and electrosynth instrumentals, Dream's 'Night of Fire' filled the auditorium and Jack burst into exactly the sort of dance his outfit suggested. The kids laughed for a couple of bars, the ones onstage covering their faces, but the beat was really addictive and it wasn't long before they joined in, emulating Jack's moves and bouncing hips and shouting NIGHT! OF! FIRE!! along with the chorus. The school administration tried to hide their dismay at having been taken by surprise this way while Gabriel stood calmly with hands clasped in front of him, just admiring his work husband dancing in his handiwork and trying not to let that...appreciation...show. When the song ended, the kids onstage high off of dancing with Jack Morrison, Jack shouted NOW WHO ELSE WANTS TO GIVE IT A TRY?? and the auditorium turned into a dance party. When the kids got tired, they discovered Gabriel had gone out to the van and brought back trays of cupcakes and Jack explained that Gabriel had sewed his costume because he loves costuming and he helped frost the cupcakes Jack had baked and if the two arguably manliest men in the world weren't ashamed of cooking and sewing, then maybe anyone mocking someone for that kind of activity was the one with the problem and they should take a look inside themselves and ask why they felt threatened by someone enjoying a harmless activity. The entire thing turned into a frontal assault on the Patriarchy and gender roles, with the school administration helpless to do anything but smile stiffly.

Just to drive the point home, Jack did a series of anti-bullying and alcohol abuse awareness PSAs, talking about how he had to learn to cook and sew to take care of himself and his little sister because his alcoholic father would rather drink than be a parent and sharing the story of how it felt when he realized why there so many glass bottles with 'his name' on them all over the house. After that, any time he crossed paths with what we would call "NO HOMO dudebros" he made it a point to turn their toxic masculinity against them because hell, if Jack Morrison does it, then it MUST be manly, right? So if a guy's not comfortable with it, then maybe the problem is he's not enough of a man, right? He was equally unamused by anyone expressing anti-queer sentiments and turned it around onto the bigot expressing them, firmly and unequivocally expressing support for people who weren't cis or straight, whether that was being trans, nonbinary, agender, asexual, homosexual, pansexual, or anything else. His favorite way to shut down anti-gay talk was just to wait for the bigot to get through their talk, nodding and making little neutral sounds, and then just say "What makes you think I'm not gay?" His other go-to was a simple "why do you care?" and then shutting down the bigoted reasoning with "are they hurting you by being the way they are? no? Then why do you care? Leave them alone and go bother someone who's actively hurting others."

When Gabriel cleaned out Deadlock and found himself faced with Jesse McCree, the conversation with Jack went roughly as follows:
     "Jack, I'm recruiting one of the Deadlock prisoners."
     "Gabriel-"
     "He reminds me of you in basic."
     "He's our new son. What's his name?"
Jesse was brought in restraints to Zurich and then let loose and kept in a room that wasn't exactly a cell, but it was too Spartan to be living quarters. Dinner was something quick and simple, a plain turkey sandwich and some water maybe, but when he woke up it was to a full country breakfast. Ham, eggs, homefries, bacon, damn good biscuits with butter, milk, and orange juice. He quietly freaked out internally because what was the catch? Was this his last meal?? But a few days passed and no one came for him. Lunch and dinner plain and boring, but breakfast was always hot, full country breakfast and it was confusing the hell out of him. When the rest of the Deadlock prisoners had been sorted and Jesse's legal existence had been worked out, Gabriel made him the "jail or work for me" offer and he accepted because what the fuck, this was better than he'd get anywhere else. When he came face to face with Jack, who looked happy to see him and informed him that he'd been making those hotel-quality breakfasts, Jesse had no idea how to react because this level of kindness and acceptance from the head of Overwatch, what the fuck was something he was emotionally unprepared for but wanted more of. Being forcibly invited to movie night so he could bond with his new 'parents' and given the freedom to pick toppings and movie was almost too much for him to deal with.

Jack periodically reminded Jesse that if he needed to talk and wasn't comfortable talking to Gabriel, he would make time for Jesse and listen without judging. Also he would bake cookies, if Jesse wanted, but Jack knew what it was like to live in a shitty situation where no one cares about you or what you want. And how hard it was to go from that to believing that someone cared about you, but Jesse can trust Commander Reyes to care about him because he was the first one Jack trusted to give a fuck about him since he was seven. Jack promised Jesse that no matter what he did, he would never get angry. Annoyed, irritated, disappointed, but never angry because nothing was worth risking one of them dying with anger between them. And he knows what it's like to need to talk to someone who's not your CO, so if Jesse ever needed to talk and couldn't or didn't want to go to Gabe for it, he could come to Jack at any time. Naturally, Jesse didn't really believe that the freaking Strike-Commander would make time in his important schedule for one scruffy cowboy, and when he did have something he needed to talk to Jack about, he slipped very nervously into Jack's office and nearly slipped back out because Jack was on the phone with someone, but Jack met his eyes and almost mid-word went "Sir, I'm going to need to pick this back up with you later, something's just come up that needs my immediate attention." and ended the call. After that, it sank in to Jesse that he was family, and he started showing up in the officer's mess for Jack-made breakfast.

As has been stated, Jack loves strawberry. But living in Europe, it's a lot harder to get his favorite strawberry soda. When he gets some imported, he puts most of the bottles in the fridge but sticks one in the freezer, on its side, to cool down quicker without watering it down with ice. Invariably, however, he leaves it in too long and when he opens it, the liquid in the neck has frozen into a cork. As soon as Jack twists the cap halfway off, there's a loud pop and the built-up carbonation escapes in a bubbly rush similar to champagne fountaining all over. And every single time, no matter how many times it had happened before, Jack always stood there dripping and in shock with an expression of I DID NOT IN ANY WAY EXPECT THIS REACTION while Gabriel leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, laughing until it hurt. Once he'd caught his breath, Gabe "helped" Jack clean up by licking the soda off of every portion of his exposed skin. The first time Ana came running because she heard a POP and found Gabe licking soda off of Jack's face, it didn't even faze her. She was used to their shenanigans. The first time Winston witnessed it, he made a joke about thinking it was HIS branch of the family tree that did grooming like that, to which Gabriel quipped "sorry, this one's mine, I licked it." Once Gabriel was done, Jack put his soda back in the fridge and excused himself to go take a shower while he still had at least two shreds of dignity left. He may or may not have spent extra time contemplating Gabe licking him. (He totally did.)

The joking intimacy and insincere flirtations escalated to the point of being a years-long game of Gay Chicken as both Jack and Gabe kept pushing the envelope to see who would back down first. Sometimes the flirtations were exhibitionist - Gabriel pretending to fellatiate a particularly phallic food while giving Jack knowing looks, or Jack stealing the celery (which Gabe doesn't eat) out of Gabriel's cocktail and deep-throating it before casually eating it. Sometimes they were overtly sexual dares, like the time Ana walked in on Gabriel humping Jack's leg while Jack stirred cake batter. If Jack made it to the half hour mark without reacting, or if Gabriel failed to keep humping for the full half hour, Gabe would have to wear a dress. Otherwise, it would be Jack in the dress. Ana, being well and truly jaded by that point, just shrugged and walked out. Another incident was Reinhardt entering the kitchen because he smelled cookies, and discovering that the Strike-Commander was indeed taking a batch of cookies out of the oven, but the apron was all he was wearing aside from one mitt-shaped potholder. Commander Reyes was leaning comfortably against the counter wearing nothing but the other mitt. They'd been having an escalating nudity dare. Gabe dared Jack to shake 'hands', and Jack 'shook' the mitt Gabe was wearing with the one he was wearing and Reinhardt warily accepted a plate of cookies and fled.

About half the time, however, their conversations were rife with sexual innuendos. For example, the simple act of constructing a strawberry cream layer cake invariably spawned comments or reactions like this with regards to the whipped cream:
     "The only cream I whip is my own."
     "Okay, but I'm not sure I can provide a full cup." "If you add anything extra to this bowl, you're eating the whole thing."
     "I thought it was BEATING the cream."
     "So THAT'S what you call it?"
     "I thought you were good at doing that by hand."
     "Okay, now add half a teaspoon of vanilla."  *Gabe reaches for Jack's pants* "...Gabe..."  "What? Aren't you pretty vanilla?"
     "Hold up, I need to add the sugar." "I thought we weren't jerking off into the bowl." "That's not - what?" *Gabriel smirking* "You're not going to give the bowl some sugar?"

When the head chef presented Jack with the proposed menu for some event Overwatch was hosting and Jack saw eclairs on the menu, he informed her that he would prepare the eclairs himself. She asked if he was sure, because they needed four hundred, and he informed her that he was aware.
     "You're going to make four hundred eclairs by yourself?"
     "Good point. Get me Reyes."
Gabriel walked into the kitchen, saw the unholy glee on Jack's face and the utensils and ingredients set out, and just exclaimed NOT AGAIN! while Jack laughed. When they were finally done, they had 500 and Jack weeded out the worst 100.
     "You made five hundred."
     "Yep."
     "We only need four hundred, what are the others for?"
     "Eating. Don't you and your staff deserve something good for all your hard work?"
     "Strike-Commander Morrison wants you to eat his eclair."
     "Shut up and put my long, cream-filled pastry in your mouth, Reyes."
If the head chef had harbored any doubts about Jack's skills in the kitchen, the ability to cheerfully turn out 400 perfect eclairs put them to rest.

With Blackwatch being under the table and as independent as Jack and Gabriel could make it, there were a lot of things Gabriel did that Jack had no knowledge of. If Jack didn't know that Gabriel had created a mercenary persona named Reaper who constantly wore an owl-skull mask, he wouldn't have to tell Gabe to stop using that particular method of gathering intel (and funds) and taking out targets the law couldn't reach. If he didn't know that Gabe was the world champion of the high-stakes underworld poker ring, amassing vast amounts of illegal wealth and extorting favors and information along the way, then he didn't have to tell Gabe to knock it off before Petras found out. Those were exactly the sort of things the head of Blackwatch should be doing in order to curtail threats before they reached public knowledge, but Overwatch was bound by international regulations and Jack's hands were tied with red tape. Gabriel went on countless mysterious missions, vanishing for as little as a few hours to as much as two weeks while Jack quietly hopes his work husband would come back safely, and there were many occasions where pizza night got rescheduled to the day Gabe got back. Of course, not everything Gabriel was up to was dangerous or illegal. He established a luxury residence in his home city of Los Angeles and a comfortable townhouse in Zurich, both under the name of Michael King. While furnishing the townhouse, he found himself picking things Jack would like, or that Jack would find comforting. Whether or not he admitted it to himself, he was building a love nest to share with Jack. Once it was fully furnished, however, he only visited it when sexual frustration was getting the better of him. Most of the time, he picked someone up and brought them back to fuck. More rarely, he went there to drink and recover without the guilt of Jack fussing over him. Not that that lessened the guilt any.

Inevitably, the long-running game of Gay Chicken reached the point where there was nowhere to go but to bed. It was phrased casually enough - 'we may as well try it, see if we click' - but both of them were beside themselves with the anxious, hopeful knowledge that this was it, they'd finally be able to see how the other felt. They agreed to meet in Gabriel's room because no one was dumb enough to wake Commander Reyes except the Strike-Commander, and they didn't want anyone to know what they were doing. Jack self-consciously told Gabriel that he had no experience, and Gabe reassured him that he'd take the lead and teach Jack everything. That night was everything Jack had ever hoped for, the fulfillment of all his fantasies, and he did his best (short of actually saying the words) to make sure Gabriel knew that Jack loved him. Gabriel was doing the same thing, reveling in being able to teach the object of his affection how to express that physically, making sure his first sexual experience was perfect. Jack fell asleep cuddled up to Gabriel in utter contentment, and Gabriel held him close as he drifted off as well. For a wonder, Gabriel woke up first and while admiring his sleeping lover and toying with how he'd suggest they get into an actual relationship, he fingered the dog tags Jack hadn't taken off and saw his name on the bottom one. The implication was immediately clear: Jack loved him every bit as deeply as he loved Jack. Unfortunately, Gabriel's issues and insecurities were hot on the heels of that realization. He was prepared to seduce Jack into loving him; he wasn't prepared for the devotion implicit in Jack wearing his dog tag. Furthermore, how long had Jack been doing that? How long had he loved Gabe? And, whispered his self-worth issues, how long had he been fucking it up?

When Jack woke up, still on an emotional high from having consummated his love the night before, he asked Gabe what he thought - if they clicked. Gabriel lied and said no out of a panicked reflex to keep away all potential threats while he was emotionally vulnerable. He regretted it as the joy drained out of Jack, but Jack otherwise seemed to take it well and asked if they'd go back to what they'd been doing, then, since they didn't click. Gabriel agreed, and they dressed and went about their respective days as if nothing had happened. The next day, Gabriel informed Jack he was going on a short mission, just a day or two, and Jack ritually wished him well and told him to come back safely. Gabriel went to his townhouse and got drunk. While drunk, he went and bought a pair of men's gold wedding bands. Then he got more drunk and convinced himself that even if Jack forgave his dumb ass for lying, he wouldn't want a mess like him for a husband anyway, and he hid the rings. He returned to the HQ looking like shit because of how hung over he was, and Jack immediately assumed (out loud, anyway) that he was sick and put him to bed before making chicken soup and fussing over him. That only made Gabe feel more guilty. He'd intended to apologize to Jack at the first opportunity, the first hint of awkwardness or hesitation, to say 'you know, after thinking about it, I take it back, the answer is yes'. But Jack carried on like it had never happened and Gabriel never got up the courage to bring it up himself because what if he'd already blown his chance?

With both of them secretly heartbroken, it was a few days before either of them felt up to their usual banter. One evening, Gabriel leaned against the doorframe to Jack's office and asked if he was only into dudes, or if he was...flexible. Startled and uncertain, Jack answered that he guessed he was flexible. Gabriel started setting him up on dates made through matchmaking sites and apps, frequently only telling Jack he had a date at the last second so he couldn't get out of it. Part of Gabriel's reasoning was that Jack deserved someone better than him. Part of it was hoping that Jack would come back from a date confessing that what he really wanted to do was date Gabe. And, of course, part of it was tormenting himself by pushing Jack away. Jack endured the dates patiently, telling the often-surprised man or woman that his friend had set him up and he wasn't really looking for a relationship. Sometimes - usually with women - he confessed that there was someone he liked but it hadn't worked out and he was still hung up on them. Sometimes he just confessed that there was someone else he liked. He still had dinner and paid for it, chatted and had a friendly evening, and more often than not bonded with his sympathetic date and did his best to help with any personal problems they might be having. 

Around the same time, Gabriel started bringing hard liquor to his office and getting drunk late at night, either out of self-punishment or out of drowning his sexual frustration until he physically couldn't act on it. Jack started checking on Gabriel if it got late and Gabriel hadn't checked on him, putting him to bed on a cot in his office if he was too drunk to make it easily back to his room, making him drink water and leaving more water and some painkillers in easy reach. And always, bringing a hangover-safe breakfast to Gabe the next morning. He learned that he was most likely to get set up on a date after Gabriel had gotten drunk, or after he'd said anything that started with 'you deserve someone who'. Sometimes, Gabe told Jack to stop wasting his time fussing over Gabe, that he should get a boyfriend who would appreciate it. Sometimes he pointedly browsed personal ads or dating sites or matchmaking apps looking for 'good men', but he quickly wound up getting ridiculously offended by some aspect of any promising match as an excuse to reject them. And in between these fits of self-destructive behavior, they went back to their usual "are you sure they're not actually married" flirting and complete comfort with a lack of personal space.

Once, at the end of a meal with no one else present, Gabriel leaned over out of the blue and kissed Jack on the lips. Then he stood and, laughing at Jack's expression, walked out. Jack was off-balance for a day or two, wondering if Gabriel had really meant that kiss and if he knew Jack had feelings and convincing himself that it had been just a joke. What he didn't know was that Gabriel had momentarily lost control over his impulses and forced himself to laugh and walk off because if he didn't, he would have just sat there kissing Jack. The rest of the week, Gabe periodically just said 'hey Jack' and gave him an 'I'm gonna kiss you and you're gonna melt down' smirk. Jack got his revenge, though - as Gabriel was about to go into a high-level meeting, Jack stopped him with a 'hold up, you've got something on your...' and then while Gabriel held still so Jack could remove whatever hair or thread of piece of lint Gabe assumed was there, Jack kissed him just under and behind his ear before cheerfully announcing 'okay, you're good now' and walking off. It was a long minute before Gabriel regained enough composure to go into his meeting.

Jack's preferred workout music is the bubbly, high-energy j-pop he picked up from his sister. One of the things he does to relax is to run on a treadmill, but he figures he may as well make it a full workout and grabs some freeweights so he can work his arms while he runs. Most of the time, he does normal arm exercises in time with the music he's running to the beat of, but years ago at his sister's insistence he'd memorized Hinoi Team's choreography for Night Of Fire and when that song came on, he couldn't help but honor her memory by replicating it. The moves were understandably at odds with both his physical appearance and the stoic, almost grim look of determination he tended to wear while running. Jesse McCree thought it was hilarious. He positioned a camera where it could take unimpeded video of Jack running and retrieved it later, then uploaded the 'Night Of Fire' section to the internet. It went viral and became a meme, with people photoshopping in various things for Jack to be running from, or chasing, or scenes for him to dance in, or objects to wave around. Variants include dual-wielding lightsabers in a Star Wars battle, running from a plane that's landing as he waves guidance batons, and being really excited about giant corndogs in a carnival riot. When Jack found out who was responsible for the footage getting out, his only 'punishment' for Jesse was that he had to find all the different permutations and forward them to Jack so Jack could laugh at them. He made a montage out of all of them and watched it when he needed a laugh.

With all the different nationalities at Overwwatch, April Fools jokes aren't very common. Jack laid down ground rules that any pranks had to be harmless and cleaned up by the one doing the pranking, and he himself rare pulls anything. But when he does, it's super-effective because it's unexpected. One year, he secretly developed a sweet noodle and a strawberry sauce that looked like marinara and served everyone else spaghetti and meatballs with marinara sauce...but then served himself what looked like spaghetti and marinara and topped it with crumbled Oreos and whipped cream and sprinkles. The reactions of everyone at the table were priceless.

Although they didn't have a whole lot of easy access to most things in SEP, Gabriel continued the tradition of taking Jack out for Indian food on his birthday and making no more fuss than that. Jack, for his part, couldn't do much in SEP, but Gabriel didn't want a fuss made, either. So late at night on November 28th, he baked Gabriel a chocolate cake for his birthday and snuck it into his room on the morning of the 29th. Once they were settled into Overwatch, however, Jack started quietly celebrating Gabriel's birthday by not only leaving him a small chocolate cake, but also a small wrapped gift and a 375ml bottle of a nice liquor. No card, no note, no witnesses, no fuss. That way, Gabriel can enjoy being discreetly fussed over in peace. Usually, a slightly-tipsy Gabriel will wander into Jack's room later looking for the second cake he knows Jack will have waiting for him and, although he won't admit it, for the comfort of Jack's company. Come June 14th, Gabriel takes Jack to a restaurant as per tradition. If there's someplace new and exotic, he takes Jack there. If not, there's a good Indian place that Jack likes, and the familiarity is comforting.

In one particularly tense year, Jack was being pulled in multiple directions as per usual but they were all important things and he was getting overworked. Unacceptably, in Gabriel's opinion. He was barely sleeping, he wasn't cooking even for himself, and the Commander of Blackwatch was ready to go on the warpath...so he initiated an unscheduled joint Overwatch/Blackwatch training drill. It was basically 'capture the flag', only the 'flag' was Jack so for Overwatch it was 'rescue the hostage' and for Blackwatch, 'keep your prisoner'. Gabriel brought Jack a mug of drugged coffee, waited for it to take effect, and then carried his exhausted work husband off. Jack woke up in the depths of a Blackwatch facility, with a smirking Gabriel offering him coffee and strawberry Toaster Strudels, and realized he'd been kidnapped. He stretched, looked around, and looked at Gabe.
     "Did you drug me?"
     "*smirking* Yes, sir."
     "Well, I feel better than I have all week."
     "That's because you actually slept."
When Jack realized he was effectively incommunicado until Overwatch 'rescued' him and thus, effectively on vacation, he reflexively blurted "I could kiss you" to Gabriel, who smirked and countered with, "In front of the children?" Jack blushed and backed down, but he did enjoy having no responsibilities past cooking for the Blackwatch agents. Ana and Reinhardt jointly took over his duties, both sides got a good training experience, and Gabriel got the cookies and biscuits he'd been missing...not to mention the satisfaction of seeing his work husband laughing again. When Jack was finally reinstated, he immediately discussed delegation with Ana and Reinhardt to make sure things didn't get that bad again.

Remember that "Jack running and waving things" meme? The first time Genji met with the Strike-Commander, he was barely patched up and high on painkillers and when Jack introduced himself, he stared at Jack for a long moment and then whispered, "...night of fire..." which naturally caused Jack to blush and hope no one else heard that. Jack tried to bring up the idea of Genji joining Overwatch, and in his drugged-up haze, Genji agreed to join on the condition that Jack do the Night of Fire dance for him. Jack joked that he did still have the costume, prompting Angela to protest that Genji had too many painkillers in his system to really be aware of what he was agreeing to, and couldn't be held to that agreement. Once Genji was more sober, however, he refused to give an answer until he'd seen Jack dance, which naturally he did. Jack fussed over Genji while he was healing, often slipping into Japanese because it was easier for Genji to admit to things in his native language, which prompted Genji to find a reasonable translation for "Mr. Mom". He settled on "otou-ka-san". Once he was able to gently go to the athletics facility and test out his body, he started giving Jack pointed looks at some of the j-pop he listened to and even more pointed looks at the gentler j-pop he played when he was doing non-running exercises because that sure was a lot of songs about unrequited love. And if Gabriel was in the gym as well, Genji noticed that the most poignant lines got Jack looking at his work husband. Genji once asked tactfully, in Japanese if there was a reason for that. Jack sidestepped in such a way that he obliquely confirmed Genji's suspicions but also communicated that it was better to not bring it up.

The day Ana was lost was one of the hardest Jack's ever lived through. She was one of his oldest friends, and Fareeha was like a daughter to him. That she'd refused to evacuate didn't ease any of his guilt or pain or make it any easier to break the news to her daughter. He walled himself away severely in order to complete the mission and make it back to HQ, but Fareeha hugging him in shared grief broke some of the walls and they cried together. Gabriel found him later, in the same room, unable to muster the will to stand up and walk back to his quarters. It was a long handful of hours hugging his work husband, letting him cry, before Gabriel could get him into his bed. There may have been betrayal by sedative involved. Although Jack was up and performing his duties the next day, everyone could see his grief in the grimness of his expression, the tiredness in his voice, and the way the light seemed to have gone out of him. It was days before he started responding again to Gabriel's jokes and flirtations, and although the light eventually came back as he walled his grief away the same way he'd walled away the grief for his little sister, it was never quite as bright.

The months leading up to the end were tense, stressful, and Gabriel was beside himself trying to keep Jack from completely retreating inside himself. Root beer floats became a nearly nightly occurrence, and Gabe did everything he could to help and support his work husband both personally and in his official capacity, but it was barely enough to keep things from getting much worse, forget actually making anything better.

===
The end of Overwatch
===

As soon as Blizzard tells us what the fuck happened, I'll incorporate it. As things stand, we start with explosions and an armed invasion force. Jack was making his way down a partially-lit corridor, trying to get away from fire and smoke, when the figure blocking the hall several yards away resolved into Gabriel. He had his shotguns drawn and was glaring, teeth bared, at Jack as if he were the absolute scum of the Earth and it was Gabriel's holy duty to cleanse him from the planet. Jack hesitated, confused and afraid, and Gabriel fired. The shot went wide, clipping him in the side, and then another explosion knocked Gabriel into the wall and Jack off his feet. Jack crawled down the hall to his work husband's body, but there was no pulse. Gabriel was dead. Now heartbroken with the loss of everyone and everything he'd cared about, Jack made his way to his office (which was in an area that was still untouched) and took off his Strike-Commander's jacket. It was damaged, torn and singed and bloody. He folded it neatly and placed it on his desk. Then he pulled up the picture he stared at so often - himself, Gabe, and Ana - and using his own blood, blotted out all three of their faces as a message that all three of them were dead. The jacket served as a sign that he was alive, and had left of his own volition. Jack made his way out of the ruined HQ, bought as much Jack Daniels as he could carry, and found an abandoned building to hole up in. He spent the next week or so trying to maintain a state of heavy inebriation, drowning his heartbreak, punching the brick walls of his shelter for a lack of any better way to express his pain.

What Jack didn't know is that there was an invader behind him, and that's who Gabriel was glaring - and shooting - at. The invader shot a split second before Gabe did, the impact throwing Gabriel's aim off. He died in despair, knowing that he'd shot his work husband and that Jack thought he hated him. Angela revived him, and he immediately led her to Jack's office where the 'I'm alive, but think of me as dead' message did absolutely nothing to reassure either of them. Initially, Gabriel joined Talon as a deep-undercover agent. "Reaper" had been established as a brutal mercenary years ago, and joining up gave Gabriel a shot at both whoever had ordered the destruction of Overwatch and also the UN forces that had made Jack's life hell in the final months. He maintained very careful contact with Angela, and carried an Overwatch emergency beacon on him in case things went wrong enough that he needed an extraction.

While Gabriel can go to smoke, he would literally rather bleed to death because putting himself back together is worlds harder than going to smoke and he's terrified of not being able to do it, being stuck forever as a cloud of smoke or worse, putting himself back together....wrong. He basically only goes to smoke if it's an involuntary reaction to a situation where survival is pretty much impossible. The first time he set off his beacon, he had intended for Angela to pick up on it and come get him...but Jack showed up instead. Seeing him act so cold, not responding to their Boy Scout joke, fucked Gabriel up hard. He thought Jack hated him, and rightfully so, although why Jack would bother saving his life if he hated Gabriel baffled him. The second time he set off the beacon, and Jack showed up to save his life, he started questioning if his assumptions were even correct. The third time, he deliberately set up a suspicious situation and wounded himself figuring the only reason Jack would walk into what looked like a trap was if he still cared. Jack walked in, and not only displayed distress at Gabriel being wounded but responded when Gabriel invoked one of their patterns. By the time Gabe scraped his mind back together from the horror of learning that Jack not only still cared but was emotionally wounded and walled away even more severely than after the deaths of his father and sister, Jack had already left.

Gabriel never told Angela that he'd found Jack. At first, it was because he couldn't deal with Jack hating him. After realizing that Jack was incredibly broken, he declined to mention Jack to Angela because he knew that no one else had even the most remote chance of reaching Jack where he's walled himself away. His missions became a dual game of cat and mouse - first, toying with Talon and second, trying to get himself injured badly enough to justify setting off the beacon and luring Jack in so he could try (through the pain) to reach his work husband and keep him from leaving as soon as Gabe was patched up enough to survive. He didn't make any progress on that front until the crash in the Siberian tundra. He hadn't expected Jack to find him, but he did and Gabriel managed to convince him to not leave. That's when he resolved to quit Talon, to quit everything that wasn't Jack. He woke up in a hospital and was able to confirm that Jack was still wearing his dog tag in a silent declaration of lifelong devotion, and Gabriel threw away all his fear and pride to admit that he'd lied. He had a second chance, a chance to make things right with Jack, and he wasn't going to let anything interfere. Not even his own issues.

===
Before and after the wedding
===

Jack occasionally wore one of Gabe's shirts just for the moment of braingears screeching when his husband saw it. He liked the little demonstrations that even though he thinks he looks like an old man, Gabriel still finds him distractingly attractive. Gabriel, for his part, was greatly surprised when Jack confessed that he still had no experience past anything they'd done in bed together, that he'd never done anything with all the dates Gabriel set him up on. That no one had talked Jack Morrison into their bed. They'd tried, but Jack wasn't interested in anyone but Gabe. Jack still forgot and left the strawberry soda in the freezer too long, and Gabe still laughed until it hurt and licked it off, but now it led to sex as well as showering. Particularly when Jack splashed some onto his husband and then demonstrated what it felt like to have it licked off. While not exactly shy about doing sexual things, it did take Jack a bit to get used to this new aspect to their relationship and he has a mindset of 'the one who initiates clearly wants to do something specific, and it would be rude to interrupt'. He and Gabe had a talk about that, so if Gabriel wants some action but doesn't care what, he makes sure to verbally express that. Once Jack got more comfortable with initiating, he started doing things like assaulting Gabe while he does the dishes. At first, just some kissing and hugging from behind and then whoops, hands in the pants and Gabe clinging helplessly to the counter. At least once, he 'accidentally' dropped food on Gabe's lap and then insisted on cleaning it up and just...transitioned from cleaning up to going down.

They decided to have a very private wedding - Gabriel because he didn't want anyone but Jack seeing him get emotional, and Jack because he didn't want anyone knowing he was alive. But once the deed was done, it was inevitable that someone would leak that news, and while Angela would probably be the first to hear it, she wouldn't hesitate to spread the news to anyone else she was in contact with. With that in mind, the plan was that they would pack suitcases and head straight to the airport as soon as they were married, choosing a destination and buying tickets at the last minute. By the time anyone tried to look for them, they'd be on the other side of the planet having a fancy-ass honeymoon, no expense spared.
     'Nope.'
     'Fuck you.'
     'We don't want your congratulations.'
     'See you next month.'
     'So long.'
     'Bye bye.'
     'Don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you.'
     'God, Jack, you're so corny.'
     'I'm a country boy, Gabe, what do you want?'
     'Cookies.'
     'Chocolate chip?'
     'You know it.'
     '*kissing*'

Once they were on their honeymoon, Gabriel delighted in making Jack melt and fluster in public with demonstrations of affection. It didn't take him long to figure out that Jack took equal delight in returning the favor by sexually dominating Gabriel once they were out of the public eye - even if that was just an empty hallway. With all their years of Jack technically being the one in charge, this give-and-take satisfied both Jack's desire to not be in charge and Gabriel's desire to have Jack actually be in charge. Granted with Gabe's issues, it took several years before Jack's 'emotional persistence hunter' thing finally wore down the last defenses and made him someone that Gabriel trusted completely enough that him being in charge was a huge turn-on rather than something that got Gabriel going on the defensive. Jack knows he's gotten his husband good when Gabe calls him mi rey instead of the usual mi sol. That completely open, vulnerable Gabe is something no one else has ever seen, and Jack expresses how much he treasures it by saving his sexually dominant side for when no one but his husband will see it.

They started their honeymoon in Dorado, in penthouse of the fanciest, most expensive hotel in the city. After a week, when the reporters started trickling in and lying in wait, they took a series of planes and then a rented SUV to some woods in the middle of nowhere in the United States, where they ditched the rental at the foot of a trail and hiked up to a cabin that was off the grid but still comfortably furnished. Running water from a well, solar electricity, and kitchen appliances. The spent two weeks there, Jack pan-frying fish he'd caught and Gabriel skinny-dipping in a stream and giving his husband cold and wet kisses, cuddling at night in front of a wood fire. The reporters who were dismayed to find out they'd just missed Morrison and Reyes in Dorado did their best to track them down in the woods, even managing to find the locked SUV, but it was several miles of hiking uphill to the cabin and none of them were in good enough shape to manage that. When they came back down, they found one reporter had set up a makeshift camp by the SUV, lying in wait, but he was asleep. He woke up as they were driving off. They went to LA next, where Gabriel had a luxurious apartment complete with a very expensive grand piano downstairs. Gabriel put on a private concert for Jack, both of them wearing very nice suits, with the intent of making Jack's pants burst into flames. He got topped on the piano bench, with Jack being very glad he had the foresight to start carrying little bottles of lube on his person. Upstairs, the master bedroom featured a 12-foot circular rotating bed with a ceiling-mounted mirror. It took Jack a bit to adjust and stop being overwhelmed by the sheer hedonism of that apartment.

When they got back from their honeymoon and word got out that they were both alive, inevitably they started getting "visitors" who wanted to turn Jack back into a figurehead for one cause or another. Angela was the first, but Gabriel told her in very blunt terms about the abuse Jack suffered growing up, and how he walls himself away. How badly walled away he was when he was a recruit, how much Gabriel had to work to keep him from retreating inside himself over the years, and how he hadn't had to do that nearly as much once Jack decided to retire. Angela remembered countless incidents of Jack looking somber and grim and realized she had been seeing a maladaptive coping mechanism and withdrew her suggestion.

Other visitors that came around to talk Jack out of retirement were faced with an unamused Gabriel Reyes informing them in an angry and threatening tone that the Strike-Commander was retired, repeated as needed with more anger, volume, and weaponry. Especially if Jack was looking the slightest bit unhappy, because Gabriel knows the look of 'I don't want to do it, but it's My Duty, isn't it?' Jack gets. When things reached that point, Gabriel kissed him gently and murmured - in Spanish - that the visitor was stepping on Jack's foot. Jack is bad at figuring out where his boundaries are and realizing when he's starting to wall himself away, but he trusts his husband completely, so he'll go with whatever Gabe says on that front. When Gabe tells him his foot's being stepped on, he goes into the kitchen to not let himself brood and distract himself by making cookies while his husband handles things. When the cookies are done, he brings a dozen on a plate out to Gabriel, and something roughly like this takes place:
     "*takes a cookie* Thanks, mi sol. General, do you see this fresh, warm cookie in my hand? My husband, the former Strike-Commander, just made these for me. That means it's time for you to leave because I'm going to eat this plate of cookies while they're still warm, and then I'm going to fuck my husband's brains out in thanks. *stuffs cookie in mouth* ...whether you're still here or not."
If the visitor is smart, they leave at that point. If they're not smart, Gabriel eats the plate of cookies and then pulls Jack into his lap for a heavy make-out session. There was one guy who stuck it out in attempts to call their bluff, but left when the pants came off and it became apparent that they weren't bluffing.

Jack and Gabriel didn't make any kind of formal announcement that they got married; they just dropped the 'work' off of 'work husband'. With Jack, 'you mean your work husband?' just got a cold pause and a deliberate '...no.' Gabriel went straight to a sharp look and 'did I stutter?' With the exceptions of Ana and potentially Reinhardt and Torbjorn, no one had really seen them in any dynamic outside of Jack being the Strike-Commander, and thus, Gabriel deferring to him when push came to shove. They had no idea the dynamic really went the other way, so it confused them greatly when all of a sudden Jack is deferring to Gabriel and Gabe's gone 100% attack dog defending Jack.
     "Jack, call off your work husband!"
     "You know what makes me not want to do that? You casually inferring that my husband is a dog I keep on a leash. *pause* Besides, I retired. I have no rank anymore. *smirk* The only power I have over him is in the bedroom."
And at that point the friend realizes that they're not joking, they got married and finally started doing what everyone thought they should have been doing for years.

Although Jack now sees his primary purpose in life as 'dote on my husband', he's still horrible at saying no when someone asks him if he'll do a thing for them. At one point, he and Gabriel were in a coffee shop, Gabe at the counter and Jack holding a table, when a middle-aged woman approached Jack and started coming on to him. He tried to extricate himself gracefully, but she didn't let up, trying to press her number on him and get him to accept her invitation to some event. Gabriel walked over and handed jack his drink, then draped an arm around his husband's shoulders. The woman did not take the hint. Gabe started kissing Jack and calling him tooth-rottingly sweet nicknames. She still didn't take the hint until Gabriel urged Jack to drink his coffee because 'I know you're tired from all that sex we had last night' and they began making out. Then, finally, she huffed and walked off. Jack murmured 'is she gone?' into Gabe's mouth, then shyly said, 'my hero' when Gabe confirmed she had left and resumed their kiss.

As awkward as the coffee shop woman was, that was nothing compared to the thin, dark-haired guy with ratty-looking mustache in a club who came on to Jack so hard and fast that he started retreating inside himself, not answering and trying to avoid eye contact, praying his husband would see and intervene. Gabriel did see and swoop in, but the ratty dude would not take no for an answer. Jack hid gratefully behind his husband, feeling dirty and highly uncomfortable, while Gabriel mantled and did some rage posturing and possibly inflicted some physical damage. Needless to say, they cut their night out short and went home where Gabriel held his clingy husband and soothed him until he came out of himself again.