Cozy evening

[moonshadows]

“You’re too wound up,” Sombra said with a scowl. “Go hang out with your boyfriend.”

“He’s not-”

“Papi. I saw the video. You were kissing him, he was kissing you, you’re so sweet together it makes my teeth hurt. He makes you happy,” she said almost plaintively. “Go spend some time with him. Unwind. Come back when you feel less like murdering people, because you’re the heart behind this whole operation. Okay?”

Reaper stood at the window, watching Jack watch the news from the couch. Would he even want company? Would he want to babysit the fucking mess that Reaper was? He stood there, in the dark, and watched until Jack got up to go to the bathroom. Then he misted around to the back door and seeped underneath it. He didn’t need to bother Jack with being a pathetic, needy wreck. He could just…lurk under the couch, and know that Jack was close. But as he made his way across the living room, the bathroom door opened.

“Hey, sweetie! I wasn’t-”

Abort! Abort! Reaper reversed course, fleeing for the back door.

“Wait! Sweetie?”

Footsteps following as Reaper slipped back under the door.

“Come back! Please!”

Out in the night, Reaper curdled by the back fence and watched as Jack stood in the doorway. As if the universe thought this was a cheesy romance movie, the rain that had been threatening all day began as a cold drizzle.

“Please, sweetie,” Jack pleaded, stepping out into the rain, Jack, no, what are you doing? “Please come back. I’m sorry. Please…”

Oh shit. Was he crying? He was getting soaked.

“Please, sweetie.”

Fuck, he sounded…hopeless. Heartbroken. Gabriel was hugging him almost before the thought finished. They clung to each other, in the dark, in the rain, murmuring I’m sorry and I love you until shuddering turned to shivering and Jack whispered, “Let’s go inside.”

They didn’t say another word until they were inside, huddled together on the couch under a pair of decorative blankets that had been folded up and draped over the back.

“Are you okay?” Jack asked quietly, blue eyes worried as they roved over Gabriel’s face and filled him with shame.

He couldn’t answer; the words stuck in his throat and he pressed his face into the blanket covering Jack’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, sweetie. You don’t have to talk. Just having you here is enough.”

“Jack…”

“I’m sorry I startled you. Please don’t run away from me like that again. I was terrified that I’d fucked up, that I’d hurt you somehow.”

“Jack, no.”

Gabriel raised his head to kiss Jack, only to find himself kissed. Lips first, then forehead, cheeks, temples, Jack’s lips painting heat on his skin until he trembled under the force of those gentle blows. Jack cared, and Gabriel melted under the tender onslaught, hugged to Jack’s chest.

“Thank you for coming back,” Jack murmured once Gabriel had been kissed into submission.

“You shouldn’t have followed me. You got soaked.”

“I don’t care what happens to me anywhere near as much as I care about you, sweetie.”

“Why do you call me that?” he whispered darkly, furious at himself.

Jack stroked his hair. “Because you don’t want to be called by name.”

“But I’m not…” Not worthy. “…sweet.”

“You don’t have to be.” Awkwardly, Jack sang, “Don’t care what is written in your history, long as you’re here with me.”

“Is that…”

“I don’t care who you are, where you’re from, what you did, as long as you love me.”

“Backstreet Boys?” Despite himself, Gabriel was grinning. “You’re a sap, Jack.”

Jack kissed him. “And how come you knew what I was singing?” he teased.

A wordless grumble was his answer, and Jack laughed.

“You’re my sweetie, love. Always have been, always will be. All that’s changed is I get to say it out loud now.” He hugged Gabriel for a few moments before asking, “Rough week?”

This time, he got a wordless grumble of assent.

“Well, like I said, you don’t have to talk. I’m here for whatever you need.”

“I just need you,” Gabriel whispered.

Slowly, he scooted down the couch until he could lay down with his head on Jack’s leg. Jack laid a hand on his head and gently stroked his hair.

It was very soothing.

After a few minutes, though, Jack’s hand started hesitating in a way that made Gabriel’s stomach knot up.

“Jack?”

“Hm? Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking that it’s so nice and cozy being bundled up and listening to the rain and having you here, the only way it could be better is if I were reading my book, but it’s over by the chair.”

In a heartbeat, Gabriel was by the chair, clutching the blanket with one hand so it didn’t fall down and picking up Jack’s favorite book with the other. When he returned to hand it over, Jack’s adoring expression made him feel warm and gooey inside. With one hand, Jack reached out for and took the book. With the other, he cupped Gabriel’s cheek and urged him closer for a kiss.

It was somewhat of a surprise, when the kiss ended, to find that he was sprawled across Jack’s lap, propping himself up with one elbow on the arm of the couch.

“Comfortable?” Jack asked warmly, a teasing sparkle in his eyes.

“You can’t read like this,” Gabriel muttered, looking away.

Before Jack could protest, he dissolved enough to scoot back down the couch and resume his earlier position.

“Sweetie…”

Gabriel reached up to grab Jack’s hand and pull it down to kiss. “Now we both have everything we need for a cozy evening.”

Jack squeezed Gabriel’s hand briefly before stroking his hair again. “Let me know if you want anything, sweetie.”

The sleepy murmur that he got in response made him smile.