Nice things

[moonshadows]

Jack wanted to cook dinner for them. His lasagna, which he knew Gabriel adored. And then, hopefully, having his sweetie stay the night. Maybe breakfast in the morning. A fairly ambitious series of events, considering how the last few months had gone, but they’d made progress. After half a dozen mornings where Jack getting out of bed had triggered the swarm’s alarm routines – which resulted in Gabriel waking up under the bed as a cloud, in a panic, and then being so ashamed of himself that he’d left before Jack emerged from the bathroom – they’d had a breakthrough. Jack had been watching the news, with Gabriel laying on the couch, his head on Jack’s thigh, just soaking up affection after a harrowing week at Talon. Jack’s fingers in his hair had been remarkably soothing, and Gabriel found himself relaxed enough that he drifted in and out of consciousness, and finally fell asleep.

But when Jack stood up, the sudden motion tripped his alarm routine and he found himself a puddle of particles under the couch, alert and ready for danger, while three feet in front of the couch, Jack was frantically calling for him. He’d seeped out and solidified, unable to bring himself to just leave with Jack that upset, and they’d spent half an hour hugging and apologizing to each other. Jack was particularly distraught that he’d been startling Gabriel awake into combat readiness, and only the frantic kisses he lavished on Gabriel’s face and neck kept him from fleeing in shame. Still, once they’d calmed down, Gabriel had blurted out ‘I’ll just go’ and wisped out of the house before Jack could say more than ‘no’. Furious at himself, he’d had a long talk with the nanite swarm about exceptions to the alarm routine.

After that, any time Gabriel was less than fully awake, Jack made sure to vocalize before he moved. Sleepy wordless humming when he woke up in the mornings, and a small gesture of affection before getting out of bed. A briefly-tighter hug, or a squeeze of Gabriel’s hand. He still found the bed empty when he got out of the bathroom, but when he went to the kitchen, he’d find his sweetie there making coffee. If Gabriel fell asleep with him on the couch, he would softly voice his intent to carry his sweetie to bed so the swarm didn’t freak out at someone handling Gabriel’s body.

So it wasn’t an impossible goal, arriving for dinner and staying for breakfast, but Gabriel’s lifetime of paranoia could still cause him to fuck up somehow.

He wisped in to find the lasagna in the oven and a tossed salad on the table, which had been set, and a bottle of wine already open and breathing. After the first few times Jack had greeted him while he was still mist, only to have Gabriel freak out and retreat, Jack made an effort to either not be in the kitchen or its attached dining area (since Gabriel generally entered through the back door) or to deliberately ignore his presence until he announced it himself. This evening was no exception, and when Gabriel stepped into the living room, Jack waited until he’d taken a few steps closer before looked up from his book with a brilliant smile.

“Good timing, sweetie,” he said warmly. “Lasagna’s got a few minutes left. Sit with me?”

Gratefully, Gabriel sat on the couch next to him and expressed exactly how glad he was to be there in the motion of his lips against Jack’s. Then he laid his head on Jack’s shoulder and just reveled in the physical closeness of being held.

“Timer’s going to go off in three,” Jack murmured. Forewarning about sudden sounds helped forestall panic reactions.

“Smells good,” Gabriel murmured into Jack’s neck.

Soft lips on his jaw made him want to melt. “I missed you, sweetie.”

Gabriel sighed. “I missed you, too.”

From the kitchen, five beeps signaled the timer Jack had set. Jack didn’t loosen his embrace, but waited for Gabriel to make the first move. Then, with brief kisses, they got up from the couch and went into the kitchen. Jack urged Gabriel to sit, silencing anything that looked like it might be a protest by kissing him, before fetching the lasagna out of the oven. It smelled divine. Jack poured the wine, served the salad, and then whisked their plates away to load them up with steaming squares of lasagna. Sounds of appreciation were what passed for dinner conversation, but Jack’s smile said he didn’t mind. Jack served them both seconds, moving his place closer when he returned so that he could slide an arm around Gabriel and feed him bites.

Gabriel was quietly thankful that Jack had never expressed alarm over how quiet and withdrawn he was. He knew that Gabriel had spent his whole life holding everyone at a distance, and being vulnerable like this was a new and terrifying development. He was always careful to be encouraging in his words, not saying you did this wrong or I don’t like what you did, but phrasing it as this makes me unhappy, what would make me happy is if you did this instead. It absolutely delighted him that Gabriel was opening up so completely, and he tried his hardest to make that an appealing idea.

Between the kisses, the wine, and the comfort of Jack’s lasagna, this was shaping up to be a nap-on-the-couch evening. Jack must have been able to tell, because he kissed Gabriel’s forehead and murmured, “Blanket?”

“Yeah,” he murmured back, nuzzling Jack’s neck.

They moved slowly from the dining area to the couch, Jack sitting first and Gabriel curling up with his head on Jack’s leg, clutching the edges of the blanket he’d draped over himself. Jack turned the TV to some nature show, the volume down low enough to be a comforting drone, and petted Gabriel’s hair while he talked quietly.

“Winston reached out to me the other day. Says he’s been getting shipments of all kinds of stuff at Watchpoint Gibraltar – construction materials and bots to put it to use repairing things, equipment and food supplies. He can’t figure out where it’s coming from or why.”

“Hah.” Gabriel smiled and tugged the blanket higher.

“Apparently someone’s been stalking Jesse and paying his tabs, no matter where he goes. Winston said Jesse was confused as hell and didn’t know whether to take advantage of it and drink more or be wary of it and drink less. Or maybe drink less but make it the good stuff.”

An amused sound was Gabriel’s only response.

“You know Oxton has a girlfriend?”

“Emily.”

“Yup. Apparently Oxton got a Christmas card with an actual handwritten note inside saying if you decide she’s the one, go here and it’s on me and there was a jewelry store’s business card taped underneath. No signature or return address to say who pre-paid for an engagement ring.”

Gabriel’s smile broadened.

“So what have you been up to, sweetie?”

“Went to the Temple of Anubis,” Gabriel said softly. “Everything inside is slag now. The God Program is dead.”

“I’m glad. No one needed that thing around. You did good, sweetie.”

“He tried to control my swarm.” Gabriel chuckled. “It was almost cute.”

Jack laughed.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Gabriel occasionally pulling Jack’s hand down to kiss.

“Do you want to see any of them?” Jack asked quietly.

Gabriel pressed Jack’s hand to his cheek. “I don’t know. If they want to see me, maybe.”

Jack didn’t press the issue, thumb stroking Gabriel’s cheek. A minute later, the grip on his hand loosened and Gabriel sighed as he slipped into sleep.

=

“Oh, sweetie, you’re so tired.”

Jack’s voice, tender and gentle, floated into the dreamless dark Gabriel’s mind inhabited.

“I’m gonna pick you up and carry you to bed, okay?”

“Mmm.”

“Alright. This is me getting off the couch…”

The warm firmness under his head shifted, but Gabriel remained in his drowsing state.

“There we go. Now I’m gonna slide my arms under you…”

His body shifted; he reached blindly out and draped his arms around Jack’s neck, head on the other man’s shoulder.

“Good, now I’m gonna stand up. Here we go…” A lurch. “And now I’m walking to the bedroom.”

“Mmm.”

“Alright, now I’m going to lay you down.”

Gabriel let his arms go slack and nestled into the pillow his head was laid on.

“Oh, sweetie, you look so peaceful. I’m gonna lie down behind you and take a picture, okay?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Warmth against his back. Rustling. Lips on his neck.

“Thank you, sweetie. Now I’m going to hit the bathroom and I’ll be right back.”

“Mmm.”

The warmth retreated. Silence.

“I’m back, sweetie, and I’m climbing into bed now.”

Gabriel held out one arm.

“You want to be the big spoon? Okay.”

Warmth against his chest. Gabriel pulled it closer, pulled Jack closer, and sighed happily.

“Good night, sweetie. I love you.”

“Mmm. Luvyutoo.”

===

Jack hummed, kissed Gabriel’s hand, and stretched. Gabriel surfaced from the realm of sleep and stretched as well, blinking sleep away in time to smile sleepily as Jack rolled over to smile at him.

“Morning, sweetie.” Jack kissed him, then hugged him to his chest. “Mmmm. Sleep well?”

Gabriel melted into the warmth of Jack’s chest. “Yeah. Had you.”

“Awww, sweetie.”

Lips on his forehead made him feel warm inside as well as out.

“Okay. I need to pee. Pancakes and bacon for breakfast?”

“Mmm. Sounds good. I’ll get the coffee.”

Gabriel misted out of bed and into the kitchen, where he put the coffee on and then stood there, waiting for it to brew and sleep to fade. He was still standing there when Jack walked into the kitchen and headed towards the fridge, but a single outstretched arm brought him over for a hug.

“That’s more like it,” Gabriel said in a softly teasing voice.

Head on Gabriel’s shoulder, Jack chuckled. “Rough week?”

“Mm. The God Program wasn’t my only project.”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve been in touch with Angela. There's a tank of nutrient fluid in a secret lab where a growing swarm of nanites is busily regrowing and maintaining Genji's missing…bits.”

This was the first time Gabriel had mentioned being in touch with any of their old friends.

“So…” Jack picked his words carefully. “She knows, then?”

“About the nanites?” Gabriel sighed. “Yeah. She knows. Has known since her first year with us.”

While it was very encouraging that Gabriel was talking so easily, much less about their past, that wasn’t what Jack meant. “I guess she knew you’d survive being shot and…whatever Moira injected you with?”

Tension crept into Gabriel’s body. “Yeah?”

“I didn’t,” he said quietly.

Gabriel’s arms tightened, and he buried his face in Jack’s neck. “Shit, Jack, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, sweetie.” Gentle kisses on any part of Gabriel that Jack could reach. “You protected me, like you always have, and you’re my sweetie.”

The coffee maker chirped that it had finished brewing. As they separated to pour mugs of delicious, life-giving elixir, Gabriel kissed Jack.

“I’m still sorry,” he said in a more somber tone than Jack liked to hear.

“I still love you,” Jack countered teasingly, kissing the tip of Gabriel’s nose. The look of cautious hope that got made him smile. “Pancakes and bacon?”

“Mmm. Yes, please.”

“You want to help, or are you just spectating today?”

Gabriel took a gulp of coffee and set his mug on the counter. “I can help, if it’s not too complicated.”

Jack kissed him. “Very easy. You watch the bacon, and flip it when I say.”

“Mmm.” Gabriel leaned in for another kiss. “I can do that.”

In comfortable silence, they prepared and ate breakfast. Then they adjourned to the couch for morning cuddles.

“So,” Jack murmured against Gabriel’s hair, “was it you doing those nice things for our friends?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought so. Especially considering the nice things you did for me. The press conference on my front step was a little jarring, but I figured you needed a way to ask if I was angry without exposing yourself.”

Gabriel chuckled. “Sombra was the one responsible for that. Little minx kept trying to get me to talk to you, but…” He nuzzled against Jack for a moment and when he spoke again, it was in a whisper. “I was afraid.”

“Oh, sweetie…”

They kissed for a few minutes, until the tension had left Gabriel’s body again.

“Last night,” Jack said softly, cradling Gabriel against his chest, “you said you might want to talk to our friends if they wanted to talk to you.”

“Yeah.”

“I sent them that picture I took of us.”

Gabriel ripped himself out of Jack’s arms and looked at the other man with an expression of betrayal bleeding into anger, but Jack was…sad. That cooled the anger so fast that Gabriel froze, torn between the desire to erase that sadness and the urge to flee in shame because he’d fucked up.

“I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know you could survive,” Jack said softly. “I tried to tell them that I thought it was you doing the nice things for them, and they told me…” He blinked and swallowed. “They said you couldn’t have done those nice things because you were dead. That you’d died on international television. I couldn’t stand hearing the pity in their voices, sweetie. Like they thought I was senile, delusional, and they were trying gently to bring me back to reality. I’m sorry. I should have asked permission.”

Gabriel couldn’t think past the urge to flee and the desire to erase Jack’s pain. He spread his arms for a hug, and kissed Jack fiercely when he accepted Gabriel’s invitation. The kiss broke apart into each of them trying to lavish attention on the other, but Jack got his hands on Gabriel’s head and held him still, covering his face and neck with gentle kisses, erasing the urge to flee and turning him into the pathetically needy creature he was, greedy for physical contact. He melted against Jack’s chest, full of warmth and love, all thoughts of anything else banished.

“Does this mean I’m forgiven?” Jack asked warmly.

“Mmm.”

“It really is a cute picture of us.”

“I want a copy,” Gabriel murmured.

Jack chuckled. “I need your number for that, sweetie.”

“Mmm. Later then.”

“Now that I think about it…Angela didn’t try to tell me that you were dead. She just changed the subject. And Ana looked troubled, but she didn’t say anything, either.”

Gabriel chuckled.

“I guess there was that time in Cairo that we crossed paths and she shot you. What did you say to her?”

“That I was glad she wasn’t dead.”

Jack kissed his hair and laughed softly. “So she shoots you, you do the mist thing up to her perch, re-form, hug her, tell her you’re glad she’s not dead, and then retreat.”

Gabriel smiled into his chest. “Yup.”

“Oh, sweetie,” he laughed, “you should have seen her afterwards. She was so confused. I guess she suspects that was you. And once she sees the picture, she’ll know it was, because I told her how Reaper was never hostile to me.”

“Of course not,” Gabriel murmured. “I love you.”

“How long?” Jack asked quietly.

“Mm. Remember when I first told you I couldn’t be in a relationship with anyone?”

“Yeah?”

“Wouldn’t have needed to make that clear if I didn’t want one.”

Jack hugged him tighter. “You’ve got one now, sweetie,” he breathed. “You’ve got me, and you won’t lose me without a fight.”

Gabriel smiled. “I’ll never let go, Jack.”

“If that was a Titanic reference, you’re not allowed to call me a sap anymore,” Jack teased. “And I’m not watching it with you.”

“Nah. Next weekend, we’re gonna order pizza and watch Disney’s Coco.”

Delighted, Jack hugged him tighter. “Whatever you want, sweetie. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Gabriel murmured. Then he groaned. “I don’t want to go back. I want to stay with you.”

“If you give me your number, I can text you sweet nothings during the day.”

“Mmm. Tempting.”

“And forward you the reactions when our friends see the picture.”

“Deal. Give me your phone.”

Laughing, they sat up and separated so Jack could fetch the device and Gabriel could put his information into it. Then they hugged and kissed and smiled at each other before Gabriel dissolved into mist and flowed away.