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“Jesus Jack, I told you we should have went down the river instead of crossing it!” Jack glanced up from the muddy water at the man in front of him. Gabriel Reyes, a man who could crush OR14 heads with his bare hands, the man who lead Overwatch through the Ominic Crisis-- was struggling to keep in balance as his leg was in a foot deep mud hole.
“Yeah, but going down the river would have added an extra two hours!” Jack hollered back as he grabbed onto Gabriel’s elbow, supporting him as he got his leg free.
It was supposed to be an easy mission, one that even a rookie recruit could finish without much help. For the Strike Commander and Blackwatch Commander, it was vacation. They were to fly to Lillehammer, a small town in Norway for a quick intel operation. It was Jack that stumbled across the mission, while he was mindlessly reading pages and pages of documents that needed his approval. Overwatch informants stationed in Oslo had heard a rumour that a wealthy businessman was taking a vacation in the ski-resort town. Although the man was not a high-risk priority by any means, he did have records of money laundering, linking himself to a weapons plant in Russia.
The inquiry should not have been passed onto Jack at all; his secretary would have passed it onto someone of lower rank if she got to it first. He started folding the document into the first steps of a paper airplane, something he did to any junk mail or irrelevant documents. He knew it was childish, and he lost count of the times he was rebuked by Ana for his behaviour. But he had to find something to look forward to when faced with the mounds of paperwork everyday.
His secretary was used to incoming planes aimed for her computer screen from behind. He would watch in delight at her reaction when she flinched or jumped when the plane suddenly appeared and crashed at her desk. She would spin around to face him, exasperation in her eyes, as he grinned and pressed the button that silently closed the glass wall that separated her desk area from his office.
Bless that woman’s heart.
He would have felt guilty for being a pest, if not for the fact that he knew she gave back as much as she took. The amount of times he choked on his first gulp of morning coffee to find salt was added instead of sugar; or when he was flipping through documents to find a very realistic spider printed on one of the pages that made his heart skip a beat. He was not fond of spiders, not after one SEP mission where they had to bunker down in a spider infested room for a night. But if anyone asked, he would deny it till the day he dies.
He was about to make the final fold when he paused midway, stared unseeingly at the paper while his mind turned. Gabriel and him have spoken about taking a break for weeks now. The last time they truly had a moment to themselves, was a trip to meet with the UN in Genova. The only time they left their connecting rooms was for official work; the rest of the trip was spent curled up around each other in bed. But that was a few months ago, and they were long overdue for some sort of break. He immediately called up Ana and discussed the plan. Jack watched her holoprojected face roll her eyes and groan at the idea, but he didn’t miss the small twitch of a smile. It was only after he bargained three night’s worth of babysitting services for Fareeha, that Ana agreed to cover for him. He looked at the paper with new admiration, before he continued to fold it. He could already imagine the look on Gabriel’s face when the paper plane hits him square on his forehead.
It turned out to be something along the lines of his expression now.
The man cursed under his breath as he wretched his arm from Jack’s grip, striding forward with his eyes now focused on the ground. They had been walking for three hours since they were forced to land about a ten hours hike from Lillehammer. It was past dusk and the light seemed to fade faster than usual in the thick forest.
They were meant to be dropped off maybe at most an hour away from the town. The intention was to keep their arrival undercover to avoid any unwanted attention. The pilot was a newer recruit, recently joined ranks in Overwatch. Unfortunately the day the mission was scheduled, Jack’s usual pilot was assigned on another higher priority route. When informed by his secretary that a pilot could drop them off on the way to Canada, Jack didn’t think much of it. Looking back now, he should have insisted on a more seasoned pilot.
The poor kid sounded like he was having a nervous breakdown when his stuttering voice crackled over the speakers at the two men. When they both reached the cockpit, the kid was apologizing without taking a breath, while simultaneously wiping his eyes at the continuous stream of tears. As much as Jack was unhappy with the situation, seeing the blubbering mess tugged a little pity from him, and he flashed the man a small reassuring smile. It wasn’t the kid’s decision to fly two of the most important people of the organization; he was just unlucky enough to be picked.
Gabriel, on the other hand, scowled with a thunderous look. His arms were crossed tightly across his chest and he fully extended his body so that he towered over the cowering man. Gabriel didn’t say a word, but he honestly didn’t have to. Jack thought every time the kid glanced at Gabriel, he pissed his pants just a little more.
With the pilot’s time constraint, he wouldn’t be able to fix his plane and also fly them closer, without being extremely late for his appointment. Jack could see Gabriel about to argue before he intercepted and offered that they could hike the rest of the way. As a procedure, all official Overwatch planes had enough survival gear and resources in case of emergencies. So with two backpacks filled with rations, water and camping supplies, Jack and Gabriel set out on their hike through the dense forests of Norway.
“I’m going to wring that boy’s neck when we get back to base,” Gabriel growled out as he smacked a tree branch away from his path. “Cadet Andrew Karrington. Number six, seven, four, nine, five. “
Jack rolled his eyes from behind him, huffing out an amused noise at him.
“Come on Gabe, it’s not so bad. Just treat it like a camping excursion! You know, hikes and campfires, sleeping in tents or under the stars. Just you and nature.” Jack took an exaggerated breath in, before letting it out loudly. “That fresh unfiltered mountain air. Nothing can beat that!”
“Says the boy from Indiana. I bet you slept outside with horses in the summer back at home. Did you know the only trees that exist in downtown L.A. are palm trees?” Gabriel said, He slowed down for a moment, eyes focused, when he suddenly slapped his arm. “Fucking mosquitoes taking chunks out of me, mud everywhere... Sure, go ahead and breathe in that mountain air. ” He squinted his eyes as he surveyed around him to see if there were anymore of those fuckers. “I wonder if they can even process our blood?”
Jack just laughed and lightly nudged him forward. He took the opportunity to swing his pack down and held it in front of him while he dug into a pocket. Eventually he took a granola bar out and waved it in front of Gabriel’s face.
Gabriel caught the bar, shooting Jack an annoyed glance and within seconds consumed and swallowed it.
Jack had been around the block long enough to recognize the neon signs pointing to the fact that Gabriel Reyes was getting hungry.
They ended up walking for another hour or so before finding a small clearing. Jack, being the self-appointed expert of camping, deemed it a good place to settle down for the night. Although it has been years since they had to set up a camp, like muscle memory, they seamlessly worked in tandem without saying a word. Jack was in charge of starting the fire, Gabriel was in charge of setting up the tent. Within half an hour, they finished and sat in front of the growing fire.
Gabriel had stopped muttering under his breath as soon as he sat down, arms outstretched across his knees to warm his hands against the flame. He sighed, letting his eyes shut as the heat slowly seeped past his cold clothes and onto his skin. He had known ever since the SEP days that if he didn’t have enough calories, his internal temperature would drop quickly. His serum- enhanced metabolism ate away at his energy at an outstanding pace. Without more than a few granola bars barely tying him over, he had expected himself to crash sooner than later.
Jack had an arm in each other their backpacks, rummaging around. Although Jack didn’t show it, he was starting to tire as well.
“Let’s see what we have here…” He took out a box in one hand, angling it towards the fire so he could read the label.
“And in this corner, we have a…. U.S. MRE!” Jack said, imitating an announcer jokingly. He took out another box from the other backpack and squinted. “And in the other corner… Another U.S. MRE! It was like these supplies were destined to be ours.”
Gabriel scoffed, but there was enough interest to entice him to open his eyes and glance over. He had expected Swiss rations, or even French or German ones. It was a pleasant surprise.
Jack handed over a box to Gabriel before opening his own. It seemed like not much has changed in the past years. “Mmm a delightful powdered fruit punch, chocolate bar, crackers, ugh beef chili… OH NICE! Jalapeno cheese spread!” Jack grinned, happily waving the packet at Gabriel who was searching through his own box.
“I’ll raise you the cheese spread with Pepperoni Pizza and a blackberry cobbler,” Gabriel said, that familiar teasing smile now warmed his expression now that they had food. Jack gaped for a moment, before leaning forward, eyes focused on the cobbler. Gabriel chuckled, shifting to shield his food with his body.
“Hey hey, back it up bud. Luck of the draw, you know the rules.”
Jack couldn’t help but pout, but moved back to sit up straight. “Aw Gabe, have some mercy. You know how disgusting the chili is. I’m not even fighting for your pizza, just share some of that cobbler.”
Gabriel shook his head, his smile morphed into a smug grin. “Nope!” He popped the ‘P’, deciding to ignore the puppy eyes aimed at him as he ripped open his MRE heater. He tucked the pizza and cobbler packets in the heater before he poured some water in and shook the bag.
Jack sullenly did the same with his packet, not bothering to shake the heater as he started on his crackers and cheese spread. He didn’t know why the spread was such a radioactive looking yellow, but it was honestly the holy grail of his meal.
A comfortable silence fell between them, both occupied with filling their stomachs. Gabriel didn’t realize just how hungry he was until he found himself halfway finished his last item, the cobbler. He glanced over at Jack, who was meticulously squeezing every ounce of cheese spread left in the packet over his last piece of cracker. Gabriel recognized that look of concentration. Normally it was reserved for studying notes and documents, which made the whole situation even more amusing to him.
“ Corazon... ”
Jack perked up, taking his eyes off from his task in question.
Gabriel held a spoonful of cobbler up for him.
Jack beamed at the sight, quickly moving towards him with his mouth open. Just as he was about to wrap his mouth around the spoon, Gabriel jerked his hand back and replaced the empty space with his mouth. Jack took a sharp breath in through his nose, eyes wide as Gabriel kissed him. He kissed him sweetly, tongue chasing his like he was trying to taste the spicy aftermath of his food. Jack was about to deepen the kiss when Gabriel broke it off and backed off slightly, allowing some space in between them. Jack, still reeling from the kiss had his mouth stuck open, which shut abruptly when a spoonful of delicious dessert was gently placed in his mouth.
“That... was for being such a good sport around me when I was grumpy,” Gabriel purred out, close enough to watch Jack’s pupils dilate some more.
Jack couldn’t help but let his eyes fall close when the delightful flavour burst on his tongue. A soft moan escaped as he happily savouring the sweet and tart taste of blackberry. Gabriel slid the spoon out from his mouth and leaned back to his spot, digging into the packet for his own bite of cobbler.
“You cruel, cruel man,” Jack murmured, eyes flashing when he opened them.
Gabriel smirked and continued eating as if nothing happened.
Jack laughed at him, his shoulders shaking. Gabriel couldn’t help the tingle in his stomach at the sound. Twenty years, twenty fucking years and the man could still make him feel like a high school boy.
Eventually when they both finished their meals and packed away the garbage, they sat close together, supporting each other’s weight, letting their tired bodies unwind for the day. Their interlaced hands rested on Jack’s lap as Jack lazily rubbed his thumb across Gabriel’s skin. The man had melted against Jack, finally warm and loose, breaths deep and slow. Jack would have guessed he was sleeping if he hadn’t already memorized the sound of him asleep.
“Not so bad now is it?” Jack murmured, his voice low and comforting.
Gabriel hummed, still staring unfocused into the campfire.
“Definitely better than that time in Iceland,” Jack said, amusement laced at his comment.
Gabe stiffened, immediately knowing which incident he was talking about. “I would say anything besides almost losing your limbs to frostbite would be better than Iceland.”
“It turned out alright in the end,” Jack said.
“Doesn’t mean you bolting straight into the blizzard wasn’t an idiotic idea, even though your commanding officer told your ass to stay back.” Gabriel gritted out, lethargy giving away to annoyance.
Jack at least had the decency to look a bit guilty, rubbing the back of his neck. “Ah yeah, but Lopez was still stuck back at that SUV and the snow was just getting worse.”
Gabriel clenched his teeth together.
“And you know--I mean, I wasn’t planning on staying out there long. A quick grab and go, back in no time kind of deal,” Jack waved his hands around, something he seemed to do when he was floundering.
“Do not start with those fucking excuses Jackie again, you knew how dangerous it was.” Gabriel released his hand in order to jab a finger to his forehead, pushing hard so that Jack jolted backwards.
“I’m not making excuses, I’m explaining my actions.”
“And I’ve heard them all before and I still call bullshit!” Gabriel said.
“Well it wasn’t enough danger to stop you from coming after me,” Jack bit back.
Gabriel’s jaw clenched, his eyes never leaving Jack’s.
“Who else would have had the knowledge and experience to rescue you in that condition? You were under my command. I wasn’t going to let any more of my people get hurt under my watch. For God’s sake Jack, you didn’t even bring extra gear! How the hell were you planning on surviving out there?”
“Lopez had his pack and supplies!” Jack retorted.
Gabriel scoffed, tilting his head back in disbelief. “How did you even survive through the program Jack?”
“I knew where the vehicle was, made sure I had enough on me for myself. I took extra care to remember the path we walked along so that I could track my way back. We all knew how long he was out there already! If I didn’t get to him when I did... ” Jack replied heatedly, still defending his case.
“Just--” Gabriel pinched the bridge of nose, expression pained. Jack wasn’t doing much better, deciding to stare into the fire, mouth set in a straight line.
Gabriel exhaled, letting his body slump sideways to land onto the grass. He rolled onto his back, finding the flames too bright at the moment.
They fought about the incident before, and many incidents since. Ultimately it stems back to the same issues, the same core problems. Jack will always be a hero; he will always focus on what is right and will go head on with anything in his way. It was how he was programmed to think, it was how his instincts were trained to react. Although Gabriel had managed to force him to think more logically over the past years… He couldn’t change his core values.
“Yeah, yeah I know… You saved him.”
The fight left him then, leaving him hollow. He was so mentally exhausted from always thinking, his mind continuously churning and evaluating, needing to be ten steps ahead. The tactician was so embedded in him, constantly tearing at his sanity. Gabriel didn’t want to be that person around Jack, he didn’t want to be paranoid in his presence. He wanted to his partner and his lover, he wanted to be his best friend and protector.
Gabriel opened his eyes, never registering they closed in the first place. He gazed unfocused up at the sky until his brain registered the sight. The vision before him silenced his mind, muffling that cynical voice that was constantly there. The treetops created a perfect frame, directing his attention to the immense amount of stars that seemed like they were painted across a deep black- blue canvas. He hadn’t realized just how much colour there was at night.
As a city boy, he didn’t spend much time staring up at the sky. The concrete jungle he grew up in didn’t allow it, and if he ever did glance at the sky between the cracks, it was a cold pitch black.
Jack laid down next to him, close enough to feel the heat which radiated off him. He was studying him. He felt the heavy gaze, but Gabriel couldn’t take his eyes off the sky. Eventually Jack gently grabbed his hand, interlacing their fingers again. Jack tightened his grip, pulling their hands to lay on top of his chest. Gabriel turned his body at the action, back against the campfire as he looked at Jack’s concerned expression. Jack smiled tentatively, bringing Gabriel's hand up to his lips to place a soft kiss.
“I’m sorry, I know it’s a sore subject.” Jack reached up to brush a curl back from Gabriel’s forehead before stroking down to cup his cheek. “I know you’re just worried for me, back then and now.”
Gabriel sighed, turning his cheek enough so he could kiss Jack’s palm. “Somebody has to look after you. With you in the limelight, I get that you’re blinded to a lot of things.”
“That’s why I have you behind me, staying in my shadows and watching my back,” Jack murmured, smoothing out Gabriel’s furrowed brows with his thumb. “I don’t mind taking the social pressure and responsibilities as long as I have you by my side.”
The burning logs crackled behind Gabriel, casting harmless embers in the air. They floated towards them, like floating fireflies dancing in the night. The warm orange light casted onto Jack’s face, his hair bright and gold. It softened the lines that showed his age, casting the mirage of his younger self to Gabriel. There were more lines now, some appeared naturally like the crinkles around his eyes whenever he smiled, and others from the tremendous amount of stress carried by the Strike Commander of Overwatch. He traced Jack’s face with his eyes, taking the time to commit this moment into his memory. Jack was breathtaking. But it was the unfiltered love expressed from his eyes that blinded him like the sun.
“ Mi Sol, ” Gabriel whispered, his voice too thick to be any louder. As if Jack couldn’t shine any brighter, he beamed at the endearment. He slipped his hand behind Gabriel’s neck and pulled him forward until their foreheads rested against each other, breath warm on each other’s faces. Gabriel swallowed, trying to relieve the lump in his throat. Jack’s hand drifted back to his cheek, thumb rubbing at the moisture in the corner of Gabriel’s eyes. He bridged the space between them, lips gently kissed him, feather-light. Gabriel responded with just the same amount of sweetness. There was no need to rush, no urgency for anything more.
Jack offered another affectionate kiss before tucking his nose to his throat, nuzzling into the space. He breathed in deeply, melting against Gabriel’s body. Gabriel kissed his head, lingering as he rested his cheek on top. He wrapped his arms protectively around him, squeezing tight for a second before he eased his grip into a comfortable hold. He heard Jack’s breathing slow, signalling the signs of him drifting to sleep. Gabriel lightly stroked his arm, as if his touch was lulling him to sleep.
“I was such a naive little shit wasn’t I?” Jack slurred.
“Who said you still aren’t?” Gabe said affectionately.
Jack made a noise of agreement. “Sleep with me here?” he murmured against his neck.
The campfire died down a little, allowing the night to come a little closer around them. But with the darkness, the brighter the stars seemed. Gabriel smiled, mesmerized by the galaxy above them. He gingerly kissed him again on his forehead, eliciting a soft hum from the man.
“Anything for you, mi sol.”