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A day of brooding was far from unfamiliar for one Gabriel Reyes.
Ever since the ‘Reaper’ thing started, he was always prone to these moods, but something in particular had stricken him today. The annual celebration of Oktoberfest had started in town today. It used to be one of his favorite parts of the season (aside from Halloween, obviously). Spending time with friends, admiring the corny local attractions, and of course, copious amounts of beer. But how would he enjoy it now? Going outside in this form was absolutely humiliating every time. He hated being seen at all like this. A festival full of people would be his worst nightmare.
He slumped over in his chair. Although his terrorist activities were in the past, these types of moments did threaten to unlock the unmanaged rage that stewed beneath the surface. That ugly desire for revenge that he did his best to repress, nowadays. He didn’t have any desire to go on a killing spree today, so he looked for a distraction.
Taking a look outside was the first thing he thought of. A somewhat blustery wind could be heard hitting the window, and seen by the light sway of the trees. The leaves had already turned orange, yellow, and red, and many of them gathered in the grass and on the sidewalk. It was very picturesque, and only served to make him feel worse. Being deprived of fall weather because of his own appearance. Depressing.
Luckily, his phone provided exactly what he was looking for: he had gotten a text from Jack. Seeing a text from him brought a smile to his face every time, which was the kind of cheesy shit he would never admit aloud.
Although they’d gotten on good terms months ago, only a few weeks had passed since they decided to try being romantic again. It was still awkward; he felt like a teenager again, clumsily stumbling through matters of the heart. He was embarrassed to realize that he really was that out of practice. Despite that, though, he was already managing to find joy in their relationship. Hopefully that discomfort would wear off quickly, because this was sure as hell not something he planned on giving up.
Coming over in a few minutes. Got something to tell you. Better clean up. :)
Gabriel wasn’t sure if the smiley face was meant to be as threatening as it felt.
Regardless, he made sure the living room of his small home looked presentable, and not like the depression hole it really was. That meant speed cleaning the clutter; he impressed himself with how quickly he managed to make the room look even somewhat tidy.
His timing was perfect, too, because he heard a knock on the door just as he was getting rid of the last few beer bottles that had been haphazardly shoved into the corner of the room. He looked out the window, just to be sure it was Jack and not some door-to-door salesman or something. No need to terrify an innocent worker with his maskless appearance.
The minute he opened the door, Jack walked inside; judging by the way he bounced slightly, he was eager about something. With Jack Morrison, that was either a good sign or an absolutely awful one.
“Hey there,” Jack said, giving Gabriel a grin. Tch. Too cute for his own good. Jack held up the bottle in his hand. “Brought some apple cider.”
Gabriel surveyed the bottle. “This is the cheapest brand they have.”
Jack sighed, making a point for it to be very noticeable. “Gonna pretend you said ‘thanks for being so considerate, my lovely boyfriend Jack,’ instead of whining at me again.” He shook his head. “Not important. Do you wanna come to Oktoberfest with me? It’s going on in town today.”
Oh. That. Gabriel felt himself deflate. “Have you seen this?” He said, pointing at his own face. “That’s not even mentioning if they realize I’m an international criminal.” He looked down at the ground. Already ruining other people’s good time, just like always. “I can’t. It’d be humiliating.” Looking away (anything to avoid the disappointed look he was sure Jack was giving him), he said, “Sorry.”
A moment passed, and Gabriel’s embarrassment only mounted further. However, this faltered when he felt Jack put his hand on Gabriel’s cheek; he turned towards him, and saw Jack’s reassuring smile. Ugh, that was way too fucking cute. “Hey,” he said. “You look fine. Sexy as hell, actually. Fuck anyone who’d judge you.”
Gabriel turned his head away. “It’s not that easy.”
He really didn’t want Jack to argue with him any further. It would just make him feel infinitely worse. He felt Jack’s hand move further down his body. When it reached his shoulder, Jack patted it. “I get it. Don’t worry. I’ll figure something out.”
Of course Jack Morrison would think he could solve years worth of insecurity from a deformed body just because he wanted to. “What could you even do?”
He looked back in Jack’s direction just in time to see Jack poke him on the nose. “A Morrison can do anything if he’s stubborn enough about it. Don’t underestimate me.”
Gabriel could only scoff at that.
--
Jack left relatively quickly after that, and Gabriel was sure that he was going to actually have fun with people that didn’t bring everything down. Nothing like Gabriel. He sighed, finishing a can of beer and throwing it to the side in annoyance. The sound of it hitting the wall only made him feel worse. Was he ever capable of not being violent?
A few hours passed, Gabriel continuing to stew in his own misery, until he heard a knock at the door. It probably wasn’t anyone other than Jack, but he had no idea why he hadn’t texted first.
When he opened the door, he saw something...strange.
A large tent was placed in front of his house. Only a super soldier would’ve been able to carry and set up all of that without him noticing. What the hell was this?
Jack stood next to the tent. “Hey.” Without another word, he guided (more like forced, really) Gabriel inside, and ran to the back of it. The tent was big enough that he was able to stand up straight with his head only barely brushing the top of it, and long enough to fit the table he now stood in front of.
Jack was behind the table, which had a large set of strudel and several kinds of beer on it. “Hello, Mr. Reyes. We got your reservation,” he said with a smirk.
Gabriel looked around. “What is all of this?”
“It’s our own little Oktoberfest,” Jack said, looking proud of himself. “Since you don’t wanna go to the one in town, I just brought a beer tent to you.”
“Wow,” Gabriel said, in a bit of shock. This gesture was incredibly nice, more than he’d ever get out of anyone else. As much as he tried to avoid cheesy romance shit, he couldn’t keep down an affectionate smile at this. Probably looked like a dope. The man he loved really hadn’t changed a bit, had he? “Did you learn how to bake while I was gone?”
Jack laughed, big enough to throw his head back. “I wish. I got Reinhardt to help me. He seemed really happy that I wanted to cook with him. Glad I didn’t tell him what it was for, ‘cause he definitely would’ve tried to come.”
After taking in his surroundings a bit more, Gabriel picked up one of the beer bottles and took a sip. It was something he actually hadn’t tried before - probably some kind of lager, but he wasn’t sure beyond that. Jack really didn’t half-ass this experience, did he?
Whatever it was, it tasted good. Without really thinking about it, he took another sip. Something about it made him feel refreshed.
“Hey, let me serve you before you drink it all,” Jack said, lightly slapping his hand away. He pointed to the table. “Sit down.”
He appreciated the authenticity of the experience enough that he didn’t even complain about being ordered around.
As he sat down, Jack came out from behind the table, the strudel in his hands. He put it down in front of Gabriel, a grin on his face. “We pride ourselves on excellent service.” Gabriel wasn’t sure how long Jack planned on keeping up this goofy act, but it was kind of charming. In an embarrassing way.
Gabriel picked up a fork. Quickly, he picked up a piece. This stuff always tasted great, and if it was from Reinhardt, it would probably be authentic. “I know you’re one of those people that doesn’t eat it with his hands,” Jack said, as if that was an unusual thing.
Gabriel stared at him for a moment. “Yeah, because I’m not five.”
Jack was clearly unaffected by the snark, because his smile showed no hint of fading. With no more delay, Gabriel took a bite. Apple. The sweet filling contrasted with the doughy exterior to produce a perfect pastry. Although he was normally a bit hesitant about Jack’s cooking (bad experiences), he knocked it out of the park this time.
When he swallowed the piece, Jack looked at him; Gabriel could detect a bit of nervousness by the way he tapped his foot on the ground. “Is it good?” He asked.
Gabriel nodded. “Hell yeah.”
This time, he actually meant it. Not like the time with the birthday cake. The thought made him shiver.
While he continued to eat, only enjoying it more with every bite, he felt Jack give him a kiss on top of his head, and Gabriel leaned back until Jack was holding onto him. Neither needed to say aloud how much Gabriel appreciated this; these motions expressed all of it. They had an unspoken mutual agreement to show emotion through gestures like that, since both were absolutely awful at expressing it aloud.
He finished the food much more quickly than usual. Since his body had been fucked up, he didn’t feel hunger anymore, and didn’t have any need to eat. It wasn’t that it was impossible for him to, it just wasn’t necessary. He usually used this as a reason to eat at a leisurely pace, which gave him more time to enjoy the experience. But he rarely ate anything that tasted this good.
Jack sat down next to him. As Gabriel took his last bite, Jack leaned in, pointing to his cheek. “Be sure to tip your waiter.”
Ah, fuck it. Even if he was being corny, Jack still deserved appreciation for all of this. Gabriel kissed his cheek, then pulled him in for one on the lips. The kiss was slightly prolonged; he felt the need to express a bit more affection than a simple peck could amount to.
When their lips parted, Gabriel inched closer to Jack until their arms were touching. “Maybe I can try going out next year,” Gabriel said, trying not to mumble. There was still something so humiliating about being too much of a coward to even show his face.
Jack began to pet the top of his head. “Only if you want to. I’m fine with just having it at home,” Jack said, softly. “Don’t push yourself for me.”
God, that was sweet. “No, it’s for me, too. I need to face this.” Not this year, though. Not yet.
“Whatever you do, I got your back,” Jack whispered in Gabriel’s ear. It struck him that after all this time, Jack still believed in him. He picked up the other beer mug he had brought over. “Cheers?”
Gabriel snickered. “Is the staff supposed to drink their own beer?”
Jack laughed, hearty and sincere. “Fuck you, this shit is good. Maybe this is for me, too.”
Gabriel shrugged. “I guess I can live with that,” he said, with a grin.
He would be able to go out next year. If anything, he owed it to Jack. For whatever insane reason, the man that still had faith in him, and that was something he had to live up to.
As he leaned against Jack’s side and listened to him chatter on, talkative as always, Gabriel felt a level of contentment that had been missing from his life for too long.
Retirement wasn’t so bad after all.